Jewel / Alaska / Aug 25 - Sept 1

[Ghengis Klown]

Hello fellow cruisers, I'm new to this forum. Thought I'd try it out and see what people think about my cruise. The Jewel is taking me thru the Alaskan Inside Passage on the 25th of August. This is my third cruise, but first with the Norwegian line. I've seen plenty of reviews about the ship, but none for Alaska. Just seeing if anyone has done this same cruise or one like it.

[bonvoyagie]

There is no such thing as a bad AK cruise - some are a bit better than others. :D I have not been on the newer ships - my last AK trip was on the Sky back in 02 and 03 - she did the same trip that the Jewel does today. You will be able to see Kechikan, Juneau, and Skagway AK as well as Victoria CA plus Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier. You are doing a near end of season cruise - the crew will be well seasoned by then. NCL is known for it's Freestyle method of dining and entertainment - some folks love it while others hate it. I love it. There is no set schedule - you can eat whenever you want to - just like at home. You can eat in a group or solo if you want. The MDR is open from 5:00 to 9:30 for dinner - simply show up and you will be seated at the next available table. You will have a different server each night - of if you prefer, you can ask to be seated in a particular server's section. Another difference is that instead of tipping the wait staff and cabin stewards NCL charges 12.00/pp/day to give to these people as incentive pay. The charge is automaticly added to your onboard account (or you can pay it ahead of time if you wish).

 

You may be too late in the season - but I would strongly reccommend taking the small boat tour of Tracy Arm.

 

Do some whale watching in Juneau

 

Soak in Gold Rush history in Skagway - take the train ride

 

Take in some local culture in Ketchikan.

 

Do not be afraid to seek out tour operators that are not on your cruise line. Use the info here: http://cruiseportinsider.com/index.html to help in your planning.

 

I will be on the Pearl in late June and will hopefully have a good review for you.

[Ghengis Klown]

Thanks.. After my second cruise I wanted to do Alaska. I do better in the mild weather then the hot. Freestyle dinning sounds a lot better then all the fancy dress up nights. I don't mind dressing up, but I'm on a vacation, and would rather be casual. Thanks again for the response, I'm excited to have a place where I can talk about these things..

[roger001]

We did the Pearl Alaska cruise a couple of years ago. Was great. Pearl does stop in Glacier Bay which is a plus. We are now doing the Jewel Alaska cruise in a couple of months. The scenery up and back is beautiful. We've been on the Pearl three times, and since the Jewel and Pearl are similar, you should love the Jewel. You just can't predict the weather you will experience. We went prepared for the worst, then had 75 and sunny the entire trip. The locals even said that it was the best week of weather in five years. Don't think we'll get that lucky again. Expect cold and drizzily and be happy for anything better than that.

[Ghengis Klown]

I heard the Pearl and Jewel are sister ships. If I would have gone a week later I think it would have been the Pearl. So what should I expect? The only other cruise line I've used in the past was Celebrity. I know these are quite different. Anyone been on both lines? Like one more then the other?

 

I'm going on this cruise more for the views, hang out on my balcony, have a drink and relax. HOPEFULLY this will be much less stress then my last one.

[roger001]

I heard the Pearl and Jewel are sister ships. If I would have gone a week later I think it would have been the Pearl. So what should I expect? The only other cruise line I've used in the past was Celebrity. I know these are quite different. Anyone been on both lines? Like one more then the other?

 

I'm going on this cruise more for the views, hang out on my balcony, have a drink and relax. HOPEFULLY this will be much less stress then my last one.

 

Hanging out, drinking, watching the scenery....and eating...can't be much better than that. And you will be surrounded by the nicest cruise ship crew members and staff anywhere...NCL crew. Freestyle is about relaxing. Do whatever, whenever........no stress.

[ImADaneFan]

Hello fellow cruisers, I'm new to this forum. Thought I'd try it out and see what people think about my cruise. The Jewel is taking me thru the Alaskan Inside Passage on the 25th of August. This is my third cruise, but first with the Norwegian line. I've seen plenty of reviews about the ship, but none for Alaska. Just seeing if anyone has done this same cruise or one like it.

