Quips, quirks, and biases

One of the great things about cruise vacations is that, in many cases, they are what you make of them. Because of that, I always like to include this little introductory section where I describe where I'm coming from, as context definitely colors any review. This was my 11th cruise on Royal Caribbean, and 21st cruise overall. I've been "loyal to Royal" lately because I like their ships, have received competitive pricing, enjoy the C&A perks, and enjoy the OBC I receive for NextCruise bookings. I have been trying to sail on the Jewel for a few years as it was my grandma's favorite ship. She was a huge RCCL fan (she made it on the brand-new Freedom two weeks before cancer took her) and she was the person that got my parents and I cruising.

This cruise was booked in the summer of 2008 when there were some decent cruise rates and very good airfares to get from Indianapolis to Miami. This was a "family" trip in that I shared a room with my parents (both Diamond members) and because it would span both Christmas and my parents' 31st anniversary. We originally booked an inside cabin, but in early fall, as a present, I called up and upgraded us to an E1 balcony on the hump (8086). Not only was it a balcony, but it also had a sofabed which I preferred to a pullman. Read more