The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist!

[jenseib]

I demanded that I sit in the window seat this time. I couldn’t take both of them leaning on me again. It was so much better. I could lean towards the window (which is something Claire should have been doing) and I felt like I had so much more room.

 

Stinky…I mean Claire…is ready to take off.

 

chicago3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I believe we had a pretty new plane so I guess that is why I took some random pictures.

 

chicago4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

chicago5 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

chicago6 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

I connected to the wifi again and it really was so nice to have.

 

detroit1 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

detroit2 by Jenseib, on Flickr

[jenseib]

detroit3 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

And soon we were landing and back in Detroit. I turned my phone on and saw Aunt Mary replied and just said “OK”.

 

I got a shot of the jetway coming out to us.

 

detroit4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

 

We soon were disembarking and heading to the bathrooms and then picking up our luggage. Aunt Mary text to say she was on her way but still a few minutes out, which was fine. We had to wait for the bags any ways.

 

Once all was picked up we waited for Aunt Mary and soon she was pulling up and there was like 3 lanes of traffic all stopped to pick up passengers so we darted out and loaded our bags quickly and got in and took off.

 

We chatted about the trip and then Aunt Mary made a confession. She said our other Aunt is visiting and staying at her house and they were both tired and got ready for bed. She said my text bothered her. She thought she was picking us up Sunday and so she then woke up her husband and asked when we were coming home and he wasn’t sure so she went and found my itinerary and sure enough it was today. LOL. Luckily she had plenty of time to get dressed and head up to get us. Of course had she not been there we would have lived and survived with her either coming later or us finding a close by airport hotel.

Now we joke with her as her husband flies a lot for work and she takes him and drops him off and we always ask her if she is sure she has the right day!

 

Once we arrived at her house we transferred the bags to our car and set off for home. It was good to be home, but of course the blues set in a bit too. We had such a fabulous time and the hum drum of everyday life and getting back to work is no fun.

 

Skip proclaimed this was the best vacation he has ever been on which means quite a bit. He often doesn’t comment on vacations and even though I know he has a good time he often will act like he didn’t have a good time. He still talks about it and I am sure in a few years we will be heading back to Alaska.

 

Now would I sail NCL again? Actually…yes I would. We had a very rare problem, which could have ruined many peoples whole vacation but we pushed through it and didn’t let it get us down….too much at least. Once we got going it was fabulous. It’s not the same as Disney and that still is my favorite line, but it had some perks. We enjoyed the beverage package. I don’t drink a lot so having it free was nice for me to try a few things and not feel like I had to drink its worth.

We really enjoyed the dining package as well. I liked trying several of the specialty restaurants. I think if/when we sail NCL again I would add that on so we can enjoy many of them again.

The crew was not as friendly as most of the DCL’s crew, but there were some members that were fabulous. Claire actually enjoyed the NCL kids club more than DCL’s. I think because it was a longer cruise and she really enjoyed the interactive part of it. It sounded like they really didn’t have a lot of free time play, which with DCL there is more of since the club is just so fabulous and big. She also really liked the counselors a lot.

The Nickelodeon part was neat, but not a must for us. Skip actually got annoyed by one of the Nick staff members….a guy and I can’t remember which one, but Skip said he drove him crazy. With Nick gone now from NCL it won’t really bother us, but I am glad we did get on a ship that had it so I now know what it was like.

 

A few days after I got home I did send off some emails to NCL about the problem we had with our lost reservation and the way it was handled. We have been given a nice onboard credit to use….originally within a year of the sail date, but I wrote back and said that would not be possible for us and they extended it for 2 years. So most likely we will be sailing NCL in the next year or so.

 

Upcoming vacations? I have one scheduled for Feb with many co-workers. It’s an educational type trip with fun thrown in. Several of us are starting out at Universal Studios Orlando then moving to Disney World for a few days and then onto the Disney Magic for a 4 night cruise. I have been asked if I will write about it and at this point I am not sure. It takes a lot of work and time. If I do it may not be started for a few months after I get back so I can get things situated and pictures edited. I might only do the cruise portion as we have more free time then and it won’t be all about education. I am thinking I may take less pictures this time around so that might not make for an interesting trip report….oh who am I kidding…you know I will be taking pictures. Hahaha.

