Just Back From Jewel Of The Seas 4/22/06 Sailing!

[curly4dana]

i just returned from the 8 day eastern carib. sailing of the jewel of the seas.

i have to start by saying that i was a group leader for the cruise critic member group cruises (the family jewels), and the help provided by laura sterling with the execution of this group was just amazing. it was not only easy, but was a very rewarding experience. we wound up with over 85 people at our meet and mingle and i was told that that was the largest group ever on the jewel. although all the attendees weren't "official" family jewels, our group did welcome them in and we all shared in the joy of cruising together.

we had hats and t shirts made as well as cabin flyers and name tags that i printed and laminated... everyone on the ship kept asking what we were all about...it was pretty cool to see 85 family jewel hats walking around the ship at any given time!

 

the ship...the jewel is just that...she is a jewel to cruise on. the layout of the ship is about perfect and everything is totally accessible. the walking was minimal and you can walk from one end of the ship to the other in just a couple of minutes.

the jewel was on her last caribbean cruise, as she headed out to bermuda and then a 14 day baltic cruise this past sunday.

the crew was amazing. in all my years of cruising, i have never encountered a crew and staff as accomodating and gracious as the ones on the jewel. karen maybury the cd was so teriffic and the special onboard activity director tracy was amazing. she went out of her way to make our m&m a special one. karen just stirred things up enough to keep everyone having a ball!

the captain thore thorolvsen was superior in maintaining a professional staff and an overall "happy feel" to everyone on board. he was on the loudspeaker each day talking to all of us about the weather, where we were by longitude and latitude and what we might be able to see when we arrived at out next port.

i was invited to dinner at the captain's table the second formal nite, and that was an experience i will not forget anytime soon. captain thorolvsen is a great guy with a very funny sense of humour and one of the most easy-going personalities around. the dinner was amazing and made for a truly memorable experience.

the food in the dining room each nite, was probably the best food i have ever had on a cruise ship. every single meal was incredible and again, the service was spot on!

i missed most of the entertainment, as we were on a serious roll in the casino! i did, however manage to see the midnite comedian and he was funny! we also joined in the quest in the safari club and that turned out to be the most hysterically funny evening ever! if you haven't see a quest, make it a point to get there.

 

on antigua, we took an island/beach tour with lawrence of antigua and he was fabulous! completely professional and informative. he also took extra special care of one of our elderly passengers and she was so thankful for that. lawrence took us to turners beach for a few hours after a total island tour that was awesome! after the beach, he took us back to the ship.

 

on st. maarten we took an island/ beach tour with judy from island tours. we toured with noelle and he was just plain fun to be around. he was also very informative and took us to orient beach for a few hours and picked us back up and carried us to the ship.

both tours allowed for shopping and for those that didn't want to go to the beach, transport back into town.

 

san juan, we did our own walking tour.

st thomas, we shopped and in nassau, we went to the hilton and used the beach and pool there. the weather in nassau was chilly and windy, so it was back to the beautiful jewel for us.

 

the weather during the cruise was picture perfect every day! not a cloud in the sky, soft breezes and fairly smooth seas.

 

i have always been in a center cabin, and this cruise i was all the way forward next to the bridge on deck 10. it was fabulous! no motion, no noise, and being on deck 10 was great. short walk to most places, but worth it...besides we needed the excersize after eating SO much food!

 

the decor onboard is just gorgeous. again, i have to say, the jewel is a gem...i was onboard her sister ship, the brilliance and did the 10 day panama cruise, but i like the jewel better. something about her was just more intimate and made you feel right at home.

possibly it was the staff that made us feel that way...i'm not sure. i do know that i'm anxiously awaiting her return from europe so i can sail her! since i live in south florida, it's going to be the 6 nite western for me! i even asked for my same cabin again...

 

if you have never sailed on a radiance class ship...make it a point to book the jewel. you will not be dissapointed for a moment! all 85 of us could not find a single thing to complain about...not a single thing!

 

my hat's off to rci for making my vacation dreams come true! rci and again, laura sterling! :D

[Minorhawk]

We (wife, 2 teens and my mother and father in law) are booked for the New Years cruise on the Jewel and are looking forward to it lots. We have only been on Voyager class ships with RCI and I had a question I was hoping you could answer. Is there a cafe comparable to the Promanade Cafe where you can eat little sanwiches, cookies and cakes anytime of the day or night? I mean, I wouldn't want to go hungry YOU KNOW!!!!

