Jewel of the Seas - review!

First off, I must say that Jewel of the Seas is an amazingly gorgeous ship!

I just returned from my 7th cruise, 1st with Royal Caribbean. It was a 7 day roundtrip Canada/New England cruise out of Boston, Mass, Sept 11-18. I will just give a brief review of my cruise and I will try and answer any questions anyone may have.

Embarkation:

We arrived at Logan Airport after a red eye out of LAX on Saturday at around 9 am. We sat around the airport for about 2 hours until 11 and then took a taxi to the Black Falcon cruise ship terminal. We arrived around 11:30 to find only about 100 people ahead of us. They check you in according to what floor your cabin is on. It went very smoothly and quickly. I was on board before noon. They had said that our cabins wouldn't be available until 1 pm. But we were able to go to our cabin and at least put our carry on luggage away. We set off to explore the ship. Jewel of the seas is an absolutely amazing and gorgeous ship. All the glass is beautiful and the layout of the ship is really nice. I must say out of the 7 ships I’ve been on, jewel is the most beautiful. I forgot to mention that while flying into Logan airport, we flew right over the black falcon terminal and saw Jewel docked at port. That was amazing. After a quick lunch at the windjammer we went back to our rooms and all of our bags were delivered by 2:30 pm. The muster drill went quite smoothly. Also capt. james MacDonald came over the PA system to welcome us aboard and made some really nice and touching comments regarding 9/11 since we were sailing on the 3 year anniversary.

food:

the food on the ship was ok. not great and not horrible. the chilled soups are superb and the lobster was good. also the salmon dishes were quite good. for the most part the deserts were delicious as well. one day for lunch in the tides dining room there was banana and chocolate strudel for dessert which was wonderful. also in the morning for breakfast there were banana pancakes which were good. the steak was eh... not great not bad. the windjammer was really nice for all meals. they had great belgian waffles with strawberries and whip cream for breakfast, as well as strawberry shortcake in the afternoon for snacks. the seaview cafe was also really nice, but completely underused! we went there 3 or 4 times and never saw more than 10 people there! great selection of food. good chili and fries up there.

service:

the service was pretty good. our cabin steward, Anthony, was good about cleaning our cabin in the morning. it was usually made up by about 9:30 every morning. and in the evening the cabin was always clean by the time we finished dinner, except on the first night. the dining room waiter and assistant waiter were pretty good. they were friendly and always had a smile on their face. the one complaint I think everyone had about service in the dining room was that it was slow.. on the first night especially it took us almost 2 and 1/2 hours to finish dinner. we had early seating at 6:00 pm and it was almost 8:20 pm by the time we finished dinner. and second seating started at 8:30! needless to say they had only one show that night at 7:45 pm and we missed it! the service every where else on the ship was good. the bar staff always had a smile and the people up in the windjammer were great!

entertainment:

the nightly entertainment on this ship is great. it seems that every night up until about midnight there’s always some sort of band playing live music. there's a really great couple called Deja Voo which played many nights in the Centrum. They were really great and I noticed a lot of couples out on the dance floor dancing away to their music. The nightly entertainment was pretty good as well. We had the Celtic Tenors one night and they were fantastic! We also had Herb Reed and the Platters. Herb is an original member of the Platters. They were fantastic and truly entertaining! I went to watch Quest and that was hilarious as we had a couple of guys who decided to moon the audience! And the 50s 60s sock hop was fun as well!

ports:

Bar Harbor - it was a tender port. since we had a morning excursion booked we had no problems with the tenders. We did the coastal sea kayaking in the morning. It was a bit cold out, but sunny. We kayaked out to sheep island and bar island and it was just gorgeous. We saw a harbor seal along the way and we also saw a baby bald eagle. The town of bar harbor is just so quaint and pretty! I did a lot of souvenir shopping here as the prices were great! In the afternoon I did the “Best of Acadia National Park” tour. We went up to Thunder Hole and up to the top of Cadillac Mountain where I got some great pictures!

Halifax – I did the “Famous Peggy’s Cove Fishing Village” tour. It was a nice drive from Halifax over to Peggy’s Cove. Peggy’s Cove is a fishing village with a population of 60 residents. No one is allowed to move to the village anymore. At Peggy’s Cove there is a lighthouse which is said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the world. It was gorgeous out on the rocks there. The fishing village is cute. In the afternoon I took the free bus that the city provides called “FRED” into town from the pier and up to Citadel Hill and the fort that is there. From there I walked out to the Public Gardens which are nice and then walked back into the shopping area called “Historic Properties.” From there it was a 15 minute leisurely stroll along the harbor front boardwalk back to the ship.

