Live-ish from the Jewel, Seattle - Tokyo - Taipei - Singapore, Oct 3 2023, 39 days

[Rob_H]

We're on the Jewel, from Seattle to Singapore (3 cruises b2b2b, departed 3 Oct 2023).  This is NCL's first ship back to Asia after the interruption.  It has some maiden ports, including in the Philippines. We've been to Alaska and a couple of the Japanese ports before, but most of the rest is new to us.

 

I'm starting this "live" report a bit late as we (Rob and Yanet) were busy, just got off the Jade in the Eastern Med, two days before this.  Amazingly, our flights and hotels betweens Athens and Seattle all went well.

 

Before the cruise we had a night at the Holiday Inn Express at Seatac (using the IHG credit card free room night for a King Suite).  Free airport shuttle.  Very efficient cruise shuttle in the morning (booked at hotel front desk), $20 per person to pier 66.

 

Easy check-in at around 10.30am, no queues.  Got our cards within minutes. Took some time to be allowed through to the main waiting area (no special treatment for priority) but once there we could board immediately.  

 

Unusually, the rooms were available as soon as we boarded, as the ship had come in empty overnight from Vancouver.  That was nice.  We dropped the carry-ons and headed back out to Seattle for a couple of hours for some last minute shopping. Even better, it wasn't raining in Seattle!

 

Lunch was in the Tsar's Palace MDR (now called just the Palace, perhaps for geopolitical reasons). Open for embarkation lunch from 12 to 2.

 

Signed up for all the usual stuff at Cruisenext that afternoon.  Looks like everything is running (unlike on our Jade cruises): Behind the Scenes, Speed Wine Tasting, Dinner with Officers, Latitudes Party, Sail and Sustain Mixology.  We have many sea days so these events have been spead over different days, which is sensible.  Laundry benefit is twice per person on this 16 day cruise.

 

Day two was a sea day, heading north outside Vancouver Island.  Progressive trivia started, at a good time of 2.30pm.  

Ship doesn't feel crowded.  There are probably lots of solos on board as the solo price has been good for a while.  Only 15 children on board.  

 

Very nice meal at Le Bistro in the evening.  One show only this evening (8.30pm) so a full house in the theatre: Dave Rave, a comedy juggler. 

 

Day three is Ketchikan, Alaska.  Light rain and cool.  Super busy in Ward Cove as we're docked next to the Bliss and using the same shuttle buses to/from Berth four in town.

 

I'll update this thread every few days when I get time.  It'll be easy to get time on the sea days, but nothing to report...  Once we get to Hakodate in Japan we have TWENTY-ONE consecutive port days before the next sea day! That will be busy and tiring!

 

If you have questions about the ship, or want any photos, ask away! Also for Japan and elsewhere in Asia, once we get nearer. 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Rob_H

[bluenose1]

Does this trip go thru the Kamon Strait between the Japanese Islands? Very interesting passage. Have fun.

 

[schmoopie17]

In reviewing your cruise history, I have a question.

Will you adopt me so I can tag along on your future cruises?

 

Although, I turn 70 this week, so a better question would be, "Can I adopt you"?

Then you could treat dear old dad to a cruise now and then. 

 

Seriously...you're blessed.

[www3traveler]

When you can, could you please post a list of the Senior Officers both Bridge and Hotel?

 

When you boarded in Seattle did you see any of the Corporate VIP's who where on board probably just for lunch (Harry Sommer, David Herrera and a couple of others).

 

Enjoy your cruise

[PhillyTravelBug]

39 days is something I dream of!  What an itinerary.  Enjoy. definitely will be following along.

[mugtech]

1 hour ago, Rob_H said:

We're on the Jewel, from Seattle to Singapore (3 cruises b2b2b, departed 3 Oct 2023).  This is NCL's first ship back to Asia after the interruption.  It has some maiden ports, including in the Philippines. We've been to Alaska and a couple of the Japanese ports before, but most of the rest is new to us.

