Jewel Of The Seas - Mar.12 (My Thoughts, A Little Food Porn and a Splat!)

Just got back from a great week on Jewel Of The Seas. We traveled with some friends (another married couple) on the March 12 Southern Caribbean sailing out of San Juan. We hit St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Barbados. All new islands for us (except for St. Kitts).

Not going to a full on review or tons of pics (just a little food porn here and there!), but give you some of the highlights, observations and opinions and I'm happy to answer any questions.

We stayed a couple nights before the cruise at the LaConcha on the beach in Condado. Beautiful property and a great place to start off a cruise. We did dinner at El Picotero in the Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan one night. Highly recommended! Wonderful tapas, wines and desserts. Friendly service and a gorgeous courtyard setting.

Got to pier at 10:45am on Sunday the 12th, checked in and on board by 11:15 ! Instead of Windjammer, we went up to the Solarium and grabbed a table. Got some snacks and bar drinks and played cards until we found out the cabins were ready. No announcement was made; we just asked someone and they said "yes, the cabins are ready now". It was about 1:30.

We were on Deck 10 in aft facing cabins; 1102 (us) and 1604 (our friends). The numbering is a little odd .. these 2 cabins are almost next to each other; one cabin in between.

LOVED the aft facing cabin .. not that bad of a walk to the center elevators/centrum, i felt no vibration at all .. even when the ship was positioning into docks .. BUT .. if i were to do it again, i'd never do Deck 10. Right above us was the outdoor sitting area of the Windjammer ... and its LOUD when that place is open! All u hear are the groans of the chairs being dragged across the bare floor up there when the WJ is open. And ... with the curvature of the stern of the ship ... lets just say ... Deck 10 balconies are prone to getting little surprises dropped down from clumsy people (or pranksters!) right above up in the WJ. Here was our little "gift" one day from above ... thats a half eaten ice cream cone and a cupcake that went SPLAT on our balcony ! ... We laughed .. but be aware .. it can happen!

Only things I noticed were that since the balcony floors are painted yellow, they look kinda dirty and ratty. Other ships have the balcony floors painted a darker blue, no? Definitely would hide the soot and stains better. (see above).

That balcony, though ... OMG.. HUGE! 2 chairs, a table and 2 loungers! We may have been spoiled now.

Great cabin, though. And our cabin steward Elizar took great care of us. Always a big smile greeting us, always insisted on letting us into our cabin when he saw us coming .. and we got towel animals each night! He got a very nice review on our survey.

I noticed very little wear and tear at all on this ship. Brand new carpeting throughout, beautiful centrum, shops and MDR.

Loved the Solarium Pool and the Cafe in there. Great alternative to lunch in the Windjammer if you didnt feel like leaving the pool area .. though the cafe seemed to have erratic hours since we had so many port days on this cruise (just one sea day).Bar service was fine. Most pax seem to have the beverage package now, so the bartenders dont really hustle. They just kinda go through the motions. But there are so many bars all over this ship, you never wait for long. Drinks were decent. They aren't allowed to make doubles (without an extra charge over the $14 max allowed by the drink package), but a little wink and a slip of a little extra $ got us some nice strong drinks anyway!

We did MDR for 3 nights total. One thing I notice is that RC has not changed the menu very much in the past several years. I still see a lot of the same dishes I saw a few years ago being served (the eggplant tart, the fish rillette app, the same carrot cake, and Chocolate Sensation desserts, same horseradish salmon, etc). Still ... no complaints about the quality or portion size. A couple of times, we asked for multiples and our waiters were happy to oblige. I was happy to see that they are not stingy with the bread any longer. Used to be that you just pointed to the roll you wanted and the assist. waiter served you, but now they leave a bread basket on the table. Also noticed improvement in ordering drinks (soda, wine, cocktails) at the table in the MDR. Much quicker service now. They must have changed a procedure somewhere and its working! One night I splurged and got the Surf & Turf (extra charge) option off the MDR menu .. it was amazing!

