Royalty from Port to Port

We arranged through Royal Caribbean to have transport the port. We were told to be at a hotel at a specific time and we would get transport. My wife and I along with several other couples and families had that hotel as our meeting location. We were then put on a bus where the RC guide assigned to the bus reviewed the embarkation process (what we would need to have out, what we should expect, what additional forms we needed to fill out) along the 45 minute drive from Rome to Cittavecchia. When we arrived, there were no surprises, we easily moved through a short security line of only the people from our bus, got our seapass cards and headed to our cabin.

Having been on other ships and other cruise lines, you can somewhat know what to expect from cruise dining, but the food and dining experience on the Jewel of the Seas defied our expectations. In the main dining room, we had fantastic servers who were attentive to our needs and very knowledgeable of the chef's great menu. My wife and I can have very different tastes, but each night there was something new on the menu and so much to choose from that we were always happy. They have items on the menu that are there the whole week (standard dinners) but I can't recall ever choosing them from all the wonderful nightly options. RC offers other sit-down/served dining options which we were interested in. We did not go to Izumi or the Chef's Table. Izumi we just didn't ever had a chance to get to, but Chef's table is quite expensive and a main core of their sell is that the Chef pairs wine to each course and as a non-drinker, that doesn't seem like the meal is worth the value for me at least. As for the other restaurants, Chop's Grille and Giovanni's Table, we had wonderful experiences. Chop's Grille gives the high end steakhouse feel and cooks steaks to match. As for Giovanni's, it is advertised as family style, but we soon learned that family style is an option, but you can order meals individually. A big perk here is that all the pasta is handmade. We usually ate breakfast in the Windjammer Cafe, the buffet, mainly because the dining room was a little slower and some days you just don't want to sit with strangers. The staff in the Windjammer was also very attentive and would offer to get things for you if you needed it. A hidden gem was the late-night snacks in the Solarium. We also took the Galley Tour on the last day at sea which came with a bottomless brunch of food. I would highly recommend the tour as it was a great peek behind the curtain and gave a better understanding of how this floating city gets fed. The only cons are the upcharge items that are on the menus sold as premium dinners. Also, charging for room service kept us from partaking in that.

Everything on the ship was in good condition. The Solarium which prohibits children under 16 was a nice place to relax. The Spa was easy to schedule or reschedule appointments and was well maintained. We enjoyed the on-board art auctions and the art gallery staff from Park West who, atypically from previous experiences, were more interested that we were having a good time than trying to get us to purchase art. (ultimately we did bid and purchase several works of art many of which had no obligation to purchase) The casino was great, except the smoking area was not well indicated and very often people were smoking in the non-smoking areas for a while before being told they needed to move. The staff in the casino was very friendly and made us feel welcome there as well.

The on-board movies were fairly recent and with a decent variety. The guitarist who was usually in the centrum and sometimes in Schooner's was great to listen to. The shows weren't of any interest to us, though we heard from others on-board that they were great.

Did not cruise with children.

From our stateroom attendant to our wait staff in the dining hall, we were always treated in the most welcoming manner. There is not a single staff member who did not try and make our stay as memorable and enjoyable as they could.

It's a shame that cruise ships continue to get bigger and bigger. There's something really enjoyable about having a ship this size. Nothing is ever too crowded, there's still plenty of things to do, and it's small enough with a large enough staff that everything is always cleaned. Everything was easily located with interactive maps at every elevator.

The cabin was nice. It seems that it had been previously refurbished and there may have previously been a heat lamp in the bathroom but that had since been removed, but the knob remained (and was obviously nonfunctional). The flat screen tv on a swivel made it easy to watch movies or ship informational programs from the bed or from the love-seat. The balcony was always cleaned well.

Two Words: Stay Awhile. RC has a program that few take advantage of called the Stay Awhile Program. The SAP allows you to depart later while still getting to take advantage of the ship's amenities. You still need to leave your room by 8:30, but any carry-on luggage you may have with you they will hold for you at the front desk so you don't need to lug it around. It's 39.99 per person but it's essentially a late checkout with food. You still have access to the windjammer for breakfast and lunch and can use the pools. They also allow you to use the spa to shower since you need to be out of your room. This was helpful for us because we had a very late flight that day and preferred not to stay in the airport for 12 hours. We arranged for RC transport to the airport which was also so simple. Because we were leaving late (3:00 PM) they had arranged a car with one other group and we essentially had our own private driver bringing us to the airport in Rome.