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Oasis of the Seas

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Icon of the Seas

Easter Bunny and Family Fun!

Nadi

After reading all the negative reviews I almost did not book this old ship!   I am picky, really picky and I am a true "Karen".    I booked he one bedroom Owner's suite cabin.   This cabin was on deck 10 and near the elevator, which after pulling a hamstring days before the cruise was extremely helpful.  The towels were not exactly fluffy and yes the hot water handle fell off when I turned it on, but other than those two things it was fairly nice.  Plenty of storage, nice size shower, jacuzzi and three window walls for the view; has a little bit more room on the deck for two lounge chairs plus the other side has a small table and two more chairs.  The staff couldn't have been nicer.   

With approx 2100 passengers, it is a smaller ship, but that was what I wanted during Covid still rearing its ugly head.    The spa was excellent and I only used it because I had a $50.00 voucher which I used for reflexology which helped with the hamstring issue.  Eileen was awesome, she has a gift.   8 free drinks came along with our diamond status, the lounge for suite guests was slightly disappointing, but the cappuccino was great.  Room was cleaned twice a day.   Four water bottles and some Perrier was complimentary.  Meals were okay, I did order lobster and filet mignon for an additional charge.  Entertainment was perhaps not up to par with the bigger sips, but that was to be expected.   Lots of trivia, dancing, music, and the obligatory Bingo and please stop doing the fat guy belly flop contest which is so ridiculous.  Our  staff in the dining room were very accommodating.    It is a 1994 ship, and not renovated recently but traveling with great friends made it special.  

We went to Barbados, skipped Trinidad, loved loved Pigeon pint beach in Tobago, did a St Lucia SPENCER AMBROSE private boat tour to Sugar Beach and other sites which was fun (second time doing this). at St Martin we went to a friends time share beach which was lovely and had great food (like we needed more food).  Speaking of food the pizza by the pool & solarium was excellent.   Was the ship perfect, no was it worth the trip, yes it was.

Surprisingly pleased! Owner's Suite

Booked this cruise because of the itinerary.  I planned on visiting friends in both Barbados and Tobago, which I did.  The only problem with the itinerary is the San Juan departure port which is cumbersome to get to.  The Jewel although one of RCI's older ships was clean and well maintained and really doesn't show her age.  Some aspects like the tiny pools and small windjammer buffet do harken to previous eras, but that expected on a vessel this age. The biggest frustration on the Jewel was the main elevators, they are terrible!  They seem to have no logic to them and don't ever seem to stop on the 5th floor, of course the busiest floor.  The main atrium is the hub of the ship and is beautiful, but on this cruise there was always something going on and it was always loud, it kind of ruined the serenity of the space. The windjammer buffet was not as large as on modern ships and really had a limited offering, there was only one place you could get fried eggs in the morning for example.  By and large the general food quality was excellent and service in the main dinning room was impeccable. Our head waiter was the most involved and friendliest head waiter I have ever experienced on 15 cruises. The specialty restaurants were hit and miss. we had a wonderful time in the Italian but received terrible service from an over worked waiter in the steak house, also the steaks were all incorrectly cooked.  The cabin attendant was amazing, and even thought they only clean once a day now, the cabin was always presentable.  After being a RCI cruiser for over 25 years the one thing that was noticeable is the reduction in customer facing staff. Bars that used to have two or three bartenders now have one, open spaces like the pool deck or solarium that used to have multiple waiters now have one or none, the cruise directors staff numbers were also noticeably lower.  One of my biggest take always from this cruise was the increase in traffic on the southern islands.  The traffic on Trinidad and St. Maarten in particular was terrible. The ride to Moho Beach took over an hour and only a few years ago it took 20 minutes. I would take this cruise again but would stay close to the piers to avoid traffic and I would avoid the steak house restaurant do to the terrible service there.

Southern Caribbean Getaway

Long-time RCL cruisers. First AND LAST time we let them choose our room (we were just going along with our group).

I should have known as soon as I opened the first drawer on the chipped dresser and the front of it fell off! Had to pound it back together.

Our veranda was a rusty mess! In need of paint but not on the floor and table that was splattered with old paint.  We had soot rain down on the veranda from an unknown source???

I was told they couldn't move us because the ship was full.  So we Diamond members got the room that no one would want BUT RC SOLD ANYWAY!

No complaints about the staff. They tried. 