Sydney – this port was originally listed as a docked port, but it turned out to be a tendering port as HAL’s Maasdam was given priority docking at the pier. It was a very cold and windy morning with a bit of drizzle. We took the “Fortress of Louisbourg” tour and it was very good and informative. The Fortress is a completely recreated fort based upon the documents and drawings they have from the original fort which was destroyed by the French and British while fighting over control of the fort. The fort as it currently stands is only 1/5 completed. There are people dressed in period costumes going about their business as their counterparts would have back in 1744. It was very interesting. In the afternoon we just walked the 5 minutes it took to get from the pier to downtown Saint John. Then we waited in line to get back on the tenders. The line was ridiculously long and took probably about 30-45 minutes!

Saint John - this is a great town. They have a nice downtown area. We took the free shuttle in the morning to the center of town. We walked up King St. to the City Market. This is a great little market to just walk around. We were able to buy some nice souvenirs. Then we walked up to Kings Square and over to the Trinity Church. This is a beautiful church with some great stained glass windows. We then walked back to the pier for our “Ride the Rapids and City Sights” tour. Saint John is located at the Bay of Fundy which as the highest tidal changes in the world. When the tide comes in it causes the river to flow in the reverse direction created some small white water rapids. We drove out to the rapids got outfitted with protective rain gear, but that wasn’t enough to keep us from getting wet! I would highly recommend this tour if you are up for adventure. Riding the rapids was a lot of fun! Afterwards we were treated to a great lobster roll!

Portland – Portland is Maine’s largest city with only 62,000 residents. Today we did the “Best of Portland and Kennebunkport” tour. We had a great tour guide who showed us all over Portland. We then drove out to Portland Head Light which is one of the most photographed lighthouses in America and you can see why by looking at it. It’s absolutely gorgeous! From there we settled in for a 45 minute drink out to the tows of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. These are really 2 quaint little towns situated right by the ocean. We had gotten word that President Bush was due to arrive in Kennebunkport later in the afternoon to spend the weekend at his family’s estate at Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport. We were wondering whether we would be able to even drive to Walker’s Point due to the security. But in the end we were lucky, we got there just a few hours before he did, so we were still able to drive up to the estate. We even saw former President George H. W. Bush’s speed boat Fidelity parked at the family’s estate. We were then given 2 hours on our own to wander around Kennebunkport. We bought some great lobster rolls for lunch. They were to die for! We also did quite a bit of souvenir shopping here as well. From there it was back to the ship….

Debarkation:

The debarkation process went very smoothly. We actually docked in Boston at around 6:00 am and they began letting people off the ship at 7:45 am. They called people every 15 minutes or so according to their colored luggage tags. We were off the ship by 8:45 am. We found our bags and grabbed a taxi and were on our way. The only horrible part about today was that it was pouring rain in Boston due to what was left of Hurricane Ivan, so that kind of put a damper on sightseeing in Boston!

..........

Overall impressions:

I was blown away by the beauty of the Jewel of the Seas. The itinerary we had was fabulous as well. The cities were all very different and unique and all the tours we took were great! The scenery was gorgeous and the people were extremely friendly. Although the food could have been better and the service could have been more efficient, it wasn’t bad enough to really bother me. Afterall, I was on vacation! I wouldn’t hesitate to go on another Royal Caribbean cruise, especially on a Radiance Class ship. I’m already looking into the Mediterranean on Brilliance next year…..

If anyone has any questions, I’d be glad to try and answer them, if I can. I also have about 300 pictures that I took which I will try and edit and post within the next couple of days!

Thanks so much for your review! Very informative and great to read.

Makes me dream about next week. Just one more week to go.

I booked the Ride the rapids tour already and am thinking about Kennebunkport. Thanks for your description of these tours.

mad...

you'll love the ride the rapids tour! its sooooo much fun! i never knew that riding a jet boat could be so much fun! just be prepared to get WET! they give you a rain jacket with a hat and waterproof pants to wear, but i don't know anyone who didn't still end up getting their clothes underneath wet! one thing to mention.... you get the most wet sitting in the front and the least wet sitting in the back row....

as for kennebunkport.... you should definitely go. it was such a nice little town with beautiful scenery. also all along the maine turnpike on our drive down you could already see the leaves turning colors. i am sure by the time you get there in a week and a half or so the leaves will be completely red and orange and it should be gorgeous. there is a lot to see in kennebunkport and i would suggest it over staying in portland and doing something there.... also if you want some real maine lobster, go down to kennebunkport. there is a to-go place right by where the buses park called the "Clam Shack" they have the greatest lobster roll. its just chunks of lobster meat. also at "Bartley's Dockside" restuarant i am told you should try her blueberry pie. its so good that anytime President Bush is in the area he sends secret service to her restaurant and they buy out her whole store. i didn't get any pie when i was there as the President was arriving later and she was saving all her pie for him!

have fun in canada/new england! you'll love it. i dont have to tell you how wonderful the ship is because you already know! i'm so jealous that you get to go for a second time!

jstducky,

thanks again that makes my decision easier. I think it´s to late to book the tour to kennebunkport now but I think I´ll do it as one of the first when onboard.

