Live Onboard the Jewel...

nsloan · June 7, 2004

I've jsut heard that the Brilliance had 4 dinner seatings on their recent cruise thru the Med Sea. (6:30, 7:30, 9 and 10PM). How many dinner seatings were there on the Jewel(we are on the June 21 sailing) and what were the times???

MBnancy · June 7, 2004

Nsloan,

Gosh, how many dining rooms are on the Brillance? The Jewel only has one Main one, and each dinner takes an hour and a half, so how can they rush you out so fast? We had late seating on the Jewel and it was at 8:15 PM.

Nancy [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

KeepOnCruzin · June 8, 2004

nsloan: there are only 2 seatings this cruise at 6:00 and 8:30..

MBnancy: The Brilliance only has one main dinning room. with 2 floors, same as the Jewel...

15 Cruises since 1999

Jewel of the Seas.. Scandanavia/Russia
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=008080&cdt=2004;5;28;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img]

tinkerme1 · June 8, 2004

nsloan: Have you checked out our Meet & Mingle thread? We have close to 100 people already signed up with us. It would be nice for you to introduce yourself on our board! We have a great group cruising on 6/21/04 on the Jewel.

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=9483091237&p=79"]Jewel, M&M Thread[/url]

[img]http://beta.hometown.aol.com/micknminy/myhomepage/animtink.gif[/img]
Celia

"Jewel OTS " 06/04 # 11 & 12
"Brilliance OTS" 04/05 # 13 & 14

judie43 · June 9, 2004

KeepOnCruisin....thanks again for posting,I can't wait to read your review.
Quick question....how many formal,semi formal nights and do remember which night were the formal?
Thanks
Judie

thecruisechick · June 9, 2004

nsnolan,

Why not visit us at the Jewel 21 thread?
[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=9483091237&p=80"]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=9483091237&p=80[/url]

We have 99 already signed up for the Meet and Mingle party. Are you going to London early? There are 42 of us getting together aat Porter's Restaurant prior to the cruise. Better yet visit our Official June 21 Jewel website, just click on the link below and find out all about it. 99 of your new friends are waiting for you!

<body>

[b]<a href="http://www.thecruisechick.com/">Visit The
June 21st Jewel Web Site</a>[/b]

Mary
Jewel 6/04
Tahitian Princess 2/05

[img]http://aunimages.animfactory.com/animations/objects/gems/diamond_sm_clr.gif[/img]
[b]RCCL DIAMOND MEMBER 70+ Cruises[/b]

thecruisechick · June 9, 2004

Pat848

I'm also from MA and I am in cabin 8594 on June 21, I'll take good care of it for you, I promise. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

<body>

[b]<a href="http://www.thecruisechick.com/">Visit The
June 21st Jewel Web Site</a>[/b]

Mary
Jewel 6/04
Tahitian Princess 2/05

[img]http://aunimages.animfactory.com/animations/objects/gems/diamond_sm_clr.gif[/img]
[b]RCCL DIAMOND MEMBER 70+ Cruises[/b]

Fredrik · June 9, 2004

Welcome back !

Fredrik

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;07;01;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]
Brilliance of the Seas West Med
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2004;09;28;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Jewel of the Seas NE-Canada

So far:
Jewel of the Seas Oslo May 2004
Splendour of the Seas Med Oct 2003
Navigator of the Seas East C. Jul 2003

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=653102181&r=794102681#794102681"]Roll call Jewel 2004-09-28 click here[/url]

Mrs Seabird · June 11, 2004

We were on this same cruise with KeepOnCruzin and met at the Meet and Mingle. The cruise was great!!! We also used Red October for private tours in St Petersburg and it's the only way to go IMO. We also booked a Russian FolkLore show through Red October for the first night and it was absolutely wonderful.

My tips:
Save most of your shopping for Tallin. The prices were so much more reasonable for everything from crystal to sweaters.

We booked the ships tour to Porvoo in Hellsinki and it was really great. The town is ancient and pretty. They took us to a 1000 acre farm for lunch and it was good. They had a gift shop, art center and garden center here too. Our tour guide was wonderful.

Be aware of what day of the week you're visiting each port and plan accordingly. On Sundays things are VERY quiet early in the day.

We were so lucky with the weather. It rained about 10 minutes in St Petersburg and that's it. But it was very cool, cloudy, and windy early in the day. We wore long pants most days as well as a windbreaker. By 10 or so we were carrying our jackets as the sun got so warm.

It is daylight until almost midnight and starts to get light by 3 am! Plus you change the clocks 6 times on this cruise! Expect your sleep to be pretty mixed up. Ours was.

