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

[Piglet9286]

WOW! I would have been pissed at this point! This is why I always travel with all of our documents in a folder that has an index and tabs for every step of the vacation. I also leave two complete binders with two of my friends and an email back up to each of them just in case. I really hope you had a nice chat with the hospitality director at some point.

[bonvoyagie]

All I can say is WOW - that is no way to start a relaxing cruise vacation.

You have shown amazing restraint - my DW would have had the concierge's head on a stick. I would have gone right to the Hotel Director - ie her boss and had a few words about attitude.

 

You should not have to prove anything -

 

That said it is possible that the check-in person went to the person running the hotel desk and they handled your boarding without getting any upper mgmt. involved - which could explain the concierge's response - but not her attitude. As we have all seen here, people in suites want to share their perks with their friends who are not in suites. She might be a bit cautious about someone not on her list.

 

BTW I am using a bit of your story to get my TA to understand why I want the information on My NCL to be correct long before we sail in a little over a year.

 

I also have a copy of my amenities page already printed - simply because I don't trust NCL for a year not to change their minds about perks again :D

[jenseib]

The prove it would have send me right over the edge! I would have asked for the HD right then and there. Amazing restraint!

 

I really should have, but at the time I was full of anxiety and thinking this would work out. It was my first time in a suite on any cruise line and I was just thinking that this lady knows what she is doing....yet she wasn't doing it fast enough. I also knew I would be working with her for a full week at this point and didn't want to burn any more bridges than I had to. In my opinion she should've gotten someone to work on my situation if she couldn't take care of it immediately herself.

 

You have me at the edge of my seat waiting for your next update. I hope the cruise goes a lot better than it started out. I must say, you are one very patience person.

 

I look back and think of different ways I could have handled it...some nicer some not so nice! ;) But when you are in that moment you just keep thinking it's all going to be fine...this is a major cruise line and I have never had issues with them in my dealings with them before.

[Cindy]

Kudos to you for holding it together, especially when you were told to prove it!:eek: I'm not sure I would have shown such restraint!

 

We've only had one situation where things weren't as they should be upon boarding, and it was extremely minor compared to what you dealt with...just our dinner seating. After I boarded the assistant to the maître 'd told me the Cruise Personalizer wasn't a part of the Princess website, then she told me I must have changed my mind about my dinner arrangements so the screw up wasn't their fault. I remember wanting to strangle the girl, and thinking it was a good thing my husband (much calmer!) was there!:o

 

I had every document known to man with me, but it made no difference.:( We ended up having to go back at a different time and speak with someone else to get it corrected.

[hansolosmom]

You're good. I would have totally freaked out on someone and caused a scene after being told to prove I had the amenities. Normally I'm even keel, but I get so stressed until we're on the ship and in our room because I'm so afraid of things like this happening. This is another good reason to print out the docs. I also find their lack of customer service very disturbing.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[SuiteTraveler]

Wow on the concierge (and not in a good way.) Now I know how great the concierge on Getaway was. We went to the life boat drill, but somehow, although our cards were scanned (I watched as the crew member scanned them) something went wrong and NCL thought we had not been there and we got a "naughty"message on our TV to report for makeup life boat drill the next morning at 11am. So I went to the concierge and told her what happened. Immediately she said, "Please ignore that message, I will get this sorted out for you right away. I'm going to make some phone calls, but don't worry about this at all I will take care of it." And she did and that was the end of the problem.

[Cruisin' Along]

Hi Jen,

 

Another great TR! I rarely look at the NCL forum, so was thrilled to see that you had a TR posted here when I looked last night. I've really enjoyed your TRs on other boards. Love all the photos and details that you provide. I'm only on page 8 so far, so will be going back to catch up.

 

I've been to Seattle a number of times but am enjoying it through your camera lens. It's a unique city!

 

Looking forward to reading more of your TR. one of these days we will book a cruise other than DCL and it always helps to read comparison reviews from a fellow DCL fan!

