Embarkation: Smooth as silk. We were on the ship by 12:30p. Not the most scenic port, but I'll take function over form any day.
The ship:
Having only been on one other cruise a year and a half ago (Allure of the Seas), we thoroughly enjoyed the Jewel.
It was in a nice, quiet location (of course, it was also a rather quiet cruise).
Size-wise it's what I'd expect for a cruise ship. The balcony was plenty big enough. Only complaint is directly under the balcony is a roof that covers I think an outer walkway on deck 4. We couldn't look straight down to the ocean but rather had about a 30 degree angle before we could see anything.