mjcatlvr

10 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

We didn’t do the Behind the Scenes tour either week on this cruise. The first week it was at 7:50am and the second week at 8:20am. 
 

Nope.

Thank you so very much for this beautifully detailed account of your NCL Jewel cruise. I have so much enjoyed following along. I cannot wait to board this July.

3 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

The first one which is shorter is flat is actually wheelchair accessible. That's probably the one you want for him. The one that goes further goes along some rocks and is a bit uphill in places.

Thank you so very much for your assistance 😊

11 hours ago, frugaltravel said:

Be sure when you check in for the train that you tell them you are on the cruise ship.  Have your cruise luggage tags on the luggage before you get to the train station.  You should arrive by about 11.15am.

 

It is probably a good 30 minutes from town to Exit Glacier.  Figure two hours from the nature center to get to the end of the furthest trail and back.  You can certainly do it faster but that is probably the most it would take.

 

By chance do you remember the hike? How difficult? We have a member in our party that is 89, he could do a "forest walk" but not an uphill hike. Thank you

1 hour ago, frugaltravel said:

How are you arriving to Seward?  If by train, they will check your luggage right through to the cruise ship.  If by coach, you could drop your luggage off at the cruise terminal starting late morning.  Then you can take a taxi to Exit Glacier.  Be sure to coordinate a return pick up time before they drop you off since there is no cell service at Exit Glacier.

 

Another option is Exit Glacier Shuttle.  https://www.exitglaciershuttle.com/

 

OOPS! We will be arriving by train from Anchorage, arriving around noon. If they will handle the luggage then this sounds like a great opportunity to get a little exercise , fresh air and to see Exit glacier! Any idea of the amount of time that this might take? 

Hello all,

Is there a possibility for our party to drop off luggage at the Seward port, NCL baggage check in then head out to hike to the Exit Glacier BEFORE stepping on board the cruise ship that departs at 9pm? I'm positive that this wouldn't work at an airport, but at every port we have been at it seemed that the "Luggage Grab" was disconnected from the actual check in.

Taxi to Trail head?

If this isn't possible, could part of our party handle and check in all of the luggage (different cabins) and the rest carry on with the hike?

Embarking late July NCL Jewel.

Thank you in advance for any advise.

4 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Have you tried the Banana Banoffee Cream? I’m thinking about it right now and I want one!

Oh My God! The Banana Banoffee Cream is my absolute favorite dessert anywhere! I am not even that keen on bananas! Our first trip in the Haven our server told us that it wasn't to be missed, we ordered and had very low expectations, then we were both blown away! Difficult to not order it. We do control ourselves somewhat and always share. Happy to also see our beloved fish sandwich is available too. Thanks for the menus

14 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Skagway part 1

Rough.

 

Rough morning.

 

We arrived at the Garden Cafe for breakfast at 9:55. All the food was being whisked away. I was able to grab a slice of cheese and a half of an English muffin. It was like a scene from a military movie where the forces charged in swiftly and took no mercy, not even for the cantaloupe.

 

The Freestyle Daily lists The Great Outdoors being open. 

It’s not remotely open.

 

A maître d walked by and I asked why it wasn’t open.

He said the weather was too bad.

 

This weather.

It’s a gorgeous day. 

 

I asked where to get food. He said the Garden Cafe. I said they took all the food away. He said there was still food.  We went back to try to get breakfast. 

 

This is what was available.

 

I had to eat so we went to O’Sheehan’s. 

That was a disaster.

 

If you’re going to make fake eggs, at least measure the water correctly. This is the breakfast sandwich.

 

 

 It blows my mind what chefs cook and what waiters serve. At some point a quality check needs to happen. I asked for tomatoes but not potatoes. Neither came.

 

My dad ordered the oatmeal. I’ve had it before and it is supposed to come on a little platter with the oatmeal, some brown sugar, some raisins and some hot milk. Maybe some cinnamon. This is what my dad got. 

 

Just a bowl plunked down in front of him with no accoutrements. The accoutrements are the best part of the oatmeal.

 

We were served cold coffee.

 

Those who know me know how much I adore brunch. It’s my favourite. We have concluded that O’Sheehan’s on this ship is not the place for breakfast. Drinks yes. Eggs no.

 

 

The woman behind us just ordered 14 pieces of bacon plus three entrees. I guess she likes brunch too.

 

We left O’Sheehan’s and went to bracelet making. That was fun! You get a kit and can do what you want. I loved seeing the different designs people created.

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to O’Sheehan’s (it’s the only indoor bar open when we are in port) for morning libations. Hello hot toddy made with cognac!  My first cognac of my life, I believe.  Not the last!!! Oh, this is a good, good drink!

