My wife and I are in our 50's and have cruised on 7 Royal Caribbean ships in the past 10 years (including the Adventure and Brilliance) and the Jewel of the Seas is by far the smoothest sailing and the most quiet ship on which we have ever sailed! Ours was a 6 night cruise to Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Nassau out of Ft. Lauderdale. The weather and the seas were nice except for one afternoon and night when we had rain, 40 MPH wind, and quite choppy seas- yet the Jewel cut right through the waves effortlessly and with remarkable steadiness. We had not a hint of motion sickness
Our embarkation at 1:30 p.m. was prompt but it seemed as if we caught the RCI personnel off guard..no one was in the Platinum area to guide us onto the ship and there was no direction signage. Once on board the reception personnel seemed unsure where to send us but they were friendly. It was also the first time we have ever cruised on any ship when there was no photographer for a boarding photo. No big deal-but still we noticed it. Our Cabin (9200) was clean and provided sufficient room. Michael, our cabin steward, always seemed to know when we were away and no matter what time we returned to the cabin it was always clean and orderly. He was excellent. The Verandah was also a wonderful touch. Additionally we really enjoyed the TV channel which continually displayed the ship's position and speed on a map with real time weather conditions.
This was the inaugural season for the Jewel and it was marvelously new and immaculate. The artwork on the Jewel was incredible-the best we have seen on ANY cruise ship. Extraordinarily colorful. Also the Solarium is not to be missed..beautiful plants, waterfalls and an indoor pool. As advertised there was an abundance of glass on the ship but it seemed to us that the Brilliance had a bit more glass and larger windows throughout the ship.