We (wife and I, early 50’s boomers – yes, I think we’ll stay early 50’s) cruised eight days on RCL’s Jewel of the Seas between Saturday Feb 25 to Sunday March 5, embarking and disembarking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We flew in the 25th and out on 5th, not staying any extra days. Eastern itinerary. This was our 9th Royal Caribbean cruise and 16th cruise overall, almost all of which have been one week Caribbean cruises. Until a few years ago we always went with our two daughters who now are working and in college.
Jewel is 90,090 tons, 962 feet long, 106 feet beam, the last of the four Radiance class ships, entering service April 22, 2004. With 1050 cabins, full double occupancy is 2100 – full pax capacity is 2501. Our cruise had 2156 pax and 870 crew. Published/normal crew complement is just under 860, so we had some extra crew. I used to think I would never like ships this size, but unless you are on something as small as a Windjammer, I have decided the difference between 60,000 tons and 120,000 tons really doesn’t matter much. The vast majority of pax were US with a good number of Canadians (including the Captain, James McDonald – our first Canadian Captain). Another 24 countries were represented among the pax.
The ship is beautiful, well designed in every way – with gas turbines that give a very quiet and stable ride. We had been on Radiance and thought it a great ship; Jewel may be a little above Radiance. (Although my favorite cruise director of all time was Angela on Radiance who unfortunately is not with RCL any more, I do not think.)
We were on Deck 7 in Cabin 7566, a “deluxe ocean view,” meaning it had a balcony. We almost never heard anything from other cabins or hallway – very quiet. Plenty of room for the two of us. None of the balconies (at least not on sides of ship) are private, as you can see into others’ balconies and they into yours – but they still are nice. Considering extra cost, though, we might not get them except for deal you get as Platinum Crown & Anchor member. If I had stepped through the railing of our balcony I would have stepped on the canopy over the life boats – but that canopy really did not interfere in any significant way with our view.
As Platinum members (you are Platinum after five completed cruises – moving to Diamond after ten completed), we were able to zip right through check in, trying to ignore the stares of the less fortunate in some rather long lines that were probably taking 30 minutes or so to get through, at least. We bypassed the photographer taking the boarding pictures because I always look horrible and we have never even considered purchasing the welcome aboard picture. We usually buy a couple pictures using our coupons from the Crown & Anchor coupon book we get. (We like the coupon book and we also like getting the terry cloth robes that Platinum and up get. – no mater how expensive things are you still want every perk you can get – especially the $8 cash we get from the casino coupons!) We boarded about 1 pm and our luggage was at our room by 3:30 – the fastest it has ever made it. Muster drill was at 4:30 before leaving Port Everglades at 5.
Food – we enjoyed the food and felt it was good. As we are not really into food that much, we cannot really evaluate the food in any serious way. The service was very good. Denise, our waiter, was from Trinidad and a gem. We really liked her, largely because she maintained a very positive disposition and was a lot of fun. Our Assistant Waiter, whose name I think was Vladic or something like that, was from Serbia and also very friendly, although he had a hard time remembering who got what in terms of drinks and that kind of thing. One night he forgot to return my card and our table mate’s card; I remembered while leaving and went back to get them. I took both and tracked our tablemate down to return it (I knew where they were going). We were as lucky as we usually have been with very nice table companions. I ran into our assistant waiter in the gift shop when I was buying a Citizen Eco-Drive watch that I liked – and thought a good deal - he bought one that cost twice as much as mine and did not seem even to care about the price. I was talking with him and he explained that his friends had been buying such watches and selling them off their wrists when going home on holiday and he was going to give that a try. As usual, we ate every dinner in the Dining Room but no breakfasts or lunches, which we ate in Windjammer when on board. The Windjammer is very well designed and we never had any problem with lines or waiting. Overall, we really never had any problem with waiting in lines or getting seats in the theater or at pools. The “seat savings” thing seems to be more under control these days at the pools, although that does minimize the great fights I used to witness around the pool.
