JEWEL Review - Dec. 15-23, 2007 part I

[cruizinmimi]

This was a family christmas vacation for our small family. DH, DD, SIL, grandson and me. We are all seasoned cruisers on rcl, but this was our 1st cruise on a radiance class ship - JEWEL!

 

Our daughter and son-in-law flew down on Dec. 14th on Southwest and since the tickets were given to them by SIL's mom (who works for Southwest), they flew standby coming and going. My DD says she will not do that again. It took them 7 hrs to get from DFW to FLL and 8 hrs to get home from FLL to DFW. We flew with our grandson on AA direct on Dec. 15th (Sat.)....absolutely great flight, no problems.

 

Embarkation was very smooth. We all met at the pier at around 10:45a.m. and the porter took our luggage and directed us inside. When inside we were given a colored piece of paper and then directed to a different room with seating. We had to wait in this holding room until the ship was cleared. 2 wedding parties were also waiting to board, but they entered the ship via a different room when the ship was cleared. We actually got to sign in around 11:30. Our color paper was called first along with suite, D/D+ and wedding parties. Very easy and quick. Took the group pic and entered on Deck 5.:D I was surprised that they did not have any water set out or anything, but that was not biggie to us. Just thought I would mention it for those inquiring minds!

 

The Jewel is a stunning ship. Very classy. Love all the wood and the whole jewel tones. Of course, it was all decorated with Christmas trees, wreaths, garland and the gingerbread houses were amazing. My favorite spots were the Centrium, Schooner Bar (nonsmoking:D ), the Safari Club. The self-leveling pool tables are not to be missed (right outside the Safari Club). Even our grandson played pool with us.

 

Cabins were balcony cabins on Deck 8-midship-starboard side. We were able to go to our cabin by 1:00p.m. I think this is pretty standard now for rcl. I loved the way our cabins were decorated with the beautiful jewel tone drapes and all the woodwork. Very roomy and our cabin attendant- Ronolfo (Ron) - took excellent care of for the next 8 days. Since this was our christmas vacation, I brought door decorations (wreath & stockings) for our outside cabin door. It was fun to walk up to our cabin each night and it was easy for our grandson to spot his cabin & ours.

I know alot of people talk about the balcony cabins being blocked by the coverings of the lifeboats obsecuring their view. I did not feel like it blocked our view at all (to each his own, I guess). I don't care whether I can see straight down. I do care to see straight out though, and I had a wonderful view every morning and evening.

 

Entertainment -there was plenty of things to do all week. So much so, that we could not do it all. We tried to go to all the evening entertainment at night in the Coral Theatre, but sometimes we did not stay. I think rcl does a great job, but after so many cruises, we've seen most of the shows. The comedian and singer was funny, Judy Kolba. I've never seen her before and her act was a little crazy. Of course, we had the royal caribbean singer/dancers. I think their costumes are beautiful and stage sets are spectacular, but they are beginning to all blend. (JMO) Howie & Bert - farewell juggler. Sorry, once again, not impressed. Late night comedian was Miguel Washington and he was pretty funny. Hint- Do not take your kids to late night comedy.

In the Centrium every night, we had Elini Trio and a guitarist-Pedro Espedido. Both were excellent. There was a pool band (caribbean music); piped in music all day, also.

Trivia every night in the nonsmoking Schooner Bar and piantist, Anna. She was very good and entertaining.

Safari Club had bingo, trivia, quest, Welcome Back Party, Captain's Party, Diamond/D+ party. This club was decorated so cool, lots of animal print. Loved it.

 

Sorry, but I'll have to make this report in parts. Laundry is calling and reality has set in. BBL

[dlhamlten]

Thanks, Linda for a Fair & Balanced Part I

 

Want to hear all about the food - in the Dining Room, Alternative Restaurants, Buffet etc. since you are experienced cruisers.

 

Notice any Menu changes, food quality deterioration ?

 

How 'Bout Them Cowboys !;)

[time4me2fly]

Can't wait to read more. I'll be cruising on the Jewel in June.

