Jewel of the Seas Review

3.5 / 5.0
1,643 reviews

Royal Caribbean okay but My time dining ruined holiday.

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Jewel of the Seas
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clarkek
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jul 2017
Cabin: Interior Stateroom
Traveled with children

Our cruise experience was ruined by not being able to book My time dining table - no member of staff would give us a weeks schedule so that we could book tables around entertainment and docking times. Entertainment and show times changed daily so that you couldn't book a regular time or more than 24hrs in advance. When we went to book a table 24 hrs in advance we were told we should have booked it 3 months ago and we could only have 6.30 or 6.45. On the first night we were made to wait over an hour for a table, the queues were terrible and the customers were getting angry - the need for booking a table was not conveyed on check in, so we turned up at the second sitting time advertised in the daily cruise planner. On the day we docked in Santorini we were told there were no tables available after 6.30. We turned up to dinner at 6.30, most of the dining room remained empty all night where people had booked tables and then don't turn up. People are allowed to book large tables for groups and then tables are blocked for the whole evening either because they don't turn up until later and the table is kept for them or they start dinner early and they take all evening at the table. The staff booking the tables were rude and unhelpful, they only found a table for you when the restaurant manager was called. The waiting staff were upset that they didn't have the same guests at the tables each night and thought it was because they were giving poor service. The waiting staff readily admitted that dining room didn't have enough capacity to hold the amount of guests booking tables or there frustration when tables were booked and people didn't turn up. The my time dining experience is supposed to be an upgrade and an added bonus to the holiday but it is very poorly organised and ruined the holiday.

Food quality overall was quite good and dining in the Windjammer cafe at breakfast and lunch was good. Able to find a seat easily, clean and good range of food. The snack bars available in the afternoon at the Solarium were also good.

Overall the ship was good, good range of facilities and space. Climbing wall was very well organised and golf was just help yourself. The pool facilities were not checked enough and the staff did not stop people taking glasses, food into the pool which left it dirty and dangerous for children. The adults only pool was very clean. The entertainment was okay on some days but not as good as other ships. The shows were off mixed quality and entertainment out by the pool was too loud and raucous. Shows were not at set times each day - this made it difficult for dining. There was only zumba and line dancing on offer - no ballroom or latin. Only offered live band in big band or jazz style. They did offer a Beatles tribute act in theatre on one evening, that was very good and they did an outside concert on the last night as well, but no space or seating was cleared for this and the pool area was still wet and dirty from the daytime, which was a shame.

Cabin Review

Interior Stateroom

Cabin K

Very spacious and clean cabin - well attended and looked after

Port Reviews

Santorini

Used cable car - easy but quite expensive

Mykonos

Used public buses and made own way to Paradise beach and back to Mykonos town. Very cheap and easy to do.

Athens (Piraeus)

Booked hop on hop off bus before leaving home and found it very easy to use. Saw what we wanted at our own speed. Connected well with port and docking times.

Katakolon (Olympia)

Booked our own Olympia excursion with Katakolon Express. This company was excellent, well organised, excellent guide and very reasonable at 126 euros for five people. It was better than the tours offered on board and easy and reliable to use.

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