Reveiw of the 1st 6 night sailing Jewel Of The Seas 11/14/04

[Mike&Karren]

Let me first start off by saying that all the pictures of this ship do not do it justice, the ship must be seen first hand to see the real beauty of it!

The Jewel is the most beautiful ship that we have sailed on! Great job RCL.

 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale from Charlotte on US Air. We arrived at the air port at 2:07 pm and grabbed a cab to the hotel. The cost of the cab was 11.50 plus tip which was 15.00 total.

 

We stayed at the Renaissance by Marrott on the corner of 16th and 17th street, we got it from priceline for 80.00 a night plus tax which made a total of 96.00. The hotel is very nice and has a great location for cruisers to stay. They have a nice pool area with a separate hot tub. The bar is located inside by the pool. There is a waiter that comes around outside to take orders if you don't want to go inside. There is a Walgreens across the street and a shopping mall 1 block up the street. The walk to the bridge that crosses the water way is a short walk so you can see all the ships that are in port that day. We also walked that evening to OutBack for dinner. We never took a cab anywhere, everything that we chose to do was within walking distance. We also rented the in room movie Open Water that night in the hotel room, which is not a good choice when you are going on a cruise the next day. If you haven't seen this movie, don't watch it before getting on a ship to go snorkeling or scuba diving!

 

Day #1

We took a cab from the hotel to the port (The Renaissance does not have a shuttle to the port, but they do offer one to the air port, go figure), the cab was 7.00 plus tip which was 9.00. We arrived at the pier at 10:30 and people were still waiting on cabs and bus from the previous cruise, we dropped the 2 suitcases off with the porter with a 2.00 tip and headed to the embarkation line which was a very short line. They took us to a waiting area where you could sit and wait. The wait was only about 20 minutes before heading to the x-ray to scan the carryon luggage. Then we headed to the Embarkation station to sign in and get our SeaPass cards. We began boarding the ship at around 11:00 but were told that our staterooms would not be ready until 1:00. We decided to take the time and tour some of the ship before heading up to the Windjammer for some lunch. As I said before the ship is beautiful and must be seen in person to really capture it's true beauty. After some lunch we headed to our stateroom which was a catagory D1 aft balcony #7676. The stateroom was very nice with plenty of room for the two of us. The closet has plenty of room with a row of shelves seperating the two hanging areas with a shelf across the top. The mini bar is stocked with water, soft drinks,beer and a few mini bottles which we did not use (we brought our own soft drinks and beer on board). Which I knew that what we had brought aboard would not be enough so we bought the soda drink card which was 36.00 plus the 15% tip making the total of the card 41.40. Back to the cabin,besides the closet space there are 6 drawer's in the dresser and 2 shelves on top of the safe above the T.V., plus you have 5 more shelves beside the T.V and 2 side mirrors on the dresser with shelves in them. Plus the mirrored shelves in the bathroom, so there is plenty of storage space in the cabin. We placed the luggage under the bed, but you have to keep it open because the bed sets so low. The cabin also has a full size sofa, but doesn't make into a bed. The balcony was very nice with one lounger, 2 regular chairs and a small table with plenty of room to spare to move around on. We really enjoyed having this aft balcony especially in the mornings to have breakfast on and to enjoy those wonderful Caribbean sunsets in the evenings. This was our 2nd aft balcony,the 1st being #9690 on the Mariner of the Seas this past September. While we loved the both of them we much prefered this on one the Jewel over the Mariner. The views were totaly awesome with no obstruction at all unlike the Mariner with all those metal beams running everywhere that you have to look through. Plus you are so much closer to the water and you can hear the wash from the water sitting on the balcony or lying in the bed and belive me it is so relaxing it will put you to sleep if you stay still to long. Needless to say now after these past two aft's it will be very hard to cruise again without one.(We were very lucky to have caught them being avalible when we booked). After finally getting to the cabin to drop off our carryon luggage and meeting our cabin steward we headed for the Solarium Pool to get in the hot tub, cause the wind was blowing alot and it began to rain. The Solarium Pool area is the most beautiful pool area that we have ever seen on any ship that we have sailed on with all of the flowers,plants and trees, plus all the statues sitting around everywhere. It is done in a Thai themed setting. We did our sail away from our aft balcony and it was a great view seeing Ft. Lauderdale get smaller in the distance with the Princess ship (Sea Princess I think) sailing out of port behind us.