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have any plans for the ports in the Philippines?  We will be there as of 10/19/23, our house is about 40 miles from your first stop in the Philippines,  Salamague.   Unfortunately that is 11/1, and most of the Catholics and others will be visiting and decorating family tombstones in all the cemeteries.  Plenty of food for sale, a good day to sell candles.  The port has a new dock, Celebrity stopped there in 2019, but it was a tender port.  We gonna do a similar itinerary in 2025 on the Sky, we did Singapore to Hong Kong on Jewel in 2019.  Liked Jewel more than Sky, they had very good Asian food on Jewel.  Looks like a great itinerary, we had considered it, but decided to spend a week in Hawaii with family on the way to the Philippines. Looking forward to reading your reports.

[sherrihall128]

We live near Seattle.. so we were looking at this itinerary to get to Japan as it looks interesting but super long. Excited to hear about your trip!

[natefish95]

I'll be following along! I was just on the Jewel and loved it. I have my eye on the Japan to Alaska cruise in April 2024 (but the website won't let me book anything...). Very curious to hear how you like the ports in Japan and what y'all get up to. Enjoy!

[Back to school]

Have fun, and good travelings!

[Mickey74]

Thank you for posting and the reports! I will be following along, my mom is traveling solo on the first leg to Tokyo. She doesn't keep me posted at all, so it will be fun to be reading about her trip through you. 

[Von & John]

Looking forward to your Live

We sailed TransPacific on the Jewel 2018 - 19 Days

Vancouver up through Alaska to Petropavlovsk, Russia to Japan - ending in Yokohama. 
Loved it!!

Enjoy Your Trip

Cheers - Von

[lorif]

Thanks for posting this!  We are on the TP in April coming back from Tokyo, so I am interested to hear how the sea days go for you.  I know you will have longer days crossing, and we will have shorter days, but I am wondering about how they spread out activities.  Yes, we do enjoy trivia so hoping that is well organized.

Another question will be about Sendai, I have looked at port schedules and the ship shows at Sendai and not Ishinomaki, so I am curious where you will really dock as we will likely be the same. 

Any feedback on tour options for Hakodate as well are appreciated.

Enjoy your voyage, I will be reading along.  Thanks.

[Rob_H]

23 hours ago, bluenose1 said:

Does this trip go thru the Kamon Strait between the Japanese Islands? Very interesting passage. Have fun.

 

 

No, these cruises are mostly on the east side of the main Japanese islands, with island-hopping southwards towards Taiwan.

 

We did go through the Kanmon Strait in 2019 on the Diamond Princess on a cruise that went around Japan plus Busan, Korea.

 

Here's the current itinerary for our three cruises:

 

Oct-03 Seattle
Oct-04 At Sea
Oct-05 Ketchikan, Alaska
Oct-06 Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Oct-07 Hubbard Glacier
Oct-08 Seward, Alaska
Oct-09 At Sea
Oct-10 At Sea
Oct-11 At Sea
Oct-12 Day skipped (dateline)
Oct-13 At Sea
Oct-14 At Sea
Oct-15 At Sea
Oct-16 At Sea
Oct-17 Hakodate, Japan
Oct-18 Sendai (Ishonomaki)
Oct-19 Tokyo, Japan - new cruise
Oct-20 Shimizu, Japan
Oct-21 Osaka, Japan overnight
Oct-22 Osaka, Japan
Oct-23 Hiroshima, Japan
Oct-24 Miyazaki (Aburatsu), Japan
Oct-25 Sasebo, Japan
Oct-26 Naze (Oshima), Japan
Oct-27 Naha (Okinawa), Japan
Oct-28 Miyako-Jima, Japan
Oct-29 Hualien, Taiwan
Oct-30 Keelung (Taipei) - new cruise
Oct-31 Kaoshiung, Taiwan
Nov-01 Salomague, Philippines
Nov-02 Manila, Philippines
Nov-03 Boracay, Philippines
Nov-04 Puerto Princesa, Philippines
Nov-05 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Nov-06 Muara, Brunei
Nov-07 At Sea
Nov-08 Na Trang, Vietnam
Nov-09 Phu My (Ho Ch1 Minh City), Vietnam
Nov-10 At Sea
Nov-11 Singapore

 

 

 

[Rob_H]

22 hours ago, www3traveler said:

When you can, could you please post a list of the Senior Officers both Bridge and Hotel?

