B2B on the Jewel ~ Once Again! ~ Nov. 29th and Dec. 6th ~ My Diary

[maxs mom]

Our little table was waiting on us when we got to the dining room. Good dinner tonight. I had some sort of seafood risotto and Kasa recommended the Coq au vin. It was piping hot and delicious. Dessert and coffee......chocolate sensation and an apple tart. We were finished again in record time.

 

This is the coq au vin.

 

 

 

 

Strolled through the casino again. I finally found a machine I wanted to play and quickly doubled my -$20! John won $100 on a Wheel of Fortune machine, so we were happy campers tonight!

 

 

On to the Love and Marriage Show after that. It was very good tonight. All the contestants were people that hadn't played before. Mike moved it along quickly and that made it enjoyable.

 

 

On to bed after that.

 

[maxs mom]

Wednesday ~ December 3, 2014 ~ Antigua

 

Up early today. We tried to get an early start to beat the crowds out to the beach. It almost worked, but we had a very difficult time getting a taxi since there were just the two of us. We had to wait and wait for others to come along that wanted to go to the same place. Most people getting off the ship were clueless as to what they wanted to do. We were practically begging people to go to the beach with us!! We were going to our old stand by in Antigua.....Valley Church Beach. We finally talked these two ladies from Holland to go with us but they were very skeptical (I guess they don't read Cruise Critic in Holland!) Sheesh! It took about 30 minutes to get going!!

 

We still got out to the beach in a timely manner. Not too many people were out there yet. This beach gets kind of crowded even with one ship in port and today there were two. But this beach is big enough to accommodate a lot of people and not feel too crowded. Generally I like a lot less crowds, but I tolerate it here because the beach is so nice. We love coming here and have been doing it for years. It used to be far less crowded but I guess the word has gotten out. Twenty dollars gets you two chairs and an umbrella. Great place to spend the day.

 

 

 

 

 

The sand here is a little unusual. It's like shells very finely broken up. It gets on your feet and sticks to your skin and you really have to scrub hard in the shower to get it all off!!

 

 

The color of the water here is unbelievable!

 

 

Speaking of getting sand on your feet. If you will take a small container of baby powder out to the beach with you....when you are ready to go.....just sprinkle the baby powder on your feet and the sand just melts away. Then you can put your shoes on comfortably.

[maxs mom]

There is free Wi-Fi here, but it is very spotty. We didn't get it to work for very long. But it did a little bit.

 

It was a beautiful day today. And very relaxing. I bought a new sarong here from Angie Baby. Very pretty. There are a few vendors here, but not a problem at all.

 

 

 

This is definitely the place to jet ski. You can rent one for $40 for thirty minutes. That's about the best price you will find anywhere. We decided that the next time we come here, we are definitely doing this.

 

 

The beach bar and food is very good here. A little tip......order lunch early.....it can get bogged down if you wait too long. The coconut shrimp are wonderful. We just ordered hot dogs today and ate on the beach Whatever you do.....DON'T order the local beer......Wadadli.......it is nasty!!

 

We enjoyed ourselves very much here all day. We were able to grab a taxi back to the ship at 2:30 or so. Taxis were plentiful here and many make arrangements for their morning driver to come back and pick them up. They are good about that here.

 

 

 

 

Love this place!!

[kandj05]

I am loving this review. We have not met yet but I sure hope my husband and I get to meet you guys on some cruise. You guys sound delightful.

[1northstar]

As always an outstanding review. We're doing a B2B on the AOS in late January and are beach lovers just like you! I love all the advice. A very enjoyable read. Thank You 😄

[The Big Booper]

Any idea why the Jewel is 700 under DO capacity this week? post Thanksgiving sailing?

The solarium looks as wild as the other 3 Radiance ships, can't wait.

Good tip about the baby powder for the beach.

[micmacmissy]

[quote name='The Big Booper']
The solarium looks as wild as the other 3 Radiance ships, can't wait.
[/QUOTE]

I just can't with that solarium! I think this style of solarium is SO ugly. Fake plants, weird theme (I guess they're going for thai/asian but it winds up looking tired 80's Vegas).

Renovation in there desperately needed!!!

