Jewel of the Seas Review 12-11-16.. or.. ''A Cruise is what you make of it 2016''

[TAPNKEGS]

water seemed inviting but noone was going in..

 

 

we technically had 40 minutes here, but it seemed everyone in our group had no real desire to mingle with a mob of 1000 strangers so we headed back. Our driver offered to stop and let those off who wanted to partake in the myriad of shopping available near the pier... or if they so wished, people could stay and be dropped off at the port itself. The walk from the large shopping area to the ship was about 20 minutes..so not bad at all.

 

walking back to the ship, we passed the new hotel... I mean Celebrity ship backed in to the port

 

 

NCL also had one of theirs in port

 

 

as well as Holland America

 

 

and then the best of the bunch, our home for the week...such a photogenic ship she is.

 

 

There was a bit of a shopping and food type area just at the end of the dock, so if you didnt want to hike over to the main shopping malls, you didnt have to.

 

 

cont..

[TAPNKEGS]

as a side note for the Bernards Tours, they provided confirmations through email with detailed and foolproof instructions on where to go to meet them upon arriving at the port. Everyone there was very professional and I would certainly recommend them for a lower budget thing to do.

 

by midafternoon, the sun decided to stay around so I just took some pics while we relaxed..

 

 

 

but as with all things, the visit came to an end with the coming of the pilot boat..

 

 

The Luna, an impressive luxury yacht pulled out before us..she had 2 helipads to our paultry one

 

 

 

sunsets were rare this trip due to cloud cover so this was the best I could do. Simply a nice end for a nice day.

 

 

more ship stuff next...

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

Izumi: deck 11 aft.

 

 

this was the venue that took the place of the seaview cafe. It is an a la carte sushi, tappanyaki resturant. We never went there but we did constantly see a decent amount of people there.

 

 

 

Chops Grill and Giovanni`s Table were both premium (extra charge) venues on deck 6 that were right next to each other facing the Schooner Bar.

 

Chops and Giovanni's shared a very similar look. RC was offering a buy one get one offer on the premium restaurants but it had to be the first 2 nights of the trip. The service was outstanding, the food at both venues came off as ok only..once again subjective. Granted it was the biggest tender filet mignon I ever had but the flavor was lacking.

 

only have a couple pics of Giovanni's due to the pics of Chops ended up being too dark.

 

 

 

There was a special themed ''mystery dinner theater'' promo they kept pushing in Giovanni's that was an additional $75 per person that was strangely 80% full so reserve now every night...but we passed

 

shops: deck 5

 

There were 5 distinct areas for the shops if you walked down the main hall for them. apologies in advance for the pic quality for they were taken with the GoPro and like a box of chocolates...you never know what you gonna get.

 

section 1: cosmetics

 

 

cont..

[davekathy]

Izumi: deck 11 aft...

 

 

We last sailed the Jewel 2015. At that time is was pre refurbishment and still had the Sea View Cafe instead of Izumi. Bummer! It was a great place to enjoy a hamburger and watch the your last port disappear.

Edited January 5, 2017 by davekathy

[BillOh]

 

Lets talk about food a bit starting with the Windjammer

 

 

Loved the layout of stations and all the places you could enjoy a meal...outside, inside. have a look at the plaque below that is just on the reverse of the windjammer sign above. The food stations are in orange and all the different seating areas are nicely spread out all over. We never had a problem finding a place to sit for meals.

 

 

more to come

[/font][/size][/color][/b]

 

Jewel's Windjammer continues to me by favorite in all the fleet. Good size for the number of people on board and a nice looking place with all that wood.

[TAPNKEGS]

section 2: clothing and trinkets

 

 

section 3: convenience stuff, alcohol and smokes

 

 

section 4: jewelry, handbags etc

 

 

section 5: watches

 

 

Each night, it seemed there was a new sale in the middle of the shops area. To say it was crowded would be a bit of an understatement.. pics were from quiet times during main dinner

 

 

and what sale would be complete without gold by the inch...

 

 

cont..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

and to end the night, 2 random pics from an evening walk

 

 

 

Next up... Wednesday: Dominica

[BillOh]

We are on the Jewel (opposite itinerary) in February. First time on a RC ship. Interested in hearing more about the "free" dining options. Also was the solarium roof ever opened up eg. on a sea day?

Love the pictures! Thanks for posting!

 

I've spent 12 days on jewel and the only time the roof was opened was when they repainted the pool.