 

Tides Dining Room was very nice and well laid out. Dinner Casual. We were seated at table #446 for main seating at 6:00 which is a table for 6 on the main level deck 4 at the center part of the Dining Room. The service is very good and the Waitstaff are very friendly and talkative. These people work very hard for you to have a plesent Dining experiance so please show them how much you appreciate all that they do for you! To us the food was good throughout the ship, but then again we are not hard to please and we do not cruise just for the food! We never got the chance to try the Specialty Dining Chops Grille or Portofino but the price for both is 20.00 pp gratuities included which we thought was a great price. The Windjammer has a good selection of food to choose from also. Never got the chance to try the Seaview Cafe either so I can't comment on it.

After Dinner we hit the Casino Royale and played the slots for a while (didn't do to good). The Casino Bar waiter's name that we always wanted was Salvador a short guy form the Philippines. He was the best bartender on the ship. The first night at the casino I ordered a Mojito and they didn't have the mix to make it, so I was going to order something different but Salvador would not hear of it, he wanted to make the drink that I wanted so he left the bar in search of the mix. When he returned he made me two of them at no charge for having to wait. I told him that he didn't have to do this that it was alright, but he felt so bad that I had to wait so long on the drink. So for his kindness and thoughtfulness I gave him a very good cash tip. At first he would not take it, he said that he was just doing his job but I told him that he deserved it for going above and beyond his job to please me. He also worked in the Coral Theatre and the Safari Club. If you see him tell him Mike said hello thanks again for all his hard work.

 

Day#2

Was Key West, Arrived at 7:00am. Dinner Formal. This was our 2nd trip there. We just walked around taking pictures and video of the place. We stopped in the Mad Hatters and bought a Pirate hat. Then we headed to the southern most point to take some pics that we missed on our previous stop there. After we walked there and took pictures we were to tired to walk back so we got this guy that had a 3 wheel bike with a bench seat on the back to take us back down to Hogs Breath for 20.00. After that we headed back to the ship for some pool time. The pool band is Kool Vibes and they are very good. That evening at 3:00 at the main pool bar we met some of the people that we had been chatting with on our roll call here on the board and they are some great people. Didn't get the chance to meet everyone as they didn't show up. I guess it was a busy day for them and they forgot about it. That's ok it was still great chatting with you on the boards. This was the one and only Formal Night of the cruise. I was really suprised that there were alot of people that did not show up in the Dining Room dressed in Formal Attire. There were alot of casual dressing that night. I didn't say that because it bothered me, I could care less what others choose to wear to dinner. We just really felt over dressed for the ocassion. After dinner we hit the casino for awhile and this time we won 250.00 on a .25 slot wtih only playing 10.00. After the casino we headed off to explore more of the ship. We headed for bed early this evening as we were exhausted. to be continued.

 

More to come in Part 2

 

 

Mike & Karren

[goodml]

Thanks for the info. We'll be waiting for the rest.

[Mike&Karren]

Day#3,

Was Cozumel. Arrived 10:00am. Dinner Casual/Mexican. This was our 7th time being in Cozumel. With this being the first time in port for the Jewel we had to wait for the Mexican Customs Agents to board the ship and clear the ship for Port Docking. It was a total nightmare with people waiting all over the ship in tight smashed together groups waiting to get off, which took for what seemed like forever. By the time we got off I think that it was now around 11:15am. Once off we headed down the International Pier where the ship was docked and walked down the street to the Puerta Maya Pier where we rented a Zini Car for the day. It's a little 2 seat car thats a cross between a Golf Cart and a VW Bug. We rented from Lumo Zini located beside the Alamo Rental Station. The total cost was 75.00 for the day or until 8:00pm. It's a very fun little car to drive and easy to operate with it being an automatic, with only forward and reverse. The car will only go 50mph so you have to watch out for the taxi's which go much faster than that. This was our 1st time renting a car in Cozumel and we were a little cautious after reading about some of the trouble that some have had on these boards, but after it was over we were glad that we chose to do it. The guys name that we rented from was Moises and he was a very helpful person with all the information about how to drive and where not to go while driving in Cozumel. Their email address is funcarental@hotmail.com if you want to do some research about them before you go.

