LIVE 💎 Jewel 💎 of the Seas - Southern Caribbean 1/20/24

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Embarkation: We used Uber for all rides in San Juan.  It was super easy.  

Our set time was 12.  We decided to try and go a little early so we set the Uber for 10:30 pickup.  There was a line for luggage drop since the porters did not start taking luggage until around 11.  Suite line was held up by a large group with birth certificate issues but still faster than the general boarding line.  The x ray machine quit working for our line so that held us up a few more minutes.  Even with the issues we were still onboard before noon. 
 

Muster is sooo much better now that most of it is on the app.

 

Ship:  Jewel will be 20 years old this April.  She is clean & well maintained but she does show some wear & tear as you would expect from a 20 year old ship.  The one thing that stuck out to me was the glass.  Some panes in the roof of the solarium were broken and some around the ship were fogged over.  Those were an eye sore.  For perspective, We enjoy the Radiance, Voyager and Freedom classes of ships the most.  If you’re looking for a lot of bells & whistles like the new ships you will be disappointed with Jewel.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Cabin: Grand Suite 1554.  On the hump next to the royal suite.  Loved this cabin.  It’s right outside the centrum elevator bank & stairwell which was super convenient.  There was noise at night from centrum activity/music etc.  I would take that into consideration if you are light sleeper & like to go to bed early.  It didn’t bother us at all but there were times we noticed it.  The balcony is a bit bigger and shaped differently because it’s on the hump but because of the shape the more forward balconies are clearly visible.  I can see how some would want more privacy but the view was amazing. There was 1 lounger, 2 chairs and a table on the balcony.  The sliding doors were a big double door that I liked.  Everything in the cabin was in good working order.

 

Room Steward James was great.  Loved his towel animals.  Cleaning was on point & he was always asking if we needed anything.

[maggieq]

@SteelCityCruiser10  thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us.   Thrilled that you finally made it home, even if to rain.   
 

not sure if you commented but did you enjoy Giovanni’s?   We are still thinking about chops for our bogo’s in may. 

[SteelCityCruiser10]

2 minutes ago, maggieq said:

@SteelCityCruiser10  thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us.   Thrilled that you finally made it home, even if to rain.   
 

not sure if you commented but did you enjoy Giovanni’s?   We are still thinking about chops for our bogo’s in may. 

Yes,  we liked it a lot actually.  We got it delivered to the cabin so I can’t comment on the restaurant atmosphere or service.  I like pasta & the seafood linguine was good.  We thought the filet was every bit as good as Chops.

 

Be sure to use the BOGO on night 1 or 2.  We weren’t able to use ours on night 5 however there was a pinnacle who was laying into Edna pretty good in the lounge trying to use her BOGO on a different night.  I don’t know if she was successful.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Dining: We had 3 night specialty dining package.  Food was all great.  We had Chops and Giovanni’s dinner in the cabin which we loved & only was possible because of the suite & Edna the concierge.  We don’t like sitting at dinner for hours.  

 

Chops filets were great as usual.

Giovanni filet was just as good as Chops.  Izumi we went to the restaurant.  We love the Udon.  I enjoyed the Warm chocolate cake dessert.  

 

No complaints with any of the specialty restaurants.  

 

MDR - we only went once on the lobster night.  Lobster was good but not enough.  Very glad we got the tortellini as well.  Wait staff was good but I was a bit annoyed the head waiter made a point of saying several times we only came once and wanted to make sure we gave him all 10s on the survey and wanted to push dessert on us like that would somehow effect our rating.  We already told him he would get a good rating and we didn’t want dessert twice but it was his pestering that annoyed me.  I shouldn’t have to decline dessert 3 times.  

 

Jammer - didn’t go at all.

 

Room Service was very fast in this ship.  Royal Burger seems to always be good.  I didn’t like the wings.  Too much breading and not enough meat.

Philly Cheesesteak was decent.  

Edited January 28 by SteelCityCruiser10

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Bar Service:  Outstanding bar tenders were in Vintages and the casino.  Jarvis was a stand out in Vintages.  Sam in the concierge lounge too.

 

I missed being able to get Grolsh and new castle in the pub since Jewel does not have a Pub.

 

Some of the drinks in the solarium were not right or tasted off from what we ordered.  

