Impressions from the first Alaskan sailing of the Jewel

[ute_fan]

Thought I'd better do a quick review of our recent trip on the Jewel. Overall we had a great time, and I'd probably give this cruise a B+ rating.

 

I'd been looking at this itinerary for about a month or so, as I enjoyed sailing from Vancouver before, and there are so few NCL ships that do. This itinerary left from Vancouver and returned to Seattle, so it provided the gorgeous views you get from sailing east of Vancouver Island, instead of west as most of the ships do later in the year. The pricing seemed a bit high, so I kept a close eye on it over a few weeks.

 

Just after the final payment was due, the price dropped $100. Tempting, but not enough to make me bite yet. Then I received a one-day sale notice from NCL, and pricing had dropped another $200. That, combined with $600 in rewards points from my NCL credit card, provided the correct bait, and we booked a balcony room for $599. We don't drink alcohol, don't eat in specialty restaurants, and don't gamble, so we didn't put a lot of money on our tab. Our bill at check-out was less than $350, and that included gratuities, two soda cards, a picture, and souvenirs from the gift shop. We did book one shore-excursion through NCL, but we're probably the kind of cruisers they hate.

[ute_fan]

Overall grade: A-

 

The Jewel is beautiful, and we'd sailed on her once before on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, so we didn't spend as much time exploring as we normally do. Our cabin was located between the mid-ship and aft elevators, and was a perfect location for us.

 

My only reason for knocking her down a notch is that I felt like she's starting to show a few signs of wear & tear. Our balcony door didn't want to close and lock easily. There were a few stains on the carpet in our cabin, and a couple of places where the closet doors had been dinged up. Since it has been 6 years since our first sailing on her, I wasn't surprised, but enough to drop the grade just slightly.

 

Our balcony was wonderful. I've sailed in inside cabins, outside cabins, and balconies, and used to say I could go back to an inside cabin easily. After our last 3 sailings in balconies though, I'm becoming a bit of a balcony snob. I thoroughly enjoyed waking up early in the morning and standing on our balcony, watching us pull into port and enjoying the scenery. Going back to an inside cabin would be tough at this point.

 

Our last sailing to Alaska was in an inside cabin, and we spent hours laying on the lounge chairs on the promenade deck on the Pearl. There were a few available on the Jewel, but not near as many as were on the Pearl -- and they didn't provide the nice blankets like the Pearl did. If anyone from NCL reads this, those blankets and more lounge chairs would be much appreciated by your cruisers.

 

I also noticed a lot of "buffet chair" hogs on this sailing. People would go up to the buffet early in the morning, and stake out their favored location, and occupy it for the rest of the day. Didn't bother me as we had our own spot, but it did make it had to find a place to eat in the buffet.

[ute_fan]

Overall grade: B-

 

Where to start.. As I mentioned, we didn't eat in the specialty dining rooms at all. We had a couple of meals in the buffet, due to shore excursion timing, but prefer to eat our meals in the MDR, especially since the buffet area was always so crowded.

 

My disappointment with the food was not the taste or quality of the food we ate, but rather in the selections available. Anyone who's read my posts in the past knows we LOVE the chilled fruit soups. They're not on the MDR menus any more, and we didn't bother asking for them. We'd usually wander up to the buffet and grab a bowl either before or after our meal in the MDR, which was inconvenient. Even more disappointing was the variety. We did miss getting to the buffet a few times, so we might have just missed them -- but I never saw some of my favorites. They served chilled strawberry soup, which I enjoy -- but it was in the buffet probably 4 or 5 times.

 

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, one side of the dinner menu is static and never changes. It includes steak, chicken, pasta, salmon, and I forget what else, some appetizers, and some desserts. The other page of the dinner menu changes nightly, and included a chef's special each night, which was items made using local items. A lot of seafood available from that special, which made sense. We always found something to eat that was tasty, but it just seemed like the choices were lacking compared to our previous cruises. The main area where that was noticeable was in the dessert selection. No creme brulee, only one souffle, no baked Alaska. No shrimp cocktail available in the appetizer section. A lot of the foods that to us have always represented "cruise foods" -- the kinds of things we either can't get at most of our local restaurants, or that we don't bother to pay for.

 

The lunch menu was also disappointing, as there was only one menu available for the entire week. Admittedly, it's been almost 3 years since we sailed, but I don't remember it being that way before, and weren't impressed with the lunch menu at all.

 

I'll restate that it wasn't the taste of the items we ordered that we were disappointed with, but rather the selections available. I certainly didn't starve on this trip, but I also didn't come away with the "WOW" factor from the food that I had done on our previous cruises.

