LoveThoseSeaDays

Many thanks for the review.

We will be visiting Tortola for the first time this summer, and yours is the first review I've seen that talks about places to visit other than the Baths.

We simply love the Skyline -- we discovered it late in our first Fantasy cruise, and will definitely be purchasing the seven-for-five deal this time out.

We'll also be taking full advantage of Satellite Falls. That's a gem.

We had an amazing week on the Jewel over New Year's. We have six Disney cruises under our belt, and were pleasantly surprised with the Jewel and her amazing crew.

Here's a look at some of our highlights:

Happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

Had no trouble withdrawing cash from casino on the November 23 sailing of serenade

No questions asked and no fee charged.

 

 

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Thanks for your reply. We're sailing in two weeks and I had been contemplating adding just a bit more OBC.

I think I'll wait a few days to see what the experience is of recent cruisers such as yourself before I commit.

We will be keeping our accounts as cash so there is no fee. But I'd like to get the cash out, instead of seeing any remainder left to go on a credit card.

I see on a separate thread started by someone on the Jewel that they were not able to withdraw cash directly from the casino.

They have had to do a 'work around' to get a credit slip for the slots, then go to the slot machine and cash out, and then go to the casino teller again.

Can anyone else speak to their recent experience?

I had been hoping to pull some cash out this way from our OBC.

Hmmmm... we didn't get a receipt when we added the OBC a while back. Fingers crossed the credit is there once we board!

How would a slot pull work as a group activity? I'm thinking this might be fun for our group too!

Thank you for your helpful response!

And now the really important question: what was Pauline reading?

Thank you for taking the time to do this report. Greatly appreciate your photos, and of course enjoyed your writing!

We are on the same itinerary in a short time. Could you tell me about St. Croix, and walking from the ship to the beach please? Perhaps brief directions, and an estimate of how long it might take to walk?

Many thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. Enjoying it very much!

We are making our first trip to St. Lucia later this year.

We are looking for a simple beach day. What can you recommend?

Many thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to share your vacation with us. We sail on the Jewel at the end of the year, and I was keen to see as much as I could of the ship.

But your photos and informative narrative got me hooked. I haven't been to Butchart's Gardens in years, and you definitely did it at the right time of day before all the bus tours arrive. I used to eat my lunch on the beach at Fort Rodd Hill, and took my piano lessons at Craigdarroch Castle. I hadn't seen pictures of it now that it is being restored.

I was also especially interested to see the photos of Astoria -- have always wanted to go there!

Some of our travelling party were out on the water to see the Jewel from the ocean in Victoria -- she does look beautiful and we can't wait to sail on her!

Again, my thanks.

Thank you cruising friends for this tip! It will end up saving us around $200!

Many thanks for the image -- very helpful to imagine how things will be set up.

Can you please explain what a pullman bed is?

A PP said that it comes down from the ceiling, over the existing bed. So does this mean that it becomes almost like a bunk bed above the existing bed?

Could a third adult go into that bed? I'm confused.

Thanks so much.

Loving the report, thank you. The ship really does look so beautiful. Can't wait to see it for myself later this year from San Juan.

Many interesting points of view here as I have considered the impact on our family. We are among those who always brought alcohol onboard with us, usually bought the wine package and occasionally the beer mug ... and who used this feature as a way to persuade friends and family to join us.

Truthfully, I don't think the changes would affect our cruising decision. We could still bring four bottles of wine with us, and that's pretty good. If we wanted the autographs, we could line up for them. It's really not that big a deal.

But what's done us in is price. Not only has our same favourite ocean view stateroom steadily climbed in price, but we're being crushed by currency exchange as well. I've cancelled one cruise and am still sitting on a future cruise certificate that may well expire unused.

We've been confined to peak school vacation times for cruising. I'm hoping that once we're into the college years we'll be able to find some less expensive times to cruise. Meanwhile, we're trying other lines.

OP wasn't asking. He was sharing his advice based on something he learned.

I rather suspect auto correct got the better of the OP: perhaps tongs?

Thanks so much for your review. Especially liked to "sail along" with you through the Panama Canal.

We are on the Jewel's New Year's sailing, and I'm wondering if you could please share your beach/tour recommendations for our ports. It's so helpful to see the hotels/restaurants where you found a comfy place by the shore and a nice lunch.

We are looking for recommendations for Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia and St. Croix.

Thank you!

That's a dream itinerary for me. Still on the bucket list...

Congratulations on a wonderful trip report. Thank you.

The shot of the Peace Arch brings me back to the days when KVOS-TV Channel 12 would go off the air overnight, and that would be the photo that they showed!

Hi NewbieCruise2015,

Thank you for asking the questions! I learned quite a bit from the responses, which helps a lot as we plan.

We are on the same cruise as you, and i can assure you that we will have a marvellous time. Given that it will be the holidays there should be lots of kids.

I didn't know much about the teen club, for example. I suspect our teen will come to the Mix and Mingle, and then may had off if there aren't many others her age. She will definitely drop by the club on the first night to meet others, however.

Cheers,

Papertraveller

Following along - hope you're having a magnificent cruise! Just love the photos of the ship.

We are on the Jewel after Christmas, and some of our travelling party are from Victoria. I'm trying to get them to head down to welcome the Jewel in person!

Hi,

I agree with the others -- don't worry too much about planning things beforehand. The cruise is not like WDW and you can take it easy.

Here are a few tips:

Don't miss the SailAway show right after the muster drill -- head up with the kids, grab some streamers and enjoy the fun.

Don't forget to bring adult beverages onboard (if you are so inclined).

Order Mickey Bars from room service. Cookies and milk at night too!

When the kids are in the club, head up to Satellite Falls. It's heaven.

Pack some sand toys for the kids.

Not sure when you plan on springing the surprise on the rest of the family (or how) but there are lots of fun idea on how to pull this off.

Don't forget pirate gear for the pirate party! We usually take some glow sticks too.

Shoreside concierge should be able to tell you your dining rotation. We'd recommend Palo brunch and Remy for dinner.

Enjoy -- you and your family will have an amazing time!

We have found the simplest way to get back to the airport is to take Disney transportation. If you are on a participating airline, as PP said, you can check your bags in onboard the ship, and then you'll see them next on the carousel at your destination. You simply need to get through Customs & Immigration, take a left turn and walk outside to the bus kiosk.

We used Happy Limo to get from WDW to the port on our last cruise. This worked very easily, and they would have picked us up for the return journey as well had we requested.