Jewel in Alaska 9/7 Review w/ pics

[terrydtx]

Great review and I too love your pictures. Is the bow not being open to passengers an NCL fleet wide thing? :confused: Our first NCL cruise will be on the Jewel this year and on our last 5 HAL and Celebrity cruises the bow was always open to passengers for viewing except for a few rough sea days. We did a Panama Canal transit on the HAL Volendam and the bow views were amazing in the Canal.

[triptolemus]

Juneau – Mendenhall Glacier, Fish Hatchery, Mt Roberts Tram

 

Following a breathtaking morning in Tracy Arm, we arrived in Juneau in the early afternoon. As mentioned above, we had to tender since there were already four other ships docked at the harbor. The tender ride was bewildering, not for any reason other than the fact that the tender pilot could not seem to dock the thing. We were not trying to dock in a hurricane. Waters were calm and there was plenty of dock help. It must have been one of his first few times operating the tricky craft. As the Jewel maintained station keeping, we met with our tour off to a fish hatchery and then to Mendenhall.

 

 

Marge was our guide this tour and wasn’t tolerating any crap from anyone, particularly those who may have imbibed before the venture. She was a blast though and met any foolishness with an equal amount of dry humor mixed with an old nun. I knew she had a ruler close by with which to slap one’s hand. As the tour bus headed through town Marge, with her distinctive raspy voice, narrated with interesting facts and whatnots about Juneau that you don’t really need to know. How do I know this? Because having done the tour, I don’t know any of the facts.

 

 

The hatchery itself, located a few miles north of town, offered views of tasty specimens accompanied by a tired narrator from the hatchery and little else. While it’s an important operation, it’s not very interesting. There was the obligatory gift shop here where stuff that won’t fit in your already crammed luggage could be obtained.

 

 

We were done with the hatchery in less than half an hour and made our way to the glacier.

 

As we arrived at Mendenhall, Marge provided strict yet pleasant instruction on our bus number, where the bus would be, what time the bus would leave, and the consequences of failing to remember any of this. It’s a small hike through the park with a few signs along the way warning you of bears (there were none) and how you might be less attractive to them.

 

It’s a beautiful park with several trail selections that lead to the glacier. We chose the one everyone else didn’t. I didn’t spot much wildlife but I’m pretty sure that is because I was doing an awful job at trying to spot any, as opposed to – as most people believe – the wildlife having gone home for the day.

 

 

 

The trails begin to open up as the glacier comes into view. We didn’t shoot the photo this way on purpose. That angle represents how the earth feels after having been on the ship for a few days.

 

[triptolemus]

To me, Mendenhall is only slightly less impressive than Sawyer only because Sawyer has Tracy Arm. Otherwise, I think you can hike a little closer to Mendenhall. I understand hiking at Sawyer is a bit more challenging. Anyway, she’s an impressive exhibit of the Earth’s life force.

 

 

 

As the glacier glaciered, I made my way to the waterfall for a drink as many have done before me.

 

 

The water was quite cold and very good as it flowed from the rocks.

 

 

With Marge’s ruler in mind, we made our way back up toward the bus enjoying one last moment looking at the falls. The size is impressive and reminds one how small they are.

 

 

On the way back up the trail, it was fun to warn new visitors about the two bears that MAY have been spotted (there were none) and that they should use extreme caution. This, of course, elicited the reaction I was expecting.

 

[triptolemus]

The trip back toward the ship was uneventful and upon arrival, we were delighted to see the Jewel had taken her position at the docks and only mildly disappointed that another thrilling tender ride was not in our future. As my wife decided to head back to the ship, I decided to do the “bucket list” Mt Roberts Tram.

 

At $31, the price is a little steep. I’ll just let that one soak in…

 

At $31, the price is a little steep, but I think worth the ride. Hell, you’re there, right? As many ships were boarding there was no line to get on the thing so after being separated from my cash, away we go.

 

 

 

It was foggy that afternoon, so photo opportunities were not plentiful here. Doesn’t matter though. I will just steal better ones from the Internet and add them to my own.

 

I spent a half hour or so up here poking around. The mechanics of this contraption are interesting to me. Like most things in Alaska, the Tram is monumental. There is more to see up here that I didn’t get to but since it was coming on to rain pretty good I just didn’t feel like trudging through the trails after Mendenhall.

 

 

 

After a quick Jack Daniels at the bar up here, I hopped in the trusty gondola and made the three minute ride down.

