Jewel transatlantic sept 2 review

[luvscruising2007]

Well this 12 night cruise was fantastic, even with 5 sea days. It was our
first TA and as usual not really ready to disembark.

Embarkation
We had booked air and pre-cruise hotel with RC and everything went very
smoothly. Our transfer was at the hotel and we were on our way to Harwich
in no time. We arrived at Port around 12:30. Check in was very quick and we were in the WJ before 1:00 eating our first lunch.

Food
I believe the food aboard Jewel was better than some of our other cruises.
I am not sure why, but everything seemed to taste better. The honey stung
chicken was the best I have had in 5 cruises. The menus were basically the same although they seemed influenced by the previous Baltic cruise.
The meat dished seem to be the best but no one at our table had any
complaints.

Shows
We had terrific shows, all very professional. We had seen a couple of the
production shows, and those on Jewel seemed better. More fluid, better
talent, fantastic costumes. There was one show that was just okay, but
it was interesting entertainment. There was no show on Day 2, so 1 bad out of 11 is a pretty good rating.
CD Joff Eaton and his Activities Director Steve Davis were a dynamic duo.
They seemed to really enjoy their job and worked very well together.

Ports
At leHavre we opted for the Normandy Beach tour and it was worth it.
The Normandy cemetery is a very emotional experience. We also went to
Omaha beach, pont de hoc and Caen Peace memorial. Lunch was included.
All in all a great day.
Cherbourg We went to Balleroy Castle. It is a very old casdtle and has
been refurbished. There is a small hot air balloon museum founded by
Malcolm Forbes. Very interesting. As we were finished with the tours, early, our guide Nicole took us to ST mere elis. That is one of the towns
featured in the movie the Longest Day. The church where one of the paratroopers landed and dangled from the steeple for several hours was
interesting.
Cobh/Cork We chose to go to Blarney Castle and yes we both kissed the
Blarney Stone. A truely once in a lifetime experience.
Belfast We went to GraysAbbey. It is an old monastery and the ruins of the church are still there. Our tour guide was very dilligent andcontinued to give us information in the pouring rain.
Iceland We atook the Golden Circle tour. We saw a waterfall and a geyser that erupts much like Old Faithful but more often, every 2 or 3 minutes. Iceland is full of volcanic formations and our tour guide was very informative. What a beautiful country.


Seadays
We enjoyed the sea days, very relaxing. I over heard one lady complain that there were not enough activities, but I am not sure what she
was looking for. You could do something every minute of the day or you could do nothing. We picked and chose and were very satisfied.

Service Wonderful as always. We had a small problem with the toilet flushing and it was fixed within an hour. No complaints.

Disembarkation Our one major issue. Apparently customs was supposed to sent 12 agents for our Immigration process. They only sent 3 agents. It was chaos. RC had an organized plan that would have worked had all pieces fallen into place. Self assist and early flight folks were to go thru Immigration first. Well, with the delays everyone started going ahead of their scheduled time. RC stopped making the scheduled announcements so no one really knew what was going on. Not the best way to end a great cruise, but we got off the ship and at the airport in time to get an earlier flight.

Observations
Compass was the same as always.
Free drinks at the Captain's party and the welcome back party.
No C&A gift, no chocolates.
No pool towels, but weather was not exactly pool weather.
I think I have rambled on long enough. It was a wonderful trip and I am ready for another now. Unfortuneatly it will be sometime before we can take an RC cruise again. We are now platinum, so that is a good thing.
Jane

[Janice M]

Originally Posted by luvscruising2007

Well this 12 night cruise was fantastic, even with 5 sea days. It was our
first TA and as usual not really ready to disembark.

Embarkation
We had booked air and pre-cruise hotel with RC and everything went very
smoothly. Our transfer was at the hotel and we were on our way to Harwich
in no time. We arrived at Port around 12:30. Check in was very quick and we were in the WJ before 1:00 eating our first lunch.

Food
I believe the food aboard Jewel was better than some of our other cruises.
I am not sure why, but everything seemed to taste better. The honey stung
chicken was the best I have had in 5 cruises. The menus were basically the same although they seemed influenced by the previous Baltic cruise.
The meat dished seem to be the best but no one at our table had any
complaints.

Shows
We had terrific shows, all very professional. We had seen a couple of the
production shows, and those on Jewel seemed better. More fluid, better
talent, fantastic costumes. There was one show that was just okay, but
it was interesting entertainment. There was no show on Day 2, so 1 bad out of 11 is a pretty good rating.
CD Joff Eaton and his Activities Director Steve Davis were a dynamic duo.
They seemed to really enjoy their job and worked very well together.

