LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

beachluver9 · May 16

28 minutes ago, twangster said:

Yes there were many choices. I chose the smallest one on the plate, #73.

I was hoping that you were going to say that! I have 19 in my collection (including one duplicate) and hoping for a couple of new ones. Last time we flew with them we didn’t get a choice, so now I have two #60s. Needless to say, there are far worse things in life! 🤪

twangster · May 16

8 minutes ago, beachluver9 said:

I was hoping that you were going to say that! I have 19 in my collection (including one duplicate) and hoping for a couple of new ones. Last time we flew with them we didn’t get a choice, so now I have two #60s. Needless to say, there are far worse things in life! 🤪

I had heard of these things and was going to decline when I saw coming down the aisle. Then I realized it would make a good trinket to remember this trip by. Beats buying one in the city at inflated prices.

When they arrived at my seat I was looking for small and it was the last one so…

if I recall there were three or four choices,

perfect match · May 16

Thank you @twangster! I’m enjoying following along with you!

Sinders99 · May 16

15 hours ago, twangster said:

I'm starting this LIVE thread a little late here on day two but I figure it's better late than not at all.

This is a B2B for me starting with 15 nights for cruise #1 and then 12 nights for cruise #2.

Screenshots from cruisemapper.com

Cruise #1:

Cruise #2:

Even though it's day two as I write this, let's rewind just a bit.

Can’t wait to follow along! We’re doing the B2B Iceland/Scotland & Norway/Arctic Circle cruises in June/July. Will be keenly watching your posts for tips and hints as you have a lot of the same ports as our cruises 😁

Sinders99 · May 16

14 hours ago, twangster said:

From the Centraal station I chose to walk the 1.6 km to my hotel which given the nature of the brick lined sidewalks was probably not the best choice but I had another hour to kill before check in time.

At least I could do some sightseeing along the way.

So many canals!

It's a very pretty city.

OMG LOOKS AMAZING!!! Like out of a picture book. 32 days and counting till we land in Amsterdam. Your posts and pics are getting me so excited for our adventures!

twangster · May 16

For those keeping score at home, 29 Pinnacles this cruise, 45 Pinnacle next cruise.

Crystal blocks for those high enough in the Crown and Anchor Society are on board, newest style with color backing.

Like the KLM little houses, it's a thing, minus the gin.

RFerrington · May 16

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

45 Pinnacle next cruise.

Are the Pinns going to be restricted next cruise ?

twangster · May 17

1 minute ago, RFerrington said:

Are the Pinns going to be restricted next cruise ?

The threshold on Jewel is 30 so this cruise there are no restrictions while next cruise yes some will be restricted unless they are staying in a suite.

They look at Pinnacle in suites and remove them from the matrix before determining who is eligible. This varies one cruise to the next so it's not so simple.

It's like in golf where three players are tied for first then the next person is in 4th. Second and third place exist but are placeholders until the end is known.

If number two doesn't show up that could ripple through. Meanwhile if Super Mario books at the last minute, that too could ripple through knocking folks out of contention.

So to answer your question... it depends if any Pinnacle are in suites. If so, how many? And what if they don't show up at the last minute?

RFerrington · May 17

1 minute ago, twangster said:

The threshold on Jewel is 30 so this cruise there are no restrictions while next cruise yes some will be restricted unless they are staying in a suite.

They look at Pinnacle in suites and remove them from the matrix before determining who is eligible. This varies one cruise to the next so it's not so simple.

It's like in golf where three players are tied for first then the next person is in 4th. Second and third place exist but are placeholders until the end is known.

If number two doesn't show up that could ripple through. Meanwhile if Super Mario books at the last minute, that too could ripple through knocking folks out of contention.

So to answer your question... it depends if any Pinnacle are in suites. If so, how many? And what if they don't show up at the last minute?

