Jewel 6nt western Just Got Back

Had a great trip! Service was excellent. Food was very good. Ports were just ok for us. I would be happy to answer any questions as I know this is a new itinerary for the Jewel and the 6night is not the usual length.

We ate a Chops on the third night and our tablemates from the dining room said we made the right move. It was the only time they were unhappy with their food.

Some of the ships Shore excursions were cancelled in many ports due to the high winds.

Cruise director Karen Mayberry (sp) was not great IMO.

We had 1 formal night and 1 smart casual night. Our tablemates did not dress up at all!

Overall we had a great time, loved our cabin (aft), and could only complain about a couple of things (lack of announcements at ports as to excursion cancellations and debarkation times.)

I will check back in case you have questions.

Hi! And welcome back to reality! How was the entertainment onboard? Did you go to many shows? Did you climb the rock wall? Did you go to the disco? What did you do in Costa Maya? How were the martinis? Was the food hot? Which excursions had you booked that were cancelled? Did you fly home, and if so, what time did you get to the airport? What time was the emergency drill?

we are going on the jewel six night caribbean feb. 20 2005. Did you stop at Grand Cayman? We have been to Cozumel and twice before and would like to visit the mayan ruins and go to the beach. Would this be possible?

Thanks for posting. Do you know what the menu was in the dining room the night you went to Chops? Trying to decide which night to go. I'm also interested in your flight info if you had one.

We were on this same trip. Overall, it was a great cruise. We ate in the main dining room twice, chops twice and portofino's twice. All excellent choices. The windjammer, however, was the worst we have had on any of our cruises. Every time, there were dirty tables everywhere, not enough staff and the food was never hot, and often cold. We usually eat breakfast and lunch there and look foreward to the omlets made to order. The last 2 days, we had cereal and cold english muffins.

We don't do the shows, so don't have much to offer there. The schooner bartenders Jamie and Femke were terrific!

I can't say enough about Chops and Portofino's. I think on our next cruise, we will dine there every night. Hot, freshly prepared, awesome service......incredible.

We had very high winds the first 4 days and this ship showed it. The movement was pretty extreme side to side rather than the usual up and down, but I think it was unusual. The ship is still new and quite beautiful.

Trixiee: We saw the "Broadway" production, not great, Magician didnt get the best review, Farewell night, very good, and everyone said the Knudson Brothers were good as well as the First night show, sorry no details on those. We did not clib the rock wall, went to the Disco which we enjoyed, heard it really got going later at night. In Costa Maya we had an snorkel excursion booked but it was cancelled, so we sat on the beach right at the port. Many of the water oriented excursions, kayak, jungle beach break, were cancelled. We flew home on Sunday, the day after. We were off the ship by 10am, the line for the taxi was pretty busy, so we waited for the free shuttle from our hotel which took about 25 minutes. The drill was at 4:30 on the first day.

Kdowneymd: We did stop at Grand Caymen. Had never been before and did not realize that it takes so long to get over by tender. We did not get on the island untill 1:30. In Cozumel, we went to Chakanaab (sp) Park and liked it very much, we took a cab.

goodml: The night we went to Chops the d.r. menu was caribbean. Jerk Chicken, Veal parm, rigatoni with italian sausage, not sure what else, the apps didnt even look interesting. The dinner menu for the Dining Room was posted daily by the Windjammer. They started calling deparkation tags around 8:45. We were in the bottom third and were called by 9:45am.

I realize my last message left out that I was wondering if in Costa Maya we could visit the ruins and the beach? You also mentioned that few dressed up for formal night. Is it worth my husband bringing his tux or just a nice suit or even just blazer an nice pants?

I agree with Erie Dave on the Windjammer service. There was none. Other cruises I have been on they refill your coffee mug and offer to get you drinks. Not once this time. The only juice they served for breakfast was orange and grapefruit. I'm not a citrus fan. I thought the food was decent overall but we know what we like from previous cruises and we avoid stuff we've had before that we dont like. They had 2 buffets by the pool for lunch but we didnt know till after we ate, and it didnt look that great.

Kdowneymd: I can only speak from this experience. Some men wore tuxedos but, people in general were not as dressed up. On formal night I wore a long dress and my husband wore a suit, the other two men at our table did not even wear ties!! So I would say a suit is just fine. On smart casual night we dressed up and our tablemates said "OHH Your Sooo Dressed Upp! We felt good, cause we looked nice. They looked like they were dressed casual to me. As far as Costa Maya, I was under the impression that the ruins tours were fairly long, but I don't have any experience with this.

Thanks for your info robinhoods,

I will be sailing the Jewel in just under 3 weeks (I will be flying down the day before). What time did you get to Port Everglades and how long did it take you to board the ship?

Thanks again

hello! we're also back from the jewel 6 night western - i disagree with those who wrote negative comments about the windjammer. it was wonderful! we were often approached about refills on our drinks and they cleared our dirty plates almost as soon as we finished. maybe these people went at a different time - we always went early for breakfast and lunch. I agree about karen maybury as cd - she was at best mediocre. becky "bingo" (asst cd) was far more personable, friendly and mingled more with the guests. the shows were "OK". the knudson brothers were awesome, and the scottish guy J. J. Downs on farewell night was good - other nights just ok. food was great, but we are not picky. service wonderful. we absolutely had NO complaints. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

For those who have been on the ship. Did you have any issues getting off the ship to visit the islands? I've read previous links that have said it too 2-3 hours getting off the ship in Cozumel and Grand Cayman? How was it for you??

