We have never sailed on Royal Caribbean ... but since we had booked a Transatlantic Cruise on the RCL Jewel of the Sea in August of 2012, this NYE 4 night-er was a way for us to experience and explore prior to the 16-night T/A! GLAD WE DID! We have changed our "My Time Dining" to the "8:30 PM Late Seating" ... they did a poor job of managing this program. Only 1/2 of the balcony was reserved for "MTD". This was clearly not enough space for the number that had been given this option. There was only one head waiter controlling both the door and the seating ... thus when he was away from the podium, as often was the case, guests were entering the dining room and seating themselves. We tend to follow the rules so our wait to be seated for our "My Time Dining" was excessive. We now understand that since the assistant waiter is now been designated the "official" wine steward, we need to keep the bottle of wine (once you are given the opportunity to order it) on your table since the assistant waiter is entirely too busy to provide you with any wine attention. The food, on the other hand, was good. In fact ... some nights the food was MORE than good! We only dined in the main dining room, so if it were this nicely done in the main dining room .. you can imagine how nice it must have been in the speciality restaurants. The ship is well laid out and the options for dining are generous. The Pool Manager ... aka: the Towel Manager ... was so busy keeping track of the towels being signed in and out that he had NO time to manage the pool ... this was a holiday trip, so there was an abundance of young kids (Nothing wrong with that!) but, both outdoor hot tubs were "CRAMMED" with 3-year olds that were not being supervised. There were kids in diapers being allowed to swim in the outdoor pool ... but on a positive note ... EVERY towel was accounted for! The entertainment was WORLD CLASS! Everywhere ... in the lounges, the Coral Theater, on the pool deck ... all of the entertainers were of a quality that one would not have expected. Our balcony cabin overlooked a roof and we found that it was used as a catwalk for the maintenance staff. We are accustomed to being on our balcony with little clothing ... but you never knew when your "unobstructed view" was going to be obstructed by a passing crew member. There was also a direct "chase" in our cabin that connected to the DJ booth in the lounge 7 decks above us. The music didn't bother me, but it kept my wife awake until it would stop in the early morning. The cabins have plenty of storage and are well designed. Embarkation and debarkation were as fast as anyone could possibly expect. The abundance of dead poinsettias added little to the festive Christmas decor and the main lobby tree looked like it had fallen over and the decorations were replaced by staff members that were under 5 feet in height. We found the ship to be clean and maintained well in spite of it's age. The interior adult pool was so relaxing, but it would have been nice if they had retracted the roof. I assume that they keep it closed to prevent the birds that are held captive from regaining their freedom. I always get my hair cut on cruise ships ... and my wife always has some procedure done. This cruise my wife had her face waxed and eyebrows done. She told me that she thought it strange that the technician didn't proudly show off her workmanship by producing a mirror for inspection ... That is, until my wife returned to the cabin only to realize that one of her eyebrows had been 80% removed. The spa manager was kind enough to refund her money ... how nice! My hair cut went as planned. I loved the steam and sauna, but on other ships I use the facilities to shower and shave for the day ... my habit is to use their shaving cream and razors ... but none are provided. Not a big deal ... just a surprise that they do not provide the service. The showers are wonderful in both the cabins and the spa. I rate a shower on the water pressure, and the pressure is stellar! We loved the casino ... We haven't met one that we didn't like! Even though we lost money, the entertainment effect was long enough to make it feel like your lost dollar (you lost hundreds of dollars)was well spent. The reward program of the sea pass keeping track of your points racked up left me flat ... since you had to drop hundreds of dollars to get one $5.00 drink discount. The drinks were too strong ... I know, am I crazy! Why complain! My thing is that the amount of revenue they are loosing by over pouring alcohol could well cover the cost savings of a REAL wine steward AND 2 Andes mints on the pillow with a bit left over to pay for someone to water the poinsettias!

OK ... we are REALLY looking forward to our Trans-Atlantic! REALLY! We now know what to expect. Cost cutting measures, good food, no mints on the pillows, a spa experience that is not to be believed, under-staffing, a fun money loosing casino experience, stellar entertainment everywhere, a children packed outdoor pool and imprisoned birds in the indoor adult pool. We have had our cabin changed to 8170 for the T/A on 8/29 - with a foot note on the noise ... but ... as you know, improvement is only possible when reviews are read and shared. I wrote to RCL a week ago and was told, in an auto response, that someone would be back to me in 48 hours. Guess what ... still waiting! guess they are not reading or sharing.