Jewel of the Seas 11/26/11 Trip Report

[Cruisegirl7898]

Just got back from Jewel of the Seas 11/26/11 sailing..here is a quick recap.

 

Day One: Embarkation took less than 10 minutes, we got there at 11:00 but already boarding had began. Didn't even get a chance to wait in the special boarding section for being a Diamond member. Once on board we headed to the Windjammer for lunch, loved the many great selections of food and the lemonade and flavored waters weren't too bad either(try the mango flavor!). We then went to our cabin (#9256), the balcony was huge, it had two loungers and two chairs with a table. We also had a gift basket with trail mix/cookies and a can of soda as part of our C&A perks.

 

Day Two, Day at Sea: We decided to play bingo in the Safari Lounge, the cheapest option was $22 dollars for a 3 card/4 game booklet and $45 dollar option for an electronic bingo machine that played 18 cards at a time. This is one of the things that kind of irked me, every winner was someone who had purchased the electronic bingo machine, making it basically impossible to win with a traditional paper card. We also decided to look at some of the art up for auction, saw a great piece by Britto with a cruise ship, something I know my mom would love. Decided to ask the price and turns out it was $1200:eek:. Maybe next time, hehe.

 

Day Three, Cozumel: Weather was incredibly windy and the seas were rough. Decided it was a good idea I hadn't booked that bottom fishing excursion, considering most of the excursions were cancelled for that day. After getting off the pier, there are a ton of gifts shops, but many of them carry the same thing. Humane Society of Cozumel was there though, you could actually adopt a dog and have it shipped back home, which was pretty unusual. We went over to the taxi areas and there is a big sign with tons of places and the prices listed. I had been to Chakanab before so for $10 we made it over there. Due to the weather being bad, it was half price for entry($14). They have a really nice botanical garden area and the beaches and snorkeling area looked to be really beautiful if the weather was better. Saw a sea lion show which was super funny considering we had no idea what was going on, although they kept referring to Harry Potter for some reason. We sat under one of the tiki huts for a while then made it back to the ship.

 

Day Four, Costa Maya: All I can say is I loved, loved, loved this place! We got off the ship and there was a bunch of gifts shops which basically had the same things at the one in Cozumel..I wonder if there is just a giant factory that just makes the same stuff, but with different cities names on it. Went to the very back of the shopping center, where we were bombarded by people wanting us to rent golf carts, dune buggies. I didn't see any taxis, so we went around to the other side and apparently you purchase tickets for $3 a person to take a big bus or van to downtown. So we did that and went to Fernados 100% agave for lunch, which was recommended to me. It was really neat inside, it had a sand floor bottom and plastic chairs with a bunch of tropical plants inside with a bar and kitchen. The server presented us free of charge two vodka/oj shots to start with. We ordered margaritas and the special, which included a quesadilla, onions/peppers, and chicken(but be warned when they say peppers, they mean jalapenos, haha). We were also given chips with three different dipping sauces. After dinner, the owner came and gave us two more shots, one with tequilla/anise and the other coffee/tequilla which was served hot. Imagine my surprise when the total bill was $20! What a deal. After that we walked along the boardwalk, although it was kind of annoying having people asking to come to their clubs on the beach every few seconds. We walked all the way to the lighthouse and took a regular taxi back for $4.

 

Day 5 was basically just enjoying the ship. Found out I really enjoy pingpong, it was really fun!

 

Embarkation: Super fast as well! We were scheduled to get off at 900am, but ended up getting off at 8:30am.

 

I really enjoyed the Jewel and the smaller size of the ship. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer :)

[will773]

Glad to hear that you had a great trip! I hope to sail on a Radiance class ship one day! :rolleyes:

[LadyGodiva]

Thanks for posting your review. My husband and I will be taking the same cruise next March. I was especially glad to hear that you got off the ship so early on the last day. We'll probably have a flight at 10:30 so we'll want to get off fast. Glad you enjoyed it.

[SRQfireman]

Thanks for posting....you try to smuggle on booze by chance? if so, how'd it go?

[dvcmember]

I'm sailing Dec 10, and I can't wait. How was the entertainment and live music? Other cruises have said there is live entertainment everywhere.

 

Did Portofino's offer a luch/cooking demo?

 

I plan on eating in the MDR almost everynight, we are going to play it by ear. Am I missing something if I don't dine in the alt. rest's?

 

Would love to see the Compass papers as well, if it's not too much work. Enjoyed your review.

 

Thanks!

