Live From The JEWELL Of The SEAS

[Dale]

:D Just looking at your Windjammer pictures put 4 pounds on me. Now I will have to do more exercises before I board on the 28th. :D

[DonnaMarieNJ]

I'm confused about the time issue. If the ship stays on eastern, and when you get off the ship and tour an island and are told to be back on board at 5 PM, is that 5 PM island time or 5 PM ship time?

[Dale]

I'm confused about the time issue. If the ship stays on eastern, and when you get off the ship and tour an island and are told to be back on board at 5 PM, is that 5 PM island time or 5 PM ship time?

 

Island time and ships time will be the same. The ship doesn't stay on Eastern Time the whole cruise.

[DonnaMarieNJ]

Thank you Dale!

[Gonzo70]

Always go by ship time! Sometimes ships change their time to coincide with island time, but other times they do not.

[Trainman-2]

Trainman - I am curious which cabin you are in. I think I saw earlier you were on Deck 7. We are in 7534 for our December Jewel XMAS Cruise. I have been wondering which part of the cruise will we see sunset and which part we will see sunrise.

 

Thanks for your pics and your time to keep posting!! I might be going out and getting a new camera. LOL

 

Regarding Tux. I am one that really enjoys the formal night and am renting a Tux for our cruise. I hope that with Xmas more people will want to be formal.

 

Scott

 

Scott,

 

We are in Cabin 7602 whichis one of the two on the outer edge of the hump and has a great view!

 

Our Cabin Steward is "Elroy" (someone else asked that)

 

We also like the traditions or "Formal Nights" but I think that we are slowly losing to the Shorts & Tee Shirt Crowd. :(

[HorrorFan]

Trainman, can you tell me which nights are formal on the 10 day cruise?

[Trainman-2]

Radiance Class Ships Carry Their Own Tenders

 

 

We were hanging out on our balcony the other day in Gatun Lake when we heard a funny noise from the left.

 

They were preparing the tenders to take passengers ashore for tours and I got this nice series of photos. The tenders are twin engine and screws compared to the lifeboats which have only a single screw. The tenders can also carry passengers on the upper deck and are classified as lifeboats too.

 

Unfortunately, they are not equipped with a bar!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trainman-2]

Trainman, can you tell me which nights are formal on the 10 day cruise?

 

Easy Answer - The 2nd and the 8th nights are Formal Nights :)

[Trainman-2]

I've enjoyed reading your posts and looking at your wonderful pictures.

 

I am going to be on the Jewel in January going to the same ports. I've been having trouble deciding which excursions to do in Colombia and Costa Rica. I'm definitely going to do an excursion through the ship in these ports. I have a couple in mind and was wondering if you had heard anything from fellow cruisers about these excursions.

 

In Costa Rica we were thinking of the Caribbean Train, Boat and Bus Adventure, or the Tortuguero Canals. My daughter was thinking of the Eco Caribbean Paradise.

 

In Columbia we were thinking of the Deluxe Cartagena & Fortress, Best of Cartagena or the City Drive & Inquistion Palace.

 

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Our Dinner Table Mates took the Caribbean Train, Boat and Bus Adventure and actually got back just as the early (6:00 pm) seating began. They said it was a long bus ride and the train ride was rough but that they enjoyed it!

 

On our next visit, I am going to try to talk Carol into going to the Fortress. We drove by it and there is a long steep ramp to get up into it and there were buses and people everywhere. We might not be able to make it up the long ramp.

[andy7753]

Thank you so much for the information on the Caribbean Train, Boat and Bus Adventure. We've been on excursions before that had long bus rides - not sure I want to do that again. Since we're not going until January, we still have time to decide.

 

Looking forward to more information and pictures from your cruise. Enjoy!!

[Jerboy]

Thanks for the great thread!

 

I have 7602 next October for my New England cruise. It says the cabin is obstructed when you book, but I dont think there is for the hump cabins on deck 7, correct?

[Trainman-2]

Thanks for the great thread!

