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

[TAPNKEGS]

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!!

 

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they had several offered as I recall. We had the basic one coincidentaly called the ''jewel'' tour. It was plenty for what we got, we were very happy and felt we saw just enough. I would definately do it again. You will love it :)

[JPEvans]

A question for the OP. I'm doing the Jewel for a Transatlantic in the Fall.

I've only done Royal Caribbean ships Voyager class and larger. Does

The Jewel have a 24 hour place to get something to eat like the Cafe

Promenade? And also, does the Jewel serve those delicious Roast Beef

Sandwiches like the Anthem and the Allure have?

[TAPNKEGS]

A question for the OP. I'm doing the Jewel for a Transatlantic in the Fall.

I've only done Royal Caribbean ships Voyager class and larger. Does

The Jewel have a 24 hour place to get something to eat like the Cafe

Promenade? And also, does the Jewel serve those delicious Roast Beef

Sandwiches like the Anthem and the Allure have?

 

sadly, from what I have seen, no. Jewel is the only ship I have been on that does not have some kind of dedicated station(s) or area for something to eat or snack on 24 hrs. The Windjammer has VERY set hours and when it closes, you can not even walk through the area. Your only option for 24hr eating would be room service for which there is a surcharge from 12am-5am (estimated)

 

As for the sandwiches, I have not been on Anthem or Allure so I could not really comment on that since I don't know the reference, but if you are referring to a deli sandwich station, the answer would again be no.

 

I know that is not the answer you wished, for that I am sorry

[akcruz]

they had several offered as I recall. We had the basic one coincidentaly called the ''jewel'' tour. It was plenty for what we got, we were very happy and felt we saw just enough. I would definately do it again. You will love it :)

Thank you, that's the one we have booked. Your review is getting me more and more excited. [emoji1]

 

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[easyboy]

Enjoying you review and beautiful photos.

[TAPNKEGS]

THURSDAY: BARBADOS

 

We were greeted in port by Adventure of the seas on a picture perfect day.

 

 

Through Trip Advisor and some research, we found Silver Moon catamaran trips. They own 3 vessels currently. 2 with sails, one 3 deck powered, which is the one we chose. A search online will net you their site with pics (which is impressive) and info on the ships. And I will say this: What you see is what you get...and thats a good thing.

 

 

you can choose which boat you want (based on the descriptions and pics ) and each one has a maximum of 12 guests allowed to book. This number turned out to be just fine.

 

I cannot speak for the other 2 vessels, but the one we were on ''Moondance'' was spotless and the staff so welcoming..this was truly a find.

 

 

There was 3 decks to this catamaran. The main deck you see above and below. Off to the sides of the below picture are small steps to full sized bedrooms with full bathrooms. When asked if there was a side for men and for women, It was replied that the right side was for women because ''they are always right'' noted.

 

 

if you step just outside the bar area in the shot below and turn left, you will see steps that go up to the 3rd deck with a captains station and nice seating area.

 

 

with a grim too hard to conceal from my wife, I could tell I made a good choice.

 

 

and away we go ...cont

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

easing out of the port area, our 3 boats steered south, where the rest of the excursions for the water turned north. The captain said this was on purpose because they knew a nice spot to go to avoid the crowds...

 

 

 

There is something about the waters of Barbados that just seems so perfect, pictures have a hard time capturing this..but

 

 

We noticed plenty of gear for our use, such as flippers, masks, snorkels and water noodles.. nice touch

 

 

Our captain was a delightful, energetic and experienced young woman, she was quick to point out she was one of the few on the island. Don't let the following pic fool you. She was fantastic at multitasking and could switch from fun to focused in a nanosecond.

 

 

It wasn't very far until we cruised into our little area with no one else in sight

 

 

cont...

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

I have never seen a group of strangers so relaxed before.

 

 

As we arrived, we were given a rundown of how long we would be in the water, who has snorkeled before, what stuff not to touch. The crew has very thoughtful about keeping the natural beauty intact.

 

 

and with that, we headed in. The water was perfect and so was the view..so much to see

 

 

 

 

My wife even managed to get the perfect nail color to match the water

 

 

cont..

 

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

FYI for those interested on the exact type of boat it was, it is on the pic below

 

 

one of the sister ships pulled up and joined in the fun

 

 

so i am just slowing swimming around when I feel something go by me, I turn around and ... my god so many fish....just gonna put some pics of em next

 

 

 

 

 

more..

[TAPNKEGS]

it was really something else...just fish EVERYWHERE. you would start swimming in a direction and like 200 would follow you..

 

 

 

some were quite curious..

 

 

 

and GOOD LUCK finding Dory here...

 

 

 

cont..

[cruzfiend]

I am enjoying this review so much. Your information and humor 😊 is great. Thank You.

[TAPNKEGS]

after about 45 minutes, we all got out, dried off, grabbed a drink and sat down do a wonderful lunch prepared by the crew.. some of the most tender sweet BBQ chicken I ever had, fresh seared fish, pasta salad, breads, wine, beer. It was more then we expected and the crew always asked if there was anything we needed.... kept drinks topped off, more food. they were the best.

 

 

 

so we moved on to a new spot which was just as nice..

 

 

 

waited the prerequisite 20min after eating..

 

 

and met this friendly guy...

 

 

cont...

 

 

[TAPNKEGS]

he was perfectly content to have us as company, slowly drifting between everyone to say hello..

 

 

and of course getting a free snack doesn't hurt either

 

 

 

 

nice to meet you too !

 

 

cont..