[bumorgan]

Love your writing style! I am subscribing for sure. Thanks for taking the time to do this and all the great pictures. I feel like I'm going to relive my Alaska trip through your eyes.

[bumorgan]

Warning…..the next update is REALLY long and picture intense. If this doesn’t interest you, then just go ahead and scroll through. The good thing is, it will be the end of this day and the next day we board the Jewel!!!!!

With tickets in hand we headed towards the entrance to the exhibit. There were pictures lining the wall that looked to have info on Dale Chihuly but we did not stop to read them.

We handed over our tickets and were stamped in case we wanted to come back in later yet tonight and were on our way.

The first room we entered is the Glass Forest! And OH MY WORD! It was stunning! I think we both gasped.

ch1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

Phone pic…which isn’t quite the same….but I was posting to facebook as I was taking them too!

chi1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

After that we entered the Northwest Room….again it was beautiful.

ch2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

ch3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

And from there we went into the SeaLife Room.

ch4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

ch5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

At Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut they have this piece also and I always wondered who made it thanks!

[Paulchili]

Jen,

We'll be on our first NCL cruise (on the Jewel) in about a month.

I am reading your posts (and pictures) with much interest and though it is slow, I have a full month before we cruise - so keep it up (as long as you finish by Sept 27th :D)

Interested in reading about food in the specialty restaurants.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Paulchili

[Camelai]

Not sure why NCL didn't fix it when they checked you in. Seems like they did everything but make this an enjoyable trip.

They knew you were coming they did the hotel and got your luggage, picked you up at the hotel.

Not making me think I should cruise with them. That is another book altogether.

Thanks for sharing.

[bonvoyagie]

I have no idea what they did at the actual check in. I think they assumed all would be handled once on board...really kind of passing it on so they didn't have to deal with it.

 

It won't matter what is in your MYNCL if your name is never sent to the ships manifest....so I have found out. LOL.

Now looking back I should have went to the hotel director....it really didn't cross my mind at the time and there was a lot going on between me holding back my distress and anger and keeping my family in check.

I also wrote some emails from my phone at the time, one to the concierge that I had been in contact with prior to the cruise. She NEVER replied till I wrote her a 2nd time after I go home. She forwarded it to her boss, who said respond to her and tell her we are looking into it but it's nothing major....and she forwarded me that email. Let's just say I emailed them both back and got an immediate response after that email. She also apologized for not getting back assuming the ship would take care of it all.:rolleyes:

 

Out of curiosity did they have you in your previous cabin - I presume from your story that you upgraded yourself to a suite after the cruise was booked in another cabin.

 

Also I have not heard much good about your concierge from other reports here on CC - so hopefully things settled down during the week. I do understand about not wanting to get off on the wrong foot - no matter who started it:cool:

 

I believe that there are two distinct faces to NCL - the shipboard one and the Miami one - and that they sit looking away from each other :D

I have heard as many good and bad stories about the pre cruise concierge service actually getting the info to the ship.

 

BTW my problems with the MY NCL have more to do with the itinerary being fouled up beyond belief - but that is my problem.:eek:

 

I am looking forward to the rest of your report.

[boaterette]

I am really enjoying your trip report.

 

To all the complainers please take your complaining selves elsewhere. You really aren't wanted here.

[hawk1972]

The OP was very upfront in her first post about the style of this review, number of photos, timeframe for getting it done, etc. Her style is not exactly my cup of tea. I prefer reviews to be short and sweet. But if she wants to do it her way, she has the right to. As others have said, if you don't like it, don't read it! There are dozens of other reviews of Alaska cruises that would suit you/me better.

 

I got frustrated with all the photos at first, but now I'm interested to see how the screw-up gets settled. We were on the Jewel last January and met Florentina (sp?) once when we joined a suite passenger and group (whom we met through our CC roll call) for an excursion in Belize. Florentina escorted us from Cagney's to the tender and was very helpful.. It was nice to get the "VIP" treatment, even if only briefly. But a paperwork SNAFU like the OP's would be very distressing, I'm sure.

