Jewel of the Seas ~ B2B ~ Sept. 6th and 13th ~ My Diary

[maxs mom]

Around noon, we packed up everything and headed up to the pool area to spend the rest of the day. Here are a few parting shots of the beach.

 

 

 

Keslar saw us going to the pool, so he scurried around and found us a couple of nice chairs in the shade.

 

 

It was so deserted here.....we had plenty of places to pick from. We have never seen it like this! Once we were settled, we went over to the pool restaurant and ordered some lunch. You get a 10% discount with your day pass. The food is excellent here. They do not accept cash....only credit cards. (You can pay cash for the daypass, however.) I ordered a grilled chicken wrap that was wonderful.......I couldn't eat it all......you could definitely split this with someone.

 

 

The view from our table:

 

 

After lunch, it was time to get down to some serious pool time!

 

[maxs mom]

There is a great pool area here and we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

[kleo30]

Yes.....they do take cash there.

Thanks Jane.

[maxs mom]

We usually try to head back to the ship around 3 o'clock every day, so we wandered back up to the lobby about that time. We sat down and checked e-mail one more time.

 

 

 

 

Taxis were readily available so we jumped into a nice air conditioned van around 3:15 and returned to port.

 

There's a little shopping to be had there, but we just went straight back to the ship. You know when it's time for ice cream and cookies.....you can't just dilly dally any where else!!

 

 

 

Home, sweet home!!

 

[maxs mom]

We headed toward the CL at around 7 this evening.

 

 

We visited with Dan and Donna there. We decided that we would go out to the beach together tomorrow.

 

 

We got right into the dining room this evening.....same spot, same waiter. Here is a picture of the main floor of the dining room. MTD is on Deck 5.

 

 

It was Italian night and I had a salad and lasagna and sticky bread pudding for dessert......all very good!

 

This is one of my favorite desserts that they have!

 

 

John had the ever popular Chocolate Sensation.

 

 

You know.....I read a lot of complaints about the food on CC. I must have some unusual taste buds or something.....I have rarely had a bad meal in the MDR. Everything.....especially if you stick with the waiter's recommendations.....tastes great to me. I guess it's because at home we never go out to eat. I have to endure my cooking day in and day out! So I am so appreciative of everything that is prepared for me!

 

Once again, we went back to our cabin to relax after dinner.

 

[chickadee1]

Thank you for your review, Jane. We are sailing on Jewel of the Seas in less than five weeks so all of your comments and photos are definitely timely ~ although we are going to different islands! It sounds like you had a wonderful time and I am sure we will have a similar experience - even tho we are lowly Gold!!

[jo24]

Jane I totally agree with you about the MDR food! I love it! I see so many complaints, some from people on ships at the same time as me and had the same thing and it makes me question whether I was actually there or not! I am fairly easily pleased and don't complain about much, perhaps that is it!?

 

I'm loving the review so far and making notes of all the helpful suggestions so that if we decide to go ahead and book this itinerary, I will be well ahead on the planning!

[chill6x6]

Hey Jane!

SO enjoying reading your review! Quick question….. What nights were formal nights??

 

THANKS and looking forward to cruising with you in about 60 days!!!

[MrBanana1240]

loving the review. decided to give Royal a second shot and I can't wait to go in August on the Majesty. all these recent reviews I've read of the Vision, Jewel and Majesty have me wanting to cruise RCI in March... hopefully things work out and I can, as the Jewel was one of our options!

 

thanks so much for the review, I'll be following along. I love your writing styles and always look forward to your reviews! thanks again!

[setsail]

Your review has "how to relax on a cruise" written all over it:)

[sadie8]

Jane - As always, I love your review. Can't wait to hear the rest!! The Marriott in St. Kitts looks lovely, we'll have to check it out in February. Janet

[maxs mom]

Thank you for your review, Jane. We are sailing on Jewel of the Seas in less than five weeks so all of your comments and photos are definitely timely ~ although we are going to different islands! It sounds like you had a wonderful time and I am sure we will have a similar experience - even tho we are lowly Gold!!

 

Oh...no doubt...you will have a wonderful time. Don't worry about being lowly Gold.....we were there at one time. Everything adds up.....of course we've been at this for nearly 30 years!!

[maxs mom]

Jane I totally agree with you about the MDR food! I love it! I see so many complaints, some from people on ships at the same time as me and had the same thing and it makes me question whether I was actually there or not! I am fairly easily pleased and don't complain about much, perhaps that is it!?

 

I'm loving the review so far and making notes of all the helpful suggestions so that if we decide to go ahead and book this itinerary, I will be well ahead on the planning!

 

Oh....so glad that you know what I'm talking about with the food! I had the same thing happen on this cruise. One night I had the Coq au Vin for dinner and it was delicious....I nearly licked the plate! Someone in the CL said they had it and it was awful!!

[maxs mom]

Hey Jane!

SO enjoying reading your review! Quick question….. What nights were formal nights??

