Jewel of the Seas or Island Princess for Xmas Cruise?

[as41shots]

Although presently booked on the Explorer for the 14 days out of NJ, we did that cruise last year and thought we'd look at something different.

 

Jewel OTS on Island Princess have the following itineraries:

 

Day......Jewel OTS ................# hours .............. Island Princess ........# hours

1...... Ft. Lauderdale........................................ Ft. Lauderdale

2 ......At Sea .................................................At Sea

3 ...... Labadee.............................9 ................At Sea

4......At Sea ..................................................Aruba ............................. 5 1/2

5...... Cartagena, Columbia .............6 ................Cartagena, Columbia ............6

6......Colon, Panama ................... 10 ................Panama Canal, Panama .......10

....................................................................Colon, Panama ................... 3

7......Puerto Limon, Costa Rica........12 ................ Puerto Limon, Costa Rica....... 11

8......At Sea ....................................................At Sea

9......Georgetown, Grand Cayman.....10................ Ocho Rios ..........................7

10......At Sea ...................................................At Sea

11...... Ft. Lauderdale .........................................Ft. Lauderdale

 

Anyone with experience on both of these fine vessels? Thoughts on the very slight variations in itineraries? I'll cross post on the Princess board. Thanks!

[orville99]

Although presently booked on the Explorer for the 14 days out of NJ, we did that cruise last year and thought we'd look at something different.

 

Jewel OTS on Island Princess have the following itineraries:

 

Day......Jewel OTS ................# hours .............. Island Princess ........# hours

1...... Ft. Lauderdale........................................ Ft. Lauderdale

2 ......At Sea .................................................At Sea

3 ...... Labadee.............................9 ................At Sea

4......At Sea ..................................................Aruba ............................. 5 1/2

5...... Cartagena, Columbia .............6 ................Cartagena, Columbia ............6

6......Colon, Panama ................... 10 ................Panama Canal, Panama .......10

....................................................................Colon, Panama ................... 3

7......Puerto Limon, Costa Rica........12 ................ Puerto Limon, Costa Rica....... 11

8......At Sea ....................................................At Sea

9......Georgetown, Grand Cayman.....10................ Ocho Rios ..........................7

10......At Sea ...................................................At Sea

11...... Ft. Lauderdale .........................................Ft. Lauderdale

 

Anyone with experience on both of these fine vessels? Thoughts on the very slight variations in itineraries? I'll cross post on the Princess board. Thanks!

 

Probably the Princess cruise, but only because of Aruba.

Other than that, the rest of the itinerary is a toss-up. Lines and service are comparable, so you won't go wrong with either one.

[workingboy]

I can't give you any guidance on the difference between the two lines. I have been on Jewel 6 times now and enjoyed every cruise. We did a version of the cruise you are considering this spring. The only difference was that we got Aruba and you are going to get Labadee.

 

If you like the beach, then I don't think you can go wrong with Ladadee. While I would miss Aruba, I personally could do without Ocho Rios, as I find it a very "pushy" type of port. Just my two cents.

[negc]

It really is going to depend on your particular preference. Jewel of the Seas is our favorite ship and so that would clearly influence our decision towards her. The itineraries are pretty similar and where you lose Aruba with the Jewel, you gain Grand Cayman and Labadee. Island Princess offers Aruba but has Ocho Rios instead of Georgetown. There are tradeoffs and you will need to determine which make the most difference for you. Have never been to Cartagena so that might be an attractive feature for us but might not be as popular as Aruba would be to others. Good luck and enjoy whichever cruise you settle on.:)

[bigboffs]

The ships are about the same age and size. The itinerarys are more similar than differant. Both will give you a pleasant cruise experience. DH would decide on cabin type ( outside/balcony etc), compare price, and go with the least epensive.

[Cruzin-K]

I'm booked on the Jewel next April with the same itinerary. I was close to canceling and switching to Princess in 2012 due to financial issues but as of now I'm trying to stick with the Jewel because she won't be doing that itinerary after 2011 :( and there are just too many reasons for me to want RCI over Princess.

 

I loved the Serenade and the Jewel is the same layout. All the glass is lovely.

 

From what I could see, the Princess prices were a LOT higher for when I wanted to sail.

 

I know I'm in the minority but I don't like Aruba. It's not lush and green like other Caribbean islands - it's a desert isle and I saw enough cactus when I lived in Arizona.

 

I have no desire to go to Jamaica.

 

I can take a partial canal transit on an excursion with RCI. If I want a full transit (which I do someday) then I will book a cruise that goes one way from Florida to California or something like that.

[Gabrielle R.]

My Dh and I did the Island Princess Two years ago. We did her sister ship Coral this summer. We liked these shhips because the crew is friendly and the itenerary. I think the Island is similar to the Radiance class ships. Infact this Christmas we will do the Serenade becasue it was similar to the Island (& Coral) We have done 7 crusies on Princess and 2 on Royal.

 

Island will have 'snow' in the main atrium during the day. Being from MN I know real snow Vs. machine made snow- but it is still fun. The Atrium is not as soaring in apperance as the atrium is on a Royal ship.

 

Island has anytime dining We liked that since we didn't HAVE TO pick a time to eat. Where as with my time you have to lock in to a time. My DH and I would sometimes share a table with others during Anytime, sometimes we had a table for two. We rarely had the same wait staff- though in the Horiszon court we got to know certain workers since we were there during their shift.

 

I think EITHER ship would be nice. Go with what you like best for ports. think you will make a great choice with either ship!

Gabrielle

[as41shots]

Thanks for all of the comments. Pulled the trigger and booked the Island Princess. You have no idea how difficult it was to hit the "Cancel This Cruise" button on the Royal Caribbean web page. :eek:

 

Should be great. Now on to the airfare hunt.

[iluvcruzin]

Congrats on your booking. We went on the Jewel last December - the same itenerary and enjoyed it. If the Princess cruise goes into the canal that might be another reason to go that route. Personally I like Labadee more than Aruba but to each its own. Have fun planning!

[negc]

My only quibble would be the misinformation posted regarding My Time Dining. Under RCI's program you can make reservations for the same time or a different time every evening or you can simply walk into the dining room when you want to dine and usually be seated quickly. You don't have to "lock into" a set dining time. Contrast that to our experience with Princess which wouldn't accept reservations for the period between,if I remember correctly, 6:30 and 8:30 pm, and if you made the mistake of trying to eat during a peak time, you were handed a beeper and were sometimes faced with a 30 t0 45 minute wait for a table. No beepers in MTD and most waits that have been reported were between two and five minutes.

I am happy that you were able to make a choice of the Island Princess and only hope that your reasons was not a mistaken impression of how MTD works

[as41shots]

negc - thanks for the info. No worries, tho, as MTD was not a consideration.

[LisaH]

Having been on both ships, I would pick the Jewel any day over the Island...just my experience. The Jewel is a nicer ship and we had one of the best cabins ever - 9576. The Jewel is our fave ship.

 

I might cruise on the Island again but not sure - it would depend on the itin. This was the first Princess cruise where we found the staff to not be friendly and we had a terribly located cabin - minisuite B503 - while it appeared to be great, it was right across from a service door and the noise was terrible each and every night and morning. I also heard Island was getting MUTS and to me that is a big negative.

 

The Jewel is more elegant...and we thought the food on RCCL was better. But you will get various opinions.