Meet and Mingle: for the first time, we signed up for and went to the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle party. It was held on the first full day, Sunday at sea, at 11:15 a.m. in what used to be called the Viking Crown lounge. (The highest deck lounge.) You sign up for this at cruisecritic.com and RCL website. It is jointly done by cruisecritic and RCL. We enjoyed it very much. Turn out at our party was poor, but that was fine with us. 25 people have to sign up to do it, about 30 I think signed up for ours, but only 15 or so showed up. It was a good group of people to talk with. They gave everyone a lanyard thing and then had door prizes. We won one of door prizes which was a clock/calculator thing, a flash light, and a pen. The RCL people there, Tracy and Julia, were very nice and were excellent hostesses. We always will sign up for this in future.
Shipshape Center: I enjoy working out early in morning on cruises and the gym was in good shape with lots of treadmills, elliptical trainers, weights, and other stuff. We did a few of the classes and enjoyed them. The fitness director was very nice, although I cannot remember her name.
Other activities on board: the wife went to a watercolor class and a scrapbooking class. The water color class was taught by a retired gentleman who has some kind of deal with RCL to give the classes. One of the cruise staff did the scrapbooking class. We have a sister-in-law who is really into the “Creative Memories” thing and the wife is a big scrapbooker, having done it before there were all the things to buy that there are now. We participated in all the trivia contests that we could as we really enjoy that. We won (actually our teams) won twice! I really was very lucky because I wanted a new RCL water wallet – the thin kind which they do not sell in gift shops on board – my last one had broken in December in SXM after several years of good service. I had talked with the sales clerk in shop first chance to ask about them and she said that they did not sell them and I would have to win one – and I did the next day before any ports of call in our first trivia contest! Amazing! They now call the shopping talks “shopping talks” instead of pretending that they are talks about ports of call generally – we never went. I did win the big ring toss competition – winning 5 shipshape dollars, because the wife had decided she wanted to get some shipshape stuff and needed more dollars.
Computer: I had my laptop which I did use with the digital camera and I also tried to get connected on wifi but could not seem to get it to work. It definitely did not work in room – no signal. You have to use the wifi in certain public areas – in any event, I could not seem to get it working and gave up. Since I had to be in public areas anyway, I just used their terminals, which worked out fine. The connection to AOL seemed to work better than in previous years on other ships. I also was able to use the printer they have available very easily and for which there is no extra charge of any kind; I wanted to print out a fair amount of stuff hard copy to work with and the printer was great. I used our coupons, bought 151 minutes for $50, which is 33 cents a minute, and then bought a few more minutes for the 50 cents a minute. I had a lot going on business-wise and was on for more than four hours total.
Entertainment: we do not think the entertainment is as good as it used to be years ago, we suspect budget cutting. But, we enjoyed the shows and headliners. The theater is absolutely state of the art and the two production shows were pretty good, despite the fact that they were short two male dancers. We did the backstage tour, as we had done on other ships, and the stage facilities on this ship are incredible.
San Juan, PR: February 26: our first port of call was San Juan which we have frequently visited and have stayed extra nights several times when embarking/disembarking there. We arrived about 1:45 p.m., using pier 1 right in Old San Juan and were able to get off a little after 2. They had four machines to record your seapasses and they really moved you through. Very efficient. We walked to La Fortaleza, the Governor’s Mansion, and took the free tour there, which we had not done before. Very interesting, beautiful gardens. We then walked to El Morro and paid the $3 pp entry fee. We have been to El Morro at least ten times but still enjoy seeing what is there. We always watch whatever videotape they are showing. Actually, San Cristobal has the better visitor center now and the better exhibits, but it still does not have quite the panache of El Morro. Walking back from El Morro we stopped in the San Juan Cathedral. We then went to drugstore and bought a few things – I needed some batteries for the digital camera having not brought the charger. You needed both the seapass card and photo ID to get back into pier area – some people had forgotten photo id’s and were asked to step aside – not sure how they resolved the issue, but I am sure they all got back on. The production show this night was “West End to Broadway” – the songs seemed to be from the more obscure musicals mostly, but it was very enjoyable. One of the female singers was truly excellent.