 

I have 7602 next October for my New England cruise. It says the cabin is obstructed when you book, but I dont think there is for the hump cabins on deck 7, correct?

 

Early on in this thread I posted a fore and aft view from 7602. There is no obstruction! Our balcony is above the lifeboats and you can look straight down into the water.

 

It would be good for jumping too if you are so inclined. :D

[Dolby1000]

Your thread and pictures bring to mind our BOS cruise in April of 2006. We did the exact same itenerary and seeing your pics brings back the wonderful memories of our cruise.

 

Thank you for sharing.

 

Dolby1000

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Scott,

 

We are in Cabin 7602 whichis one of the two on the outer edge of the hump and has a great view!

 

Our Cabin Steward is "Elroy" (someone else asked that)

 

We also like the traditions or "Formal Nights" but I think that we are slowly losing to the Shorts & Tee Shirt Crowd. :(

 

We were in cabin 7600 on our recent Baltics and TA cruises on the Jewel. Elroy was our cabin steward too. Please say hello to him from Sue and Jim.

 

Thanks again for your wonderful pictures and "live" posting. We love the Jewel and her professional, friendly crew.

[HMSDingy]

Scott,

 

We are in Cabin 7602 whichis one of the two on the outer edge of the hump and has a great view!

 

Our Cabin Steward is "Elroy" (someone else asked that)

 

We also like the traditions or "Formal Nights" but I think that we are slowly losing to the Shorts & Tee Shirt Crowd. :(

 

I have a tux rented also but as previously stated I will probably cancel the rental (before the deadline) and bring along a suit. My decision is not only based on what I've read but I think a change would be in order.

[K9CATWOMAN]

Trainman-2 I would love to know how you find the time to eat and sleep! :confused:

 

Royal Caribbean should employ you, or better still give you a free cruises, ;) after all the hard work that you are doing and the professional way in which you are presenting this cruise review.

You are doing a fantastic job, and we really appreciate the effort that you have put into this, supplying so much information and advice, with such wonderful pictures.

 

You are - " SIMPLY THE BEST"

[negc]

Trainman - thank you for your wonderful series of posts about your cruise. We were on the Jewel repositioning cruise and were getting off the ship the day that you and Carol were boarding. We really enjoy reading your reports and comments and believe that we have similar tastes and opinions. Some of our friends were staying onboard and sailing with you. Jewel is our favorite ship and we were pleased that they restored the original menu in the Seaview Cafe (now if they would only restore the crepes to the Solarium, we'd be totally happy).:) Reading your posts was like reliving our repositioning cruise. Thanks again.

[ondeckatsea]

We've been in that cabin 3 times! Twice on the Radiance and once on the Jewel. it is the best location. We loved it.

[lablvr2]

I have always admired the food shots you take! I would love to be back in the Windjammer right now...

Can you please check to see if Lorenzo still works at the pool bar? If he does, tell him Susan and Brian say hello :)

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and keep up the great work!

[BoyntonBeth]

I've been enjoying your posts. Brings me back to my recent Baltics and TransAtl cruises and also to some of the posters here!

 

With all the Diamond, D+, and suite pax this summer, the Hollywood Odyssey was opened for the Baltics and then both the Odyssey and Vortex were open on the crossing. Gia was an excellent bar-tender in the Odyssey. Have you come across her?

 

I keep looking for my sister and brother-in-law in your pictures, but nothing yet. If you see Judy and Howie, tell them to take care of my ship. I'll be back for BOS/MIA next year.

 

Thanks again,

 

Beth

[Trainman-2]

Day 8 - At Sea

First Seating - The Tides Dining Room - Deck 5

 

 

The Second Formal Night

 

 

Good evening everyone. Tonight I made a point to wander through our dining room acting as an informal member of the "Attire Police."

 

I have the following to report...

 

- I did not see one Tux in the Dining Room. I did encounter several men wearing them around the ship but only a few.

