We were so happy to finally have a west coast cruise with the opportunity to sail under Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately, the one really great thing on this cruise was the weather. Oct 3. The check-in process was a fiasco!! We knew since late August that the Jewel was going to be docked at pier 42, so obviously the port authorities knew, the ships' crew knew, so why oh why were passengers subjected to three hours waiting while standing in line, some even outside in the hot sun!!! Reasons and rumors abounded but no apology whatsoever, until Wednesday evening from the captain himself. Too little, too late, was the subject at the dinner table that night.
The ports were lovely, but many disabled passengers were not able to leave the ship due to the tendering system. Then in San Francisco, the long walk down and back the ramp was exhausting. People had long waits for wheelchair assistance that often never came.
The food quality and service certainly didn't measure up to our past cruises with Royal Caribbean. Often the Windjammer food was lukewarm, and bland. The dining room food was better, but service was often very slow and neglectful.