the jewel awaits

[refman]

going on the jewel for the first time in june and looking for tips about the ship. staying in a two bedroom suite so also curious about any perks we should know about. thanks in advance for any advice.

[garycarla]

Due to your title, you may not get many responses.

 

As to the 2 BR suite - this to me is about the best suite onboard. They are wonderful. How many are in your group?

 

As to hints and ideas -see my notes below. Biggest perk is breakfast and lunch at Cagneys. Best perk in the cabin is the bathroom, and separate rooms.

[refman]

whats wrong with title

[Got Tequila?]

whats wrong with title

 

For future reference...

 

You might have tried something like "Jewel tips/advice wanted" for the thread title. :)

 

I thought you were just waiting for the ship and didn't open the thread earlier.

 

Anyways...

 

The JEWEL is an awsome ship, with a terrific crew. The 2 bedroom suite will spoil you with all the perks. The butler and concierge are available and if you need something don't be afraid to ask them. Breakfast and lunch in Cagneys is one of the best perks...it's so relaxing in the intimate dining room instead of fighting the crowds in the buffet in the morning.

[mommyto2girls]

We just returned from a 2 bedroom Courtyard Villa on the Jewel. It was an amazing experience. We did not go to Cagney's for breakfast and lunch but had it delivered to either the courtyard or our room we found that to be a great option. We were on a 10 day so it was nice to just relax in the courtyard area. Adrian the Concierge on the Jewel is top notch, we received anything wer requested without hesitation and truly appreciated the "suite life". We are past HAL and Carnival suite passengers but think that the Jewel spoiled us forever. Make sure your butler knows what you like to munch on and drink and it will be in your room and waiting whenever you want it. Please remember to be kind and tip accordingly at the end of the cruise since the butler and concierge are not included in the daily service charge. No need to bring hair dryers, shampoo, conditioner, q-tips, cotton balls, all supplied in your fabulous bathoom. You will love it.

[Got Tequila?]

going on the jewel for the first time in june and looking for tips about the ship. staying in a two bedroom suite so also curious about any perks we should know about. thanks in advance for any advice.

 

What deck is your 2 bedroom suite on? The perks are a bit different for the 2 bedroom suites up in the courtyard, versus the regular AB 2 bedroom suites.

[refman]

not courtyard deck, i think ten or eleven

[yoyocruiser]

The perks are a little different--but not a lot (courtyard has seating at the shows). For the most part your AB suite gives you just about everything--with the exception of the courtyard itself and all that the courtyard entails (pool, hot tub, private seating area etc.)

 

The AB suite is just beautiful. Not sure how many are in suite--we had SIX. H and I were in master bedroom, 3 college daughters in small bedroom, and college son slept on fold out couch. Sounds crowded--but it was perfect!! There is a lot of storage, we had plenty of space for stuff for six people. The fold out bed in the living room is the most comfortable bed after the master suite. The beds in the small bedroom are not extremely comfortable--you can ask for an egg crate or extra padding which is what we did and it was fine. Although it is of course best not to have anyone sleeping in living room so that space can be used in the early AM. H and I tended to be up early and then in early--kids tended to stay out very late and sleep until afternoon. That's probably why we weren't that crowded--we were on different schedules--LOL

 

The coffee machine is wonderful--they will teach you how to use it. You can then order milk or cream and they will keep it stocked in the room. We drank a LOT of coffee while sitting on that beautiful deck. There is a fridge in your room, so you can store juices or anything that you order. We ordered a bar set up in the room--bottles are expensive but it is still cheaper than bar drinks, but best part is that you can make them in the room and enjoy your deck. The butler will order movies for you and we had several late night movie viewings--a lot of fun--and they brought us snacks. You can order off the menus and they will serve you in the room. (if you order from a specialty restaurant the charge will apply--but they will bring Cagney's breakfast or Cagney's lunch to your room at no extra charge or anything fromt he MDR) We didn't use this a lot as there were six of us and just not conducive--but H and i had a lovely Cagney's lunch delivered to room one day while at sea and it was great fun to eat on the privacy of the deck. Every afternoon they bring you a plate of surprise snacks which is nice--but honestly when you can order anything all day it was not that important to us. Still it was nice. They brought extra chocolate chip cookies for the kids--the butler was just fantastic dealing with our 4 college age kids and helping them to have a good time.

 

Favorite things to do:

-Take a bath on the sea day and you will feel that you are floating out across the sea because the bathtub literally sits in a huge window (you have to be at sea to take full advantage of this)

-Coffee on the deck and lunch on the deck

-Late movies in the room

-Late night cocktail on the deck before the kids got home

-Our room was on deck 11 and right there was a viewing room to the bridge that very few people knew about--on sea days the curtains were open and you could observe as well as look at satellite viewings, GPS etc.

 

Couple of hints:

-The master bath is basically part of your room. And most BEAUTIFUL. But oddly the door to the toilet is clear glass. A little odd. If others are in the suite you just need to slide your bedroom door shut.

-We felt that the shades on the bathtub area did not provide full privacy. Only an issue if your entire family goes out on the balcony while you are in the bathtub--LOL--the shades MOSTLY block the view but not TOTALLY. Just a good thing of which to be aware.

 

You will get priority disembarking tickets for the ports, if that is important (we didn't care) and you can have priority disembark if you wish.

 

We used the concierge to make dinner reservations and they got us in always at the time and place we wanted. We mostly ate in the MDR, only the Italian specialty restaurant. We never waited.

 

Although you do not get special seating in the shows, I actually felt that that reserved seating (on the side) was not great. We were happy to get our own seats.