But RC needs to stop putting out new ships and either scrap or fix up the older ones!  Our travel mates went without hot water for a day and a half!

AND we were never told beforehand, but they stopped room attendant service twice a day. You had to decide the first day if you wanted it early or late.  Good thing we decided early, because our friends had theirs arrive as they were showering for dinner almost every night so they had to turn them away more times than not!

Not even sure if this is across the board or just on this ship. We are loyal RCL cruisers, but things are slipping as they keep trying to outdo themselves.

 We love the Oasis class ships but should expect the same level of service on all ships.  We chose this for its itinerary that included ports we previously hadn't seen. (They should drop Trinidad. It was nothing but a big, scary city. Not an island getaway.)

I am voicing this here because RCL review forms don't allow us to elaborate.

Disappointing Experience for Longtime RCL Cruisers

This was a great trip. The Jewel is one of the smaller ships but it was perfect for this intinerary because it was so port-heavy. I wouldn't reccomend getting the drink package on this one. It seems like a great idea at first but if you plan to leave the ship every day to visit the islands, it would be more economical to just buy your drinks individually. 

We chose this cruise because we've never been to Trinidad or Tobago and we were so happy to finally get to see those islands. Our St. Lucia excursion was probably my favorite: we did the 4x4 Waterfall and Beach Adventure. It was excellent. 

Onboard, we always try to make sure we attend the Love & Marriage Gameshow and the Crazy Quest.  They are both so much fun and this time did not disappoint.  

There was never a lack of entertainment, food or things to do and the staff, of course, was phenomenal. The Belly Flop contest and World's Sexiest Man are also lots of fun. There was lots of dancing and the Sparkle Band and the Caribbean Band were playing somewhere almost all the time. 

Next time I think we'll bring our 70's attire. So many people dressed up and it was an awesome display.

See my full LIVE review and photos here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2987601-jewel-of-the-seas-jan-27-feb-3-2024-live-review/

Lots to do and a port-heavy itinerary!

We chose this cruise because we like the Radiance class ships and for the port intensive itinerary.  Here is a recap of our cruise and final thoughts after returning.

Recap & Final thoughts:

Pre Cruise stay:  2 nights at Condado Ocean Club.  Premium Oceanview room.  We really liked this hotel. It was clean and the bed was amazingly comfortable.  Staff was helpful and friendly.  The view from the room was amazing & honestly the main reason I booked.  Pool & beach area was awesome.  They give you 2 free drink vouchers for the hotel bar and 15% off coupon for the store in the lobby.  Within walking distance, There was a ton of food choices, liquor stores, shopping, including a CVS & Walgreens too for those pre cruise necessities.  Walgreens also had wine and beer for the hotel room or if you need to pickup wine for carryon to the ship.  The hotel restaurant was really good.  Cost was more than we would usually spend for a normal 1 night pre cruise stay but because we wanted to spend a whole day in San Juan we chose this hotel for beach and pool access with a ocean view. 

Downside is there is not a free shuttle to the hotel or port and they do have free continental breakfast (although the restaurant is open for breakfast).  Non of these were important to us.  Starbucks was a short walk.

We would absolutely come back to this hotel without hesitation.

Embarkation: We used Uber for all rides in San Juan.  It was super easy.  

Our set time was 12.  We decided to try and go a little early so we set the Uber for 10:30 pickup.  There was a line for luggage drop since the porters did not start taking luggage until around 11.  Suite line was held up by a large group with birth certificate issues but still faster than the general boarding line.  The x ray machine quit working for our line so that held us up a few more minutes.  Even with the issues we were still onboard before noon. 

Ship:  Jewel will be 20 years old this April.  She is clean & well maintained but she does show some wear & tear as you would expect from a 20 year old ship.  The one thing that stuck out to me was the glass.  Some panes in the roof of the solarium were broken and some around the ship were fogged over.  Those were an eye sore.  For perspective, We enjoy the Radiance, Voyager and Freedom classes of ships the most.  If you’re looking for a lot of bells & whistles like the new ships you will be disappointed with Jewel.

