Jewel Southern Caribbean Photo Trip Report May 25th!

[Sinppu]

Next up was the Brimrose Hill Fortress. Excellent for history buffs, terrible for people who are not fans of heights. Like me. It's not so bad once you get up but the road up the hill.... brrrrrr.

 

 

 

 

We don't mind the rain. How could we, we're from Scandinavia. If we'd mind every time it rains, our faces would freeze like this :mad:

 

[BillOh]

 

It was really nice and I should've booked us more than one night. But now we've at least seen Key West.

To those of you who stop there on a cruise and want to take a photo at the Cuba mile marker, be prepared to wait. At 9 am the line was way too long for us.

 

 

 

I'm going to be back here in a few months. I too have experienced long lines as well, but I will add this is one place tourist seem to get along an cooperate with each other. Its pretty easy to get help from each other for photo ops and the line moves quick, at least it did when I was there.

Edited June 3, 2013 by BillOh

[Sinppu]

This reply is mainly an easy way for me to remember to come back here! ;) I've enjoyed your other reports and I am sure I will this one. We will be on Jewel for a 2nd time next May and our first cruise out of San Juan. I'll specifically be watching the port stuff, how it is cruising from San Juan and your hotel there. Heck, I'll be reading it all.

 

Excellent, welcome!

 

It was very easy cruising from San Juan. Once you get your SeaPass card, it takes you less than five minutes to be on the ship. Even if you stop for the Welcome Aboard photo.

There is plenty of staff and a small shop to buy your wine bottles from.

Easiest embarkation we've had (compared to Bayonne, Fort Lauderdale and Civitavecchia).

Edited June 3, 2013 by Sinppu

[BillOh]

We are Windjammer people too and I miss it when we are not cruising.

 

I won't hate Sinnpu for that statement, but identify with her. I thought the Windjammer on Jewel was great!

[BillOh]

Woohooo - first port!

 

I woke up early and wanted to go running. My first choice was the jogging track, but as this is what it looked like all around...

...I decided against it. I'm not known to be the most discreet person in the w

 

 

That's where being 6'2 225 with size 12 feet comes in handy! I'll announce "coming through" and stomp my feet a bit to let them know I am coming. :D

 

I'm starting your review a couple of pages late, I apologize to all for multiple messages in a row.

[Sinppu]

From the fortress we went to a view point for some beautiful photos. The scenery doesn't really need words to explain it.

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of pet monkeys on St Kitts and plenty of opportunities to hold one and get a photo. Be careful, though. I bet this guy didn't sign up to be bitten by the little rascal.

 

If you have anything to celebrate, let Mr. Grey know about it when booking your trip. He takes good care of his guests and remembers your special occasion.

 

[Sinppu]

That's where being 6'2 225 with size 12 feet comes in handy! I'll announce "coming through" and stomp my feet a bit to let them know I am coming. :D

 

I'm starting your review a couple of pages late, I apologize to all for multiple messages in a row.

 

Not a problem :D

 

I'm just a liittle shorter and lighter than you are. But my announcement would probably be more in the lines of "MOVE PEOPLE!! THIS IS A &%¤%###"¤% JOGGING TRACK!!!! OUT OF THE WAY!!"

So yeah... no jogging track for me on the Jewel ;)

[BillOh]

Not a problem :D

 

I'm just a liittle shorter and lighter than you are. But my announcement would probably be more in the lines of "MOVE PEOPLE!! THIS IS A &%¤%###"¤% JOGGING TRACK!!!! OUT OF THE WAY!!"

So yeah... no jogging track for me on the Jewel ;)

 

This might be the only time I've looked at a Carnival ship longingly! I've seen the dedicated running tracks with no deck chairs! Freedom and Voyager class isn't too bad before 8am, but it was tough on Jewel. The running track on the Oasis class is convenient, but I miss the view.

[Sinppu]

The last stop on the tour is the Carambola Beach Club where you can stay about 90 minutes. Mr. Grey will then pick you up and take you back to the ship. If you don't want to stay, he'll take you straight back.

 

The facility was GREAT. They had a nice (and duly expensive) restaurant.

 

 

 

Mr. Grey then took us back to the ship.

 

Lowry found this port building to be hilarious.

 

Half concrete, half styro foam. Very impressive.

