Arrived back from the Baltic last Friday. We were first time cruisers and cannot believe that we could have chosen any better for our first experience of the high seas. The Jewel is a magnificent ship; beautifully appointed, spotlessly clean and staffed by a crew who are wholly dedicated to the customers' enjoyment. We had a Balcony cabin forward on Deck 10. It was in the perfect position for the lifts and stairs and only a deck below the pools and the windjammer cafe. The cabin, or "stateroom" as RCI would have it, was expertly designed to make the most of the space available. Hotel architects could learn a great deal from this design, particularly in the bathroom where there was ample room to store toiletries etc. We could not fault the variety and quality of the food. We took breakfast and lunch (as well as extra snacks) in the Windjammer and ate Dinner in the Tides restaurant every day. The choice in Tides was excellent and (encouraged by the Americans on our table) we soon found ourselves "going through the card" of starter, soup, main course, dessert and cheese. Our waiters were brilliant, nothing was too much trouble. There are two "speciality" restaurants but, frankly, I cannot understand why anyone would pay extra for these when the main restaurant is so good. The entertainment was impressive particularly the three production shows. We ended most evenings in the Schooner bar where the piano player, Robbie Peaple was a real star. Unfortunately his playing was curtailed on several evenings due to complaints from passengers in cabins above the bar, something that I suppose we had to accept on a cruise where even we were in the youngest 5% of passengers! It was a bit galling to then go to the near deserted Disco on Deck 13 and see an unused grand piano in there. In St Petersburg we took the Alla Tours "Two-day complete" which after paying by credit card in Roubles has turned out to be under £190 each. We cannot praise the tour highly enough. We were in a party of 14 in a 20 seater mini-coach. Our guide, Valya, was a wonderful lady who not only guided us expertly but regaled us with interesting stories of life during the soviet period between visits to the various palaces/cathedrals and museums. The tour included all the sights, admissions (including early entrance to the Hermitage) and lunch each day. We were even given a DVD to remind ourselves of the city when we get home. In the other ports we did our own thing in the limited time available. A taxi driver waiting on the quayside in Copenhagen took four of us to all the sights in an hour and a half tour for only 90 Euros; the "hop on, hop off" waterbus docks right behind the ship in Stockholm where the Vasa museum is a "must-see"; the historic centre of the beautiful city of Tallinn is a short walk from the cruise terminal and we used the tram to visit the excellent sculpture park (admission free) in Oslo. The only port that was a bit disappointing was Helsinki - Soviet occupation for much of the first half of the last century has left a legacy of unattractive utilitarian architecture (and it rained!). Our first cruise but definitely not our last.