Great to hear that the leaves have started to change colour already. I was hoping to see the indian summer again. It´s such a sight!

If you don´t mind one more question to the rapids tour. Do they do the short city tour first and are you going back to the ship right after the boat ride? I´m asking because of the wet clothes you´ll have after the tour. Or is it better to take something to change?

no problem about the questions....

let's see.. they did the city tour of saint john first. that part of the tour lasted a little over an hour. then they take you to the rapids. there was one group ahead of us, so we waited about 15 minutes for our group to be called. each jet boat i beleive only holds 12 passengers and there were 2 boats operating when i went. the ride itself is about 20-30 minutes long, so its quite lengthy. afterwards, as part of the tour you get lunch which consists of a lobster roll (delicious!) and a drink. so after you get out of the boat, you return the rain gear they gave you and you sit outside in the warm sun (hopefully!) and eat. they probably gave us 45 mins to 1 hour to eat in total so it was plenty of time to dry off. some people were still a little wet once they got back on the bus. but from the bus back to the ship the drive was less than 10 minutes. they also provide bathrooms and changing rooms if you are so wet that you need to change clothes.

i hope that answers your question.

don't hesitate to ask me if you have any other questions...

also, what are your ports of call? bar harbor, portland, sydney, saint john and quebec? is it the 10 night itinerary?

here is my list of ports of call in order of what my favorite to least favorite (not to say i didn't like the port though!)

1) Portland (because of Kennebunkport)

2) Saint John (close close second)

3) Bar Harbor

4) Halifax

5) Sydney

Yes that answers my question. So I think if I´m lucky too and it´s warm and sunny there might be no need for changing but if it´s cold it might be better to have something handy.

You are right I´m on the 10 night itinerary going up too Quebec. That´s one of the ports I´m looking forward too. I´ve been there once on a bus roundtrip through the region. I remember it as a very nice city.

If anything else is coming up to my mind to ask I´ll do. Thank you.

jstducky

I have a question about the rapids tour. Is it hard on someone with a bad back. We are sailing on the 18th of oct. Would like to do the ripids tour but afraid of it being too ruff. Thanks

hm... thats a good question... it actually might be. the jet boat is a pretty high speed jet boat that twists and turns around the rapids at a fairly high rate of speed. so its a lot of jerky movements and sharp left and right turns plus a lot of starting and stopping.. so there is a lot of the whiplash effect. if you back is that sensitive to that kind of movement it might be best not to take that excursion..

i noticed another excursion where people rode a slow speed boat up the fundy river to view the rapids and the effect of the reversing falls. it was slow speed and no sharp turns. that might be something to consider.

That helps alot. I would love to do it but I don't want it to ruin my cruise. I'll look into the slower one. Thanks

We just got off the same cruise as jstducky, and I have to agree on almost everything. Boarding, ports, the ship, disembarking, I'm totally in agreement. My only difference in opinion is in the food....I thought it was just fine. This is my 3rd cruise with RCL and I find the food very good. We ate in the dining room every night because we had great tablemates and wonderful service. Everybody at our table did different things every day so it was fun to come together every night and share our experiences. Our waiter and his assistant were very good and quite attentive. Our cabin steward was great too. He kept our cabin spotless (well, it IS brand new!) and we had a different towel animal every night! I had requested an extra bath towel the first day and he never forgot it. Even though we hung our towels up to indicate we would use them again he gave us new ones every day.

I agree that the ports were great. I loved Saint John. I would not hesitate to do this cruise again. I feel very fortunate that we were able to do it this year, since I got the brochure for next year and the Enchantment is doing all the Canada/New England cruises out of Boston. It was so nice to be in port and see "our" ship, all sparkly and shiny and new!

Just a quick question: what kind of cabin did you have, and did you take any pictures? I'm booked on a Bal. Guar. for Jewel in Feb 2006, but I'm interested in any pictures.

Thanks!

i only had a large ocean view stateroom. so i don't have any pictures of what a balcony cabin looks like... but i do have a couple of pictures of my stateroom... and i have tons of pictures of the ship itself. i am in the process of editing the pictures right now and i will post them online before the end of the week...

or if you leave me your email address i can email you a couple of the pictures i have.

great review, can't wait to see the pictures. We will be in cabin 1100. this is our first cruise, so do you know if any noise can be heard from the windjammer to the cabins on deck 10?

