It was a very nice cruise overall. Port call at Sicily and Malta then a sea day to rest, then 3 more days in Greece and another sea day on the way back to Naples. The itinerary was exactly what we were looking for. I'd love to have a bigger/newer ship serving this route, perhaps a voyager class ship with better amenities. Jewel is a fine ship, but it's due for a renovation. Since there were only 2 sea days, small ship really wasn't a problem as most times we were on excursions. It would matter if it's a longer journey with more at sea days.
We have been long time RCL cruisers. This was our 7th cruise with them, but Jewel was the smallest ship of the 7, so it took some get used to. Anyway, overall it's a wonderful cruise. We'll be looking for another cruise next year with RCL.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy and streamlined process. Dropped off luggage, got the Sea Pass card at check-in and we're done.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Good food quality in general. Need more variety in dessert.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Limited activities onboard as the Jewel is not a big ship comparing to other bigger classes of cruise ships in the RCL fleet. Fitness center is small but well equiped.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be very good. The headliner shows were fantastic. Magician Jamie Raven was top notch, and the Tango dance show of Argentina was very good.
Children's Programs
Didn't have kids with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Good in general. Some are more attentative then others of course. Our section's waiter/assistant waiter were excellent, attending to every need we had and always had pleasant smiles.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
It was an older ship in the fleet, also a smaller one. However, it was well maintained and generally in very good shape. Some equipment do need to be upgraded, like the in-room TV and viewing the onboard spending account information - the system wasn't stable. We never had problems with newer ships like the voyager class or oasis class ships as they have newer systems.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Standard balcony configuration. Feels slightly bigger than the same type of cabin on larger ships. Plenty of closet and drawer spaces for storing clothes, etc. Standard bathroom configuration, but the toilet seat was higher than the normal ones at home making it a bit hard to use with dangling feet. Bed was comfortable. Sofa was also comfortable. TV however was pretty old LCD and remote worked only partially. Overall, it was pretty good, but the same type of room on newer ships are generally better (i've been on oasis class, voyager class, quantum class ships)
Ship tip
Choose rooms away from the centrum - there are always music performance, even late into the night and it was very loud even several decks up. If your room is near it, be prepared for the noise.
This was where we set sail. We arrived a day early and explored Rome on our own. Nothing special about the port - it's a commercial port, but it's the port of Rome. We took the train from Rome to the port and then called a taxi to the ship terminal. Train cost 4.9 euro each, but taxi cost 20 per car. You can take the city bus to the port gate, then transfer to the free shuttle to the terminal. Only cost 2 euro per person. We did that on disembarkation day. It's very easy and cheaper.
This is a historically important town. We spent a whole day visiting Mdina and Valletta. Plenty of museums, gardens, old fortress/walls, etc. Lots of outdoor cafes and good food and drinks. We liked it very much.
Visited Delos island, Apollo's birth place. I'm into Greek Myth so that was a great trip to see the ruins of his temple and what used to be a major port in ancient Greece. Mykonos was very touristy and the food prices there was way too high for the quality. Not worth it. Find any hole-in-a-wall restaurant the locals go to (without the sea view), and you will get much better food at lower price.
It's a beautiful town overlooking the caldera. Good chance to take some nice postcard pictures with the famous blue dome/white building look. Prices, however, were as high as Mykonos, or even worse. You were basically paying for the view. We bought pitas for lunch at Lucky's Souvlaky where lots of locals frequent. Great food, cheap price. Best of all, grab and go so we don't waste time sitting there waiting.
Visited the Acropolis where we really wanted to go. Crowded as expected, but it's still worth the visit. The rest of the day we just explored the districts around that area on foot. It's a city with chaotic traffic. We took it leisurely, browsing shops, having gelatos and cappuccinos at outdoor cafes, etc. I think one visit to the Acropolis is enough.
Spent a whole day on the island of Capri. Beautiful island with stunning views. We did a boat ride to see the grotto and the famous southern shoreline. That was well worth the ride. On the island, we basically walked to the town and cross the island to the southern end. Very touristy place. The high prices there with mediocre food quality didn't make it a good place to dine. Spent almost 50 euros for lunch - spaghetti and pizza - not worth it.
Well organized and orderly. Although we chose to carry our own luggage since we were going to take the train north and we had plenty of time. There were free shuttle buses to take us from terminal to the port gate where we transferred to a city bus to the train station for only 2 euros. Very easy, plenty of people did the same.
Weather was perfect throughout the cruise. We only got caught in a thunderstorm at Naples on our way back to the ship from Capri at about 5 pm. All the other days, at different ports, at sea, were sunny. Temperature was between high 60s to low 80s F with low humidity, very pleasant! Even Athens was very comfortable in the low 80s. Guide told us if we had come in summer, it would have been 40+ Celsius, that’s more than 100F and extremely humid. Late September to early October is a great time to visit the Greek isles.
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