Jewel of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This is my review: you may have had better experiences or disagree; that is fine.
Ship was clean, embarking was good and fast at all ports, check in, luggage delivery was all good. Food in main dining was average. Really got tired of being nickeled and dimed to death over stuff that should not cost three times what it does in the port. A 6-pack of 12-oz cans of coke was $14. 3.2 euros per can if purchased alone, $8 for each day for cokes; i don't drink that much on a normal day. The bed was hard, even though we had asked for a pillow top to be placed due to my wife's back issues. Cabin was nice and clean, staff attendant was pretty good.
Shore excursions were hit or miss, and we heard varying likes and dislikes from other passengers. Was disappointed in the Santorini excursion, as they only gave us 1.5 hours to look around Oia and then rushed us back to Fiora. Could have used more time in Oia. Also, volcano trips can be purchased at the dock for a lot less than the shore excursion rate. READ the shore excursion descriptions very carefully. One excursion in Athens had the passengers stop at the base of the Acropolis, point it out, and then drove off to another destination-they were not allowed off the bus. The excursions in some ports try to cram as much in as possible-the Exclusive Amalfi Coast one is that way. Research is key to getting a good shore excursion. The excursion in the Messina Port was canceled due to the G7 summit; although they received their money back they were basically out of a trip on the island. Maybe RCC should have had back ups once they found out this was going on. The original trip was to visit Ephesus; however it was canceled and no one from RCC bothered to inform anyone of the change to Rhodes, Greece until we made our final payment. I understand the reasoning but it would have been nice to at least been notified.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Cabin was nice and adequate for the two of us. Balcony was nice to have, but unfortunately the weather was very cool and so time on the balcony was limited (not RCC fault). Just a typical cruise stateroom. Very quiet, and kudos to the ship designers as we never felt like we were on the water.
Port Reviews
Taormina (Messina)
Port was close to main town; we took the "hop-on, Hop off" bus tour.
Mykonos
Very cool town. Watch out for the streets/walkways when I rained, as it did during the port call. Very slippery and windy. Also, you have a good chance of getting run over if not careful as the local cars use the streets for access to the shops.
Rhodes
Old Rhodes was very interesting. Bone up on your Knights of the Templar for this. However every vendor/restaurant in town is trying to drag you into their place for coffee, food, etc. Very annoying.
Athens (Piraeus)
Used Private Greek Tours; highly recommended. Driver picked us up and off we went. Back to the ship by 4pm. Our heads almost exploded from the info the driver gave us on the tour. We saw the Acropolis, Agora, Acropolis Museum, Temple of Zeus, Changing of the Guards, and numerous other places that we would not have seen without this service.
Naples
Used CBM tours recommended by Rick Steves for the Sorrento and Pompeii tour. Guide was very good and we were back to the ship by 4:30. Highly recommended.