Edited August 29, 2015 by hawk1972

[jenseib]

All I can say is WOW - that is no way to start a relaxing cruise vacation.

You have shown amazing restraint - my DW would have had the concierge's head on a stick. I would have gone right to the Hotel Director - ie her boss and had a few words about attitude.

 

You should not have to prove anything -

 

That said it is possible that the check-in person went to the person running the hotel desk and they handled your boarding without getting any upper mgmt. involved - which could explain the concierge's response - but not her attitude. As we have all seen here, people in suites want to share their perks with their friends who are not in suites. She might be a bit cautious about someone not on her list.

 

BTW I am using a bit of your story to get my TA to understand why I want the information on My NCL to be correct long before we sail in a little over a year.

 

I also have a copy of my amenities page already printed - simply because I don't trust NCL for a year not to change their minds about perks again :D

 

It was a mess that is for sure. I have been in contact since i got home and I hope this makes changes for future guests.

 

Kudos to you for holding it together, especially when you were told to prove it!:eek: I'm not sure I would have shown such restraint!

 

We've only had one situation where things weren't as they should be upon boarding, and it was extremely minor compared to what you dealt with...just our dinner seating. After I boarded the assistant to the maître 'd told me the Cruise Personalizer wasn't a part of the Princess website, then she told me I must have changed my mind about my dinner arrangements so the screw up wasn't their fault. I remember wanting to strangle the girl, and thinking it was a good thing my husband (much calmer!) was there!:o

 

I had every document known to man with me, but it made no difference.:( We ended up having to go back at a different time and speak with someone else to get it corrected.

 

it's such a pain, isn't it? And wasted valuable time you could be enjoying yourself.

[jenseib]

You're good. I would have totally freaked out on someone and caused a scene after being told to prove I had the amenities. Normally I'm even keel, but I get so stressed until we're on the ship and in our room because I'm so afraid of things like this happening. This is another good reason to print out the docs. I also find their lack of customer service very disturbing.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

I held it all in! It really was bad customer service and not just there...I found out later other areas had poor customer service as well.

 

Wow on the concierge (and not in a good way.) Now I know how great the concierge on Getaway was. We went to the life boat drill, but somehow, although our cards were scanned (I watched as the crew member scanned them) something went wrong and NCL thought we had not been there and we got a "naughty"message on our TV to report for makeup life boat drill the next morning at 11am. So I went to the concierge and told her what happened. Immediately she said, "Please ignore that message, I will get this sorted out for you right away. I'm going to make some phone calls, but don't worry about this at all I will take care of it." And she did and that was the end of the problem.

 

That's wonderful. Now I will say later on we got on better with Florentina....but the start was very rocky.

[jenseib]

Hi Jen' date='

 

Another great TR! I rarely look at the NCL forum, so was thrilled to see that you had a TR posted here when I looked last night. I've really enjoyed your TRs on other boards. Love all the photos and details that you provide. I'm only on page 8 so far, so will be going back to catch up.

 

I've been to Seattle a number of times but am enjoying it through your camera lens. It's a unique city!

 

Looking forward to reading more of your TR. one of these days we will book a cruise other than DCL and it always helps to read comparison reviews from a fellow DCL fan![/quote']

 

Glad to have you here! I still am a DCL fan, but there were some things we really enjoyed on NCL..once we got past the first day.

 

Love your writing style! I am subscribing for sure. Thanks for taking the time to do this and all the great pictures. I feel like I'm going to relive my Alaska trip through your eyes.

 

Welcome. Thanks for joining in.

[jenseib]

Jen,

We'll be on our first NCL cruise (on the Jewel) in about a month.

I am reading your posts (and pictures) with much interest and though it is slow, I have a full month before we cruise - so keep it up (as long as you finish by Sept 27th :D)

Interested in reading about food in the specialty restaurants.