 

We were back around 3 pm on the ship and decided to take a short nap before going to dinner. We woke up at 6 pm. Oops. So it was the Windjammer for dinner (which is actually really nice and quiet).

 

Then we went to spend our casino C&A coupons and the to watch the Headliner Show, which was impressionist and vocalist Finis Henderson. He was absolutely hilarious, N'Sync to Cee Lo Green to Tom Jones to Ray Charles to opera. Wow.

Antigua next, I'll get back to you this evening. Questions, comments, compliments? Fire away!

[bigque]

Great Review of the Jewel. We booked on her for next year. The St. Kitts photos are great as it will be a stop on our cruise although the rest of our itenarary is diffefrent. Was the St. Kitt tour a ship sponsored tour or did you book it on your own as we like to tour on islands also??? Looking forward to getting back to San Juan and the Jewel. Our last cruise from there was on Serenade and we Like Radiance Class. We even have the same cabin booked on Jewel that we had on Serenade. :cool:

[Clarea]

...to watch the Headliner Show, which was impressionist and vocalist Finis Henderson. He was absolutely hilarious, N'Sync to Cee Lo Green to Tom Jones to Ray Charles to opera. ...

We saw Finis on Indy last December. One of the best headliner shows we've ever seen. What a talented guy.

[Ocean Boy]

We also used Thenford Grey the first time that we were at St. Kitts. I can't say enough good about him. And I LOVED the fortress. This is truly a beautiful island. I always look forward to returning.

[Ocean Boy]

Great Review of the Jewel. We booked on her for next year. The St. Kitts photos are great as it will be a stop on our cruise although the rest of our itenarary is diffefrent. Was the St. Kitt tour a ship sponsored tour or did you book it on your own as we like to tour on islands also??? Looking forward to getting back to San Juan and the Jewel. Our last cruise from there was on Serenade and we Like Radiance Class. We even have the same cabin booked on Jewel that we had on Serenade. :cool:

 

Thenford Grey is a private tour not ship sponsored. You can read a lot about him on the St. Kitts board here on CC. He also has a website. All you have to do is google his name.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Great review so far! I am looking forward to the rest. Your sense of humor has put a great big :D on my face.

 

We will be on the Jewel for this itinerary with BillOh next year. We have done the Jewel once before and she is a gorgeous ship. My DH prefers a Promenade like you, but I really loved some of the other areas of the Jewel, specifically the Solarium and the Schooner Bar as it is a great meeting place with a lot of good activities.

 

We will be doing the B2B and hitting St. Kitts twice. I know I want to do a beach day once and on the other itinerary do the Thenford Grey excursion. I just have to decide which one will be the excursion. It will depend a lot on our traveling companions preferences as we will be with different friends for each cruise.

 

Now....back to the show!

[clott]

Ok sinny this is getting really weird. Lol. You have us in the schooner bar pictures and a windjammer picture. We were also in the vortex. We went there for sail away and stayed for about an hour or so. Lol. We were dodging each other.

 

Donna I think I saw you walk thru but was not sure it was you. I started to say something but then the couple we were talking to ask me something and when I finished answering you were gone. I think I did see you a couple of times in the windjammer as well which by the way we ate almost all our meals there. Loved the windjammer on this ship.

[EmpireStateCruisers]

Thenford Grey is a private tour not ship sponsored. You can read a lot about him on the St. Kitts board here on CC. He also has a website. All you have to do is google his name.

 

Ill be going on this ship when it leaves out os San Juan in 2014 would you be able tot ell me how the vibe is my wife and I are a younger couple is there a lounge area, that plays music it seems to me like this ship is geared to older crowds am I mistaken?

[bigque]

Thenford Grey is a private tour not ship sponsored. You can read a lot about him on the St. Kitts board here on CC. He also has a website. All you have to do is google his name.

 

Cool...Thanks! :cool:

[DonnaK]

Ill be going on this ship when it leaves out os San Juan in 2014 would you be able tot ell me how the vibe is my wife and I are a younger couple is there a lounge area, that plays music it seems to me like this ship is geared to older crowds am I mistaken?

 

I thought that there were plenty of people in their 20s and 30s on the ship. The ship was slightly geared toward the latino crowd - lots of salsa type music and dancing.

 

Truthfully, with such a port-intensive itinerary, we didn't spend as much time in the lounges and such. By the end of each day, we were pretty tired.

[DonnaK]

Ok sinny this is getting really weird. Lol. You have us in the schooner bar pictures and a windjammer picture. We were also in the vortex. We went there for sail away and stayed for about an hour or so. Lol. We were dodging each other.

 

Donna I think I saw you walk thru but was not sure it was you. I started to say something but then the couple we were talking to ask me something and when I finished answering you were gone. I think I did see you a couple of times in the windjammer as well which by the way we ate almost all our meals there. Loved the windjammer on this ship.

 

Oh my...now that I know that our paths crossed several times, I really wish we would have gotten together.

[AmandaKaye79]

The last stop on the tour is the Carambola Beach Club where you can stay about 90 minutes. Mr. Grey will then pick you up and take you back to the ship. If you don't want to stay, he'll take you straight back.

 

The facility was GREAT. They had a nice (and duly expensive) restaurant.

 

Do you know if this is the standard beach that all Thenford Gray's tours stops at? We are touring with Thenford for our July cruise. This place looks really nice. It doesn't give us a specific beach name on our reservation, but we are taking "The Tour" from his website.

[kmcphee26]

Excellent, welcome!

 

It was very easy cruising from San Juan. Once you get your SeaPass card, it takes you less than five minutes to be on the ship. Even if you stop for the Welcome Aboard photo.

There is plenty of staff and a small shop to buy your wine bottles from.

Easiest embarkation we've had (compared to Bayonne, Fort Lauderdale and Civitavecchia).

 

Did you buy any wine from the shop? If so, what was the selection/pricing like? We have a supermarket by our hotel for when we go in August but some people in our party are headed right from the airport to the cruise port and I'm wondering if they should try to stop or just buy wine at the pier.

[CruisePrincess51]

Sinny,

What an incredible review so far. I can't wait to read the rest. We are booked on the Jewel next May and your review is really giving us something to look forward to. Your pictures are amazing :) Keep the review going...I can't wait to read the rest! We've been to St. Martin several times before, but never to Maho Beach to see the planes, that is a definite MUST for next May. You are truly an amazing writer.

 

Kathy

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Sinny,

What an incredible review so far. I can't wait to read the rest. We are booked on the Jewel next May and your review is really giving us something to look forward to. Your pictures are amazing :) Keep the review going...I can't wait to read the rest! We've been to St. Martin several times before, but never to Maho Beach to see the planes, that is a definite MUST for next May. You are truly an amazing writer.

 

Kathy

Kathy - unfortunately, St. Martin is on the other itinerary, not the Aruba itinerary on May 10. We will go to St. Thomas instead. I think the only solution is for you to book the B2B with me!:D

 

The good news is that St. Kitts will be on both itineraries, so all of those great sights will still be good for our May 10 cruise, too!

[Ocean Boy]

Ill be going on this ship when it leaves out os San Juan in 2014 would you be able tot ell me how the vibe is my wife and I are a younger couple is there a lounge area, that plays music it seems to me like this ship is geared to older crowds am I mistaken?

 

To tell you the truth, every cruise that we have done out of San Juan has been quite lively. The Latino passengers really love their music and they love to dance. I don't think you will find any shortage of nightlife aboard the ship. The lounges up in the Viking Crown were going until the very early hours of the morning.

 

However, as DonnaK said, this is a port intensive itinerary. If you are interested in seeing the islands you need to pace yourself as there you don't have much in the way of down time sea days to catch a nap.

[Let'sGo!]

Subscribing, since this is the ship we've booked for next year.

We go to St. Croix, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados.

 

We went to St. Kitts last year while on Serenade and we too booked Thenford Grey's tour. And for the person that asked, yes, we ended up at the same beach club, but it was so late in the day when we arrived, there were no chairs/shade available. We ended up going back to town and ate lunch at one of Thenford's recommendations -- DELISH!

 

And to the OP: We too are Windjammer people. In fact, on our Serenade cruise last year, we had a port every single day except one, so we opted to skip the MDR altogether and just went to the WJ or one of the speciality restaurants. It was kind of nice knowing we could dress up as much as we wanted / or not / by choosing the WJ! I suspect we'll do the same thing next year!

 

Keep going, Sinny!

 

Ann

Edited June 3, 2013 by TexasAnn