We sailed on the Jewel out of Boston on 9/27/08 to New England and Canada ports-of-call. We have sailed on other cruise lines in the past, including RCL, Holland America and Princess. Our cruise on the Jewel got off to a rather shaky start. Upon arriving at the Black Falcon Cruise Ship Terminal by taxi, we were soon immersed in the chaos of RCL's check-in. Deposited at the curb by the taxi, our first step was to locate the correct queue to begin the boarding process while a steady rain fell. There was neither signage nor RCL employees to direct passengers to where the proper location was to begin the process. We stood in 3 different lines, all outside in the rain, until we found the correct queue to begin the check-in process. Why passengers were forced to wait in line OUTSIDE in a steady rain when tens of thousands of square feet remained empty and unused inside the massive building will always be a mystery to me. It was a very confusing and frustrating start to what I hoped would be a spectacular 7-day New England fall cruise. As pointed out in other reviews, we found our outside balcony cabin on deck 8 to be rather small compared to other ships, however, this was somewhat mitigated by the excellent stateroom service we received throughout the duration of the cruise. Compared to other cruise lines, RCL's food was ordinary, at best. The food in the Windjammer restaurant was similar to that which could be easily found in any "buffet chain" restaurants throughout the USA. The meals served in the Tides were of surprisingly small portions (which was probably OK as the food itself was not that good) and the menu was unimaginative with only minor variations on a daily basis. We were part of a table of 11 at the first seating, and someone at the table sent back their dinner in exchange for another selection virtually every night. However, the service we received every night was nothing short of outstanding, and RCL should be commended for this.

Every port-of-call stop, whether passengers were tendered to shore or allowed to disembark at a dock, was very poorly organized and procedures were not communicated efficiently to passengers. There were a great many unhappy people who were crammed into the narrow hallways, waiting to leave the ship to visit the ports-of-call. The situation was repeated at every stop.

On-board entertainment and activities were run-of-the-mill and only mildly entertaining. We attended the show in the Coral Theater nightly, and actually left two of the shows prior to the conclusion of the performance on two nights. Read more