Live from the Jewel 12/12 sailing

Priority boarding was great, but be aware, even tho you get onboard at 11AM, you cant get to your stateroom until 1PM. You will be able to check your carryons at an area designated by the ship.

Windjammer was OK, but it got very crowded and seats were hard to come by, as the afternoon wore on. Food was fairly good. You could miss the Welcome aboard show, as the magician and comedian were just barely passable. Dinner was very good, and service was great. we have late seating, and our waiter Oliver and Assistant Waitserver, Iris are very nice. The BW and I had watermelon soup, tomato soup, spinach salad, shared shrimp ravioli w/lobster sauce was great, as was the roasted rare rib steak which we both had. Dessert was OK.

Casino is small, and tight. Odds are way in house favor, and the slots are very tight. Some of the dealers and pit bosses are very rude, and there are some that are very nice that make up for them.

I was slightly disappointed with Guest relations, as they were not very helpful. We are in an inside cabin on deck 4, which is right next to the centrum, and when they had a singer and trio Sunday afternoon, we could hear it in our cabin. We asked for a change, and they said they thought they were full. It seems they are not, but anyway, they offered us an upgrade to an outside front on the same deck for $300 additional. There are a lot more empty cabins which we found from talking with other staff, but it seems they were only interested in making the additional buck. We would have been happy with another inside on the same deck, but they never came back to us. Very disappointing.

I think the staff does not seem to be as helpful, as we found in the past.

we had breakfast in the dining room before departing for Key West. Service was slow, but we finally got everything we ordered. Don't get scrambled eggs, as they probably have been sitting in a warmer for an hour. Everything else, including the other eggs was very good.

Recommendation for Key West, rent an electic car, and you can see the entire Island in about 2 hours. You can do the beaches, and then go to Bo's for conch fritters as seen on travel tv. It's on Carolina, about 4 blocks from Duval. They were great. They also have a bbq onboard Monday afternoon, so do that instead of the windjammer if you get on early.

Monday night is first formal night, and there is a second on Thusday. Fillet Mignon tonight. More later or tomorrow.

BTW, the weather was great today, and there is almost no motion as we sail.

Happy Sailing!!!!

Mel

Look forward to your next post

Thanks for posting! Just one question... what does the exercise room look like? Are there lots of treadmils?

Countdown has begun!

Leaving on the Jewel 12/26/04. Which night is Italian night in the Dining Room? That's the night we want to make reservations at Chops Grille for a party of 12.

Have a great time!!!

Steve

mberli...how did you get priority boarding? Platinum..Diamond?

Emmy

Platinum Level & up receives Priority Check-In. Whoo-hoo!!!

Have fun!

Captain's party is a waste of time. It might be OK for 1st time cruisers, as you get to see the people that run the ship, but it's boring. The only reason that made it worthwhile was the free booze. This is no longer the case, as all they give is some cheap sour 'champagne' and non-alcoholic punch. They will not get you a different drink, even if you order it. The canapes offered were not very appetizing.

Went back to the casino, which still has very tight slots, and I gave back a bit of what I had won earlier. My opinion of the casino staff remains the same, some still very rude, as if they are doing you a favor by taking your money, and some who seem to enjoy their work and interact very well with the guests.

Formal night dinner was very good. Don't waste your money on Chop's or Portofino's. Starters included escargot (snails) in garlic butter, shrimp cocktail, and lobster bisque. The BW had 1 of each, and I had double shrimp cocktail, and double escargot. I guess by now you know that you can order as much as you like, but usually, you should order only one of what you want to try, as you might not like it. The BW had the roast duck as her entree, and I had the beef tenderloin medium rare. Both were excellent. By now, your servers know what you like, and anticipate your wishes, like we both want iced tea with lemon at dinner, so Iris has it ready for us, and keeps refilling as necessary. Dessert was also very good. We didn't choose the cherries jubilee, which is the recommended choice. We both had the Grand Marnier souffle, which was great. Could not ask for a much better meal or service. We had our coffee, and headed out for the show, which began at 10:45. The BW got sidetracked by the string group playing in the Centrum, who were very good. I went ahead to secure seats for the show. It was needless, as there were very few people there. Too bad for them, as the entertainer, singer comic Hal Fraser (sic), was pretty enjoyable, tho he seemed to appeal to a more mature crowd. He played on the audience as a 2nd seating crowd, which they were, and that the theater was fairly empty.

