This was our third time on the Jewel - we had done a 7 night Southern Caribbean and the 15 night Panama Canal on her. We knew what we were getting - a nice mid size ship that is easy to get around. Sure, she doesn't have all the latest and greatest and isn't super big, but very nice. And, we were going for the itinerary this time - our first Mediterranean cruise.

We arrived in Rome a day early and had a car from Rome Limousine meet us at the airport. No problem finding him. We did a 2 hour tour of the city and then went to the port where we stayed at Hotel Traghetto.

A small room, the bed was really close to the floor! For one night before the cruise, it was fine. Walked to the shuttle area for the bus to the ship. It was a little different dropping off your luggage than we were used to at the Florida ports. Read more