just back form the jewel, review/comparison with Rhapsody & carnival

Well what a different experience to last year on the Rhapsody. This cruise was fantastic. I am not sure what happened last year and why the food and entertainment were both so poor (and to add to that all the issues we had on that cruise as well). This was like cruising with an all together different company - I am now so glad that so many on here encouraged us to use our compensation future cruise certificates and give royal another shout.

In this review - I will try to cover things that are not mentioned a lot or info I have been asked by others to obtain these are

cabin type- the new deck fr ocean view cabins 4586 (4582-4590)

gluten free food/ dinning and issues (small one lol)

ports-diy and trip info for Rome, Messina Santorini, Mykanos, Athens, Naples.

Shows headliners not to be missed

But for a quick overview I will say that the MDR evening food was much better than last time and served hot also they staff went all out to make sure that we were happy with the food. However, the MDR breakfast was very very slow - It took 50 mins to get my gluten free pancakes and they were un-edible (still powder in the middle the waiter who removed them even asked what were they meant to be lol) We didn't go back for breakfast there again. The buffet breakfast was ample and sitting out on the back open part was nice. However, they had almost no gluten free stuff out for help yourself only bread/ scrambled egg/ tomatoes/ bacon bits (mostly rock hard fatty stuff) and hash browns. But if you ask you can get non fried stuff - they had cereals and bagels and could make toast so make sure and request it like me you could not do 9 days of fried breakfast.

Room was great spacious and very very quite (a relief as I was a bit worried that it was maybe a little too close to centrium) and what a window

- I have photos of the room but I am struggling to attach them - any pointers on how to get them on here :confused:

To be continued

I am still trying to get the photos on - but in the mean time I will mention a few other things about the room.

We loved the location right next to the guest services and across from the centrium bar, however, we are quite independent and don't need our room steward for much, we even tidy our own room every morning lol- the room was kept clean and we got clean towels am and pm (towels seemed new and of a good quality) . But we saw almost nothing of our steward (glimpsed him one day) he is not based near these rooms, so if you use your steward for ice, want towel animals and need other stuff from them this may not be the room for you.

The room is brand new so everything is nice and fresh in it and it seems a good bit bigger than the other OV on deck 4 also the layout is nice with the room bed parallel to the window. The window has a ledge that you can sit on to look out.

As some on here had suggested we requested a topper mattress and we had too on the bed when we arrived- It was still very hard but survivable. ( so thanks for the tip)

before going on the cruise we stayed in an airbnb on the outskirts of Rome - It was an amazing place to stay with a private pool

On arrival to the ship we had the misfortune to have to undergo a bus inspection (the bus from the cruise terminal in town to the port). This took a while as pastports and cruising docs all were checked - Warning don't do as I did and plan to visit the toilet as soon as you arrive - As it may leave you as it did me very cross legged :eek:

On boarding at 11.30 am we didn't rush to the buffet instead we headed to the solarium pool to meet this (we had packed a bag with swim stuff and our outfits for dinner)

We had the pool to ourselves for quite a few hours. We upgraded our select package on boarding (the $10 pp no problem). So in the early afternoon we had our first cocktail sitting at the side of this empty pool. - bliss

before going on the cruise we stayed in an airbnb on the outskirts of Rome - It was an amazing place to stay with a private pool

 

 

Loving your review. This looks lovely. Would you mind sharing the booking details with me. We're a family of 6 would it be big enough for us? Many thanks

Loving your review. This looks lovely. Would you mind sharing the booking details with me. We're a family of 6 would it be big enough for us? Many thanks

It was stunning, but it only sleeps 2 it was 60eur per night - but you could keep it in mind for a get away on your own ;). I also know of an amazing little mill house with a private pool that was only 450 Eur for a week on the outskirts of Florence that we stayed in with our daughters after our cruise last year but its only for 4. This villa was about a 3-4hr drive from the port

If anyone wants the details for it I will look them up for you

It was stunning, but it only sleeps 2 it was 60eur per night - but you could keep it in mind for a get away on your own ;). I also know of an amazing little mill house with a private pool that was only 450 Eur for a week on the outskirts of Florence that we stayed in with our daughters after our cruise last year but its only for 4.

 

If anyone wants the details for it I will look them up for you

I'm interested in both addresses - a couple, and then the mill house for 4.

Thank u for the details of both properties, if it's not too much trouble, Dani

I'm interested in both addresses - a couple, and then the mill house for 4.

