Jewel of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Kids sailed free on this sailing, which was a great savings and why we chose Royal Caribbean for this particular trip.
Embarkation and disembarkation were both timely and organized.
The dining staff were so great! We recommend eating in the regular dining room for dinners. We didn't do specialty dining and were very happy with the quality and choices for all of our meals, plus it was really great to get to know our wonderful waitstaff using My Time dining. We talked to other passengers who were disappointed with their experiences at both Izumi and Giovanni's Table, but were happy with Chops. At the end of the cruise, we were very happy we chose to eat in the main dining room and get to know our waitstaff, who were wonderful with our children, making napkin animals and doing magic tricks, plus they learned all of our dining preferences. They were the best staff on the ship!
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Our cabin was fine. It was tight, of course, with 4 people, but it was doable. Our older daughter (age 6) slept on the dropdown ceiling bunk and our younger daughter (age 4) slept on the mini foldout couch. Our stateroom attendant was fine, nothing great.
We didn't have very courteous balcony neighbors, but that is no fault of the cruise line. They used foul language and smoked constantly so we had to keep our kids off of the balcony a lot of the time, which was a bummer, but of course not RC's fault.
Port Reviews
San Juan
Must sees: El Morro, El Castillo de San Cristobal and El Yunque National Rainforest
Best Meal: Tapas at El Picoteo at El Convento Hotel
Tips: If you maintain a National Parks Passport, be sure to bring it. Our kids got 7 stamps on the island!
Be aware that there are two ports. Family members who had cruised out of San Juan previously advised us to stay at the Sharaton Old San Juan because it was right at the port, but when we got there we found out our ship left from a different port! Research this beforehand!
St. Thomas
Wonderful beaches! Ask to stop at Drake's Seat for a photo on the way if you are going to Magen's Bay Beach.
St. Kitts (Port Zante)
Don't do the Essential St. Kitts Tour. Very little time was spent at Brimstone Hill and Romney Manor. The majority of the time was driving around the island in a super hot van with broken air conditioning. Our children just wilted in the heat.
Barbados
Fantastic beaches! We went to Harbor Lights on Carlisle Bay and it was great. We recommend the glass bottom boat and turtle snorkel tour (can book it through the beach resort).
Antigua
You will see the most beautiful beaches you have ever seen in your life on Antigua! Valley Church is very popular and lots of other passengers loved it. We opted for Darkwood Beach and we were in heaven. The drop off in the ocean is really far out so our kids could play in the water while we lounged in beach chairs, this also makes for fantastic, crystal clear, turquoise waters. The sand was great for sand castles. The staff were super kind and thoughtful and the food was wonderful, all freshly made right there. We recommend the conch fritters and the sweet potato fries. It was like a photoshopped screensaver; just perfection!