[ute_fan]

Overall grade: A

 

After sailing on this cruise again, and listening to some people who were sailing on a Princess ship that were on our whale watching excursion, I know why I stick with NCL. It's the crew! I don't think we ever walked past a crew member who didn't speak to us with a smile on their faces. NCL has really done a great job in this area.

 

We ended up getting the same waitress duo a couple of different times, and ended up asking to be seated in their area whenever possible. Jonalyn and Dulce in Tsar's dining room were wonderful! After the first couple of times, we didn't even have to ask for our sodas -- they'd appear automatically. When my husband asked why shrimp cocktails were no longer on the menu, she arranged to get us one a couple of nights. Jonalyn is from the Phillipines, and Dulce was from Peru. Friendly, polite, chatted when they had times, and made our dining experiences enjoyable.

 

Our room steward was named Nyoman, (hope I spelled that right), and he was from Indonesia. Probably the best room steward we've ever had. He asked us if we wanted fresh ice in our ice bucket (yes), and kept it filled every time he took care of our room. Did we want coffee packets (no), so he didn't bother. If we left the room and didn't notice him, he'd holler down the hall after us and wish us a good day. The last night he came in and showed us how to make a towel animal, and he left us one each night.

 

We also had several conversations with Hugo, who is the hotel director. I had a question for him that someone else needed an answer to, and he took time to find the answer and get back with me. Very impressed with how the crew remembers names and faces. That's not one of my skills, so I admire people who can do it.

[ute_fan]

Overall grade: A

 

As mentioned above, I picked this sailing partly for the Vancouver sailing. The scenery sailing through the narrows was gorgeous, and I was glad we'd made this choice.

 

Our ports of call included Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. This was our 3rd trip to those ports, so it's becoming harder to find new shore excursions I'm interested in and can afford. In Ketchikan, we didn't plan an excursion. We got off the ship and did a little souvenier shopping, but I was disappointed to see how many more jewelry stores have taken over the town. I don't go on a cruise to shop for jewelry, but there must be a lot of people who do. Our "excursion" for the day consisted of eating king crab legs in one of the local restaurants, along with clam chowder. YUMMY -- and very appreciated by these land-locked Utahns who can't get fresh seafood.

 

There was never even a question of what we would do in Juneau. The first thing I did, as soon as I booked the cruise, was sent an email to Harv & Marv to see if they had room for us, and was thrilled when the answer was yes. We went out with Captain Steve as our captain, and had a marvelous experience. The whales were out in full force, on a slightly overcast but totally still day with glassy water. Made it much easier to spot the telltale blows than it is if it's rocky. The highlight of our day came when we found a group of 4 whales all in the same vicinity. Steve said they weren't traveling together, but liked them to 4 patrons who were dining at the same restaurant. We watched them for several minutes, and were treated to 2 of the whales diving at the same time, showing their tales, followed shortly by the other two -- with 2 more tales. Great experience! We also saw bald eagles and sea lions on one of the small islands that they use as a rookery.

 

In Skagway, we'd previously driven to Emerald Lake and done the train ride, so I was looking for something a bit different. We decided upon the Glacier Safari expedition, only available through the ship. We boarded a small boat that held roughly 25 passengers, and headed back down the Lynn Canal a little past Haines. On the way we saw harbor seals up on a rock and stopped to take pictures. When we arrived at Glacier Point, they beached the boat, and we got off and walked up the beach towards a bus. They drove us up to the camp area, and outfitted us in rubber pants and coats, and gave us all boots to wear -- along with life jackets. Then we had a short hike through the forecast to the river, where the canoes were waiting. We had 6 people in our canoe, and paddled up the river until it was deep enough to drop the motor. Beautiful, gorgeous views of Davidson Glacier. Again, it was cloudy with no breeze -- which is rare, according to our guide. It was cold in front of the glacier, and I can only imagine how much colder it would have felt if it had been windy. One of those excursions that I'm glad I did once, but probably wouldn't choose to go again, given the price.

 

We were scheduled to sail through Tracy Arm fjord. I knew going in that our chances of getting there were slim, and sure enough, we were diverted to Endicott Arm. We had beautiful views of Dawes Glacier, and the people who had taken the small boat excursion that goes in before the ship were NOT happy when they realized what good views the ship also had. I'd done the small boat excursion previously, in Tracy Arm, and thoroughly enjoyed that excursion. IF you get into Tracy Arm, it's well worth it. For Endicott Arm, which is much straighter and wider, with good views of Dawes Glacier from the ship, I don't think it would -- but since you don't know that until you're on the small boat, it's a hard decision to make.

 

Feel free to ask questions, and if I think of anything else, I'll be back with miscellaneous comments.

[Planmaam]

We did book one shore-excursion through NCL, but we're probably the kind of cruisers they hate.

 

No, ute_fan, that's where you're wrong. NCL doesn't hate any of their cruisers. That's why we all keep coming back to them! [:-bd]

 

Thanks for your review!

[deladypilot]

Thank you for taking the time to review your trip.

[sdmike]

Are you saying the Tracy Arm small boat excursion will not go into Tracy Arm if the Jewel doesn't? That's why I booked this excursion...assuming that the Jewel would not be able to go in, and I could get in on the tour boat. I can honestly say that if the excursion boat goes somewhere else I'm going to cancel and get my money back.

[Stormhawk]

Ute_fan thank you for the great review so quickly. As someone counting down the days to his first Alaskan cruise, reviews like this really help build the anticipation.

 

If I may ask, how was your weather? Was there a significant temperature range?

[ute_fan]

Are you saying the Tracy Arm small boat excursion will not go into Tracy Arm if the Jewel doesn't? That's why I booked this excursion...assuming that the Jewel would not be able to go in, and I could get in on the tour boat. I can honestly say that if the excursion boat goes somewhere else I'm going to cancel and get my money back.

 

Yes, that's what I'm saying. The small boat excursion goes into whichever of the fjords the ship goes into. In the case of the Jewel, the small boat excursion leaves Juneau half an hour before the ship does, and then the ship follows in its path. The guests who are on the small boat then board the ship as it sits in the fjord in front of the glaciers. So, where the cruise ship is heading is where the small boat goes too.

 

If your sailing DOES get to Tracy Arm, it's a great excursion. When we did in in 2004, we got to see both North and South Sawyer, while the passengers who stayed on the ship only got to see South Sawyer. We were also much closer, and were able to get great views of the seals on the icebergs in front of South Sawyer -- which looked like specks of dirt when we reboarded the cruise ship. Tracy Arm is also very narrow and windy, and the small boat excursion give you great scenic views.

 

If your sailing gets diverted to Endicott Arm, the advantages of the small boat sailing are pretty well gone. We talked to a member of our roll call who said there were lots of unhappy people on the small boat when they saw how close the Jewel also got to the glacier.

 

I think I would have been upset too -- but it's one of those things NCL has very little control over, as they don't know until sometime that day if they're going to be able to get up Tracy Arm. In our case, the captain had been in communication with an RCI ship that had attempted Tracy Arm and failed to get very far, so he made the decision to divert. There was also a Holland America ship in front of us sailing up Endicott Arm that turned around and went back -- well short of the glacier -- as it had tried Tracy Arm too and ran into ice. By the time they got part way up Endicott Arm they were out of time on their schedule, so their passengers got no glacier viewing that day.

[ute_fan]

Ute_fan thank you for the great review so quickly. As someone counting down the days to his first Alaskan cruise, reviews like this really help build the anticipation.

 

If I may ask, how was your weather? Was there a significant temperature range?

 

I'm getting old and forgetful, so I wanted to post before I forgot everything :o. The weather was cool and cloudy most of the time, with a little rain in Ketchikan. It was probably in the mid 50's most of the time, but as long as it wasn't pouring rain, I was happy. I had a friend on another cruise line who was in Ketchikan the day after we were, and it was 70 and sunny, so the temperatures can vary a bit.

[sdmike]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. The small boat excursion goes into whichever of the fjords the ship goes into. In the case of the Jewel, the small boat excursion leaves Juneau half an hour before the ship does, and then the ship follows in its path. The guests who are on the small boat then board the ship as it sits in the fjord in front of the glaciers. So, where the cruise ship is heading is where the small boat goes too.

 

If your sailing DOES get to Tracy Arm, it's a great excursion. When we did in in 2004, we got to see both North and South Sawyer, while the passengers who stayed on the ship only got to see South Sawyer. We were also much closer, and were able to get great views of the seals on the icebergs in front of South Sawyer -- which looked like specks of dirt when we reboarded the cruise ship. Tracy Arm is also very narrow and windy, and the small boat excursion give you great scenic views.

 

If your sailing gets diverted to Endicott Arm, the advantages of the small boat sailing are pretty well gone. We talked to a member of our roll call who said there were lots of unhappy people on the small boat when they saw how close the Jewel also got to the glacier.

 

I think I would have been upset too -- but it's one of those things NCL has very little control over, as they don't know until sometime that day if they're going to be able to get up Tracy Arm. In our case, the captain had been in communication with an RCI ship that had attempted Tracy Arm and failed to get very far, so he made the decision to divert. There was also a Holland America ship in front of us sailing up Endicott Arm that turned around and went back -- well short of the glacier -- as it had tried Tracy Arm too and ran into ice. By the time they got part way up Endicott Arm they were out of time on their schedule, so their passengers got no glacier viewing that day.

