A friendly, fabulous ship!

Item: Jewel of the Seas
Rating: 4
Author: BeckyR2

Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

BeckyR2

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 16

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 07, 2007

Ship: Jewel of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 17 years ago

Review summary

I was really happy about Jewel of the Seas and choosing Royal Caribbean. We had seen a lot of other boats at the ports on our itinerary and the Jewel was so much nicer than any of the others. It is a beautiful ship, and the service was overall excellent. We loved exploring the ship, relaxing, and for a first cruise I was very impressed. We had a few bad days of weather in Mexico but the ship crew and director adjusted and really tried to still make things lively and upbeat even though people were down about the weather. The facilities are just beautiful- I was so surprised about things we found on the boat. A GREAT time!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I liked the dining room service, but the food was not great. The buffet had a lot of options but I wasn't always satisfied with what I was eating. Portions in dining room were smaller, especially for appetizers. Nevertheless, I was never hungry, and I especially liked the snacks in the Solarium and at the Seaview Cafe.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Lots of options for activities- had fun with the karaoke with the band. Schedule was packed, but also our cruise had a lot of long port stops so we weren't on the boat so much.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Everyone was very friendly and I was happy with the service. At one point at dinner I wanted a different appetizer and was not thrilled with our waiter's response, but that was the only sour point. Otherwise the staff was great!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship is impressive- the public areas provide a ton of lounge areas and places to explore. No shortage of bars, or people hawking drinks. It was very clean and easy to navigate after awhile. Solarium is beautiful, though I expected there to be more and bigger pools.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Really happy with our room. We had a big oceanview window, and our attendant kept the room very clean and even had towel-animal shapes folded for us!

Ports of call

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Too touristy, though we rented a scooter and saw the island and enjoyed that. Overall it was dirty and depressing though.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Getting out of the port and exploring

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5

Another tourist trap of a place. Lots of tacky crap for sale. We rented a waverunner and enjoyed that, especially since it was a windy day and the waves were huge.

Thumbs Up 0

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Beautiful beaches, though for some reason the snorkeling wasn't so great- Stingray City was closed due to the wind and choppy waves.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: The public beach is very nice

Key West, Florida

3 out of 5

Nice beaches, cute town.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Fort Taylor Beach

Pros: The array of things to do on the boat and the itinerary