After renting the car we headed south to Punta Sur which is at the southern most point of the island. They have a lighthouse and a small Mayan Ruin and a small beach area for swimming and snorkeling. The total cost for the tour including the beach area is 10.00 pp or you can just do the lighthouse and ruin tour for 6.00 pp. We chose not to do either cause you could go up on a sightseeing platform there at the entrance to the park where you had to leave your car and see the whole area except for the beach area. We purchased a nice Mayan statue from the vender there at the entrance to the park. After leaving Punta Sur we headed up the southwestern side of the island to see what the unspoiled side of Cozumel looked like. It was totaly awesome, with the very rough water hitting the rocks which hugged the coatline and beach, when the waves would hit the rocks the water would splash up several feet into the air. There aren't many places to pull over and stop and take a look so be careful cause you can and will get stuck up in the sand if you are not in a 4 wheel drive. We drove up the coast veiwing the coastline and the little beach bars scattered by the beach. It was great seeing these things that we had never seen before. Before reaching the area where the paved road ends we decided to turn around and head back in the opposite direction and make a stop in at Mr. Sancho's to spend some beach time there. This was our 2nd time being there, but the 1st time we didn't have time to stay so we decided this time we would give it another try. Plus with the no admission fee you can't beat it. It is really a nice clean little beach area with a nice pool but it's small. All they ask is for you to by a drink or something to eat. You can still use the beach even if you don't order anything, they just ask that you don't use their tables so that their paying customers will have a place to sit down at. We got a table and ordered some chips and salsa and we had 3 Sol Beers apiece and the total bill was only 14.00 which I thought was a great deal for a few hours of relaxing at the beach. Then we moved over to the pool area to get a massage. The cost was 20.00 for 15 min. This was the cheapest massage that they offered. I do have to say that it was the best money that I have ever spent for a massage. We have had them on the ship before and at other different beach places, but this one by far was the most relaxing massage of them all. I highly recomend them. After the massage and another round of Sol Beer we headed out to the car after making our way back through the mass of venders. At the entrance to the place we noticed 2 parrots sitting on a small log wall, I bent down to approach them and when I held out my finger one of the hopped onto my finger and proceeded to climb up my arm to sit on my shoulder and began to chew on my straw hat that I had on. He sat there for awhile chewing before I was able to get him to crawl back down and get off. After returning to the car we decided to stop in at Dzul Ha to take a look at this place that we had read about here on CC. I must say that it is not much of a place to go to for a beach thing, but it looked like it would be a great place to go snorkeling, the water is clean and crystal clear, it is filled with rocks a coral scattered all in the water. I will be sure to stop there again when I return to Cozumel to do some snorkeling. Then we left Dzul Ha and headed back towards town to return the car. After returning the car we were walking back up the street to the International Pier and across the street from the Pier enterance there is a small drug store it is called El Kiosco Drug Store, this is the place that we had been looking for to purchase some antibiotics, they are the only place that we found that sold them in the 100 count bottle for 27.00. The rest of the stores and drug stores we stopped at only had the 12 count boxes for 10.00. So if you are looking for some, this is the place to stop in at and don't waste your time going into town looking in every store cause they don't have them. We left the drug store and headed back through the Pier Entrance and stopped in at 1/2 Frogs at the end of the Pier. We had a few more beers and danced and laughed until it was time to return to the ship at 7:30pm. The ship left port at 8:00pm. After being in Cozumel for the 7th time, I have to say that this trip was the most enjoyable time that we have ever had there. I would also recomend renting a car of some type and seeing alot of what the island has to offer instead of just staying put in one place all day long. You will not regret it.

After returning to the ship and a shower, we opted for the Winjammer for dinner, seeing that we missed our 6:00 dinner seating. This was also the the night for the Mexican Pool Buffet which started at 11:30pm. Sorry but I can't remember what all they had ,but it was good. I do remember they were serving a whole Roasted Pig. It was also the night for the Dancing Under the Stars Poolside which also started at 11:30pm till 1:00am. After it was over we hit the casino for a short visit and then it was off to bed.

 

to be continued on part 3

 

Mike & Karren

[Mike&Karren]

Day#4

Was Costa Maya. Arrived at 8:00am. Dinner Casual 50's & 60's, Also it was The Crown and Anchor Society Welcome back Party 7:45pm-8:30pm Attire Formal in the Safari Club, which we did not attend it being a Formal Function and Dinner being Casual we would not have time to change clothes. Been to plenty of them so it was not a big deal to us to miss it.