Barry

Awesome! I'll check back on this thread if you could post when the pics are up (I'll subscribe).

thanks for the Review as we are leaving on September 28th on the Jewel.

Laura and Ray Craig

you'll love the ride the rapids tour! its sooooo much fun! i never knew that riding a jet boat could be so much fun! just be prepared to get WET! they give you a rain jacket with a hat and waterproof pants to wear, but i don't know anyone who didn't still end up getting their clothes underneath wet! one thing to mention.... you get the most wet sitting in the front and the least wet sitting in the back row....

My kids went on this tour while I did a different one. They are 16 & 18, and my son is quite tall. They told me that they decided to sit in that front seat, that it would be the most fun. They couldn't stop laughing when they described to me the woman who was sitting behind them, in the second seat. Every time my son saw a big wave coming, he instinctively ducked. The woman behind him was P*SSED! Not "funny" annoyed - REALLY unhappy! She said to her companion, "I sat behind HIM so that I WOULDN'T get splashed, and HE keeps ducking!" Yes, they got soaked, but it was a warm, sunny day, and they were very very happy with the tour, the ride and the lobster roll!

Carol

Interested in knowing what you did in Saint John. Did you do a ship's tour, or venture out on your own with a taxi? Doing this cruise on Oct. 18, and so looking forward to it. Afraid we may miss the foliage by that time tho.

L.L.

madforcruising - Oh, and I guess that everyone has different interests, but jstducky didn't report doing any Titanic-related stuff in Halifax, but that's the place for it. If the story of the Titanic intrigues you AT ALL, go to the Maritime Museum, visit the exhibits, and view BOTH films. There are more Titanic-related sights, too, such as the cemeteries where many of the dead are buried. (the retrieval operation went out of Halifax) I suggest NOT doing the ship's excursion for this - everyone reported not NEARLY enough time at the museum. Do it on your own - it's walking distance from the ship. If you want to see stuff that's further away from the Museum, grab almost any cab, but certainly any cab that's near the port, and the driver will take you anywhere you want to go at very reasonable rates.

Carol

Merion Mom,

For the cabs in Halifax, did you need Canadian money or did they take US $$?

Hi I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I have been on every voyager class ship and just love them. I am thinking of booking the Jewel next year and i was wondering if there is a place open 24 hours a day for snacks and coffee and such? On the voyager class we had the Promedade which was great. We could always go there for a light snack, pizza or cookies when we were hungry. Other than that I am looking forward the the Jewel. I hope it does have a place like this then I would not hesitate to book it

Thank you for your help

as i recall there isn't one place that is open 24 hours a day...

the windjammer is open at night until 9 or 9:30. the solarium cafe i beleive is open most nights until 1 am. the seaview cafe is open from 10pm-1am every night. other than that i dont beleive anything is open past 1 am

however, the radiance class ships are absolutely gorgeous. all that glass makes for a great view of the ocean from just about anywhere on the ship!

We are going on the 10/8 cruise for 10 days - can't wait. Thanks for all of the insight it will help us. My wife and I are doing the rapids trip and we will try to stay dry. Our cabin is on the starboard side (?) - (right hand side facing forward) - is this a good location? We have a balcony on the 9th deck and hopefully this location will get us some good scenery both cruising and in port.

i beleive that the starbord side is a good choice. i had a cabin on the port side of the ship. at halifax and i am almost positive in portland the ship docked on the starbord side. at saint john it docked on the port side of the ship. and in bar harbor and sydney we tendered. and scenery wise i beleive that most of the scenery was to the starbord side of the ship. i noticed while eating dinner (i had early dining) on the starbord side we always got a good view.

also of note... when arriving to halifax, we were greeted by a group of bagpipers playing a couple of songs for us. as well as and older gentleman dressed in period costume to read to us a proclamation as the ship pulled up to port.

and in saint john, they have what is called a welcoming committe for all cruise ship passengers. all women get a rose as they get off the ship, men get a pin, and children get a small canadian flag.

lobsterlover,

We did the "Saint John Highlights" tour and got a great tour guide. We docked in Saint John later than expected because everything depends on the tides, but our tour guide (Carol) assured us that we would get the full tour, and we did. We were back to the pier before noon and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring on my own. They had free shuttle buses from the pier to downtown....just look for the bus marked "Special" in the front and it stops at various places around town. Don't miss the City Market. There's LOTS of places to shop, and a nice little park in the middle of town.