The Jewel of the Seas was the perfect size ship for us. Even though it was full ver were lots of times that we had entire sections chairs or loungers all to ourselves. There were plenty of places you could steal away and get some alone time if that's what you needed. I don't think that a larger ship would have afforded us that luxury!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
AWESOME...we had The Key
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Main Dining Room for dinners was incredible quality and impeccable service. With The Key, we were treated to an Embarkation lunch through Chopps and it was perfection!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We watched Centrum-based game activities which were great but you pretty much stand the entire time because there is so little seating.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
I enjoyed the live dance and orchestra production called City of Dreams, but honestly expected more. The magician was awesome!
Children's Programs
We do not have kids.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our stateroom attendant Delores Brady was exceptional! Our head waiter Ionela and our assistant waiter Inyoman were absolutely perfect in the Main Dining Room!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We were impressed how clean everything was, even though the ship is an older one.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Way too small for two female friends to share one cabin. That's why I am so glad we got to separate cabins with an adjoining door. The cabin was the perfect size for me.
Ship tip
If you hate lines, get The Key. If you drink a lot of soda, get the Refreshment Package. Don't do an excursion every day...you will be exhausted.
Did the Real Crete excursion offered by Royal Caribbean...loved it. Transportation was a luxury air-conditioned tour bus. We first visited a fortress high on a hill. Then we traveled to a small village where they made handmade lace. Then we travel to a second village where we were served complimentary homemade alcohol and cheese pies which were phenomenal! We finished the Tour by strolling through the marketplace and then sat and watched the harbor while drinking a milkshake. It was an excellent day!
In my mind I expected the island to be full of ancient ruins. However, the city is surrounded by medieval walls and forts. We spent a couple of hours wandering through the tiny cobblestone streets looking at various items for sale.
The view into the port is absolutely breathtaking. We did not do an organized excursion and simply took the Sky cab up to the top where we wandered around through various shops for about an hour. Then we sat down on a patio overlooking the port and drank a Coca Cola. It was very relaxing and a fantastic view.
We did the Acropolis where the Parthenon is located and it was awesome. Just know that it is in disrepair and constantly has scaffolding around it while they do the repairs. The other two temples that surrounded the Parthenon are in disrepair as well. However, it is definitely worth seeing and there are some beautiful views atop The Acropolis.
We did the Pompeii Excursion that we booked through the cruise ship. While our guide was a very sweet and knowledgeable man, it seemed as if he was short cutting the Excursion. There was so much to see because Pompeii was so huge and there were many things that we missed out on such as the famous dog mosaic. All-in-all I felt that we practically ran through the ruins and didn't get to see a whole lot.
The only reason that I did not give 5 stars is because the tour bus was absolutely sweltering, and we had to ask the tour bus driver to turn on the bus so that we would have AC.
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