Don't miss the tango show even if you don't think you like tango. It was unbelievable. In fact don't miss any of them. They did a wonderul job with the entertainment -the best I've seen.

I'll always think of this area as the land of lilacs. They were in bloom everywhere!

My husband was on the the May 8th cruise on Jewel. I'll get him to take a peek at the photos. He and Chris had a great time. And my husband and I will be on the Transatlantic on Sept 1. We can hardly wait!

Oh yeah. We did a day tour through Evan Evans called Enchanting Cotswold when we were in London. It was THE best. So if you have a little time in London, check it out.

Pat848 · June 11, 2004

Mrs. Seabird
We are booked on this cruise same time next year. We are staying 2 nights at City Inn Westminster. I believe you stayed there. How was the hotel? Location? Can you walk to Westminster Abbey? Did you do hop/on/off bus?
Anyone on this trip that stayed here - what time did RCCL shuttle pick you up to go to ship?
Also anyone on this trip that took the ship tours in St. Petersburg - would like some feedback.
Thanks.

Pat

MBnancy · June 11, 2004

Pat,

We were on the maiden voyage of the Jewel, and choose our own hotel rather than those of RCL. The Marriott County Hall on the Thames River was recommended by many. Fabulous location, and big comfy rooms. Our view out the window was Big Ben across the river, and the London Eye was next to us. Tube stop nearby. We took a taxi to Victoria Station where we boarded the RCI coach to the harbor at 11 am on the day we sailed.

Nancy [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Pat848 · June 11, 2004

Thanks Nancy for your thoughts but we have booked the City Inn with Rccl for the transfers that are included. We are 2 widows in our 60's & did not want to be dragging our luggage around. I do feel we are paying a lot more for convience sake.

Pat

Mrs Seabird · June 12, 2004

Pat, we really liked City Inn. The rooms were not huge but not small either. It's a very modern hotel with a Scandanavian look. We were very pleased with it. The people who booked the hotel with RCI (we didn't) were being picked up at 10 am for transfer to the ship. Since we booked it through British Air, we caught the transfer at Victoria Coach Station at 11 am.
We walked to Westminster Abbey from City Inn. It's a bit of a walk - 15 minutes tops. The Parliament Buildings and Big Ben were in the same area.
We didn't do the hop on bus. We went on a tour of the Cotswold with Evan Evans. It was magnificent.
The other people at our table did the ship's tours in St Petersburg and seemed to like them very nuch. You won't see as much as with a private tour and it's a lot more walking though. The ones who flew to Moscow raved about the trip. It was really well done.

nny92825100 · June 12, 2004

We did the Jewell on May 16, booked our own air on airlineconsolidators.com for $300 less than the going rate, over $600 off RCI. We had Londontown. com pick us up at Gatwick and take us to the hotel for one night precruise. We wanted our luggage to make it. (it did) The next morning at 8:30 sharp a minivan picked us up, loaded our luggage and gave us nice commentary as we drove through London to Harwich. We were on the ship by 11:15. Coming off the ship, we got off at 8, there was our driver once again helping us with 6 pieces of luggage (there were 3 of us) and took us back to the hotel using a different route through the city again almost a full tour. Our hotel was the Marriott at Kensington and we loved it. It opened in July 2003 though it used to be some other hotel before that. Our room the first night was a king with a queen sofa sleeper. The second stay after the cruise we had two doubles with a sitting room with a sofa sleeper. These rooms were huge by American standard. The two showers, one in the tub the other free standing with pulsing body sprays was great. No climbing in the deep UK tubs. On the way back to Gatwick we again had a driver who also took care of our luggage and got a last quick tour of the city again by a different route. We paid 149 pounds incl tax for 3 people in a superior/executive suite which included full English breakfast, free bottled water, soda, snacks all day and night, afternoon canapes, evening deserts, coffee hot chocolate, board games, newspapers from everywhere all in a private lounge. There was a big supermarket across the street and a laundry about a half a block away. The area had all sorts of good places ethnic to fish and ships to eat and the two tube stations were about 5 minutes from the hotel.
Doing our own transfers was the best gift I ever gave myself. It turned out to be less that $100 more for the three of us than what RCI would have charged, not to mention the hotel was way cheaper.

Jewel of the Sea May 2004
Serenade of the Sea August 2003
Splendour of the Sea August 1999
Legend of the Sea August 1997
Rotterdam May 1989

seagoingJLW · June 14, 2004

We were on the same cruise with MrsSeabird and FancyCruiser but you would never know it. We all met at the "Meet and Mingle" and had a good time. However, our opinions of the ship differ widely.

