Our May 31, 2014 cruise to Alaska on the Jewel

[brunolvr]

Our first towel animal (frog). Our room steward was Joefrey Pili and he was outstanding!

 

 

Looking down from our balcony

 

 

8:30PM and a pilot boat on it's way

 

Golden Princess

 

 

Pilot boat on it's way to the Westerdam

 

 

Golden Princess disappearing into the sunset at 8:45PM

 

 

and the end of a great 1st day!

[brunolvr]

Day 2 on the Jewel - June 1, 2014 - at sea

 

The day at sea was going to be a busy one as lots of activities were scheduled. The complimentary “behind the scenes tour” for Platinum Latitudes was from 9:30AM to 11:00AM; our Meet & Greet was at 11:00AM; 1:00PM was the Latitudes Cocktail Party in Spinnaker; 6:30PM was the Captain’s VIP Cocktail Reception in the Haven Courtyard; and it was “Norwegian’s Night Out” (previously known as dress up or not night) so formal pictures were being taken in the Atrium area (but they ended up doing that almost every evening).

 

I was up early in the morning so I decided to walk around the ship and take some pictures.

 

Sunrise at 5:50AM

 

 

Fyzz Lounge

 

 

Chin Chin Restaurant

 

 

Elevator landing on the 7th Deck (Promenade Deck)

 

 

The new Photo Gallery

 

 

The other side of the Photo Gallery

[brunolvr]

While my husband and daughter were still sleeping, I decided to get some goodies from the Courtyard area of the Haven and have a "pre-breakfast" on our balcony.

 

 

Beautiful view from our balcony at 6:20 in the morning

 

 

Since my husband was going on the behind the scenes tour at 9:30AM, we decided to have the butler deliver our breakfast in our suite. He was right on time and everything was great!

 

 

While my husband was on his tour, my daughter and I wanted to take a walk around the promenade deck, but it was closed due to high winds (38knots).

 

 

So we went to the Bridge Viewing Room on Deck 11 instead.

[cb3thatsme]

Awesome review so far :D

 

Right now I am going back and forth on Jewel and Pearl for next year so this is helping me quite a bit!

 

(You might post at the end but... Which ship did you enjoy more? Leaning towards Jewel but your post of the "junkyard" and saying its aging make me nervous :eek:)

[brunolvr]

Awesome review so far :D

 

Right now I am going back and forth on Jewel and Pearl for next year so this is helping me quite a bit!

 

(You might post at the end but... Which ship did you enjoy more? Leaning towards Jewel but your post of the "junkyard" and saying its aging make me nervous :eek:)

 

I think the Pearl is my favorite ship (and my daughters), especially in the "suite" department. We have been on the Pearl 4 times to Alaska and have always had a great butler, great concierge, and just generally had a better experience. I think when we cruised on the Pearl, we can say we had "great" cruises, even with the bad weather we sometimes encountered.

 

I would not hesitate to cruise again on the Jewel and would say it was a "good" cruise, but there were a few improvements that could have been made that would have made it a "great" cruise.

 

I'm sure the "junkyard" is gone by now (or at least I hope so) and although the Jewel is beginning to show her age, improvements and updates have been made and I assume they will continue to make them.

[cb3thatsme]

I think the Pearl is my favorite ship (and my daughters), especially in the "suite" department. We have been on the Pearl 4 times to Alaska and have always had a great butler, great concierge, and just generally had a better experience. I think when we cruised on the Pearl, we can say we had "great" cruises, even with the bad weather we sometimes encountered.

 

I would not hesitate to cruise again on the Jewel and would say it was a "good" cruise, but there were a few improvements that could have been made that would have made it a "great" cruise.

 

I'm sure the "junkyard" is gone by now (or at least I hope so) and although the Jewel is beginning to show her age, improvements and updates have been made and I assume they will continue to make them.

 

Thank you for the quick response :) I honestly would have thought the Jewel would have been in better shape just because of the recent refurb so your insight was very helpful!

[brunolvr]

My husband did go on the "Behind the Scenes" tour and he said he enjoyed it but only took a few pictures. I wanted to go but since our Meet & Greet was at 11:00AM, I didn't want to be late, so I opted out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was disappointed that only about 20 or so showed up for our Meet & Greet, especially since almost 50 said they would attend. But those who did attend were invited to sign up if they were interested in dining with an officer. There were 10 members of senior management of the Jewel who came to greet us and answer any questions we had. They also urged us to give them a call if we encountered any problems.

 

 

 

[TwinMommyByGrace]

 

So we went to the Bridge Viewing Room on Deck 11 instead.

 

I didn't know there was a place you could see the bridge. Is this open to everyone?

[brunolvr]

Around noon we went to Tsar’s Palace for lunch. The food was good and we had no problem with the service. Lunch took about 45 minutes. We decided to skip the Latitudes Cocktail Party at 1PM – we didn’t feel like fighting the crowds.

