Overall Score

BERLITZ'S RATING
	Possible	Achieved
Ship	500	428
Accommodation	200	158
Food	400	248
Service	400	298
Entertainment	100	81
Cruise	400	309

How this score is created

Jewel of the Seas is the fourth Royal Caribbean International ship to use gas and steam turbine power (sister ships: Brilliance of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas) instead of the conventional diesel or diesel-electric combination. Pod propulsion power is also provided. As is common aboard almost all new cruise ships today, the navigation bridge is of the fully enclosed type. In the very front of the ship is a helipad, which also acts as a viewing platform.

Jewel of the Seas is a streamlined, contemporary ship, and has a two-deck-high wrap-around structure in the forward section of the funnel. Along the starboard side, a central glass wall protrudes, giving great views (cabins with balconies occupy the space directly opposite on the port side). The gently rounded stern has nicely tiered decks, which gives the ship an extremely well-balanced look.

Inside, the decor is contemporary, yet elegant, bright and cheerful, designed for young, active, hip types. The artwork is quite eclectic (so there should be something for all tastes), and provides a spectrum and a half of color works.

The ship’s interior focal point is a nine-deck high atrium lobby that has glass-walled elevators (on the port side of the ship only) that travel through 12 decks, face the sea and provide a link with nature and the ocean. The Centrum (as the atrium is called) has several public rooms connected to it: the guest relations and shore excursions desks, a Lobby Bar, Champagne Bar, the Library, Royal Caribbean Online (an internet-connect center), the Concierge Club, and a Crown & Anchor Lounge. A great view can be had of the atrium by looking down through the flat glass dome high above it.

Other facilities include a delightful but very small library, a Champagne Bar, and a large Schooner Bar that houses maritime art in an integral art gallery. Gambling devotees should enjoy the rather large, noisy and colorful Casino Royale. There’s also a small dedicated screening room for movies (with space for two wheelchairs), as well as a 194-seat conference center, and a business center.

This ship also contains a Viking Crown Lounge (a Royal Caribbean International trademark), a large structure set around the base of the ship’s funnel. It functions as an observation lounge during the daytime (with views forward over the swimming pool). In the evening, the space be­comes a futuristic, high-energy dance club, as well as a more intimate and relaxed entertainment venue for softer mood music and “black box” theater.

Royal Caribbean Online is a dedicated computer center that has 12 PCs with high-speed internet access for sending and receiving email, located in a semi-private setting.

Youth facilities include Adventure Ocean, an “edu-tainment” area with four separate age-appropriate sections for junior passengers: Aquanaut Center (for ages 3–5); Explorer Center (6–8); Voyager Center (9–12); and the Optix Teen Center (13–17). There is also Adventure Beach, which includes a splash pool complete with waterslide; Surfside, with computer lab stations with entertaining software; and Ocean Arcade, a video games hangout.

The onboard product delivery is more casual and unstructured than RCI has previously been delivering. Jewel of the Seas offers more space and more comfortable public areas (and several more intimate spaces), slightly larger cabins and more dining options than most of the larger ships in the RCI fleet.

While the ship is quite delightful in many ways, the onboard operation is less spectacular, and suffers from a lack of service staff. There are no cushioned pads for the sunloungers, and the deck towels provided are quite thin and small. Spa treatments are extravagantly expensive (as they are aboard most ships today, in line with land-based spa prices in the U.S.). It is virtually impossible to escape background music anywhere. The onboard currency is the US dollar, and 15 percent is added to all bar and spa bills.

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publications 2008