Mexico - Panama Canal - Central America Cruise - 14 Nights. Overall, this cruise was above average but less than very good. I am an RCCL Diamond level cruiser and this was my 15th cruise - 10th with RCCL - 1st on Jewel.
PRE CRUISE: We flew out the day before and stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino the night before. I thought by staying at this hotel we could just walk to the ship but the ship arrived at a different pier and we had to take a $10 cab ride - no big deal. I booked the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino through United Airlines website and thought I got a bay view room. Wrong - got a parking garage view room. Was too tired to argue. Room was fine, bed was comfy, breakfast buffet for $22/pp was overpriced and bad. Lesson learned: stay somewhere better because you have to take a cab anyway to get to the ship.
EMBARKATION: Fine - no line, got on right away. Luggage showed up quickly.
CABIN: 7504 - Family Ocean View - large with lots of extra room compared to regular ocean view rooms. 2 issues to consider: the 2 large windows face forward and if the ship is heading into the sun it gets hot in the room through the windows. Also, there is a crew access hall right next to the room, and there was a bothersome amount of noise coming from the crew activities. Also, whenever the crew has a cigarette in their area or nearby, the smell of cigarettes is evident in the cabin. Furniture is old, sometimes shabby, and carpet is average. Lots and lots of storage space. Normal bathroom - small but clean and functional. Our cabin attendant Israel introduced himself on day 1 and met all my special requests and did an excellent job and was always smiling and in a good mood.