Anyway Costa Maya was just a beach day at the pier for us. This being our 3rd time at this port. The Jewel was the 1st of 3 ships in port that day being us and then the Carnival Miracle and then the Grandeur of the Seas. As I said we were the 1st ship in port and Karren and I were almost the 1st ones to hit the beach area, so we really had our choice in picking out which place we wanted to sit at. We chose the 1st Palapa at the stairway by the pool. We chose this location so while we were in the pool we could still keep an eye on our bags in the chairs. We were there for a little while before the Miracle docked and the place was almost deserted, there were only a few people scattered around, but after the Miracle docked and the passengers had time to get off, the beach began to fill up really fast. Karren had decided to walk down the beach to get another massage so I stayed behind to keep an eye on our stuff. Then I decided to take a dip in the pool cause it was really getting warm lying in the sun, so I moved the lounge chair back in the shade under the Palapa then headed to the pool. When I returned back to the chairs our 2 chairs with our stuff had bee pushed out from the shade and into the sun and replaced by another lounge chair with a Carnival Towel, a bag and a pair of shoes on it, that was brought in from another location. I hadn't been gone that long and couldn't figure out how this could have happened so quickly without me seeing it take place, with me being only 10 yards away in the pool. I got more than a little upset about this, so I pushed that chair back out away from under our Palapa and replaced it with our chairs back in their original spots. I then sat down in my chair only to have a heavy middle aged lady come up from behind me and ask if I was the one that moved her chair. I was so upset that I jumped up without thinking of anything else and replied, yes I am the one that moved your chair away from our spot. Then she began telling me that she could not be in the sun because of medical reasons, I felt sorry for her and felt kind of bad for speaking so harsh to her after learning that shehad health problems. So I said ok I will share some of my shade with you. I even helped her move her chair back under the Palapa to be in the shade, but it was impossiable to get all 3 chairs totaly in the shade. Only her feet would be in the sun, she said that would be fine and thanked me for letting her sit there. I never was totaly thrilled about the situation, but it was an older woman with health problems (what else could I do). After we both sat back down it was less than 10 mins. when I turned around to order a drink from the waiter only to find that she was gone, but her things were still in the chair. I got my drink and drank half of it and then I spotted her in the pool with some people that she must have been with. I didn't really think that much about it until Karren returned from getting her massage and asked about the 3rd chair being there. I explained the situation to her and she said it would be fine. We ordered another drink and sat there for a while, then we got a little hungry and ordered some shrimp and fries and some more beer, while all of this was taking place the woman had never returned to her chair to get out of the sun. We were getting hot and needed to cool of so we headed for the pool and again, while we were in the pool, the woman returned and again moved our chairs back into the sun so she could get her's under the shade cause the sun had moved so much from the last time she was there. So we left the pool only to find our chairs back in the sun again and the woman wasn't even in her chair, she was nowhere to be found. So I had enough and moved her chair far away from us seeing that she wasn't even going to use it for anything but a place to put her things down on. Karren said that's why she did it in the 1st place so she could watch her stuff while she was in the pool. I agreed. We replaced our chairs and sat back down to relax for awhile when I heard a voice from the pool area saying that they have moved my chair again. She continued moaning and complaining and finally said I'm going back to the ship where I can have a chair. So I yelled up that way that's where you need to go,back to your ship so you can hog up all the deck chairs there. Glad to see that you are leaving and you never used the chair anyway. She came back down, got her stuff and away she went. I just could not belive how utterly stupid that someone could be. But they are out there all around us. (I did not make that comment meaning that all Carnival Cruisers were that way, I too am a Carnival Cruiser, we have sailed them many times in the past and plan to sail them again in the future). After that little situation was over we continued to enjoy the rest of our Costa Maya Beach day. After making our way back to the ship at around 3:15 we had a shower and fell asleep and slept until it was time to get ready for dinner. After dinner we hit the casino until it was time for the Quest Game that started at 10:30pm in the Safari Club. We enjoyed the Quest Game on the Mariner alot more than this one but it was still fun to be in and to watch the others as well. No our team did not win. After the Quest was over it was 50's/60's Rock and Roll music and dancing in the Safari Club, we stayed for awhile but we left after the crowd got smaller and there was just not much excitment. We headed up to the Vortex (Disco) on deck 13 where they were having The Dance the Night Away. The Vortex is a real nice place for a disco, it has a revolving bar and that's pretty cool. Then it was off to bed.

