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Just Back from Jewel of the Seas (1-21 to 1-26)—Great Cruise

seacruise9

By seacruise9,
in Royal Caribbean International

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seacruise9

seacruise9

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Hi,

 

I returned home today from a five-night cruise (Jan. 21 to 26, 2012) on the Jewel of the Seas that visited Cozumel and Costa Maya. This was an excellent cruise!

 

I have extensive cruise experience and have cruised multiple times with most of the major lines. This was my 15th cruise with Royal Caribbean (I am a Diamond member) and my fourth cruise with this line during the past year: Navigator of the Seas, four-day Western Caribbean, March 2011; Allure of the Seas, seven-day Eastern Caribbean, September 2011; and Liberty of the Seas, four-day Western Caribbean, December 2011. I enjoyed all four of these cruises, but my cruise on the Jewel of the Seas was particularly good. Because this is a somewhat smaller and more traditional ship (no Royal Promenade), this cruise was reminiscent of my cruises in the “good old days” (I mean this as a compliment). The ship is beautiful and extremely well maintained.

 

Dining: I had traditional dining at 8:30 at table 476 (a table for 10 near a window). I had dinner in the main dining room each evening. The food and service in the dining room were excellent. On the two sea days, I greatly enjoyed lunch in the dining room (the Tutti salad is great and I loved the B52 dessert on the first sea day). On one of the port days, I had lunch in the Seaview Café. Otherwise, I ate in the Windjammer.

 

Entertainment: The entertainment was fine, but the highlight was a brand new production show (City of Dreams) that was performed on the final night of the cruise. This show was outstanding.

 

Stateroom: My “hump” balcony statement (9580) featured a perfect central location and a balcony with an excellent view. However, this stateroom was somewhat noisy at times. A lot of music from the Centrum can be heard in this stateroom. However, this did not really bother me.

 

Ports: In Cozumel, I took the Cozumel Island Tour. This was an enjoyable tour that included approximately 90 minutes at the Playa Mia Beach (very nice). In Costa Maya, I did the Jungle Beach Break Tour. This featured a stay at a beautiful beach. Because buses return to the ship every two hours, people could decide how much time they wanted to spend at the beach.

 

Activities: The Jewel of the Seas features a wide variety of activities. I participated in the new Trivia for Crown & Anchor Society Members on the final afternoon of the cruise (this features questions concerning the history of Royal Caribbean). I won the contest and the Activities Manager (Assistant Cruise Director) told me that she would have some small ship’s prizes delivered to my stateroom that evening. Unfortunately, I never received any prizes for winning the contest. Because this was near the end of the cruise, I did not have an opportunity to ask about the prizes. Even though this was not a big deal, this still was a little disappointing.

 

Summary: Overall, this was wonderful cruise. I highly recommend the Jewel of the Seas and would love to cruise aboard this ship in the future. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Chuck

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shelbylook

shelbylook

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Thank you Chuck for your favorable review. We board on Monday and can't wait. I know we selected the right ship and itinerary for 5 gals to relax and have some fun. I love the more traditional style ships. Feels much more like a cruise.

 

Thanks again.

 

Cathy

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Janet524

Janet524

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We're considering Jewel for a 5 night cruise but have never sailed out of Tampa. Is it a good terminal (not a freight pier being jury rigged)? Is parking available at the pier and how much is it per day? Also, are there any hotels located close to the pier? Thanks for any info.

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CruisinCrow Great Review Rare

CruisinCrow

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We're considering Jewel for a 5 night cruise but have never sailed out of Tampa. Is it a good terminal (not a freight pier being jury rigged)? Is parking available at the pier and how much is it per day? Also, are there any hotels located close to the pier? Thanks for any info.

 

Seacruise, I hope you don't mind if I answer this on your thread. Glad you had a great cruise! We were on Jewel a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it.

 

Janet, the cruise terminal is nice. It's not a freight pier. There is a parking garage right across the street from the terminal. It costs $15 a day (cash or credit card). They give you a token when you drive in, which you return when you leave. Don't lose the token or there is a charge.

 

You can also pay extra to park in valet. Sorry, I don't know the cost for that.

 

Here's a picture of the ship from the parking garage so you can see that it is fairly close.

 

ry%3D480

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kc320

kc320

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We're considering Jewel for a 5 night cruise but have never sailed out of Tampa. Is it a good terminal (not a freight pier being jury rigged)? Is parking available at the pier and how much is it per day? Also, are there any hotels located close to the pier? Thanks for any info.

 

 

I did the Valet parking for the Jewel in Dec. and it was $95 for the 5nt cruise...best money I spent on the whole cruise!! Pull up..drop your luggage hand over your keys..then stroll over to the desk & pay for the parking..they do take credit cards..and we were off to enjoy our cruise...when we came back just handed our ticket at the desk and within a couple minutes my truck was there..and they even help load your luggage!

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seacruise9

seacruise9

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Seacruise9, I wonder if they've upgraded the beds? I was miserable last May. Just took a Celebrity cruise and their bed was wonderful. I missed the lounge at the top front of the Jewel, however. Enjoyed reading there.

 

Hi,

 

The bed in my stateroom (9580) was fine.

 

Chuck

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seacruise9

seacruise9

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Great review, Chuck. You forgot to mention what great neighbors you had. LOL. Nice meeting you.

Toni and Tim

 

Hi,

 

Yes, I did have great neighbors on the ship. :) Tim, I especially enjoyed hearing about the legendary SS United States.