 

[TAPNKEGS]

Nice pics! What a beautiful ship! I've seen a lot of people here praising Jewel, but this is the first time that I look inside a Radiance Class, and I think they have a good reason.

Seriously considering Jewel for my next sailing.

 

Thanks, the ship sells itself really. It is very well laid out and you can always find a quiet place to just take it in at any time. I really enjoyed just taking many a stroll all around. I know understand why the Radiance class is a favorite

[TAPNKEGS]

Great review so far! We are on the Jewel in April 2017 - did you do any fitness classes? If so, do you know the charges for same? Do they have spin bikes? If so, do they have clip system? Can you use the spin bikes when class is not in session?

 

Thanks!

 

thanks to you for following along ! sadly, I did not partake in the gym and the only 2 pics I have were taken OUTSIDE as I was walking around the deck lol. From what I could see, it was well stocked with equipment. I never saw crowds. That said, I am unsure of the spinning bikes availablity

[TAPNKEGS]

Thanks for your review and the beautiful pics. We have a cruise booked on Jewel for Spring break 2018. I was thinking of moving it to another week since I really want more than one day pre-cruise to explore San Juan. I am actually more excited about the ship now than I am about San Juan.

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll post pictures of the kid's pool/splash area.

 

Thanks for the compliment! I would strongly recommend a plus day in San Juan if your time and budget allow. I do have a pic or 2 of the splash area...gotta find em... Oddly, I never saw any kids there. It wasn't until nearly the end that I noticed a sign on the slide that it was only open from (geez there goes my memory again) it was a 2 hour block...either 2-4pm or 4-6pm. very strange to have that space dedicated to only be utilized 2 hours a day...

[davekathy]

Great review so far! We are on the Jewel in April 2017 - did you do any fitness classes? If so, do you know the charges for same? Do they have spin bikes? If so, do they have clip system? Can you use the spin bikes when class is not in session?

 

Thanks!

 

The Jewel does have spinners. The spinners are not available when the class is not in session. I think it's a bummer because I don't do structured classes and I like the spinners because I have one at home. The gym does have the upright and recumbent style bikes. I use the uprights.

[davekathy]

Thanks, the ship sells itself really. It is very well laid out and you can always find a quiet place to just take it in at any time. I really enjoyed just taking many a stroll all around. I know understand why the Radiance class is a favorite

 

But you are an excellent ambassador for the Jewel. You promote her well.

[TAPNKEGS]

Day 4: Dominica

 

 

lucky to have another perfect weather day. Only us in port too.

 

 

Another hunt on Trip Advisor netted ''Nature Isle Explorers'' which for $50 pp gave us a great tour day. Once again, we received detailed confirmation on where to go and meet our guide with another clean and AC ready bus.

 

Our tour first guided us through Roseau past the head honchos house..

 

 

Our first stop a little outside of town was ''champagne reef ''. It is called this because Dominica is a volcanic island and there are vents under the water that heat escapes and forms geysers of bubbles.

 

 

 

all the beaches here seem to be the non-sandy variety

 

 

there were changing rooms and a small snack shack set up for food and drinks. the snorkelling was guided by certified scuba divers and lasted about an hour.

 

cont...

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

life was aplenty here, from big iguanas to these little guys..

 

 

all kinds of birds

 

 

It was just a nice peaceful place..

 

 

I just took a seat by the water and listened to the waves rush and spread the rocks around like toes in the sand..

 

 

we mounted up and drove back towards town and through their botanical gardens. There was a hurricane some years ago and a new school bus given to the island by Canada was full of kids and going through this park when the worse hit. The kids were brought into a small building in the park and the driver, concerned about the new bus decided to park it under a big tree to keep it protected....well

 

 

good thing no one was in it when this happened, we then drove by ''canonball tree'' called this because of the growths on the trunck itself..

 

 

cont..

[TAPNKEGS]

next we drove up to a very nice overlook to the city proper and snapped some photos

 

 

 

and then we saw this little guy..

 

 

very cute but there were dogs EVERYWHERE and sadly many of them looked hungry. I asked if the dogs served any purpose here like vermin control and was told that people just liked having dogs, that there was no vermin issues, but there was also no population control in place so it has gotten out of hand.

 

we continued north outside the city and began a very curvy climb into the mountain region.

 

 

at one point our guide talking about spices was pointing out areas where nutmeg grows and stopped, got out, disappeared behind some trees (thought bathroom break) but her came back seconds later with shaving of fresh cinnamon bark...wow that stuff smelled fantastic..nice little touch

 

 

a bit more climbing and we reached Titou Gorge

 

 

cont..