SXM: February 27: we, of course, love St. Martin. Having but the one day, we headed immediately for the taxi stand and got in a van for Orient. We were charged $6 pp for a full van – which I think technically should have been $5 pp – not that I really cared. Twenty minute ride – no problems. Cab driver came in the pond way – forget what to call it – but the first turn you can make off main road. Parts of that road are really horrible and I now know what people have been talking about in terms of that road’s condition. We never have taken that road before. The van dropped us off at the back of the Pirate, I think, but we really did not pay too much attention to the guys trying to sign us up for chairs there because we knew where we were heading. The weather was wonderful – a really great day – just enough wind to keep the bugs away – and, enough sun to put a nice red tint on my shoulders despite the constant use of SPF 45. As is our custom, we set up the base camp at Club O, picked up drinks at the store, and swam over to Green Cay to snorkel. The snorkeling was great off north point of island with great visibility, but otherwise Green Cay was not as it has been in past. First of all, since last December, 15 to 20 feet of beach (sand) was gone from the shore side of Green Cay, between the caves and the sand spit on the southwest corner of the island. The change in the sand and the cave structures amazed me. I really do not understand how such changes can take place so quickly. The banana boats were coming over with the cruise pax snorkelers and there were two French families having a picnic on the island. No one was even topless among those two groups. There was a couple that had kayaked over and that lady was topless but the vibes were not good for even that. You just never know what will be going on with Green Cay. We ate lunch there with stuff we brought with us. We hung out on beach at Club O after swimming back, again getting drinks from the store. The beach in front of Club O (Papagayo especially) looked huge – lots of sand and plenty of room. Got a taxi back – it was a van but we were only two in it. The driver was real nice, we were chatting and both of us unsuccessfully tried to spot others who might want a ride, but he did not leave us waiting. He seemed to feel bad about charging us more than we would have paid with bigger group. He only asked for $15 even though I think fare is $18 for two – in any event, he had been so nice I gave him a 20 and told him to “live it up.” He laughed and wanted me to wait a second so that he could give me one of his cards – unfortunately, I lost his card and cannot remember his name or number. He is a great ambassador for the island and typical of the drivers we have had on the island over the years – every time anyone starts complaining about things on island, I think about folks like him. We didn’t even go downtown, after being dropped off at pier, we just looked around pier area a little and bought a few trinkets.
St. John, Antigua: February 28: we have taken the basic tour a couple times (Nelson Dockyard, Shirley Heights, etc.), and had gone to Long Bay in past and enjoyed snorkeling there, but we wanted to do something different and I wanted to see Hawksbill. So, we got a cab to Hawksbill, fare $16 total each way. Tipped driver a few bucks more. Driver kept asking if we REALLY wanted to go to Hawksbill, telling us that there would be a $80 pp day charge. That startled the wife who usually avoids the ugly commercial details but I thought that would not be the case and just kept telling him that was where we wanted to go. He did not tell us not to go because of how rough water was there, which we learned later – more on that later. Hawksbill is not far, maybe a fifteen minute drive from pier – don’t remember all that well how long a drive. The driver pulled up near a guard shack and told us we could go around the beach side of guard shack and just use beach there and not pay to go into Hawksbill – still wondering at our desire to go to Hawksbill for the $80 per person. This was beach number 1 of the four beaches at Hawksbill. I am not clear if we could have just walked into resort along beach without paying anything. The resort signs and some things I had read seemed to state that the beaches past the entry guard shack were private but maybe we could have. We were willing to pay the fee and make full use of the resort, in any event. So, we said no, we would go into resort and told guard that – guard said he would call reception to let them know we were coming. I guess he did – don’t really know. The walk in was a few hundred yards up a little rise. The lady at reception was very nice. Never really understood exact rules, but, apparently, if you are there for full day, including three meals, it is $80 pp. $60 is if you are there for breakfast and lunch time. I told her that we were not going to eat breakfast and could we get a half day, lunch only, for $40 and she readily agreed. So, we paid $80 total for the both of us. We got wristbands to wear, to identify us as day guests. With the wristbands, we had full access to resort, all we could drink, eat, etc. We could have used the water sports equipment including small sailboats, etc. but it was too rough for that. Hawksbill was beautiful and we really enjoyed it. We had hoped to snorkel, having heard from some that it was pretty good off beach 2 on either side, but it was really rough and we could not see a thing when we went out. We set up shop at Beach 2, which was where the beach bar and facilities were and supposedly had the best snorkeling. When we went out, we were the only