Cabin: Grand Suite.  On the hump next to the royal suite.  Loved this cabin.  It’s right outside the centrum elevator bank & stairwell which was super convenient.  There was noise at night from centrum activity/music etc.  I would take that into consideration if you are light sleeper & like to go to bed early.  It didn’t bother us at all but there were times we noticed it.  The balcony is a bit bigger and shaped differently because it’s on the hump but because of the shape the more forward balconies are clearly visible.  I can see how some would want more privacy but the view was amazing. There was 1 lounger, 2 chairs and a table on the balcony.  The sliding doors were a big double door that I liked.  Everything in the cabin was in good working order.

Room Steward James was great.  Loved his towel animals.  Cleaning was on point & he was always asking if we needed anything.

Dining: We had 3 night specialty dining package.  Food was all great.  We had Chops and Giovanni’s dinner in the cabin which we loved & only was possible because of the suite & Edna the concierge.  We don’t like sitting at dinner for hours.  

Chops filets were great as usual.

Giovanni filet was just as good as Chops.  Izumi we went to the restaurant.  We love the Udon.  I enjoyed the Warm chocolate cake dessert.  

No complaints with any of the specialty restaurants.  

MDR - we only went once on the lobster night.  Lobster was good but not enough.  Very glad we got the tortellini as well.  Wait staff was good but I was a bit annoyed the head waiter made a point of saying several times we only came once and wanted to make sure we gave him all 10s on the survey and wanted to push dessert on us like that would somehow effect our rating.  We already told him he would get a good rating and we didn’t want dessert twice but it was his pestering that annoyed me.  I shouldn’t have to decline dessert 3 times.  

Bar Service:  Outstanding bar tenders were in Vintages and the casino.  Jarvis was a stand out in Vintages.  Sam in the concierge lounge too.

I missed being able to get Grolsh and new castle in the pub since Jewel does not have a Pub.

Some of the drinks in the solarium were not right or tasted off from what we ordered.  

Entertainment:  We typically don’t attend any production shows but we did 2 headliner shows this cruise.  All of these performers were from America’s Got Talent type shows in the past.  Chris Dugdale was entertaining.  Mostly card tricks.  Gold Duo was good too.  I would describe their show as along the same lines as cirque shows.  Acrobatics mixed with dance.

Ports:  The port intensive itinerary was the highlight of this cruise.  

Barbados:  Can’t recommend the Elegance Catamaran tour enough.  We did the lunch cruise (4hrs).  We loved it.  They limit to 12 people.  Crew was awesome.  Just a great day to be out on the turquoise water.  A couple stops for snorkeling and swimming.  Drinks and lunch included.  Cruised up and down the coast and did some sailing.  Taxi to and from were included in cost.  There was some time leftover to wander the shops at the port.  Private excursion - not through royal.  I would do this again without hesitation.

Trinidad:  Maracas Beach Break through Royal.  We enjoyed this beach.  The downside by far is the amount of bus time.  It was a solid 45 minutes to get there and an hour back.  Roads are extensive windy and sketchy in a few spots.  The views from the scenic overlook were amazing.  

Water was a good temp but a bit rough.  I liked jumping the waves but it beats you after awhile out there.

We liked the Bake n Shark.  Beers and soft drinks readily available.  $4 each for beers.

Beach vendors everywhere but not pushy.

Little bit annoying that 2 chairs and umbrella cost $20.

We were glad we did this excursion but if we were to return to Trinidad again we would do something else or stay on the ship.

Tobago:  This was our least favorite port.  Taxi drivers were plentiful outside the port gates and some were aggressive.  We just wandered and had some local beers while enjoying the view.  Shopping wasn’t good.   Basically not much to do right off the ship.  If we were to come here again I would try an excursion through royal.  Mt Irvine Beach break and the nature preserve excursion were ones that were at the top of our list but we just didn’t feel like it that particular day.

St. Lucia:  West Coast Catamaran Cruise through Royal (6 hrs).  We also loved this excursion.  There were a lot of people but still plenty of room on the boat.  Included lunch,  rum punch, soft drinks etc.  Beers had to be bought from the vendors who came up to the boats at the stops for snorkeling and swimming.  We cruised up and down the coast.  Amazing views.  Visited different bays including Rodney Bay and Marigot Bay then cruised to the Pitons.  We anchored at the base of the Pitons for a swim/beach stop.  It was a good time with great views.  If you get sea sick easily I would stay away from this excursion.  It’s a long time on the boat.  We had some weather that made the water pretty rough & we were bouncing pretty good a lot of the time.