 

- The majority of men were wearing Sport Coats, Dress Shirts, and Ties. I did spot a few suits. There could have been more but I didn't want to have to show my badge and make people stand up.

 

- There was nobody without either a Sport Coat or Suit.

 

- A well dressed crowd indeed!

 

 

Tonight's Dinner rated another Excellent! The Fisherman's Platter had a Lobster Tail and 5 Garlicky Grilled Shrimp. The Prime Rib was served cooked as ordered. Everyone at our table was very pleased!

 

 

So far I have avoided the single item that has disappointed all of us at our table during this cruise. This is the Black Angus Sirloin on the Alternative menu. They are almost too tough to cut and eat. We have had 11 of them so far at our table for 6 people cooked to different doneness and we all agree. We brought this to the attention of the Head Waiters in the Dining Room.

 

Tonight was the C & A reception for Platinum, Diamond, and Diamond Plus and we attended because I wanted to bring this problem to the attention of the senior officers. It turned out that they were aware of it because the Head Waiters had sent it up the chain of command so to speak.

 

I personally see this as a bad batch of steaks from RCI's Miami Supplier. I feel confident that the problem will be addressed and corrected.

 

This happens to all of us at times as we dine out at home. I have sent back many poorly cooked or bad cuts of meat in my life. Unfortunately, when it happens on board a ship it affects a lot of people.

 

Thanks to the RCI staff for caring and addressing the problem!

[DHADEN]

....So far I have avoided the single item that has disappointed all of us at our table during this cruise. This is the Black Angus Sirloin on the Alternative menu. They are almost too tough to cut and eat. We have had 11 of them so far at our table for 6 people cooked to different doneness and we all agree. We brought this to the attention of the Head Waiters in the Dining Room.

 

I personally see this as a bad batch of steaks from RCI's Miami Supplier. I feel confident that the problem will be addressed and corrected.

 

...

Thanks to the RCI staff for caring and addressing the problem!

 

Thanks TRAINMAN for taking care of this. Next week we will try it and let you know if your attention paid off. :p

 

THANKS,OOO,OOO FOR YOUR POSTS AND PICTURES.

 

We are really looking forward to seeing you on the gangplank..... We'll be the ones smiling!! :D (Cause we'll be STARTING our cruise;))

[Trainman-2]

 

We are really looking forward to seeing you on the gangplank..... We'll be the ones smiling!! :D (Cause we'll be STARTING our cruise;))

 

YOu better get there early! We hpe to be in the first group off the ship.

 

If all goew well we should have our baggage loaded in our Corvette and thegas pedal set to "Home" by 7:15 am. :D

 

Have a Great Cruise!

[Trainman-2]

Thoughts On Dining In The Main Dining Rooms

 

 

- Be on time! Each waiter / Assistant Waiter Pair serves more than your table. If you are the last to arrive your order will be the last sent to the Kitchen and you will eat last! Promptness Pays!

 

- Ask For What You Want! At the very worst they won't have it. We asked for a small 4 oz Fillet Mignon for Carol. Our Table Waiter brought the Head Waiter to see us because he said the Head Waiters had more influence with the Chef than he did. We explained what we wanted to the Head Waiter and he talked to the Chef and the answer was no. But we asked and the staff checked into it for us.

 

- Try New Things You Have Never Heard Of. Some you will like and some you won't. I had a number of things that were obviously well prepared that I simply didn't like. This didn't mean the item was no good, it only meant that it did not please me personally.

 

- Don't Expect Them To Serve Your Favorite Food Every Night. RCI Chefs do a fantastic job serving hundreds of people in the Dining Room every night and they get very few complaints. When they do get complaints, they listen and, when they can, act on them promptly. Our Head Waiter told us that the issue of the tough Black Angus Sirloin Steaks came up from a bunch of tables,not just ours. The Chefs plan the menus to provide variety and to please everyone. The reality is that some people will be upset because they don't get their favorite thing every night.

 

- Complain Politely When Appropriate. If we don't tell the Dining Room Staff about a problem they may never find out about it.