 

to be cotinued on part 4

 

Mike & Karren

[Mike&Karren]

Day#5,

Was Grand Cayman. Arrived at 10:00am. Dinner Smart Casual. This was our 4th time being here. We were going to do the Stingray City Tour, but we never really knew for sure if we were going to stop at this port or not, so we never booked it. When we found out for sure that we would be stoping there we just decided to to go to 7 mile beach. But when we learned that we would have to wait for Customs to clear the ship here also, we figured that it would be another mess as it was in Cozumel. Turned out to be the same way, only thing is it took longer here than in Cozumel. It was another disaster filled with mass chaos. Plus when you figure in the fact that you have to tender in instead of having a pier to dock at, it just takes that much longer. We got in line to get our tender tickets which turned out to be on the #3 list of tenders, we made our way down to deck #3 where we were told to go to board the tender. After arriving on deck 3 and seeing the mass of people gathered and all smashed together the same as it was in Cozumel, I decided to go back up on the pool deck and just enjoy a day on the ship, like I said we were just going to the beach anyway and we have been there before, so it really wasn't worth wasting all of our time waiting to get on a tender. We enjoyed some time out at the pool and then decided to give it another try, we were going to go ashore and find another tape for our video camera which the ship did not sell and we were down to our last one that was half full. So we made our way back down to deck 3 at around 1:00 only to find the hallway and the stairway still packed with people waiting to get off and board a tender. We turned back around and said just forget it, it's not worth the hassel just to get a tape, so we headed back to the cabin and then to the Windjammer to get a bite to eat. After eating and walking around a little we decided to give it another try, we finally got aboard a tender at around 3:00 with the last tender leaving the island at 5:30 that didn't leave much time. We found a store that sold the type of tape that we needed after searching for one for about 1 hour of walking, so we headed back to the tender station cause we didn't want to get in that long line for the last tender to leave. On the way back we ran into this woman that told us all about the damage on the island and that they still had a long way to go to get things back to where they were before the Hurricane hit. She said that everyone was so grateful for them letting the cruise ships come back into port again and how that they all depended on the tourist dollars for their way of life. We made it back to the ship and up on the top deck you could look out across some parts of the island and still see the damage that was done and was still without repair. We really felt bad for all those people there that have suffered for so long and still continue to suffer today. Many have lost everything that they owned and some lost loved ones that you can't replace. The ship left port at 6:00pm and headed on it's way back to Ft. Lauderdale. We really didn't feel like going to the Dinning Room that night, plus I wanted to see us sail away from our balcony and the ship left at the same time as our dinner seating, so we watched us sail away then we headed for the Windjammer at around 7:00pm. After eating we hit the casino again and stayed there until it was time for the Millionaire Gameshow which was held in the Safari Club at 10:00pm. After the show was over we headed back to the casino for about 1 1/2 hrs. then it was off to bed.

 

Day#6,

Was a Sea Day, We just hug out by the pool and enjoyed the day. They had the Slot Tournament this day it was held at 10:30am, we both entered for 20.00 pp. We were both in the same round#3. Karren didn't score high enough to get in and I scored the lowest of the tournament. So we both entered again for another 20.00 pp and she was in round #6 but didn't score high enough again, and I was in round#7 and ended up on the same machine as I had in the other round, I did however score 2nd highest in that round so I made it to the final round for the money. For the Final Round you got to chose the machine that you wanted by the score that you had, I had 4th highest score out of all the rounds so I got to chose 4th, I picked #4 machine and #7 machine won the tournament winning 469.00 I think it was, a trophy and a shirt, with #6 finishing 2nd and #7 was the machine that I had in the two previous rounds. I did win a t shirt for making it to the final round, but I had already won a shirt for having the lowest score of the tournament,but I had to give it up when I bought in again the 2nd time (that was one expensive tshirt), but hey it's only money right? After the Slot Tournament we headed back up on the pool deck where they were having the Ice and Fruit Carving at 12:30, then it was the Men's Bellyflop at 1:15pm and after that they held the Horse Racing. We bet on the horses and lost, but it was only 14.00. They also had the Blackjack Tournament at 1:30pm but we didn't get in on it. After dinner and handing out all the gratuities and saying thank you to them all for their hard work, we headed back to the cabin to start the packing process which we hate to do. After the packing was done and the luggage was sat outside the door in the hallway, we spent a lot of the rest of the evening out on the balcony and wondering through the ship again taking more pics and videos. Then we headed back to the casino for 1 more last try. I won 100.00 on a dollar slot on a 5.00 bet,then I won another 100.00 on a nickel machine off of a 20.00 bet. We continued to win a little here and there but played all that back into the machines. So we took our 200.00 and called it a night.

