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Just back from Jewel Aegean itinerary - Any questions?

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gagirl7143

gagirl7143

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We were unable to Skype with the normal package, but voice only (no video) worked. I guess it depends.

 

 

Might be the difference of device , time of day, or position of ship. Sometimes we are happy just to get audio at least!!

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Sunny AZ Girl

Sunny AZ Girl

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ok, thanks. So 1 person pr stateroom just queue up on deck 2 first for tender tickets, or is that elsewhere?

 

Sorry for using this thread for this, but kinda jewel releated. :)

 

On the Jewel Panama Canal cruise I was able to get tender tickets for our whole group of about 12 people. That was in Cabo San Lucas. They all waited at the then Champagne Bar while I got the tickets. We then went down when our number was called. It went smoothly. Hopefully, they will get the tendering issues resolved before our trip next year to Greece and Italy! I am really looking forward to Santorini and I would hate to have the day cut short by getting a late tender.

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JazzieB

JazzieB

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Isn't this the same price if you purchased on the RC website pre-cruise?

 

I've tried checking our reservation but it's not offering any dining options, maybe it's too early, we sail in Nov.:(

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sandancer

sandancer

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On the Jewel Panama Canal cruise I was able to get tender tickets for our whole group of about 12 people. That was in Cabo San Lucas. They all waited at the then Champagne Bar while I got the tickets. We then went down when our number was called. It went smoothly. Hopefully, they will get the tendering issues resolved before our trip next year to Greece and Italy! I am really looking forward to Santorini and I would hate to have the day cut short by getting a late tender.

 

 

I would think that the majority of guests on a Panama Canal cruise would be from North America where people are using to lining up for things, the post office, bank, stores but a lot of the guests on the recent Jewel cruise were from countries where this is not the norm. Add to that the fact that we did not arrive in Santorini until lunchtime made things very difficult. It was meant to be the highlight of the cruise but it certainly was not that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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fragilek

fragilek

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I would think that the majority of guests on a Panama Canal cruise would be from North America where people are using to lining up for things, the post office, bank, stores but a lot of the guests on the recent Jewel cruise were from countries where this is not the norm. Add to that the fact that we did not arrive in Santorini until lunchtime made things very difficult. It was meant to be the highlight of the cruise but it certainly was not that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

did the same stop last July on the Rhapsody and we didn't have any issues, we just queued up as soon as the line opened and we were off quite quickly not sure what tender we were in as we weren't in a rush a we just pottered about town.

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Host Jacquelyn

Host Jacquelyn

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I would think that the majority of guests on a Panama Canal cruise would be from North America where people are using to lining up for things, the post office, bank, stores but a lot of the guests on the recent Jewel cruise were from countries where this is not the norm. Add to that the fact that we did not arrive in Santorini until lunchtime made things very difficult. It was meant to be the highlight of the cruise but it certainly was not that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Perfectly said. We were most looking forward to Santorini, and it was our biggest disappointment, due to rushing and queuing.

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BEENSAILING

BEENSAILING

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I would think that the majority of guests on a Panama Canal cruise would be from North America where people are using to lining up for things, the post office, bank, stores but a lot of the guests on the recent Jewel cruise were from countries where this is not the norm. Add to that the fact that we did not arrive in Santorini until lunchtime made things very difficult. It was meant to be the highlight of the cruise but it certainly was not that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

What time was your ship's and arrival and departure scheduled?

Edited by BEENSAILING
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Host Jacquelyn

Host Jacquelyn

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What time was your ship's and arrival and departure scheduled?

 

Arrive at 1:00 and depart at 8:00. So in theory 7 hours . The ship was cleared a bit late, then they needed to get the tenders running, then you needed to wait for your tender number. I was lucky that we were on tender 8. However once docked, you need to find your way to Oia. We chose the speedboat, but then needed to wait for that boat to fill before departing. Once we docked again, we needed to find the bus to take us up to Oia. Again, we were lucky we made the first bus, but there is no way everyone on that speedboat made it on to that one bus, which means they would need to wait for another. We finally made it up to Oia at 3:15, but then needed to wait in line to reserve our return bus to Fira. Last bus at 5:00, so 7 hours in port =1.45 hours in Oia, and we were lucky. Once in Fira, we had enough time to stop for a few minutes at a gift shop and walk to the cable car line, which was already very long and waited over an hour to get down to the tenders

