First of all, this was our first cruise ever, so we really have no first-hand comparisons, but we LOVED THIS CRUISE! We booked the Jewel of the Seas about a year in advance, in celebration of our 10-year anniversary (February 14, 2007), and were not disappointed. This cruise exceeded our expectations in every way.

Itinerary: This was an 8-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary with 5 ports of call -- Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Thomas, and the Bahamas. We had 2 days at sea well.

Embarkation: We had read so many mixed reviews about the embarkation, but this was completely painless for us. We arrived to the port on our hotel shuttle (we had stayed at the Hampton Inn the night before) at 1:55 p.m. Check-in was to begin at 2 p.m., but we were allowed to check in immediately upon arrival. The entire check-in process took about 25 minutes, and we were happily on board and sitting in the Windjammer Cafe by 2:25 p.m. Read more