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Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Lizzieanne771

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Greek Isles (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 01, 2018

Ship: Jewel of the Seas

Cabin number: 9000

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I really try to be a positive person, and overall I enjoyed the cruise - but I think it's because of the ports more than anything. I saw a dramatic slip in the general interactions of the crew with guests and the food (not just for gluten-free needs but in general) on Royal Caribbean since I last cruised them on Brilliance of the Seas 2 years ago. Back to Disney Cruise Line in the future for me.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I feel like the options for gluten-free people have gone WAY down on RCCL in the past 2 years. It took me filling out the mid-cruise food survey stating that for the head server to really get involved in the process and say I could ask for what I wanted and they would see if they could make it. If you're not comfortable with gluten-free offerings in the non-gluten-free "corner" (really only one side) on the buffet, I hope you like curry...

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

I don't do casinos (and the fact that smoking is allowed in any of it is disgusting - the stench permeates throughout and even away from the casino) or bingo or silly crap. Give me a deck chair on the cancer-free side of Deck 5 (and good luck with that since they almost always wash or work on stuff on the non-smoking side on sea days) and I'm happy.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

They were fine overall...but I saw a distinct difference in their interactions with me - who was wearing a Disney Cruise lanyard - and others who were not. That should not happen.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ports of call

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

4 out of 5

Watch the taxi pimps on debarkation. They will lie and tell you that it is 3 or 4 trains to get to FCO and will take you 4 hours on a Sunday. There is one chance of train, and unless there is a strike (in which case the trains will not be running) it will take about 90 minutes.

Thumbs Up 5

Santorini, Greece

5 out of 5

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

4 out of 5

This one was fine, but the most underwhelming of them all in terms of beauty and grandeur. I personally would open with this and close with Santorini.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

1 Comment

TheSnoMan 6 years ago

Interesting, i wonder if it is more of a "problem" on European based sailings. Not seen it here on my cruises. Will see in a few months.

Thumbs Up 1

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