Hello All,
Just returned from an 8 day Eastern Caribbean aboard the Jewel of the Seas and it was definitely what it lived up to be. We arranged to fly down and stay the day before at the Embassy Suites. Despite our room not being available until a couple hours after our arrival, the wait was worth it as our room overlooked the harbor (and the Jewel the next morning). The hotel was very clean and the people were friendly. A big plus was the fact that they had a free breakfast to all guests the next morning (not bagels and coffee but omelets and pancakes) which helped with the pre cruise munchies. Also, they offered to shuttle us over to the ship (and were nice enough to waive the standard $15 fee).
Embarkation was as smooth as ever as since the Diamond member check in had absolutely no wait and since all documentation was done online, my wife and I were through check-in in just under a minute (if only TSA could be that quick and friendly). The only delay was getting our picture taken for security with our sea pass.