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Jewel of the Seas Spa: I purchased a 'port day special' the morning of our Puerto Rico stop, and went to the spa in the morning for a Lime & Ginger Scrub and a Full Body Massage. I probably get massages about 5-6 times per year at various spas while on vacation and in my hometown (Seattle), and this spa treatment was on par with most. However, the spa itself was not as I expected. Since this was our first cruise, I really don't know if all cruise ships' spas are like this or not, but the spa area itself was really small.

There is no ladies locker room or changing area, so plan to change your clothes in your treatment room. There were also no "extras" included, probably because all of the extras they could include would already be part of your cruise experience (fitness center, hot tub, etc). Therefore, the spa treatments seemed a bit pricey since there were no extras.
Jewel of the Seas Food: The Windjammer Café is the buffet restaurant on the ship. We went there a few times for breakfast and lunch, but never for dinner. We liked it, but after awhile, got a bit tired of the same ol' thing. I am a vegetarian, and there were very few options other than salad every day. In the evenings we ate at the Tides Dining Room for our late seating and LOVED the food there. We were apprehensive due to a few reviews that were critical of the food, and while my husband is a meat-eater, he primarily stuck with seafood, so we cannot comment on the steaks. We got lucky with our dinner mates as we really enjoyed the company of each of them from different areas of the country and world.

There are 2 specialty restaurants on the ship that require a $20 fee, but we only ate at one of them - Portofino - for the Murder Mystery Dinner ($49 per person). This was so much fun, and at the start of the mystery, my husband was pulled out by the "fortune teller" who told him his secret desire was to be a runway model. My husband, in true improv style, then proceeded to do a runway walk and pose for the crowd. What a ham! Later, some told him that he looked like he'd done that before, and yes, he pretends to be a model all the time when posing on escalators in department stores. Funny stuff. The food at Portofino was wonderful!

The Seaview Café is tucked off in a corner of the ship, near the Adventure Club. There, you can get everything from burgers, sandwiches and fish n' chips to milkshakes and other diner plates. My husband overheard many people who commented on how they loved being able to order a "fresh" burger and "real" milkshakes.

The Solarium Café is something not to be missed. There, you will find a few quick, veggie options such as good pizzas and wraps, along with crepes made to order! The crepes are available with a variety of toppings such as butterscotch, strawberries, chocolate, ham or cheese. The great thing about both the Solarium Café and the Seaview Café is that they were both open very late (until 1 a.m.) for a late-night snack.

One thing to note about the food options is that my husband purchased the Beverage Plan, which was probably not worth the cost. With gratuity, the cost was $55. He did not drink $55 worth of soda during the trip. To do that, he would have had to have ordered more than three sodas per day. Save a few dollars, and just order your drinks as you go.

Jewel of the Seas Entertainment: There is SO MUCH entertainment happening on the ship all of the time, that you can't possibly see everything. We went to the Quest Game Show, which is a MUST. It is sort of like a scavenger hunt, but you don't actually leave the room (the Safari Club) for the game. It is a must for anyone who likes to have fun. Again, my husband was picked out of the crowd to sit in a chair and allow other men to kiss his forehead. Those men got "points" in the game, while my husband got a lot of slobber on his forehead. (You had to be there.)

We went and saw one movie (Inside Man) on one of our days at sea. The cinema on-board is structured with steep stadium seating, so it is virtually impossible for anyone to block your view. However, we were a tad surprised when the ship's PA announcement for "Cash-Prize Bingo" was broadcast right in the middle of the movie.

Our nightly escapades usually ended up with dancing and/or people-watching in the The Vortex, the ship's adult dance club. Jewel of the Seas had several themed nights in The Vortex which were nothing less than hilarious. We went to the Disco Night, with a special appearance by the ship's crew of the "Almost Original Village People" delivering an entertaining performance. There was also a Ladies' Night with the Hunkamaniacs (think Chippendale-style dancing by the ship's male crew) again providing a "hot" performance.

Jewel of the Seas Disembarkation: Again, we read reviews about how painful this can be, but we experienced no pain. Our cabin was scheduled to leave the ship in the 7th or 8th grouping, so I projected that to happen at about 9:40 a.m. (they started exiting people at 8:30 a.m.). We were actually called at 9:35 a.m. and we were completely checked out, with luggage in hand by 10:10. The most challenging part of it was trying to find our shuttle to take us to the airport. We had pre-paid with KTS Tours to pick us up and take us to the airport, however, they were nowhere to be found. Next time around we will just grab one of the gazillion cabs waiting at the pier.

This cruise absolutely exceeded our expectations. We had no idea how much fun we would have on the ship, away from the ports of call, and how EXCELLENT the service would be from the crew. Whether it was our dining crew, our cabin crew, the cruise director, and guest relations - everyone was so friendly and helpful that we will definitely be cruising on Royal Caribbean again!

Thank you to Royal Caribbean for helping to make our 10-year anniversary so fun and memorable!