[shipknotshore]

Dana: I'm so glad that the group cruise turned out to be everything you and the others could have wanted. We were originally booked for this cruise too but had to delay til this fall. Sounds like the weather and the seas were wonderful for your trip too. Glad to read such a wonderful review. When are you doing the 6 night western?

[BaltiGator]

I was on this cruise also (my own review forthcoming) and I have to agree with Dana - the food was outstanding (much to my surprise, after reading so many comments on this forum before the cruise about how average the food on most RCI cruises is). The staff were incredible too - friendly, attentive, always smiling. And the ship - just beautiful.

 

I wasn't part of the M&M (for one thing, it was my first cruise and I didn't really know anything about M&M's, and for another, I was with several family traveling companions, so we were our own little group). But just about EVERYONE on that ship was having a great time!

 

Minorhawk - Not having been on a Voyager class ship, I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to, but no, Jewel does not have a separate "cafe" like that. The Windjammer buffet does a great job of having such stuff available MOST of the day and night, but there are a few hours in the wee of morning when I think the only way to get free food on Jewel is via room service. There is a coffee shop on deck 5 which does have complimentary goodies, but the coffee there isn't free.

[mommabean]

"i missed most of the entertainment, as we were on a serious roll in the casino!"

 

Our friends just left our house and they were on the same cruise. They like to hang out in the casino. They happen to live in St. Thomas. Did you meet them? They said there were some women in the casino making huge bets and losing. The more they lose - the cheaper we cruise. :)

 

They had a wonderful time. Said the food was great. They found nothing to complain about either.

[curly4dana]

minor...i know the grand promenade has lots of little eateries, but the radiance class ships do not. no grand promenade...i was on the explorer a couple of years back...trust me though...you will not want any munchies....you will be so well fed all throughout the day, you won't need it!!

in the solarium pool there is a crepe and pizza bar and don't forget to check out the seaview cafe in the afternoons...great food there as well!!!

 

bali...you could not have picked a better ship to do your first cruise on!!!! i guarantee you will be spoiled by the jewel...i've not found one to compare it to yet...and that's 15 different cruises.....

 

momm...i was winning!!! so was my girlfriend...me, craps, she, roulette....no losers that time!!! tee hee

[weary traveler]

Curly you couldnt have put it better.. having sailed twice with Captain Thor and Karen Maybury on repo's (they had better been wearing their Royal and/or Sparklin Jewel pins)...Was Felix working as asst CD? just a marvelous ship.. a wonderful crew.. and so many comfortable nooks and crannies aboard to hide and sit and relax and marvel at a beautiful cruise ship. loved the help too... from Menino in the Casino to Rafai in the Safari Schooner Bar... just an overall worth the money vacation...

Puts a smile on my face to see others enjoy as much as I do (did) (will)

 

JOS 10/04 Repo

JOS 11/05 Repo

JOS 10/05 Repo

 

your pal

[BaltiGator]

Dana - you're so right! In our group only myself and one other person had never cruised before, while the rest were seasoned cruisers. They all kept telling the two of us how lucky we were to have such a wonderful experience for a first cruise! We took it as a sign that we should cruise more, and we will!

 

Weary - There may be two Menino's among such a large crew, and I can't speak of the Casino since I didn't use it, but on this cruise the Champagne Bar bartender's name was Menino, and he was excellent.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We were in Dana's group, and let me begin by saying that she has to be the best group leader that ever came out of CC! She did a wonderful job. Of course, the people in our group were amazing also. Who could have guessed that so many people from so many different places could have "clicked" as well as this group did? I feel & I hope that I have a whole new group of life-long friends.....

 

I have to agree totally with Dana's review. We found the staff to be wonderful and so gracious. When we asked one staff member why the difference was so obvious from our last cruise (which was great, mind you) she said it was because the whole staff was so happy with their jobs. They all liked it on that ship so much. Later, we asked another crew member the same question and got the same answer.

 

We were on the Explorer last year & my DH did miss the multiple ice cream stations. However, I noticed he did find the pizza in the Solarium (and several days I enjoyed a delicious dessert crepe). He also managed to make it back to the Windjammer several times a day on Sea Days for ice cream.

 

I can only add that we did go to all the evening shows in the theater and found them to be the best we have seen on a ship. My mother & mother-in-law were with us and they agreed - and they have each been on 3 other cruises!

 

We had an aft cabin and felt quite a bit of motion, but then I like that - it rocked me to sleep!

 

I do believe that a great time was had by all. Thanks once again, Dana for making a great cruise a memory of a lifetime!