[TAPNKEGS]

Titou Gorge is a little spot tucked away up in the mountain. there are bathrooms and changing booths set up because you go in the gorge which is pretty darn cold...like whipcrack cold when you get in but flail around a bit and you get used to it.

 

Once you are in, you swim against a current fed by a waterfall further ahead. It is a bit dark and close quarters so if you are not the kind of person that deals with confined spaces, you may want to skip it.

 

It was very refreshing and only about 10 minutes but something you should experience yourself. I did not feel confident in bringing a camera with me seeing as I would need both hands to swim.

 

 

there was a certain magic to this island. everything you would ever dream up a rich tropical island could be was this.

 

Our last stop was the most popular which was Trafalgar Falls. To get there, we had to wind back down the mountain a bit but it wasn't far. This was a stop of a lot of tours so it was quite crowded. There was a hilly and winding pathway with lots of stairs (so those with walking issues and scooters beware). after the little hike..

 

 

to get a sense of scale here, if you squint a bit and look at the middle area of the picture, you can see some people. Other than what you see, there isn't much else here.

 

again for scale look for the person at the bottom of the following pic

 

 

 

After a few minutes, we all started to make our way back to the bus and back to the pier.

 

 

got back, grabbed a bite and a shower then headed to the front elevators, got out at deck five, exited to the promenade, made a right and headed up to the front of the ship to relax

 

 

cont...

 

[TAPNKEGS]

several locals with their boats puttered by to say hello... they were a friendly bunch

 

 

did a little more wandering on the upper decks

 

 

and then I spotted it..... the dreaded pilot boat....

 

 

ok, I get... it's time to go... says the shady guy driving the ship

 

 

so the bow thrusters do their thing and we are off again..

 

 

took the next pic by holding my GoPro as far as my arm would go over the side near the front not having any idea what I was taking a pic of but it's kind of neat seeing the bulbous bow cutting through the water.

 

 

cont...

 

 

[EMED2010]

Loving your review! I can't believe I will be doing this next week. Dominica looks amazing! Your tour looks exactly like what we will be doing.

[July4]

following

[TAPNKEGS]

welcome to those that are just joining !

 

I forgot to put a couple of initial pics of the shops in the ship from a prior post so I will shoehorn em in here..

 

 

 

now thats out of the way, time for pics around the ship...

 

first one is the area on the jogging track forward in front of the gym

 

 

as you can see and with prior and future pics, there are lounges all over... I think they were breeding when no one was looking because I swear there was more on deck every day.

 

next, the Skybar just above the pool

 

 

another of the jogging track just around the front from the gym

 

 

and of course one from a random stairwell

 

 

cont...

[akcruz]

Which tour did you do with Nature Isle in Dominica? We have them booked for our sailing in Feb and think it is the same one. Really excited now!!

 

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[TAPNKEGS]

atrium pic of the day

 

 

The Vintages wine bar just above guest services with... you guessed it... a BIG bottle of Champagne dedicated to Jewel with her own label even..

 

 

It had a cozy feel to it, felt welcoming

 

 

and now my favorite spot on the ship....

 

The Solarium

 

 

located forward of the main pool, it is an adults only area with a heated single pool and large jacuzzi. It was nice to see they changed out all the artificial foliage that was sunbleached and turning blue in the refit. Everything looked new and fresh.

 

 

I never saw this place invaded by running screaming kids and I went there A LOT. Plenty of places to sit and no chairhogs in sight.

 

 

cont..

[TAPNKEGS]

Even though there is a sliding roof over the solarium, I did not witness it open during the cruise. I personally did not see a reason to. It was quite comfortable in there day and night.

 

 

tucked away spots to sit and enjoy the view were available

 

 

there were also tables with chairs should you want a more quiet place to eat..

 

 

perhaps something from the before mentioned solarium cafe that had a smattering of things offered from the buffet as well as drinks and desserts ... the hours were limited though

 

 

the solarium also had its own bar

 

 

for those curious, it is a salt water pool...had to be careful taking this shot with my camera

 

 

cont...

 

 

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

the decor was tasteful yet striking and was accompanied by subtle ambient tracks to aid in relaxation.

 

 

 

 

it was listed as being open 24hrs, so you could finish dinner, catch a show and then come here...even looked more inviting at night

 

 

I had to be dragged away a few times by my wife.... who to be honest loved it as much as I did.

 

 

thats all for today.... next up, our favorite stop.. Barbados