This is our 2nd Royal Caribbean cruise. Plus this was our 11th or 12th cruise. Will return to Oceana or Celebrity. They both know service and entertainment.
Ports of Call Superb! JEWEL OF THE SEAS ENTERTAINMENT AND SERVICE AVERAGE
(NOTE: Survey should separate ship service and entertainment (stars) from ports of call! - This would provide a better metric from which to judge).
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Our cabin steward was superb!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Extremely tight for 3 people. Was kept clean and neat by our cabin steward.
Ship tip
Jewel of the Seas service average. Entertainment was average. Fewer stage shows than we expected. Expect to pay VAT taxes of 22-24% on ship store purchases (We really complained about this), based on ship being based in Italy; and, although purchases are made at sea, predominantly in international waters, we had to pay the taxes! Too bad - lost business! And, expect to pay bar tab service charge of 18%, even though there is a daily tip per person built into the final bill that goes to all service personnel.
We toured and pilgrimaged to Roma, our favorite city, on our own for 5 days before the cruise. Definitely a must see and experience; do not tour it as a one-day, but tour as an add-on for a minimum of 5 days.
Superb port of call. Beautiful, especially as it is so well lighted in the evening, night, and early AM. We took an excellent excursion (palace tour and wine tasting - Europeans do wine tasking far better than we do in USA) booked thru Cruises.com as it was more what we looking for (unavalable thru Jewel of the Seas).
Always a beautiful port of call. No excursion here. Self guided tour and shopping and lunch. Nearly all ship excursions are rated strenuous and less (problem walking long distances for my wife).
Always a beautiful port of call. Ship excursion was a driving tour of Athens and too short a time below the Acropolis. My daughter and friend jogged to the Acropolis, took quick fotos, then, ran back down in under 20 mins. Later, shopping at the Platka shopping area, enjoyed light lunch and could not shop because the time was too limited. Should have provided 2 more hours (so make the excursion 6 hours vice 4!!).
Note: We wanted to go to Corinth but that excursion does not include Athens - too, too bad!!!).
We did self guided tour via jet foil from the port Capri and return (order tickets on line and WILLCALL - we did this the night before). Was our 3rd time there. It was easy to do. Lots of great shopping and dining here. Beautiful!
Ship's excursions all included Pompei, which is tough to do because of walking issues, before they do to Amalfi Coast or other locations.
Be sure to take an excursion of some type, tho, as this is a most beautiful part of Italia! Don't miss it!!
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