After the show, we went up to the Vortex lounge on 13 for the 70's night, and that was really jumping. Lively young crowd and a great DJ. Then the RC singers and dancers came out and did a set of ABBA songs, Momma Mia, etc. Pretty good. There's a great revolving bar in this lounge.

Then we headed back to the nite club for the late nite comedian, who was the welcome aboard comedian. He was worse at this show, and we and most of the audience walked out. We went back to the casino for some more punishment, but this time, I managed to recoup some of my earlier losses.

Finally back to the cabin for some rest, and we set the clocks back 1 hour to prepare for the new time zone. We got an extra hour sleep, which we have to give back Wednesday night.

That's it for this post. We're looking forward to Cozumel. More to come, stay tuned.

Mel

"Leaving on the Jewel 12/26/04. Which night is Italian night in the Dining Room? That's the night we want to make reservations at Chops Grille for a party of 12."

Don't know yet, tonite is Mexican night with a poolside midnight buffet, which will include a whole roast piglet.

"Thanks for posting! Just one question... what does the exercise room look like? Are there lots of treadmils? "

Great gym, loads of equipment, nice outside track also. Mini-golf, shuffleboard, basketball, stabilizing pool tables and much more. Kids program seems pretty good also.

Thanks for the info! You're a good writer. I look forward to reading further posts from you.

Steve

thanks for the wite up, as a 1st timer, we lovew hearing the news-keep it up. we are like sponges

Barry

Just got back from Cozumel. Got some good stuff to report. Great weather, but have to shower & get ready for dinner.

More to come.

Mel

Just one question: Are you saying don't waste money on Chops or Portifino because the food there is no good ... or because what you got in the main dining room was very good?

I ate in Chops on the 11/6 Jewel sailing and we (party of 4) thought it was excellent and well worth the additional $20. One other note, we were able to go to our cabin right away as it was made up and ready. We just dropped our carry ons and off we went to the pool bar. We boarded around 11:30...

mberli:

Thanks for taking the time out of your vacation to report and answer all our questions.

We can't wait to leave on the 26th so hearing all about the ship is great.

What time did priority boarding start if you were on board by 11am? Did you have to check your carry on luggage once on board or could you just take it with you until it's ok to go to your cabin?

What are the names of the two major production shows?

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your cruise. :)

we will also be sailing on jewel on the 26th. we are traveling with our 2 sons (15 13). this is only our 2nd cruise. last year we were on the majesty for a VERY short cruise. can't wait. has anyone ever heard of the "blundel house" excursion in jamaica? thanks for all your input. i'm an avid cruise critic reader.

cruzobsessed:

We will also be on the Jewel on 12/26. I think you'll find the Blundel House excursion elegent but your 2 sons will be bored (its a good adult tour)! This will be our fourth time to Ocho Rios and I highly recommend some type of snorkeling tour with a stop at Dunns River Falls. Our 15 yr old daughter will be on the "Cruise to Dunns River Falls" tour with her 2 uncles & aunt, 24 & 19 yr old brothers and 2 of their friends.

Steve

thanks for the input. this is only our 2nd cruise and i'm sort of the "cruise director" in my family. i tend to research things to death. i could use your help....i already booked the blundel house and uvero beach break. we're "planning" on going to paradise beach and sea grape beach (cozumel and caymans). what do you think? does your daughter do the "teen" program or does she hang out with you? my boys are very close so they tend to stick together. we're on the 7th deck maybe our kids could meet?

SF- priority boarding started at 11, as did regular boarding. If you have all your docs completed, you can be aboard by 11 for both. Priority boarding just eliminates some of the annoying stuff, like the boarding picture.

You can either take your carryon with you or check it, whichever you choose.

Production show last night was West End to Broadway.

cruzobsessed - my daughter is 'over 21', so I don't know what activities she does.

dalwhitt - I'm saying that the food and service in the DR are very good. Unless you need the ambience for a special occasion, I would not spend the extra money.

