‘Jewel of the Seas’: Designed To Please
By Roger J. Ritchie
As cruise ships grow in size, the lines are creating “generations” within their own fleets—such as the four Millennium-class Celebrity ships and the four Radiance-class Royal Caribbean ships (at close to 90,000 tons). Theses quartets are now surpassed in size by the next generation of new-builds slated for these and other cruise lines. This writer sampled the Jewel of the Seas from the RCI cruise-quartet on an autumn transatlantic voyage from England’s southern port of Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This was one of the increasingly popular re-positioning sailings that each year provide attractive options in sea transportation in both directions—now that the seasonal migration across the Atlantic has expanded to well over a dozen cruise ships.
The Jewel’s early-November 2007 voyage called at La Coruna, Spain and Funchal, Madeira. The trans-Atlantic cruises usually make two calls and stay south—Florida’s latitude—to enjoy the better South Atlantic weather for the crossing,
The Ship—A Jewel—no less . . .
All of the 90,000 tons of the Royal Caribbean International’s Jewel of the Seas are designed to please. From its quiet motive power to its dazzling atrium this is a floating pleasure dome that calmly sails to a wide range of destinations without any apparent effort. Its huge windows create this impression of effortless engineering in spite of the ship’s huge open spaces and interior vistas. Jewel is 963 feet long and 106 feet wide.
The large majority of cabins have balconies and all the public facilities are on a scale that exceeds the maximum possible demands of a full passenger loading. On my voyage, the passenger count at about 300 passengers short of the maximum (of about 2,200) illustrated the easy accommodation of the highest probable demand for any space or facility. Just out of dry dock in October, 2007 for this trans-Atlantic sailing to the USA, the ship looked brand new, although the Jewel’s maiden voyage took place in May, 2004.
An engineering triumph—behind the snazzy scenes . . .
For the ship enthusiasts the Jewel of the Seas is a discrete engineering masterpiece. It employs a pair of gas turbines to drive the generators for its two outboard, electric Azipod engine units. The interior of the ship offers amazing spaces free from any apparent need for support! At the same time the Jewel touches lightly on the environment—it being a pioneer in “green” technology and smoke-free operation. Jewel is one of Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance class of vessel and their largest—she can (just) squeeze through the Panama Canal
All roads lead to the Centrum . . .
Jewel of the Seas is configured to encourage all internal traffic to pass to, and through, the huge mid-ship atrium called the Centrum. This space is a dazzlement that truly expresses the Royal Caribbean dedication to being anything but ordinary. The Centrum is 12 stories high and day lighted over its dizzying height. The space is overlooked by many of the facilities of the ship—bars, lounges, espresso café, library and business center. It is almost impossible to pass by on any level and not look around—up or down—to see the action. It is the social hub of the ship and a nonstop entertainment in itself. Further animation is provided by the two glass bubble elevators popping up from below and disappearing into the 13th deck above.
The ship’s traffic centralization is re-enforced by the mid-ship grouping of nine passenger elevators. Four glass-enclosed capsules in a remarkable ocean-windowed tower (on the port side) and two of these capsules in the adjacent Centrum space, a few feet away.
Tailored to the Royal Caribbean style of cruising . . .
As one of the RCI’s rapidly expanding fleet of ships, finely tuned to the line’s concept of what a cruise should offer, the Jewel is configured to support an exhaustively researched set of expectations. The Centrum social hub and the full activity roster tend to create a lively onboard atmosphere, certainly nurtured by the layout of the ship. Music floats up through the atrium at all hours to maintain the lively atmosphere.
But, at the same time, Royal Caribbean is a little old fashioned—the traditional cruise ship activities are still enthusiastically pursued—the bingo, the horse races, the party games, and the competitions. And, of course lobster night in the two-level Tides Dining Room.
Jewel has all the spaces needed to accommodate the eager participants of these fun activities and, blessedly, plenty of quiet room for those who choose not to join in.
Royal Caribbean’s “keep it light” cruising . . .
The Jewel of the Seas is light-hearted in its décor: amusing touches abound and the sparkle of the fittings is not discrete. They are all planned to promote a holiday atmosphere. No tasteful London Club emulations on this ship! A cheerful wittiness prevails over the interior designs. This is no place like home.
The layout of the ship consists of six all-passenger decks (Decks 7 to 10 and Decks 3 and 4). Decks 5 and 6 accommodate most of the passenger public rooms while additional public spaces are located in the upper reaches of the ship where Deck 11 and 12 have lots to offer. The RCI signature high-flying disco lounge crowns the ship on Deck 13. The anticipated theatre and dining room placement anchors Decks 5 and 6 fore and aft respectively, although the two-level Tides Dining Room’s extends down to Deck 4. Between these two huge “rooms” on these decks are the Casino, the Shopping center, the Conference Center, the photo gallery, the Pit Stop Bar, and the mini-cinema. At the aft of Deck 6, a cluster of facilities includes: the Safari Club lounge; the Card Room, and the promenade-style Schooner Bar. The music venue in the Schooner Bar also serves as the foyer for the two alternative restaurants—Portofino and Chops Grille.
The non-stop eating experience . . .
