Just booked first European Cruise - Jewel of the Seas

[birdlord]

We're doing a back-to-back on Jewel this August, two 7-nighters, Greek Isles and Western Med. My suggestion is to use the Ports of Call boards here on CC. They contain a WEALTH of information, with cruisers from other lines as well as on RCCL. You will find lots of different viewpoints, and there are certain cruisers who always are ready with a reply to a question or problem. I've been compiling a Word document with tips and ideas for our cruise, and looking at it (and it's still ongoing) I can't believe what I've found out.

 

Enjoy your cruise, and I also second the idea of joining/creating a Roll Call.

 

Pat

 

Yes, great idea -- I did that same thing the first time we sailed Oasis class! There was so much to learn then. This is even more! ENJOY!

[birdlord]

Just booked our 3rd Med cruise on the Jewel May 30, 2018. We have visited Rome, Athens, Messina, and Naples previously so if you have any questions, I will be happy to help in any way I can.

Thank you very much! I have a long way to go and lots of research to begin, but I might need a little help in getting started! Thanks.

[birdlord]

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and advice on booking tours with a group using Roll Call -- I am definitely going to go that route. I'm going to depend on people with experience, especially being a first-timer! I don't know what I like better -- the anticipation or the planning (of course, the actual sailing is the best part).

[Bruin Steve]

I have cruised this region several times...and I will also be on the Jewel for those 7 nights back-to-back this coming June/July...

 

I've looked up your actual itinerary. You are not going to Venice, so no need to worry about that sailaway view...Here are some quick notes from my experience:

 

DAY 1 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy DEPARTS 5:00 PM

DAY 2 Sicily (Messina), Italy ARRIVES 11:00 AM DEPARTS 8:00 PM (DOCKED)

DAY 3 (CRUISING)

DAY 4 Mykonos, Greece ARRIVES 7:00 AM DEPARTS 6:00 PM (TENDERED)

DAY 5 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey ARRIVES 7:00 AM DEPARTS 5:00 PM (DOCKED)

DAY 6 Santorini, Greece ARRIVES 7:00 AM DEPARTS 6:00 PM (TENDERED)

DAY 7 Athens (Piraeus), Greece ARRIVES 6:00 AM DEPARTS 6:00 PM (DOCKED)

DAY 8 (CRUISING)

DAY 9 Naples (Capri), Italy ARRIVES 7:00 AM DEPARTS 6:00 PM (DOCKED)

DAY 10 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy ARRIVES 5:00 AM

 

Rome: My best advice here is to fly in at least 2-5 days BEFORE your cruise...Give yourself some time to become acclimated to the time zone change...and some time to actually see Rome. Find yourself a hotel in the area of the Piazza Navona/Pantheon/.Campo di Fiore...most convenient for seeing the sights. Personally, I like the Residenza Farnese--4 stars but not too expensive.

 

Sicily: Find a tour that visits Taormina. We did a small group private tour last time there that also visited sites where parts of the Godfather movies were filmed...pretty cool.

 

Mykonos: The island itself is actually pretty walkable (or with taxis) by itself--windmills, beaches, shopping...This time, though, we are actually doing a shore excursion...because we want to visit the archaeological site on the neighboring island of Delos...and that seems to be one of the more reliable ways of getting there.

 

Ephesus: We've twice taken private tours there...They actually end up cheaper--even for a party of two--than the ship's excursions. First time, we did a tour for just the two of us that went to Ephesus, Didyma and Miletus...Saw far more of the area than anyone else. Last time, we did a tour along with another couple that just visited Ephesus--but included the Terrace Houses--which are incredible.

 

Santorini: We've done it both by shorex and by renting a car and doing it on our own. This coming visit, we are doing a shorex to see the Akrotiri excavations and the town of Oia. The advantage of the shorex here is that it is a "tender port"--the ship does not dock--they anchor off in the water and shuttle people to port by smaller boat...Once there, you need to take a cable car up the cliff--or hire a donkey--or walk up the same path as the donkeys...If you do a shorex, they give you priority off the ship and tender you to a different site where buses can pick you up and drive you up...

 

Athens: Lots of private tours to be found here--but book well in advance. Most go to the Acropolis, Plaka, etc. We've done that...and Cape Sounion, so, last visit, we booked a private tour for two to go to the Eastern Pelopennese (Mycenae, Epidaurus, Corinth, etc.)--some pretty incredible sites...but, if you've never been before, you have to go to the Acropolis.

