A Real Alaskan Jewel - May 7 - My first NCL Review!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I've been debating Le Bistro. I think we'll wait and see how things play out once on the ship and see if we can get in.

 

I kind of only did LeBistro because we had gone pretty much everywhere else and we still had one voucher left on the UDP. I wasn't too impressed with it, not that it was awful but rather it just wasn't worth the upcharge and didn't stack up to the other specialty restaurants we went to. But of course that is just my opinion. Other people may see it differently. I never really experienced issues with getting reservations at the specialty places outside of Teppanyaki and that was only because it is a small and intimate venue with very limited seating. Whatever you do for dining, have fun and enjoy.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Wow! Thank you Flying Cruiser. that has really given us something to think about when we plan our trip to Alaska.

 

No problem, it was my pleasure. I am glad you are enjoying and it has given you some insight as to what to expect and what to do on an Alaskan cruise. It surely is a different experience from your average Caribbean sailing, that is for sure. Have fun in Alaska.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Hello all, moving right along with Day 10 of my vacation review. By this point the cruise was winding down and was almost over. We were on our way back to home port and today’s stop would feature a visit to Victoria, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. I have to say it was a hectic week with lots of work and the severe thunderstorms that we had to deal with a few days ago that caused quite a bit of destruction but I am finally back with more of the review. Thanks for reading and for your comments as always, and I hope you are enjoying my chronicling of the Jewel and this Alaska sailing. Here goes!

DAY 10: VICTORIA

Where did we leave off again? Yes, it was when I went to sleep after a relaxing but pretty rocky day at sea. We still had one stop before getting back to Seattle however, and today was a visit to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. All ships doing Alaska sailings must visit a Canadian port at some point due to maritime rules (I guess this is to prevent cabotage, which is probably a good idea as the mere idea of cabotage is a touchy subject with some of us). After all, this ship and most others, is not registered in the USA, so it is only fair that it cannot do a complete cruise in the USA without stopping somewhere else along the way. Anyway, here we go.

Victoria is a city of under 100,000, with a metro area of 350,000, located on an island and is located 60 miles from Vancouver and about a hundred miles from Seattle. Its main industries are tourism and information technology, and the architecture here is something to see. The island has been settled for hundreds of years, and thus is an older place with a lot of history and historical landmarks. It really is a nice place, and this was my second time visiting here. We docked a little before noon I believe, and as with most every day on this cruise, it was nice. Probably about 70 and mostly sunny. Really good string of days we had on this cruise. Although my mom and our friends went on a tour of the city right when we arrived, I stayed behind and hung out on the ship for a while because I had been here before and none of the early tours really appealed to me. We all planned on getting off the ship again later anyway, as we were scheduled to be in port until midnight.

I went upstairs to get some lunch from the buffet around 1230 and hung out on the aft deck for a while, hoping the steward would have time to clean the room during this time. I went back to the cabin around 1330 and unfortunately, he had not done our cabin yet. I didn’t feel like getting up and leaving again so when he finally came around at about 1400, I just asked for some fresh towels as we didn’t really need anything else anyway. Moral of the story is that their stewards work from about 1100 until 1400 every day so make sure you are out of the room during that entire time or you won’t get service. Oh well.

My balcony had a great view of the port of Victoria and the surrounding bay and mountains in the background and I just hung out there for a while until I got a call from my mom that they had arrived back from their tour at about 1500. I guess since I was high up enough and facing the right direction, that I was actually getting 4G service on my phone if I sat out on my balcony. I wasn’t expecting this but it was cool. I had to be careful because any other areas on the ship reverted back to roaming however. But I was able to check in with what was going on back home for a while at least. I had never been able to get 4G coverage in Canada or Mexico before, but I did here and I guess it was because we were so close to the border. The Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound were not that far away, nor was Washington State.

So, I got a quick shower and headed down to meet up with them at O’Sheehan’s for one last lunch at my favorite NCL pub. Got some wings and onion rings with a Pepsi or two and we were on our way to plan our next activities. We got off the ship around 1630 and headed into port. Canadian customs are very strict here. They check everyone’s passports and question everyone when they pass through. We also got our passports stamped here. Never got that there or anywhere else in Canada before that, interesting.