Ports
At leHavre we opted for the Normandy Beach tour and it was worth it.
The Normandy cemetery is a very emotional experience. We also went to
Omaha beach, pont de hoc and Caen Peace memorial. Lunch was included.
All in all a great day.
Cherbourg We went to Balleroy Castle. It is a very old casdtle and has
been refurbished. There is a small hot air balloon museum founded by
Malcolm Forbes. Very interesting. As we were finished with the tours, early, our guide Nicole took us to ST mere elis. That is one of the towns
featured in the movie the Longest Day. The church where one of the paratroopers landed and dangled from the steeple for several hours was
interesting.
Cobh/Cork We chose to go to Blarney Castle and yes we both kissed the
Blarney Stone. A truely once in a lifetime experience.
Belfast We went to GraysAbbey. It is an old monastery and the ruins of the church are still there. Our tour guide was very dilligent andcontinued to give us information in the pouring rain.
Iceland We atook the Golden Circle tour. We saw a waterfall and a geyser that erupts much like Old Faithful but more often, every 2 or 3 minutes. Iceland is full of volcanic formations and our tour guide was very informative. What a beautiful country.


Seadays
We enjoyed the sea days, very relaxing. I over heard one lady complain that there were not enough activities, but I am not sure what she
was looking for. You could do something every minute of the day or you could do nothing. We picked and chose and were very satisfied.

Service Wonderful as always. We had a small problem with the toilet flushing and it was fixed within an hour. No complaints.

Disembarkation Our one major issue. Apparently customs was supposed to sent 12 agents for our Immigration process. They only sent 3 agents. It was chaos. RC had an organized plan that would have worked had all pieces fallen into place. Self assist and early flight folks were to go thru Immigration first. Well, with the delays everyone started going ahead of their scheduled time. RC stopped making the scheduled announcements so no one really knew what was going on. Not the best way to end a great cruise, but we got off the ship and at the airport in time to get an earlier flight.

Observations
Compass was the same as always.
Free drinks at the Captain's party and the welcome back party.
No C&A gift, no chocolates.
No pool towels, but weather was not exactly pool weather.
I think I have rambled on long enough. It was a wonderful trip and I am ready for another now. Unfortuneatly it will be sometime before we can take an RC cruise again. We are now platinum, so that is a good thing.
Jane

We were on this crossing with you and it was great. All of what you said was true, but I must jump in here and say one of the best shows we ever saw was " Tango Buenos Aires". This is a show not to be missed. And the cruise director Joff was the best we ever had. The 12 days passed very quickly for us.

Jan

[yogimax]

Thanks for your review... love that honey stung chicken!

[caribbeanboy]

I was planning to take this TA on the Jewel this year, but at the last moment I thought I was not going to make it b/c of guests coming from abroad. In the end it would have worked perfectly well for me. Hence I took a 7 night on the Mariner. But I'm seriously considering this cruise for next year September on the Jewel.

[negc]

Shared this great cruise with you and have to second all of your comments. One correction, though, beach towels were available in the Solarium though not in your cabin. Only used the pool and hot tub on one day of the cruise but had no problems finding lounge chairs or towels.
Joff and Steve certainly made a pair and their morning TV show was a must see. Agree with you about the wide variety of activities and thought that most were very well attended. Didn't think that some of the special lecturers ? and their subjects (knot tying, online dating) were especially thrilling or relevant to their audiences but I'm sure that some found the topics interesting.
Our documents are in and we'll be back on Jewel in several weeks. We are anxiously counting down the days.

[luvscruising2007]

I want to add something to my tour comments.
We had some of the best tour guides we have ever had. They were very well informed and loved to share their information. They also showed a great love of their countries.
We did not go to the solarium. And Negc you are correct, the towels were not available in our cabin. I should have clarified that.
I am sorry we missed the meet and mingle. I think I fell asleep..Am I correct that they changed the date?
Carribeanboy, I am sorry you missed this TA, but next year's has 2 additional ports and 2 more days. You will enjoy it. Jewel is a great ship. After talking with some of the crew, they seem to love it and enjoy working with Capt James. Hopefully, Joff and Steve will still be aboard. Negc is correct their morning show was a don't miss. Steve in the bubble bath with his rubber ducky was too funny for words.