[FrannyK]

Thanks so much for posting your report. We'll be in 9256 on Jan 26! It will be our first aft balcony. I hope you kept it in good shape for us ;) Were there any problems w/noise/motion in that cabin? Did you have MTD?

[xdsmx]

Quick dining question. We're taking this cruise in 2 days and booked for late dining. I've never sailed rc but every other line has a buffet the majority of the day and smaller, all inclusive restaurants available as well. Also a few flat fee speciality dining options and the formal room. Is this the same as the jewel? I don't like schedules and I'd like to wander as I please :)

[Woe is me]

Quick dining question. We're taking this cruise in 2 days and booked for late dining. I've never sailed rc but every other line has a buffet the majority of the day and smaller, all inclusive restaurants available as well. Also a few flat fee speciality dining options and the formal room. Is this the same as the jewel? I don't like schedules and I'd like to wander as I please :)

 

Yes, they have the same options. Sailing on the 5th also, will have a great time!;);)

[xdsmx]

Cool thanks.

[LadyGodiva]

Just got back from Jewel of the Seas 11/26/11 sailing..here is a quick recap.

 

Day One: Embarkation took less than 10 minutes, we got there at 11:00 but already boarding had began. Didn't even get a chance to wait in the special boarding section for being a Diamond member. Once on board we headed to the Windjammer for lunch, loved the many great selections of food and the lemonade and flavored waters weren't too bad either(try the mango flavor!). We then went to our cabin (#9256), the balcony was huge, it had two loungers and two chairs with a table. We also had a gift basket with trail mix/cookies and a can of soda as part of our C&A perks.

 

Day Two, Day at Sea: We decided to play bingo in the Safari Lounge, the cheapest option was $22 dollars for a 3 card/4 game booklet and $45 dollar option for an electronic bingo machine that played 18 cards at a time. This is one of the things that kind of irked me, every winner was someone who had purchased the electronic bingo machine, making it basically impossible to win with a traditional paper card. We also decided to look at some of the art up for auction, saw a great piece by Britto with a cruise ship, something I know my mom would love. Decided to ask the price and turns out it was $1200:eek:. Maybe next time, hehe.

 

Day Three, Cozumel: Weather was incredibly windy and the seas were rough. Decided it was a good idea I hadn't booked that bottom fishing excursion, considering most of the excursions were cancelled for that day. After getting off the pier, there are a ton of gifts shops, but many of them carry the same thing. Humane Society of Cozumel was there though, you could actually adopt a dog and have it shipped back home, which was pretty unusual. We went over to the taxi areas and there is a big sign with tons of places and the prices listed. I had been to Chakanab before so for $10 we made it over there. Due to the weather being bad, it was half price for entry($14). They have a really nice botanical garden area and the beaches and snorkeling area looked to be really beautiful if the weather was better. Saw a sea lion show which was super funny considering we had no idea what was going on, although they kept referring to Harry Potter for some reason. We sat under one of the tiki huts for a while then made it back to the ship.

 

Day Four, Costa Maya: All I can say is I loved, loved, loved this place! We got off the ship and there was a bunch of gifts shops which basically had the same things at the one in Cozumel..I wonder if there is just a giant factory that just makes the same stuff, but with different cities names on it. Went to the very back of the shopping center, where we were bombarded by people wanting us to rent golf carts, dune buggies. I didn't see any taxis, so we went around to the other side and apparently you purchase tickets for $3 a person to take a big bus or van to downtown. So we did that and went to Fernados 100% agave for lunch, which was recommended to me. It was really neat inside, it had a sand floor bottom and plastic chairs with a bunch of tropical plants inside with a bar and kitchen. The server presented us free of charge two vodka/oj shots to start with. We ordered margaritas and the special, which included a quesadilla, onions/peppers, and chicken(but be warned when they say peppers, they mean jalapenos, haha). We were also given chips with three different dipping sauces. After dinner, the owner came and gave us two more shots, one with tequilla/anise and the other coffee/tequilla which was served hot. Imagine my surprise when the total bill was $20! What a deal. After that we walked along the boardwalk, although it was kind of annoying having people asking to come to their clubs on the beach every few seconds. We walked all the way to the lighthouse and took a regular taxi back for $4.

 

Day 5 was basically just enjoying the ship. Found out I really enjoy pingpong, it was really fun!

 

Embarkation: Super fast as well! We were scheduled to get off at 900am, but ended up getting off at 8:30am.

 

I really enjoyed the Jewel and the smaller size of the ship. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer :)

 

My husband would like to know if they served lobster in the main dining room even though this was a shorter cruise?

[Clamett]

We were on the Jewel 2 weeks ago and lobster was served.

