Before our sabbatical ended, Jen’s mom found a last-minute deal on an affordable Artic cruise. So, before going back to work full-time, we decided to squeeze in one last adventure. We boarded the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas in Amsterdam and set off on a 17-night journey that ended in New Jersey.
Along the way, we visited the following ports:
- Akureyri, Iceland
- Isafjordur, Iceland
- Prins Christian Sund Cruise, Greenland
- Qaqortoq, Greenland
- St. John's, Halifax, and Sidney, Canada
The Jewel of the Seas is smaller than what we’re accustomed to. It belongs to the Radiance class and is approximately 55% of the size of the Quantum class ships we’ve sailed on before. Because of its size, it lacks some of the facilities we’ve enjoyed on past cruises: no indoor sports court, FlowRider, or iFly, to name a few.
But that didn’t stop us from making the most of it. We played basketball, tried our hand at mini golf, and kept active in the gym. To be fair, most of our time was spent relaxing between ports, participating in trivia, and eating. Jen even managed to squeeze in some work.
One of the things we realized on this cruise is that the ships are so high that you always have a great view of any port you arrive at; It's like the ship is a floating observation deck. Here are a few views we enjoyed along the way: a sunset as we exited Amsterdam, some of the villages we visited, and the port of Newark.