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Hans Rade is the Head Waiter and he is a hoot! He works hard, loves his job, runs around telling jokes and entertaining all the guests. I never saw a MDR Head Waiter so visible and ready to be of service. He's even written a book about his years at sea and one day hosted the champagne brunch and galley tour. It was $28 but i highly recommend it. Amazing to see just how they pull it all together behind the scenes; the bakery, the hot and cold lines, etc. Just amazing .. and spotlessly clean too.

Our only bad experience on board was Chops. I was never a fan of Chops from past cruises (slow service, the price, the lame side dishes) .. but I was outvoted and off we went to Chops one night. Our waitress was sweet but SO slow. I think she was new, but everything took forever. She rarely checked back to see if we needed refills, etc ... we had to flag her down a couple of times, just like past experiences in Chops on other ships. The other 3 in our group ordered filets or fish, but i got the 16 oz New York Strip .. ordered it medium. We waited. And waited. And waited. Food finally came and my steak was rare ... and i mean cold and red in the middle. I really didnt want to send it back because of how long things had already taken up to that point (by now, we're in there for well over 2 hours, having only had appetizers and salad!). No server in sight to send it back with anyway, so i tried eating it but i couldnt ... it was just too rare for me. The host finally stopped by and asked how happy we were and we told him overall we weren't.

The long wait, the mis-cooked steak, etc. He offered to re-fire the steak, but by now, we're just done being in there. He was very apologetic, as was our server when she finally got back from wherever she went off to. Lesson learned. No more Chops for me. Just not worth it. Oh .. and remember those HUGE shrimps they used to serve in the Chops Shrimp Cocktail? They gone! Now, all you get are 3 average sized shrimp in a martini glass. Meh. The sides were gluey garlic mashed potatoes, a few spears of asparagus and some wilted underseasoned spinach. Desserts? Heck no .. we just wanted outta there by this point. Its one thing to sit for a long meal when you're enjoying yourselves, but when its a result of sloppy service and mistakes, thats a different story.

To be fair though, the next day, we found out that our entire meal (all four of us!) had been refunded. That was a very welcome and classy way to handle a not-so-happy table of customers.

Windjammer on this ship was terrific. Love that outdoor seating area (except when we're under it!), but the selection, cleanliness and quality was very good. Seemed to be more variety in morning breakfast pastries, pans were always topped up full and staff keepingthe tables cleared and available. Never had to search for a spot to sit. The Indian offerings in WJ are always great and on this ship, particularly so. I love that they do that. Only thing we all noticed was a bleachy taste on the salad greens. Is that something new they're treating th lettuce with?

Chefs Table was the next night ($68) extra fee, which is steep, but wow were we impressed! Its held in a special "secret" dining room behind Giovanni's. Its a 6 or 7 course meal with wine pairings and a spectacular dessert .. complete with a Tiramisu Martini at the end to finish everything off. What a marvelous meal this was ... each course was a masterpiece. The chef and hosts (Oleksandar from Ukraine and Avi from Mauritius) explained each course, each wine and were a delight. Some of the highlights were Spring Pea Soup w/sizzled prosciutto, butter poached lobster tail, beef ragu stuffed ravioli, beef tenderloin w/ a rich wine sauce .. and this wild chocolate feast at the end. Cakes, tortes, mousses. Incredible ! Overall it was stretched out over about 3 hours, which is long, but that was OK because the service, the company, the food & wines and the setting were so great.

We did Giovanni's on our final night at sea and had a great meal there. I'd definitely do it again. The fresh homemade pastas were absolutely delicious. One of our party ordered the Osso Buco and loved it. Very impressed by Giovannis and the service by our friendly server Joanna.

One random observation I had was the noticeable lack of announcements on board. I kind of miss them! We heard only once or twice a day from the bridge. Our Captain (Dustin? from Canada) gave us detailed info each time, but i always enjoyed the Cruise Director announements on past cruises. Cruise Director was a young Italian chick named Ramona (i think) .. who kinda overdid it .. was like Jersey Shore/Jerseylicious, but from Italy. To me, a CD doesnt make or break a trip, so i barely noticed her, but i got a laugh at how over the top almost drag queen she makes herself up as!