[TAPNKEGS]

Yes I think this stop was sure win

 

 

so back to the ship we went, enjoying homemade pina coladas on the way...man this crew knew how to spoil us

 

 

and the captain, not being one to be outdone for pictures, jumped from the bridge deck to photobomb like a champ

 

 

 

I think everyone had a great time a got a little scortched, but the final nice touch by the crew was passing around cool towels to everyone with a pepermint essence.. was the perfect thing everyone appreciated

 

 

So in conclusion, Silver Moon Tours... cannot recommend them enough. Its no accident they have like 2,000 5 star reviews. They have earned every one.

 

 

cont..

[TAPNKEGS]

the terminal has a fairly large indoor shopping area and was worth browsing through before getting the shuttle back to the ship. Once back we grabbed a shower and a bite and relaxed on the balcony a bit to take in the view.

 

 

 

that is until Mr. Buzzkill ... I mean the pilot boat showed up and then we were off again

 

 

more from around the ship...

 

I swear these deck chairs are multiplying...

 

 

main pool area with new movie screen which was added on the refit.

 

 

nice to see there was shaded and sunny places to lay out around the pool .... but all shaded obviously because the pic was at night..

 

 

cont..

[leahlefler]

I really love your review. I cannot wait to go on our trip! What movies were playing on the pool movie screen?

 

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[TAPNKEGS]

near the front of the main pool area on the right (starboard) side, there was a towel station. There was no card needed, you just asked for a number of towels..and that was it. For those with kids, you will be happy to know just across from that station was a rack for floatation jackets

 

 

sadly, the following 2 pics are as close as I got to the gym... ie: while walking around outside. You can't make out a whole lot but it looked adequate.

 

 

 

Just outside the main theater on the left (port) side on deck 6 is the cinema with stadium seating which ran 1 movie several times per day. on our trip they had: Tarzan, Finding Dory and Star Trek as examples..

 

 

since we are talking about movies, let's back up a sec. I need to say that I THOUGHT the new screen by the pool would be used for a movies under the stars type thing, but sadly this was not the case.

 

It was horribly underutilized. During the day it was home video fail type shows and other times just screen saver type pictures of nature. They did show a couple of NFL games, but with a nice screen like this, it was a shame to see the potential wasted.

 

 

 

moving on...

Edited January 8, 2017 by TAPNKEGS

[TAPNKEGS]

random stairwell art cont..

 

 

sometimes, the centrum would actually be quiet in the evening, they would have the lighting down to just some nice ambient stuff and it made the area very relaxing.

 

 

 

thats it for this day... next stop Grenada :)

 

[Five5]

Thanks for your review, I was on the Jewel during the same cruise and enjoyed the week as well. It was our second time on the Jewel and I would have to say that she is our favorite ship although I miss the Sea View Cafe.. :(

 

We booked Silvermoon Charters as well in Barbados, our second time with them and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a fantastic experience.

 

We were on one of the other cats though and didn't get to see you!

 

We were in a JS on deck 10 this time and the only complaint I had was the noise from the pull deck chairs being slid across the floor, the noise came right into our room was disruptive at times.

 

On our next cruise I've booked a balcony on deck 8 in hopes that the floors between will eliminate the noise! :)

[TAPNKEGS]

Thanks for your review, I was on the Jewel during the same cruise and enjoyed the week as well. It was our second time on the Jewel and I would have to say that she is our favorite ship although I miss the Sea View Cafe.. :(

 

We booked Silvermoon Charters as well in Barbados, our second time with them and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a fantastic experience.

 

We were on one of the other cats though and didn't get to see you!

 

We were in a JS on deck 10 this time and the only complaint I had was the noise from the pull deck chairs being slid across the floor, the noise came right into our room was disruptive at times.

 

On our next cruise I've booked a balcony on deck 8 in hopes that the floors between will eliminate the noise! :)

 

always nice to hear re-enforcement of those on the same trip. Glad you had a nice cruise on Silver Moon as well.

 

Don't beat yourself up about the cabin choice. That kind of thing comes from experience and one word that always comes to mind when picking a cabin is ''sandwich'' meaning a deck of cabins above and a deck below where your choice is will usually be a safe bet in regards to potential noise.

 

solid nights of sleep (or lack thereof) can be a dealbreaker on a cruise.

[anewmac]

Loving the review so far. Thanks for taking time to share.

 

Question is there a piano bar, or comedy type club? Somethings we love on Carnival just wondering if that will be available on the Jewel. Thanks!

[JamesEM]

Enjoyed your snorkeling photos, looked like you were swimming in an aquarium.

[B_Mc]

We were in a JS on deck 10 this time and the only complaint I had was the noise from the pull deck chairs being slid across the floor, the noise came right into our room was disruptive at times.

 

 

 

On our next cruise I've booked a balcony on deck 8 in hopes that the floors between will eliminate the noise! :)

 

 

We were on Jewel in a JS on Deck 10 a few years ago and I had the same complaint! I thought we were hearing food/dish carts being rolled around. It wasn't sleep-disrupting but it was a noticeable background noise.

 

 

 

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[whitshel]

What an awesome review! Thanks for the photos and review of Silvermoon, we're booked with them in April sailing on the Summit. We too are on the Moondance, we cannot wait! We have 9 of us booked and 2 more in our group want to go but the cat is full (were hoping for a cancellation from someone else :D) Anyway thanks again especially for the pics of the cat etc, she looks beautiful!

[whitshel]

One other thing, when your done with this review you may want to do a separate review just for Silvermoon on the Barbados port boards, it would have made my decision a lot easier to make on which company to choose!!:D

 

Thanks Again!