I always liked the traditional aspects of cruising that Carnival tried to bring to the public many years ago when it started operations and as evident on my first cruise 30 years ago - fine dining, superior service, great entertainment and large dance floors. Of my 14 cruises most have been in the last 10 years while cruising has been undergoing what I call a "dumbing down" that I blame NCL for starting with it's Freestyle cruising initiative. I see a 2 prong effect of this - more appeal to the sweat suit wearing crowd, discount low income crowdds and the mentality of who wants to dress up style of cruising for Joe Cruiser types and push your way through the crowds. On the other side of this reduction in the glamor and romance of cruising is the cruise lines acting like airlines by getting more and more fees and money from their cruisers for "better food", drinks and service. During the past decade, on some ships the main dining room experience is so degraded in both the quality and portions of food and service that it no longer is acceptable to me and cruising is losing it's romantic, quality vacation allure. Ship board personnel who were always some of the hardest worked in any modern industry are pushed to ridiculous limits when I talk to them about number of cabins stewarded or tables waited and on many ships and cruise lines it shows in their service to you - less personable, more formula and supervisors that only want perfection, not person-ability and connection with the customers.

Sigh of relief - at least to this point Jewel Of The Seas has not been too modernized and dumbed down.

EMBARKATION - We were visiting relatives in the Tampa area. I was looking for a good vacation deal in the Caribbean to fill in part of our 2 week Florida winter vacation. I probably would have preferred an air/land deal but RCL Jewel Of The Seas for 7 nights out of Tamps was at least $300 less than any deal I could find for 5-7 nights from Tampa during January and I and I rate cruises as a good vacation, so I booked this deal after not finding a better values elsewhere during searches over a few months. The Tampa embark and disembark was unexpectedly smooth for an experienced cruiser. The recommended boarding of 1:30 I always feel is towards mid-boarding rush - I prefer to arrive early to enjoy Lido buffet on board and an early preview of the ship even if it involves up to an hour or so wait to board. Most times early arrival and boarding has worked out very well for me. We planned to arrive at noon but I got us there around 11:30 to find boarding already going on and any waits were in the order of less than 5 minutes. Tampa port is surprisingly easy and efficient for both ON and OFF for a ship Jewel Of The Seas size. We were dropped off and picked up by vehicle by local family and it was very easy for everyone. Read more