On St. Thomas, we got in a rickety scary open air "cab" thing that took us over to Sapphire Beach. Gorgeous place .. we rented lounge chairs ($10), got bar drinks, and a great burger lunch there on the beach. It looks directly across at St. John, where we saw a Holland America ship at anchor. We got a nice air conditioned SUV cab ride back to the ship.

On Antigua, we did a RC excursion. The Catamaran and Lobster Lunch cruise ($129) and highly recommend it. The catamaran holds about 30 people. About 6 hours long, we cruised along the beaches, pulled directly up onto two of the beaches for us all to get off for a swim. They cooked and served us an incredible grilled lobster lunch with sides, salads, etc. Open bar and very generous pours by the bartender! They even walked around with trays of rum punches and juices for us while we were on the beach! Great hard working bunch of guys on this boat. Highly recommend. Our friends split off and did a day at the Hawksbill Bay Beach resort and werent impressed at all. $175 got them a room at a rundown dated old resort thats apparently long past its heyday. Flies everywhere and kinda dirty. They were not impressed.

St. Kitts was next and we had been there before. I was starting to feel crappy from a cold, so after having been accosted by the monkey men at the entrance gate (and throughout the shopping area there), we just went back and enjoyed a nice quiet ship.

St. Lucia came next and again, I was feeling lousy, plus no one else felt like doing much off the ship other than a little shopping. What a nice little port village there (and a restaurant called the Pink Papaya .. which next time I wanna have a drink at!). We dock in the pretty town of Castries and I am sorry we didnt do a little touring, but Im sure we'll be back again. The highlight of St. Lucia though, is the departure. Once leaving Castries, we sailed south along the west coast of the island. The Captain announced that as we approached the Pitons just about at sunset, he was going to slow the ship and do a 360 degree turn in front of the Pitons for us to take pics. What a spectacular thing that was to see .. right off our balcony. Loved it.

That's me!

Barbados was next. And we were in port with another interesting (and creepy) little vessel; the Freewinds; aka the Church Of Scientology ship, where they hold their "seminars" (brainwashings) at sea. Weird to see in person. And as we disembarked Jewel and walked along the pier past Freewinds, we noticed that almost every window was covered or shades drawn .. as in .. "don't be lookin in here". Just super weird and creepy.

That's the Scientology boat on the left; Jewel on the right.

Morning aerobics on the Scientology boat ... took that pic from our balcony ...

We booked a private excursion on the Calabaza II. This was probably the highlight of the entire trip for us ($110 per). A quick transfer from the pier to the catamaran and we were being served freshly baked banana bread, coffee and juices as we stepped on board by the friendly crew of 3 guys. As we pulled out, they passed around breakfast sandwiches, took orders for drinks as the captain narrated the points of interest. They passed around fish cakes, cheeses, bruschetta, hummus and olive platters. This was all BEFORE lunch! Open bar again, excellent rum punch with a traditional Barbadian garnish of grated nutmeg over the top! Lunch was served and was a nice buffet of BBQ chicken, fish, couscous, salads and scalloped breadfruit. More drinks, desserts ... and swimming over reefs and with the turtles. This was a spectacular day.

Last day was the sea day and that was the only day we felt the full pax load on the ship since everyone was on board and not off exploring an island. Even still, we got chairs in the Solarium and had no crowding at the bars or in the Windjammer even.

Didn't do any of the entertainment this time. The rest of our group went to the casino and did very well in there (hint: the Pink Panther slot machine!). I was more into going back to my huge balcony at night and reading my Kindle after dinner! Besides, how many times can you sit through Love & Marriage. Corny. And cute the elderly couple always wins! Snore.

Overall, we loved the cruise and the Jewel. Its a perfect sized ship. I have zero interest in the Oasis class. My preference is Freedom Class and smaller and this one was just great.

Overall a very happy, friendly and hard working crew (except for one gruff, mean big Eastern European dude who works in Cafe Lattetudes, who just snarls and snaps at everyone) and a gorgeous ship. I'd do the Jewel and this same itinerary again any day!

