GTS Jewel of the Seas is a Radiance-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean. The ship was completed in the spring of 2004 with her maiden voyage in May of that year.

Jewel of the Seas docked in St. Maarten.
History
Bahamas
NameJewel of the Seas
OwnerRoyal Caribbean Group
Operator Royal Caribbean International
Port of registryNassau,  Bahamas
BuilderMeyer Werft
Laid down9 November 2002[1]
Launched13 March 2004[2]
Maiden voyage8 May 2004
In service2004–present
Identification
Statusin service
General characteristics
Class and typeRadiance-class cruise ship
Tonnage90,090 GT
Length962 ft (293 m)
Beam105.6 ft (32.2 m)
Height63 m (206 ft 8 in)
Draft26.7 ft (8.1 m)
Decks12 passenger decks (deck 2-13)
Propulsion2 × ABB azipods, 3 x bow thrusters
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Capacity2,501 passengers
Crew842
Notes3,343 total passenger/crew

History

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The ship was built at Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany. After her float out, she left the shipyard on 4 April 2004.[3][4][5][6] The ship was delivered to RCI on 22 April 2004.[7][8]

Jewel of the Seas initially operated cruises from Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy, to the Greek Isles in the Mediterranean Sea until November 2016, the ship re-positioned to cruising from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Caribbean destinations. In March 2019 the ship re-positioned from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean where it operated cruises in the Greek Isles and as of December 2019 it has been home ported in Dubai and operated cruises within the Persian Gulf.[9]

In April 2016, Jewel of the Seas completed a £20 million[10] renovation.[11][12][13] In May 2024, Jewel of the Seas completed a three week renovation in dry dock at Damen Shiprepair in Brest, France.[14]

Coronavirus pandemic

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On 11 March 2020, the ship was docked at the Dubai Cruise Terminal with two passengers that were experiencing respiratory illnesses.[a][15][16] After the ship was placed in quarantine, test results for the two sick passengers returned negative, and the ship was given the all clear.[b][18] However, because many ports had begun to close, Jewel of the Seas ended up staying at Dubai for the duration of the cruise, and Royal Caribbean gave the passengers full refunds and allowed them to use the ship as a hotel.[18][16]

In May 2020 while moored outside Piraeus, a 27 year old crewmember went overboard and died. The crewmember, who worked as an electrician, reportedly was not missed for over 48 hours, before crew of the Jewel of the Seas began searching for him.[19]

Up until late April 2021 Jewel of the Seas was at anchor in Poole Bay off the Dorset coast in the UK sitting out the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] As with the other cruise ships in the area the ship made occasional visits to The Port of Southampton to collect supplies and fuel. As of 3 May 2021 she was heading for Cádiz in Spain. Jewel of the Seas was most recently spotted docking in the Firth of Forth in Scotland near Rosyth Dockyard and next to the Forth Bridge.

Notes

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  1. ^ Both passengers were diagnosed with symptoms unrelated to the coronavirus.[15]
  2. ^ Business Insider reported that the two passengers had tested positive, while inexplicably linking to an article that said they had tested negative.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "First Block of New Luxury Cruise Ship Laid" (Press release). Meyer Werft. 11 November 2002. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Cruise Ship to leave covered building dock". Meyer Werft. 9 March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  3. ^ "Erfolgreiche Emsfahrt" (in German). 5 April 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Schiffsüberführungen mit Hilfe des Emssperrwerks seit 2002" (in German). 15 March 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Ems-Überführung Jewel of the Seas verschoben" (in German). 1 April 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Jewel of the Seas sticht in See". 30 April 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Delivery of Cruise Ship Jewel of the Seas". 22 April 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  8. ^ "DNV: Jewel of the Seas". Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Search Results - Royal Caribbean International". Royal Caribbean International. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  10. ^ Stone, Deborah (28 December 2015). "Royal Caribbean half-price offers as Jewel of the Seas get £20million refurbishment". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. ^ "Royal Caribbean releases details for Jewel of the Seas renovation". Royalcaribbeanblog. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Jewel of the Seas Set for $30 Million Renovation". Travelmarketreport.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas Revitalization April 2016 - WGC". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Jewel of the Seas Enters Drydock in Europe". Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  15. ^ a b Ebelthite, Shaun (11 March 2020). "Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas returns to Dubai after passengers develop respiratory symptoms". cruisearabiaonline.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Royal Caribbean Ship Cancels Cruise After COVID-19 Tests". cruisehive.com. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  17. ^ Premack, Rachel (14 March 2020). "Royal Caribbean is halting new cruises for the next 30 days in the US amid coronavirus threat". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b Ebelthite, Shaun (12 March 2020). "Royal Caribbean ship Jewel of the Seas gets all clear after Coronavirus scare in Dubai". cruisearabiaonline.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  19. ^ Walker, Jim (3 May 2020). "Crew Member Goes Overboard from Jewel of the Seas". Cruise Law News. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  20. ^ "JEWEL OF THE SEAS (Passenger Ship) Registered in Bahamas - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 9228356, MMSI 311583000, Call Sign C6FW9". www.marinetraffic.com. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
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