Jewel of the Seas Review
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Our last few cruises have mostly been the megaships (Freedom, Oasis class, Quantum) and we were a bit worried that we’d feel claustrophobic or bored on one of the smallest and older ship of the Royal Caribbean fleet. Luckily the Jewel proved us wrong. The ship is still beautiful, the connection to the sea with the abundance of glass everywhere is perfect, and the staff was the happiest I've experienced in a long time. Both the crew member at the door of the Windjammer jamming to the fun music on his phone, and the coffee server balancing a tray of coffee cups on his head or a wine bottle in the evening put a smile on our faces and helped start our days off right!
Sailing out of San Juan is a treat – there’s time to enjoy the town with the late sailaway, and seeing Old San Juan at night lit up is so pretty. Muster drill needs some work – the way the newer ships do it inside a cool lounge or theater is much easier than standing in the heat crowded in on deck. We don’t agree with having to be delayed for muster by the people who don’t show up – they should be tracked down and some fine or such imposed against them, rather than us having to stand for so long waiting. Not only were we crowded together in the heat for so long, but we ended up having to stand next to an obnoxious and drunk couple who loudly complained constantly about Muster cutting into their drinking and smoking time – they should have been removed.
We had a quick Windjammer dinner so we wouldn't miss being on deck for sailaway.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
We were in an E2 balcony, I didn't realize was going to be smaller than the E2 we had on the Freedom a few years ago. Next time on this class of ship we’ll stick to a D1, it was just a bit tight walking past each other in the cabin! Like most RCCL ships, there was plenty of storage for all of our ‘stuff’. We love that feeling of unpacking and settling into our ‘home’ for the next week.
Port Reviews
San Juan
We had a 6pm flight home on our day of disembarkation in San Juan. We enjoyed the ship until it was time to get kicked off, and took a taxi to Barrachina's in Old San Juan. They provide a wonderful free service of storing luggage from 9am-5pm. It seems to be a good business practice - we gave a tip as recommended, but also decided to start our day on our own in OSJ with breakfast in their Governo's Cafe & Deli upstairs and before leaving for the airport later that afternoon, enjoyed a Pina Colada at the bar. We were at Barrachina's 2 years ago for the Flamenco Show and dinner, and they've really expanded their facility since then.
Old San Juan is a wonderful place for just wandering. We've already visited the Forts, so just strolled (especially love Paseo De La Princesa and exploring the sculptures along the way, and the walk along the water to Paseo del Morro).
Grenada
By the recommendation of one of our Roll Call members, several of us booked A&E tours for their ½ day Best of Nature Tour. Although we were comfortable with our group of 12 in one van, we were split into 2 vans with 6 each – each with a driver and Eddie running one group and his son Elon the guide for our group. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Elon – an incredibly knowledgeable young man with a love for his island and lifestyle. Our stops included the Amba-Kaila-Spice manufacturing plant (we would have loved to see the plant in action, but did enjoy the demonstration offered and shopping in the store), Annandale waterfalls, Grand Etang rain forest, volcanic lake, a rum distillery and ended at Grand Anse Beach. With a slightly late start waiting for a member of our group that didn’t show up, enjoying some of our stops longer than expected, and a bit of traffic, we just didn’t have the time we had hoped to visit the beach – it was picture perfect beautiful.
St. Croix
We needed some serious R&R this vacation, so just walked left off the pier and headed to the Freedom City Surf Shop. We got there a little later in the day - by then most of the chairs were rented, so we got the 'dregs' (duct tape was involved :) ), but it was fine. The entry into the water for much of their stretch of beach was quite rocky (not pebbly, but some large rocks to climb over), but once in, the water was gorgeous. There were reasonably priced drinks (we had the rum punch 2 for $5) and food was available.