 

Entertainment:  We typically don’t attend any production shows but we did 2 headliner shows this cruise.  All of these performers were from America’s Got Talent type shows in the past.  Chris Dugdale was entertaining.  Mostly card tricks.  Gold Duo was good too.  I would describe their show as along the same lines as cirque shows.  Acrobatics mixed with dance.  I liked them both.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Ports:  The port intensive itinerary was the highlight of this cruise.  

 

Barbados:  Can’t recommend the Elegance Catamaran tour enough.  We did the lunch cruise (4hrs).  We loved it.  They limit to 12 people.  Crew was awesome.  Just a great day to be out on the turquoise water.  A couple stops for snorkeling and swimming.  Drinks and lunch included.  Cruised up and down the coast and did some sailing.  Taxi to and from were included in cost.  There was some time leftover to wander the shops at the port.  Private excursion - not through royal.  I would do this again without hesitation.

 

Trinidad:  Maracas Beach Break through Royal.  We enjoyed this beach.  The downside by far is the amount of bus time.  It was a solid 45 minutes to get there and an hour back.  Roads are extremely windy and sketchy in a few spots.  The views from the scenic overlook were amazing.  

 

Water was a good temp but a bit rough.  I liked jumping the waves but it beats you up after awhile out there.

 

We liked the Bake n Shark.  Beers and soft drinks readily available.  $4 each for beers.

 

Beach vendors everywhere but not pushy.

 

Little bit annoying that 2 chairs and umbrella cost $20.

 

We were glad we did this excursion but if we were to return to Trinidad again we would do something else or stay on the ship.

 

Tobago:  This was our least favorite port.  Taxi drivers were plentiful outside the port gates and some were aggressive.  We just wandered and had some local beers while enjoying the view.  Shopping wasn’t good.   Basically not much to do right off the ship.  If we were to come here again I would try an excursion through royal.  Mt Irvine Beach break and the nature preserve excursion were ones that were at the top of our list but we just didn’t feel like it that particular day.

Edited January 28 by SteelCityCruiser10

[SteelCityCruiser10]

St. Lucia:  West Coast Catamaran Cruise through Royal (6 hrs).  We also loved this excursion.  There were a lot of people but still plenty of room on the boat.  Included lunch,  rum punch, soft drinks etc.  Beers had to be bought from the vendors who came up to the boats at the stops for snorkeling and swimming.  We cruised up and down the coast.  Amazing views.  Visited different bays including Rodney Bay and Marigot Bay then cruised to the Pitons.  We anchored at the base of the Pitons for a swim/beach stop.  It was a good time with great views.  If you get sea sick easily I would stay away from this excursion.  It’s a long time on the boat.  We had some weather that made the water pretty rough & we were bouncing pretty good a lot of the time.

 

I should note that this excursion compared to the elegance catamaran in barbados were the same in concept but totally differing vibes.  The elegance was more relaxing and waayyyy less people on a smaller boat.  The  lucia catamaran was more of a party atmosphere with a ton of people and a bigger - double decker catamaran.  I am glad we did both.

 

St.  Maarten:  Loved St.  Maarten!  Great shopping port.  We took the water taxi over to Great Bay beach and just wandered, shopped and bar hopped.  Stand outs were Blue Bit** Bar and Dutch Blonde Bar.  The Dutch Blonde Beer was my favorite of the trip.  We never made it to a beach chair & didn’t swim but I would get off the ship earlier next time if that was important to me.  I wouldn’t mind doing a catamaran cruise here on a different visit.  The water color and clarity were amazing.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Suite Lounge/concierge:

I like the concierge lounge on Jewel a lot.  It has a bar in it with bar seating which I like.  It’s a decent size with comfortable seats and also has outside seating which is a nice bonus.  

 

We got the pre dinner snacks most nights and the free drinks from 5-8 each night was very handy since I didn’t get a drink package this cruise.  The food was generally good and they switched it up so it was different each night.

 

The coffee machine in the morning is fantastic.  It does regular coffee (Americano), Cappuccino, Lattes,  Decafs, plain hot water etc.  I prefer it over the in-room machine.  There’s breakfast finger foods available each morning along with water, juice and teas.

 

Chops breakfast was every morning for suites/pinnacles following the same time schedule as MDR.  We went a few times and much prefer it over the jammer. Omelet was really good.  Service was fast and attentive.  Always had a great window table with a view.