 

She becomes a familiar face very, very quickly.

 

 

What’s a review without a towel animal? I dropped by the cabin to clean up and barely noticed this little guy. Then it was time to dust of the UBP card so once again, worthy pictures are done. Admittedly, we didn’t take very many pictures onboard the ship this time as we had been on the Jewel a year prior and have tons. This is one of the reasons a return/repeat trip is so neat. You get to live in the moment more.

 

 

 

 

More to come…

[triptolemus]

Great review and I too love your pictures. Is the bow not being open to passengers an NCL fleet wide thing? :confused: Our first NCL cruise will be on the Jewel this year and on our last 5 HAL and Celebrity cruises the bow was always open to passengers for viewing except for a few rough sea days. We did a Panama Canal transit on the HAL Volendam and the bow views were amazing in the Canal.

 

The bow is an unsafe place to be in a place like Alaska where bad weather can come on quick. So, for these AK trips, they typically only open it for the glacier viewings (Sawyer or Glacier Bay). I imagine in warmer climates, they certainly could open it more...

[triptolemus]

Skagway – White Pass & Yukon Railroad

 

Skagway greeting us to nice weather as we headed to Cagney’s and prepared to leave the ship. Our friends the Pearl, and the Golden Princess were with us today. Give them three ships and little Skagway fills up fast. Despite this, crowds were totally manageable and everyone was pleasant as they oooh’d and aahhh’d at the beautiful scenery around them.

 

 

The plan today was to take a bus up Klondike Hwy to Fraser, B.C., pass through Canadian customs and board the train back down the 35 miles or so. After that, we were to board the bus again to check out the Klondike Gold Fields thing.

 

The bus ride was totally fogged in most of the way. I blamed the driver. Visibility was very limited seeing the signage and snow plow marker poles told me that we were in some dangerous conditions. The driver, relieved of my frantic complaining about the fog, ultimately carted us to Fraser safely. The whole ride looked like this…

 

 

Then, when we pushed a little further into Canada, it looked like this….

 

 

Go figure.

 

We did encounter a brief delay at customs. Three passengers were pulled off the bus in front of us. They appeared elderly and harmless so I imagine their documentation was out of order somehow. Remember to bring all your paper things when and if you cross into Canada.

 

 

Off the bus now, the land was quite gorgeous here. The air was crispy as it carried a slight wind. There were some kayakers here on Bernard Lake but that looked like too much work to me.

 

 

Boarding the train was painless. There were plenty of seats for everyone because each bus was assigned a specific car or two, which kept people spread evenly on the train as passengers are not permitted to move from car to car. We boarded the train and consumed the complimentary snacks our bus driver gave us; cheese and crackers in case you were wondering.

 

[sdmike]

Great pictures! Interesting that the Jewel used that dock in Juneau. That's normally Princess. I thought terminal AJ at the south end was where NCL stopped. Was the Pearl [edit] there in the afternoon too

Edited September 18, 2013 by sdmike

[triptolemus]

Great pictures! Interesting that the Jewel used that dock in Juneau. That's normally Princess. I thought terminal AJ at the south end was where NCL stopped. Was the Jewel there in the afternoon too

 

Yeah, where you see the Jewel at the end of the tram cables is where she docked and remained until departure. Skimming my photos, the only other ships I can make out are the Pearl (duh) and the Sapphire Princess. The Jewel plus the Golden Princess makes 4 ships, so still not sure who 5 was.

[triptolemus]

It’s 27.7 miles from Fraser back to Skagway, while the entire WP&Y RR extends a full 110.4 miles into the Yukon, terminating at Whitehorse. Shortly after boarding, we were given a booklet which contained a map of the route along with the mile markers (everything was in miles, not km). The booklet describes a bit of the history of the gold stampede that occurred there in 1897 as well as the history of the railroad itself. A nice booklet, to be sure. The back half of the booklet gives you all the information you need to obtain more stuff with ads for the gift shop the online shop (which I’m going to after I’m done with this).

 

The scenery from the railway speaks for itself so I think I’ll shut up for a minute and just select a few pictures. Passengers are permitted to stand outside at the ends of the train cars through most of the trip, so I posted up there for the duration. And away we go…

 

 

 

 

 

Thankfully, we didn’t use this bridge…

 

 

It wasn’t long before we came down out of the fog…

 

[sdmike]

Yeah, where you see the Jewel at the end of the tram cables is where she docked and remained until departure. Skimming my photos, the only other ships I can make out are the Pearl (duh) and the Sapphire Princess. The Jewel plus the Golden Princess makes 4 ships, so still not sure who 5 was.

 

It was a typo above. I meant to ask was the Pearl there too, and using terminal AJ? Based on your response I'd say yes. Interesting that the Jewel chose to hit Tracy Arm on the way in and not on the way out. Wonder if that's new this year or a one time thing.

[triptolemus]

Continuing on…

 

 

 

As you can imagine, there are numerous treacherous bridges to be crossed…

 

 

 

 

You’ll notice the trackway on the mountain in the right of this one…

 

 

Crossing the east fork of the Skagway River, the train continues on toward town following the river and the Klondike Highway to the west.

 

[triptolemus]

Couple more…

 

 

 

It wasn’t many moments after this point that we were told US CPB were on board the train. We were not allowed to photograph them and for this reason, cameras had to be put away until further notice. The train had been moving for quite some time so its not clear when CBP boarded the train. We did stop about 8 miles back so maybe he boarded there? Anyway, I didn’t need a photo of the officer or his attention so I put the camera away.

 

This one is out of sequence with the rest but everyone likes pictures of the ships. You can make out the trackway there on the bottom left.

 

 

Finally, back at the dock, another marvelous day draws to a close.

 

 

As we leave Skagway the sun sets flirtingly through the fog. I can still here the clanking of the rail cars on the track in my head. The pattern of it is somewhat hypnotic and tends to envoke. We saw in a matter of hours what took years to build and where many lost their lives. We must remember not to take this stuff for granted.

 

 

Anyway, enough philosophy… where’s that UBP card?

 

 

 

More to come…

[triptolemus]

Yeah, where you see the Jewel at the end of the tram cables is where she docked and remained until departure. Skimming my photos, the only other ships I can make out are the Pearl (duh) and the Sapphire Princess. The Jewel plus the Golden Princess makes 4 ships, so still not sure who 5 was.

 

#5 was HAL Volendam I think. She was nose to nose with us in Ketchikan.

[triptolemus]

It was a typo above. I meant to ask was the Pearl there too, and using terminal AJ? Based on your response I'd say yes. Interesting that the Jewel chose to hit Tracy Arm on the way in and not on the way out. Wonder if that's new this year or a one time thing.

 

I'm sorry, Mike. I see now that "duh" thing came off wrong. I was trying to "duh" myself. Gotta be careful with humor online.

 

I just checked the iten's for next year and indeed the Jewel is scheduled for 2 pm after Tracy/Sawyer. Sounds like this is the way it is going forward. Just so I'm clear, Terminal AJ is the one farthest south that sticks out in the channel a bit, right? That's where I remember Jewel being last year.

Edited September 18, 2013 by triptolemus

[triptolemus]

Thursday – Sea Day

 

Thursday is Sadday as the ship turns the stern to the northern most point of the voyage. We’re headed south.

 

 

Happily, we have a little fun planned for the day.

 

We started with a couple’s massage at the spa. Fortunately for everyone there are no pictures of this part. I have never had a professional massage before and I have no idea what I was waiting for. The experience was enlightening and very fantastic. Although a tad pricey, the staff there are quite friendly and make you feel comfortable. It’s probably tough to book massages on a sea day but well worth the effort.

 

Next up was the Behind-the-Scenes tour, including the bridge, galley, laundry, waste management, and backstage of Stardust. The cost was $55 per person and the group was sized down to about 15 or so.

 

I don’t know how many folks are interested in this stuff, but for some odd reason I find it fascinating. All only post a few of these, and if anyone would like more, just ask and all pick more.

 

First was the galley and food stores. About half the crew here are looking after you, the other half are looking three or four voyages down the road.

 

 

 

The laundry was a big operation and not a place you want to hang out at for very long. It’s hot and humid.

 

This wasn’t discussed by the guide, but there was a safety bulletin on the wall. The bulletin described a pretty serious fire that occurred here on Aug-2011. Lint had accumulated in the overhead panels and about 0940 open flames and smoke were observed. A bunch of fire extinguishers were discharged followed by the hi-fog system and the fire was put out. The investigation showed the cleaning procedures were inadequate. Scary stuff.

 

 

 

Backstage of Stardust wasn’t very interesting, but the bridge certainly was…

[triptolemus]

The Bridge…

 

Most folks have seen the bridge from the deck 11 viewing window, but here’s a couple of shots from on the bridge. Curiously, video and audio recording were strictly prohibited, but photographs were okay.

