Just off Jewel of the Seas long!

We just returned from Jewel of the Seas Western Carribian cruise. The ship was just beautiful! This was our first cruise and our first cruise on Royal Carribian. Please feel free to ask any questions. Here are some of my impressions of the ship.....

Arrival on the ship went very smooth and was well organized. We arrived @1:00 and went directly on the ship with no wait. Our cabin wasn't ready so we explored a little. We went up to the main pool and were handed a pinacalada and as soon as we took it, we were handed a bill. As first time cruisers it was kind of funny because we thought "how nice of them" but quickly found out RC does not give away anything for free!! We had lunch at the Windjammer. Lunch was very good. There was a great selection of foods and they were well prepared.

Dinners at Tides had a good selection and after hearing some negative comments about the food, I was pleasantly surprised. I did hear RC was trying to upgrade their food so I think that was it. We had fillet mingon one night which was excellant. They had some interesting appetizers such as scallops with rissoto, peach soup, mushroom puffed pastry ect.

Portifinos was excellant. I would definately recommend the food and the experience. Well worth the xtra money. One suggestion is to go on the sea day. Coming back from an excursion day you are very tired.

Many RC cruisers with experience were saying that the crew was not as friendly as on past ships. They were all nice but not overly friendly.

My cabin was 8088 right near the elevators and stairs. Very convienent but we used the stairs more because the elevators were very slow. The balcony in this room was very long so we had two lounges, two chairs to sit on and a table. I gave my room attendant $20 as soon as we met. Honestly I don't think it made any differance in the room service. I did not see him at all the entire cruise, except for tip night! I had little post it notes and would fill one out and leave it if there was something I wanted. It was always left for us in the cabin so I can't complain.

Thank you to all who took the time to write posts on this board about where to go at the differant ports. It worked out great. We went to the Tappas Bar in Costa Maya. We had a great day, great food and I honestly think the service was better than on the ship! Our waiter entertained my kids with jokes and he even made a paper rose for my daughter out of a napkin. They were able to snorkel while I relaxed with some great food and cold beer. Our bill was $28 for the day!! $2.00 Coronas!!

In Grand Caymen we charted a 35 ft. boat through Native Way. There were 27 of us (adults and children) they took us snorkeling in two places, StingRay Ally, and a wonderful lunch on Rum Point Beach. Well worth the money. We were with Native way from 11:45 to 5:00! I highly recommend them for excursions. They had a videotogropher come with us and she vidiotaped the entire trip from start to end. She had scuba gear so she got in the water with us and filmed all the fish under the water as we snorkeled. The kids were so excited.

The only problem we had in Grand Caymen was getting off the ship. There were 6 ships in port that day and it took a very long time to get off the ship.

My husband made an appt. on the ship to do the virtual golf. There was no one there to help you and when the hour was up a crew member showed up in the middle of the hole and told my husband he couldn't finish and turned the machine off! Not a very proffesional way to do things.

Also a friend of mine had a $180.00 massage and after the massage the massage therapist told her to try a cream on her legs and handed her the box with a bill for $70 without even asking if she wanted to purchase it.

She complained the next day and they took it off her bill but the spa girls were snickering in the background as if they do this to see what they can get away with!

The Adventure Ocean kids club was wonderful for my 11 year old. They had activities all day and on certain nights she could have dinner with them at 6 and stay till 10. After ten she could stay till 1 AM for $5 an hour. Well worth the money. She had a great time and Mom and Dad had some adult time.

We found out the last day Martinis (cosmopolitans) were $9.75 in all the bars but in the Vortex at sundown they were 1/2 price!

No Johnny Rockets on board and Ben and Jerrys was just a little cart. The Seaview cafe had excellant burgers and sandwhiches. The Solarium pool had great wraps and pizza. Also at the Solarium thet made creapes any way you want. The strawberry with chocolate and pistachio was delish!

All in all we had a wonderful cruise and we are sad it over but we have wonderful memories to last a lifetime!

Vicki

We did the Jewel in December and had a great time as well. The only thing we didn't like were the desserts in the dining room at dinner time which except for the key lime pie were poor at best. Your friends experience in the spa is very common. The employees are under pressure to sell as many extra products to the spa customers as they can. The sad part is that some customers just don't know how to say no and end up buying a few hundred dollars worth of products they don't really want.

