Jewel 12/11 Review (from a newbie cruiser)

[last_mango]

Here’s my review from the 12/11 – 12/18 sailing. I’m sorry it’s so long. I’m still really excited about the vacation and I’m naturally long-winded.

 

About us: I went with my husband on the cruise. We were first time cruisers this voyage, so everything we saw and did was completely new to us. We’re mid-twenties, dinks, and well-traveled. We are seriously considering booking the Jewel for the Eastern Caribbean itinerary next December.

 

Embarkation

We got to the Miami port around noon. It wasn’t very crowded, the lines weren’t very long, and we got to the check in point pretty quickly. In fact, the Latitudes check in line looked longer than the one we stood in. This was where we had our one and only problem with the cruise line. I gave the clerk my passport and printed copy of my pre-registration form. He told us our cabin had changed from 10582 (BA) to something on the 5th deck (obviously not BA). I argued, but he told me these things happen, to get on the ship in the new room. Our cabin was indeed 10582, someone with my same last name (but not first name – I don’t look like a Robert!) was on the 5th deck. The rest of embarkation went smoothly after clearing that up.

 

TIP for first timers: If they say your room has changed at check-in, have them double check your first name/birthday and names of other people in the cabin to avoid confusion.

 

The Ship

The Jewel was beautiful! We were so impressed as soon as we got on.

 

Room: Balcony cabin, midship, port side. It was smaller than it looked from pictures I’ve seen, but the balcony was bigger than I was expecting. The bathroom (especially shower) was larger than I thought, so we were pleasantly surprised! Great water pressure too, which was nice. We were also pleasantly surprised with the size of the bed, it felt much bigger than our queen bed at home and was quite comfortable. I’m glad we sprung for the balcony room because we used the balcony a lot.

 

Also – luggage arrived by about 3:00pm. Much sooner than expected, very nice.

 

Dining: The food was good. Not great, but definitely good overall. For dinner we ate in Azura twice (first night and formal night), Tsar’s Palace once, Tango’s once, Blue Lagoon once, and the buffet twice. Azura was our favorite place, we loved the atmosphere. It felt like a small, intimate restaurant rather than the main dining room of the ship. Tsar’s palace is nice as well, but it does have the feel of a banquet room. The only time we ever had to wait for a table anywhere was at Azura on formal night, and that was only about a 15 minute wait. Freestyle dining was definitely a plus for us.

 

The food in the main dining rooms was very good, though the lobster on formal night was a bit overcooked. Everything else was perfect, the chilled soups were definitely a favorite and they made a couple of Cajun dishes quite well. Buffet food was not so good at dinner, but I was glad to have that option when I was tired and didn’t want to put on nice clothes. We also did Blue Lagoon toward the end when we didn’t feel like dressing up – it was good and we were happy to have that option. Tango’s was excellent, some of the better Tex-Mex I’ve had. It was full of flavor, but not greasy and not overloaded with cheese. I would have eaten there again if we had been able to get reservations a 2nd time.

 

Entertainment: Fabulous! The first show we saw was Band on the Run. Good music, great dancing, loved it. The Gossamer Magic and Comedy show was good – not great, but very entertaining. Second City was very funny in their show in the theater. We saw them do an improv show a few days later in the Spinnaker lounge which wasn’t so funny. Cirque Bijou was the unforgettable show, though. It’s definitely a must-see. I was so amazed by the performers, I watched the entire thing with my mouth hanging open.

 

Service: The service on the ship was outstanding. The cabin stewards, bar and restaurant servers, room service, everyone…outstanding. Everyone was pleasant and did their job very well with a smile. The $10 per person per day automatic tipping was nice and easy, but not enough for the great service we experienced. We ended up leaving more for nearly everyone.

 

Ports

Loved this itinerary, we would do again sometime.

 

Roatan: I highly recommend doing an organized tour for this port. We did not because nothing looked interesting to me, so we didn’t see anything but Coxen Hole. I wasn’t prepared for the poverty and the begging, though I probably should have been. From what other people on the ship said, we really missed out by not doing a tour. Next time we will.

 

Grand Cayman: My favorite port. We snorkeled at Sting Ray City and the barrier reef on a catamaran tour with Captain Bryan’s. That was a wonderful experience with a small tour group. Shopping was also the best here, though some of the most expensive on the trip.

 

Ocho Rios: DH’s favorite port. We did Dunn’s River falls and tubed the White River with Phil Lafayette as our tour guide. The river tubing was so much fun! I highly recommend that tour. The shopping at the Island Village near the pier was good.

 

Private Island: Crowded, hard to get a beach chair. The clear blue water made it worth it though. TIP: here is the place to use the bug spray (we used OFF Deep Woods wipes at every port except this one). My legs are covered in painful, itchy red bites now that showed up later that evening.

 

Disembarkation

Umm…disembarkation starts EARLY. We went to the disembarkation talk on the 2nd sea day so we planned to get up early, but we didn’t expect our cabin steward to come into the room at 7:45am and ask why were still there (he got an eyeful…DH was just starting to dress!). We were off the ship by 9:30, by the time they were calling the next luggage tag color. Pretty easy.

 

Outside the terminal was a zoo though. Oy! The airport too. From now on we will do a post-stay in Miami to avoid the crowds.

 

So, there you have it. We had an incredible week and were so impressed with everything. I literally couldn’t have asked for more, and I will be the first to tell you that I’m not easy to please. We’re definitely cruising again next December and we hope after the rest of our family reads this, they’ll come too. :)

[cruisin0504]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We can hardly wait!!!

[JennCandi]

We are really looking forward to our trip on the Jewel in June. You're review was very well written and makes me hope time will speed up!

 

Jenn

[wibeachbum]

Thank you for your review. We're looking forward to our cruise in March!

[Stillfloatin']

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. I can't wait till March when we get to experience it for ourselves. Also, appreciate the bug spray tip for private island.

[galaxyblue]

Thanks for the info.

 

We will be doing the 12/3/06 E. Carr and can't wait. Such a long time away.

 

How was the weather?

 

Kelly

[cruiserssandr]

Thanks for the great review. We are on the Jewel doing the Eastern Caribbean on Feb 12. Can't wait. We also have a balcony room on deck but on deck 9.

[last_mango]

Thanks for the info.

 

We will be doing the 12/3/06 E. Carr and can't wait. Such a long time away.

 

How was the weather?

 

Kelly

 

The weather was great! It was overcast a lot, but warm...low 80's. It rained lightly on and off in Jamaica, but only in the morning and nothing major. Most days had plenty of sunshine.

[DOUGLASH]

Was on the Jewel for that sailing also. The juggler was real entertaining and funny. Also the Spa on the Jewel is incredible. It is definetely worth buying the Spa pass for $69 for the week which includes the sauna, steamroom, relaxation room, therapy pool, jacuzzi, and cold water pool.