Pre cruise we stayed a few days with my mother in Fort Lauderdale and traveled via mini van to the port. We sailed on the Jewel of the Seas March 22 during Easter Week with 3 cabins for a multi generational cruise (1 senior, 3 adults, 3 young adults - 20, 17, 16). We had booked this trip almost a year ago in advance and signed up for the Meet & Mingle and corresponded with other cruisers through Cruise Critic's forum. This was our 2nd cruise and my mother's 10th, on several different cruise lines. RCI was chosen because the travel agent convinced us the kids would enjoy the rock climbing wall and other young adult activities.

The Good: The stateroom was spacious for a cruise ship. We had a large ocean view cabin. The king(?) size bed was very comfortable. It is kind of heart shaped with the middle being longer than the sides. DH is 6'2" and had no complaints about his feet hanging off the bed. There was ample closet space for clothes, toiletries and suitcases. Our cabin was near the 4th Floor Centrum, there is Guest Relations, a bar, etc, the Tides Dining Room nearby and we were concerned about spillover noise, but we never heard any. We appreciated a couple of smoke free evenings in the casino. The slots were warm, I won several times fairly decent money in the machines. Our waiter, Pillar from Chile, and Devorah from Peru, were excellent. Our family really bonded with them. They were extremely courteous and took time to learn of family member allergies. They were extremely patient serving us (demanding family members!) and warm in greeting us. We didn't have much interaction with the head waiter, as we didn't order liquor or wine, but he came by every evening to be friendly as well. The debarkation on the last day went pretty smoothly, even though we were among the last people to be able to leave the ship.

We did not do any excursions from RCI, we preferred to make our own arrangements. The stop in San Juan was just long enough to explore the Old City, no reason to go back. We went to Coral World & Koki Beach and shopping in St. Thomas. We thought Coral World was very interesting; the driver gave us reduced admission tickets. Koki Beach was more suited to snorkeling than swimming, wish we had gone to Magen's Bay. We rented a mini van in St. Maarten. Don't rent from Budget, they gave our reserved mini van to the party just ahead of us and luckily we found another one from a local rental company. We spent most of the day at Orient Beach, which we loved. The kids went jet skiing and parasailing and we bought trinkets in town. Husband stepped off the ship in Tortola, got the lay of the land, didn't want to go to the beach, and promptly returned to ship. Not much else to do there. This was our least favorite stop. Mother & I went to Cane Garden Bay. Read more