Five ports in seven days, but enjoyable. First time in a Junior Suite, which was nice but only because we found a good deal. At normal rates, we will likely stick to our normal balcony room. Jewel is 20 years old, but is in surprisingly good condition. If you looked, you could find some signs of age, but that’s true for any ship in the fleet. The Centrum design is a little odd as we prefer the Promenade for people watching. We normally sail larger ships, but Jewel quickly became one of our favorites just because it’s so easy to get from one place to another. Less people is also attractive to us.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
(Full Disclosure) The fact that we could use the “suites” line made things much easier, I think. The “normal” line was much longer.
Embarkation in San Juan was very easy. Once we arrived at the cruise terminal, we almost didn’t stop moving until we got on board.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food was good. Everything was tasty and hot, with a good variety at the Windjammer buffet. We are not “foodies” by any stretch, so those that are expecting (or wanting) a higher end experience may have a different thought.
Chops Grille
4 out of 5
You get what you paid for … a good steak (I had the filet) and plenty of sides. My steak was cooked exactly how I like it, the sides were good, and the dessert selection, while somewhat basic, finished off a nice meal well.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Smaller ships have less to do, that’s a fact of life. My wife and I are older, so the rock climbing wall doesn’t interest us. Because the itinerary was so port intensive, we didn’t get in the pool, but we did walk by several times and it looked good.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The entertainment was so-so. The best shows were the “guest” entertainers, while the onboard cast of singers and dancers was average at best. The orchestra was quite good for a small group and played several different styles of music well.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our Assistant Waiter was obviously new, so he got off to a bad start. He got better over the week, but still has room to grow in his position.
The Waiter and Head Waiter, on the other hand, were outstanding. Even with the limitations of a new Assistant Waiter, our meals were served with the level of care and attention we expect.
Our room steward was also wonderful. She introduced herself as soon as we arrived and toured us through the room to make sure everything was as we wanted it. We never lacked for anything and our room was always very clean and tidy. She was also very friendly and made sure to greet us by name each time she saw us and asked if there was anything we needed.
The rest of the service staff, primarily bar staff, was as good as we’ve seen. We enjoyed getting to know the servers at Schooner and had many nice conversations with them during less busy times.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The Centrum design is not our favorite, but that’s mostly because we like grabbing a coffee at Cafe Promenade and sitting down for some people watching. The common areas were always clean and well stocked (restrooms). The software controlling the elevators needs some upgrading because we had numerous times when empty elevators would pass our floor headed in our requested direction. There were a few times when the wait for an elevator was a bit longer than it should have been, but not to the point of serious irritation.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Ship tip
She’s not the biggest in the fleet, but that’s not a bad thing. Much easier to get around than Oasis or Quantum class.
Disembarkation was simple and easy. We carried our own bags off, so once we got o an elevator headed down to the appropriate deck, we moved right along until we hit the line at Customs. That’s not a knock on the ship or cruise line; it’s just the way things are in San Juan.
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