Trip report : June 11th - NCL Jewel First Ever Vancouver to Seward Cruise

Denali – Day 2

We had reserved the 9am shuttle to Eielson. Per various advice on the board, we elected to save about $100 each compared to theTundra Wilderness Tour.

We booked a 9am departure because we didn’t want to get there too early but despite the advice that animal viewing in the park varies,our own personal experience said that animals are more active in the mornings and evenings. Since the B&B we chose was outside of Healy, we needed to allow about 30 minutes to get back to the Denali entrance. We picked up a box lunch in town and were at the park by about 8:20.

We elected for the port, I mean left side of the bus mainly due to the course that the road follows along the right side of the canyon. For the most part, that worked well for us. Tracy, our driver seemed to know every nook and cranny and went out of her way to make sure everyone saw the animals and got the photo they wanted. We saw a big bull moose on the way in (still on the paved section), dhal sheep, several bears and lots of caribou, plus the assortment of ground squirrels, arctic hares and a ptarmigan. For the most part, except the moose, the animals were quite a distance from the road and view-able via binoculars.

At the first observation point, Denali was clouded in…

As we crossed the ridge into Eielson, Denali was visible about halfway up. It was quite impressive compared to the view we had yesterday, we were now about half the distance from it. But the top was still cloudy. But with binoculars, you could occasionally see a bit of the mountain peeking through. Tracy commented that it was only the 5th time this season that she had seen this much.

We elected to take the same bus back but the majority of people on our bus stayed. We considered it, but had another activity planned that evening and wanted to get back. During the stop, the north peak became more and more visible but the clouds remained on the south peak. It was funny, you kept seeing a little more with clouds above it, but as the clouds cleared, there was still mountain above the spot your had seen. Eventually, it was just mountain.

As we were leaving, the south face started also peaking out and Tracy stopped for more pictures. But it wouldn't stay clear long enough to get a good picture. As we reached the Toklat area, it finally showed both north and south summits.

But shortly after, it appeared to completely cloud up again. But we were happy, we got to see it up close and saw both peaks.

The bus trip back was another 4 hours. We were ready to be back so it sure would have been nice if they had some kind of teleporter at the end to get you back quicker. We did see some wildlife but it was too hot for most to be out. The animals were trying to keep cool since it was in the mid 70’s.

On the way back into town, we stopped at the Prospector’s Pizza again since we really liked their pizza. We ordered a variety of meals, but they weren’t nearly as good. I guess when it has pizza in the name, you should stick with the pizza.

We had also booked an ATV ride that evening at 9 pm. If you noticed, this was the only time we booked multiple planned excursions in a day. One per day was sufficient and we always found ways to spend the time.We chose one operated by Denali ATVs, it was called the Midnight sun ride. We elected for the explorer option which meant we had a private tour for the 4 of us rather than being part of the larger group which at the same time we went was about 20 vehicles. We opted for 2 side by side ATVs. It was dry on the trails and we were pretty dusty when we got off but we also got a chance to ride in Dry Creek (which it wasn’t).

We felt that the private option gave us more time to do what we wanted and it was worth it. They took us a few places they said they wouldn’t take the bigger group. We took turns driving as well. My wife’s sister had never driven an ATV but when we reached one of the vantage points, she already was ready to do more.

We rode for 1.5 hours and were due back at 11pm. We did this tour on June 20th so we are close to the longest day of the year. In fact, the sun didn’t set until 12:30 so it was very bright yet.

It really was a highlight of our trip and we spent a lot of time reliving the experience.

All that is left now is the trip home :-(

heading home

We retired back to Touch of Wilderness for one last night before heading back. Night is somewhat relative as it never actually did get dark. As noted above, sunset was at 12:30 and sunrise was at 3:30 and the 3 hours in between were more like twilight.

Midnight view versus 3:30 am views

We did a leisurely breakfast, saw this cute chipmunk and started our trek towards home.

As we crossed back to the Anchorage side, we hit some light rain but the clouds were higher than on the drive in so we did get to see a few more snowy mountains. Denali was clouded in from this side again (still?).

It took just over 5 hours to drive from Healy to Anchorage with no stops except a short rest area stop and about 15 minutes at one construction zone. We ate lunch at Humpy's at the downtown location on recommendation from our daughter, who at the time was in Dutch Harbor (which is a long way from Anchorage). We headed to the airport and dropped our rental. It was quick and an easy walk to the terminal to check in. The security lines were modest and we were ready to go. We added a couple of souvenirs from the airport that we had waited to get, but it was an expensive place to get them.

