This 2026 cruise began April 18th and lasted till April 25th. It was on one of Royal Caribbean's older ships, Jewel of the Seas (Radiance Class). The ship was built in 2004 and refurbished in 2021. Statistics of the ship: length 962 feet, width (beam) 106 feet, gross tonnage 90.090 GT, passenger decks 12, passenger capacity 2191 double occupancy, passenger capacity 2700 with 3rd and 4th berths booked, and crew 852 to 859. The ship has a beautiful Centrum. Lots of activities took place on the 4th Deck of the Centrum. The Centrum extended from Deck 4 to Deck 12. My cabin was on the port side of the 8th Deck, 8056.
The cruise began/ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I spent a few hours with a relative in Hato Rey before boarding the ship. The ship was docked at the Pan American Pier, located in Isla Grande. The Jewel visited St. Thomas (April 19th), St. Maarten (April 20th), St. Croix (April 21st), Dominica (April 22nd), Barbados (April 23rd), and finally a day at sea (April 24th) before returning to San Juan.
I turned 75 between Dominica and Barbados!!!
After the ship docked in San Juan, I headed to the airport to fly to St. Croix with JetBlue. I stayed at The Fred in Frederiksted from April 25th to May 1st.
April 18, 2026
Found in slot on my cabin door. Inside was card below.
Card was used to enter cabin, make purchases, leave/enter ship. The gifts, cakes, etc. on the right of card was to alert staff I was celebrating a birthday. Though card indicates my DINING was MyTime - Deck 4, I kept eating on Deck 5. Nothing said. Tides, the main dining room, was on Decks 4 and 5. For safety reasons only the last 3 digits of stateroom was shown. I was in cabin 8056.
Centrum - Jewel of the Seas April 18, 2026
Centrum. On each deck, there was a "balcony" that passengers could stand and enjoy what was taking place on Deck 4.
Another view
All the way to Deck 12
The balconies. Elevators on right.
A metal artwork hung in the middle.
The green staircase, Deck 5 to 4
More of the metal artwork.
April 18th continued
April 18, 2026
Cabin 8056. King bed (2), sofa bed (twin, 1, to left of bed), above bed, visible in next photo, is bunk bed. Cabin could hold 4 passengers.
Bunk bed is above photo on wall, rectangular metal. In cabin was a TV, writing desk, safe, bathroom and enough storage. On balcony were 2 chairs and table.
More of Centrum, with glimpse of metal artwork.
Green staicase from Deck 4 to 5
Artwork, Deck 6.
Explanation of artwork on left.
Pool Deck
Another view of pool. (To the left of bar, was the Solarium, an area with pool and bar just for adults.)
Airport next to pier. Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport
El Capitolio
Did the guy with ball have a name???
Guys having fun next to ship
One close to each elevator bank, letting passengers know where they were and how to get to other locations.
View from Deck 12
Catedral San Juan Bautista
Sunset
Sunset
Windjammer Cafe, buffet - conch fritters, fish sticks, Jello-O, etc. plus key lime pie.
Pools at night.
San Juan at night
Another view of pool at night.
A different view
Leaving Port
April 18, 2016
Capitolio all dressed up. Ship had started leaving port.
A closer view
And still another view.
Leaving port
El Morro
El Morro, closer view
Another view of El Morro
Looking back at San Juan
I decided to hire a taxi to take me places where I wanted to go. I was not interested in excursions offered by the Jewel. I wanted to see the 99 Steps (more like 102), which I had never seen during my many trips/cruises to the island, Mountain Top, take photos of the harbor, etc. I was given the tour I wanted by Ms. Joyce Rogers. Ms. Rogers was an excellent tour guide and a very good listener. I forgot to take a photo with Ms. Joyce Rogers (If you ever visit St. Thomas, contact: Joyce Taxi Service LLC, TP1238, 340-244-9044, j-rogers@hotmail.com). By the way, the Jewel docked in Crown Bay. It appears Royal Caribbean will be making changes and upgrades to the area.
St. Thomas, April 19, 2026
Design inspired by traditional Asian boat building techniques.
Handmade rolling pins
"Skeleton" lights
Pen
line up chair
Minimal wooden
The loop table lamp
"Growth" is a geometric, origami-inspired
The last time this page was updated was... La última vez que actualice esta página fue... May 6, 2026 - el 6 de mayo de 2026