I have been on the Legend of the Seas (twice), the Splendour of the Seas and the old Song of Norway. I find that RCCI has deteriorated badly. Where we used to have fabulous menus with many choices, the dining room offers few these days. Everyone is correct about the Windjammer being far superior to the Tides Dining Room. Don't even bother finding your table.

The menus at the Chops Grille and Portofino now charge $20 per person for what we used to be able to get in the dining room withou charge. I guess this is considered progress.

While the lecturer on history of the area was good, there were virtually no other reasonable daytime activities and the library was a joke.
The entertainment was not up to par. The cast shows were downright bad and the much touted Tango show was just plain boring. Maybe it is the choice of musical numbers that turned us off. They were really awful and consisted of shouting rather than singing.

A few of the guest artists were excellent, such as Judy Kolba (who rightly received a standing ovation), Nick Pike and Jeff Stevenson. There was a female magician who caused many of the audience to walk out early on.

The movies aboard were horrific. In addition to being old, they were repeated ad infinitum with the only refreshing one being "Sense and Sensibility" which was shown in the cinema just once and never in the cabin.

The lounges provided on the Sun decks and the Promenade decks were the least comfortable that I have ever endured. I remember the other RCCI ships as ;hav;ing wonderful padded lounges. Is this just another cost cutting measure?

The first night in St. Petersburg, the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" was shown in the Showrrom instead of on the TV.

RCCI has gotten very tight lately. they seem to be cutting corners everywhere in order to keep the price of cruises down. Now, more than ever, there is a distinct difference between a cruise aboard RCCI and a premiere cruiseline such as Holland America, Princess, or Celebrity.

I am finished with RCCI now.

Joan

BALD EAGLE · June 14, 2004

Hi we also did the Jewel on 16-28 May, we thought the ship was really good, we also sailed on Brilliance in Jan/Feb 2003 and think the Jewel is even better in the food and service department, in fact it is better allround. We could not praise our waiter Bulent and his assistant Marinette enough, they were the best, we also booked through Red october and they were really good our guide was a guy called Dimitry and he was excellent, his knowledge and english were great and he made sure we never queued anywhere. We had a great cruise and it was one of the best we have done, we meet great people had a fun time, especially the quest with Margie and Dick and would do it all again tomorrow, the only downside was RCCL kept us waiting in the schooner bar when we arrived St Petes and we waited there for over an hour, just go straight to the gangway. Hope all of you going on the jewel enjoy it as much as we did as she really is the JEWEL in RCCLs crown
TomCruizes [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.rocamagifs.net/stock_T/Thomasref30.gif[/img]

Enchantment of Seas Nov 1998
Explorer of Seas Feb 2000
Carnival Sensation sept 2001
Regal Princess Feb 2002
Sunbird Sept 2002
Seawing Nov 2002
Brilliance of Seas Jan 2003
Sundream July 2003
Grandeur of Seas Sept 2003
Adonia Nov 2003
Legend of Seas Feb 2004
SS COWPADDY 2003-2004
JEWEL OF SEAS MAY 2004

Brad1185 · June 14, 2004

Joan, we are set for July 15th on the Jewel. Everything you have said is what we have been afraid of and so true. The changes, cutbacks etc by RCI over the past year have been unbelievable. Unfortunately they no longer offer and accectable product. They want and need to fill their ships. RCI really needs to relook and evaluate what they are doing before its too late. The July 15th cruise will also be our last with them. I would never have imagined a year ago saying this about a cruise line that has always given us such a fantastic experience like no other. Sad that its all gone.

Jewel 07/15 [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;7;15;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img]
Golden 09/12 [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;9;12;23;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

jstducky · June 14, 2004

thanks to all of you who posted about your cruise on Jewel. because of you guys i am now more excited than ever (if that is even possible!) to cruise on Jewel! i can only hope my cruise in september is as great as what you have all described.

thanks!

jstducky!
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...til 9/04 - Jewel of the Seas - Canada / New England

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...til 7/04 - Zuiderdam - Western Caribbean

=====================================
7/03 - Zaandam - Alaska
4/03 - Norweigan Star - Hawaii
7/96 - Noordam - Alaska
7/96 - Golden Princess - Alaska
8/94 - Jubilee - Mexican Riviera

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Brad1185 · June 14, 2004

Your excited.

