Just off Jewel of the Seas

[AggieCard]

Just got off the Jewel of the Seas yesterday. It was a 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise with stops at St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. We left out of Puerto Rico. I am not going to do a review but I would love to answer any questions you guys may have. Ask away if you have any. I will say it was an awesome cruise and in my opinion the Jewel is a great ship.

[DonnaK]

We did this same itinerary on May 25! I agree, it was a great cruise!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

No questions right now, but we are doing a B2B on her next May and would love to read a review!:)

[VillaHappy]

Were any shows worth staying up for? I have noticed on port intensive itineraries that it is hard to stay awake at night.:cool:

[2beachlovers]

Would love to hear what you did in the ports, and how you liked your excursions.

[juanrod]

Also would love to hear what you did in the different ports... We will be on the same itinerary come end of September and nothing is really grabbing us for the excursions.

 

 

Any ideas?

 

 

 

juan

[wineandbeach]

we are on the Jewel in a couple weeks with a different itinerary. We like to go to a bar and listen to music (perhaps a piano man) after dinner - Was there any entertainment in the bars that you would recommend? Did you or anyone you met have the drink package and if so what are your thoughts -we are still up in the air about weather or not to get it. Any bars, venues or activities on the ship you would recommend?

[Sunny AZ Girl]

What time were the shows? Wondering if MTD with a seating of 7PM would conflict with the shows?

[DonnaK]

Were any shows worth staying up for? I have noticed on port intensive itineraries that it is hard to stay awake at night.:cool:

 

I am one who really enjoys production shows, however on our Jewel cruise last month, I felt that the two shows were very weak compared to other cruises we've been on. The other nights, the variety type headliner shows vary, so that would be very cruise specific.

[In Toronto]

Welcome Home Aggie:

 

We have just this afternoon booked B2B on the Jewel for November.

Would love to hear just a few of your experiences.

 

Where was your cabin located and was that a good location. (We can still change ours).

 

Thanks.

 

Ellen

[AmandaKaye79]

Was the casino giving any money?:eek:

 

This is the funniest question I have ever read! The casino was brutal. :eek:

[UNV-IT!!!]

I was on the June 1st sailing. There were tons of locals. What about you?

[juanrod]

Heard formal nights were 2nd night(St Maartin) and 5th night (st Lucia) is that true? Trying decide which night to book for chops:)

[gladimhere]

what did you think of shows? we have a room on deck seven above lifeboat is the view super obstructed you may not know answer to that one.Thanks sooo much

[AggieCard]

Was the casino giving any money?:eek:

 

Actually didn't do bad in the casino, I managed to walk away with more than I started. But overall the people I was with didn't have very good luck. My recommendation would be to stay away from the casino and spend your money on something more enjoyable lol!. One thing I noticed about winning in the casino is every time are table started winning they would announce the casino would be closing. Now we typically didn't get to the casino until about 12, but as soon as we started winning they would announce it would close in 30 minutes.

Edited July 15, 2013 by AggieCard

[AggieCard]

Were any shows worth staying up for? I have noticed on port intensive itineraries that it is hard to stay awake at night.:cool:

 

I only went to 2 of the shows, comedy show and a broadway show. What I have found is if you've been to the shows in the past then you have seen all of the shows because to me they all seem the same. I would agree the 5 stops in a row really takes it out of you and it seems that generally by about 11 or 12 the ship was pretty empty.

[Max Density]

I was looking on an older Cruise Compass, and it only listed My Time Dining at 5:30 PM, instead of a range of times from 5:30 - 9:00 PM. Do they have a range of times, like they do on all of the other RCI ships I've sailed?

[AggieCard]

Would love to hear what you did in the ports, and how you liked your excursions.

 

St Maarten: was a DIY port for us. We found a taxi right at port and took the cab to Orient Beach. We stayed here for about 3 hours and hung out at Kakao Bar. I love this beach and would highly recommend. After this we headed over to Maho Beach to watch the planes land. Cabbie stayed with us the entire time and cost about $24 per person. If you are looking to book an actual excursion hear I would recommend asking Amandakaye79 about their excursion because I know they really liked it.

 

St Kitts: we booked Thenford Grey island tour. I would highly recommend this tour. He is so knowledgeable about St kitts that it was almost information overload. Would book with him again when I go back to St kitts.

 

Antigua: another DIY port and again we hired a cabbie and went to Valley Church Beach. The beach is absolutely amazing, I have never seen water like this before. Water is very calm and there are umbrellas and chairs for rent. Taxi was $16 per person round trip. There is a beach bar there called The Nest, food is good service not so much. I would also recommend getting a massage from Pam if you visit the beach. Nothing better than getting a massage on the beach in paradise.

 

St Lucia: booked a tour with Cosol tours and I would highly recommend this tour. It includes breakfast and unlimited drinks. If you book this tour request FatMan as your tour guide and make sure you try the banana ketchup. Yes banana ketchup, it's amazing! This tour takes you to a banana plantation, a mud bath (make sure you try) and a beach and you get to see so much of the island.

 

Barbados: booked a catamaran tour with Cool runnings. Again I highly recommend this tour and would book again. This is a five hour catamaran that takes you to 3 snorkeling spot: swim with turtles (turtles are actually there), ship wreck and a secluded beach. Tour also includes open bar and a buffet lunch which is so good.

 

I hope this helps and if you have specific questions about any of the stops of tours please let me know

[AggieCard]

I was looking on an older Cruise Compass, and it only listed My Time Dining at 5:30 PM, instead of a range of times from 5:30 - 9:00 PM. Do they have a range of times, like they do on all of the other RCI ships I've sailed?

 

I didn't do my time dining, but it does go from 5:30-9:00 just like on the other ships.

[drarill]

Welcome back!! Glad you had a great time!!:):)

[Scoobydobe7]

Hi -- what was the attire for the MDR -- were "shorts" allowed?? Thanks

[Fl cruiser 2012]

I am looking for recommendations for a pre and post cruise hotel. Any information would be appreciated.

[GoCardsGuy]

we are on the Jewel in a couple weeks with a different itinerary. We like to go to a bar and listen to music (perhaps a piano man) after dinner - Was there any entertainment in the bars that you would recommend? Did you or anyone you met have the drink package and if so what are your thoughts -we are still up in the air about weather or not to get it. Any bars, venues or activities on the ship you would recommend?

 

I was in the same group as AggieCard (I'm his older, more handsome brother) and most of us got the drink package. Here was the consensus of our group of 8: we did not drink much, if any, during the day because we were off the ship at so many ports. However, once we got back on the ship and got a little rest we more than made up for it!! :D We all stayed up pretty late every night (most of the time in the Vortex night club (we called it the Starship Enterprise) and the casino) and ended up getting our monies worth plus some! I found the selection to be very good (stuck mostly with beer and vodka) as well. Don't forget, soda is included as well. Happy to answer any other questions about the package you may have.

[GoCardsGuy]

Hi -- what was the attire for the MDR -- were "shorts" allowed?? Thanks

 

 

At the risk of starting a huge debate on the thread, I will tell you that I saw plenty of shorts in the MDR. In fact, I wore a pair of "nice" shorts to dinner on the last night. Overall, the attire varied night to night.

[wineandbeach]

thank you for the drink package response! I was wondering if you went to the Champagne bar at all. We don't drink expensive champagne but we do spend a lot of time there picking all the different drinks from the menu (usually just champagne and some kind of mixers) Was everything included? Did you find anything not included that surprised you?

we actually have 2 sea days on our itinerary so the package is starting to sound good. Did you have any trouble getting a drink by the pool (because of the souvenir glasses)?