Cruise Ship: Jewel of the Seas
Cruise Destination: Eastern Caribbean
Cruise Dates: February 10 - February 18, 2007
Guest Contributor: TravlGrl
First of all, this was our first cruise ever, so we really have no first-hand comparisons, but we LOVED THIS CRUISE! We booked the Jewel of the Seas about a year in advance, in celebration of our 10-year anniversary (February 14, 2007), and were not disappointed. This cruise exceeded our expectations in every way.
Jewel of the Seas Itinerary: This was an 8-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary with 5 ports of call -- Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Thomas, and the Bahamas. We had 2 days at sea as well.
Jewel of the Seas Embarkation: We had read so many mixed reviews about the embarkation, but this was completely painless for us. We arrived to the port on our hotel shuttle (we had stayed at the Hampton Inn the night before) at 1:55 p.m. Check-in was to begin at 2 p.m., but we were allowed to check in immediately upon arrival. The entire check-in process took about 25 minutes, and we were happily on board and sitting in the Windjammer Café by 2:25 p.m.
Jewel of the Seas Stateroom: We had a balcony, stateroom 9220 to be exact. It was awesome! The view was gorgeous, and I can't imagine not having a balcony. We made full use the balcony by having breakfast out there, waking to the warm morning breezes, and retiring to the evening breezes on the balcony each evening. The room was much larger than we had anticipated only because I had envisioned a cramped room. However, after traveling in Europe, this stateroom was no smaller than many European pensions we had stayed in. There was ample room for the two of us, and we never felt cramped.
Jewel of the Seas Shore Excursions: We did not take an actual excursion in San Juan. Instead, we just walked through Old San Juan, which is walking distance from the pier. There are many good restaurants in the area as well (we ate at Café Berlin which is supposed to be a mixture of German and Puerto Rican fare, but the German menu was primarily just for Sunday brunch), and many of our fellow passengers walked up to the old Fort from our ship. I see no reason to have to grab a cab in San Juan unless you want to venture out of the Old San Juan area.
In St. Maarten, we took the Best of St. Maarten tour. Unfortunately, the snorkeling portion of this trip was changed last-minute. The union workers who operated the boat to Pinel Island were on strike, so instead we were taken to a snorkeling spot at Oyster Bay (Dawn Beach), but it was HORRIBLE! It was so bad that Royal Caribbean refunded 50% of our excursion fees. The other portion of this excursion included a bus ride to Marigot for sightseeing, and some shopping. That portion of it met expectations, and because of our inability to snorkel at Pinel Island, we now have a reason to go back to St. Maarten on another trip in hopes of snorkeling there.
On Antigua we took an excursion out to Cades Reef for some snorkeling. What a blast! We boarded a cool, fast, inflatable type of boat that felt like we were on a fun theme park ride. Our guide gave a FABULOUS 11-mile tour up the coast of Antigua and provided commentary on the many beaches we passed along the way. We stopped for a photo opportunity at Georgio Armani's house and made our way up to the reef. The snorkeling there was in crystal clear water. Nothing can compare to that Caribbean water! On the way back, we stopped at a secluded beach where we enjoyed rum punch, and some time in the sun and sand with our boatmates. There were only about 10 of us so it was a great trip and a nice opportunity to get to know some of our fellow shipmates from Jewel of the Seas.
At St. Thomas we took the Ultimate Island Experience excursion which began with a 2-hour beach visit to Magen's Bay, one of the top beaches in the world! It was beautiful! Some beachgoers saw a big sea turtle in shallow water, and while we never saw the turtle, we did see a school of fish swimming in knee-deep water. We enjoyed the beautiful sun, sand, and clear water, and took the time to relax in a beach lounge chair. Following the beach portion of the excursion, we got back onto our bus and took a ride to Blackbeard's Hill with a visit to the pirate statues. We didn't have a ton of interest in this, but it was such a beautiful view from the hill that it is worth the visit just to climb to the top of the lookout tower and take photographs. From there, we shuttled down to the shopping area in St. Thomas where we enjoyed a nice lunch and shopped the many local tents and stores.
In Nassau, Bahamas we went on the Stingray Adventure tour and spent time at the beach. I was a little apprehensive to swim with stingrays initially, but after having seen the brave children in the water, I knew I could handle it. We were probably in the water with the stingrays for about an hour and half, and took some time to snorkel in the enclosed area to see the stingrays "hiding" in the sand at the bottom. They are slimy creatures, but friendly (especially since their barbs had been removed). We got to feed them squid, but it was an interesting experience trying to feed them while fish would come up and snatch food out of our hands. It was great, and I would recommend the experience to anyone! The Bahamas was beautiful, and on our next trip there we will probably take a trip over to the Atlantis resort.
The days at sea on Jewel of the Seas were spent watching a belly flop contest, horse-racing (not real horses) contest, playing BINGO (I haven't played BINGO since elementary school) and laying by the pool. Pool chairs go really quickly on 'at sea' days, and to get one, you need to be at the pool around 8-8:15 a.m. or plan on a shady spot. Otherwise, the chairs tend to free up again about 2 p.m. and you can get some prime spots.
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