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debs2028

debs2028

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Arrive at 1:00 and depart at 8:00. So in theory 7 hours . The ship was cleared a bit late, then they needed to get the tenders running, then you needed to wait for your tender number. I was lucky that we were on tender 8. However once docked, you need to find your way to Oia. We chose the speedboat, but then needed to wait for that boat to fill before departing. Once we docked again, we needed to find the bus to take us up to Oia. Again, we were lucky we made the first bus, but there is no way everyone on that speedboat made it on to that one bus, which means they would need to wait for another. We finally made it up to Oia at 3:15, but then needed to wait in line to reserve our return bus to Fira. Last bus at 5:00, so 7 hours in port =1.45 hours in Oia, and we were lucky. Once in Fira, we had enough time to stop for a few minutes at a gift shop and walk to the cable car line, which was already very long and waited over an hour to get down to the tenders

 

We are in Santorini 24 th July cruise on Jewel

 

Couple of questions

 

What time should we get in queue to ensure an early tender ticket ?

Do we have to reserve bus back and where do we do it ?

How long does bus take ?

Thank you

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Host Jacquelyn

Host Jacquelyn

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We are in Santorini 24 th July cruise on Jewel

 

Couple of questions

 

What time should we get in queue to ensure an early tender ticket ?

 

They started handing out tender tickets either at 12:15 or 12:30 - it is announced in the Compass. I would say that if you want to be on one of the first tenders to be in line 45 mins before the handout begins - maybe even earlier. Only one person of the party needs to be in line.

 

Do we have to reserve bus back and where do we do it ?

My understanding is that the return bus needs to be reserved, otherwise you are not guaranteed a spot. If you book the "speedboat" to Oia, the charge is 15 Euro and it includes the bus ride up from the dock to Oia, plus the bus from Oia to Fira. As soon as you get off the bus up to Oia, the wicket to reserve the return bus to Fira is just across the way. You can ask the driver if you are unsure.

 

How long does bus take ?

Thank you

The bus to Fira took around 20 minutes, but there is still another 5-10 minute walk to the center of town / cable cars
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Host Jacquelyn

Host Jacquelyn

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At least we will have a nice long day there - 7 AM to 5 PM.:)

 

I have read that the return bus from Oia to Fira varies depending on the ships' time in port. On the Greece boards someone was saying the last bus from Oia to Fira was 2:00 pm when they were in port. For us, it was 5:00 pm. I would suggest starting the day early - this way you are guaranteed as long a time as possible in Oia, plus you beat the heat. By 3:15, it was sweltering. It should be much more comfortable in the morning.

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sharktums

sharktums

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Not trying to hijack the thread, just wanted to answer some questions based on our Jewel Cruise July 3 - 10...

 

- As Diamond Plus members we were allowed to meet with the Concierge on the Santorini Day and get escorted down to the first tender. This was also the case for Pinnacle and Suite Guests. I assume this depends on how many Diamond Plus members are on the cruise. Our cruise seemed very light in higher level status cruisers. It was a VERY nice perk and made our day that much better. Tender Tickets were handed out at 9am for a 1pm arrival on our cruise.

 

- We used our Diamond Plus discount to get buy one get one free at Chops the first night, then we bought the three restaurant package and ate at Giovanni's, Izumi, and Chops again. The other nights we ate at Windjammer or were full from ports. We did not do the main dining room as it was the same menus as always and we were not in the mood.

 

- There was free Tapas at Vintages every night. Probably about six small dishes, mostly the same, each night.

 

- Rome embarkation and debarkation was the easiest we have EVER had in our cruising history!!! Super easy, fast, convenient, crazy!

 

We loved the cruise and ship (our third time on Jewel).

Edited by sharktums
Forgot to answer one question
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sandancer

sandancer

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Not trying to hijack the thread, just wanted to answer some questions based on our Jewel Cruise July 3 - 10...

 

- As Diamond Plus members we were allowed to meet with the Concierge on the Santorini Day and get escorted down to the first tender. This was also the case for Pinnacle and Suite Guests. I assume this depends on how many Diamond Plus members are on the cruise. Our cruise seemed very light in higher level status cruisers. It was a VERY nice perk and made our day that much better.

 

).

 

 

You were very fortunate to have that perk. We were on the cruise before yours and the Diamond Concierge would neither escort us or supply priority tender tickets. There was never more than a handful of us in either the CL or DL. His reason for not giving priority tickets was because "people don't bother to use them". We certainly would have.

 

 

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