 

Our table was at the back of the restaurant next to the windows.

 

 

There was hardly anyone there.

 

 

I had the chicken salad sandwich (very good)

 

 

My husband had the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich (he enjoyed it)

 

 

And the mango cheesecake for dessert was very good.

[Hikini]

Enjoying all of this Sandy! Thanks for taking the time to post all of the pictures. Even though I've been on the Jewel before, this is really fun to see it again in anticipation of our next cruise on the Jewel in September!

[Redheel Girl]

Sandy...What a wonderful Review! You always take the best Pictures!!! I enjoyed looking at everything. I will be on her for the second time in October out of Houston. In 2015 they are moving the Jewel to San Pedro for the winter Mexican Riviera Cruise.....so you were not happy with B&L at Moderno? I was afraid of that. Cagney's was always a wonderful experience! It was special! Thank you for sharing all of this with us!

[phissy]

It was good to see your pics (again). I miss seeing your pics from when we went to Alaska last year with you and Hikini and Drosborn. We are like Sandy in that we live in Seattle and go to Alaska every year. Sandy has us beat by 4 trips. We met at last years M & G on the Pearl. I agree with Sandy that the Pearl is the best. That is why we opted to forego the Jewel this year and will be on the Pearl on Aug 30 to Alaska. I was sorry to hear that Prem is no longer the HD on the Pearl. He was the best. We went to Panama in January on the Star and had a suite.We met up with Drosborn on the Panama cruise, also. Now my husband will only go with suites!!

So this will be our first suite on the Pearl. We are forward directly under the bridge with large balcony.It will be interesting if we will get any use out of the balcony because of the weather. It not usually very good.

Reading Sandy's review and pics reminds me of the excitement she was able to generate for the upcoming cruise and the meet and greet. I guess I should try and do the same thing for our roll call. So far no one has even agreed to have a M & G!! Maybe they just don't know what it is. It was fun to remember last year, thanks again Sandy!!

[GrabMyWrist]

I didn't know there was a place you could see the bridge. Is this open to everyone?

 

It was last May.

[jmele999]

We were the 3rd cruise after the Jewel’s dry dock in San Francisco. I guess I was hoping for more in the way of updates and expected her to be in excellent condition, but we found the Jewel to be starting to show her age. There was new carpeting in the heavy traffic areas, but she didn’t seem as in good condition when we were on the Pearl last year—and all the stuff they had up on Deck 14 didn’t help the situation. I guess they were in the process of installing “scrubbers” which are in the smokestack area. But it looked like a “junkyard” and prevented us from being able to leave the Haven’s private viewing deck via the outside stairs or doors at the end of the hallways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting these pictures. This is very disappointing to see especially for Haven's guest who are paying a premium for the cruise. I can understand that it has only been a couple of weeks since the refurbishment, but if this is trash, it should have been removed sooner. Another solution was to throw a tarp over the trash.

[jmele999]

After exploring our suite we headed down to Moderno’s for lunch. It was a little after 12:30PM and Moderno’s was very crowded. The hostess said they didn’t have a table available for 3 and did we want to wait about 20 minutes. Since there were several tables for 2 still empty, we asked if they could put 2 of them together. So they did that and we were able to sit down and order lunch. Service was good but we were rather disappointed in the food. Our shrimp cocktails were delicious but the rest of lunch was just “so-so”. My daughter’s burger was on the small side with very few fries; my husband’s French dip was all alone on the big plate (no fries or anything else) and had more onions than meat; my grilled asparagus & prosciutto was lacking flavor and the asparagus wasn’t really “grilled”. This was our only lunch in Moderno’s. We enjoyed lunches in Tsar’s Palace and O’Sheehan’s on the rest of our cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really enjoyed Cagney's during our January cruise on the Jewel. However, these pictures don't lie. Food that looks like that should not be served to any guest.

[brunolvr]

I didn't know there was a place you could see the bridge. Is this open to everyone?

 

Yes, anyone can go to the bridge viewing room -- deck 11, port side, all the way forward. Sometimes they do close the curtains so you can't see what's happening on the bridge, but all the times we have gone, it has been open.

[brunolvr]

Enjoying all of this Sandy! Thanks for taking the time to post all of the pictures. Even though I've been on the Jewel before, this is really fun to see it again in anticipation of our next cruise on the Jewel in September!

 

Thanks, Hikini. Glad to hear you are enjoying my pictures & review.

[brunolvr]

Sandy...What a wonderful Review! You always take the best Pictures!!! I enjoyed looking at everything. I will be on her for the second time in October out of Houston. In 2015 they are moving the Jewel to San Pedro for the winter Mexican Riviera Cruise.....so you were not happy with B&L at Moderno? I was afraid of that. Cagney's was always a wonderful experience! It was special! Thank you for sharing all of this with us!