 

Hotel:

 

General Manager, Hannah Han

 

Food & Bev. Director, Fabrice De Cotte

 

Cruise Director, Victor Stevenson (currently unavailable, acting CD is Robert Deane)

 

Guest Services Mgr. Charlyn Pacilla

 

Exec. Housekeeper, Eric De Leon

 

I'll see if I can find the bridge officer details. This ship doesn't have a board with photos, just a scrolling list on the TV. 

 

22 hours ago, www3traveler said:

When you boarded in Seattle did you see any of the Corporate VIP's who where on board probably just for lunch (Harry Sommer, David Herrera and a couple of others).

 

Didn't see anybody VIP, but I'm not good at recognizing faces! We went back out shopping late morning, didn't get back to 1.30 so probably missed anything. Was this to celebrate the return to Asia?

[www3traveler]

1 minute ago, Rob_H said:

 

Hotel:

 

General Manager, Hannah Han

 

Food & Bev. Director, Fabrice De Cotte

 

Cruise Director, Victor Stevenson (currently unavailable, acting CD is Robert Deane)

 

Guest Services Mgr. Charlyn Pacilla

 

Exec. Housekeeper, Eric De Leon

 

I'll see if I can find the bridge officer details. This ship doesn't have a board with photos, just a scrolling list on the TV. 

 

 

Didn't see anybody VIP, but I'm not good at recognizing faces! We went back out shopping late morning, didn't get back to 1.30 so probably missed anything. Was this to celebrate the return to Asia?

Do not think so because they visited The Bliss on Saturday, The Encore on Sunday, The Sun on Monday as well ass The Jewel on Tuesday.  Probably may have had meetings with the Port of Seattle officials.

There should be a picture board of all the Officers just off the pool deck in the hallway leading to the forward elevators.

[MkeCruzn]

2 hours ago, Rob_H said:

 

Hotel:

 

General Manager, Hannah Han

 

Food & Bev. Director, Fabrice De Cotte

 

Cruise Director, Victor Stevenson (currently unavailable, acting CD is Robert Deane)

 

Guest Services Mgr. Charlyn Pacilla

 

Exec. Housekeeper, Eric De Leon

 

I'll see if I can find the bridge officer details. This ship doesn't have a board with photos, just a scrolling list on the TV. 

 

 

Didn't see anybody VIP, but I'm not good at recognizing faces! We went back out shopping late morning, didn't get back to 1.30 so probably missed anything. Was this to celebrate the return to Asia?

Looks like Rumi is taking a break as GM. He's been on the Jewel since 2020.

[www3traveler]

3 hours ago, MkeCruzn said:

Looks like Rumi is taking a break as GM. He's been on the Jewel since 2020.

Rumi has been Relief GM for a long time, so he is probably on vacation.

[Rob_H]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Rumi has been Relief GM for a long time, so he is probably on vacation.

 

Yes, Rumi (GM) and Tahaini (CD) left for vacation recently, according to a friend who was onboard a couple of weeks ago.

 

Today was Icy Strait Point.  Not a day for the Skyglider mountain gondola (lots of low cloud, some light rain).  Ship docks at the secondary port (next to the Skyglider), there is a free gondola along to the Cannery which has a $5 shuttle bus into Hoonah.

 

We've given up even looking at Norwegian Shorex this year, except as an idea of what to look for in an outside tour.  The Skyglider was $50 in April, which with the $50 shorex credit and Latitudes discount isn't too bad for two.  Now it's $70.

 

The zipline shorex is a crazy $270 for one hour.  Still, not as bad as the $550 Norwegian shorex we saw for two hours of kayaking in Iceland a few months ago!

