Jewel of the Seas 7 Night Western Mediterranean

[Pjt212301]

Hello; I'm considering this cruise for July of 2018 - 2 rooms with my DH and my 2 teenage daughters and I am hoping to get as much advice as possible. Is this a good cruise for a family? Will the ports have enough to see or are the sites further away? We would fly into Rome a few days early to see the sights there but I understand the ship is a few hours away how do you get to the ship? As you can see, I am really at the beginning of planning stages.

[Clarea]

With regard to transportation to the port area, there are many options. A company called romeinlimo is highly recommended. Trains are also an option, though not as convenient with luggage.

 

Check out the Italy ports of call forum for more info: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

[Bruin Steve]

Hello; I'm considering this cruise for July of 2018 - 2 rooms with my DH and my 2 teenage daughters and I am hoping to get as much advice as possible. Is this a good cruise for a family? Will the ports have enough to see or are the sites further away? We would fly into Rome a few days early to see the sights there but I understand the ship is a few hours away how do you get to the ship? As you can see, I am really at the beginning of planning stages.

I am taking that cruise next month...I'm actually taking that one and the following sailing (Greece) back-to-back. And, we are also spending four nights in Italy before the cruises and four nights after. For me, I don't like to fly all the way to Europe for just a one-week cruise. But, I can understand, with a family of four (we've cruised with our daughters many times), the seven night cruise plus a few days in Italy would be enough.

 

IMHO, it's an excellent cruise...Of course, a lot depends on your daughters...What do they like to do?

The itinerary gives you a nice mixture of ports...You will find a lot to do and see in all of them--usually without venturing out too far...though, you might want to consider it in, say, Cannes. And of course, keep in mind how it is you like to visit ports: Shore excursions? Private tours? On your own? There are lots of options.

For Cannes, you may want to go visit Monte Carlo/Monaco...or Nice...or some of the smaller towns in the region. Your daughters might like to visit the perfume factory in Grasse, perhaps...Or maybe Medieval towns like Eze or St. Paul de Vence might have some fascination...those might require some sort of transportation. Often, joining with others via the Roll Call here on cruise critic is a way to keep your costs down and get a better tour.

 

Barcelona is a great town...and everything is very close to the port...You can walk, use public transportation or take the HOHO tour bus.

 

Corsica, Sardinia and Mallorca will all have things to see and do near the port. Beaches are also popular (Of course, we avoid them because we can go to the beach at home and would rather take in the history, archaeology, art and culture in these foreign ports).

 

While in Rome, I would stay in the area of the Piazza Navona/Campo di Fiore...Plenty of nice little hotels in the area ...and lots of restaurant choices...and walking distance from almost everything. You will need transportation from the Airport to Central Rome...then from Rome to the ship--which docks in Civitavecchia--yes, some distance from Rome...and then, back from the port. You can use taxis or limo services...But you can also use the trains for a cheaper alternative--just a little more complicated as you'll likely need taxis to fill in things like train station to hotel. It really isn't all that hard to do...just takes a little research...and, sometimes, a sense of adventure...

 

What you want to do is actually a lot less complicated than what we want to do...We are flying into Rome, spending a night near the airport, then taking trains to Orvieto...Two nights there, then trains to Civitavecchia for the night before the cruise...Then, after the cruise, we are taking trains and a taxi to Tivoli, two nights there, then back to the airport for two nights before flying home (yeah, originally wasn't planned for two nights at the airport...but our friends at the airline changed our flights home and forced this)...

 

Good luck...

[cruzgryphon]

There's definitely lots to see and do in the ports - depending on what you're interested in. If you're into architecture, culture, history (museum and archaeological sites), scenery (thinks limestone cliffs overlooking the water) - then you'll definitely find lots to do (in addition to trying new foods or foods done the "proper way"). If your kids are more into beaches and lying on the beach, then I don't think it will be a good fit (majority of beaches I've encountered in the Med. are very pebbly).

 

In terms of distance to the ports. I think that saying Rome is a few hours away from the port is an exaggeration - it's 90 minutes tops (depending on how you go). There are other ports that are further away from the main sites - like the ports that service Florence/ Pisa, but IMHO those places are well worth the visit (also the coach ride back is a nice way to unwind).

