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Embarkation: Smooth as silk. We were on the ship by 12:30p. Not the most scenic port, but I'll take function over form any day.
The ship:
Having only been on one other cruise a year and a half ago (Allure of the Seas), we thoroughly enjoyed the Jewel.
I liked all the glass and wood, and I think, at least compared to the Allure, that I prefer a smaller ship. It was a bit more intimate, much easier to get a seat at your favorite bar, etc.
There's plenty of places to be social or to get away from everyone, whatever you prefer. The area up by the Safari Room was nice because of its old school ship feel.
The room:
Clean, comfortable. No complaints at all. We had a balcony and were lucky enough to be able to use it fairly often.
The food:
Windjammer: Since there were a lot of ports on this one, we didn't eat in there too often. When we did, it was very sufficient for its purpose and number of people it had to feed. Plenty of variety to allow me to try a little bit of a lot.
Seaview Cafe: Pseudo-table service that was very relaxing. Good quality fish and chips, freshly fried.
Tides dining: We did Mytime and more or less went the same time every night (around 8:30). Most all we had was a hit, with only one real miss. Is it Michelin Star quality? No. But knowing how many they're feeding in such a
quick succession is admirable. Of note, since it was the new menu, was the escargot, creamy garlic soup, curry (special request from our excellent wait staff), barramundi, the Grand Marnier souffle, and Royal seafood salad.
We were often the last to leave because we were chatting with the crew, which are now some of our favorite memories.
The crew:
Everyone was wonderful. Dennis and Becky have the patience of saints and were always very sociable even when not "on". I'm not sure of RCCL reviews these pages, but here some of the members that were particularly wonderful:
Giselle - cabin
Veekash - Centrum bar
Clifford - Centrum bar
Wulder - Centrum bar
Fernando - cigar bar
Prinston - waiter
Leonardo - assistant waiter
Daniel - I think another assistant waiter we ended up chatting with
And the photo crew: Anthony, Karlene, Richard, and Christian.
Disembarkation: A bit challenging since everyone refused to listen to the crew trying to keep things organized (we did the express walkoff). If anything, maybe too many people chose to do that. Which, if going to the airport, isn't all that necessary since it's so close.
We'd definitely cruise on the Jewel again!
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