Jewel of the Seas Drydock

[Familygoboston]

Am I in a time warp here ?? Dry dock for Jewel is shceduled for end of April till early May 2011, today is May 14 th 2011. Dry dock must have already happened, and the folks with the missing April 23 rd cruise have either missed it, or are talking about 2012. ( seems like cancellations of 2012 cruises on Jewel are popping up quite a bit- we had a Feb 23 rd 2012 cancelled. )

 

Anyway, don't know why all these posts are dated today talking about drydocks and cruises that happened days ago ???:eek:

[05mak05]

I suppose I assumed everyone would know it's 2012 that we are talking about.

[Familygoboston]

Nope, I think the thread was all about 2011...

[insulationbabe]

Well I'm not on here to argue - and from your list of previous cruises - we've been on the Jewel most recently - being February 14-25 of this year and we know what we saw

Thanks and have a great night:)

[billsgal]

We were also on the Jewel in February (it was our 14th time on Jewel) and the Diamond Event was held in the Viking Crown lounge across from the Hollywood Odyssey............it is used as a "Diamond Lounge" for the "Diamond Event" but it is actually the Viking Crown lounge as opposed to an actual "Diamond Lounge" which is a dedicated room on the Freedom and Oasis class ships, and only used in place of the Concierge Lounge for diamond members. On Freedom class and Oasis class the room actually has a plaque reading "Diamond Lounge".

 

Depending upon the number of Diamond guests onboard, the Diamond event can be held in the Vortex (part of the VCL) or, if necessary, they can use the entire VCL.

[insulationbabe]

:)That's probably what Bob saw and he assumed it was the "diamond lounge" - oh well we go into the Concierge anyway so it doesn't make any difference to us. I know when we were on the Freedom in March the Concierge and the Diamond Lounge supply the same snackies and drinks

[billsgal]

Us, too. We have also been onboard when the Hollywood Odyssey was used for the Diamond event, as there weren't that many diamond plus members onboard.

[negc]

Am I in a time warp here ?? Dry dock for Jewel is shceduled for end of April till early May 2011, today is May 14 th 2011. Dry dock must have already happened, and the folks with the missing April 23 rd cruise have either missed it, or are talking about 2012. ( seems like cancellations of 2012 cruises on Jewel are popping up quite a bit- we had a Feb 23 rd 2012 cancelled. )

 

Anyway, don't know why all these posts are dated today talking about drydocks and cruises that happened days ago ???:eek:

 

You are correct. Drydock has already happened and the ship is enroute to Europe at this time (it left Florida on May 6th. However some of the responses, including at least one of mine, may not have had the exact dates readily at hand, and knew only that one was scheduled right about now. I haven't noticed any cancellations "popping up" but that is most likely because none of those cancellations have effected our upcoming Jewel voyages. It is possible that any cancelled cruises are simply due to the ship being chartered for specific dates, but I don't have specific information about those happenings. We are booked on 2011 and 2012 Jewel westbound transatlantics and 2011 and 2012 repositioning cruises along with many of the same cruisers, so it can sometimes be confusing as to which one we are posting about.:D

[SLCBoys]

When on Engine Control Room Tour in Feb...we were told Jewel would have general things like carpet, furniture...new azipods, bearings, paint bottom etc. I guess the typical dry dock maintenance?

[05mak05]

I suppose I assumed everyone would know it's 2012 that we are talking about.

Whooops ... my mistake. There are several threads going about the April 23, 2012 cruise being "in suspense" with theories about dry dock, a charter, etc. I simply clicked on the wrong one ... this is the first mistake I've ever made :-)

[cruisenfever]

We were also on the Jewel in February (it was our 14th time on Jewel) and the Diamond Event was held in the Viking Crown lounge across from the Hollywood Odyssey............it is used as a "Diamond Lounge" for the "Diamond Event" but it is actually the Viking Crown lounge as opposed to an actual "Diamond Lounge" which is a dedicated room on the Freedom and Oasis class ships, and only used in place of the Concierge Lounge for diamond members. On Freedom class and Oasis class the room actually has a plaque reading "Diamond Lounge".

