Absolutely loved it!! Loved the older ship and that it wasn’t completely modernized! The staff was Amazing! The food was great! Loved that there was always something for all of us to do, or not do anything at all! This ship was way more than we expected

Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5
Jewel of the Seas

9 Night Southern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 22, 2022

Ship: Jewel of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 7004

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

This cruise was AMAZING! From embarkation, the staff, the ports, and the ship! I was All absolutely Wonderful!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
So smooth, quick, and easy. Probably the quickest I’ve experienced.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
MDR was on point, and Everything was excellent! Windjammer was great. Good variety to choose from and everything tasted great. The only thing that wasn’t great, it’s a buffet so food wasn’t always as warm as we’d like, but it wasn’t cold, so we just looked past that! Chops was really good. Not as great as we thought it would be (for a specialty restaurant), but it was good and we are glad we went!!

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Plenty of things to do to keep busy! Always something fun going on!

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff was AMAZING! Everyone we came in contact with was so happy, so pleasant, and genuinely seemed happy to help with anything! Our MDR waiters were fantastic and we just loved them! Our Room steward was perfect and had everything perfect, every time we came back to the room!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Even thought it’s an older ship and due for refurbishment, she was Absolutely Beautiful and everything was kept as clean as we had hoped for.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
This room is AMAZING!! We usually get balcony, but decided we would give up the balcony, for additional space. The size and layout was even better than we expected. Absolutely loved how much room we had, and our teen was happy that she had her own space separate from us (although it’s separated by a heavy curtain, not a door). We truly lucked out that this room became available and we were able to snag it up. Bathroom was same as the regular room bathrooms, nothing bigger there, but that’s ok, we knew what to expect. The ONLY downside of this room - you feel ALL the ships movement! I get motion sickness, and experienced it even more so in our room. The first couple days, I couldn’t live without the motion sickness pills. I would suggest getting the patch if you are cursed with this as well.

Ship tip

Explore early so you know where you want to spend your time. This ship is just Wonderful! We fell in love with her almost immediately. I love the older ships, and she did not disappoint! I definitely would love to sail on JOTS again!

Ports of call

Castries, St. Lucia

3 out of 5
We did the Fun Bus trip to the beach! The bus ride was was definitely fun and entertaining, and we got to indulge in some Rum Punch, which was nice! But the beach we went to was crowded and dirty, so was just a bit disappointed in that! Getting in the water (which was amazing) was rough on the feet for sure, even with water shoes. The rocks, in the water, were large and everyone got pretty beat up on them. Of curse, thought, we made the best of it and enjoyed our time there. I just would hope they find a better beach to go to in the future.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5
Absolutely loved San Juan! Was our first time at this port and just fell in love! We didn’t do an excursion, but decided to wing it. I had a small map on my phone and we decided to just walk and explore! One of my top bucket list items was the cemetery! We walked to the Fort and then made it to the cemetery! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I only wish we could have gotten inside to explore! We then strolled through Old San Juan, which was just wonderful! Definitely can not wait to go back!

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5
This port is beautiful and quiet, but had plenty to do. However, we did not like the spot at the one end where locals had their booths set up to sell their merchandise. They were beyond pushy and very intrusive. I was literally surrounded by about five large men that were so close, even when walking, that I could feel them. I was backed in to one of their spaces, and blocked by several of the men from exiting, I had to hold on to my things tightly and it actually scared me. The only thing that finally made me feel a little better was knowing I was inside port gates, and that I finally saw a couple of security men. I pushed through to get out towards security, and got away from there as quickly as I could. I would advise everyone to stay away from that area. This port would be close to perfect, if they could somehow regulate the market for the local vendors.

Basseterre, St. Kitts

5 out of 5
We absolutely Loved St Kitts! We did A Sky Safari Zipline excursion, which was AWESOME! They guides were fantastic and the scenery was beautiful. We loved going through the rainforest and each tide was a little different, and so much fun! We ziplined in St. Maarten the previous year, which I now say was a good beginner one. The one in St. Maarten doesn’t even come close to how good this one was. I Definitely would do this again, and recommend it to everyone thinking of doing a Zipline adventure.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5
Been to St. Maarten several times, so no excursions planned. We just shopped and had lunch in the port area.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Quick and painless!!!
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