Jewel of the Seas Review July 2 - July 14, 2005 Baltics Cruise Cabin 9076 - Category D1

It's always the same. Nothing compares to the anticipation of a cruise. First, it's the decision of what itinerary to take, what ship to sail, when to go. For us, we typically book a cruise about a year out. We like getting our choice of cabins (we generally prefer aft balconies) and our travel agent generally gets us a great deal. Plus if rates drop after we book, we've always been able to get our cruise rate adjusted. One of my rules of thumb is to always have another cruise booked by the time one is over. That way, I know I have the next one to look forward to.

This cruise is a special one. It's in celebration of our daughter's graduation from high school. We let her select the itinerary of her choice (within reason). She chose the Baltic because she had traveled to Sweden and Finland with the People to People Sports Ambassador program five years ago and loved it. Andy and I had never been to any of the ports of call so it sounded like a great choice. We booked the cruise a little more than a year out. We chose Jewel of the Seas because when we booked we had just sailed on Brilliance of the Seas and loved the ship. We've never had a really bad cruise and while we like some lines better than others, we think most cruise experiences are what you make them. Read more