We were on the repositioning cruise on the Jewel of the Seas, which took us from Boston to Tampa, with stops in St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacao and Aruba. While we had some nasty weather at the beginning, it calmed down by the third day, and overall our cruise was lovely.

This was our second Royal Caribbean cruise, and we really enjoyed the energy on board. The service was spectacular everywhere -â€" poolside, in the lounges, at dinner and in our stateroom. We loved our waiter and assistant waiter (Jerome and Jose), who took great care of us and made us feel like we were the most important people on board. We also spend a lot of time in the Schooner Bar, where waiter Roy became our new best friend. Cruise director Carly B was a riot, and her staff was funny, fun and always pleasant.

Overall, the ship was beautiful. Lots of room for lounging, and some great spots for a little privacy as well. The rooms were small, but that's pretty standard for cruising. There was plenty of room for storage (we had an exterior room, no balcony, that was slightly oversized). The Schooner Bar was great for a predinner cocktail, as it was far away from the smoky Pit Stop and casino. While RCL limits the places where people can smoke, we found the ship still too smoky overall. Any time you got near the Centrum in the middle of the ship, you could smell smoke no matter which floor you were on. Also, the jogging track runs right through a smoking section, which made that section for a morning jog particularly unpleasant. Read more