[maxs mom]

[quote name='kandj05']I am loving this review. We have not met yet but I sure hope my husband and I get to meet you guys on some cruise. You guys sound delightful.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]Well....that 's so nice!! We love meeting new friends on every cruise. Actually, some of our closest friends.....we've met on cruises!! Hope our paths will cross, too![/SIZE][/FONT]

[maxs mom]

[quote name='1northstar']As always an outstanding review. We're doing a B2B on the AOS in late January and are beach lovers just like you! I love all the advice. A very enjoyable read. Thank You ��[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]B2B's are the best!! The beach is the best!! We did all the tours and the adventure stuff years ago. I'm in to relaxing to the fullest these days!![/SIZE][/FONT]

[maxs mom]

[quote name='The Big Booper']Any idea why the Jewel is 700 under DO capacity this week? post Thanksgiving sailing?

The solarium looks as wild as the other 3 Radiance ships, can't wait.

Good tip about the baby powder for the beach.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]Yes.....I think it was just that week after Thanksgiving......everybody is back to work and school. The next week was full.

The credit for the baby powder tip goes to Franca.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[maxs mom]

[quote name='micmacmissy']I just can't with that solarium! I think this style of solarium is SO ugly. Fake plants, weird theme (I guess they're going for thai/asian but it winds up looking tired 80's Vegas).

Renovation in there desperately needed!!![/QUOTE]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]I don't mind that Solarium design, but I see what you mean. I think I like the Solariums on the Vision Class ships the best. I very rarely even go to the ones on Voyager and Freedom Class ships.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]OK....back on he ship......the usual routine.....frozen yogurt, showers, and naps.....with a little reading thrown in there.

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Time to head to the CL.....again .....very empty.

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We met a very nice German couple who had been on the Summit for three weeks and were now on the Jewel for three weeks. Lots of Germans on this sailing.

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Tonight we had reservations for Portofino to celebrate our 500th cruise night. We had a very nice table by the window (not that you could see anything!) And Katherine was our waiter. We had her back in September. We both got Caesar salads and I got the Tenderloin.....John got the T-bone and both were excellent.

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[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]More pictures from Portofino.

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For dessert......tiramisu and the Dessert Sampler:

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Happy 500!!

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[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]A little stroll after dinner led us to the casino, but we shouldn't have gone in there. Came up empty tonight!

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Back to the cabin after that and found this creature. Have never had one of these before!

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[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"][U]Thursday ~ December 4, 2014 ~ St. Croix[/U]

Up early......again trying to beat the crowds to the beach.

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We left the ship around 9:30. We've been to St, Croix a number of times. Even spent a week here once, so we've been all over.

The pier here is kind of long, so there is a free shuttle that gets you down to the end.

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Once outside the gates you will see various tents for the different types of transportation services. We went to the right and found the shuttle that goes to the Sand Castle resort.

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You can also get the shuttle to Rainbow Beach here as well. It took about 5 minutes to get there.....very close by. We paid $25 for two chairs and an umbrella and that included two free rum punches. There was hardly anybody here at all......my kind of place!! Now this beach is not for everybody.....as a matter of fact....two ladies were leaving as we got there.....it was not their cup of tea. There are giant rocks all around on the beach and in the water, so it's not very swimmer friendly. We've been her a few times, so we knew what to expect.

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But it is very quiet here and relaxing and they have great Wi-Fi here. The rum punch I had was really, really good. I don't usually like rum punch, but this one was excellent!! [/SIZE][/FONT]

[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]We had a nice morning.....the bar is very good here.....great drinks. And the restaurant is also very good. There is a very small pool here.

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[tigger-ttfn]

[quote name='silver_cloud']Jane, I know you didn't go into St. Lucia, but what would you recommend? I'm not one for horseback riding or crazy adventurous excursions. Any help is appreciated!
Mary[/quote]
Do a private tour with Cosols. He does a 6 hr tour of the whole island even the beach and boat ride there. Snacks and great fresh baked bread and cheese and all the rum punch, water and local beer you want for $75. Have done it twice and plan to go again next year.

[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]The weather was really nice, but out of nowhere this rain cloud appeared out of nowhere. It hovered over us and began to pour. It was sunny all around us.....so weird.

