Jewel of The Seas, NOT What I Expected 

You need to be on the Oasis class ships for RC fun. Jewel is extremely laid back for the older crowd.

Some good info here, but you need to do more research before booking a cruise. The Royal commercial showing the rides and slides are showcasing Oasis and Quantum class ships, which are newer, flashier ships, have better entertainment and cost more. Jewel is a Radiance class ship and draws an older crowd who like more traditional, smaller ships that do not have as much for children, teens and younger adults. The activities and meet-ups that sadly did not draw people really indicates the sailing was likely at low capacity, hence the quick and easy embarkation. Excursions and drinks are pricey. Your excursion footage was great. Glad to hear the food was good. Your trip really was a bargain. Traveling solo you are booking a cabin for two, paying a little less than double the per person rate, and you got a balcony. Hope you still had a nice time overall!

2016 ship was dried dock, Jewel of the Seas is a good starter cruise……..I enjoyed it!!!!

awww. I was wondering about taking a jewelry class cruise. thanks for your input. much appreciated.

This was helpful. Thank you.

As soon as this video started, I knew this guy was a Carnival guy lol

Thank you for your honest, balanced review. My experience with activities was very similar on Vision of the Seas. Some of the activities were fun, but others were not held at all -- like all the spa "seminars" -- but they were listed. Aside from a few signature activities, it seemed like they put the very least amount of effort into them. I expected more!

Freedom of the Seas was great! You should try that one. Activities were awesome.

A good review and lets us know what to expect.

As for pre-paid tips, I look at those as a part of the cost of the cruise. Its passed on to the workers as a tip but lets face it, we are just subsidizing their salaries. Why would you tip for service you have not received yet? When I get onboard I tip cash to anyone who is going above and beyond to make sure I am having a good time. I tip my waiter and cabin stew extra at the end of the cruise if they provide good service. I do this just like I would at a restaurant, a hotel, or an excursion when I am at home. This incentivizes them to do good work to make sure your get the best experience possible. Also these people work for very little (per hour) and work long hours 6 or 7 days a week. I know its their choice, but the alternative for many of them is poverty back at home. These jobs are a way to escape poverty and support theirs families back home. I applaud them for that effort and sacrifice to be away from family months at a time. I want to reward that with a few dollars out of my pocket that means way more to them than it does to me.

Jewel is an older ship, hence it is cheaper. Spend the money to go on an RCL Oasis class, inside, with a virtual balcony.

You can bring 2 bottles of wine with youper stateroom on Royal

I appreciate the information and I don’t mind that we get the honest truth from your perspective. But I believe you should of compared this ship against another RC ship, not necessarily Carnival. Or a ship around its same age. I’ve done both lines and Celebrity…it’s true each line has a different vibe. But you kept going back and forth saying RC vs Carnival and then you would say Jewel of the Seas vs Carnival (the whole fleet). There really is no comparison between a ship like the Panorama which launched in 2018 versus a ship launched in 2004 Jewel of the Seas, it’s just an unfair comparison. I wasn’t sure if you were reviewing the ship or reviewing the cruise lines. Best wishes to you.

Even though I loved the ship, it's not everyone's style, your review is good for telling people what to expect.

Werd~yo, this is splendid - =)

We have been on roughly 20 cruises and are in our 60s. Went on the Jewel of the seas in April 2023 and it was the WORST cruise we have ever been on. Don't get me wrong we have done some fantastic Royal Caribbean cruises but being an older smaller ship really took away the ambience of a nice cruise. Too many negative things to mention so I'll just touch on a few. The cabin bathroom had mold growing in the ceiling air vent. It was so plugged you could here the air hissing. The balcony door was so corroded in the track it was very difficult to open and close. Rust on the balcony. The cabin was very worn looking. Dinged and scratched. The food was just ok. I've had better on Carnival cruises. Their soups in the buffet were by far the worst I've ever had. The chicken noodle soup had no chicken and no noodles and every night the soups were bad. Lacking body every time. We didn't go to the shows every night but one was a comedien and a juggler. The comedien wasn't at all funny and the juggler dropped a few balls and then explained his way out of it. I thought juggler gigs were for street corner entertainers living in their car. Come on Royal Caribbean you can do better than this even if it is an older ship. Save your money people and go on a newer bigger ship. Very disappointing.

This review made me so sad. We just booked a 9 night western Caribbean with Jewel of the seas and now I''m tempted to cancel :(

Royal says those singles and LGBTQ "events" are "self-led." It makes sense for a meet-up type of deal. I guess there wasn't anyone else looking to meet somebody on your cruise. I assume it's probably a hit or miss kinda thing cuz most people come with somebody, but good they "offer" it just in case it can help solos meet someone.

It seems like you didn't research the ship before you booked. Royal Caribbean has other ships that would be much more exciting for you, this is a classic sailing ship, not a floating amusement park.

The jewel was refurbished in 2016, you didn't do your homework!

I got on this one last week Jan 27 Horrible cruise!!! It was boring, maybe because it’s meant for older people idk. There wasn’t to much fun activities to do I even got food poisoning from a steak on the windjammer buffet on day 3. The cruise made it seem like it was a virus and activated the COVID protocol but the doctors told me that I got food poisoning and it wasn’t only me it 9:08 was a lot of people. I had to stay 36 hours in my room for nothing. I took a plane from Puerto Rico to Orlando so technically I lost my money on airplane tickets. Did they gave a refund? NO Would I go agaiN? ABSOLUTELY NOT Worst cruise i have ever been!!!!

bunk, I have never waited more than 10 minutes to board a CArnival ship, ever!!

Hi, thank you for the tips...going next month and it's such a let down listening to you and your experience. ☹️...

Your negative comments are based on you choosing the wrong ship, possible the wrong cruise line or type of travel. As an adult you realize the people on the shops give up their lives to take care of you so YES, you should additionally tip your cabin Stewart and servers. The company gratuity gets split between all the other crew.. you should not be a travel blogger unless it’s circuit parties or near weekends…sorry man.

Good feedback. Love your style. So many people wouldn’t point out something like the $5 higher price and not wanting to deal with the time to get it back. (But I would lol) is exactly what would irritate me while others are like “what’s the big deal?” I was extremely tempted to jump on these cheap balcony for $600-& $900. After a lot of back and forth choose Virgin inside cabin for $1200 🙄 (6night western Bahamas)

Is Sorrento’s Pizza on the ship?

I havean 11 days booked, and is not that cheap. Almost 4,000

That is my experience on RCL. activities and shows were disinterested at best. Crew was overly friendly, I felt like I was their counselor.

You griped the entire video about everything but the food.

A horrible cruise .just got off today.would not go on this ship again for free

If it’s insulting to you to be asked to tip for exceptional service, then you shouldn’t cruise or go to any service based events, cause you don’t get it.

again, bunk. the food in the buffet is same on both, and CArnival has MUCh more options that are included. That is not even up for debate. So this was a Carnival bash to begin with. Ugh just tells us what you liked and didnt

Couldn’t watch the whole video…too much negativity.

You are comparing walnuts to oranges!! Comparing Carnival's NEWEST ship in this video to RCI's oldest AND smallest is just down right DUMB and NOT video worthy!!!!!