PreCruise Trip Report NCL Jewel 7/29/19

[mjbraun11]

This is my first trip report and I’ll be starting with the planning portion. 

 

We are a family of 4 including myself, wife, daughter age 16 and son age 18.  This is our 2^nd cruise together and both on NCL in the Haven.  We had a very positive experience with NCL on our 1^st cruise, so for us, we never considered any other cruise line.  We loved our Haven experience and didn’t consider any other option.  Our approach to this trip was that it was potentially our last together as a family and that we would probably never get to go to Alaska again.  We would also be traveling during our 20^th wedding anniversary.  For us as a family, we wanted to see bears, glaciers, and bald eagles.  Also, my son wanted to experience catching “big fish”.  We knew that we wanted to do a land portion added on to the cruise and get a chance to see Denali.  While we considered a DIY land tour, we decided against it. 

 

Itinerary

Ship:  Norwegian Jewel

Room:  Haven 2 bedroom family villa

When:  July 29^th – August 5^th 2019 with NCL 7 day Authentic Alaska cruisetour at back end

• Vancouver (embarkation)
• Inside Passage (cruising)
• Ketchikan (Anon Bear Watch via float plane)
• Juneau (Mendenhall glacier & St Therese Shrine marriage vow renewal)
• Skagway (White Pass Railway & Klondike Bicycle; Chilkoot Horseback Riding)
• Glacier Bay (cruising)
• Hubbard Glacier (cruising)
• Seward (begin land portion)
• Homer (2 nights: Salmon fishing, Homer Spit)
• Anchorage (1 night: Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center)
• Denali (2 nights:  Whitewater rafting, Iditarod kennel, Tundra Wilderness tour)
• Fairbanks (1 night: Fairbanks city tour, Riverboat cruise)

We originally booked this package ourselves on the NCL website a year in advance of the cruise.  Soon afterwards, we realized that the bigbox chain that we are already members of offered TA services.  Because we acted within 30 days of our reservation, we were able to simply transfer our reservation to the bigbox TA (SUPER easy) and will be getting a very large gift card as well as a $25 OBC.  Additionally, by watching the prices for the cruise, we were able to catch a major price reduction prior to final payment which saved us a ton.  I was shocked at how easy it was to get this applied as well.  For us – working with the bigbox TA has been great and saved us a lot of cash.

Another money saving tactic we discovered was utilizing the NCL credit card.  By signing up for this and using it to pay off the cruise (as well as using the card to pay normal monthly bills), we will be getting a sizable OBC.  Obviously, the trick is to ensure you pay this off every month as it does add a middle step in the process, but when you get in a habit it works great. 

Also, for us, airfare and extra hotels would be paid for using air miles and hotel points.  I travel a lot for work and this is one of the few benefits that come with that.  This would be important for us because we wanted to spend some extra time in Seattle and Vancouver.

 

Pre-Cruise

We will begin our adventure July 24^th.  As mentioned earlier, it was important to us to spend some time in Vancouver as well as a bit of time in Seattle.  Our flight arrives in Seattle at approx. 2:30pm.  We’ll be spending two nights in Seattle and then driving to Vancouver.  Nothing really planned for the first night in Seattle as we figure everyone will be pretty exhausted from the time change and travel.  Our only full day in Seattle we have plans to go to Pike’s market and to Smith Tower.  Our hotel (The Sound by Hilton) is close to Pike’s market, so the rest of the time will probably just be exploring our surroundings and getting acclimated to the time change.  Last morning in Seattle, we’ll head to the car rental facility and rent a car.  Again, since I travel a lot, the car rental will be paid with points.  We drive to Vancouver from there.  Upon arrival in Vancouver, we will turn the car in as we feel that Vancouver will be relatively easily manageable by public transportation.  We will be staying for 3 nights at The Hampton downtown.  Our must do’s while in Vancouver include:  Stanley Park and Capilano Suspension Bridge.  Additionally, we’ve wanted to try Peaceful Restaurant since seeing it on Food Network.

 

Planning resources

This trip has been well over a year in the making.  Planning a trip to Alaska is unlike any trip that we’ve planned in our lives.  As so many people point out, you really need to do your homework.  Each and every family has different likes and must see/do.  Fortunately, there are just tons of resources that are available which have made the process enjoyable and a learning experience. 

 

Cruise Critic Forum – What a wealth of information.  Ok, so the search tool doesn’t exactly get you what you are looking for…and there are quite a few snarky posts which you see every day….the fact is, CC is a great resource of individuals who share their thoughts and ideas.  Plus, most of the planning resources listed here started as a CC post.

 

Youtube – Literally every single shore excursion that is available has a youtube video (s) associated with it.  We have watched hundreds of youtube videos in weeding out what was a good fit for our family and what wasn’t. 

 

www.tomsportguides.com – extremely detailed map information for Ketchikan and Skagway.  With so little time at each port, it’s about maximizing your efficiency while there.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2639556-2019-resources-for-planning-a-visit-to-alaska/ - Right here on CC….thank you to Mapleleaves for this post.  All the city websites which are great resources plus so very much more.

 

The Ultimate Alaska Road Map Book – I have a copy of this saved to my phone and computer and plan to use it to anticipate cool things to see during the land portion of the tour.  Imagine this would be an invaluable source of information for a DIY tour.

 

Phone – I know this sounds crazy….but you wouldn’t believe the knowledge gained from simply picking up the phone and calling direct the company that handles the shore excursions.  Yeah – you’ll get some of the sales pitch stuff….so what.  These folks are some of the nicest, most knowledgeable people and are very willing to talk to you about not only their specific item…but anything Alaska.  Call them…you won’t be talking to a call center in another state….you’ll be talking to the guy who drives the boat…..flies the plane…conducts the tour.

 

Seven days out from the start of this adventure and we absolutely cannot wait!

[mapleleaves]

Sounds like a wonderful family vacation; lots of great memories to be made !   Look forward to the photos on your return.   ( kuddos on the planning ! )

 

Visit Pike Place Market early in the day; by 11am the crowds are unbearable.  

 

Have a great trip !

 

 

 

[purpleally]

Wow!  What a great trip you have planned. The only adventure you left out would be taking the train from Seattle to Vancouver (I love trains). Can’t wait for the 24th!

Edited July 16, 2019 by purpleally
Misspelled

[FaithPlus1]

Is your big box TA one through a well known warehouse that starts with the letter C and ends in an O?

[fastpitchdad]

It looks like you are crossing north on a Friday. The wait times can get long later in the day but there will be signs letting you know how long. If the Peace Arch and Truck Crossing times are the same the Truck Crossing is usually quicker...especially if you pay attention to the way the lines split off (some lanes go to multiple booths whilst others go to just one). When you come back south if you all have global entry (and the cards) you can use the Nexus lane. Also, there are several Tim Hortons on the way into town so don't fret if you miss the first one. 

[mjbraun11]

5 hours ago, FaithPlus1 said:

Is your big box TA one through a well known warehouse that starts with the letter C and ends in an O?

Yes it is....

[gaabbee]

My wife and I took this exact cruise almost exactly a year ago. We also stayed in the Haven and had a great time! If you don't have plans for Juneau you need to book a whale watch tour. We went with Harv and Marv's 6 person boat and it was amazing! Orka came right up to the boat. Still can't believe some of the pictures we took.