 

Bottom line in my opinion - definitely have to go once and experience it all.

[cloud_nine]

(majority of beaches I've encountered in the Med. are very pebbly).

 

Not exactly sure where you've been in the Med, but that is not the case at all. Much of Southern France, pretty much everywhere in Spain, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily all have sandy beaches. The only pebble beaches I have encountered have been on mainland Italy, even so I went to a lovely long, golden sand beach when we stopped in La Spezia a few years ago.

[starrcards]

We did a 7 day jewel Western Med cruise from Rome last September. Sounds like most of the ports at similar. The link to my review should be in my signature info.

[JMHDisney]

We are doing this cruise this summer (with kids a little younger than yours) and I've spent a fair amount of time researching it. We are taking a private car service to and from the port. I booked the same one to take us from the airport to our AirBNB apartment near Campo Fiori, then to the port, and then back to the airport.

 

In Cannes, we will visit Nice and, if we have time, hit the beach in Cannes, which is sandy. In Nice we will go to the Promenade du Paillon, Promenade des Anglais, and the Old Town area of Nice. I've been to this area before and there are many lovely towns all along the coast that are easily accessible by local trains.

 

In Barcelona, we have booked a private tour. We'll see Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, the Gothic Quarter, and a few other stops. The boat docks right in town.

 

In Majorca, we will visit the cathedral or the castle and then hit the beach. There's also the Drach Caves which we may do if it's rainy.

 

In both Corsica and Sardinia, we plan to have beach days after briefly checking out the town (both ports are in town). With teens, you may find they prefer to go kayaking or snorkeling, which are both available.

 

Several of the ports have large water parks nearby if your kids are into that.

 

We aren't doing any RC tours, but I did look at their excursions for each port to get an idea of what was available before planning our own. That may help you too.

 

One of the things I liked about this itinerary is that it leaves out of Rome so instead of having Rome as a port stop and wasting half the day getting there and back when you have limited time, you can spend time before and after the cruise. Most of the port stops are near things to do, but that of course depends on what you want to see. We are also using our pre-cruise time to visit Pompeii and Positano.

 

The Jewel is not one of the huge ships with tons of entertainment options. Since the cruise is very port intensive, that doesn't bother us.

[jeast]

Train is about an hour, from what I've read. Pretty easy to take. Here is a website that has lots of info.

 

https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Rome.htm

 

We are choosing to spend a little more to get a door to door transfer. We're doing quite a lot of traveling and trying to minimize hassle. We are on Jewel to the Greek islands in June. :)

[CherylFP]

Thank you all so much for all this information. We may be on the same cruise. July 8th 2018 on the Jewel. We have two 13 year old grand-daughters, one 11 year old grandson and a 14 year old grandson. Plus two daughters and son- in-laws and my husband and I. I have worried about this cruise as I'm hoping there will be entertainment for the kids without all the bells and whistles of the megaships. Because it is port intensive I guess there will be lots to do. I'm trying to find information on this so anything anyone can share would be most appreciated. There seems to be some bad reviews on the Jewel but there are on all ships. We've never been on a bad cruise yet!

[JMHDisney]

Thank you all so much for all this information. We may be on the same cruise. July 8th 2018 on the Jewel. We have two 13 year old grand-daughters, one 11 year old grandson and a 14 year old grandson. Plus two daughters and son- in-laws and my husband and I. I have worried about this cruise as I'm hoping there will be entertainment for the kids without all the bells and whistles of the megaships. Because it is port intensive I guess there will be lots to do. I'm trying to find information on this so anything anyone can share would be most appreciated. There seems to be some bad reviews on the Jewel but there are on all ships. We've never been on a bad cruise yet!

 

I don't think you have anything to worry about. We just did this cruise a couple of weeks ago. Being so port intensive, we didn't find time for many of the things Jewel has -- we never managed to do the mini golf or rock climbing wall. Other things too. When I dropped my son off at Adventure Ocean, there were always older kids going in and out of the teen club. They did not seem bored. :)