Interesting. Earlier this year, on Radiance, they did not restrict any Pinns even though there were more than 30 NSP. The Suites Concierge told us that he was given a choice of restricting or not restricting and his answer was…”.bring ‘em on. I can handle it.” We had absolutely no overcrowding issues. Maybe headquarters has decided to enforce the 30 Pinn rule.

twangster · May 17

5 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Interesting. Earlier this year, on Radiance, they did not restrict any Pinns even though there were more than 30 NSP. The Suites Concierge told us that he was given a choice of restricting or not restricting and his answer was…”.bring ‘em on. I can handle it.” We had absolutely no overcrowding issues. Maybe headquarters has decided to enforce the 30 Pinn rule.

It may vary depending on suite loads. If many suites have only two guests then X, if suites are slammed, then Y.

There is also the RCI factor. Really Consistent Inconsistently.

So far this cruise the lounge has never been packed or at capacity.

Edited May 17 by twangster

shirazcruiser · May 17

10 hours ago, twangster said:

They opened an hour late! (or I forgot to change time last night) 🤣

Were you provided with a letter indicating sea and port day hours?

edspec · May 17

Great review, thank-you. Itinerary amazing!!

twangster · May 17

5 hours ago, shirazcruiser said:

Were you provided with a letter indicating sea and port day hours?

The letter states it follows dining room hours.

sgmn · May 17

21 hours ago, twangster said:

Despite not needing a VISA or travel authorization for entry into the UK just yet, we are required to go through passport control when we arrive in Dover on day two.

Shortly after 11am we began boarding starting with suites and pinnacle.

Fresh from dry dock this is the first revenue cruise. With a fresh paint job Jewel was looking very clean.

We were welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine and wooden tulips for the ladies.

Looking forward to your trip blog. Love Jewel, our favourite RC shop. I've been back and forth about booking her for months this Sumner. Wish I had now.

sgmn · May 17

17 hours ago, twangster said:

Day Two - Dover, England

The fog from last night became the fog of the morning.

It's a busy section of water and I could hear several other ships following fog protocol blowing their whistles, some faint, some loud.

marinetraffic.com:

The white cliffs of... the mist.

Confirmed. The captain found England.

Welcome to the UK.

Just to prove we do have nice weather sometimes, this is Cornwall yesterday . Hope the weather improves for you

twangster · May 17

I ventured down to do the passport control a couple times only to find long lines each time so I went back to my cabin. With the deadline approaching I could defer no longer.

The queue now stretched well down into the guest hallway. Half an hour later I had my passport inspection compete.

I would have been better to join the queue earlier as it seems many people waited until the end.

twangster · May 17

My intention was to wander around, find a pub and see what I could see.

The immigration officer inquired about my plans offering I wasn’t dressed for the weather. He was holding my passport waiting for a response. I told I just wanted to step foot on the ground which satisfied him and I received my passport back.

Outside of the terminal it was still raining lightly. Passport control was right, I wasn’t dressed for the rain so I returned to the ship.

twangster · May 17

Onboard rates for beverage packages:

twangster · May 17

Looks like some guests did some shopping in port. Their acquisitions will be held until we debark.

twangster · May 17

As a tech geek and working in the communications industry I have followed ship internet connectivity over the years.

Starlink from SpaceX is an absolute game changer.

Jewel still has wired computer stations for guest use off the Centrum so I logged in to see how a wired workstation would do. Not bad but this is a browser based test.

From this same area I logged back in on my phone and ran some speed tests using the app over WiFi.

It's pretty awesome that my WiFi session is better than the wired desktop.

Running the tests a few times to gather an average the performance remained strong.

This is just off the Centrum when a few decks down there were hundreds lined up waiting to get off. That's an important distinction. Previously the old WiFi platform could not handle masses connected to the same access points.

The Voom specialist confirmed the entire WiFi platform was upgraded during the drydock.

The modern access points do a much better job handling masses connected to the same access points and my results in the Centrum when there were hundreds queued up to get off illustrate this point very well.

Between the upgraded WiFi technology on board, the adoption of Starlink across the fleet and the Starlink constellation growing and getting stronger every week the results are finally combining for a great user experience.

I live near Cape Canaveral so I get to see many SpaceX launches. This week marked the 50th SpaceX launch this year. Many of those launches delivered more Starlink satellites to space. Finally we are seeing the results. It's such a difference even compared to Starlink on board less than a year ago.

End of geek mode for now...