I also may do it in segments and each part being its own report.

 

We also have been talking for over a year now of doing a big family cruise on the Disney Fantasy. So far nothing is booked but we are talking about November. Hopefully we can get that settled up soon.

 

Thanks so much for sticking with me all these months as I wrote about our experience. I hope it helped at least one person plan a perfect trip for themselves or answered some questions you may have had.

[jenseib]

Do you by chance have the menu from Chin Chin? I didn't see that you went there? (Or missed it)! Thanks for writing an amazing review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I did not and no we never did eat there. Just not enough time to hit them all. LOL

 

As an fyi a lot of shuttle drivers use the GPS to keep track of traffic now.. Time spent sitting is a run with tips they are not doing. The local parking facility at the airport I use keeps them on for a 10 min drive.

 

Interesting. I guess I didn't know that GPS could monitor traffic. Thats a really good idea.

[jenseib]

I really enjoyed your trip log ! I even felt the last day sadness with you.

 

Glad I have a trip booked on the Jewel June 4th. Your review only made the excitement grow!

 

Thanks for reading along. I am so jealous you have one coming up.

[tropicaledrink]

Well, I picked an excellent time to read your review! I've been reading it slowly over the last week, and hadn't even paid attention to the post dates, and just realized you finished it today! Congrats on finishing the review and thank you for taking us on your trip with you!

 

I'm trying to convince the DH to consider Alaska, but he lived in Alaska for a few years as a kid and isn't keen on the idea of cruising there, LOL. NCL is also not on the top of my list of other lines to try. But I did enjoy reading about what you did, and I am glad to hear things were taken care of by NCL when you returned.

 

I hope to be able to read some of your other trip reports, and some day make it on a Disney cruise!

[caribill]

 

Thanks for all of your effort. We have never sailed with NCL, so I am glad to have read about all the good experiences you had onboard.

[xlxo]

As an fyi a lot of shuttle drivers use the GPS to keep track of traffic now.. Time spent sitting is a run with tips they are not doing. The local parking facility at the airport I use keeps them on for a 10 min drive.

Before I drive during commuter hours.... I check Google Maps for traffic delays before starting the car. Saved me beaucoup money & time in congestion.

[curtdesilets]

Before I drive during commuter hours.... I check Google Maps for traffic delays before starting the car. Saved me beaucoup money & time in congestion.

 

Also, Sigalert dot com is a good site. The latest Garmin GPS'es with Lifetime traffic do a really good job now in terms of avoiding delays. My Garmin has saved me HOURS in terms of Los Angeles area traffic tie ups.

[darwinsrule]

Fantasy is great. Still our favourite cruise ever. It has been 2.5 years and youngest DD still talks about going back. We still want to do the Magic to complete the Grand Slam, but there isn't a DCL ship we would hesitate to go on.

 

That being said we can't wait for the Jewel in August. Your trip report has been a great preview so thank you. The Jewel trip will be our 4th NCL cruise. Mind you our last 2 have been on the Getaway. The new NCL ships are absolutely wonderful. I would not hesitate to go on her or the other AWAY class ships.

[jenseib]

Well, I picked an excellent time to read your review! I've been reading it slowly over the last week, and hadn't even paid attention to the post dates, and just realized you finished it today! Congrats on finishing the review and thank you for taking us on your trip with you!

 

I'm trying to convince the DH to consider Alaska, but he lived in Alaska for a few years as a kid and isn't keen on the idea of cruising there, LOL. NCL is also not on the top of my list of other lines to try. But I did enjoy reading about what you did, and I am glad to hear things were taken care of by NCL when you returned.

 

I hope to be able to read some of your other trip reports, and some day make it on a Disney cruise!

 

thanks for reading. It took me a while, but it's fun to relive your trip too. But it is nice to be finally finished and not have to worry about updating anymore.

Hopefully you can get to Alaska some day..on any ship.

I really enjoy Disney a lot. Now it's time to start getting excited for my next cruise, but honestly I am so busy at home that it's hard to plan anything for myself.

I was hoping this week to work out my schedule but I don't see it happening now. I just got to finish up too many other things before I can take care of that.