2cool4land: We got to the port around 10:30am and were on board the ship by 11:30 at the latest, cant remember exactly what time. We were in the first 20 or so to board. Couldn't go to our stateroom until 1:00, it was closed off.

Grimace 98: In Grand Cayman, we had tender tickets #15 and we reached the shore a little before 1:30. We should have been more assertive about getting tickets but by then we were tired of fighting the crowds to get to shore so weren't very aggressive. In Costa Maya, we had an 8am excursion through the ship which instructed to by there 15 minutes prior but we waited in a big crowd and did not get off till around 8:20 to 8:30. We got all the way to the end of the pier and were told it was cancelled. We felt they could have announced this earlier before we even left the ship.

7nucruzers: I am comparing the service in the Windjammer to previous cruises with RCI and the Windjammer is the ONLY place we experienced a lack of service. Everywhere else was excellent.

Got two questions (I'm going in 3 weeks!!!!) - Water - I drink about 80 oz of water a day, will I have a problem getting bottled water on the ship? I really don't want to drink tap.

Did any of you have an inside cabin? I wanted to know if I should try to upgrade to a balcony.

We had a balcony. Our first cruise was an inside and it was fine, but we would not book one again because we just love the balcony, the fresh air, the light, gotta have the sunlight. Just our preference. Water was for sale but we did not buy any.

I was also on the November 14 sailing of the Jewel and have several comments. First off, I was disappointed with our cabin, #7632. It was over the Schooner Lounge and we could hear the entertainer down there (Steve Heist) every evening until he finished at 12:30 a.m. Now, I am talking full-blown LOUD music for his entire show. I am not a complainer by nature, but I complained to guest services twice during the cruise. Their suggestion was to give me ear plugs. I was not pleased.:mad: I heard from others on our floor who had the same complaint, one gentleman had his 18-month baby with him and he & his wife had a terrible time getting her to sleep with all the noise.

I do agree that the ship is beautiful, especially the solarium. I found the food the be the best of my last several cruises and I thoroughly enjoyed the Windjammer. We never had a service problem in any of the dining venues.

Entertainment was spotty. The Knudsen Brothers were FANTASTIC and not to be missed! I would highly recommend them to anyone. They are a group of 6 brothers who sing acapella. Their show was upbeat and they sang a variety of songs from the '50's to today's popular music. The production shows were disappointing, especially West End to Broadway when they did the rap version of "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music, I shudder at the memory.

Overall, I found the Jewel a mixed bag. Beautiful layout, good service and food, but spotty entertainment, a lot of movement of the ship (I have been in rougher seas and have not felt this much movement before) and disappointing cabin.

Smic

Smic, that is such a coincidence, we had 7632 on our cruise on the Serenade, and the music was LOUD. We couldnt believe it. We booked a guarantee so we were stuck with it. We were sure not to book near there again. A lesson learned. P.S. The "Sound of Music" was terrible. I dare not say more 'cause people always chime in if you give a negative opinion. In reality you have to take the positive with the negative.

Robinhoods, it is good information to know that this is a problem with that particular row of cabins on other RCCL ships, not just the Jewel. I had noted that we were above a lounge when we received our booking assignment, but didn't think too much about it as our last cruise, on the Caribbean Princess, we were directly below their 24-hour buffet, but never heard a thing, apart from the occasional dropping of silverware on deck.

This was my first time back with Royal Caribbean in 10 years. I would probably sail Royal Caribbean again, but I would be more diligent in researching my cabin placement.

Smic

I would have never imagined that on these new ships that the sound would be so loud. To be honest we were laughing every night cause we felt like the guy was in our room and since we booked the guarantee for the cheap price, we got what we paid for. In your case, I am sorry that it took away from your vacation. I would have been more upset but it was a short cruise for us and we did not have to put up with it for a whole week.

It was disappointing that we booked a balcony cabin and almost felt that we were forced to stay out of it until after 12:45 a.m. Several nights we were out until after that time so it wasn't an issue, but I didn't appreciate feeling like a "prisoner" to that particular entertainer's schedule. There was one evening when another entertainer was in the Schooner's Lounge until 12:30 a.m. and we didn't hear anything. We really liked him! :D Again though, as with any ship there were some good things and some bad things. I still had a great time and was overjoyed that we got to go to Grand Cayman (I love that place!). The Hard Rock Cafe is still closed due to Hurricane Ivan, but I can heartily recommend Breezes for drinks and appetizers. Their cosmos are fabulous and they have some sort of garlic dip for their spicy fries that was out of this world! :D

Smic

Thank you all for posting your reviews (Smic, thank you especially for the GC cosmo recommendation!). We are sailing on the Jewel in February and can't wait. Given the spotty entertainment, did any of you find a great lounge or bar to pass the time in? Were there other areas to dance besides the Disco? Thanks!

There were people dancing in both the Safari Club and in the Schooner Bar area. We like the Safari Club because it has comfy chairs and it is more spread out. The Schoner Bar area was always busy during the entertainment but seemed more smokey to us. Oh, people also danced in the Centrum area as there was daily entertainment there also.