We did consecutive cruises for a total of nineteen nights on Jewel. Terrific Itinerary with nine different islands in the Med included. As others have stated, Jewel of the Seas is tired, mostly showing in our balcony stateroom. Chipped paint in the bathroom. Rust on the balcony. Drawers and cabinets literally falling apart. The mattress was hard, the pillows awful, and the sheets were pilled. The crew was excellent, and though obviously short staffed got the job done in a cheerful manner. Early dining was advertised as 6:00 but was actually 5:30.

The dining room staff was excellent and the food was just okay. We had an unsatisfactory experience at Chef's Table when the loud music from the adjacent venue vibrated the room and made it impossible to hear the host. The Izumi specialty restaurant was quite good. The entertainment was generally very good, with a terrific Tango show.

Some general observations: This trip was challenging for anyone without very good mobility. My wife and I are 68 and navigated the ports and excursions without issue but many others did not. The ports include uneven walking surfaces, damaged walkways, uneven and steep stairs, and changes in elevation without hand or guard rails. Additionally, several ports were too crowded to enjoy because there were multiple cruise ships there together. Santorini was pure chaos when many hundreds of people crowded into the area near the cable car station to return to their ships. It was not a safe situation, and many of us resorted to taking the donkey trail down to be back to the tender station on time. Several persons fell on the trail and were injured. We did seem to hit the sweet spot pretty well on weather, with daytime temperatures ranging from the low eighties to low seventies. There was a little rain later in the trip, but nothing that stopped us from getting out and about. Read more