Some speed bumps but overall great cruise experience

We really enjoyed Jewel of the Seas and the crew was fantastic.  I was concerned about the condition of the ship because it is going in for refurbishment very shortly after our cruise.  Overall the ship was in fantastic condition and showed minimal signs of wear.  The exception was the pillow in the staterooms which were as flat as pancakes, so take your own pillows or ask for extra pillows so you can stack them.

We started off in cabin 8000 - a family cabin that "sleeps 6".  We found that while it may sleep 6 they cannot be 6 adults or 2 adults and 4 older children as in our case.  The room has the standard two beds that can be put togther, two bunks in a separate room curtained off and a pull out couch.  The pullout couch was our problem because it was really more like a futon in three sections.  It was somewhat short and would be suitable for smaller children, but not for older teenagers.  We talked to customer service and they were able to move us to two side by side ocean view cabins on the 4th floor, which were more suitable for our family.  The family cabin is a great room, just more suitable for a family with smaller children that can sleep on a smaller pullout.

Overall, we enjoyed the ship.  The food was standard royal caribbean cruise food.  The Windjammer food was good, plentiful and it seemed to be open more than I remember on prior cruises.  The dining room food was also good, although sometimes a little bland.  The waitstaff was always jovial and tried to make out experience as perfect as possible.

We saw several of the evening shows, although not all of them.  I think my favorite was the group that came in and performed Journey songs.  They didn't look like Journey, but they sounded exactly like the group.  The lead singer could have been Steve Perry based on the sound of his voice.  All in all, the shows and other activities were very good.  We also took the time to see three relatively current movies in the small cinema on deck 6.  A word of caution, if you want to see something at the 9pm showing get there about half an hour early as it's a VERY small theater and fills up quickly.

We enjoyed out southern caribbean cruise.  We got off the boat and snorkeled in St Thomas and Aruba and took a city and beach tour in Curacao.  All of the excursions were very good and I would do again.  I liked all three destinations and they were a little more upscale than some of the other islands we have been to.  We didn't get off the boat in St Kitts because we went there last year.