It is rare for a ship that is almost 20 years old to be treated as a newcomer, but Royal Caribbean International’s Jewel of the Seas got a brand new welcome at her brand new Florida homeport recently. The Radiance-class vessel is now sailing from Port Canaveral for the winter 2022-2023 season.
New Homeport for Jewel of the Seas
When a new ship arrives at a port, particularly a homeport, for the first time, there is great fanfare to commemorate the occasion. But what about when the ship is already an older vessel in a cruise line’s fleet?
Jewel of the Seas was recently redeployed to Port Canaveral, the 18-year-old ship’s first time homeporting from the central Florida port and the second busiest passenger cruise port in the world.
To mark the occasion, port officials presented the ship’s master, Captain Trond Holm, with a commemorative plaque featuring the ship’s photo and inscribed with the date of her first visit along with the inscription, “May you have fast winds and following seas.”
Jewel of the Seas‘ addition to the Port Canaveral roster of homeported ships makes her the fourth vessel in the Royal Caribbean fleet to be setting sail from central Florida, joining her fleet mates Wonder of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, and Mariner of the Seas.
“We are thrilled to have Jewel of the Seas at Port Canaveral and very excited to welcome her as our fourth Royal Caribbean International homeported ship,” said Captain John Murray, Port CEO. “Our partners at RCI have entrusted us with some of their most valuable assets and we couldn’t be more proud.”
Together, the four Royal Caribbean ships at Port Canaveral can offer amazing cruises to more than 17,500 guests at once. Each ship represents a different class of vessel and offers new and unique onboard experiences for all guests to enjoy.
Jewel of the Seas, as a 90,090-gross ton, Radiance-class vessel, is the smallest of the four fleet mates, followed by the Voyager-class Mariner of the Seas, the Freedom-class Independence of the Seas and the largest cruise ship in the world, the Oasis-class Wonder of the Seas.
Cruises on Jewel of the Seas
Jewel of the Seas will remain homeported from Port Canaveral through mid-April, 2023, offering 4- to 8-night itineraries to a variety of destinations, including Eastern, Western, and Southern Caribbean routes, as well as Bahamas sailings and other select options.
Depending on the sailing date and exact itinerary, the ship will be visiting popular ports such as Ocho Rios, Costa Maya, Cozumel, San Juan, St. Croix, Bimini, Key West, and many more.
Most sailings will also have calls to one of Royal Caribbean International’s private destinations, either CocoCay in The Bahamas or Labadee in Haiti, and some itineraries include both ports of call.
On April 22, 2023, Jewel of the Seas will depart Port Canaveral for the last time on a 12-night one-way transatlantic sailing to Amsterdam, where she will remain homeported for the summer season, offering cruises to explore the British Isles, Iceland, Ireland, the Arctic Circle, and the Norwegian fjords.
Jewel of the Seas will spend the winter of 2023-2024 homeported from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but may return to offer more sailings from Port Canaveral in the future.
Jewel of the Seas joined the Royal Caribbean fleet in 2004. The ship can welcome 2,112 guests when booked at double occupancy, and up to 2,502 guests when all berths are filled. Onboard, 842 crew members are on hand to provide superior service on all 12 passenger decks.
