Hello, I just returned from a cruise onboard the Jewel of the Seas to Scandinavia/Russia in August. Plusses...beautiful ship, did not feel the movement of the ship even in the roughest weather. Rooms are a bit small, but perfectly fine for us (we had a balcony room on deck 8). The Maitre D in the Tides dining room was a very nice man. A few great folks at guest services. Ports were wonderful, getting on and off the ship was no problem, Harwich was an easy way to start and end the cruise. Negatives...not nearly enough elevators. If you don't mind walking, use the ones at the front of the ship instead of those at the centrum, except for show times...they were almost always empty. Second negative...food in the dining room was not up to RCCL standards. Good nights...Italian night, the last Formal dinner night (Lobster night), fish was very good. Bad nights...Chateaubriand night, tasted like pot roast. Portofino resturaunt is excellent. Buffet was pretty good but finding a table is hard. We started grabbing a table first and then hitting the buffet by taking turns. Careful of the overhead heating elements in the buffet...I burnt my hand good! We got some nice deals at the art auctions and don't miss the ship intro on the first day while in Harwich...you go around and talk to the folks about the various activities onboard, gather raffle tickets and then they draw for prizes in the centrum. We won a free cruise dvd (glad it was free). Also won a NICE piece of art work at the drawing for the art auction on the last day. Cinema is hard to find, but we had fun looking for it! The Vortex bar is great too...at night and for a quiet spot during the day.
Carrie
Regal Princess/Alaska '99
RCCL's Enchantment of the Seas/Western Caribbean '00
RCCL's Jewel of the Seas/Scandinavia/Russia '04