 

Naples: Visit Pompeii. Some people will tell you to drive the Amalfi Coast. It's nice...and scenic...but Pompeii beats it...And you DON'T want to view the Amalfi Coast from a big tour bus! For the best of all worlds, book a private tour to give you half the day at Pompeii (or Herculaneum) and half the day doing a partial drive of the Amalfi Coast--(we did that last visit). Capri is a nice resort island, but sort of a hassle getting there and back. Save it for when you're on your third or fourth visit and have already seen everything else.

 

You have lots of time to plan. Good luck...

[cloud_nine]

It's nice...and scenic...but Pompeii beats it...

 

In your opinion. It really all depends on what you like and don't like. I for example am not a fan of walking around historical sites. I find them boring. I'd rather be in the towns and villages (Sorrento, Salerno etc) of the Amalfi Coast mingling with the locals, shopping, eating Italian food, drinking red wine, getting a feel for the place. And Pompeii is a loooong day - lots and lots of walking which is not good if you have mobility issues or back problems. If you like that type of thing, fair enough. But in my opinion

the Amalfi Coast wins.

 

As for Santorini, I have to agree with the shore excursions. It's so much easier getting a ships tour than having to get the cable car up. Oia is beautiful and has a lot of lovely shops, so be warned - you might spend a lot! :eek:

[smtcan]

We love the Greek Islands and especially Santorini. We get off the tender and head to the so called "Speed Boat" office on the right side of the dock, as you face the cable car. You can buy a ticket, about 12 Euros in October, probably slightly more in August, for a fairly slow boat ride to Oia and a shuttle up to the village. Get there early and enjoy the village before the tour bus crowds arrive. A bus back to Fira is included in the fare, they run quite frequently. Do not wait until the last minute because the line up for the cable car down can be very long. It does depend on how many ships are there the same day. Doing it that way avoids waiting for the cable car up to Fira.

[iluvit!]

Please do post a review! If you take a small journal and write in it every night it is much easier to remember the details. Also include prices at restaurants, etc. Virtopia's "Venice, Trip of a Lifetime" was a joy to follow.

If you are not already a member of a hotel loyalty club, consider getting a credit card to earn points to cover a couple of nights somewhere special. SPG has an offer for 35,000 pts until April 5th-- we are aiming for 2019 out of Venice with a stay at the Hotel Danieli for our 20th anniversary. Looking foreward to further posts!

 

 

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[sunshinechgo]

Start reading on what you want to do. Read your cruise date info on cruise critic. We did all excursions on our own and did private tours which was so worth it.

 

 

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[Susandt]

A little off topic, so are there really good deals on cyber Mondays?

 

 

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[Gaamanda]

The Jewel of the Seas is our favorite ship. We've sailed on her 3 times now and it's just a great cozy and manageable ship. Our cruises so far have only been in the Caribbean but we are hoping to book a European cruise soon.

 

 

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[drummerdavebmth]

And I reserved an aft balcony - so I'm very excited!

First time ever travelling to Europe. First time on Jewel.

We are going September 9, 2018 on the Italy/Greek Islands 9 night. Any advice? Recommendations?

 

My wife and I have just booked on the same cruise!!!

 

We haven't been on 'Jewel of the Seas', but we have been on another "Radiance" class ship. In 2014 we went on our honeymoon to the Mediterranean/Adriatic on the 'Serenade of the Seas' (same class of ship as 'Jewel' and a similar itinerary).

 

Here's a lengthy photo review I did, which you may find of interest for advice/recommendations etc http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2337917

 

Roll on 9th Sept 2018!!!

[cscolo]

We did this cruise on the Jewel last May....probably our favorite cruise so far. The Jewel is one of my favorite ships.

 

I definitely agree with the previous posts about taking private tours. If you need suggestions please feel to email me at tim dot thecollinsgroup at gmail.

 

In Santorini we rented a car from Tony's car rental (check it out on trip advisor). They were great and it was one of our best days....had lunch at a Great little restaurant right on the black sand beach.

 

Have a great time!

 

 

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[birdlord]

Thanks to everyone. I'm printing off posts and starting a notebook. I am also happy to see posters going same dates! I reaaaallly appreciate any and all input.