 

I think you will enjoy the ship. We had a good time.

Sadly I won't be done that fast. I just don't have time every day to work on the report and pictures. I take my time.

 

Not sure why NCL didn't fix it when they checked you in. Seems like they did everything but make this an enjoyable trip.

They knew you were coming they did the hotel and got your luggage, picked you up at the hotel.

Not making me think I should cruise with them. That is another book altogether.

Thanks for sharing.

 

I agree. This should have been fixed on shore before I ever even stepped foot on the ship. I just felt like they kept passing it on to the next person.

[jenseib]

 

Out of curiosity did they have you in your previous cabin - I presume from your story that you upgraded yourself to a suite after the cruise was booked in another cabin.

 

Also I have not heard much good about your concierge from other reports here on CC - so hopefully things settled down during the week. I do understand about not wanting to get off on the wrong foot - no matter who started it:cool:

 

I believe that there are two distinct faces to NCL - the shipboard one and the Miami one - and that they sit looking away from each other :D

I have heard as many good and bad stories about the pre cruise concierge service actually getting the info to the ship.

 

BTW my problems with the MY NCL have more to do with the itinerary being fouled up beyond belief - but that is my problem.:eek:

 

I am looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

it really was more of a pass this mess on to someone else type of thing.

And nope they just didn't have us at all on their list.

 

I am really enjoying your trip report.

 

 

Thanks for joining in!

[jenseib]

At this point Claire was antsy to go swimming. We decided to split up and Skip was going to go get a cold beverage while I take Claire to the room to change into her suit and then I could drop off the carryon and backpacks.

 

Claire and I headed to the aft and also did a bit of exploring as we went. We found the sports court.

 

board9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

We actually went back too far and backtracked to find our way to the stairs and down to deck 10. We walked down the hall and to our room and I stuck my key in …..and nothing. I tried again….nothing. So I took Claire’s key and tried it. NOPE! That didn’t work either. OH MY GOD!!!!

We turned around and headed back to Moderno to tell Florentina. She said she would have new ones printed, but she would need our old ones too. I handed her Claire’s and mine and I sent Claire out on the pool deck to find her dad. She was nervous about going and I told her I could see her from the windows and she would be fine. She wasn’t gone too long and she was back with her dad’s key in hand.

 

Florentina told us to have a seat and wait as it would be a little bit. I found a Freestyle Daily, something that was supposed to be in our welcome packet that I never received and looked it over while we sat there.

 

daily 1-1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

daily 1-2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

daily 1-3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

daily 1-4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

After a bit a person from Customer Service arrived and handed us our new keys. Good news!!! They had our dining and beverage package listed on them this time as well.

 

I did tell this girl that this was so ridiculous as I have now spent over 2 hours getting things straightened out. She gave me an “oh I am so sorry”, but it wasn’t from the heart. I was now mad. I am not one to go looking for free things, but for all this trouble, I really felt they should have offered some onboard credit…or heck even just a free picture or something. I just kept saying to myself…If this was Disney….. They would have handled this so differently.

 

With the new keys in hand, Claire and I went in search of Skip and found him at the bar ready to get a 2nd drink. We handed him his key and I said I am getting something too. I asked Claire if she wanted anything and she said no. I think Claire was nervous about this drink system. She is used to DCL where you can go and self-serve yourself the soft drinks.

 

I told the bartender I wanted something with Mango, and I have no idea what he gave me but it was tasty.

 

mango by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

[jenseib]

We went off to the side area where there was a smoking area and sipped our drinks….while Claire told us how she was so hot she just may die! It was hot and the sun was beating down hard, but I am sure she was going to live a few more minutes.

 

Claire and I then headed back to the room to test our keys and get her into her swim suit. I had offered to just take her to a bathroom near the pool to change but I think she was more interested in seeing what our room looked like.

