Live From The JEWELL Of The SEAS

[demodawn]

So glad I found your thread! Love cruising with others! We will be on the jewel in April.

[jalynn]

Thanks Trainman for the up to the minute reports. I'll be on the Jewel for the first time in March and can't wait. Everyone seems to love the ship. I'll be interested to see how your itinerary change due to the hurricane turns out. I look forward to your upcoming posts!

[Pumbaamd]

Trainman 2 . . .

It is very cool that you can send us info from live on board. We were on Jewel this past January and the head waiter in the dining room was a good friend of our's from Grandeur, Geno. It is a very long shot that he is in your dining room section. If he is, tell him that the Grandeur repo Krewe 2006 from Baltimore/NOLA says hello. And, any pic's of you and Geno would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Rick and Deirdra

[gagirl7143]

We are on 9 Jan and would love to know the names of the cruise staff and if Karen Mayberry will still be on as CD then.

[Trainman-2]

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Between my DW, Carol, and myself we have divided the day up. I am the morning person and get up early everyday and take a nap in the afternoon. Carol sleeps late. (she calls it combining her afternoon nap with sleeping)

 

Either way, it works for us! :D

 

The ship is heading south along the coast of Cozumel as I type and we are due to dock there in about two hours.

 

It looks like it will be a great day!

[Trainman-2]

Early yesterday afternoon we finally sailed out from under the outer bands of Hurricane Paloma and the sky cleared except for scattered clouds here and there.

 

 

Carol is our sun person so she headed to the pool deck for awhile and I, the shade person, explored the ship and started this thread.

 

Last night was the first formal night and here are two photos of us. On the left, in the Concierge Lounge and on the right in the Vortex Lounge on deck 13.

 

 

After a bit of bar hopping we headed to our room to enjoy the sunset.

 

[Trainman-2]

I am posting via "Cyber Cabin" this morning. Friday and Saturday it seemed to be very slow but last night it perked up. One of the tech guys must have oiled the servers on the ship. :D

 

Cyber Cabin is a dial up connection from the cabin and costs $10 per day or $100 for the entire 10 night cruise and has unlimited use. In the bast, I have used Cyber Cabin for posting and the RCI WI-FI for upload photos. WI-FI on board costs $0.33 per minute if you buy a $50 package of 150 minutes.

[grandmotherof3]

Great review..we are noton this ship either but really enjoy reading live reviews. We are on the Mariner in a few weeks:):):)

[ctcontrol]

Have you any photos of the inside of the ship? We are sailing on Jewel next June for the first time and it would be interesting to see the inside.

 

Hope your having a great time!

[DHADEN]

Hey, Trainman!!!!

 

Really good to hear from you again! :D

 

We were on the Mariner together last year and this is what we always do:

Somebody here on the Boards suggested a year or two ago that we use the new US One Dollar Gold Coins for tips on board.

I brought 100 of them with us and they are a big hit. All of the waiters and bar tenders like them and they remember us which results in super service..

 

How is Calvin Doing?? Is he in the Marines now? You-Guys are great, and this thread is really important.

 

We are going to be on the Jewel NEXT WEEK!! Can't wait!:D

Can't believe we only missed by one week cruising together again. :cool:

[Trainman-2]

We are seated in the TIDES Dining Room on Deck 5 with the main seating.

I am constantly amazed at the number of people here on the boards complaining about the RCI food in the Dining Rooms.

Our service and meals have been Excellent!

Last night DW and I both had the Fillet of Beef. It was offered either medium rare or medium well. I ordered the medium rare and it came a nice pink throughout. DW got medium well and there was no pink but it was moist and juicy, not dried out as well done beef often is. Both were excellent and so tender we could cut them with our forks. They came with mashed potatoes, gravy, and asparagus.

The Shrimp Cocktail, Chilled Pear Soup, and Caesar Salad were also excellent.

Maybe all those years in the Army, eating Army food (often similar to school cafeteria food) has lowered my personal standards. But when I compare last night's Fillet of Beef to my choices at home (Outback, Lone Star, and Long Horn Steak Houses) the Fillet of Beef in the Dining Room wins hands down!

The dining room also has what the Food Editor in the Charlotte, NC paper calls "Swarming Service"! There is always someone there to serve more rolls, refill the butter, refill your drinks, etc.

It is only when you ask for something unexpected that there can be a delay. DW and I both like a horse radish sauce made from half sour creme, half mayonnaise, and horse radish. When we asked, the sour creme and horse radish appeared instantly. It took a few minutes for the mayonnaise to appear but it did!

The Head Waiter came by several times to check up on us. We are at a table for six and only had two table mates Friday night and they hoped to have some friends in the Deck 6 Dining Room join us. I suggested they and their friends meet with the Head Waiter at breakfast. They did and he set everything up for them so now we have a full table with great table mates.

[NorbertsNiece]

Thanks for the recipe! I love MDR food.... no complaints from me!! The roast duck on Independence was fantastic!

[Sue L]

the food on our TA in Sept was excellent also, I don't think it is your tastebuds. LOL:D

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Trainman 2 . . .

It is very cool that you can send us info from live on board. We were on Jewel this past January and the head waiter in the dining room was a good friend of our's from Grandeur, Geno. It is a very long shot that he is in your dining room section. If he is, tell him that the Grandeur repo Krewe 2006 from Baltimore/NOLA says hello. And, any pic's of you and Geno would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Rick and Deirdra

 

We were on b2b cruises on the Jewel in September and our Head Waiter, Mr. G., was the best. :) I think some passengers called him Geno. He's from Turkey and was the Head Waiter for My Time dining. Our dining experence on the Jewel was our best ever with great food and even better service.

 

Here's a picture of Mr. G at work.