[LadyGodiva]

We were on the Jewel 2 weeks ago and lobster was served.

 

Thank you very much for letting me know. My husband will be delighted! He wasn't sure they serve lobster on cruises shorter than 7 nights.

[Tanker4]

Thanks so much for posting your report. We'll be in 9256 on Jan 26! It will be our first aft balcony. I hope you kept it in good shape for us ;) Were there any problems w/noise/motion in that cabin? Did you have MTD?

 

 

I hope you guys keep 9256 in good shape as we're sailing in it on Jan 30th.:D We had this same cabin last year on Radience and loved it. The balcony is huge!

[Cruisegirl7898]

@SRQfireman- No, don't really drink so no reason to smuggle.

 

@dvcmember- Didn't have any demos at Portofinos on Compass so I assume there was none. We also at Chops, the speciality restraurant one night, the food was quite yummy, but our waiter wasn't the greatest, ran around in circles like he didn't know what to do. Your not really missing much on not dining it though, its more of a treat thing.

 

@FrannyK- Nah, I figured when we were done we would trash the place...hehe..No noise at all, but we did have some minor rocking, nothing too extreme though. Oh and yes we did have MTD Dining..it was good just had a different service team each night and even though we requested a table of two, we often had to sit with a group otherwise wait 15-20 minutes.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

@dvcmember- Didn't have any demos at Portofinos on Compass so I assume there was none. We also at Chops, the speciality restraurant one night, the food was quite yummy, but our waiter wasn't the greatest, ran around in circles like he didn't know what to do. Your not really missing much on not dining it though, its more of a treat thing.

 

 

they don't necessarily post in compass those things. I doubt the Portofino wine and diner was in the compass either was it? The last cruise we went on, we went down to the specialty dinning and saw menus for all and they have menus from murder mystery and a jazz brunch, so if it was an extra cost thing, then I would ask when I board.

[forecastle]

:)Was also on the 11/26 sailing thanks for review,day after getting back checked prices and they dropped from 11/26 so I booked again going tommorrow 12/5. The lobster was called "Fishermans Platter" if I recall it was day 4

[PH8]

Nice review............just wondering why you had to sit with others at MTD??:confused:

 

And BTW-isn't your mom worth $1200??;)

[negc]

Nice review............just wondering why you had to sit with others at MTD??:confused:

 

Looks like getting a table for two at the time they wanted to dine would have required a wait of approximately 15 minutes, so they were given the option of joining a table with other guests. If I really wanted a table for two I don't think a fifteen minute wait would be too onerous but if it wasn't essential I would probably opt to join others for the evening meal.

[Cruisegirl7898]

Looks like getting a table for two at the time they wanted to dine would have required a wait of approximately 15 minutes, so they were given the option of joining a table with other guests. If I really wanted a table for two I don't think a fifteen minute wait would be too onerous but if it wasn't essential I would probably opt to join others for the evening meal.

 

 

Well when you reserve a time of 730pm for two people together, I wouldn't think you would have to wait. Unless I'm missing something about not being guaranteed a table at this time in the fine print.

[PH8]

Just strange,since I never have been asked to sit with others at MTD or had to wait 15 minutes.....and we always choose 7:30.....why do they give you the option of 7:30 and you say 2 people,if it's a problem?? :rolleyes:

[Cruisegirl7898]

Just strange,since I never have been asked to sit with others at MTD or had to wait 15 minutes.....and we always choose 7:30.....why do they give you the option of 7:30 and you say 2 people,if it's a problem?? :rolleyes:

 

 

Yeah and there were like two couples in front of us waiting for the same thing, unless they are giving away those table to people who come like at 715 with no reservations. There was always a long line with people who had no reservations.

[Linda/Ohio]

I was also on this cruise and yes it was easy on--easy off. Very enjoyable. We did MTD every night. Usually a table for 4 although one night it was a table for 2 as our friends won a dinner @ Chops. Our shore excursion was cancelled in Cozumel due to wind and water conditions--Passion Island. We enjoyed a day walking around and having lunch in Cozumel. In Costa Maya we went to Maya Chan--a lovely private resort for a beach day and lunch.

[PH8]

Yeah and there were like two couples in front of us waiting for the same thing, unless they are giving away those table to people who come like at 715 with no reservations. There was always a long line with people who had no reservations.

Sorry you had a little glitch,but sounds like overall,you really enjoyed the cruise!!:)

[lsu56]

:) To all our new pirate friends that whisk us away in Costa Maya: We had a wonderful time and hope to do it again soon !

Thank you soooo much!