 

to be continued on part #5

 

Mike & Karren

[Mark]

I am going on the Dec 12 sailing of the Jewel of the Seas. Can you please advise who is the Captain and who is the Cruise Director?

[Mike&Karren]

Day#7,

Last Morning onboard. This is the day that everyone dreeds!

We woke up early this morning at around 6:00am to watch ourselves sail back into Ft. Lauderdale. After the docking process was over we took a shower and headed up to the Windjammer for some breakfast and one last stroll around the ship taking more pics and videos. Then we returned back to the cabin to get our carryon's and head for the Safari Club where we were to wait for our color to be called. We had red colored tags and were the 6th color to be called. Here is the list of colors that they called:

 

#1 White - Schooner Bar Deck 6

A/S & C/O with RCI Transfers with flights before noon from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale Airports.

 

#2 Beige - Solarium Pool Deck 11

Independent Guests with own transfers with flights before noon from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale Airports.

 

#3 Lavender - Vortex Deck 13

Diamond and Platinum Crown and Anchor and Suite Guests with own arrangements.

 

#4 Grey - Coral Theatre Deck 5

Shore Excursions-ending at Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports.

 

#5 Yellow - Casino/Pit Stop Deck 6

Air Sea & Cruise Only with RCI Transfers with flights between noon and 2:00pm from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports.

 

#6 Red - Safari Club Deck 6

Independent Guests with own transfers with flights between noon and 2:00pm from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports.

 

#7 Orange - Coral Theatre Deck 5 & 6

A/S & C/O with RCI transfers with flights after 2:00pm from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports.

 

#8 Blue - Coral Theatre Deck 5 & 6

Independent Guests with their own transfers with flights after 2:00pm from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports.

 

#9 Light Blue - Solarium Pool Deck 11 & 12

Independent Guests with their own arrangements from Decks 9-10.

 

#10 Green - Hollywood Odyssey Deck 13

Independent Guests with their own arrangements from Deck 8.

 

#11 Purple - Coral Theatre Deck 5 & 6

Independent Guests with their own arrangements from Decks 4-7

 

#12 Pink - Solarium Pool Deck 11 & 12

Independent Guests with their own arrangements from Decks 2-3, Post Cruise Package Guests and Cruise Connection Buses to Home Cities in Florida.

 

Debarkation went very smooth for us with no stops or hang ups anywhere, once our Red color tag was called we were off the ship and had our checked luagge picked up and out the door awaiting a taxi in no time at all.

 

The Captain Thore Thorolvsen from Norway and has been with RCI since 1970. He is a very good Captian and does his job very well.

 

Cruise Director Karen Maybury from Blackpool England and has been with RCI since 1993. In my honest opinion she not really that good of a Cruise Director, she is just fair at best. We have had alot better ones than her. She just doesn't interact with the passengers enough for them to get to know her. But then again we don't cruise for the Cruise Director either.

 

The Crew, I do have to say that these people were, all of them were the friendliest Crew Staff that we have ever had on any cruise. I mean even the Maintanece Crew would talk and laugh and joke with you, all the Cabin Stewards that we saw and ran into all over the ship would stop what they were doing and speak to you and most of the time they would speak first and they were not even our Cabin Steward. All the Bartenders that we had were great and made good drinks, but I still say that Salvador our casino Bartender was the best on the ship. (Maybe not for others but for us he was the best). The Dinning room Waitstaff was also very good and friendly and done their job as a true professional. We could not find one thing to complain about any of the whole Crew. (Someothers may have not found them to be up to par for them, but all that we meet and seen were very professional.)

Please show these people how much that you apprecate all the hard work that they do so that you are able to have a pleasent vacation. Here are the Gratuities Recomendations set by RCI:

Dinning Room Waiter 3.50 per day pp

Assistant Waiter 2.00 per day pp

Stateroom Attendent 3.50 per day pp

Head Waiter .75 per day pp

Suite Attendent 5.75 per day pp

 

Thanks RCI for bringing this Beautiful New Ship Named Jewel of the Seas to the U.S. and giving us the chance to sail upon her.

We can't wait to sail on her again, only the next time we will do the 8 day sailing so we will have a little more time to see and do the things that we missed this go around.