 

Note: neither of us were in a bad mood or let the breakfast experience wreck our day or our morning. 

Your bracelet came out great! Hopefully that class is offered in July, I will sign up for sure!

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

@mjcatlvr

Here is the updated Haven breakfast menu. 
Lunch menu coming soon!

Gigantic THANK YOU Yvonne! I appreciate this so much. My Dad will be pleased to see that this is very similar to to Breakfast menu in the regular Haven restaurants. Plenty to choose from. Enjoy the rest of your Birthday cruise!

1 hour ago, KACTravels said:

My friend @YVRteacher is on The Jewel with her father right now!  She is doing a “Live” Cruise Critic Blog during her Back to Back in a 2 Bedroom Haven Suite.  My guess is you will find reading this very helpful (and entertaining).  

Live from the Jewel April 29-May 13, 2024: will definitely contain sarcasm and grumpiness

 

OMG! I have sooo been enjoying Yvonne's posts. I look forward to them every day. Her Dad sounds like my dads twin brother.... we should have some fun and interesting times too!

Hello all,

Is there a possibility for our party to drop off luggage at the Seward port, NCL baggage check in then head out to hike to the Exit Glacier BEFORE stepping on board the cruise ship that departs at 9pm? I'm positive that this wouldn't work at an airport, but at every port we have been at it seemed that the "Luggage Grab" was disconnected from the actual check in.

If this isn't possible, could part of our party handle and check in all of the luggage (different cabins) and the rest carry on with the hike?

Embarking late July NCL Jewel.

Thank you in advance for any advise.

So enjoying all of your posts Yvonne. We will be taking my 89 year old father on the beautiful Jewel 07/29/24. If you had a second could you please snap a picture of the breakfast and lunch menus for the Haven diners? I can't seem to find them online with much searching. Thank you in advance 😊

37 minutes ago, valleyvillage said:

Before the cruise you can do that through the Concierge Desk. Once on board the concierge will help you directly.

NorwegianConciergeDesk@ncl.com. 855-625-4283

29 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The concierge can help you with dinners. Or, you can do it yourself online 130 days prior to departure (that’s 10 days before steerage can make reservations). 
 

There are no reservable shows on the Jewel. 

Thank you both for the info. Can't wait for my dad to see the beauty of Alaska!

Ah, Thank you for your reply! For booking shows and dinners, is there a direct Haven contact, or just Guest Services?

Hello all! We will be taking my dad to Alaska on the Jewel at the end of July, 2024. I realize that the ship doesn't have a proper Haven area, but what can we expect when staying in a H6? 

WOW! Thank you so very much for everyones thoughtful and detailed advice. Amazing 

Hello all! My Husband, myself and my elderly father will be headed home out of YVR the first week of August. The NCL schedule puts us arriving at the Vancouver cruise terminal at 6am. I read some advice offered on the "Ports" boards but our situation is that the train won't work for my father, we will need to get a cab and I understand that this takes a bit more time. What is a realistic time frame for us to get off of the ship, find a taxi, drive to the airport, go through Canadian customs then I think U.S. customs? Trying to arrange a return flight that we won't be stressed about getting to but also, I don't want to be hanging at the airport for half a day. I see a flight that LEAVES at 12:30, would this be a "nail biter" to get to?

2 hours ago, AJSL23 said:

@laudergayle - Did you end up staying in that FF cabin on Prima?  We have one booked for a transatlantic cruise coming up soon - 10102.  I'm getting a little nervous about the wind because we'd like to use our balcony.  Thanks!

We were in a FF cabin on Prima and the balcony was unusable! Way too windy while at sea (to the point that the crew had to come to tie all of the balcony furniture down) then blazing, non stop sun in ports (if you are either side of the ship at least you get a 50% chance of some shade while in port). Also, at the front, the movement is much more pronounced! We don't get sea sick but if you were sensitive, you wouldn't like it at all!

On 8/5/2023 at 2:08 PM, KimGhee said:

Thanks for the responses! As this is our first time sailing NCL, and my in-laws first cruise ever,  we aren't Latitude members so we'll only be able to book BTS (...which were completely fine with. My father in law who is an engineer dreams of seeing the engine room.)

Write out a nice card detailing that it's your FIL'S first cruise and that he is an Engineer etc... Right after boarding take it to the Atrium desk addressed to the ships Captain. You might be surprised with an invitation like we were years ago with a very "behind the scenes" tour! 

