Jewel after drydock- penthouse choice + Cruisetour Alaska

[neffqueen]

Hoping to get opinions on those who have sailed NCL Jewel after the dry dock- either Aft or forward penthouse. Which did you choose and why? Is there much more motion forward?

We have sailed AFT and loved it but would be more amazing with a forward penthouse. My hesitation is motion as I need a patch to sail. Hoping the get opinions on which you sailed. Also interested in the Pre Cruise Tours- 11 day that visits the resort in Alyeska. We are not athletic and prefer to be relaxed so asking those who have done the Cruise Tours- where you rushed? did you do a lot of walking? Any experiences welcome.  thank you

[Turtles06]

We've sailed in both the aft-facing and forward-facing penthouses on the Jewel-class ships.  When the ship is pitching, you will have more motion in the bow and stern than you will in the middle of the ship (think of a fulcrum).

 

When the ship is underway, you'll generally be more protected from the wind when you are on the balcony in the aft suites than in the forward-facing suites, so you might take that into consideration on what might be a cold weather cruise.  OTOH, the view from the bow is amazing (and I've read comments on here about folks loving these suites in Alaska).   It was our dream cabin for our first Panama Canal cruise, which was on the Jewel two years ago.  An added bonus of the forward-facing penthouses is the darkness at night (no lights on the bow, and you must close your curtains at night) -- the stargazing was incredible.  We could see the Milky Way whenever it wasn't cloudy at night, and we even saw the Southern Cross in the wee hours before dawn in the days before the Canal, an amazing sight in the lower latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. 

 

Here's the view from our forward-facing penthouse on the Jewel:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[neffqueen]

14 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

We've sailed in both the aft-facing and forward-facing penthouses on the Jewel-class ships.  When the ship is pitching, you will have more motion in the bow and stern than you will in the middle of the ship (think of a fulcrum).

 

When the ship is underway, you'll generally be more protected from the wind when you are on the balcony in the aft suites than in the forward-facing suites, so you might take that into consideration on what might be a cold weather cruise.  OTOH, the view from the bow is amazing (and I've read comments on here about folks loving these suites in Alaska).   It was our dream cabin for our first Panama Canal cruise, which was on the Jewel two years ago.  An added bonus of the forward-facing penthouses is the darkness at night (no lights on the bow, and you must close your curtains at night) -- the stargazing was incredible.  We could see the Milky Way whenever it wasn't cloudy at night, and we even saw the Southern Cross in the wee hours before dawn in the days before the Canal, an amazing sight in the lower latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. 

 

Here's the view from our forward-facing penthouse on the Jewel:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

Thank you so much for your information.

The view in the pic is amazing and my husband loved the idea of total darkness on forward rooms. Im iffy about the cold blowing but  last year it was very warm when we went on the Bliss.

 

[Turtles06]

21 minutes ago, neffqueen said:

Thank you so much for your information.

The view in the pic is amazing and my husband loved the idea of total darkness on forward rooms. Im iffy about the cold blowing but  last year it was very warm when we went on the Bliss.

 

 

You're welcome.   If you do decide to go with a forward-facing penthouse (SE), I wanted to give you some info about cabin choices (assuming you have them).  The balconies on the Deck 10 SEs are large, but those on the Deck 9 SEs are even bigger.   However, the *interior* of two of the SEs on Deck 10 -- 10500 and 10000 -- are larger than any of the other SE interiors on either deck because of the "bump out" of the bridge above, which gives those cabins a bit of a bay window and wonderful sitting area.  We were in 10500, and I would highly recommend that or 10000 (the mirror image); the balcony was plenty large enough (we even had a bunch of folks from our Roll Call over during part of the Canal transit), and the extra sitting room in the suite was fabulous (and comes in handy if the weather's cold, or, in our case, far too hot!).

 

   

 

(photos by turtles06)

[Yo Adrienne]

On 5/20/2019 at 12:43 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

You're welcome.   If you do decide to go with a forward-facing penthouse (SE), I wanted to give you some info about cabin choices (assuming you have them).  The balconies on the Deck 10 SEs are large, but those on the Deck 9 SEs are even bigger.   However, the *interior* of two of the SEs on Deck 10 -- 10500 and 10000 -- are larger than any of the other SE interiors on either deck because of the "bump out" of the bridge above, which gives those cabins a bit of a bay window and wonderful sitting area.  We were in 10500, and I would highly recommend that or 10000 (the mirror image); the balcony was plenty large enough (we even had a bunch of folks from our Roll Call over during part of the Canal transit), and the extra sitting room in the suite was fabulous (and comes in handy if the weather's cold, or, in our case, far too hot!).

 

   

 

(photos by turtles06)

 

Thank you for your awesome pics and descriptions/suggestions...!  We love the Pearl and the Jewel and have often wondered about these suites...because we love being forward (as opposed to being aft).  (We've done the owners suites...but as NCL continues to raised their prices, we're starting to consider these penthouse suites as options...! 🙂 ).  We don't really care about Haven access...but we do like the suite breakfasts and lunches, as well as the butler and concierge services...so these suite would be a great option for us...! 🙂