Cruise had a great itinerary. Highlights were derfinitely St Kitts and St Lucia. Puerto Rico is always a fantastic place to stay! The food is absolutely amazing (Bebo's Cafe), and we never get tired of walking and exploring Old San Juan. The Jewel of the Seas is really starting to show its age though. There was always an unpleasant odor near our cabin and in our stateroom bathroom. The shopping area was very small. Staff was fantastic though - always friendly and accommodating! The elevator buttons did not always work properly and some of the exterior lights on the elevators also did not work. We were not as happy with the dining. We were required to order dessert (which did not change much from day to day) when we ordered our dinner as opposed to ordering dessert afterwards. The downside of this is that sometimes after dinner, we did not want dessert, or we would have changed our minds based on the entree. Not a really big issue, but it seemed to irritate us most nights. The embarkation process was incredibly smooth! It took us less than 20 minutes from the time that we dropped off our bags. Disembarkation was similarly smooth. It really was a very good cruise, but I would have preferred to be on a newer boat.
All of the drawers had issues with opening (sticky), the closet doors were damaged and did not close properly due to an interference with the life jackets. There was always an unpleasant odor from our bathroom - we think it was from the pipes. The vanity mirror had a chip in it. The bed was very comfortable though. Honestly - the odor was the worst part - the other items were somewhat minor issues.
Awesome port. Recommend spending at least one full day prior to embarking on ship in San Juan. It is great walking around Old San Juan, visiting the Forts (very inexpensive), and trying out Puertorican Cuisine (Mofungo or Trifungo are our favorites)! It was our third time to Puerto Rico and we would definitely go back!
We walked into Bridgetown in Barbados. Nothing much to see, other than a not-so-clean city. People were not very friendly. Not too many excursions available for this island. Probably the biggest let down of the trip.