I live in Atlanta with my wife and two boys (13 and 7). The day before the cruise we drove eleven hours to Boca Raton. We stayed at the Doubletree Guest Suites Boca very cheap and nice at the same time. The next morning at about ten we left for Port Everglades which was only about twenty minutes away. We parked at Park n' Fly and everyone was very nice and efficient. The shuttle driver even put our bags on the trolley so we didn't touch a thing.
Embarkation was an absolute breeze. It took us thirty minutes from walking in the terminal to eating in the windjammer. We did the Online check in which I highly recommend.
Jewel of the Seas is absolutely beautiful. Everything was always clean and the only thing I can remember that was negative about the ship was the pool. First it was saltwater which I personally don't like and there was only one and it was small. I know about the solarium pool but no one ever was in it though I did hang around in there for a while.