[BillOh]

Your review so far does a good job of stating what you perspective is, which should allow almost anyone to get something from it. i've never been on a Radiance class as well, so I'm reading from that perspective. I look forward to the rest.

[cruizinmimi]

Part II

Food - I've find this subject a little touchy and I'm not real picky on food, so this is just my opinion. I feel that the quality of the food is lacking a little bit, but we did not go hungry. I also think that rcl tries to put too much sauce on their main dishes (drowning out the flavor). We were just on the Mariner of the Seas in May and the food was very good. So I guess it is hit & miss.

Dining Room - The Tides Dining Room is a 2-tier room. Beautifully decorated and furnished. We had Table 506-table of 12. Five in our family and 7 in another family from London. We had wonderful tablemates - hi guys. Our Waiter was Pilar and Asst. waiter was Dennis. Both were outstanding. They made the whole dining experience fun and worthwhile. There was plenty to chose from (off the menu) and it was served warm every night. Again, we're not picky eaters. As long as I didn't have to shop for it, clean it, cook it and do the dishes...I'm in heaven:D

 

Chops & Portofinos - we took the whole family (5) to Chops during San Juan and our ressies were at 6pm. That way our grandson (9 yrs) could go with us. Amazing dinner and service. This is a must. The best steaks and vegetables. Way different than what they serve in the dining room. Our grandson said that this was the best meal of the entire cruise. Just so you know, the price has increased to $25pp at Chops. I'm not sure about Portofinos because we did not go.

 

Windjammer - there are 2 omelette stations, which was nice. Plenty of food, always warm, same selection every day. I do love the outside seating on the Jewel. It was nice to get your food and find a spot outside. Loved that about the Jewel. Solarium Cafe great pizza and crepes. A very nice spot also for an afternoon snack. Weird hours of operation though. A service is slow because there is only one lady there at all times doing everything. Check compass for operation hours. Seaview Cafe - love, love, love it. The Cuban sandwiches; the fish & chips and the brownies. The only thing you pay for is drinks such as sodas, beers, shakes. The only free drink is water. Great place. Again, weird hours.

 

Adventure Ocean there were over 340 kids onboard our cruise. You would never know it. Parents did a great job with their kids. Everyone was on their best behavior. Our 9-yr grandson was in the 9-11 group and this was his 1st year to be able to check himself out of AO. This was a little strange for us. Also, I noticed that this must be a hard age group to have planned activities. It all worked out though, because we kept him busy doing things with us. Playing mini golf, basketball, pool games, pool table, bingo, shuffleboard, ping-pong, etc. We had a blast and so did he.

 

I'm going to break right here, because earlier I typed a very long review and it was lost. I'll break it up....be back.

[cruizinmimi]

Meet/Mingle for those of you who are actively involved in your roll call, please attend the meet/mingle. We had ours in the Hollywood Lounge-Deck 13 on Dec. 16th at 12:15. We had a great turnout and it was so much fun to meet everyone. Hi gang:D They had door prizes and we had a gift-exchange among us. Lots of fun. Great making new friends.

 

Concierge There were over 200 D/D+ members onboard so the overflow lounge was in the Hollywood Odessy Lounge also. Andrea (Concierge) did a great job every night. She was very personable, efficient and very involved with all her guests. Kudos to Andrea. The bartender was Veronica and she made a great drink for us every night. I loved going there and visiting with our new friends and having a drink before dinner.

 

Loyalty Ambassador - Inga was the LA and you will definitely have to make an appt (by telephone) with her. She was soooo busy everyday. Don't think you're going to walk up and ask her a quick question because it won't happen. She takes appts only and by telephone. There was no sign up sheet. LA is located on Deck 12 and what a spectacular view from there. Be sure to look down onto the Centrium....waaaay cool.

 

Ports of Call We had stops at San Juan; St. Thomas; St. Maarten; Tortola and Nassau. We have been to all of these ports several times except for Tortola. I want to go back to Tortola because we did not have enough time there to explore. Time in Tortola was 8am-3pm. We made it to Cane Garden Bay and it was a great beach day. Beautiful place, but way too crowded. I do want to go back sometime soon to visit Tortola.

 

Casino & Pit Stop - we visited the Pit Stop quite often because the Cowboys were playing on 2 different occasions while on the ship. The bartenders in the Pit Stop were very nice. Casino was smoke-free one night and just let me say.....it was a blast. We played for several hours and had a wonderful time and won some money (yahooooo).

 

Schooner Bar/Safari Club - were also a favorite of mine. Schooner Bar is nonsmoking and the entertainment nightly was so much fun. Trivia every night and piano player. Of course, the Safari Club was great also. Very large room and loved all the animal print on the chairs. Very comfortable lounge. They had games in there also. Backgammon and chess. This is where the self-leveling pool tables are located. Right outside the Safari Club. I loved playing pool with the family during the day. Great family fun.

 

Crew/Staff I can't say enough about the staff and crew. Everyone seems very happy working on the Jewel. The best guest relations service we've ever had. Very pleasant experiences.

 

Pool - chair hogs - the Deck Patrol was out enforce. You could not save seats. They times everyone. If you left your chair more than 30 mins, your stuff was taken up and put away by the Deck Patrol. There were a whole lot of people that were p.oed. I thought it was great.

 

Things I missed - I guess we are voyager class people mostly. I missed the promenade deck and strolling and people watching on the promenade. I like having an ice show. Would we go on the Jewel or radiance class again.....you bet we would. The Jewel is a grand ship.

 

I know I've missed some things, but since I've already typed this whole review once and it was lost:( ...if there is anything I can answer specifically...just ask away.

 

Happy sailing to everyone

[Apoggi]

Thanks for the great review. I really enjoyed it.

[LuvMyVette]

Linda:

Thank you for a wonderful review. :) DH/I are hoping to go on Jewel in the future since we have read so many wonderful things about the Radiance class ships. We saw Jewel when we were docked in St. Martin on De. 5. Looks like a beautiful ship!

What kind of crepes were offered?

How many pool tables were there? Was there an extra charge for them?

Thanks and welcome back!

Sea ya!

[cruizinmimi]

Linda:

Thank you for a wonderful review. :) DH/I are hoping to go on Jewel in the future since we have read so many wonderful things about the Radiance class ships. We saw Jewel when we were docked in St. Martin on De. 5. Looks like a beautiful ship!

 

What kind of crepes were offered?

 

How many pool tables were there? Was there an extra charge for them?

 

Thanks and welcome back!

Sea ya!

 

The crepes were chocolate crepes with whipped cream on top. There was only one person behind the counter. She made the crepes and served the pizza and sandwiches. It was a very busy place. The crepes looked sooooo good, but I didn't want to wait in that long line. Now I wish I would have.

There were 2 self-leveling pool tables. No charge to use them. They would hold your seapass card though at the Schooner Bar until you were finished playing.

[Gracie115]

Jewel still sounds wonderful. We were on her in 2005 and going again this fall. Can't wait. We thought the staff on her then was the best we had ever had so glad to hear that hasn't changed either. Thanks for the review.:)

[The Grumpus]

Very nice review Linda, thanks for taking time out to write it. I'm glad you and your family had a great time. It's funny, I loved all the same places on the ship as you.:)

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

We loved the Jewel too.

It wa great to hear of a smoke free night in the casino-I hope they have that on our next cruise in '09. Then I'd go in there!

[EchoSix]

That was the best and most genuinely "normal" review, I've ever read on The Jewel (or any ship for that matter).

 

You covered everything and said no more than needs to be said. Good for you.

 

Thanks for the time you spent writing it.

[dicechick]

Excellent review, Linda. Thank you for taking time to write it. I'm looking forward to seeing it firsthand not long from now:) .

 

Tracy

[Merion_Mom]

Casino & Pit Stop - we visited the Pit Stop quite often because the Cowboys were playing on 2 different occasions while on the ship. The bartenders in the Pit Stop were very nice. Casino was smoke-free one night and just let me say.....it was a blast. We played for several hours and had a wonderful time and won some money (yahooooo).

Linda, do the slot machines on the Jewel have a place to insert your SeaPass for monitoring by casino staff?

[JJohn]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review(s). I'm glad I wasn't around when you lost your first attempt! As we all know that can be a very frustrating experience. One question for you, did the ship offer the luggage service where you put your suitcase outside the night before leaving the ship and you don't see it again until you arrive at your home airport? I have heard of this service and it's mentioned in the crusie line doc's but I've not known anyone who has used it.

 

John

[LuvMyVette]

Linda:

The crepes were chocolate crepes with whipped cream on top. There was only one person behind the counter. She made the crepes and served the pizza and sandwiches. It was a very busy place. The crepes looked sooooo good, but I didn't want to wait in that long line. Now I wish I would have.There were 2 self-leveling pool tables. No charge to use them. They would hold your seapass card though at the Schooner Bar until you were finished playing

Thanks so much for getting back to me regarding my questions. The cholocate crepes sounds fantastic.

Have a wonderful new year.

Sea ya!

[cruizinmimi]

Linda, do the slot machines on the Jewel have a place to insert your SeaPass for monitoring by casino staff?

 

Sorry, if the Jewel has this option for slots, I was not aware. We played mostly the tables. I dropped a few coins in the slots, but did not pay attention to the SeaPass thing.

[cruizinmimi]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review(s). I'm glad I wasn't around when you lost your first attempt! As we all know that can be a very frustrating experience. One question for you, did the ship offer the luggage service where you put your suitcase outside the night before leaving the ship and you don't see it again until you arrive at your home airport? I have heard of this service and it's mentioned in the crusie line doc's but I've not known anyone who has used it.

 

John

 

John, yes the Jewel offers this. I'm looking at my luggage valet memo now. Let's see. It says flights departing from FLL must be after 11:30 a.m. and the flight must be within the U.S. The service is offered for AA, American Song, Delta, ComAir, DeltaSong, JetBlue, United, TED, North West and Continental. The service is $20pp.

 

Unfortunately, we could not use this service this time. We had a 10:40a.m. flight and we had to do express walkoff. We carried our own luggage off the ship. It wasn't too bad, but when we had grandson in tow, I must admit, I felt a little stress:eek:

[cruizinmimi]

Linda:

 

What kind of crepes were offered?

 

Sea ya!

 

Trish, I was talking with DH and he said they had strawberry and some other fruit crepes. It did seem like everyone was getting chocolate when I was standing in line waiting for my pizza.

I'm definitely going to wait in line next time. They looked sooooo good.

[mamacat3]

Linda, do the slot machines on the Jewel have a place to insert your SeaPass for monitoring by casino staff?

 

 

We were on JOS for the Dec. 1 cruise and yes they do have a slot for your sea pass card in the slot machines.

[Merion_Mom]

Trish, I was talking with DH and he said they had strawberry and some other fruit crepes. It did seem like everyone was getting chocolate when I was standing in line waiting for my pizza.

I'm definitely going to wait in line next time. They looked sooooo good.

Oh, that IS good news. Chocolate crepes somehow just did not appeal to me. (please don't attack me, chocolate crepe lovers! :eek:)

[Merion_Mom]

We were on JOS for the Dec. 1 cruise and yes they do have a slot for your sea pass card in the slot machines.

 

Thanks, mamacat. pmshirl has piqued my curiosity with her description of the Casino perks, and whatever the "club" is called. But I know that they have to have a way of monitoring your play to know if you "qualify".

[time4me2fly]

Thanks! Great review of the Jewel. I'm so excited, I'll be sailing on her this June. Happy New Year 2008!

[uksimonusa]

Linda, do the slot machines on the Jewel have a place to insert your SeaPass for monitoring by casino staff?

 

This dessert was quite funny as well, this is exactly as it was served