 

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[lynncarol]

I will probably get flack from this but 6 years ago I responded to a roll call member's request for one couple to join her family of three in a full-day tour during our cruise stop in Sicily. Sounded great so I contacted her and we agreed to split the cost of the tour. Right before leaving for the cruise she sent me an email stating "more members would be joining us" and we would all meet at the Schooner Bar once onboard. To make a long story short, she had signed up an additional 25 guests for what had become a big bus tour. When I expressed my surprise to the organizer, she said that this way we would be paying much less money. Although some very nice folks were on that bus, a small subgroup carried on private conversations in such loud voices that our bus tour-guide (who was very inexperienced and young) eventually just gave up trying to talk over them and we learned nothing about passing attractions. Plus, at each stop there were always laggards who held up the departures. We almost missed the ship. Never again!

[cscolo]

What a shame, that should never happen. If one sets up a private tour on CC I believe they have the responsibility to be clear with everyone on the size of the group and the cost. I had a similar situation last year in Sicily, but since I was doing the organizing we split the group into two vehicles so we each still had a small group tour experience. I think everyone was pleased with the arrangements, but I made it clear to everyone in advance. Conversely, if you join a private group tour.....SHOW UP. Last year we had a family of four wanting to join a tour in Athens and another on the Amalfi coast. They didn't show up for either costing the rest of us extra $!! Not cool! Private tours are usually great but everyone involved should be fully informed and committed.

 

 

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[Bruin Steve]

I will probably get flack from this but 6 years ago I responded to a roll call member's request for one couple to join her family of three in a full-day tour during our cruise stop in Sicily. Sounded great so I contacted her and we agreed to split the cost of the tour. Right before leaving for the cruise she sent me an email stating "more members would be joining us" and we would all meet at the Schooner Bar once onboard. To make a long story short, she had signed up an additional 25 guests for what had become a big bus tour. When I expressed my surprise to the organizer, she said that this way we would be paying much less money. Although some very nice folks were on that bus, a small subgroup carried on private conversations in such loud voices that our bus tour-guide (who was very inexperienced and young) eventually just gave up trying to talk over them and we learned nothing about passing attractions. Plus, at each stop there were always laggards who held up the departures. We almost missed the ship. Never again!

That sounds terrible...

OTOH, in my large number of private shore tours, both those I've organized and those I've joined organized by others, I've never had anything like that happen.

When I organize a tour, I make it very clear, at the outset, the size group I am planning and the reasons for that.

 

Typically, my reason for a small group is to have a manageable number, move quicker and have better access to the guide...it is never "to get the lowest price". In my negotiations with providers, my first question is the type of vehicle/seating...usually a van or minivan of some sort and passenger seating is six or eight...so, we limit the size to that.

Once, in Rotterdam/Amsterdam, we had a group of 12 (agreed upon by the participants), so our guide arranged for a mini-bus--which could have carried 20-24 or so...but we still held it to 12. The purpose, again, is not to fill the bus, it's to get a quality tour.

 

When I have joined on to tours put together by others, I have also sought to make it clear, at the beginning, what the group size will be. If everyone isn't clear as to a limit, I simply do not sign up...unless there is a reason a larger tour is okay. For example, in Reykjavik, Iceland, someone on the Roll Call organized a trip for the first day to go to the Blue Lagoon...this was not a sightseeing tour, but really just transportation for a trip to the spa...we all knew it was a big bus from the start and everyone agreed.

 

What you should have learned from your experience was Not that you should never join, rather that you should maintain CLEAR COMMUNICATION with your group.

[FloridaTourist]

We did a very similar itinerary last year on Holland America. Athens and Ephesus are very cheap to do private tours. We had a private driver in Athens and tour guide for five hours for $125 in Ephesus we had a driver and tour guid as well with tickets to Ephesus and it cost us $169 for the two of us. In Santorini we did the speedboat and it was awesome. We would definitely do that again

 

 

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[BaseballMomof4]

I have often organized group tours in Europe and have never exceeded 8 people. With 8 you can still get the most out of the tour while at the same time economizing. You have to know who you are working with. We also had a woman who organized a tour of 8, had her son decide not to go at the last minute and expected everyone else to absorb the cost of her son's absence. Not right.

 

Athens is very walkable once you get to the Plaka area. It is inexpensive to get into the Acropolis and the Acropolis museum is well worth the time and cost of the ticket. If you have school aged children, make sure they carry their school ID with them as most of these sites offer discounts to students.