 

Thank you for the feedback, Betty.

 

Breakfast at Moderno's was great. It was just lunch that we weren't that pleased with and the menu choices didn't suit us for lunch. Maybe if we had given it a second chance, we may had changed our minds.

 

But we had great lunches in Tsar's Palace and O'Sheehan's and decided not to return to Moderno's.

[brunolvr]

It was good to see your pics (again). I miss seeing your pics from when we went to Alaska last year with you and Hikini and Drosborn. We are like Sandy in that we live in Seattle and go to Alaska every year. Sandy has us beat by 4 trips. We met at last years M & G on the Pearl. I agree with Sandy that the Pearl is the best. That is why we opted to forego the Jewel this year and will be on the Pearl on Aug 30 to Alaska. I was sorry to hear that Prem is no longer the HD on the Pearl. He was the best. We went to Panama in January on the Star and had a suite.We met up with Drosborn on the Panama cruise, also. Now my husband will only go with suites!!

So this will be our first suite on the Pearl. We are forward directly under the bridge with large balcony.It will be interesting if we will get any use out of the balcony because of the weather. It not usually very good.

Reading Sandy's review and pics reminds me of the excitement she was able to generate for the upcoming cruise and the meet and greet. I guess I should try and do the same thing for our roll call. So far no one has even agreed to have a M & G!! Maybe they just don't know what it is. It was fun to remember last year, thanks again Sandy!!

 

Thank you, phissy, for the kind words!

 

You are going to love being on the front of the Pearl, especially when you cruise through Glacier Bay. Back in 2008 we were in an owner's suite (thanks to an upsell) and thoroughly enjoyed it. We couldn't use our front balcony when the ship was cruising between ports at 18+ knots, but when she slowed down nearing the different ports, it was great fun to be out front.

[brunolvr]

We spent the afternoon outside as much as possible even though it was quite windy, 33 to 38 knot winds with the temps in the low 50’s. The Jewel was cruising at 19+ knots so it felt a little cold walking around outside.

 

 

 

 

People were actually swimming in both pools.

 

 

Love watching the wake of the ship--

 

 

Juice machine located in the Great Outdoors

 

 

Our delicious afternoon treats

[brunolvr]

We went to the Captain’s VIP Cocktail Reception in the Haven Courtyard at 6:30PM and had a chance to talk with Captain Kenneth Harstrom and also met and had a nice conversation with newly appointed Captain Niklas Persson who was taking over the day we got off, Saturday, June 7th. Before we went to dinner in Azura, we had our formal pictures taken in the Atrium. We had another great dinner then went to the 9:15PM show, “Band on the Run” in the Stardust Theater. The show was okay, but nothing really exciting.

 

 

Captain Kenneth Harstrom in center of picture

 

 

Nice turnout for the Captain's Reception

 

 

The guy in the white shirt with his hand in his pocket was a passenger at the time (so he told us) but would be taking over as Captain the day we got off. Captain Niklas Persson -- would love to have him as our Captain as he seemed like a very personable guy.

 

 

Our second towel animal

 

 

10:15 sunset at sea to end the day

[Redheel Girl]

Phissy..I had the Owners Suite on the Jewel and a Forward Suite under the Bridge on the Star and yes it was Windy if you stood out on the rail will going 18 knots but there is a overhang by the door and we would set on the Lounges and Read or have a Glass of wine at night and watch the Stars. On the Star we were doing the Panama Canal.

[brunolvr]

Day 3 -- Monday, June 2, 2014 -- Ketchikan

 

I was up at the crack of dawn to watch the beautiful sunrise at 4AM. Since it was on the opposite side of the ship, I slipped on some clothes and went up to the Haven’s private viewing deck to take some pictures.

 

Sunrise at 4AM-

 

 

At 4:30AM-

 

 

and at 5:45AM-

 

 

You can see Ketchikan in the distance with the Coral Princess already there

 

 

6:11AM arriving in Ketchikan and the Coral Princess already docked

[brunolvr]

Arrival in Ketchikan

 

Coral Princess docked at Berth #4

 

 

Blue skies & sunshine over Ketchikan

 

 

We docked at Berth #1 around 6:40AM

 

 

Another view of Ketchikan. The "pink" building is the Federal Building and just beyond that is Creek Street.

[brunolvr]

We were due to arrive in Ketchikan at 7AM and since we had no booked excursion, we took our time getting ready and having breakfast in Moderno’s. Although breakfast was only served until 8:30AM and we were about the last ones in there.

 

Entrance into Moderno's with the Sugarcane Mojito Bar on the left

 

 

Breakfast buffet area in Moderno's

 

 

My husband had the banana pancakes

 

and I had the waffles

 

we asked for a side of bacon and here's what we got