We spent 2 days in Seattle at the Marriott prior to boarding the Jewel and had a wonderful time there. The Marriott is right across the street from the Port so we just walked over with our suitcases when it was time for the cruise.
Embarkation was quick. No long lines and the staff was very helpful. Disembarkation when we returned to Seattle was very easy and again we didn't have to stand in lines.
We were very disappointed in the rooms and the food. We went to 2 specialty restaurants and they were very good, as we expected. But the main restaurants, dining rooms, and buffets were mediocre at best. The dining rooms and buffet had some standard items available daily and then new items each day but the other restaurants and all of the breakfast menus never changed so the food got pretty boring at breakfast and lunch each day.
Cabin was smaller than I have stayed in before. I have previously cruised on Disney and Celebrity and both had larger rooms and bathrooms. We had 4 rooms in a row for our group. The rooms were in rough shape. Bathroom sinks were cracked and some faucets were leaky. Bed skirts were worn out, stained, and had small rips. Carpet was starting to come up at edges.
The captain did a wonderful job of getting the ship close to the Galciers so we could just sit on our balcony and enjoy the view. The rangers that camp on board did a fantastic job of educating us on the Glacier National Forest over the intercom system.