Disappointed

Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 50

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Jewel of the Seas

9 Night Greek Isles (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 12, 2016

Ship: Jewel of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The dinner experience at Tides was good the majority of the time. The Pork with sweet potatoes on the first night was a must try.  Sadly other than why we were on the cruise it was disappointing.  Alcohol drink charges were inconsistent.   I drank the same thing every day and was charged differently every time wether in the restaurant or the bars. Also sometimes brought a Virginia drink but told it had alcohol in it.   Food in the Windjammer was poor.  Service by waitstaff was inconsistent and poor across the ship except for Tides Restaurant (Caveat that the bartender (same every night) was one of the ones that charged differently every night).   Toilets backed up several times.   Turkey shore excursion: dropped off away from ship at vender who corners ypu in store and pushes merchandise.  Also required to go through hard sellers in the port before being able to get back on board.  Balcony cleaners came into room without prior notice and varnished the balcony.  It was so strong it caused a severe headache.  Selected and bought a junior suite with no obstruction.   The room we received had ano obstruction.  Room was extremely noisy.   Restaurant directly above had rolling carts going back and forth across the room all night (even when restaurant was closed).  Room stewards were very polite and helpful but sometimes hard to locate when needed (ex. when toilet stopped working).  Bought drink package that included bottle water.  Only one location had them which wasn't always open and depending on which barrista you had were super rude or delightful.  Careful with shrimp and prawns while on ship.  One night we received canned (mushy and tin tasting) [note this was day two] shrimp the next night they were fresh.  Lastly depending on which wait or you had they either had an itwm or didn't (ex. strawberries).  Overall I think it gets down to consistency in service.  Once they get that fixed everything else will hopefully fall into place. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Tides (same wait staff every night) was good majority of the trip in both food and wait staff. (Except Barwomen was inconsistent with charging for drinks.). Windjammer was poor the majority of the time in both staff and food.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Many options but not always clear or inconsistent hours.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
+++Funny and inclusive. ---Bingo was way overpriced.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5
NA

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
+++Maileen, Daniella, Arthur and Medela were amazing, super helpful, patient, accomodating and funny. (Tides Restaurant) ---Windjammer, bars and Lattitudes(coffee stand) had inconsistent service from random charging, passing virgin drinks as alcoholic and sometimes down right rude.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Overall appeared clean. Only saw one cockroach and that was on the pool deck. Though there were two instances of strong insect repellant smells through the hallways in the stateroom hallways. Witnessed window cleaning and room steward cleaned our room well.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Noisy and has an overhang that blocks views but was told it was a non obstructing suite at booking.

Ship tip

Eat at Tides or one of the specialty restaurants.

Ports of call

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

3 out of 5

Messina, Sicily

5 out of 5

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

3 out of 5
Ephesus was amazing. Rudeness and hardsell of people on the street and in stores that the excursion forces you into on the way back to the ship was enough for me to never go again.

Santorini, Greece

3 out of 5
Beautiful. A must see! Do double duty on your research and get an approved driver if you book your own excursions as they are insane drivers. I went through Trip Advisor recommendation and still feared for my life. Did I mention insane drivers.

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

3 out of 5
Acropolis though cool will be very crowded. Be prepared for extremely large crowds. Try to be first ones in. It will still be crowded but less crowded on the steep slippery stairs. Wear good rugged walking shoes and watch your step.

Naples, Italy

1 out of 5
Take excursions to Alfalfa Coast or Pompeii.
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