Jewel of the Seas Trans Atlantic

Here’s a bit about my recent Trans Atlantic cruise on the Jewel of the Seas

We started from Fort Lauderdale on April 15, 2007. Due to a storm off the east coast of the United States, this was truly the roughest weather I have ever experience on any cruise I have been on. At one point the gale winds were over 70 miles-per-hour (113 KM) and the swells more than 40 feet (12 meters). The ship rolled to the extent that crystal, liquor, and other breakables were tossed from the shelves in the shops requiring them to stay closed for cleanup. The Captain’s welcoming reception was delayed until the fifth day at sea as he did not feel it was prudent for him to leave the bridge. The production show scheduled for the second day was cancelled because it was too dangerous for the dancers to do their thing on a pitching stage. Of course many of the passengers got sea sick and everything scheduled above decks was also cancelled. However we were not among those who were sick.

We finally made it to Cork, Ireland only to be greeted by 30 mph winds (48 KM) and driving rains. We took the excursion to Blarney Castle. No we did not kiss the Blarney Stone as neither of us really bend that way any more.

Our next port was Falmouth, England. The weather was good in the morning when we started out and we had light scattered showers later in the day. We tendered to shore and took the free shuttle to Pendennis Castle. After the shuttle we returned to the tender dock and took the free shuttle into town.

After Falmouth we were on to Le Havre, France. We took the ships excursion to the Beaches of Normandy. We stopped at Pointe le Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. This was truly a very moving tour and the American Cemetery is an extremely emotional experience.

Then it was on to Belgium where we had a great day in Bruges, where we sampled the local beer and chocolate. I think I bought enough chocolate home to last for quite a while.

We disembarked in Amsterdam where we spent the night before flying home.

Now for a bit of general information on the cruise. This cruise defiantly draws the older cruise passenger. At 44 and 50 we were some of the youngest passengers on board. There were only a total of 29 children onboard. Though the older demographic did not prevent us from having a good time. We had some of the best tablemates ever at dinner. In fact we all meshed so well that on the last evening in the dining room a person at the next table mentioned to one of our tablemates that she though it was so nice of him to take his family on vacation. We had not met any of them prior to the first night at dinner.

The Jewel of the Seas is a Radiance class ship. This is my favorite class of ship that Royal Caribbean has to offer. The crew on board was great and with 12 days on board you really had a chance to get to know them.

Would we take another Trans Atlantic? Yes.