 

Thanks for all of your effort. We have never sailed with NCL, so I am glad to have read about all the good experiences you had onboard.

 

Thanks for reading. We did have a good time. Yes there were mistakes and mess ups, but we pushed through it and still had fun. I really think I would be happy on any line sailing to Alaska. The beauty there is just amazing.

[jenseib]

Before I drive during commuter hours.... I check Google Maps for traffic delays before starting the car. Saved me beaucoup money & time in congestion.

 

Also, Sigalert dot com is a good site. The latest Garmin GPS'es with Lifetime traffic do a really good job now in terms of avoiding delays. My Garmin has saved me HOURS in terms of Los Angeles area traffic tie ups.

 

Thanks to both of you. Good to know!! :D

[travelmatron]

Thank you for all the time and energy you put into your report. I've enjoyed every entry!

[jenseib]

Thank you for all the time and energy you put into your report. I've enjoyed every entry!

 

Thank you!

[chilidog11]

Thanks so much for your time in putting together a great trip review. I've been following since the beginning. Sad it had to end, now I have to find another way to keep me dreaming until May.

[jsdscruiser]

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed your posts!

[jenseib]

Thanks so much for your time in putting together a great trip review. I've been following since the beginning. Sad it had to end, now I have to find another way to keep me dreaming until May.

 

thanks for sticking with me

 

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed your posts!

 

Thanks

[andio2of5]

Thank you for the extremely entertaining trip report. I know how time consuming it is and I marvel that you put such effort into your trip journals. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[jenseib]

Thank you for the extremely entertaining trip report. I know how time consuming it is and I marvel that you put such effort into your trip journals. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

Thanks for reading!

[jamminlion]

Loved your review and pics. Thank you for taking the time to share it all. Made me homesick for the Jewel and Alaska.

 

How long until your next AK cruise?

[nessa14141]

Wow, i loved reading this!! It was so much fun, it was like i was there with you, lol! At the end, i was sad that "my trip" had ended :p. Today was my day off and I read your entire story all day, hahaha! You can guess how much got done around the house today :rolleyes:. I myself am planning on possibly going on an Alaskan cruise in 2017. This post made it all the more set in stone! And it was wonderfully written. I felt like I was reading a book sometimes, lol! Good job!

[CRUZIN TOM]

This was an awesome travel log. So much info about your wonderful trip. I enjoyed reading every post, positives and negatives.

For all those reading this, a cruise is what you make it. Work out the bugs and have a wonderful time.

[bookbabe]

That was great. Sad it's over.

[jenseib]

Loved your review and pics. Thank you for taking the time to share it all. Made me homesick for the Jewel and Alaska.

 

How long until your next AK cruise?

 

Thanks

Hopefully 2017, but we'll have to see how things go.

 

Wow, i loved reading this!! It was so much fun, it was like i was there with you, lol! At the end, i was sad that "my trip" had ended :p. Today was my day off and I read your entire story all day, hahaha! You can guess how much got done around the house today :rolleyes:. I myself am planning on possibly going on an Alaskan cruise in 2017. This post made it all the more set in stone! And it was wonderfully written. I felt like I was reading a book sometimes, lol! Good job!

 

Thanks so much. Some days I just like to read stuff like this too and forget the rest of the house and world.

You will have a good time!!!

[jenseib]

This was an awesome travel log. So much info about your wonderful trip. I enjoyed reading every post, positives and negatives.

For all those reading this, a cruise is what you make it. Work out the bugs and have a wonderful time.

 

Thanks and you are so right!

if you don't get past the bad things then it will just ruin your trip. It took me my whole life to get to Alaska and I wasn't going to let the bad ruin this.

 

That was great. Sad it's over.

 

Thanks

I am a little glad to be done though as I can have some time to breath now. of course i got extra busy with work the last 3 days so there goes the breathing time. LOL

[Lorey2007]

Thanks so much for your review. My DH always wanted to go to Alaska so we did 4 day land tour and a southbound Alaska cruise on Radiance August 2014. The was one too long trip. I thought I would never want to go to Alaska again but after reading your review I can see my self wanting to try the round trip out of Seattle. It would not be so long and NCL has different ports and glaciers and being on a different ship would make it more interesting. Thanks again.