Thanks for the insight! We are going on the Jewel next month to the Eastern Caribbean.

One question - do they sell soda vouchers for the week rather than paying for each separately?

I Have A Few Questions About Your Room. Did The Couch Fold Out? What Was The View Like On Your Balcony? Was Your View Blocked By The Elevator Right On The Hump? I Have Read That If Your Room Is Not In The Middle Of The Hump Your View Will Be Blocked. Was Your Balcony Bigger Than The Other D1 Balconies? Thank You!:) I

I'm going through cruise withdrawal!

The soda card is $4 a day (all you can drink) and I noticed many people taking advantage of it. There are stands set up near the Windjammer when you board so you can purchase the package then.

We had a balcony on the 9th floor (9636) with a gorgeous view. We ate breakfast out there nearly every morning.

Everyone has different opinions but I have to say we had some excellent desserts. The Mississippi Mud Pie at Chops was to die for (along with the Filet!) and Tides had a great molten chocolate cake and flourless chocolate cake. Can you tell we were all chocoholics?

Thanks for the info. I understand your appreciation for chocolate!!! I too am a chocoholic. I've heard there is a chocolate buffet?? I am dieting as we speak so that I can indulge in all these wonderful deserts I'm hearing about!:D

The soda card is $4 a day (all you can drink) and I noticed many people taking advantage of it. There are stands set up near the Windjammer when you board so you can purchase the package then.

Actually, the soda card is $6/day for adults and $4/day for kids.

I agree about the desserts not being great in the dining room. They were just OK. Creme Brulee was cold but the The flourless chocolate cake in both the dining room and Portofinos was excellant. The keylime Pie in the dining room was also very good. I was not impressed with the bread and rolls in the dining room either. The bread was just OK also, nothing special.

Our room had a great view out to sea. I can show you some pictures that I took from my balcony. I couldn't see aft because of the elevators but I loved the location (very easy to get around the ship) We went up and down the stairs because the elevators were slow. A great way to get some excercise from all the food we ate!

Our balcony was much deeper than the normal balcony. On most balconies they can only fit two chairs that you can sit on. This one had two lounge chairs and two chairs. Plus there was a lot of room behind the lounge chairs. We kept our empty luggage on the deck and it was well protected. My friend had the same room on the other side of the ship and hers was set up the same way. 8102.

Vicki

Yes the couch folds out. It is more "chair sized" My daughter who is 11 slept on the couch. There is a bed that comes out of the ceiling and they put a ladder on it. We didn't want the bed above our bed. We thought it might feel too enclosed. They also had a curtain that you could pull in between the bed and the couch that did offer a little privacy. The little hallway when you first walk in the room is very narrow. Two people can't fit side by side. It makes it interesting when you call for room service and you have to open the door and try to hold it as they come in with a tray. I would put out my room service tag on the door at night and ask for coffee, a pitcher of ice and a pitcher of water. On shore excursion days I would fill my big water bottle with ice and water and take it with me. The water tasted very good. The coffee pots are small so if you like a few cups in the morning ask for coffee for 3 and they bring 2 pots instead of the one small pot.

Vicki

Vicky, Thank You For All Your Information. We Had A Hump Room On The Mariner I Loved The Location. We Also Took The Stairs. I Loved Being Able To Have A View Of The Front And Back Of The Ship, But I Am Considering Your Room For Our Jewel Cruise For The Bigger Balcony. We Have Four In Our Family. When We Were On The Mariner The Couch Folded Out To A Bed Big Enough For Both My Kids. I Don't Think It's The Same Size On The Jewel. Would We Fit In That Room? Thanks Again!:)

Debra

You could definately fit 4 people in the room. It would be tight if you were trying to move about the cabin at one time, but for sleeping it would be fine. We had three in our room. My husband and I had one queen size bed. My 11 yr old slept on the "chair" bed. This is only for one person. There is another bed that comes out of the ceiling for a 4th person. We didn't need to open the one on the ceiling. We put all our empty bags on the balcony closest to the right corner if you were looking out to sea. They were not in the way of opening the balcony door or us going in and out. We loved the location of the cabin and the size of our balcony. I would definately book 8088 again on another cruise!

Vicki