We have done several "Port Heavy" cruises in the Haven. To us, it is still worth it. For example, when we did Europe in 2019 we made tracks every day putting on about 15 miles of walking each day, we returned each day to a cocktail in the Haven bar then we passed out in our cabin, ready for the next day of exploring! Benefits were that we were the first folks off the ship in ports and if we did want to see some entertainment that night, (and could keep our eyes open) we were escorted up front. The escorting on and off the ship and to the theaters was worth it for sure! We LOVE NCL Havens and will keep booking 

!

The "Swap Out" has never worked for us but on our last cruise we could hear two couples on the balcony during Sail Away next to us toasting and they were thrilled when we passed our bottle to them.

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No, not bad form. Just fyi, we cruise a half dozen times a year and we fill laundry bags on every cruise without tearing. 

Bird, you are always so helpful, thank you. I would like to add that on our recent Prima cruise the laundry bags were a thin (but sturdy) nylon fabric and not the dreaded paper bags. You can bet that I rolled and stuffed six days worth of clothes for two adults with no problem (no award given for my squashing talent though). much easier to over stuff and no tears!

Also, off topic except that we are talking about Prima. Don't miss out on the race cars. We are older and I am larger so I wasn't sure if I could even get in the damn thing but it was worth every penny and just a hoot! So happy that we went for it. Next time though, we will go separately as there is a great photo spot and the opportunity to somehow "speed up" a race car. Fun stuff!

Not sure how much fun your kids will have in the Haven Prima pool though. Shoulder to shoulder adults with cocktails in hand most hours of the day and evening was what we experienced. The only time that we were able to enjoy the pool was when we were in port, most folks on excursions. Something to note also is that when the ship is in port, they fill that Haven pool to the top, so it is really a cool Infinity pool. While cruising, the water is about a foot lower, so not Infinity (spillage maybe?). Also, take lots of sunscreen as there is very little shade to be had on the Haven outdoor decks.

26 minutes ago, rbxlady said:

We just got off the Getaway (if the ship matters), and I didn’t use the robe in the Haven, but my husband did and loved it. He wanted to take one and let them charge us for it, but I told him to just buy one so he gets a brand new one rather than one that has been worn by a bunch of strangers and washed a bunch of times. Anyway, he forgot to ask about it before getting off the ship.

 

This is the robe, but it’s out of stock: https://nclhome.com/products/haven-robe

 

I found an old thread on this, which led me to a different site (bocaterry.com) that sells the robes, minus the embroidery, of course. I’d like to buy one for my husband for Christmas, but I can’t remember if the Haven robes have a plush lining or a terry lining. The outside is microfiber based on the nclhome link above, so I’ve narrowed it down to two, both linked below.

 

Does anyone know which robe is the same as the Haven one?

Plush lined: https://store-bbb24epce6.mybigcommerce.com/bathrobes/microfiber-plush-lined-bathrobe?_ga=2.130341391.1810851290.1667164640-1663235094.1667164640

 

Terry lined: https://store-bbb24epce6.mybigcommerce.com/bathrobes/microfiber-french-terry-lined-bathrobe?_ga=2.104707712.1810851290.1667164640-1663235094.1667164640

 

Thank you!

I believe that it's only the first one. The Haven robes have a much trimmer fit than the looks of the other two.There is a very lightweight plush lining in the Haven robes, not Terry. I would keep looking for when they come back in stock, I have met many folks who have purchased the Haven robes and love them at home. Good Luck!

You can pick at them for an hour or so, then give up because you are at risk of tearing into the piece of clothing attached. Actually, thank goodness for the little stubborn NCL laundry tags. At about the fourth month in with Covid swirling around (pre-vaccines), I put on an outfit that I hadn't worn for a bit. It drove me crazy while pacing around in my home, the itching and scratching like crazy from the waistband. What the heck was going on? I was so pleased to find that little tag, I was able to have a flash back of great memories of our late 2019 cruise. I really needed that pick me up at that time. After enjoying those memories, I soaked the tag in Shout for a few minutes and off it came 😊.

On 8/2/2022 at 9:43 PM, The Shrike said:

I like them all, really.  But we rarely do teppanyaki, because we have three restaurants around where we live that we can go to for that.  And as much as I like it, we only do Moderno every few cruises because my wife says "It's just SO MUCH FOOD!"  🙄🙂
Keep in mind you can get a really good meal at the complimentary Asian restaurant, too.

With the FAS meals plus Latitudes meals we eat at Cagney's, La Cucina, and Le Bistro at least once each cruise.

THIS! I agree with your wife. Way too much food there that it's actually a turn off for me. We have always loved the "salad bar" at Moderna but the two times that we went and only wanted that, we felt that we were pressured by waitstaff to partake in the meats. Many Red cards and NO's later, they finally left us alone after serving us each a slice of the grilled pineapple, YUM!