Need Input from Jewel of the Seas Veterans

[CDR Benson]

Yep, we got caught in the changes to the 2021 cruises.  The Good Mrs. Benson and I had been scheduled for the 17-24 October cruise to Canada/New England, on board Brilliance of the Seas (which was the postponed date from what was supposed to be a 2020 cruise, same time, same ship).  The 2021 changes have resulted in us travelling on the same dates, with the same itinerary, only on a different ship:  Jewel of the Seas.

 

Here is where I need the advice of you folks who've sailed on Jewel of the Seas . . . 

 

Back in March, 2019, when I booked this cruise on board Brilliance, I did my homework and noted that, by whatever logic was employed, the grand suites were located on deck 10, beneath deck 11, which features a great deal of activity---Windjammer Café,  swimming pools, movie screen, other eateries.  This, I expected, would create a noticeable amount of overhead noise for the cabins on deck 10 below.  Ultimately, I selected grand suite 1556, on the hump, because it was located directly beneath the deck 11 art gallery.  The art gallery, I figured, would not be a source of noise.  When the cruise was shifted to 2021, our TA ensured that we kept the same suite.

 

However, now we're booked on Jewel of the Seas.  Being in the same class as Brilliance, the deck plans of Jewel are essentially identical---with one exception critical to us:  there is no grand suite 1556.  What would have been that suite is encompassed by the larger royal suite on board Jewel.  Acting swiftly, even before I received the e-mail from Royal Caribbean that notified folks of the changes, our TA booked us in Jewel's grand suite 1554, adjacent to the royal suite, and is also on the hump and also beneath the art gallery on deck 11.  That was alert thinking on her part, because 1554 is the suite I would have selected myself.  But, I do have one concern.

 

Here's that concern---and thanks for bearing with me so far---while grand suite 1554 is beneath the art gallery, the movie screen on deck 11 does encroach a bit in the deck space over grand suite 1554.  Do any of you veteran cruisers of Jewel of the Seas know if there are any problems with sound from the movie screen overhead?  Certainly, the more specific with regard to suite 1554, the better, but we'd welcome any information on the accommodations in that section of the ship.  Especially with regard to the activity overhead.  For that matter, anything at all anyone can inform us about Jewel of the Seas we'd find handy.  I've just started doing my own research on that ship, but nothing beats knowledge from those who've actually been there.

 

 

[SpeedNoodles]

I put out a call to Ken Jarvis on Facebook, who posted a cabin tour of that exact room on YouTube.  Hopefully he'll answer soon, in case nobody else here has personal experience with it.  He doesn't address it in the video - he probably did the video shortly after boarding.

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

I have not been in that exact cabin, but a friend who sailed 1556 on Brilliance did say that there is not much privacy on those balconies because of the hump.  You can tell on the YouTube videos.  People on other balconies can see you clearly on yours.  If that doesn't bother you, then it's a great room.

I had 1554 booked on Brilliance at one point and changed it for that very reason.

[CDR Benson]

16 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I put out a call to Ken Jarvis on Facebook, who posted a cabin tour of that exact room on YouTube.  Hopefully he'll answer soon, in case nobody else here has personal experience with it.  He doesn't address it in the video - he probably did the video shortly after boarding.

 

Thank you, ma'am.  I should think Mr. Jarvis could, indeed, answer my question about noise from the movie screen.  His video of the suite was one of the first things I reviewed, once I found out that we had been shifted to Jewel.

[CDR Benson]

14 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I have not been in that exact cabin, but a friend who sailed 1556 on Brilliance did say that there is not much privacy on those balconies because of the hump.  You can tell on the YouTube videos.  People on other balconies can see you clearly on yours.  If that doesn't bother you, then it's a great room.

The degree of balcony privacy on the hump was something I considered when I first examined the available suites, when the cruise was still scheduled for Brilliance.  The balcony of Brilliance's grand suite 1556 is at the outermost portion of the hump and offers the least exposure to view from other balconies.  But that was a lesser consideration in wanting 1556.  Anyone watching the Good Mrs. Benson and myself, at our ages, would doze off from boredom.  Certainly, a portion of the balcony of Jewel's 1554 is clearly visible from the balcony of 1552, so if anyone is occupying 1552 for the 17-24 October 2021 cruise, feel free to wave "hi".