ones swimming (maybe that’s why they had that red flag up!) and no one else was as stupid as we were. We had talked with a very nice English couple for a while before going out and he told us that no one was going in the water because of conditions. Well, we gave it a try. We should not have and it was a good reminder to take water safety seriously. The undertow coming back in was brutal. Among other things, I have felt strong riptides along the outer banks of NC and this was similar, except that it seemed to be across the entire little bay. Given conditions, we thought for a while that we might have to let the current take us over to Beach 1 to make it back in - which I thought we could do if necessary so I was never really too worried safety-wise. We of course had the fins, masks and snorkel on – no way could you be swimming off that beach that day without them. But, after crossing over most of little bay we found a place to come in where there was a roped off swimming area – we actually used the ropes to help get in. The folks on the beach had been wondering if we would return or if they were going to have to call someone to help. Gave a bunch of folks something to watch, anyway. We ran into a bunch of Canadians as we were walking back across beach to our chairs (everybody there seemed to be British –either UK or Canadian (not sure if Canadians consider themselves British but you know what I mean) – I do not think there were any other cruise pax there) - and they were pretty funny. They said that they could tell that we were very comfortable in the water so that they hadn’t called the Antigua equivalent of 911 but had been a little concerned, concerned enough to make sure they had enough to drink to watch the whole thing as we were trying to get back in. A woman in group said she had tried to snorkel day before but it had been too rough for her then. We did not go back in water, needless to say – well, not needless to say with me, I can be pretty pigheaded about doing what I planned to do. Even with no snorkeling, we still had a great time at Hawksbill, what a beautiful place. I had read many different things about it, some negative, but it seemed very nice and it was a beautiful setting. The folks we talked to were very complimentary of staff and our own interactions with staff were great. The lady at reception could not have been nicer. I drank way too many “free” drinks, the bartender pulled no punches and maybe even got a little carried away. We had a very nice lunch with some delicious key lime pie for desert – we ate with the English couple we were sitting near. We did walk over to Beach 4 (the C/O beach – Eden Beach) before leaving. We had joked with the Canadians about heading over with them but they were coming back before we went. It was very scenic, with the Hawksbill rock just off that beach, but it was not landscaped as the other three beaches are. There are no facilities on beach 4 and there were only a very few people there enjoying the beach – probably less than 10 total and it is a pretty big beach. You are pretty much by yourself there. Had conditions been better we would have tried snorkeling there. But, we just walked around a little before heading back to beach 2 and getting ready to go. Our driver was waiting for us at guard shack when we walked out and he zipped us back to pier. At pier, there are all kinds of vendors, arts, crafts, etc. and we bought a few things, including a beach picture that is now on our office wall.
St. Thomas: March 1: first thing you have to do is clear immigration on ship. When we first got to area where it was taking place the long line scared us, but the line moved very quickly and it was not bad - maybe fifteen minutes total. This day we had arranged to do a daysail with Captain Pam on Fantasy. We joined four other folks on ship for a total of six of us to sail with Captain Pam and First Mate Charley. We got off ship about 8 and were met about 8:30 by Raymond, the driver filling in for regular drive Wally whose truck was broken down. Raymond drove us island on a little tour, on way to Red Hook where Fantasy is moored. Stopped at overlook of Charlotte Amalie/Harbor, Magens Bay (Drake’s Seat), through parking lot of Coral World, Wynham Sugar Bar to see iguanas (someone asked about iguanas). We have seen it all before but Raymond did a nice little tour for us. Arrived at marina about 9:35. The continental breakfast was apple slices and breads. We cruised over to St. John, mooring off point between Caneel and Scots. (Scots is next to Solomon which formerly was a C/O beach but no longer, apparently – Charley said that somebody in law enforcement had bought a house near the beach.) Snorkeling was pretty good, good weather and good visibility – saw a herd of little squid, interesting. We snorkeled about 1.5 hours. None of others were much on snorkeling, one of four did not even go in water. Nice lunch, chicken curry over rice. We thought Pam was very nice and recommend her and her boat. Very nice day. I do suggest that you try to get your own group and try to negotiate the price.
Other stuff: we went to the repeaters party, the Platinum and Diamond repeaters party, and the Captain’s talk, among other things. The Captain’s talk was interesting as the Captain and other officers talked about various things with slides to illustrate things. Enjoyed that. Oh yeah, most important, they said that they use 18,450 eggs a week. Cruising is pretty nice if you do not want to make those very tough, where to go tonight decisions. Jewel is a very nice ship! Next year we are going to try Freedom - what a ridiculously large thing that is!