Save it for buying your significant other a gift.

seaside2358 - they must have changed the system, as now the bulkhead doors to get to the cabins are closed (not locked) until 1PM, and you are told you can't go to your cabin until then.

part 3 - Cozumel worked out great. I had booked an electric car online for $99 for the day w/Sunbuggy rentals, but when I got there, they said there were none left, so we walked down the street to a car rental place, Smart Cars, and they rented us a new Chevy compact 4 door w/air and automatic for $55 until 7PM. BTW, we did not get off the ship until about 11. We got into the car, and we headed out toward the San Gervasio Ruins. Admission $11 for 2. It was a fairly boring walking tour on your own for about an hour. Lucky it was not broiling hot. Anyway, we finished this about 1:30 and got in the car, and drove around the coast highway. Great scenery, and you could stop at stands and get some colf drinks, snacks, or blankets for $2, that are $4 and up elsewhere on Cozumel. We stopped at Mr.Sancho's beach, where there was no admission fee. They had great stuff for kids and adults, like parasailing, trampoline, snorkeling and many other water sports. They also had a fairly inexpensive restaurant where you could get some cold drinks, snacks and meals. Chairs were available if you ordered a beer or soda, and they would serve you on the beach if you wanted. By now it was 4PM and the BW was experiencing shopping withdrawal, so we headed back to town, and filled the gas tank, $4.50, and returned the car. We shopped for 2 hours, but bought very little, except for some wood carvings. Took a cab back to the ship, $3/pp. Showered, dressed, did my e-mail and headed off to dinner.

This meal was not the best, although you could have a good meal if you select the right choices. For starters, go for the seadood salad and the bisque or pepper pot soup. For main, veal parm, blackened tilapia or the jerk chicken. I thought the chicken was the best. The vegetaian dish was bami noreng, which is an Asian noodle dish with peanut sauce, which was pretty good. Dessert was banana cream pie or Blue Mountain coffee cream brulee.

We then went to the big production show. Seems fairly amatuerish, and the numbers they picked, were for the most part, very obscure. The theater was not close to full, and many people left early to get up to poolside for Mexican buffet and party time. This was very good, a don't miss. Great buffet, including whole roast piglet, guacamole, chile, make your own sundae, and lots more food and desserts.

After this we down and lost some money in the casino.

We're now docked in Costa Maya and I'm going to wake the BW and have breakfast, and go ashore.

More to come.

Mel

Great review! I am really enjoying it. We will be on the Jewel 1-2-05. My question is: Does the Jewel have a Sports Bar????

Great job once again! Many panhandlers at Mr Sancho's beach?

On deck 6 is the Pit Stop (Nascar Themed Bar) as well as the Schooner Bar.

cruzobsessed:

We also booked the Uvero Beach break. My daughter & my oldest son (home from the Air Force) booked the Boat Blast which ends up at Uvero Beach. In Cozumel, we're planning to go to Mr. Sanchez Beach. After reading a review of Paradise Beach (as well as Mr Sanchez beach) at www.cruisereviews.com I decided to go to Mr. Sanchez instead. Sea Grape is part of Seven Mile Beach and is absolutely wonderful (assuming the ship still goes there after the earthquake today).

My daughter (Erin Thompson) definately does the teen program whenever we don't do a tour option. She'll spend most of her day with her age group and has a blast. I HIGHLY recommend your sons participating. This will be the sixth cruise for my kids and my older boys are sad because the kid program stops at age 18. We'll probably only see our daughter when she returns to our cabin (deck 8, cabin 8500) to get ready for dinner. She'll be excited to hear about your sons!!!

Hope this helps...11 more days!

Steve

cruzobsessed:

Come join our roll call! (link in my signature)

Carol

mel: I am really enjoying reading your daily bulletins, and am just EATING UP your descriptions of the ports and what you are doing there, since I'm in the middle of making those plans.

What spot on board the Jewel do you suggest as a good meeting place on the first day?

Carol

Good Morning Mel!

How was Costa Maya and your dinner last night?