 

Thanks for the information. Now I need to determine whether or not to cancel this excursion. It's my understanding that the ships miss Tracy Arm more often than make it, so the likelihood is that I'll be wasting my money...a lot of money.

[ute_fan]

Thanks for the information. Now I need to determine whether or not to cancel this excursion. It's my understanding that the ships miss Tracy Arm more often than make it, so the likelihood is that I'll be wasting my money...a lot of money.

 

The last few years haven't been good as far as the ships getting into Tracy Arm. You might want to wait a while, and see what the reports are this year before making your decision to cancel. If the ships are having good success getting to Tracy Arm, it would be worth keeping. If most of the ships are diverted, you can always cancel closer to sailing.

[auntierobin]

Are you saying the Tracy Arm small boat excursion will not go into Tracy Arm if the Jewel doesn't? That's why I booked this excursion...assuming that the Jewel would not be able to go in, and I could get in on the tour boat. I can honestly say that if the excursion boat goes somewhere else I'm going to cancel and get my money back.

 

Don't be too quick to cancel even if you do go to Endicott Arm, you still get a lot closer to the glacier than the ship does, and you get to see wonderful things along the way, including a little whale watching and bear spotting. That happened to us on our last trip to Alaska and we were not disappointed and didn't hear anyone else complaining. Here is a link to my photos of the excursion, you can see how close we got and how far the ship is from the glacier.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/581066681EuAmKA

 

In one photo you can see how far the ship is from the glacier as our small boat is headed back to the ship.

 

Another interesting fact, no boat is supposed to get closer than 1/4 mile to the glacier, and cruise ships typically stay about 1 mile out.

 

Your money, your decision. But from one who has been there Endicott Arm is just as good.

[ute_fan]

Don't be too quick to cancel even if you do go to Endicott Arm, you still get a lot closer to the glacier than the ship does, and you get to see wonderful things along the way, including a little whale watching and bear spotting. That happened to us on our last trip to Alaska and we were not disappointed and didn't hear anyone else complaining. Here is a link to my photos of the excursion, you can see how close we got and how far the ship is from the glacier.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/581066681EuAmKA

 

In one photo you can see how far the ship is from the glacier as our small boat is headed back to the ship.

 

Another interesting fact, no boat is supposed to get closer than 1/4 mile to the glacier, and cruise ships typically stay about 1 mile out.

 

Your money, your decision. But from one who has been there Endicott Arm is just as good.

 

Good points. The small boat does get much closer than the cruise ship does. I think part of the disappointment on our sailing is that they didn't see any whales or bears either -- at least as far as I heard.

 

From someone who has now sailed both Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm, I think that Dawes Glacier is just as gorgeous as the Sawyer Glaciers are. It's just that there are two of them, if you're lucky, and I thought that Tracy Arm was much more scenic than Endicott Arm.

[sdmike]

Thank you Robin. Good information

[auntierobin]

You mentioned that Hugo was the HD (isn't he great?), do you remember who the Captain was? I hope that it was Capt. Lars.

[ute_fan]

Hugo is wonderful! It's the first time I've sailed on a ship he's been on, as far as I know, and he was very responsive to the questions I had. The captain is currently Idor Hoydal. Didn't have a lot of interaction with him, but one of our roll-call participants had been on the ship since it left New York, and they seemed to love him.

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Nice review! Thank you for taking the time write your review and share with us!:)

[J&Bsail]

Thanks for the information. Now I need to determine whether or not to cancel this excursion. It's my understanding that the ships miss Tracy Arm more often than make it, so the likelihood is that I'll be wasting my money...a lot of money.

 

Don't cancel the small boat Tracy Arm trip. You will enjoy!:)

 

 

[sdmike]

I don't WANT to cancel, but in a previous post it sounded like if you go into Endicott there's no real advantage to being in the smaller boat. Also sounds like that's not really true, so we'll stick with the excursion.

 

I've been to both fjords but nobody else in my family has. I agree, Tracy Arm is much more scenic.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for posting your review, sounds like you had an awesome time, love your pictures.

[ute_fan]

Thanks -- but more pictures will be coming. Haven't uploaded the ones from this cruise yet :o.

[coka]

Hi Ute Fan! I enjoyed your review and am glad you made it to Alaska. Looking forward to the pictures!

 

coka

[halos]

No' date=' ute_fan, that's where you're wrong. NCL doesn't hate any of their cruisers. That's why we all keep coming back to them! [:-bd']

 

Thanks for your review!

Ditto!