Hope you enjoyed my little review!

(Oh ..and is there another photo sharing site we can use? Photo bucket SUCKS!)

Cruise Director was a young Italian chick named Ramona (i think) .. who kinda overdid it .. was like Jersey Shore/Jerseylicious, but from Italy. To me, a CD doesnt make or break a trip, so i barely noticed her, but i got a laugh at how over the top almost drag queen she makes herself up as!

Besides, how many times can you sit through Love & Marriage. Corny. And cute the elderly couple always wins! Snore.

Haha. Great review. I enjoyed it.

We had that creepy Scientology ship next to us in Aruba a few weeks ago. Read the Wikipedia page sometime about that ship. What a freak show.

Loved your review Tony! You were very astute in remembering all names and pointed out things I failed to notice. It was a pleasure cruising with you both....any interest in the Baltic 2018??

nice review - we take the same cruise 4/9. Couple questions for you.

1) Any talk on the ship of the new room service menu issue? It is supposed to go into effect on the jewel for our cruise.

2) did you do any fitness classes or spin? if so, thoughts? good, bad or indifferent

3) what late night (after WJ closed) food options were there, what were the hours, and how was the food.

thanks,

mixplix

Thanks for the review.

Looks great.

1 week till we arrive in San Juan :D

Haha. Great review. I enjoyed it.

 

We had that creepy Scientology ship next to us in Aruba a few weeks ago. Read the Wikipedia page sometime about that ship. What a freak show.

Glad you enjoyed !

Yea I had read about that ship on Wiki a while back after having seen it on the Aruba webcam ... so imagine my surprise that morning when I walked out and saw that we were backing right up to it .. very weird to see.

Mixplix:

Re: the room service charge ... we only ordered coffee and some pastries in the AM so no charge there .. but I heard nothing from anyone of the impending new charges.

Our friends ordered room service sandwiches one evening and were pleased with it.

Didn't do any of the fitness stuff while on board, so can't help u there!

And re: late night options were pretty much just the Café Lattetude (coffee, pastries) and I think I remember seeing the Solarium Café open late one night too.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

F27TW...Thanks for taking us along on your Cruise.

Great review, thank you. Calabaza is absolutely the best shore excursion we have ever done.

Laurie

Thanks for the review. This is timely for us as we have a TA coming on Jewel.:)

Great review, thank you. Calabaza is absolutely the best shore excursion we have ever done.

Laurie

Laurie, I could easily spend a couple of days on that boat! Loved it. (And if that handsome crew was on there too ... well .. that's OK ! ;) )

Thank you so much. Boarding in a few hours.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise,

Happy to hear Jewel is in a great shape.

Thank you so much. Boarding in a few hours.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise,

Happy to hear Jewel is in a great shape.

Enjoy, Dani !!

Bon Voyage ... I'm jealous! ;)

Great review... We have cabin 1102 on a TA in 29 days. When did noise start in WJ? Is this all day?

Great review... We have cabin 1102 on a TA in 29 days. When did noise start in WJ? Is this all day?

Wow same cabin?! Very cool!

And I'm sorry to tell you that the dragging chair noise from above is every minute of every day while the Windjammer is open. That's the only drawback to this cabin area ...its noticeable from above ... from 6:30am till it closes. Nothing that will ruin your cruise though!

Have a great trip ...youre gonna LOOOOVE that balcony !

What a great review!!!! Looking forward to my first cruise and reading this review, as well as previous ones you've written, really gives a great description and info on what to expect. Thanks for submitting this and all the beautiful pics! You'd make a hell of a travel agent! ;)

Hi! Great review F27.

Chops is a regular thing for us but reading your review may make us think twice. I was glad to read they still offer the premium items in the MDR. We've enjoyed those offerings on past cruises.

I've caught cold on one of our cruises. On all of our subsequent cruises I've been sure to pack my zinc and C supplements and take them religiously while onboard, as well as never touching a stair rail (always hands in pockets while up and down stairs), and diligently using hand sanitizer.

Glad you enjoyed yourself. :)

Thanks for the thoughts.