I should note that this excursion compared to the elegance catamaran in barbados were the same in concept but totally differing vibes.  The elegance was more relaxing and waayyyy less people on a smaller boat.  The  lucia catamaran was more of a party atmosphere with a ton of people and a bigger - double decker catamaran.  I am glad we did both.

St.  Maarten:  Loved St.  Maarten!  Great shopping port.  We took the water taxi over to Great Bay beach and just wandered, shopped and bar hopped.  Stand outs were Blue Bit** Bar and Dutch Blonde Bar.  The Dutch Blonde Beer was my favorite of the trip.  We never made it to a beach chair & didn’t swim but I would get off the ship earlier next time if that was important to me.  I wouldn’t mind doing a catamaran cruise here on a different visit.  The water color and clarity were amazing.

Suite Lounge/concierge:

I like the concierge lounge on Jewel a lot.  It has a bar in it with bar seating which I like.  It’s a decent size with comfort seats and the outside seating is a nice bonus.  

We got the pre dinner snacks most nights and the free drinks from 5-8 each night was very handy since I didn’t get a drink package this cruise.  The food was generally good and they switched it up so it was different each night.

The coffee machine in the morning is fantastic.  It does regular coffee (Americano), Cappuccino, Lattes,  Decafs, plain hot water etc.  I prefer it over the in-room machine.  There’s breakfast finger foods available each morning along with water, juice and teas.

Chops breakfast was every morning for suites/pinnacles following the same time schedule as MDR.  We went a few times and much prefer it over the jammer. Omelet was really good.  Service was fast and attentive.  Always had a great window table with a view.

Concierge was Edna.  She’s wonderful!  We enjoyed her energy & personality.  One of, if not the best, concierge we’ve had.  She pre scheduled our specialty dinners, arranged in room dining.  Generally helpful & available.

WiFi- Mostly good but slowed down at times particularly in the cabin late night for some reason.  The wifi is better than it used to be but still could be better.

Debarking:  Suites meet up time was either 8:15, 8:30 or 8:45 in schooner.  We chose 8:15 and were off the ship in literally 2-3 minutes.  Edna walked us off and to bags to the customs line.  

Bottom line, we loved this cruise and would do the same cruise again tomorrow if we could!

Jewel Southern Caribbean

Skagway

Booked a smaller ship thinking that overcrowding wouldn’t be as big of a problem as in past cruises. Boy, was I wrong, and add to that a dated jalopy of a ship to spend a week on. Don’t waste your money on this pile of garbage unless you like the hum and flicker of CFL light bulbs that *might* work if you’re lucky. One of them in our stateroom was like a strobe light and two other lights just didn’t work at all. 

The ship was overcrowded and smelled of sewage on day 5. Other passengers were pushy and stressed, probably because of the living conditions. If I had the opportunity to leave at day 2, I would have walked out, but they have you stuck there. 

The buffet food wasn’t horrible, but it was tough to find clean dishes and silverware. One of the staff in the Windjammer was a touchy creeper who wouldn’t leave me alone, so I had to find another place to enjoy my food in the morning. 

Internet is $170 for the week and doesn’t work half the time, so don’t waste your money. 

They tack on an automatic gratuity to each purchase. Even if you don’t have a great experience with a server, they still make a handsome tip, especially because everything is so expensive. Had Japanese one night and got the $40 special and two $7 beers, the total was just north of $70. The math doesn’t math. 

If you want to spend $10 on a lukewarm Bud Light, then cruising is for you. If you like to get trampled on your way out of an elevator because the whole place is overcrowded, have at it. 

Pro tip: don’t order a steak.

Not great. 

Lots of issues on this cruise.

Entertainment:

1. All entertainment was geared to one group of people.  Everything was in Spanish.

2. Whether you were in Safari Club, Vortex or in center by Christmas/bar, all entertainment was in Spanish.

Disabilities:

1. There was no assistance for people with disabilities upon leaving for excursions.  You were expected to walk down three flights of stairs.

Language-only Spanish was spoken.  Not everyone spoke Spanish:

1. I was spoken to in Spanish no matter where I went.  upon entering Windjammer, leaving and entering ship, dining room, walking in ship.

Food-Windjammer:

1. Food on windjammer was always cold. Not warm, cold. 

2. I stood in omelette line for a ham and cheese omelette. I was told that they are not prepared here. I was told that I had to take a cold, pre-prepared one from around the corner.