 

THANKS and looking forward to cruising with you in about 60 days!!!

 

Hey Chuck! Thanks for stopping by!! Can't wait to get back on the Jewel! I can't believe we have to wait until November!!

 

On this leg the formal nights were Sunday and Wednesday. The next week, they were Sunday and Thursday. That was because we stayed in Aruba until 11:00. They wouldn't have formal night when everyone is out on the island.

[maxs mom]

loving the review. decided to give Royal a second shot and I can't wait to go in August on the Majesty. all these recent reviews I've read of the Vision, Jewel and Majesty have me wanting to cruise RCI in March... hopefully things work out and I can, as the Jewel was one of our options!

 

thanks so much for the review, I'll be following along. I love your writing styles and always look forward to your reviews! thanks again!

 

Thank you so much! I think you will be very pleased if you choose the Jewel. She is just a lovely ship!

[BillOh]

 

They wouldn't have formal night when everyone is out on the island.

 

That is the logic I would have used when I was last on the Majesty 4 day cruise. We were in Nassau till midnight and Coco Cay the next day, but they had formal night on Nassau night.

[maxs mom]

Your review has "how to relax on a cruise" written all over it:)

 

Ha Ha! You got that right. That's all we want to do any more. We've been there and done that, so no need to do excursions, etc. If you told me I had to go on a tour....you could just shoot me! On the ship......we don't need to be entertained....as long as I can have a quiet place to read....I am happy. Naps are also a high priority!! Also....no more shopping either!! Most of the time our customs declaration says $0!!

[maxs mom]

Jane - As always, I love your review. Can't wait to hear the rest!! The Marriott in St. Kitts looks lovely, we'll have to check it out in February. Janet

 

Hey Janet!! I think you will love the Marriott. I'll e-mail you some info that you might want to know.

[maxs mom]

That is the logic I would have used when I was last on the Majesty 4 day cruise. We were in Nassau till midnight and Coco Cay the next day, but they had formal night on Nassau night.

 

I don't think they have much choice on those 4 night cruises.

[mets07]

Hi Jane,

 

Can you just walk to Palm Beach from Orient Beach? I don't have a sense of how far it is.

 

Thanks...

 

Anne

[Lady Hudson]

Ha Ha! You got that right. That's all we want to do any more. We've been there and done that' date=' so no need to do excursions, etc. If you told me I had to go on a tour....you could just shoot me! On the ship......we don't need to be entertained....as long as I can have a quiet place to read....I am happy. Naps are also a high priority!! Also....no more shopping either!! Most of the time our customs declaration says $0!![/size']

 

Same for us. The only thing I spent money on last week was gratuities and one treatment in the spa. When we went through customs, the agent asked "No one bought anything?" I told him we were all experienced travelers and no longer buy souvenirs. He laughed.

[maxs mom]

Tuesday ~ Sept. 9, 2014 ~ Antigua

 

Up very early again. Excited to be back in Antigua and Barbados again after a long absence!!

 

The view from the CL:

 

 

Dan and Donna met us for breakfast this morning. They wanted to come along with us to the beach today. So after we ate, we got all our stuff together and met them to get off the ship.

 

A couple of sites as we were walking to the taxis:

 

 

 

Taxi drivers were readily available today....and there were 4 others wanting to go to the same place, so we had a nice van full. Ms. Clara was our driver.

 

 

The Beach du Jour is called Valley Church. We haven't been here in a couple of years, but it has been our go to beach here for a number of years. Seems like activity has picked up a bit since we were last here. It used to be very quiet, but with only one ship in port, there were A LOT of people here today and they were ALL from the ship according to all RCI towels I saw. Still......it was a very nice day.....we had a lot of fun.

 

 

 

Ms. Clara dropped us of and said that she would be back at 3 to pick us up......no need to pay her until then! It was about a 15 minute drive out here. $8 pp.

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane,

 

Can you just walk to Palm Beach from Orient Beach? I don't have a sense of how far it is.

 

Thanks...

 

Anne

 

Anne.....The Palm Beach Bar is on Orient Beach...it's just all the way at the other end from where the taxi drivers usually drop everyone off. You could walk down there, I guess.....actually that's how I found the place. We used to always hang out at Kakao.....and I walked down to Palm from there and noticed how uncrowded it was, so I asked them about it and the next time we tried it and we've been going there ever since. But I would just take a taxi there! It's just an extra dollar.

Edited September 28, 2014 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

This is just a beautiful beach.....we were just used to having it more to ourselves. I can't imagine what it would be like now with several ships in port. But today was just awesome. The 8 of us that rode out together, sat together on the beach and it was nice to have company. We walked on the beach and hung out in the water.

 

 

 

 

Don't forget that sunscreen!!

 

 

 

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[maxs mom]

This was our spot for the day:

 

 

 

 

Buckets of beer were $20 for 6.

 

 

And this was a great place to drink them!!