The Westerdam or Oosterdam, cannot remember, parked next to us and began letting pax off at the same time we were exiting the port area to take our tours. The port area is away from the town itself, so you have to either get a taxi or a bus ride into town as it is far too far to walk. I later heard there was a city bus that stops there and takes you into town for just a couple dollars but we came across a cruise ship tour bus that took people downtown for $10 US roundtrip and ran every half hour. We just went with that. Double decker bus and all, was kind of cool. We paid, got our hands stamped as proof of payment, and rode into downtown where they dropped us off right on the main street in the shopping and restaurant district. I apologize as I forget the name of the street now.

Our friends like to shop much more than we do, but I still wanted to check out a little gift shop that was nearby to get a few key chains and shot glasses from Victoria. I forget the name of the shop as well but I believe it had just opened and the staff was still trying to get settled in. Interesting stuff in this shop, from the touristy stuff that I wanted, to snacks, to dolls and plenty of shirts that said Canada/Victoria, etc. I just had to chuckle when I saw shirts on sale in Canada, that were stamped MADE IN USA. Funny that we can get stuff made in the USA in Canada, but we can’t get anything made in the USA in our own country. I just found that odd. LOL. Plenty of stuff there was made in Canada however, so if you wanted anything authentic Canadian, there was plenty to choose from. They did take US money here also, so if you didn’t bring any Canadian money along with you, you’re still OK and they will accommodate you.

We were only a few blocks from the harbor area, so we all kind of walked around and I made my way down that way. I had to keep in mind it was rush hour on a Friday there, so it was crowded with pedestrian and car traffic so it was hard to get good pictures of the harbor but I did get a few. They also did seaplane tours from this area and the landing approach was quite dramatic. Approach over downtown, then turn to land just a few hundred feet from the water. Seemed pretty busy here too. The main city airport is a ways away, so we did not see it but I was told they do feature plenty of service to mainland Canada and the USA from there.

By the way, I have to say RIP to all those lost in the tour plane crash in Ketchikan just a few days ago. As soon as I heard on the radio that a tour plane had crashed, I knew it was that area before they even said it, as I knew that it is a pretty complex place to fly through in bad weather. I was very saddened to hear about that and it was surreal that I had just been in that area, looking at and photographing these very planes on this very cruise.

There was a small courtyard area where there were local vendors selling things such as old books and magazines, and I almost bought a few books from the one guy but decided against it. We did see one of the people we had gone on the Hoonah tour with at one of the pubs as we walked by however. Neat. We walked down a few other local city streets and to be honest, outside the downtown area, it didn’t seem that there was much else to do if all you want to do is walk. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty to do if you take another specific tour and it is really a beautiful place to see if you ride around some.

After doing that, we then split up as our friends headed back to the ship. I always like to try to get a local dining experience if and whenever possible in ports we visit, so we looked at a few pubs and restaurants and settled on a pub called Irish Times, if I recall, and got a seat outside. I got a tall glass of beer called Team Work Ale, which was OK. Plenty of beers to choose from on the menu there as well. We also each got bowls of crab bisque, which although not as good as what you can get in the Mid-Atlantic area, it was pretty tasty. It seems that the show crew from the ship don’t get a lot of time away from work, and when they do, they like to have fun. They were seated right near us and they were tons of fun and we just all kind of hung out together for a while. Everyone deserves a chance to get away from it all once in a while, right?

About 1900, we headed back to the bus drop off/pick up point and rode back to the ship. Of course, I went all the way up to the top deck of the double decker bus and got some nice pictures as we rode back to the ship. Probably about a 10 minute ride back to the port. Anyway, when we got back to the port, we headed back through the gift shop they have on site and back to the ship. They only require you to show ID and ship card when re-boarding however, as you were already checked when you came in I guess. It was getting colder by this point as it was cloudy and windy and I definitely needed a hoodie to stay warm.

We all met up once back onboard, and went to do one last walkthrough of the ship’s Dufry duty-free shop and stopped by the photo gallery to buy our ship memories photos. The photo gallery is set up a little differently on NCL, as you can view hard copies of all your pics but you can also see them on the computer if you so choose. We all bought some photos, and the more you buy, the bigger discount you get. I am not big on the ship photo gallery as we can take pics ourselves that are just as good but once in a while you find one in the pile that you just have to bring home with you. So, we did that, and were on our way to dinner for one last big meal on the ship.