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It rained and rained. Most of our stuff got soaked. Thank goodness for the umbrella. We thought we would ride it out, but it just wouldn't stop. So instead of eating lunch here.....we left around 1 o'clock and went back to the ship for lunch. Sure did enjoy the Wi-Fi, though!

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W had a nice lunch in the WJ. Then we had some reading and quiet time for the afternoon.

Stayed mostly to ourselves in the CL tonight. Not very many sociable folks inhere this week. Chuck and Ashlee came in toward the end and we visited with them for a while.

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Tonight we were invited to eat at the Captain's Table with the Environmental Officer, Fabiana Fronterotta and her husband, David....a Navigation's Officer. We met them in the Schooner Bar for a drink first. Three other couples were there as well. We walked down the stairs to the MDR and to the Captain's Table. Very, very nice dinner with a special menu and lots of wine. A good time was had by all. The food was delicious. I had the surf and turf and we all got a very special Baked Alaska for dessert. Nice!!

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[The Big Booper]

[quote name='micmacmissy']I just can't with that solarium! I think this style of solarium is SO ugly. Fake plants, weird theme (I guess they're going for thai/asian but it winds up looking tired 80's Vegas).

Renovation in there desperately needed!!![/quote]

I can appreciate your point. From the pictures the Jewel design does seem a little bit over the top. But this design does date from the mid to late 90's. The Solariums on the Q ships and the Celebrity S ships seem to have a cleaner, more modern design.

In any event, the Jewel is the only Radiance ship we haven't been on yet, which be rectified next September. I'm looking forward to seeing the phony green grass that has faded to blue.;)

[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]We were pretty wiped out after dinner......probably all that wine! We just strolled around for a bit. The 70's party was going on and it was pretty wild in the Centrum......always fun. We used some of our internet minutes before going to bed.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"][U]Friday ~ December 5, 2014 ~ St. Thomas[/U]

Once again an early rising......still trying to beat the crowds to the beach. This was the last port for this cruise. Beautiful sail in this morning.

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Our beach choice today was Secret Harbour. We've been here many times. Once again we had to do the taxi dance and wait for one to fill up going out that way......so frustrating! But soon we were off on our 20 minute ride to the beach. We got there early enough......before 10....and had our choice of a few good spots. The resort does not let you use their stuff, so you can rent chairs and umbrellas from the dive shop over to the right. =-$30 for the day. Great free Wi-Fi here. The restaurant is wonderful.

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We were entertained all day by 4 pelicans that hang out there. They were flying around and diving for fish all day long. They would crash down right in front of us. So fun.

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They weren't here the last time we were here.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]The weather was great and the water was crystal clear. I like to swim here more than any other place we go. They used to have a nice floating dock that you could swim to.....but it got old and torn up in a storm years ago. But they had a brand new one today. People seemed to be enjoying it. The dive shop offers lots of things like paddle boards, kayaks, paddle boats, and dive trips. It's just a nice quiet place to go. It got a little crowded today but we were not bothered by that because we stayed more down toward the dive shop.[/SIZE][/FONT][URL=http://s101.photobucket.com/user/jhwhite1030/media/Jewel%20of%20the%20Seas%20%20Nov%20Dec%202014/DSC_0109_zpsae79627b.jpg.html][IMG]http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m56/jhwhite1030/Jewel%20of%20the%20Seas%20%20Nov%20Dec%202014/DSC_0109_zpsae79627b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]A gorgeous waitress named Kim waited on us all day. The diet coke we ordered had free refills and she cheerfully brought us another every time we turned around! When we were ready for lunch, she brought that, too.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[maxs mom]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]A few more shots before we leave.

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We decided to leave around 2:30 but we had to wait until three until we could hook up with a taxi to take us back. We had the worst luck with taxis all week. Many times the morning taxi driver will come back for you. Ours today just wasn't one of those. But one did come back for others, so we hitched a ride with them.

A little later in the afternoon, many of the officers lined up to welcome everybody back on board. Nice touch.

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The girl in the middle is Rosa, the GSM.

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And there is the Captain.

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[Bailey & Sophie]

[QUOTE=max'smom;45012808][FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="3"]

John spent the morning watching the life boat drill!

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Was the life boat drill published in the Compass or did he just happen to see it? Looks like it would be interesting to watch.