This was my first experience of a Radiance Class ship although I have been on Royal Caribbean before - on Freedom of the Seas and Naviagtor of the Seas. I thought I knew what to expect but what I got was so much more. The Jewel has a very european feel to it, maybe more like a large yacht than a ship. From the outside she is stunning, almost completely made of glass from halfway up (or so it seems). Official stats say there is actually 3 acres of glass to give guests magnificent sea views throughout the upper decks.

This Centrum was truly magnificent, with marble floors, a bar and an eight deck tall atrium with showing balconies for each deck. I was mesmerised by the waterfall and surrounding art - glass orchids, steel sculptures and portraits. I had been on the ship for 5 minutes and already the Jewel had exceeded all my expectations.

The Coral Theatre is very comfortable and large, it has an 'sea theme' decorated with seashells and schools of fish. The best thing was that there is an excellent view of the stage from every seat on the balcony. Aside from the shows, there is plenty of entertainment for everyone - a cinema featuring the latest films, the Pit Stop Sports Bar and of course the Casino Royale.

My favourite haunt would have to be the Champagne Bar which is located near the Centrum, although I enjoyed spending time in the Schooner Bar too. Another bar with a great atmosphere was the Safari Club - in the theme of a Game Reserve. This sounds tacky but it wasn't at all, it was very tastefully done and transformed a large room into an intimate venue. The Safari Club was home to another of Royal Caribbean's innovations - the self leveling gyro pool tables. In theory you could still play pool in force nine gales!

Eating times were a regal experience in the 2-tier Tides dining room. It is open daily for breakfast, on sea days for lunch, and each night. The entrance is magnificent, there are silk draped columns that stretched all the way across to a huge piece of 'moonlight' art at the far end which matched the entire moonlight and tide theme.
During the day, there were plenty of other options to eat. We used mainly the Windjammer Cafe buffet restaurant which has a unique layout of food stations (divided into hot dishes, salads, desserts), so that diners avoid that one long queue you get onboard most ship buffets.

I have never been a massive art fan but some pieces on the stairways were so eye catching I made a point of using the steps and not the lifts (although even those were beautiful!)

All in all the Jewel has come up as one of my favourite ships of all time and I could not see how she would disappoint anyone.