 

Also, if you ask you can most likely get priority at the chocolate buffet. This is actually a courtyard perk I think, but if you nicely ask the concierge he will probably help you out unless there are way too many people.

 

The Jewel is a GREAT ship. Go to the meet and greet so that you personally meet John O'Hara--the best hotel director on the seas in my opinion. He ltierally gives out his cell phone number to those there and he will make sure you get what you need (within reason of course).

 

Oh you will also get an invitation to a special cocktail party--we were fortunate that ours was in the courtyard area so we got to see the courtyard, which I really enjoyed. It was a really nice event--great live music, good food, wonderful bottles of wine and a full bar--just an altogether nice event.

 

I can't say enough about the concierge and butler--they were fantastic. I was hesitant at first--but they were so friendly and so helpful that it flowed really nice. I'll admit that initially I just wasn't sure about having these folks help so much--it's not in my nature. But hey--I adjusted pretty quick--LOL We made sure to tip them well, as they truly deserved it. Not only did they work hard--but they were funny and nice and just great to spend time with.

 

That's all I can think of right now. :) ENJOY

[mommyto2girls]

The perks are a little different--but not a lot (courtyard has seating at the shows). For the most part your AB suite gives you just about everything--with the exception of the courtyard itself and all that the courtyard entails (pool, hot tub, private seating area etc.)

 

The AB suite is just beautiful. Not sure how many are in suite--we had SIX. H and I were in master bedroom, 3 college daughters in small bedroom, and college son slept on fold out couch. Sounds crowded--but it was perfect!! There is a lot of storage, we had plenty of space for stuff for six people. The fold out bed in the living room is the most comfortable bed after the master suite. The beds in the small bedroom are not extremely comfortable--you can ask for an egg crate or extra padding which is what we did and it was fine. Although it is of course best not to have anyone sleeping in living room so that space can be used in the early AM. H and I tended to be up early and then in early--kids tended to stay out very late and sleep until afternoon. That's probably why we weren't that crowded--we were on different schedules--LOL

 

The coffee machine is wonderful--they will teach you how to use it. You can then order milk or cream and they will keep it stocked in the room. We drank a LOT of coffee while sitting on that beautiful deck. There is a fridge in your room, so you can store juices or anything that you order. We ordered a bar set up in the room--bottles are expensive but it is still cheaper than bar drinks, but best part is that you can make them in the room and enjoy your deck. The butler will order movies for you and we had several late night movie viewings--a lot of fun--and they brought us snacks. You can order off the menus and they will serve you in the room. (if you order from a specialty restaurant the charge will apply--but they will bring Cagney's breakfast or Cagney's lunch to your room at no extra charge or anything fromt he MDR) We didn't use this a lot as there were six of us and just not conducive--but H and i had a lovely Cagney's lunch delivered to room one day while at sea and it was great fun to eat on the privacy of the deck. Every afternoon they bring you a plate of surprise snacks which is nice--but honestly when you can order anything all day it was not that important to us. Still it was nice. They brought extra chocolate chip cookies for the kids--the butler was just fantastic dealing with our 4 college age kids and helping them to have a good time.

 

Favorite things to do:

-Take a bath on the sea day and you will feel that you are floating out across the sea because the bathtub literally sits in a huge window (you have to be at sea to take full advantage of this)

-Coffee on the deck and lunch on the deck

-Late movies in the room

-Late night cocktail on the deck before the kids got home

-Our room was on deck 11 and right there was a viewing room to the bridge that very few people knew about--on sea days the curtains were open and you could observe as well as look at satellite viewings, GPS etc.

 

Couple of hints:

-The master bath is basically part of your room. And most BEAUTIFUL. But oddly the door to the toilet is clear glass. A little odd. If others are in the suite you just need to slide your bedroom door shut.

-We felt that the shades on the bathtub area did not provide full privacy. Only an issue if your entire family goes out on the balcony while you are in the bathtub--LOL--the shades MOSTLY block the view but not TOTALLY. Just a good thing of which to be aware.

 

You will get priority disembarking tickets for the ports, if that is important (we didn't care) and you can have priority disembark if you wish.

 

We used the concierge to make dinner reservations and they got us in always at the time and place we wanted. We mostly ate in the MDR, only the Italian specialty restaurant. We never waited.

 

Although you do not get special seating in the shows, I actually felt that that reserved seating (on the side) was not great. We were happy to get our own seats.

 

Also, if you ask you can most likely get priority at the chocolate buffet. This is actually a courtyard perk I think, but if you nicely ask the concierge he will probably help you out unless there are way too many people.

 

The Jewel is a GREAT ship. Go to the meet and greet so that you personally meet John O'Hara--the best hotel director on the seas in my opinion. He ltierally gives out his cell phone number to those there and he will make sure you get what you need (within reason of course).

 

Oh you will also get an invitation to a special cocktail party--we were fortunate that ours was in the courtyard area so we got to see the courtyard, which I really enjoyed. It was a really nice event--great live music, good food, wonderful bottles of wine and a full bar--just an altogether nice event.

 

I can't say enough about the concierge and butler--they were fantastic. I was hesitant at first--but they were so friendly and so helpful that it flowed really nice. I'll admit that initially I just wasn't sure about having these folks help so much--it's not in my nature. But hey--I adjusted pretty quick--LOL We made sure to tip them well, as they truly deserved it. Not only did they work hard--but they were funny and nice and just great to spend time with.

 

That's all I can think of right now. :) ENJOY

 

 

Hotel director last week was Brian (Walters I believe) John O'Hara is gone. Adrian is the Concierge and he is amazing. We loved the Jewel!