 

Concierge was Edna.  She’s wonderful!  We enjoyed her energy & personality.  One of, if not the best, concierge we’ve had.  She pre scheduled our specialty dinners, arranged in room dining.  Generally helpful

& available.

Edited January 28 by SteelCityCruiser10

[SteelCityCruiser10]

WiFi- Mostly good but slowed down at times particularly in the cabin late night for some reason.  The wifi is better than it used to be but still could be better.

 

Debarking:  Suites meet up time was either 8:15, 8:30 or 8:45 in schooner.  We chose 8:15 and were off the ship in literally 2-3 minutes.  Edna walked us off and to bags to the customs line.  

 

Bags were right there.  

 

As good as it gets.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Alright folks,  I think I covered a lot but if anyone has any questions I’ll be happy to answer as best i can.  

 

Thanks for following along on our adventure!

 

Up next Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady 4 nighter.

 

 

Cheers  🍻

 Mark

[SG65CB]

Thank you so much for taking us along on your cruise. I found it particularly interesting because we are going on this same cruise in mid-February and your daily journal has really helped build our anticipation for our trip. It was a great recap at the end. We'll be in a suite and are looking forward to meeting Edna. It was also good to get some clarity on Trinidad and Tobago. 

 

Thanks again. 

[HBE4]

On 1/27/2024 at 10:16 AM, Ocean Boy said:

Next ducks will not be allowed to be brought on board. They will have to be purchased on the ship with an 18% gratuity added, of course.

 

Good bye Rum Runners.

Hello Duck Runners.

[HBE4]

@SteelCityCruiser10

 

Great review, very enjoyable!  Thank you for taking the time to take us along.

[roomba920]

We were on the Jewel last September to Greenland. Nice to see her again. Thank you for sharing and have a great time!

[cruiseguy1016]

Do you remember where you had lunch in St. Maarten? Was it the Dutch Blonde Bar? How was the food? Do you recommend it?

Here's a tricky one maybe. Did you notice if any of the places along the beach had free WiFi? We'll need to check in for our flights on Southwest around lunch time so I'd like to find some WiFi if I can.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

Do you remember where you had lunch in St. Maarten? Was it the Dutch Blonde Bar? How was the food? Do you recommend it?

Here's a tricky one maybe. Did you notice if any of the places along the beach had free WiFi? We'll need to check in for our flights on Southwest around lunch time so I'd like to find some WiFi if I can.

From all of my visits, I've found places offering wifi while you are patronizing them but I've not had a lot of luck just finding open networks.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

3 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

Do you remember where you had lunch in St. Maarten? Was it the Dutch Blonde Bar? How was the food? Do you recommend it?

Here's a tricky one maybe. Did you notice if any of the places along the beach had free WiFi? We'll need to check in for our flights on Southwest around lunch time so I'd like to find some WiFi if I can.

Dutch Blonde Bar was where we ate lunch. 

Mahi Mahi sandwich with sweet potato fries and salad was good.  The bartender actually asked us if we would like the wifi password after we ordered drinks. I really liked it there.

 

 

We also got “free” wifi at Blue ***** Bar however we had to ask the bartender if they had wifi after we ordered drinks at which point he gave up the password.

 

Many of the bars/restaurants have signs out front advertising they have free wifi for paying customers.  I did not try to find any unlocked networks nor would I be comfortable logging into any of them anyway.

 

cheers 🍻

[Badgerfan5304]

Thank you for taking us along on your trip. We will be on the Jewel on the 10th and your review was very helpful. We are doing some of the same excursions. 
 

 

[SteelCityCruiser10]

7 hours ago, Badgerfan5304 said:

Thank you for taking us along on your trip. We will be on the Jewel on the 10th and your review was very helpful. We are doing some of the same excursions. 
 

 

Awesome - hope you have a great cruise!

Cheers 🍻

[loug1601]

Thank you Steel City Cruiser…you wrote a great trip report which I really enjoyed!

[SteelCityCruiser10]

3 hours ago, loug1601 said:

Thank you Steel City Cruiser…you wrote a great trip report which I really enjoyed!

Thanks for the kind words!  Glad you enjoyed!  Cheers 🍻 

 

Sitting in bridge traffic today…just seeing the water (albeit a river)  calmed my nerves just a little.  😃