 

We made it back to the room and ding ding ding…..the keys worked. We walked in and Claire stated the room was small. I don’t know what planet she is from, but I thought the room was big. Much bigger than a balcony room on DCL, which is the only other type of room she has sailed in.

 

We were just taking a look around the room when we heard the doorbell. (Suites on NCL have doorbells for those that did not know.) The door opened right up and in walked a lady. She looked surprised to see us. She said “Oh this room is supposed to be empty this week.” I told her no, there was a mix up and this is our room. Basically, we don’t exist! She introduced herself as Mellany and she would be our butler. She told me that sometimes with late upgrades they don’t always make it to the ship. Once again I told her that it was not a late upgrade. She said how she and Pablo who would be our room steward had just been talking about how odd that this room was empty on this cruise since it was a full cruise.

She said she would let Pablo know and she would go get our suite treats. She gave me her card and told me to call if we needed anything and that she was taking care of something like 18 rooms, but she would get us what we needed as soon as she could. I knew in most cases we probably wouldn’t need her too much, but it was nice to have the option.

 

I also discussed with her that we had been in contact with concierge with a few requests, though nothing major, I assumed those now had not made it to the ship either. I told her a few of which I could remember off the top of my head…extra towels, egg crate topper for Claire’s bed and memory foam pillows for all. She said she would relay the message to Pablo. We never did get the memory foam pillows. I mentioned it one other time and still they never came, but it wasn’t a deal break for us and we were fine.

 

Mellany left for a minute and returned with some goodies.

 

food10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

food11 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

Of course I sampled some and Claire dove into the fruit.

 

Now that we are in our room, I will post the majority of the pictures I took of it during the week.

 

First, we were in Penthouse Suite 10164.

 

 

jw1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

You could move the little sign to let them know to make up the room, do not disturb, etc.

 

jw2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

jw3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

jw4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

[jenseib]

I took a lot of pictures and some are pretty similar.

 

As you walk in, the closet is on your right.

 

pent1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

There were 2 robes and also some slippers in there. The other side also opened to the vanity area.

 

Right next to the door is a shelf which held the pool towels. Even though we had 3 people in the room they never gave an extra. It was no big deal since Skip and I never swam and Claire only swam a few times, but had it been a warm destination I would have made sure to ask for more. There was also a towel station near the pool, though I only noticed it opened one day…but never really paid attention on most days.

 

pent2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

Looking in to our room from the door.

 

pent3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

We got a bottle of sparkling wine for being a suite guest.

 

pent4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent27 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

And 1 bottle of water.

 

pent5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

[jenseib]

Our bed, which was king sized. We have a queen at home and I LOVED all the room on the king.

 

pent6 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

The chair that Claire is sitting on folds out into a bed.

 

pent7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

After looking around she had a panicked look on her face and asked where she was sleeping. LOL! Once she found out the chair was a bed she was happy.

 

We had a nice floral arrangement.

 

pent8 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

The table and chairs became the area where I piled stuff.

 

pent9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

This is a coffee maker. I can tell you nothing about it. I don’t drink the stuff and Skip is an instant coffee kind of guy…..Usually just one cup in the morning, so he never tried it out either.

 

pent10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent26 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

In the cupboard below there is a mini fridge which we never had need to use.

[jenseib]

We had all sorts of glassware and plates. We didn’t use them much.

 

pent11 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

The vanity area, which also led to the bathroom.

 

pent12 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent32 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

This shelf was in the vanity area to the right side and good for storing extra stuff.

 

pent13 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent33 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent35 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

[jenseib]

A look back to the bedroom area from the vanity area.

 

pent14 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

There were cupboards on the right where we put a lot of clothing. There were also 2 safes in there and on the bottom half drawers. I thought I took a picture of the area, but I haven’t found it yet if I did.

 

 

 

 

As you enter the hall with the vanity, to the left is the bathroom.

 

pent15 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent42 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

To the left of the sink is the tub/shower.

 

pent16 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent43 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

pent44 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr