Norwegian Jewel / inside passage

[sunflowr04]

The itinerary for the norwegian jewel doesn't include the inside passage while others such as celebrity and royal Caribbean do. Does anyone know if the jewel sails through the passageway? My friend said that was the highlight of her cruise, but I welcome other input from people who have sailed through it. Thanks!

[crystalspin]

The Inside Passage is not really one passageway. See the map here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage

 

It's kind of a maze of waterways. Just because NCL doesn't list 'inside passage' on the itinerary, you cannot get from Ketchikan to Juneau and/or Skagway without sailing in some part of the inside passage.

 

So if you click the [DETAILS] button on each of the three Jewel itineraries on this page:

 

http://www.ncl.com/vacations/alaska-cruises-norwegian-jewel-2-guests?destinations=4294934553&ships=4294963184&numberOfGuests=4294915774&pageSize=5&currentPage=1&sortBy=Featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultPage

 

you will see that they all cover some part(s) of the Inside Passage, although slightly different for each one.

[VideoTech]

The Inside Passage IS the Southeast Alaska cruising grounds. As pointed out above, it's many, many fjords and passages. So when you're going to or from Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican, Tracy Arm, Glacier Bay...you're in the Inside Passage.

[Urban trekker]

They may also be referring to sailing up the east or inside of Vancouver Island which is definately more scenic than sailing in the wide open ocean on the west or outside of Vancouver Island.

Part of the reason for not doing has to do with Seattle being an additional half day by sea to the usual first port of Juneau than Vancouver and because of Seymour Narrows and its tides the ships must go slower than if on the outside.

Does the Jewel stay on the outside for both north and southbound or only one - some ships do it each way on a round trip.

Hope this helps

Cheers!

Dennis

[VideoTech]

They may also be referring to sailing up the east or inside of Vancouver Island which is definately more scenic than sailing in the wide open ocean on the west or outside of Vancouver Island.

Part of the reason for not doing has to do with Seattle being an additional half day by sea to the usual first port of Juneau than Vancouver and because of Seymour Narrows and its tides the ships must go slower than if on the outside.

Does the Jewel stay on the outside for both north and southbound or only one - some ships do it each way on a round trip.

Hope this helps

Cheers!

Dennis

 

Nope, the passage between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland is not the Inside Passage. That is a specific designation for the passages and fjords of Southeastern Alaska.

 

The NCL ships generally sail on the outside (seaward) side of Vancouver Island both coming and going from Seattle or Vancouver.

[sdmike]

OP - As stated, all the NCL ships cruise the "Inside Passage" in Alaska, whether it's listed that way or not. I agree that it's awesome sitting on the balcony looking at the mountains rather than looking out over open ocean.

 

This is the view off the starboard side of the Jewel leaving Skagway and heading south. The mountains are Sullivan Island. The small island with the lighthouse is Eldred Rock. This shot is from my balcony.

 

 

You can read about our trip in my review, which is in my signature area.

[crystalspin]

If you also want to sail/cruise between Vancouver Island and the mainland on the Jewel, either 7-Day Sawyer Glacier, Seattle to Vancouver or 10-Day Glacier Bay from Seattle do so.

 

On the NCL website "Details" map for the 10-day itinerary, this strait is incorrectly labeled "INSIDE PASSAGE". On the NCL website "Details" map for the 7-day Sawyer Glacier route, three points are labeled "INSIDE PASSAGE" -- only the northern one is correct of course -- but it's no wonder people get confused!

[sunflowr04]

Thanks, everyone! This information is all very helpful.

[em-sk]

If you also want to sail/cruise between Vancouver Island and the mainland on the Jewel, either 7-Day Sawyer Glacier, Seattle to Vancouver or 10-Day Glacier Bay from Seattle do so.

 

On the NCL website "Details" map for the 10-day itinerary, this strait is incorrectly labeled "INSIDE PASSAGE". On the NCL website "Details" map for the 7-day Sawyer Glacier route, three points are labeled "INSIDE PASSAGE" -- only the northern one is correct of course -- but it's no wonder people get confused!

 

The other option is to sail on the NCL Sun. That ship does 7 day one-ways between Seward and Vancouver, or a 14 day round trip. It also does some 7 day round-trips from Vancouver. You can fly in to Vancouver or take a shuttle from the Seattle airport. Amtrak also operates between Vancouver and Seattle.

[VideoTech]

If you also want to sail/cruise between Vancouver Island and the mainland on the Jewel, either 7-Day Sawyer Glacier, Seattle to Vancouver or 10-Day Glacier Bay from Seattle do so.

..........

 

Unfortunately, not necessarily. Vancouver is located close to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which is the primary ocean passageway between the Pacific ocean and the Vancouver - Seattle - Tacoma areas.

 

The passage north from Vancouver through the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait is much smaller and more confined. Big ships like lots of sea room to maneuver in. Because of this, most ships leaving Vancouver for the pacific actually head south first, to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They can make better time sailing south and then up the west side of Vancouver Island than they can in the confined waters of the straits between Vancouver Island and BC.

 

That's not to say that a captain won't take that route, if special conditions warranted it. But in general, they take the Juan De Fuca route.

Edited January 28, 2014 by VideoTech

[crystalspin]

Interesting. I was just going by the popup map for each itinerary, but I'm sure actual route is left up to the Captain's discretion.