 

Thank u for the details of both properties, if it's not too much trouble, Dani

the one on 12 miles from Florence https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6333093

The one for 2 people near Rome https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/493522

both were lovely and I highly recommend them - You would need a hire car for both of these

Now to continue the Review - On day one we went to MDR my time and had only a few mins wait (we had prebooked times for the whole trip but changed them each day to fit in with the show times). The meal for me was a bit of a let down as I ordered from the menu salmon with horseradish as it was marked as a gluten free dish, however, when it arrived it was just plain Salmon and plain salad.

We discussed this with the lovely waitress and we explained that if marked as gluten free actually means that we in fact get a different dish with no sauce can they let us know that when we order. Last cruise I just sat and said nothing about the food and got plain food the whole time. However, I am so glad I talked to the waitress this time as her head waiter sorted out all the other MDR meals making sure I did not just get plain stuff every day.

A note to others that require gluten free food- Marked as such on the menu may just mean that you get the main meat/fish part on its own - so check with waiter before ordering to avoid disappointment.

Went to the show - ok show but not indicative of the other great headliners to come.

A few days before cruise wee saw on here that some trips had gone down in price so we checked ours and canceled and rebooked our 3 saving almost enough to pay for the 3 meal deal - so we booked Giovannis X 2 and Izumi- So check your trip prices before traveling as you might get a pleasant surprise.

the one on 12 miles from Florence https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6333093

 

The one for 2 people near Rome https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/493522

 

both were lovely and I highly recommend them - You would need a hire car for both of these

Thank you so much, appreciate the reply :)

Unfortunately we woke to some grey clouds and rain- but at least it was warm rain ;) We were not docking in Messina until 11ish so went for leisurely breakfast- This was to be the low point of the cruise - woeful gluten free experience- no cereals- no special beards - only the small round hard stuff that was on offer at diner. I asked if they did pancakes and was surprised that they did given that there were so little other offers. Bad bad choice waited 50 mins and they were unedible - still powder inside. Left after that and grabbed a banana from the buffet. (Due to morning meds I cannot have any milk/ dairy products until later in the day - thus limiting my choices even more so - If I did not have these issues the breakfast in the MDR would have been good - so don't let my opinion put you off trying it unless you are also celiac). I would say that in breakfast offerings for gluten free stuff Carnival far far exceeds - with a vast array of offerings - not just hard bread and jam!! In Carnival - Banana bread, pancakes, french toast and cinnamon bangles were among the many nice things I tried. And the breakfast service was far better on both Carnival cruises- with the whole party getting there food served at the same time in. At our breakfast table everyones food appeared one at a time with gaps of up to 10 mins between members of the same party. We would usually always choose table service over a buffet as I have mobility issues and waiter service is usually better for us but in this case we did not go back again for breakfast. But given that the buffet had a nice outdoor area for breakfast and that up there they offered me cereal, toast, french toast and bagels (but you had to find the right person to ask to get these they are not out anywhere- the selection on out on offer is only scrambled egg, hash browns, bacon bits, tomatoes and the hard small bread stuff and jam). The mdr breakfast was just a small down side of an otherwise great cruise.

At 11.30 we left on our tip to Taormina - Just as the rains started. This is one of the places we opted to do a trip with the ship as we only had limited time and the local buses and trains did not fit well into our afternoon port schedule. We chose Taormina transfer only- however, the transfer guide was very good and told us quite a bit about the area - we had not expected any sort of guide on this bus so this was a bonus. The only addition costs was 10 eu pp to enter the amphitheater.

The sun came out for 20 mins so we snapped a few pics

Back on the ship we decided to do Giovannis for dinner to make up for the last nights dinner and the breakfast we had in the morning - IT was fantastic in both the food and the service.

We arrived back to our cabin after quite a late night of good entertainment. to find this (my DH had eaten a few by the time I got the camera out )- message said with compliments - no idea why we got them ??

Got up relatively early expecting the bum fight for loungers- however, after getting ours at about 9 ish we realised the pool deck did not fill until about 11 ish. Last year on the Rhapsody getting a lounger or even a seat by 10 was impossible. One thing I do not get is why they take away one side of the pool lounge area to set up cooking stations on sea days - a bit strange wen the buffet and the solarium cafe are only a few steps away. Anyway this day was nice and relaxing ahead of planed visits in ports.

Loving your review. This looks lovely. Would you mind sharing the booking details with me. We're a family of 6 would it be big enough for us? Many thanks

Was this in downtown Rome or quite a way outside?

Loving your review. This looks lovely. Would you mind sharing the booking details with me. We're a family of 6 would it be big enough for us? Many thanks

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Thanks for posting. We will be on Jewel this time next year for the 12 day med cruise.

Cool trip report...

W

cabin type- the new deck fr ocean view cabins 4586 (4582-4590)

Thanks for the photos of 4586. I am in this cabin on the Jewel Trans Atlantic sailing on 11/6.