Jewel 07/15 [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;7;15;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img]
Golden 09/12 [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2004;9;12;23;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

jstducky · June 14, 2004

why shouldn't i be excited? i'm going on a cruise in 25 days that i won for free

then i'm going on jewel in 88 days on a brand new ship that i've heard is gorgeous on an itinerary i've wanted to do for years!

i can't wait!

there's no better way to travel than to cruise [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

jstducky!
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...til 9/04 - Jewel of the Seas - Canada / New England

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[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;7;10;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
...til 7/04 - Zuiderdam - Western Caribbean

=====================================
7/03 - Zaandam - Alaska
4/03 - Norweigan Star - Hawaii
7/96 - Noordam - Alaska
7/96 - Golden Princess - Alaska
8/94 - Jubilee - Mexican Riviera

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MVPinBoynton · June 14, 2004

Brad1185,
You're excited? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] We leave for London in 3 days and get on the Jewel in 7. Yippee!

Mike

See our reviews and pictures at [url="http://www.thepreismans.com/"]Mike and Carol's Website[/url]

Costa Classica 3/94
Celebrity Mercury 4/98
Carnival Destiny 4/99
Crown Princess 7/01
Norwegian Star 11/01
Grand Princess 12/01
Sun Princess 3/02
Celebrity Constellation 11/02
Brilliance of the Seas 6/03
Navigator of the Seas 11/03
Jewel of the Seas 06/04
Tahitian Princess 02/05

VaTraveler · June 14, 2004

Wow! I was already excited about my cruise, but after all the positive comments from the people who have been on the Jewel I can hardly wait until our cruise on July 15. It seems like the time is passing so slowly. No wonder you're excited, Mike. Only three days? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Bobby Sue

MVPinBoynton · June 14, 2004

We booked this cruise 11 months ago, so we have waited a real long time. We have had a real active roll call so it has made the wait a lot of fun; but we are ready. It is even fun being at work for the next couple days knowing that this is the week we have waited so long for. Happy days are here.

Mike

See our reviews and pictures at [url="http://www.thepreismans.com/"]Mike and Carol's Website[/url]

Costa Classica 3/94
Celebrity Mercury 4/98
Carnival Destiny 4/99
Crown Princess 7/01
Norwegian Star 11/01
Grand Princess 12/01
Sun Princess 3/02
Celebrity Constellation 11/02
Brilliance of the Seas 6/03
Navigator of the Seas 11/03
Jewel of the Seas 06/04
Tahitian Princess 02/05

nny92825100 · June 15, 2004

I guess we must have been on the same ship as seagoingjlw. I felt the Jewell has really cut corners. We were on the cruise with Bald Eagle and he says the food was great. I heard this from most people who had early seating. Second seating people never had a good thing to say. I don't know if they made all meals ahead and just reheated for us but it was awful. Being an engineer who also has a degree in architecture, let me tell you, they cut corner everywhere. Take a really close look, versus surface look. Wood seldom real wood, library was a joke, you get nickled and timed a lot. Cheese and crackers for room service was drying cut up cheese slices and Saltines. And to top it off, there were not enough elevators. Especially after dinner or when tours come back. Also pray you don't get on deck 10 under the Windjammer. You get to hear carts rolled across the tile floor 18 hour a day.

Like Brad 1185, I feel we will probably look elsewhere for our next cruise.

Jewel of the Sea May 2004
Serenade of the Sea August 2003
Splendour of the Sea August 1999
Legend of the Sea August 1997
Rotterdam May 1989

MKS · June 16, 2004

We were on the Jewel for the Maiden Voyage on May 8 and continued back to back on the May 16 cruise. We felt the Jewel was a beautiful ship, the staff wonderful and outgoing and the room stewards very prompt and particular. We had SECOND SEATING and heard no complaints about temperatures--hot was hot and cold was cold. If there was a problem, the head waiter was always there to rectify it. We felt there was a good selection of food choices and a great selection of places to eat. We enjoyed the shows at night, keeping in mind you can't please everyone's taste in entertainment 100% of the time. The days were filled with something to please every desire.
The evenings had games, music, dancing or bar hopping.....of course Tom and Win helped with the fun at night.
Now I would like to asked a question of the people who are upset with the nickle and diming and the quality of RCI. Please tell me which cruise line you are going to? One that has everything that you want and is still within an average person's price range and has no charge for specialty restaurants, coke, etc. Maybe Princess who charges for all the above including $2.75 for ice cream during the day!
Another thing, does any other cruise line have such great perks for repeat customers?
It always amazes me how people can pay so much for a vacation and then find fault with everything. I always feel that the glass is half full and we have a wonderful time.
Seriously, we are interested in knowing which cruise line would be better (aside from Crystal, etc.) or will you be an ex cruiser?

Live Onboard the Jewel...

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