3. Burgers were so overcooked that they were like hockey pucks

4. Menu was the same everyday.  Beans, rice, chicken this, chicken that way and chicken all around.

5. Could not get pizza nor ice cream except during certain hours.

Food-Tides Dining room:

1. Ordered a NY strip steak.  It was hard and tasted like cardboard that I could not eat

2. Next night I ordered fish, it was tough, could not cut with knife - uneatable.  

3. Ordered jerk pork chop.  It was so overcooked that I could not cut with table knife.  I then requested a steak knife and I still could not cut it because it was so hard.  My friends told me that it look like I had carpel tunnel trying to cut it. Could not eat.

Awful cruise

Kelang (Kuala Lumpur)

Good stuff first, food was good the dining service staff Cynthia and Sandeep were awesome. Our room Stewart Clarke very friendly did a great job.  PEI tour was great.  That was the reason we went. My wife is big fan of the Ann of green gables. Getting on was the normal made house stuff you get while getting on a big ship.

The tours :Cabot trail was a few stops enclosing a stop at a closed college for 45 mins to run 50 people through 3 restrooms. It was 7 hours of riding around. The lunch was supposed to be a lobster buffet, it was a box lunch with a tiny piece of lobster tail.  The hop on and off in St John was 90 mins of stops were nothing was open. The reversing rapids was the only place to get off. Portland tour was boring except for the light house.  Saganay was the fjords was good. Had to buy our own lunch along with 100 other people in one restaurant.  They had sandwiches made up ahead of time.

The ship: a Diet Coke was $4.13. A bottle of wine I found at Walmart for $9.28 was $52.00. The all drink package was for the week $1000. They used their internet for announcements, but you had to sign up for the package for the week $450. We asked for the paper, schedule and Clarke got it to us.  The windjammer  was always crowded and noisy. The entertainment was not great, the singer Max couldn’t  carry a tune in a bucket. The Alley Cats and the comedians were good.

After PEI I was ready to fly home. When got to Boston I almost did. We will never do this again. We found river boat cruising a much better venue. And it’s all exclusive. Why we did not sail to NYC after Boston, is confusing to me. We could have made by morning, instead we sailed south and east form Boston instead of south around Long Island. Yeah I know it was another  day to spend more money on their cruise line. 2 electrical outlines in the room. Try charging 2 cell phone and other stuff. The hair dryer could not be used in the bathroom. Only electric raisers

Not ready for prime time

Kona (Kailua Bay)

Let me start with this: I love cruising. I've been on 15+ cruises, from the Odyssey of the Seas to the Nordic Prince that was retired ages ago, from RCCL to Princess to Celebrity to Norwegian to Holland America, and more. As cruises go, this was one I won't ever do again.  This was supposed to be a "Fall Colors" cruise, but we missed the colors by a couple weeks, I think, as most trees were bare and leaves were on the ground. Of course, it's just luck to actually be on the cruise that has the best colors, but if we were to do this again, we'd probably shoot for the first week of October instead of October 20-30 to try to see the best fall foliage that New England and Canada have to offer. As for the rest, let me break this down a bit:

The ship:

The Jewel of the Seas is old, and she's showing her age. There are two outlets over the desk (as is normal on these older ships) and these are the only power source in the room, so if you have a CPAP and need to plug in a portable refrigerator (because the refrigerators in the cabin are clearly labeled as "coolers only" that don't actually refrigerate anything such as medications that must remain cold), then just cross your fingers that your power cord extender makes it through security, or give up all hope of charging your iPad, cell phone, and laptop (and if you are traveling as a couple, you may have two of each of those). Alternatively, bring your cruise-friendly USB charging bank and you *might* get that through security, though they tried to take that away from my sister as well because...well...lack of training? Who knows. Something was off with the plumbing, as our bathroom smelled distinctly like an outhouse/port-o-potty the entire cruise. At first I thought maybe the cabin steward had just not cleaned adequately, but I didn't see evidence of urine in the bathroom and it was stronger in smell whenever we flushed.  The bed was incredibly hard, with no padding whatsoever over the vinyl-topped mattress. After a couple nights we asked if there was a mattress pad available, and we were told that the boat didn't have enough for every bed (they were thrown away during COVID and never replaced...didn't know COVID was transmitted through mattress pads...) and they were all being used. Our cabin steward attempted to soften the bed a bit by putting a couple extra blankets under the fitted sheet, but the solution was only marginally helpful.  And then there's the food. I know that RCCL is trying to cut costs, and I know that if you want "good" food now, you must shell out upwards of $60 per person to eat in the specialty restaurants, but there were times that the food was nearly inedible, especially in the Windjammer which offered very little variety and featured food that spent much too much time sitting under warming lights. One morning, the pancakes had been sitting out so long under heating lamps that they were literally pancake chips--and drowning them in syrup didn't even begin to soften them. On "Mexican night" in the main dining room, the "pulled pork enchilada with refried beans" was pork wrapped in a tortilla, served over a bed of baked beans, with a pool of barbecue sauce next to it. When the waiter came to our table to ask how we enjoyed our food and we told him that this wasn't an enchilada, he quickly explained that many people on the ship don't like spicy foods so they keep it very bland. Of course, the jerk chicken on "Caribbean night" had plenty of spice, so I'm not sure why he felt he needed to justify the culinary misstep. In addition, all food venues closed at 9 p.m. on the Jewel, with the exception of a small counter in the solarium that handed out sandwiches, pizza, and cookies (when they had any prepared) until 1 a.m.  Long gone are the days of the midnight buffet, I understand, but 9 p.m.? The second show in the main theater is just starting at 9 p.m., and people are populating the bars with gusto at that hour. All these folks would appreciate some food a little later at night, but alas. Cutting costs means cutting food service, apparently. 

Ports:

I'll briefly cover our stops one by one:

Boston: I actually very much enjoy Boston as a city to visit, but it was quite cold the day we were there, and the hop-on-hop-off trolley tour which we chose as our excursion was crowded beyond belief. We didn't dare hop off for fear of never getting back on again; when we did get off finally at Faneuil Hall, we ended up walking back to the main trolley station where we had to order an Uber because the "15 to 20 minutes" they told us it would take for a bus back to the dock had turned into 45 minutes and our gangway-up time was getting close.  The trolley driver we had was great--very knowledgeable and funny. But Boston simply isn't a place you can really appreciate in a day. Less is more if you are choosing an excursion in Boston. Don't even try to see it all or you will end up disappointed. One tip: Book your trolley tickets independently. The cost was less than what the cruise ship was selling them for, and there's a trolley stop at the end of the pier where the ship docks, so it's easy to hop on and at that time of day at that stop, the trolley is basically empty. The folks who booked through RCCL were put on a bus and transported to the first stop of the trolley tour, then were made to stand in line and wait for trolleys with empty seats. We bypassed them and saved a LOT of time getting our own tickets. Don't book through RCCL. DO try to get to Mike's bakery in Boston for a cannoli--but bring cash. They don't take cards.

Portland:  This is such a picturesque town, and this time we opted for a private excursion that took us around the city with a stop at the Portland Head Light lighthouse. The tour was interesting and the lighthouse was beautiful. Unfortunately, although we were there on a Monday, many places (shops and bakeries, primarily, as we wanted to savor a famed Whoopie Pie) were closed for the season already. This was a common theme at may ports throughout the cruise--they don't wait for the end-of-season cruises to come before closing up shops. We did make the BEST decision of our cruise by eating lunch at Becky's Diner; if you haven't had a lobster roll at Becky's diner, you haven't really had a lobster roll.

Saint John, New Brunswick:  This was the first of a couple stops that I will call "The Best at-Sea Port Days" of the cruise. Saint John is a small town with little to offer by way of tourism. If you do a Google search on "Best things to do in Saint John, N.B." you'll see what I mean. The tourism folks in Saint John do their best to make it seem like the tides at the famous "reversing rapids" will be life-changing, but the truth is, you'll stand on the side of the road with two hundred other people watching water go by and if you're lucky, if the tide is going up when you happen to be there, you'll see some whirlpooling on the water's surface. Or, if you are a drinker who doesn't mind throwing a few back before lunch, there's the brewery option.  We opted for the "BIG Pink Sightseeing" bus excursion, which is a hop-on-hop-off excursion offered ONLY to cruise passengers and for which tickets can only be purchased as a cruise excursion. It was about an hour and a half round trip on a recycled British double-decker bus that could use a bit of maintenance, but it was a decent enough way to spend 90 minutes before hopping off for some tourist-driven shopping downtown (the usual array of t-shirts and handmade trinkets), and we did meander through the famed "Saint John City Market" which, if you live anywhere that hosts community boutiques where people sell their jams and crafts, you'll know what to expect. I noticed that one of the available excursions was a visit to this market, but we were in and out in 10 minutes, so I definitely wouldn't pay whatever outrageous sum Royal Caribbean is asking to drive you there. Next time we visit Saint John, we'll just stay on the boat all day.

Sydney, Nova Scotia: The only good thing about Sydney is that it made Saint John seem like a pretty interesting port of call. This was the second "Best at-sea Port Day" of the cruise. The top attraction (Google it!) in Sydney is "The Big Fiddle," which is exactly what it sounds like: A huge fiddle sculpture that sits on the end of the cruise port pier. You can see it from the boat. Sydney was all downhill (ironic, as to get into the city it's a bit of an uphill climb) from there. When we were there, most of the roads that featured any kind of shopping were torn out and barricaded.  There was a distinct prevalence of three types of stores that told us exactly what there is to do in Sydney: bars/pubs, sex toy shops (right there in the windows, so don't bring the kids on a leisurely stroll downtown), and crafting stores. One intoxicated, homeless gentleman told us that if we really wanted some fun, we should rent a car and drive out to the casino somewhere. Seriously, Sydney is an embarrassment. Whomever is in charge of city management and economic development should be fired immediately and replaced with someone who actually cares about Sydney, because it certainly doesn't seem to be a place anyone loves. I suppose it has low port fees and thus RCCL is drawn to it as a port of call, but don't even waste your time or money getting off the ship. I will say that the only thing that redeemed Sydney for me was stumbling upon a couple of old (by North American standards) churches that at least provided a shining moment of "Oh, interesting..." in an otherwise very dead, pointless town. It's disappointing, as the city is set in a very picturesque area that has much unrealized, untapped potential. The best shopping was in the cruise terminal next to the boat. If you must stretch your land-legs, just wander through the terminal and hop back on in time for lunch. Or honestly, breakfast. That's how long it will take you to experience the wonders of Sydney.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: Visiting P.E.I. has been on my bucket list for a long time. I grew up with the "Anne of Green Gables" stories, and even watched the movies again before the cruise. And our excursion out to the Anne of Green Gables homestead did not disappoint. Well, the tour itself disappointed as our particular tour guide felt that instead of telling us about the farms and factories and economy and agriculture and weather and history of Prince Edward Island, it was much more important to spew her personal beliefs about climate change (which is apparently responsible for every single thing she dislikes about living on P.E.I.) and overuse of plastics. She said that P.E.I. produces 1/4 of the world's potatoes (nope--only of Canada's potatoes) and a few other false facts (I looked them up as we drove). On occasion we'd pass an interesting-looking building and she'd murmur, "I think that's a...laboratory of some kind?" Pretty sure it was her job to know. So the bus ride and "tour" (which didn't say a THING about the Anne of Green Gables stories and almost nothing about Lucy Maud Montgomery--the most famous person to live on P.E.I and author of the Anne stories) were a total flop. But even with the rambling idiot in the front of the bus droning on about her snowless winter last year, the landscape is gorgeous, and when we finally arrived at the Anne of Green Gables location, the homestead was delightful and the visitor's center is loaded with interesting stories and exhibits. Granted, you have to know and love the Anne of Green Gables stories for this place to make much sense. My sister and I were in heaven; our two husbands sat on a bench munching on Beaver Tail donuts and checking their watches. So, DO go to Anne of Green Gables when you visit P.E.I., but brush up on the life of L.M. Montgomery and the stories she wrote before you go and your experience will be enhanced an hundred-fold.  After the tour, we wandered the streets and port of Charlottetown and found it to be quaint and picturesque. I could go back for a few more days to P.E.I. and spend more time exploring its treasures.

Saguenay, Q.C.: Admittedly, when I Googled "Saguenay" before our trip, I was certain that this would be yet another "Best at-sea port day." A couple things changed my mind: First, the townsfolk met us on the dock dressed in costumes, walking on stilts, juggling, and handing out maple syrup candies that just made us feel so welcome! It was snowing and freezing, but that didn't stop the townsfolk from coming out, and I appreciated that! We didn't have an excursion planned (the only real thing to do is hike/walk/stroll and whatever other verbs RCCL can come up with to describe ways to explore the nearby national forest) and thought we'd just wander the town a bit, but it was bitterly cold and we were quite happy to discover that there was a hop-on-hop-off bus offered in the cruise terminal which we readily purchased. The bus takes you out to Saguenay proper (the ship docks in La Baie, which is about a 30-minute drive from Saguenay), and our first hop-off was at a glass-blower's shop. Now, this isn't a stop for everyone, but I have blown glass myself and make stained glass, so I wanted to see what this shop had to offer, and we found some exquisite work inside. There is an excursion featuring the crafts of Saguenay, but it was full almost instantly and I regret not getting tickets.  Next, we hopped off the bus in the downtown area and visited the Saint-François-Xavier Cathedral. By North American standards, this church is old, and it's gorgeous. If you love visiting old churches, don't miss this one. We wandered down the main shopping district next, and unfortunately we were there on a Sunday and most shops were closed. We found a lovely French bakery and enjoyed some pastries and hot cocoa, then hopped back on the bus again for a ride back to the port. The cruise up the Saguenay river was probably extraordinarily beautiful, but RCCL decided to go up the river in the darkness of early morning and then head back down in the darkness of night, so we didn't get to see it. I wish that RCCL had treated this little river cruise like they have handled fjord excursions in Alaska, making the trip up the river a part of the experience. That's a missed opportunity by RCCL.

Quebec City: This was our disembarkation city, and we were met with snow and very, very cold temperatures. Flights out of Quebec are limited and expensive, so we opted to transfer to the train station (VIA rail) and take a ride up to Montreal, where we spent the night before boarding our flights home. I wish we had spent a day or two in Quebec, as it's a beautiful city and I think we missed out on some sightseeing.  We went to Guest Services on the ship a couple days before disembarkation to ask about transfers to the train station, and we were informed that they only do transfers to the airport. The result of this poor decision-making (as if RCCL has never disembarked in Quebec before) was that HUNDREDS of people were stuck in the cruise terminal trying to get Ubers that were never available because we ALL needed to catch trains out of Quebec. Finally, after a good hour of a lot of angry people, RCCL started loading some of their airport shuttle busses with train passengers and transporting us to the train station. Google maps suggests that the train station is an easy walk from the port, but perhaps we docked somewhere unexpected because it would have been easily a 20-minute walk dragging all our luggage through the snow and cold. Walking was NOT an option.

So, in sum: Don't sail the Jewel, don't sail on ships that stop in Saint John or Sydney, DO explore Boston, Portland, Charlottetown, Saguenay, and Quebec. Do pre-arrange a ride from the port to the train station in Quebec.  Do try to avoid cruises that make Sunday stops in locations you want to explore. Do spend some time reading reviews before booking excursions that will ultimately be a disappointment. I still love cruising, and there were absolutely some highlights of this particular experience. But I wouldn't do this exact cruise, on this exact boat, ever again.

Old Ship, Poor Food, Hit-and-Miss Ports of Call

We booked this 22 months ahead of time. We were unable to get our favorite cabin, JS. We did not like the balcony cabin! Way too small for us. I can't remember how many times we ran into each other between the bed and door. 

The Jewel of the Seas is old, built in 2004 and updated in 2016. It needs so much work. Paint peeling, titles cracked, Wi-Fi was almost nonexistent. unless you were in the Windjammer. Text messages on their app did not always go through. Back to post-it notes.

The food was ok. Nothing over the top in the Main Dinning Room. I found it average for the most part. Sometimes the food came to our table warm, not hot. We were by the kitchen and sometimes it seemed to take forever to get our meals. Found out there are only 14 menus that rotate each cruise. So much for variety.

The service was great! Our servers were on top of everything. Very attentive. We ran into each of them at different times having a meal on the ship. We were lucky to have them wait on us at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

No evening entertainment. Part of the problem was that Halifax was canceled due to the hurricane. Many entertainers where there waiting to be picked up by the ship. The BEST was the DUO QUINTESSENCE!!! WOW, what a show!  Liverpool Legends were fun to sing along with. Jeff Taveggia was fun to watch. Kuba, very interesting. Alley Cats, old and lacked energy. I left two shows, Etta May, and Scott Record, they were terrible.

We would go again on a different ship to Greenland!

Jewel is Old, Itinerary was Wonderful

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