 

Depending upon the number of Diamond guests onboard, the Diamond event can be held in the Vortex (part of the VCL) or, if necessary, they can use the entire VCL.

Thanks Rita, I knew what I was talking about, but I guess Bernice didn't want to believe me.:o

[negc]

Confusing the terms "Diamond Lounge" and "Diamond Event" seems to be a frequently recurring problem on these boards. On Explorer, the nightly Diamond Event was held in the 19th Hole section of the Viking Crown Lounge and I am sure that some attendees thought of it as a "Diamond Lounge" despite the fact that many of the services available in an actual Diamond lounge (on Freedom and Oasis vessels) were not offered in the 19th Hole.:)

[MrCruzdoggie]

I heard that they renamed the ship Diamond of the Seas and it's one big Diamond Lounge.,,,,,,,

[oceanviewcruise]

I heard that they renamed the ship Diamond of the Seas and it's one big Diamond Lounge.,,,,,,,

 

 

With MSC seemingly re-introducing the class system on cruise ships (Suite passengers have their own swimming pool,dining room, lounges and free 24 hour drinks etc.) is all this elitist treatment for Diamond status passengers and above the start of RCI going the same way? All this banter is fine to Diamond and Diamond + grades, but those on Platinum and Emerald get pretty sick of it sometimes!

 

Princess cruises rewards their loyal passengers in other non-elitest fashion, such as free Internet and laundry, rather than offending lesser mortals in this way. Poor show RCCL/RCI - thats not cricket old boy!

[negc]

With MSC seemingly re-introducing the class system on cruise ships (Suite passengers have their own swimming pool,dining room, lounges and free 24 hour drinks etc.) is all this elitist treatment for Diamond status passengers and above the start of RCI going the same way? All this banter is fine to Diamond and Diamond + grades, but those on Platinum and Emerald get pretty sick of it sometimes!

 

Princess cruises rewards their loyal passengers in other non-elitest fashion, such as free Internet and laundry, rather than offending lesser mortals in this way. Poor show RCCL/RCI - thats not cricket old boy!

 

Exclusivity is not new nor is it limited to RCI or MSC and it includes guests who book suites just as much as it does Diamond and Diamond Plus C&A members on RCI and higher tier members of other lines', including Celebrity, loyalty programs. It also rules with NCL and other lines as well and is a trend that, while I do not favor it, has grown considerably in recent years. Rather than being designed to irritate Platinum and Emerald members it seems likely to encourage them to book more and longer cruises so that they can achieve Diamond, Diamond Plus, and eventually Pinnacle class.:)

[oceanviewcruise]

Exclusivity is not new nor is it limited to RCI or MSC and it includes guests who book suites just as much as it does Diamond and Diamond Plus C&A members on RCI and higher tier members of other lines', including Celebrity, loyalty programs. It also rules with NCL and other lines as well and is a trend that, while I do not favor it, has grown considerably in recent years. Rather than being designed to irritate Platinum and Emerald members it seems likely to encourage them to book more and longer cruises so that they can achieve Diamond, Diamond Plus, and eventually Pinnacle class.:)

 

Yes, I understand their marketing tactics and the theory that Emerald and Diamond status passengers might be encouraged to book more cruises, however, that idea was more valid under the old method of 1 point for each cruise. Not everybody that has attained Platinum and Emerald status did that by booking two or three cruises a year. For some a cruise is not an each year event and their status may have taken over a decade to reach. These once in a blue moon cruisers can get pretty upset to find that some parts of the superliner they are on are out-of-bounds to them, just because they are not rich enough to cruise when they would like too.

 

The new trend for RCI of late is to encourage families aboard their resort-style ships and some no doubt that have already cruised on the Oasis and Freedom class ships are first-time cruisers. It could take those families many, many years to appreciate any of the upper status benefits. Diamond status and above passengers that are on those larger ships, certainly in the holiday periods, will be in the minority and they could be viewed, quite rightly in my opinion, as an elitist group that the cruise line is pampering just because they are wealthy and/or part of the "Grey Power" era.