Nobody felt like going to the MDR tonight, so we went to the dinner buffet instead. The buffet was open until 2100 each night, and we got there around 2000. I guess lots of others had the same idea we did, as it was pretty crowded and while we did get a table, it wasn’t easy to find one. They had all kinds of stuff here this evening. I got a little of everything, and we just hung out for a while. The buffet featured a grill and a pizza and pasta station each day, along with a carving station, but the other stuff was switched out each day for a different theme. The bar cart in the middle of the serving area was also open here, and you could get alcoholic and soft drinks here whenever the buffet was open which was pretty convenient. Dessert was ice cream with chocolate jimmies along with a few cookies and some jello, which was offered every night and since I had not gotten any ice cream all cruise long before this, I had to do it once. I guess it is for sanitary and waste reasons, but there is a NCL employee who runs the machine and hands the sundaes to people, it is not self-serve. Not a lot of topping choices either, although more than you would see on Carnival.

Come 2115, nobody really wanted to leave as the cruise was winding down, but we headed out and we both went back to our cabins to pack a little and fill out our US CBP declaration forms for re-entry the next morning. I also went to the hot tub one last time, as it was not too crowded before it closed at 2200. They are strict with the closing time and once everyone is out, they do a serious shock treatment to the tubs and the pools overnight. So, I walked around the ship one last time and headed back to the cabin at 2230 to finish packing and to finish my bottle of wine from earlier in the week.

By now, the sun was down and it was a breezy evening as I just sat out on the balcony for a while to wait for our sail-away. I guess everyone was back onboard early and I think there was a storm brewing, so we left port early, around 2330, with the next stop Seattle. As soon as we got away from Victoria, it got really windy and the ship did rock some. It was so windy that even though the sliding door was closed and locked, you could still hear a loud whistling sound that kept on throughout the night until we turned south toward home port early in the morning hours. So, about 0100, I was asleep and when I would awaken again, the cruise would be officially over, and it would be time to go home again.

I will leave off with that and some more pics from this day, and will come back with our final debarkation day experience and trip home sometime in the next few days. I will also review the ship itself, the itinerary and ports, and the overall total vacation experience as a Norwegian first-timer after completing the review. Until then, good night and happy cruising!

Edited June 28, 2015 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Another view of the dock and lighthouse with water and mountains in the distance:

 

 

Downtown Victoria. Lots of shopping and dining. Those pay parking meters? Serious stuff. Saw a parking authority cop handing out tickets for violators. LOL. Nothing new to me, being from the place that Parking Wars seems to spend a lot of time in, haha.

 

 

 

Beer and crab soup at Irish Times.

 

 

Riding back on the double decker bus:

 

 

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

A view of the buffet area after it closed on the last night:

 

 

A last view of the lighthouse and the surrounding areas before total darkness:

 

 

I didn't get a picture of sailaway as it was too dark but it was pretty neat to see us pull away from land at night. Anyway, one more day to go and hopefully I will get to that shortly. Thanks for reading!

[jenseib]

I am surprised to hear they were strict when getting off the ship in Victoria. Everyone else I have talked to said they barely look at your documentation and you also don't even need to have a passport. Right now we are not even sure we are getting off the ship. We plan to wing it that day and see how tired we are. Good to know you have to take bus into town.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I am surprised to hear they were strict when getting off the ship in Victoria. Everyone else I have talked to said they barely look at your documentation and you also don't even need to have a passport. Right now we are not even sure we are getting off the ship. We plan to wing it that day and see how tired we are. Good to know you have to take bus into town.

 

I was surprised also. It wasn't my experience to go through scrutiny like that when entering Canada except for when I was crossing from Buffalo to Fort Erie many years ago but that was different than being on a cruise ship. I figured it would be different this time because they were adamant that everyone fill out a Canada CBP form the day before we even got to Victoria so obviously they were tightening things up some. But I didn't even have to go through that process when I went to St. John a few years ago so I don't know what was going on. I wouldn't not get off the ship because of the customs staff, they weren't rude or anything and they didn't deny anyone entry for sure. I just kind of did whatever this time as we did a city tour when I was there in 2007 and saw a lot of the city then. I was pretty much done with this cruise after Icy Strait Point anyway, and it was just hang out and do my own thing for the last few days before getting back to Seattle. The bus isn't a problem. It's more expensive than the city bus but cheaper than a cab and pretty convenient and runs every half hour I think. Whatever you decide, have fun when you visit there.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

