Jewel of the Seas Review

Jewel Not That Precious

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Jewel of the Seas
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10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2017
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

We chose this cruise due to 2 factors; 1) It departed on the date and from the city we needed to depart and 2) it had a "decent" itinerary. We knew going in that Royal is not a top tier cruise experience. We are Diamond level. The cabin (#9660 aft balcony) was adequate (the bathroom had this on again - off again "sewer" smell), and the food was palatable though in all honesty the menu was uninspired and quite boring. We ate from the Classics menus many nights. Embarkation was not too difficult, though additional signage and instruction would have been appreciated. Luggage drop-off areas were a total cluster, with people waiting in long lines only to discover that the lines were for those without tags. One suitcase had to be tracked down and was delivered very late. We didn't see any of the ship's evening entertainment other than some of the musicians performing in the lounges and atrium. Many were quite good.

We only used an RCL shore excursion once and that was the Santorini bus trip to Oia on your own. It was easier than trying to figure out all the different travel options to get up to Fira, over to Oia and back to the ship (cable car, donkey, public bus, taxi, ferryboat). Heard a horror story of a couple who almost missed the boat due to lack of taxis. Heard another story of a couple who walked from Oia to Fira when told on cruise critic that it was walkable. It is like 7 miles!! I can't imagine walking that in that heat. We used Rome Cabs for all transfers and shore excursions (including our 5 day pre-stay in Rome). Just a brief aside here.....if you wish to see much of Rome in a short amount of time, by all means spend the extra and hire a car/driver (any) service. They are WELL WORTH THE MONEY. They know when to go to certain attractions to avoid the worst crowds, they know where you WILL need a private guide (who gets you in without waiting in line) and they know where there are clean restrooms. We saw lines at the Vatican Museum that was easily a half mile long, then another line to clear security just to get into St Peter's. With a private guide for the Vatican Museum, you get to exit the Sistine and enter St Peter's through an internal, back walkway without going through security again. We toured with friends who had never been to Rome, and in 2 days we saw; the Vatican Museum, St Peter's, the Scavi underground St Peter's tour, the Coloseum, the Forum/Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo, and the Victor Emmanuel II monument. This all in 2 days of air conditioned comfort for 100 Euros per person per day. Guides were @100 Euros for a half day. The only way to go, this is a no-brainer.

Onboard we had several issues with service. We had the full beverage package. First, drink service was awful. Many times drink orders (for even simple drinks) had to be explained to servers and then showed up as something entirely different. This happened several times during the cruise, in the lounges and in the main dining room. One example, a lemon drop martini was delivered with a "salted" rim. Often times we had to order drinks directly from the bar as no waiters were available. The internet was crazy slow. We visited the Diamond lounge twice. Both times, we thought the lounge had no attendant. There were very few people in the lounge and the attendant (concierge) was sitting at a table of single ladies and never even bothered to stand when she said hello. We only figured out who she was by her name tag. Drinks here were wrong also. I ordered a gin and tonic and got a glass of white wine instead. On 3 separate occasions, staff asked us to provide the "highest possible crewmember ratings." We were even asked to provide additional positive comments. These requests came from the cabin steward, main dining room waiter and from one of the matre'd's. There is no excuse for this, it is in bad taste and really rubs me the wrong way. Tacky. We had been following the current RCL "hard mattress" controversy, but in all fainess, the bed/mattress was fine....we slept well. RCL has done a nice job with room darkening draperies, appreciate the fact that we could sleep in a bit on sea days because the cabin was kept that dark. In retrospect, one might bring along a night light as the cabin was absolutely pitch dark, making late night bathroom trips treacherous. Disembarkation was a breeze. We had disembarkation number three and were told to meet at 7:45 am in the Safari Club (all the way aft). As we got there, an announcement was made for numbers 1 through 5 to disembark. We were off the ship in 5 minutes, though, once again, my suitcase could not be located. Wasted 30 minutes looking for it.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E1

We didn't care for the bed by the window placement, but it worked. Cabin was absolutely pitch dark at night, could have used a nightlight. Bathroom had this on-again, off-again sewer smell for the entire cruise, never could get rid of it. Beds were comfortable. Cabin steward was affable and efficient (except for the request for a high rating PLUS additional kind comments.)

Port Reviews

Taormina (Messina)

Most shore excursions were canceled prior to arrival except for a few in the $1000 p/p range. This was evidently due to the arrival 2 weeks later of the G-7 summit. We took a cab to Taormina as many people did.

Rhodes

Port was a last minute addon due to removal of Ephesus, Turkey. Rhodes is a giant street bazaar. Not worth a stop in my opinion. Should have stayed on board.

Santorini

Village of Oia on your own. $55 p/p....worth it for me to have RCL arrange all the transportation. Tour was ok. We got to Oia along with about 30 other busloads of our "closest friends'". People can be so rude and clueless sometimes. Good luck getting any pictures without some goof taking stupid looking 'selfies' in the front row. Priceless.

Athens (Piraeus)

Greece's money problems evident in the service you receive.

Naples

Had a private tour of the Amalfi coast from Rome Cabs. Just what the doctor ordered! Perfect.

Mykonos

Took the tender and walked around the village. Crowded, but nice.

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