 

We're on this cruise also. Be sure to stop by our roll call. Currently there are only 2 of us on the roll call. We can use some more participation! :D Here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1587624

[Ghengis Klown]

I just read that this year is the first season the Jewel has sailed Alaska. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. :confused:

[bonvoyagie]

NCL has been sailing Alaska for many years now - I would not worry about the Jewel's first tour of duty in Alaska. It is quite possible that the captain and officers have been there before on another ship. Also by Aug they have had several weeks of crusing under their belts and will be Alaska experts.

[Ghengis Klown]

NCL has been sailing Alaska for many years now - I would not worry about the Jewel's first tour of duty in Alaska. It is quite possible that the captain and officers have been there before on another ship. Also by Aug they have had several weeks of crusing under their belts and will be Alaska experts.

 

good call.. I had just read that the Jewel was new to the area.. and got a image of a captain with a upside down map, and crews in there shorts wondering ***.. lol

[roger001]

These ships and their crews are world travelers. No cruise leaves port with less than total preplanning, flight planning, and absolute details of the cruise scripted. We will be on the Jewel's first Alaska cruise for the season.

[elwood_98034]

We too are on the first Jewel cruise, and images of the Concordia do spring to mind, as some parts of the Inside Passage past Vancouver Island seems almost an arms width apart, and we will be doing those at night! But you would have to be a total moron to allow an idiot to drive a half billion dollar ship full of people up onto a pile of rocks... That being said, the ships don't really do much of the actual Inside Passage, the ships sail further out than that, and remember that most sailing is done at night, so you don't get to see a lot of the scenery from the ship. Disappointing. The most important thing I found is to never leave your cabin without your camera, as a lot of shots were fleeting.

[roger001]

We too are on the first Jewel cruise, and images of the Concordia do spring to mind, as some parts of the Inside Passage past Vancouver Island seems almost an arms width apart, and we will be doing those at night! But you would have to be a total moron to allow an idiot to drive a half billion dollar ship full of people up onto a pile of rocks... That being said, the ships don't really do much of the actual Inside Passage, the ships sail further out than that, and remember that most sailing is done at night, so you don't get to see a lot of the scenery from the ship. Disappointing. The most important thing I found is to never leave your cabin without your camera, as a lot of shots were fleeting.

 

As we boarded the Sun last Jan, the ship's TV sets were set to news programs......and the news was....the Concordia had just capsized. Needless to say, lots of discussion on board regarding that that day. Reference the Alaska cruise, we did the Pearl cruise a couple of years ago. I felt there were huge amounts of daylight cruising and scenery to be seen. As you said, for much of it you can throw a rock and hit both banks almost....wlll kinda. I enjoyed walking around the deck and watching for whales...of which I saw many.

[Ghengis Klown]

This is starting to become my christmas.. SOOOOO excited.. All I've wanted on my cruises in the past was some really awesome scenery and some nice nature. Dolphins swimming next to the ship is nice, but WHALES?.. hecks yeah.. so happy for that. I think I've enjoyed the "cruising" much more then the stops I've gone to. Atlantis was really cool though

[azappraiser]

We too are on the first Jewel cruise, and images of the Concordia do spring to mind, as some parts of the Inside Passage past Vancouver Island seems almost an arms width apart, and we will be doing those at night! But you would have to be a total moron to allow an idiot to drive a half billion dollar ship full of people up onto a pile of rocks... That being said, the ships don't really do much of the actual Inside Passage, the ships sail further out than that, and remember that most sailing is done at night, so you don't get to see a lot of the scenery from the ship. Disappointing. The most important thing I found is to never leave your cabin without your camera, as a lot of shots were fleeting.

 

You'd be surprised at how close land is when you're in the passage. Last year, on our second day heading toward Juneau, we were very close to land on both sides of the ship... just cruising along & watching the scenery go by. It was very cool! :cool:

[elwood_98034]

We were on the Sun a few years ago, and they tended to stay in the ports until quite late, and then arrive at the next port early the next morning. We had a Seattle departure, so we were at about Campbell River at sun up, then at sea for most of the day once we cleared Vancouver Island later. Skagway to Tracey Arm was in daylight, and then the next day was mostly at sea until back to Seattle. It was fun, but 'the Inside Passage' was only actually visible for a few hours in total, otherwise it was dark or you could see land in the distance. A beautiful trip though!

[Ghengis Klown]

Just out of curiosity, How bad is the rain at the time of year I'm going to Alaska (late aug)?