 

So increasing this the way that RCI and MSC are doing is very un-PC. Certainly in Britain anyway!

[negc]

Yes, I understand their marketing tactics and the theory that Emerald and Diamond status passengers might be encouraged to book more cruises, however, that idea was more valid under the old method of 1 point for each cruise. Not everybody that has attained Platinum and Emerald status did that by booking two or three cruises a year. For some a cruise is not an each year event and their status may have taken over a decade to reach. These once in a blue moon cruisers can get pretty upset to find that some parts of the superliner they are on are out-of-bounds to them, just because they are not rich enough to cruise when they would like too.

 

The new trend for RCI of late is to encourage families aboard their resort-style ships and some no doubt that have already cruised on the Oasis and Freedom class ships are first-time cruisers. It could take those families many, many years to appreciate any of the upper status benefits. Diamond status and above passengers that are on those larger ships, certainly in the holiday periods, will be in the minority and they could be viewed, quite rightly in my opinion, as an elitist group that the cruise line is pampering just because they are wealthy and/or part of the "Grey Power" era.

 

So increasing this the way that RCI and MSC are doing is very un-PC. Certainly in Britain anyway!

The old way of earning cruise credits was roundly criticized by many as being unfair and the general reaction to the change was pretty widely accepted as being better, even though no system can be completely fair. You want to equate those who are able to cruise more than very occasionally with the "rich" and "old" which is not necessarily the case. The "many, many years" that it will take new cruisers to achieve the benefits of Diamond and Diamond Plus is an exaggeration, but setting goals that are difficult but not impossible to achieve is certainly better than a system where everyone can quickly and effortlessly reach the highest levels. Increasing their customer base and encouraging their current cruisers to book with them more frequently in order to achieve higher loyalty program status are not mutually exclusive goals and if they can achieve both, more power to them. It may not be what you perceive as being PC, but there are many for whom "PC" is a concept that has been stretched far beyond what common sense would require.

[AtlFirstTimeCruiser]

Did RCCL replace the bulky old TVs during the dry dock???

[negc]

Did RCCL replace the bulky old TVs during the dry dock???

 

Probably not. It wasn't listed as one of the issues to be addressed on the Jewel at this time. Someone who has sailed on her since the drydock can confirm but I don't expect to see this change until the Jewel undergoes the updating that is being done to Radiance before she begins her season in Alaska.:) Bulky old TVs have not been a big problem for us when sailing on Jewel and while the newer flat screens are certainly a nice feature, they aren't essential to my enjoyment of my cruise.:)

[Pichu21]

Was Jewel taken to the dry dock? Or will it in the future?

 

This RCI page doesnt say anything about Jewel

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=royal_advantage_main&cid=RCHPF1-11082010RoyalAdvantage

[cruislovin]

Probably not. It wasn't listed as one of the issues to be addressed on the Jewel at this time. Someone who has sailed on her since the drydock can confirm but I don't expect to see this change until the Jewel undergoes the updating that is being done to Radiance before she begins her season in Alaska.:) Bulky old TVs have not been a big problem for us when sailing on Jewel and while the newer flat screens are certainly a nice feature, they aren't essential to my enjoyment of my cruise.:)

 

Any recent Jewel cruisers who can comment on the TV's?

[apk1389]

Any recent Jewel cruisers who can comment on the TV's?

my room 1600 had a flat screen. but going over to some other rooms on various decks there still was some old tvs while some did have the flat screens. couldnt find any rhyme or reason to the tvs

[JandBR_PHX]

Any recent news on Jewel if the Seas upgrades, or when she will next be in dry dock? From the cruise calendar, it looks like she's scheduled through Oct 2014.

[UNV-IT!!!]

Any recent news on Jewel if the Seas upgrades, or when she will next be in dry dock? From the cruise calendar, it looks like she's scheduled through Oct 2014.

 

She finally goes in 2016 I believe.

[Ashland]

She finally goes in 2016 I believe.

Yes...If they stick to the plan it's 5-1-16