This was my 5th cruise and 2nd with Royal Caribbean. The Jewel is a medium sized ship that is beginning to show its age. State rooms were adequate, the dining room was lovely as was the theater. The cinema was a nice and often used feature as was the solarium area. Unfortunately, it seemed plagued with septic issues during our cruise. A walk on the Deck 5 promenade was a sewage-smelling gagging experience that got worse as the cruise went along.

As the cruise embarked from San Juan, the food had a wonderful Latin flair and I got to try Puerto Rican inspired foods that I'd not eaten before. The ox-tail was wonderful as was the paella. While I was pleasantly surprised at the food both in the main dining room and the Windjammer, I would have given my eye-teeth for a decent hamburger. Those in the Windjammer were stamped out pre-made, grey looking and steamed to a chip. I then ordered one from room service that looked hand formed and like a real hamburger but had such a strange texture and flavor that I literally took it apart to see if maybe they'd sent me a veggie or tofu burger by mistake. I couldn't eat it and that's quite a statement coming from me.

Service by our room steward was outstanding. We asked once for ice and found it in our room every afternoon thereafter. He took wonderful care of us. The same can be said for our main waiter and his assistant. However, the wine steward was no where to be found and we had to chase him down to order drinks. We finally began bringing our own into the main dining room. Read more