We really enjoyed getting to sleep in our own beds finally. We had been gone 16 days but itwas a great 16 days…

The end… (for now)

Going southbound in August......curious if they have movies on the ship

yes, there were - check our the dailys I posted, they are listed in there.

Thanks for the review! I'm also on a northbound port side cabin in a couple of months and was worried I picked the wrong side .. I actually had no choice as that was the last balcony cabin available. It's good to hear that I'll also get some great views and not have to go deckside.

Thanks for the review! I'm also on a northbound port side cabin in a couple of months and was worried I picked the wrong side .. I actually had no choice as that was the last balcony cabin available. It's good to hear that I'll also get some great views and not have to go deckside.

I always go deck side when there is nothing to see, just to be sure I am not missing a calving, etc., but it isn't essential. At Hubbard, it is OK to stay there as you sail in, but once the ship stops, get to the starboard side for the best views (at least on ours that was the case).

In my photo collection, here are 2 sets from Glacier Bay when we could see it. You can see how vivid the photos (most from the balcony) were.

Posted some but not all photos

Posted some but not all photos

 

Thanks for the great review (and dallies)! We are doing the same itinerary in August, and your review is very helpful.

One question about dinners and shows; You mentioned that the meals in the MDR’s were about two hours, but what about the specialty restaurants? I’m trying to figure out the best time to schedule meals in the specialty restaurants if we want to see the evening shows.

Thx

Thanks for the great review (and dallies)! We are doing the same itinerary in August, and your review is very helpful.

 

One question about dinners and shows; You mentioned that the meals in the MDR’s were about two hours, but what about the specialty restaurants? I’m trying to figure out the best time to schedule meals in the specialty restaurants if we want to see the evening shows.

 

Thx

They ran about the same. Le Bistro and Moderno was somewhat depending on us, drinks and appetizers, main course and dessert (ok, too stuffed at Moderno to have desserts). Teppanyaki ran according to their cooking schedule and they allocated 1.5 hours between reservations. We tried to eat between 6 and 7 and attend the 9:15 show. That actually worked pretty well because even on port days, we were on board by then.

I just happened to be on the Legend at that time and took a picture of your beautiful ship so here you go :-)

 

In a great twist of fate, another poster took a photo of the Jewel from the Legend to match the one I took of them.

heading h

saw this cute chipmunk and started our trek towards home.

The end… (for now)

Wow I didn’t realise these guys are so small. I’m Australian and have never seen a chipmunk they r so cute.

We are a group of 14 and will be on the Jewel in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions on how to communicate with each other while out at sea? I've read to download the NCL app., but I'm not sure if this works on the Jewel. Also, another app Whats App. Has anyone had good luck with either of these?

Thanks for the wonderful trip report...good job!

We are a group of 14 and will be on the Jewel in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions on how to communicate with each other while out at sea? I've read to download the NCL app., but I'm not sure if this works on the Jewel. Also, another app Whats App. Has anyone had good luck with either of these?

Thanks for the wonderful trip report...good job!

The app offers device to device for $10. Any other app would require internet access that isn’t cheap, There were times it might have been useful but managed without. In port and sailing around the cities,we could do regular texting although a few didn’t make it through and we had no way to know. On our past cruises, we tried the little personal walkie-talkies with limited success. We did a few sticky notes on the door.

One small is oddity that some notifications make it through the ship WiFi so even if you are just connected but not paying, you can still get iMessage and other notifications like mail, You can’t respond but at least you get them.

With a group as large as yours, my recommendation is just pay for device to device and communicate away (although we didn’t )

Thank you for your review. We are leaving on the same trip in 3 weeks. Could you please elaborate on the credit card issue in the taxi? We were planning on using a CC for all of our taxi trips, but now I'm a bit concerned if that will work? Thank you.

One challenge is the Taxi credit cardmachines did not work at this level of the parking garage so we ended payingcash ($10 US). 

Thank you for sharing!  We are booked on a southbound next summer but I am thinking of changing to Northbound.  

Really enjoying reading your trip. Bubble Net feeding was on my bucket list but no joy. We were on the starboard side and only once did not face the dock. Also on several boat watch trips saw no bubble net feeding. Another miss was calving glacier. Spent a total of around 4 hours in front of glaciers in clear view with no calving. Much to the fear of DW, I'm already planning the next Alaska trip.