Jewel of the Seas Review

3.5 / 5.0
1,642 reviews

Best cruise ever!

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Jewel of the Seas
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alvie03
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2015
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Wanting to take a vacation some where warm and do something different than what we normally do for vacations, which is to visit a big city, my husband wanted to take a cruise. I had never ever wanted to take a cruise but found myself deciding I should let my husband take a turn on picking a vacation and decided to go along with his idea. We decided to leave out of San Juan and take a southern Caribbean cruise. Thus, we ended up calling Royal Caribbean and booked a 8 day cruise stopping at 5 ports, which were St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Lucia, Antigua and Grenada. Not knowing if I would have an issue with motion sickness the travel agent recommended booking mid deck and mi ship. Since we booked our cruise less than 3 months out, we chose a balcony cabin 7562, which was slightly aft.

Next, I went online to complete the online check-in process and started to search out what to do, take, etc. Finding cruise critic, I wasn't so sure we had picked the right cruise ship being that Jewel of the Seas was considered mid size; however, the reviews were very good. Looking at cabin reviews, I also wasn't so sure that we had made the best pick on cabin deck or location so I called back and spoke to other travel agents and we ended up staying with cabin 7562. Next I read a lot about what to take, which was extremely helpful but neither my husband and I ended up packing as light as was recommended and did find once aboard the ship that we really had over packed. Oh well, we had plenty of clothes but could have shopped more and not worried about space to bring back souvenirs. I also read that it is recommended to fly in the day before but since my husband and I had already booked our flight, which was on the same day of embarkation, we decided to buy cruise insurance just in case something went wrong with our flight. I researched and researched before the cruise and felt I knew exactly what we wanted to do onboard and at the ports. Next it was time to get in shape and both my husband and I become workout fanatics. We went on a supervised diet by a physician and my husband lost 30lb and I lost 20lbs. Losing so much weight we decided to wait 2 weeks before cruising to go out and buy new wardrobes. What a great way to start a vacation in shape, feeling great and with new clothes.

Finally departure day came. Our flight was scheduled to leave Detroit at 8:37 am and arrive in San Juan at 2:37pm. When we arrived at our gate the flight was oversold by 2 seats. Delta offered $600.00 per seat but when my husband and I boarded with priority boarding the tickets they were offering over $1300.00 per ticket. Oh how I wished our ship wasn't departing till the next day because I would have jumped at the deal. Our flight was a little late getting into San Juan at 3:00pm so my husband and I decided he would get the luggage and I would get in the Taxi line. Smart decision as the line had already started and from where I was it was going to take a half hour and within a few minutes the line and grown and I'm sure those at the end had an hour or more wait for a taxi. It took about 20 minutes for my husband to get our luggage and 10 minutes later we were in a taxi and off to board the ship. We couldn't believe it, but by 4:00pm we were on the ship and heading to our cabin. Oh was life good and locating our cabin we found that it was going to be perfect for getting around on the ship. Hearing about how small cabins can be we were extremely pleased to find that it had plenty of space for what we needed. There was plenty of space to hang all our clothes and drawers for our personal stuff. Our suitcases fit perfectly under the bed and being on starboard side we found our balcony to be the perfect spot for views with coming into and leaving the ports. I thought the cabin décor was very well done and that even though the ship was to be dry docked in April of 2016, our cabin did not show signs of wear and tear. Reading all those reviews about outdated, torn and tired looking cabins and areas of the ship when they are older, I found out that they really do repair and remodel throughout to keep things looking fresh. Don't believe everything you read about it. Maybe there is a cabin or room somewhere that has an issue but I have to wonder if the person who wrote a terrible review about the quality of the ship would ever be satisfied with what they had. I love nice things and like to be spoiled by nice stuff. I'd have to say high maintenance as I do like really nice things and our cabin was fabulous. The décor was very nice and even though there was no flat screen TV for my husband, I was happy to find that the mattress was just right and the pillows ones that I could actually sleep well on. Jackpot! Oh and we had our luggage within 10 minutes of arriving to our cabin. We were off to a great start!

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E3

Great location on ship. Cabin was in great shape. Starboard side was perfect for coming into and leaving ports as we got the best view. Balcony was great and really was quiet and private. Our room attendant couldn't have been better. Our cabin was always kept spotless and she always greeted us with a smile and asked about our day. Staying mid deck and mid ship with a balcony was really the way to go as we were in the middle of 2 sets of elevators and stairs so if the elevator was busy which it does get at dinner time, we found the stairs to work out just fine.

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