 

BTW, in what will probably be normal for Asia cruises, the ship has run out of green tea teabags by day 4.  Most cruises run out of green tea at some point (so we bring our own as a backup), but not usually this quick!

 

 

[www3traveler]

In case anyone was wondering, the long time General Manager of The Jewel Steven Jacobsen accepted a different assignment with Norwegian last Spring-- hence a change in the management team of The Jewel.

[BigRedFan]

Can't wait to follow along with you.  I am sailing on the Jewel next Spring B2B2B Japan, Transpacific, Alaska.  

[Rob_H]

Bridge:

Captain: Vincente Amicone (Uruguay)

Chief Engineer: Igor Sanje (Croatia)

Staff Captain: Mikko Kovalainen (Finland)

 

[www3traveler]

4 minutes ago, Rob_H said:

Bridge:

Captain: Vincente Amicone (Uruguay)

Chief Engineer: Igor Sanje (Croatia)

Staff Captain: Mikko Kovalainen (Finland)

 

Thank You   I hope the rest of your cruise goes well.

Very very foggy and chilly in Seattle today.

[Rob_H]

3 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Very very foggy and chilly in Seattle today.

 

Yesterday was quite cloudy while the ship went to Hubbard Glacier for an hour or so in the morning, but not too much fog.  Very monochrome viewing, we were lucky we'd already seen it under much better conditions recently.

 

Today is Seward.  7C (45ish) and light rain.  Free shuttle to downtown.  

[Rob_H]

On 10/5/2023 at 5:22 PM, mugtech said:

Do you have any plans for the ports in the Philippines?  

 

We've got almost no plans for any of the ports in any of the countries.  This is about the third time we've tried to do this itinerary, after the prvious NCL cancellations (and increasing tensions in Taiwan) we were doubtful it would happen.  Plus, we find we've been enjoying not having planned shore excusions in each place this year, doing a lot more spur of the moment at the pier or by public transport.

 

I'm sure we'll miss some "unmissable" things that way (many tours are booked out and often not available at the pier) but that's OK, something interesting usually happens!  And we'll be back, East Asia is almost local for us in Australia.

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Rob_H

[MkeCruzn]

On 10/6/2023 at 10:41 PM, Rob_H said:

 

Yes, Rumi (GM) and Tahaini (CD) left for vacation recently, according to a friend who was onboard a couple of weeks ago.

 

Today was Icy Strait Point.  Not a day for the Skyglider mountain gondola (lots of low cloud, some light rain).  Ship docks at the secondary port (next to the Skyglider), there is a free gondola along to the Cannery which has a $5 shuttle bus into Hoonah.

 

We've given up even looking at Norwegian Shorex this year, except as an idea of what to look for in an outside tour.  The Skyglider was $50 in April, which with the $50 shorex credit and Latitudes discount isn't too bad for two.  Now it's $70.

 

The zipline shorex is a crazy $270 for one hour.  Still, not as bad as the $550 Norwegian shorex we saw for two hours of kayaking in Iceland a few months ago!

 

BTW, in what will probably be normal for Asia cruises, the ship has run out of green tea teabags by day 4.  Most cruises run out of green tea at some point (so we bring our own as a backup), but not usually this quick!

 

 

Iceland shorex with NCL are mostly crazy expensive, as you noted. We passed on almost all of these those and booked similar ones at 1/3 the price through Arctic Shorex and other companies, or just walked around the town and enjoyed a free day (in more than one way).

 

I am willing to spend $150 per person for a full day, or close to it. We did some pre-cruise excursions in Reykjavik for that price, and our independent shorex came in at about that price too.

 

I understand an expensive tour in a bus (after all, gas is $10/gallon or thereabouts), but a $550 kayak trip? Come on, NCL.The vacation is expensive enough without gouging pax on the shorex. They also don't tell you about interesting options like a $20 per person shuttle bus vs. the $150 shorex in Norway.

 

Rumi is an excellent GM, in my opinion. I hope he enjoys his vacation. He deserves some time off.

Edited October 8, 2023 by MkeCruzn
Improvements!