First Royal Caribbean Cruise

[2PinaColadas]

This will be our 7th cruise. Our first 6 were with Carnival. Five of them were great, but the last one, well let's just say we were very disappointed. So, anyway... we are now booked on the Jewel of the Seas in March. We are so excited. :D

 

What is different about the two cruise lines? What is better and different about Royal Caribbean (as in comparison to Carnival). Anything about the Jewel we need to know?

 

Also, we are going to St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Grenada-- any thing you consider a must do or must see in these ports? We have been to St. Thomas several times and St. Lucia once, but would love to hear others' input. (I will be checking out the ports of call section for this too, but for those who don't post there...)

 

Thanks!!

[Ourusualbeach]

The Jewel is a wonderful ship. Lots of sea views, open air dining at the back of the Windjammer and it has the Seaview cafe.

[matj2000]

There are already hundreds of threads on the RC vs Carnival comparison.

 

Do a search and you can see for yourself.....

[Oasis Of The Seas Expert]

The Jewel is a wonderful ship. Lots of sea views, open air dining at the back of the Windjammer and it has the Seaview cafe.

Jewel isn't that wonderful because it doesn't have a flowrider. :D

[Clarea]

..What is different about the two cruise lines? What is better and different about Royal Caribbean (as in comparison to Carnival). Anything about the Jewel we need to know? ..

Royal has no equivalent to Early Saver and FTTF.

[IWORK2CRUISE]

This will be our 7th cruise. Our first 6 were with Carnival. Five of them were great, but the last one, well let's just say we were very disappointed. So, anyway... we are now booked on the Jewel of the Seas in March. We are so excited. :D

 

What is different about the two cruise lines? What is better and different about Royal Caribbean (as in comparison to Carnival). Anything about the Jewel we need to know?

 

Also, we are going to St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Grenada-- any thing you consider a must do or must see in these ports? We have been to St. Thomas several times and St. Lucia once, but would love to hear others' input. (I will be checking out the ports of call section for this too, but for those who don't post there...)

 

Thanks!!

 

Welcome to Royal Caribbean. Jewel of the Seas is a lovely ship that I hope you enjoy.

Since you have visited St. Thomas before, you might consider taking the ferry over to St. John. Trunk Bay is truly beautiful. You can take a taxi/bus/van to Havensight right from the pier parking area to catch the ferry.

[Russ Lomas]

Jewel isn't that wonderful because it doesn't have a flowrider. :D

I agree with you 110%.

 

Those who love to FLOW (like you and I) have a hard time accepting cruising on any other ship that do not have them. 3 of my past 4 sailings have been on ships with flowriders (I enjoyed the one without, but was bored on it - Celebrity Summit). Our next 2 booked cruises both have flowriders on them:D:D:D

 

I am stuck with these classes of ships until my body tells me that I cannot handle the flowrider any longer. I only wish they could get these bigger class ships (Oasis, Freedom, and Navigator) into some new ports.

 

As for the OP, they likely do not know what they are missing since they have never sailed with a flowrider before, so the Jewel is probably a good choice for them. Maybe they will love the Jewel and both you and I will see them standing in line awaiting a turn on the flowrider on a future RCCL cruise they take.

 

Flow on my friend.;)

[klfrodo]

This will be our 7th cruise. Our first 6 were with Carnival. Five of them were great, but the last one, well let's just say we were very disappointed. So, anyway... we are now booked on the Jewel of the Seas in March. We are so excited. :D

 

What is different about the two cruise lines? What is better and different about Royal Caribbean (as in comparison to Carnival). Anything about the Jewel we need to know?

 

Also, we are going to St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Grenada-- any thing you consider a must do or must see in these ports? We have been to St. Thomas several times and St. Lucia once, but would love to hear others' input. (I will be checking out the ports of call section for this too, but for those who don't post there...)

 

Thanks!!

 

I am currently on the Freedom of the Seas

I have 11 past cruises with Carnival.

My comparison with this cruise is based on the Carnival Breeze.

I see virtually no difference between the operations of the two cruiselines.

MDR dining is the same.

Buffets are pretty much the same. Small differences.

Service is basically the same

Entertainment is basically the same.

Sure, FOS has the Flowrider and the climbing wall. The Breeze has the rope courses and the water park slides.

The FOS demographics on this sailing seems to be an older crowd and a lot of them appear to be very pretentious.

This sailing did cost about $1500 more than if I had sailed the same itinerary with a comparable ship on Carnival.

 

 

I would not base a future cruise on the Cruiseline. I would base it on dates, departure port, and port visited.

 

My experience is that Royal and Carnival are the same, just different stock market abbreviations.

[emeraldcity]

Welcome to Royal Caribbean. I haven't been on the Jewel, but I was on her sister ship ... the Serenade. What a wonderful ship. We did the Southern route on her a number of years ago and it remains one of my favorite cruises.

 

Everyone has different things that are important to them on a cruise ... for me, it's the people I meet, the treatment I get by the staff, the views of the sea. You'll get more of that on the Radiance class than you will on one of the larger ships that have the Royal Promenade. Smaller means that you will be more likely to encounter the same people more frequently and join in activities together that will enhance your overall cruise experience. Be sure to join your roll call and attend the meet and mingle.

 

RCI had a 2-man speed boat/snorkel that we went on in St. Croix and it was an awful lot of fun. The snorkeling was so-so, but the boats were a blast and the 2 guys that ran the excursion were so much fun. Sorry I can't comment on the other ports of call.

 

You don't mention San Juan ... but that's one of the bonuses that comes with a Southern route. San Juan is fabulous -- try to go in a day or two early to experience it. I love to explore OSJ and one of these days, I'm actually going to visit when they haven't cancelled the tour of the Governor's Mansion for the day.;)