Good Before Christmas Vacation

Item: Jewel of the Seas
Rating: 4.6
Author: Yedwardsv

Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Yedwardsv

Contributor Level: Second Mate

1 Day Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 161

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 15, 2018

Ship: Jewel of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7116

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

I liked this cruise because everyday you were at a different Caribbean port that I would not see with larger ships. The excursion were good because I had not been to any of the islands. They gave us good historical background for each island with a little taste of the island.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarking from Puerto Rico was one of best experiences I have had. It was short because we only had two ships at Pan American Port.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Dining Room was ok. The 6th night which was formal night in dinning room with prime rib and lobster tail. The specialty restaurant Chop Grille and Italian restaurant was excellent.

Tides Dining Room

4 out of 5

Good breakfast and ok dinner

Chops Grille

5 out of 5

Chops Grille food was outstanding. Worth the extra money

Windjammer Café

5 out of 5

Lunch was good. Had a good variety. Ice cream was a hit

Vintages

5 out of 5

Love the wine selection. Quiet but in center of ship

Schooner Bar

5 out of 5

Makes the best drinks on the ships

Izumi

5 out of 5

Food was good but enjoyed the making sushi class with the restaurant owner. Very informative

Giovanni's Table

5 out of 5

Excellent food.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Solarium pool and hot tub side was nice and quiet

Shore Excursions

5 out of 5

Very helpful in making decisions for excursion

Entertainment

5 out of 5

I liked both of the comedians.

Solarium

5 out of 5

Great place to rest and sleep during day. Also has pizza and sandwiches at night

The Pit Shop

4 out of 5

Only shows ESPN 1 and ESPN 2 so if they game comes a different channel you can’t see it.

Vortex Nightclub

5 out of 5

Great views during the day at night hot spot

Coral Theatre

5 out of 5

I like sitting on level 6 top sitting area. A great view. Watch two comedians and one show

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Personnel overall was excellent

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Older ship but maintained well

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The balcony cabin was ok size for older ship. Bathroom is small. Very clean and comfortable. Enough space once we put clothes away in closets, shelves and drawers. We put luggage under bed and in closet so we had enough space to move around. This was our fifth cruise this year so we are use to small size of room for two people.

Ship tip

Jewel of Seas has some hidden spaces in Votex club and near the Izumi restaurant

Thumbs up

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

This is second time in this port since hurricane. Infrasture is much better but still needs work.

Thumbs Up 1

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5

Went on Barbados highlights excursion. Got to see the island . Great explanation about island and its history

Thumbs Up 1

St. George's, Grenada

5 out of 5

Went on the spice and waterfall excursion tour. It was good ended on rum tour. I liked the spice rum and chocolate rum. The beach was highlight of tour. Only stayed an hour at the beach but you can stay longer but need to make your own transportation

Thumbs Up 0

Fort-De-France, Martinique

4 out of 5

Took the Discover Martinique tour. First stop was Balata Church with beautiful views of island. Martinique is very hilly with narrow roads. Got to view Clement home and rum tasting

Thumbs Up 0

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5

Took the St Maarten island tour starting from Dutch side. I thought it was ok. The views were nice.

Thumbs Up 2

Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

4 out of 5

Not a lot to do . We did not go on excision. We sat at at local beach were we docked.

Thumbs Up 1