The eating options are practically round-the-clock with the pre-assigned dinner tables in the two-seating Tides Dining Room (Decks 5 and 6) and the always alternative Windjammer Café with its varied buffet presentations up on Deck 11. Breakfast and luncheon are served in the Dining Room as well as the Windjammer. Additional places open to see that hunger never strikes—the Seaview Café (Deck 12) for the afternoon and late evening and the pizzeria (and crepérie) in the Solarium Pool zone (Deck 11 forward).
The constantly changing Tides menus feature Continental selections and a different theme each evening that refreshes the selection and provided this passenger with tasty meals every time.
The change-of-pace place . . .
As an option to the splendid volume of the two-story-high main dining room, Jewel offers two themed restaurants – the Italian-themed Portofino and the steakhouse cuisine of Chops Grille. A $20 surcharge is levied for these dining locations, which were very well rated by the transatlantic patrons on my voyage. They are quiet places with discrete, attentive service, widely spaced tables and a good feeling for their “special event” role. The atmosphere is that of an urbane city restaurant in Milan or New York respectively.
Sweet dreams and good views . . .
Royal Caribbean won my favor immediately on arrival in my cabin; real coat hangers, and lots of them. None of those fiddling toggle-topped hangers, one of my pet peeves, afloat and ashore! Wardrobe storage is as good as or a little better than most ships of this class. The Jewel’s comfortable cabins also offer a full-length mirror for easy checking of your back view via the dressing-table mirror. The cabin maintenance is impeccable and the bedding is elegantly inviting with pillow-topped mattresses and attractive coverlets. RCI places the mini sofa inboard in the cabin with the bed(s) towards the balcony window. This is a sensible arrangement that puts the floor space to the best use.
Most cabins have a shower-only bathroom, but the lighting is really good and soaps are offered in the shower dispenser and in solid form. However, small bottles of bathroom amenities are not provided in the standard staterooms. All cabins have a mini-fridge and a safe. Smart little bedside lights have a reading spotlight as well as the shaded lamp.
The daily program with its long list of activities makes good go-to-sleep reading. The RCI folk deliver less promotional material to the state room than other lines. The daily program, delivered nightly, is concise and an easy-to-use reference to all the activities the ship has to offer.
The Concierge Club lounge serves the Deck 10 staterooms, providing the additional amenities that are bundled with these more spacious (than Decks 7, 8 and 9) rooms. All these rooms have balconies equipped with two chairs and a small table.
Never a dull moment . . .
The Jewel’s on-board sporting facilities include the line’s signature rock-climbing wall—a brave idea that demonstrates the Royal Caribbean concept of mixing the youthful new liveliness with the traditional teatime cruise tranquility. The onboard novelties include a mini-water-park for the kids and a miniature golf course for all ages.
The dedicated children’s spaces, up in Adventure Ocean, are extensive and supervised programs are offered for a variety of age groups. The kid’s pool and slide are adjacent to the kiddy-care facilities and teen spot on Deck 11. Lucky youngsters travel well on Royal Caribbean!
After dark, the spacious theatre—the Coral Theater—offers nightly entertainment with all the technical competence that is state-of-the-art on dry land. Royal Caribbean International prefers to be its own impresario for the production shows, which will normally be presented twice during the cruise. The performers try very hard to please an audience that’s displaying mixed acceptance levels of the energetic productions. On the whole, the passengers are pleased to be pleased and the performers receive warm appreciation of the efforts. And from my point of view, the productions are a marvel of theater-gone-to-sea. The sound and lighting technology is remarkable and demonstrates the line’s desire to keep the buzz on the cruise going throughout the day and evening. While this is an area where “not being able to please all the people all the time” really applies—the Jewel’s offers went off very well on this Atlantic crossing.
Meanwhile, the sound of music is heard all over the Jewel. In the evening, there is dancing in the Safari Club and in the Centrum. There’s live music the Schooner Bar and up on Deck 13 at Hollywood Odyssey. The DJ in the spectacular Viking Crown Lounge also on Deck 13 creates the throbbing beat to match the great sea views with its floor-to-ceiling windows all around and the big sound after dark can (fortunately) only be heard by the night-clubbing crowd and the seagulls. Discos do not get much snazzier that this.
Catering to a loyal clientele . . .
Jewel’s appeal is multi-generational—with the sporting side happily co-habiting with the looking- for-a-quiet corner crowd. The Jewel is clearly very family-friendly and obviously sets the passengers—young and old—for a long term relationship. A high percentage of the line’s passengers are repeaters, clearly encouraged by the active programs of the cruise line’s Crown and Anchor loyalty program. Royal Caribbean courts the retuning traveler with functions and amenities and evidently has great success with its passenger-pleasing formula. While the line is directing its advertising dollars to the younger, more active crowd (rock climbing, water sports, for instance) the transatlantic crowd was (to be expected) a more mature traveler set. More than 1,000 of the Jewel’s trans-Atlantic voyagers were repeaters.
Experts at the business . . .
Royal Caribbean, while on the cutting edge of cruising tastes and technology is still providing the traditional participant activities and jollity of the omnipresent, ever-cheerful cruise director encouraging engagement in the non-stop events. However, all this is easy to avoid for the less active travelers and line’s attempts to please everyone seem to be very successful.
Jewel of the Seas resonates with a service ethic that leads the staff into a high level of passenger engagement and responsiveness.
-- Roger J. Ritchie is a contributing editor to ShipsandCruises.com
Click for more information about Jewel:
Ship Statistics
Interview: Hotel Director Bjorn Erik Julseth
Photo Gallery (coming soon)