[Radio]

Great "LIVE" Post. . . I am enjoying your reports, and pics !

 

Keep it up !

 

 

Radio

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Trainman-2]

Hey, Trainman!!!!

 

Really good to hear from you again! :D

 

We were on the Mariner together last year and this is what we always do:

 

 

How is Calvin Doing?? Is he in the Marines now? You-Guys are great, and this thread is really important.

 

 

All things considered, Calvin is doing well.

 

He joined the USMC July 31 2007, went to Boot Camp at Paris Island, SC, (lost 46 pounds) then on to Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger, NC and then to Corry Station, FL in Pensacola where he was trained to be a Communications Intelligence Specialist.

 

While he was in Corry Station, he met "Miss Right" and fell in love. She is in the Navy and was in the same school Calvin was in. When they graduated, Calvin was stationed in Hawaii and she (Liz) was sent to West Virginia.

 

On Oct 1st DW (Carol) and I went out to Hawaii to visit Calvin. Here is our Marine with his very proud Mom at the beach on the Marine Base at Kaneohe Bay, HI.

 

 

We were there for a week and canceled out South America Cruise to pay for the visit.

 

A week after we came home Calvin called and said he was having surgery for a cyst on his lower back which the Medics had been "cleaning out" but had been unable to cure. So Carol said "My Son Needs Me!" and beck we went to Hawaii. He had surgery on Nov 20th and the Doctors were please with their results but it will still be 2-3 months while the open wound heals from within.

 

We left Hawaii last Sunday and flew home arriving in Charlotte on Monday. Drove home, unpacked,did laundry, repacked, and drove to Daytona Beach, FL to visit my Mom and stay with my Brother. Thursday we drove to Miami and Friday boarded the Jewell.

 

Calvin is still doped up but getting better. The Doctors say it will be another week before they take him off the pain medicine.

 

We were worn out when we boarded the ship and are really enjoying relaxing and taking it easy on board!

[Trainman-2]

Great "LIVE" Post. . . I am enjoying your reports, and pics !

 

Keep it up !

 

 

Radio

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Thanks Radio!

 

You have set the standard for "LIVE" posts that the rest of us aspire to meet.

[Trainman-2]

Here are some views of Cozumel from the shore (Port) side of the ship.

 

 

 

And from the Starboard side of the ship a view looking more or less North. There has been a steady stream of small boats headed to the ship all morning and many of them are now headed back to the Scuba Diving Areas.

 

 

And a view of the Jewell from the shore.

 

 

Watch out for the "Red Line Police" on the pier!

 

 

Carol and I crossed it twice because we pooped out walking on the pier and sat down on one of the big castings they use to tie up the ships. The Security Guy didn't speak English and we don't speak Spanish and there was a lot of screaming and yelling and arm waving but we didn't get arrested.

 

They need some benches along the pier for us old folks!

[Bruinboy]

How very thoughtful of you to post and give us nearly "live" updates. I have not been on the Jewel and have no immediate plans to do so, but I have been through the canal, and I do love to hear of your RCL experience. Kudos.

[Trainman-2]

We went ashore for a little while and visited the shops around the shore end of the Pier. Carol shopped while I visited with the natives. The photos below speak for themselves.

 

 

:D

 

At our age we already have every thing we want and are in the process of thinning our our collection of "stuff" at home. So we didn't buy anything.

[AF-1]

Very cool review and pics. Keep em coming.:cool:

[Trainman-2]

Being a retired Army Logistics Guy, I am always interested in cargo ships. This ship came in to port, unloaded, loaded new cargo, and departed while the Jewell was still docking.

 

 

It is a small ship and double ended. It noses up to a ramp on the shore and its cargo (Cars and trucks) drives off. New trucks drive on and the Captain and crew turn around and are facing the front of the ship again as the ship pulls out of the port. The cargo trucks can always drive straight on and off with no backing up. In the close up below you can see the lines of the cargo doors on the right end of the ship and a fold down ramp to load or unload cargo onto the upper deck.

 

 

The large Grey "Boxes" on each side of the upper deck contain small diesel engines and generators. How many are running at one time depends on how much power the Captain wants. By using a bunch of small engines like this the lower deck is open for cargo.

 

A pretty neat set up and very economical to operate.

[Trainman-2]

Does anyone know what "this" is.

 

My camera does not have a wonderful telephoto capability but in the center of the photo you can see what looks like a red pyramid on the island opposite where the Jewell is docked. It could be pile of red sand or garbage but it looks interesting what ever it is.

 

 

Not a great photo but it is the "lump" pretty much in the center of the photo.

[Pumbaamd]

Just might be the pyramid at Tulum.

Rick and Deirdra

[Pumbaamd]

Being a retired Army Logistics Guy, I am always interested in cargo ships. This ship came in to port, unloaded, loaded new cargo, and departed while the Jewell was still docking.

 

 

It is a small ship and double ended. It noses up to a ramp on the shore and its cargo (Cars and trucks) drives off. New trucks drive on and the Captain and crew turn around and are facing the front of the ship again as the ship pulls out of the port. The cargo trucks can always drive straight on and off with no backing up. In the close up below you can see the lines of the cargo doors on the right end of the ship and a fold down ramp to load or unload cargo onto the upper deck.

 

 

The large Grey "Boxes" on each side of the upper deck contain small diesel engines and generators. How many are running at one time depends on how much power the Captain wants. By using a bunch of small engines like this the lower deck is open for cargo.

 

A pretty neat set up and very economical to operate.

 

There are three of these ferries that carry cars and trucks to and from Cozumel. They dock here and also downtown.

Thanks for your reports from Jewel. She's one of our favorites.

Rick and Deirdra