 

The taxi fare from the port back to the aiport was 14.00 with tip making the total 18.00

 

We had a 1:15pm return flight out of Ft. Lauderedale back to Charlotte,we arrived at the airport at around 10:20am, so I thought that we had plenty of time to catch our flight (or so I thought). When we arrived at the airport we could not belive the lines of people. I thought that they would clear out with time so we just went on through the check in area and made our way back to eating area and found a bench to sit down for a while and wait, this was a huge mistake. We got a coke and and sat back down to drink the drink and still wait for the crowds to go away, but they didn't. When I finally realized that they wen't getting shorter we decided we better go ahead and get in line to check in and check our luggage. By the time we made it through all the check in lines and make it to the security check point to scan the carryon luggage we only had 10 min left to make it to our gate and we were still behind along line of people. I asked one of the security people if we would make the flight or not, they said yes we will pull you out of line with the rest of the people waiting with the same flight times. We finally made it to our gate only to find out that our plane was 20 min late arriving and would be late boarding, so all of that rushing and worrying was for nothing.

 

I know that I left out alot of info that some of you may be looking for such as production shows, food coments in various places to eat and stuff like that. With this being only a 6 day cruise with 4 ports of call, it is a very busy cruise that doesen't leave the time to try and do and see everything. There is just not enough time.

We do have all the Cruise Compass from every day so if there is somthing that you are looking for just ask and I will find it for you.

 

Thanks for your time and hope that you enjoyed the reveiw!

 

Mike & Karren

[LoriLinay]

You noted $3.5 a day pp for room attendant, and then $5.75 per day for Suite attendant. Can you explain that?

[rxphilip]

Wonderful review. I have a couple of questions for now.

1. In Costa Maya- Do you by chance know the time that the ships excursion for the 4hr " C mayan ruins" left and returned?

2. We are going on this cruise Feb 20 with our 14yo son. Do you have any info on the teen activities for this age group. I realize that there probably were not many kids on your cruise because of school, but we are going presidents week and and suspect there will be a lot of families with kids.

[Mike&Karren]

LoriLinay, the 3.50 per day pp is for the cabin steward if you have an inside up to a Junior Suite.

The 5.75 per person per day pp is for all Suite catagories above a Junior Suite.

We had a Junior Suite on the Mariner and the 3.50 pp was the recomended tip.

 

This is the way that I understand it to be

[Mike&Karren]

rxphilip, the Cruise Compass doesn't list any shore tours. The children have their own Cruise Compass and we don't have any small children so we didn't even think to get those for every day. I do know that the ship does have a nice video arcade and a teen center with their own disco and DJ and also has a internet area and a small room that sets in the corner with a flat screen tv plus a bar area with 3 tvs on the wall and a fuseball table. I believe the name of the place is Fuel. It is located on deck12 on the side of the Crown Anchor Lounge. There is also a pool with a water slide on deck 12 that they call the teen pool but it looked more like a place for smaller kids than for teens. The water slide is nice though and should be fine for teens.

Sorry that I can't be any help at all to you.

[robinhoods]

Mike and Karen, we were also on this cruise, sorry we did not make it on Monday to meet the group. We took a nap and did not have a chance to get up to the pool area. I suspect that we met you in the elevator when we first arrived on the ship and I saw you throughout the cruise but I wasn't sure so I did not approach you. What a great review. We too were frustrated with the crush of people at ports and would have liked more frequent announcements as to the delay in getting off the ship. At the airport, (the next day) we agree that the check in process and security took a bit longer than we expected.

[emmy]

Great review...anxious to see her first hand but have to wait until April.

 

Re the Renaissance Hotel...we stayed there late October and I approached the Concierge desk and they did indeed have a shuttle to the port for $4.00 per person. We booked the first one at 10:30 am and there were 3 other couples on the shuttle with us. Nice van with plenty of storage for luggage.

 

I was not aware they had a shuttle from the airport as we took a taxi.

 

Emmy

[Mike&Karren]

robinhoods, we are sorry that we missed getting the chance to meet you also. That's ok about the monday poolsde meet, I can understand just how easy it is to sit or lay down and fall asleep while on a cruise. It happens to me all the time.

Maybe we will end up on the same cruise again sometime in the future.

Hope that you had a great time on the cruise.