 

Chuck

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seacruise9

seacruise9

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Did you attend the "Nightly Diamond Event?" Where to they hold it?

 

Hi,

 

The Exclusive Nightly Diamond Event took place from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the Vortex (the Viking Crown Lounge) on Deck 13. I attended three nights before dinner (at approximately 8:00). There never were many people in the lounge.

 

The Top Tier Event was held in the Safari Lounge on the final port day at 7:45 pm. This event was nice.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Chuck

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seacruise9

seacruise9

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We're considering Jewel for a 5 night cruise but have never sailed out of Tampa. Is it a good terminal (not a freight pier being jury rigged)? Is parking available at the pier and how much is it per day? Also, are there any hotels located close to the pier? Thanks for any info.

 

Hi,

 

I flew to Tampa and did not need to park a car. However, the terminal was fine. I forgot to mention that the boarding process was extremely smooth. I arrived at the terminal slightly before noon and was having lunch in the Windjammer by 12:15. When I went to my stateroom at 1:00 (the time that the rooms were available) my suitcase was waiting outside the door. This was a great start to the cruise. :)

 

I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay during the two nights before the cruise. This hotel is very nice and is located near the airport (with a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel). I took a taxi from the hotel to the pier. The taxi ride took approximately 20 minutes.

 

Tampa is an excellent embarkation port.

 

Chuck

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RoyalDiamond

RoyalDiamond

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Seacruise9, I wonder if they've upgraded the beds? I was miserable last May. Just took a Celebrity cruise and their bed was wonderful. I missed the lounge at the top front of the Jewel, however. Enjoyed reading there.

We were on this cruise, too, and our bed was perfectly fine. We had an aft JS, and were very comfortable.

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RoyalDiamond

RoyalDiamond

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Hi,

 

I returned home today from a five-night cruise (Jan. 21 to 26, 2012) on the Jewel of the Seas that visited Cozumel and Costa Maya. This was an excellent cruise!

 

I have extensive cruise experience and have cruised multiple times with most of the major lines. This was my 15th cruise with Royal Caribbean (I am a Diamond member) and my fourth cruise with this line during the past year: Navigator of the Seas, four-day Western Caribbean, March 2011; Allure of the Seas, seven-day Eastern Caribbean, September 2011; and Liberty of the Seas, four-day Western Caribbean, December 2011. I enjoyed all four of these cruises, but my cruise on the Jewel of the Seas was particularly good. Because this is a somewhat smaller and more traditional ship (no Royal Promenade), this cruise was reminiscent of my cruises in the “good old days” (I mean this as a compliment). The ship is beautiful and extremely well maintained.

 

Dining: I had traditional dining at 8:30 at table 476 (a table for 10 near a window). I had dinner in the main dining room each evening. The food and service in the dining room were excellent. On the two sea days, I greatly enjoyed lunch in the dining room (the Tutti salad is great and I loved the B52 dessert on the first sea day). On one of the port days, I had lunch in the Seaview Café. Otherwise, I ate in the Windjammer.

 

Entertainment: The entertainment was fine, but the highlight was a brand new production show (City of Dreams) that was performed on the final night of the cruise. This show was outstanding.

 

Stateroom: My “hump” balcony statement (9580) featured a perfect central location and a balcony with an excellent view. However, this stateroom was somewhat noisy at times. A lot of music from the Centrum can be heard in this stateroom. However, this did not really bother me.

 

Ports: In Cozumel, I took the Cozumel Island Tour. This was an enjoyable tour that included approximately 90 minutes at the Playa Mia Beach (very nice). In Costa Maya, I did the Jungle Beach Break Tour. This featured a stay at a beautiful beach. Because buses return to the ship every two hours, people could decide how much time they wanted to spend at the beach.

 

Activities: The Jewel of the Seas features a wide variety of activities. I participated in the new Trivia for Crown & Anchor Society Members on the final afternoon of the cruise (this features questions concerning the history of Royal Caribbean). I won the contest and the Activities Manager (Assistant Cruise Director) told me that she would have some small ship’s prizes delivered to my stateroom that evening. Unfortunately, I never received any prizes for winning the contest. Because this was near the end of the cruise, I did not have an opportunity to ask about the prizes. Even though this was not a big deal, this still was a little disappointing.

 

Summary: Overall, this was wonderful cruise. I highly recommend the Jewel of the Seas and would love to cruise aboard this ship in the future. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Chuck

We were on this cruise, too. The production show City of Dreams was great, but it's not brand new. Actually, we were back to back, and the show was performed on the previous cruise, as well as another production show West End to Broadway. The situation was....the entertainment cast on the 1/16 sailing was on their FINAL sailing, and on the 1/21 sailing, a BRAND NEW entertainment cast was brought on board. Whenever that happens, they only perform ONE production show instead of two during the cruise. That's disappointing, but they do have to come on board and begin rehearsing on the ship, so they are not prepared to perform BOTH shows for a while. Even the closing (farewell) show is modified since they are not ready to perform the final farewell song, etc. However, this new cast was MUCH BETTER than the previous cast, with much better voices. So, having one great show instead of two mediocre shows was ok.....

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critterchick

critterchick

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OP, thanks for your review. I will say that City of Dreams is not a brand new show - we saw it on Jewel in 2006. Didn't get it then, probably won't get it if we see it tomorrow.;)

 

THanks for the reviews/info. I just booked Jewel for December for a post Christmas family relaxation cruise. We've only been on Majesty and Monarch so I'm lookinf forward to a slightly larger ship and a few wonderful sea days!

 

You will love her. She's an amazing ship.:)

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