mg93901

I had a brain burp. It's not Sail Away, but with the wifi, specialty dining, and drink package included. For the life of me, I can't recall what NCL calls it.

NCL Jewel 7-day Seward to Vancouver April 22-29 Solo Sail Away Inside $229++ ($542.59 total) (I don't drink, so I unticked the included drink package gratuities.) If I hadn't already done this (the reverse) last May, I'd consider it. Edit to add: I booked an Inside last year and successfully bid $200 total (2 x $100) for a Balcony.

You're very welcome. I like to share the kind of information I want and need. Yes, I was also surprised the location was not as I saw it on the deck plan map. Please come back and report how the cabin worked or didn't work for your group members. I think you're right, driving straight in with the scooter will be convenient and not require any tricky maneuvering. By the way, the cabin door is very heavy. The scooter person might not be able to manage it alone. Regarding twin bed set up, there is a small nightstand table between the wall and the bed. They'll pull that out, push one of the twins into the corner and slide the nightstand into the middle, between the twins, next to your heads. I hope my description makes sense. The problem with that though, the bed will be even closer to the sliding door and potentially make it even more difficult for someone with mobility problems to get out on the balcony. It doesn't sound like you personally need/have an accessible cabin though. If you think of any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

I was on the Jewel May 15-22 from Vancouver to Seward and stumbled upon the solo cruisers group by accident at lunch one day. The maitre d asked how many in my party and I replied that I was solo. He took that to mean I was meeting the solo group and ushered me to their table! I think there were nine of us. Two male seniors, a single father with preteen daughter, a 20-something guy, and two women coworkers traveling together for the first time. I intended to meet up again, but the daily meeting (posted as 6 pm in the Spinnaker Lounge in the dailies) was a difficult time to make. Sometimes, I had late excursions or was back on board after a day out and was ready to head to dinner. It also didn't help that the Spinnaker Lounge is Forward and my cabin and regular dining room were Aft. I didn't have the will and energy to walk all that way and walk back with a growling tummy. So long story short, NCL does have a daily official listed Solo Cruisers meeting, but no one on crew was there to lead the lunch I attended. Maybe someone from NCL attended the first meeting or maybe someone was at the 6 pm meetings, I don't know. Go and have a good time. You'll meet people along the way. I had two separate families from Alabama take me under their wings, looking out for me.

I posted details on my Jewel cabin 9650 a couple nights ago. The bathroom sink was wall-mounted and maybe a tad high for someone in a chair. (I use a walker.) It's interesting Jewel was built in 2005, Jade in 2006, and both were refurbished in 2022. |

Ship - Jewel Deck - 9 Stateroom # - 9650 Stateroom Category – BA, Accessible Balcony, Aft Starboard or Port Side - Port Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Quiet, but the cabin door directly faces the aft elevator bank. My sailing was lightly occupied, so maybe less/no noise due to roughly 1400 passengers on board out of 2376 max capacity. Both cabins on either side were occupied and I didn't hear any noise through the walls. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No. Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions. With a little lean, I could see forward and aft. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - The balcony size was at least twice as wide as a non-accessible judging from my quick lean/look and looking up from the dock. The railing is a couple inches higher than regular balconies. It could easily fit three chairs plus the small table. This was my first accessible cabin, first balcony, and first NCL cruise in 18 years, so I asked my cabin steward if there was an empty non-accessible balcony cabin I could have a quick peek at to compare sizing, but his section was fully occupied. Was wind a problem? - No, we had good May Inside Passage weather. It was a little breezy crossing the Gulf of Alaska between Hubbard Glacier and Seward, but nothing that kept me inside and I never feared my knit hat would blow off. If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No. Any specific problems with this cabin? - None. Any other comments? - I qualify for an accessible cabin, but do not use a wheelchair. I found it odd there was no ramp to get up and out to the balcony and with the bed being so close to the sliding door I don't see how a ramp could be added if needed. I meant to ask my room steward about that, but forgot. Standing inside 9650 with the door open. Accessible bathroom with roll-in shower and shower chair. No ramp for a wheelchair? And the end of the bed blocks a few inches of access to the door. I had to go in and out at an angle. Two accessible cabins side-by-side with wider balconies than non-accessible, plus a slightly higher railing. (I hope I didn't overdo it with posting photos. I'm happy to resize again if needed.)

April 9: Booked Jewel Vancouver to Seward May 15-22, 2023, Sail Away Inside with 0% single supplement April 11: Received the Upgrade Advantage email April 13: Bid $100 April 18: Bid accepted I read that Alaska Inside Passage is *the* cruise for a Balcony, so I bid double the minimum $50 and didn't bid on Oceanview out of fear of getting an Obstructed. As soon as my bid was accepted, suspecting overall occupancy was light, I called in to see if an Accessible Balcony was available. Sadly, I qualify and had already submitted the requested Special Needs form days before, and was given an Accessible Balcony on Deck 9 Aft. All said and done, I booked for $514 plus the 2 x $100 upgrade and was absolutely thrilled.

I sailed the Jewel May 15-22. I am 99% positive self-disembarkation began at 6 am.

I would love to hear from past Inside Passage cruisers who use T-Mobile.

I used my 50% off Alaska cert last Sunday to book Jewel in May. It brought my Sail Away Inside base fare down to $173. Including the $295 taxes and $45 insurance, the grand total was $513. The page where you click the box to apply the coupon is the payment page, where the credit card details are requested. Once I ticked the coupon, half the base fare was subtracted and the insurance was recalculated from $75 to $45 because the base fare had dropped a tier, which was a nice surprise. Good luck!

I was just looking into buying shares yesterday for the benefit of my May cruise. You have me thinking about it again.

I almost booked this sailing, but opted for May 15. It's been 12 years since my last cruise and 18 years since my last NCL, so thank you for the really helpful excursion information. Waiting to see what the weather is like and booking accordingly is something I hadn't thought of doing. Looking forward to following along.

Norwegian Epic Repositioning: Lisbon to NYC 9 nights December 7 - 16 Solo Inside Sail Away Guarantee $399 + $119 port/taxes Solo Balcony Sail Away Guarantee $479 + $119 port/taxes $50 per tour credit Book by 9/22 11:59 pm ET First time posting in this thread and first time posting on CC in a decade, I think. I hope I did this right.