Not our usual Royal Caribbean experience

Item: Jewel of the Seas
Rating: 3.7
Author: LoveHistory

Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

LoveHistory

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 25

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

Verified Review

8 Night Southern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 08, 2023

Ship: Jewel of the Seas

Cabin number: GTY

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

We have always been pleased with Jewel of the Seas in the past, as well as with Royal Caribbean. Now they have less help and provide less service, but the tips are the same. Several of the bartenders provided very meager drink portions....And, the food was just not very good. RC can definitely do better.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

This was our third sailing on Jewel of the Seas and the quality has really taken a hit in the last few years. The food in the main dining room was just not very good (inedible at some meals). Our experience in the specialty restaurant, including food and service, was MUCH better.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Really enjoyed Kronos (ship band) and two of the 3 headliners. The Elton John tribute was really excellent!

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Room stewards now only come once a day (used to be twice a day). Bartenders in Centrum were terrible. Marsha, the bartender in the Solarium was truly excellent!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Everything was fine, EXCEPT (a) the couch needs to be recovered - it is very threadbare and shoddy looking, and (b) for the first 2 days the bathroom smelled terrible until they finally came and changed a filter.

Ship tip

Schedule specialty restaurants often and early.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5

We booked our own excursion (catamaran sail and snorkel) through Tripadvisor and it was excellent. Also, try the Cuban Cooking restaurant in town. It was fantastic!

Thumbs Up 0

Willemstad, Curacao

3 out of 5

We booked our own excursion through Tripadvisor and it was excellent. Curacao is dirty and scrubby, but swimming with the sea turtles and the visit to Grote Knip beach were great!

Thumbs Up 0

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5

We booked the RC sandbar getaway. It was advertised as "open bar". The cruise director told us to just bring our sea pass - we wouldn't need any money. Instead it was "cash bar" so we were not able to buy any drinks on the trip. Not good.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

7 Comments

ScubaDaveHash 1 year ago

Thanks for your review

Thumbs Up 0

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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pamela27 1 year ago

I have to agree with you. We sailed on Jewel in March 2023. We had a great time, but something was missing compared to the other RC ships we've been on.

Thumbs Up 0

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed feedback. Sorry this cruise didn’t meet the standards you’ve come to expect from RCCL.

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emcconnaughy67 1 year ago

I am loyal to royal but I have to agree with most of your review. The food on enchantment was not good. Our bartenders were good tho.

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience.

Thumbs Up 1

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