 

Have been to Naples twice - first time we used Rome in Limo to go to Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento - it was fabulous. I highly recommend Rome in Limo anywhere you can get them. Second time we took the ferry to Capri - spectacular and so very easy, you simply exit the dock area and cross the street and the ferry ticket office is right there. We pre-booked online but that was not necessary, although we knew we had a guaranteed seat at the times we wanted by doing so in case there were large crowds trying to get on the ferry.

 

We had an outstanding tour in Kusadasi called the "Relax Tour" in which essentially we got to call the shots of where we went and for how long. It was $50 pp for the entire day and we had 7 in our group. We went to Ephesus, the Virgin Mary House and to a leather factory then back to Kusadasi for lunch. Outstanding.

 

Not sure what itinerary everyone is doing, but we have also been to Rome, Barcelona, Florence, Marseille, Rhodes, Malta, Messina and Palma de Mallorca.

[NucMed18]

I am booked for the June 8th one!!!!! I booked a JS aft room, SOOOOOOOO excited!!

 

 

And I reserved an aft balcony - so I'm very excited!

First time ever travelling to Europe. First time on Jewel.

We are going September 9, 2018 on the Italy/Greek Islands 9 night. Any advice? Recommendations?

[sunshinechgo]

I have great tour guides for Corfu or Athens. Found them on Cruise Critic chat.

 

 

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[southerngirl8]

And I reserved an aft balcony - so I'm very excited!

First time ever travelling to Europe. First time on Jewel.

We are going September 9, 2018 on the Italy/Greek Islands 9 night. Any advice? Recommendations?

Is this the one out of Rome? I have booked the same cruise leaving May 30th, 2018. This will be my 3rd Med. Cruise and my first on RCL. I did one on NCL and one on Carnival.

 

 

Rome in Limo. Remember them! They are amazing. They offer tons of tour options. Use them to get from Rome to the Port. It may be a bit more expensive but they will pick you up at the hotel/airport and drop you off at the ship. Otherwise you could spend 20-30 minutes walking TO the ship with your luggage. RIL can get you right up to the ship. As this is a working port- you have to have a special permit to get in the port. You have plenty of time to save for those extras- why ruin your vacation to save a bit of money on something this important! They have great tour packages too. In Naples do the Positano/Sorrento and Pompeii tour and ask for Giovanni as your tour guide. You won't be disappointed!

 

 

In Athens- if you are doing the Acropolis, get there fairly early- and go to lunch at the outdoor cafe right there are Acropolis. An amazing view and the food was great. Not busy either. Can easily take a cab back to the port. They are some great little shops. Take a cab to the Plaka Hotel and use that as your starting point. Great little area to shop. Keep your phone CLOSE to you, my nephew had his swiped off a table by 2 little girls. The scam is- they place a map on the phone and mumble for directions and then they take the phone and the map!

 

Rhodes- go "outside the wall" after you walk thru the "wall". Great shopping. Rhodes is a great wonder around stop.

[cinesage]

And I reserved an aft balcony - so I'm very excited!

First time ever travelling to Europe. First time on Jewel.

We are going September 9, 2018 on the Italy/Greek Islands 9 night. Any advice? Recommendations?

I just booked the 9-day Greek Isle cruise on Jewel for October 15, 2018, so I will continue to read here too!

 

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[Ponderosa1]

Our friends used Rome in a Limo for their excursions as this company is all over Europe. They said it was excellent and while everyone from the cruise was being herded around, they had a small private group and could go places in their van that the tour buses could not get to

 

 

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[beanersts]

And I reserved an aft balcony - so I'm very excited!

First time ever travelling to Europe. First time on Jewel.

We are going September 9, 2018 on the Italy/Greek Islands 9 night. Any advice? Recommendations?

 

 

Advise - watch the rolls calls for May 2017 which there are 3 cruises [emoji568] which are doing the same ports of call. May give a you a good idea about tours

 

 

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[BaseballMomof4]

Our friends used Rome in a Limo for their excursions as this company is all over Europe. They said it was excellent and while everyone from the cruise was being herded around, they had a small private group and could go places in their van that the tour buses could not get to

 

 

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We have used Rome in Limo on numerous occasions. We used them in Rome, Florence, Naples and Messina. Each time was fantastic. The guides were great, the price was very reasonable and they really give you a great understanding of the area and know all the out of the way gems to show you. I can't say enough good things about them.

 

I will be on the May 30, 2018 9 day Jewel of the Seas cruise and I guarantee I will be using Rome in Limo again. :D