[Mike&Karren]

emmy thanks for clearing that up about the shuttle to the port from the Renaissance hotel. We ask about it as we were checking out and we were told that they did not offer a shuttle to the port, only to the airport. That's the way it goes half of the time, you can take 10 different people asking the same exact question and end up getting at least 8 different answers from the same place. Maybe they do and maybe they don't, for some they do and for some they don't. Who knows what to belive anymore!

[trucruz]

Thanks for your great review. I loved all the details. I sure would love to sail on the Jewel some day.

[curly4dana]

mike and karen!! great review!!! thanks guys! it sounds like you took notes all the way...

i'll be posting your review on my jewel group thread for 2006 so my "family jewels" can read all about the jewel! we're all really excited about the cruise and the ship!

 

see you guys on the princess thread and can't wait to meet you next sept!!!

[Mike&Karren]

Thanks Kathy and Dana for dropping by and hope that you enjoyed the review.

 

Dana I'm sure that your group will love the Jewel when you go on her. She is beautiful, especially at night with all the different colored lights all lit up and changing different colors.

The Solarium Pool area is the most beautiful thing at night when it is all lit up.

The Centrum is also a great looking place to be at night when it is lit up.

They really did a great job about directing the colored lights to enhance certain parts of the ship.

I also thought that the art work and statuary that they choose to decorate through out the ship really blended together and was done with great taste.

Everything looked as though it belonged and nothing looked out of place.

The waterfalls in the Main Dinning Room and the Centrum were a very nice touch in each of these rooms.

I'm really looking forward to the day when we can sail the Jewel again.

[emmy]

Mike & Karen...your comments on the balcony aft cabins was interesting. We also just experienced our first aft balcony on Mariner this past May. We had cabin 1692 so I am also interested to compare the aft view on Jewel when we sail in April..we have cabin 1604 deck 10 aft...

 

From all the pictures I have seen the view does look awesome from the aft of the Radiance class ships..glad you gave your opinion on that one.

 

Emmy :)

[denb]

Wonderful review. I have a couple of questions for now.

1. In Costa Maya- Do you by chance know the time that the ships excursion for the 4hr " C mayan ruins" left and returned?

Mike&Karren - Great review! We were 2 decks above you on the aft in the port side cabin with extended deck.

 

rx - The ship was an hour late leaving Costa Maya because it waited for the ruins excursion to return. The ship was at full speed that night to make up for the lost time, in order to get to Grand Cayman on time. It made for a less than smooth ride. A guy I talked to (an actor from LA) that was on the excursion said it was excellent.

 

Jewel was the most beautiful ship we've been on so far.

[Erie Dave]

You can also get the excursion times on the RCI website. Go to the excursion section, click on purchase, and enter your confirmation #. It will list the times and prices for the excursions offered for your sailing.

The 4 hour trip was shceduled for 10 am, and it was the 7 hour excursion that was late and held up the ship.

[jemily45]

Hi, Great review. Is there still a meet and mingle for the six night cruise? Is there any way to get out on the first tenders if you have planned excursions on your own? Looking forward to hearing your answers. ALso, do you know anything about the aft cabins on the ninth deck? Thank you.

[imkimpossible]

Mike & Karen...your comments on the balcony aft cabins was interesting. We also just experienced our first aft balcony on Mariner this past May. We had cabin 1692 so I am also interested to compare the aft view on Jewel when we sail in April..we have cabin 1604 deck 10 aft...

 

From all the pictures I have seen the view does look awesome from the aft of the Radiance class ships..glad you gave your opinion on that one.

 

Emmy :)

Emmy---We are booked for cabin 1692 on Mariner for Dec 5th. How did you like that room? We had aft 7390 on Voyager and loved it. Were you disappointed with the adjoining room aspect? Just wondering--thanks.

 

Kim

[emmy]

Wow Kim your cruise is coming up soon :) Loved cabin 1692. Room steward Joey was very good. No problems at all with the adjoining cabin as we had friends next door in 1694 and we often spent time on each others balconies.

 

Our friends had stayed in 1694 on other Voyager class ships and never mentioned any problems with noise or such from the adjoining cabin.

 

Enjoy Mariner and cabin 1692.

 

Emmy :)

[Mike&Karren]

jemily the answer is no. RCI does not offer a meet and mingle for anything less than a 7 night cruise.

 

Yes you can get one of the first tenders off in Cayman even if you have a planned excursion on your own. But you have to get a tender ticket to get off, so you will need to be one of the first ones in line to make sure you get an early ticket off.

 

Yes all of the catagory D1 afts are the same on decks 7,8,9,10