 

 

 

The First Officer explained that there were 5 redundant stations on the bridge. All functions could be controlled from any of them. He added that while typically the computer drives, they can take manual control. Should the electronics fail, the crew can operate systems from various manual equipment throughout the ship.

 

 

The officers were keeping a close eye on a small vessel 10 deg to starboard. You couldn’t see it with the naked eye. So I took command of the ship and the Jewel safely avoided the tiny hazard.

 

 

The view from the bridge wing, port side.

 

 

Information you might need should you find yourself attempting to drive a ship.

 

 

As we exited the bridge on the port side, we passed through the hallway where the the senior officers quarters were located. The captain's quarters are starboard directly aft of the bridge.

 

Again, I have more behind the scenes stuff if anyone is interested...

[sdmike]

I'm sorry, Mike. I see now that "duh" thing came off wrong. I was trying to "duh" myself. Gotta be careful with humor online.

 

I just checked the iten's for next year and indeed the Jewel is scheduled for 2 pm after Tracy/Sawyer. Sounds like this is the way it is going forward. Just so I'm clear, Terminal AJ is the one farthest south that sticks out in the channel a bit, right? That's where I remember Jewel being last year.

 

Yeah, AJ is the furthest one south. While it was less convenient than docking downtown, I liked how close it was to the National/Alamo booth. :)

 

Thanks for the info on the itinerary. Curious as to why they made that change. Maybe to avoid the conflict with a HAL ship we had in Tracy Arm on our trip. The HAL ship blocked the view and would not let the Jewel get closer to the glacier. The captain was pissed.

Edited September 18, 2013 by sdmike

[sdmike]

please post more of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Like you, I find that part extremely interesting

[kcwingwalker]

please post more of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Like you, I find that part extremely interesting

 

I like the behind the scenes stuff too. Always wanted to do the tour, but not sure my PITA knee would be up to it.

[triptolemus]

please post more of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Like you, I find that part extremely interesting

 

OK....

 

More galley…it’s hard to photograph because its so compartmentalized, much like one would expect from a galley…

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the galley is clean! Happy happy!

 

 

Words to live by…

 

 

This poster called “Freestyle Fundamentals” has a bunch of motivational slogans. One in particular I found interesting says “Follow the 5 & 10 Foot Rule” – what’s that mean? It means never be closer to a guest than 5 feet and never be farther away than 10. The other notable one? Number 14: UPSELL.

 

[terrydtx]

I did the behind the scenes tour with Celebrity but it was free for Captain Club members (their rewards program). I guess the $55 is just another way for NCL to nickel and dime us some more, that is the Day 14 "Upsell" part. I will say it was fascinating I loved the galley part and the bridge tour, amazing how easy it is to pilot one of the huge cruise ships.

Edited September 18, 2013 by terrydtx

[triptolemus]

I like the behind the scenes stuff too. Always wanted to do the tour, but not sure my PITA knee would be up to it.

 

It is a tough tour to be sure.

 

A few more...

 

 

Let’s leave the galley….

 

 

….and check out the hazmat storage area. All the containers were properly labeled – I checked.

 

 

Non-hazardous waste management… bottle crushers and incinerator heads and something called a “densifier” here. A close look in the large version reveals this is a 690 VAC system. For any electrical folks here, that’s somewhat interesting.

 

 

Anoter few from the laundry. Can you read what’s on the display?? After 10 hours of laundry, what would you press?

 

 

 

 

If you would like to read more about the fire in the laundry, I've uploaded the full-size photo and you can view it here:

 

http://mrose.org/cc/RPsm/SAM_3390.JPG

 

If I shrink it you can't read it and it's too large to post in the forum.

[triptolemus]

Few more BTS…

 

All the way fwd on the bridge…

 

 

And the view portal down port side…

 

 

Radios and emergency reference equipment…

 

 

And me at the con… nice chair.

 

 

That’s pretty much all I have for BTS that’s worth posting. The rest are different views of same or blurry. I’ve got to thank my wife for taking most of these. She’s the best. My Nikon would be too big to bring down here.

 

I will wrap up as soon as I can…

[satchiesmom]

What a wonderful review and photos, thank you!

[sdmike]

I guess the $55 is just another way for NCL to nickel and dime us some more

 

Sigh. Really? It's an optional tour. It's a CHOICE, not nickel and diming. :rolleyes: