Cruise Ship: Jewel of the Seas
Cruise Destination: Transatlantic Cruise -- Harwich, England to Boston, Mass.
Cruise Date: Sept. 1st, 2004
By: Mary & Vincent Finelli
For us the most exciting trip is the transatlantic crossing on a new ship; of course, the draw back is that in order to do this we must first fly to Europe, since currently most cruise ships are built in Finland, Italy, France and Germany. And the Jewel of the Seas was built in Germany. Consequently, we flew to London, England from Miami, Florida, on August 29th and spent two days in this splendid city. We had been there before, so no herd-like tours for us this time. We stayed at the City Inn Westminster and spent a good part of our time at Westminster Abbey, where we even observed Matins.
On September 1st, Royal Caribbean International (RCI) transferred us by bus to Harwich, England (home of the Pilgrims' "Mayflower" ship). Harwich harbor has had extensive growth recently, but the best thing about departing from Harwich is the Bagpipe band which plays as the ship sails away. This is an exceedingly touching moment as the passengers realize that they are headed for the ship's maiden transatlantic voyage. The band is elegantly dressed in full Scottish apparel, kilts and all.
EMBARKATION
The bus deposited us and our baggage just twenty feet from the port door. Excellent! There was wheelchair assistance from the entrance. We were grateful, because there is no elevator and the ramp leading to the ship has an unusually steep incline. The Crown & Anchor Society has priority check-in for its Diamond and Platinum Members. It also greets all passengers with freshly baked cookies and lemonade. All this welcome was nice after the two hour long ride from London through the quaint English country side. Between check-in and boarding, we were in our cabin in less than thirty minutes.
SHIP - JEWEL OF THE SEAS
When RCI conceived of the Radiance Class of ships, it truly designed a modern, classically shaped liner with yacht like overtones: 90,090 gross tonnage, GTV (Gas Turbine Vessel). The first of this class was the Radiance of the Seas (2001), followed by the Brilliance of the Seas (2002), the Serenade of the Seas (2003) and finally the Jewel of the Seas (2004), which concludes this class of ships. All were built at the Meyer Werft Yard, Papenburg, Germany. Last year, RCI also concluded the building of the larger Voyager class ships, five in all (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator and Mariner of the Seas), and recently it has announced the construction of two Ultra Voyager class, soon to be the largest cruise ships in the world.
The Jewel is 902 ft. long, 106 ft. wide (Panamax). It has a 28 ft. draft and cruises at 24 knots. There are three acres of glass windows, giving passengers continuous views of the seas. There are nine elevators and twelve passenger decks with a maximum passenger capacity of 2,501. This trip the ship was full to capacity with passengers of all ages, from infants to elderly, and a crew of 859. The total number of staterooms is 1055: 817 are ocean view of which 577 have balcony; 238 are interior. There are 19 wheelchair accessible cabins distributed in various categories. All cabins have interactive TV, telephone, hairdryer, computer jack, refrigerator and 110/220 volts electrical outlets.
We were happy to sail again with Captain James MacDonald, Chief Purser Francois Chevalier and Maitre D' Orlando Rosa. We felt like we had returned home. The first night we saw a gorgeous sunset while dining, with the sun, a huge red ball, slowly setting in the west over the sea. Then, at 9:30pm from our balcony, we watched the full moon rise, changing colors from orange, to gold, to white by ten o'clock. The air was so clear the craters of the moon were evident.
In other reviews, we have described the Jewel's sister ships in detail and we refer you to our prior reviews for details. But each ship has a specific identity which arises from her unique art work. Many pieces are in the forward and Centrum staircases. Even though we extensively use the elevators, we manage to visit the ship's staircases, where we can view the interesting art work.
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