And good evening fine NCL fans! I am finally back with the last day’s activities from my wonderful Jewel Alaska cruise from May 7-16. Finally, no less than 45 days after I got back home, I am finally going to be done wrapping this thing up lol. Lots of work, followed by bad weather, followed by more work and more bad weather, you get the picture. I thank all of you who have followed along this far, and I truly hope you did enjoy reading this review and maybe learned a thing or two about Alaska or Seattle or this ship or Norwegian in general in the process. So, I left off with us leaving Victoria, and making our way back to Seattle. The following takes place between 0700 and midnight on debarkation day (24 reference LOL).

DAY 11: DEBARKATION DAY AND TRAVEL BACK HOME

So, as with all cruises, the fun and adventure does have to end sometime and it was back to reality today. We woke up to a much calmer Seattle, and looking out from the balcony one last time, I saw the same port we had just left in sunshine and warm weather and in a much better mood the week prior. It is interesting that debark day always seems to be dark, chilly and dreary, has anyone noticed that? Maybe it is just all mental but yeah, it was a more typical Seattle day on this Saturday morning.

Anyway, we had lots of bags and an 1100-ish flight back to BWI, so we didn’t want to mess around with checking our bags the night before and possibly being delayed back to the airport waiting for them to come out on the carousel. For that reason, we chose to do self-assist debarkation, which is OK as long as you have two or less suitcases and can carry them all the way out of the port area by yourself with no help. I had no problems with this but I did raise the issue with my mom that maybe she or our friends would have problems carrying our stuff such a long distance but we went for it anyway. It really does save time. We weren’t in the very first group that was called for debark around 0800, but we were not that far behind and were probably allowed to get off around 0830 or so. More on that in a second…

We vacated the cabin around 0745, in enough time to go upstairs to get breakfast at the buffet as that is the last food I would be getting until we got back home that night. Breakfast was OK, but it is always melancholy that last day as you know it is the last thing you will get to do on the ship before you have to go home. The guy with the hand sanitizer dispenser at the entrance to the buffet was singing leaving on a jet plane to everyone who came and went. My mom asked him if he used to work for Carnival, as they do a variation of that in the MDR on the last night of cruises and he said he did, with a smile. I could tell also - NCL staff is generally pleasant and friendly but Carnival people have a different type of culture among their frontline staff.

Anyway, after breakfast we made our way down to Deck 7 to debark, I believe and were off within 5 minutes of getting in line in the atrium area. No issues with getting an elevator from Deck 12, the whole process seemed very organized and went smoothly as far as we could see. That is a big thing with me at least. The last memory you will have of a cruise is debarking and a screwed up and disorganized process can really put a sour taste in your mouth for a long time afterwards. So, we got off the ship and downstairs and were through US Customs and Border Protection very quickly. Not much of a wait at all. We showed our passports and declaration form and were officially back home in the Lower 48. I have never had issues with customs on re-entry but I also usually don’t buy much of anything on the ship or in ports so there is not much to scrutinize.

That was just mine and my mom's bags. Our friends had more stuff than we had.

When we got off the Seattle Express bus on embarkation day, the driver and his assistant clearly told us where to meet to get picked up but of course, in the excitement, some people forgot this information. I sort of remembered and so I walked down to the pickup spot to make sure we were in the right place and made sure the bus that had just arrived had space for four people to get on. Of course, our friends were moving much more slowly and I had to actually go back to the exit from the port building to get them to show them where to go to get the shuttle. Sigh. Anyway, we all eventually made it to the bus, left our bags to get loaded, got seats and rode back to the ship. The ride took about a half an hour or so and we were all dropped off at our terminals for our flights home. We paid and generously tipped the shuttle bus crew and were on our way inside to drop our bags off and make our way upstairs to the gates.

We were a good two hours early and so I just hung around in the gate area for our plane to arrive, reading all about the stuff I missed out on back home this last 9 days on my phone. If I was traveling alone or had packed less stuff, I wouldn't have worried so much about getting off the ship so early but with lots of stuff and people who move much slower than I do, we made sure to leave extra time although we didn't need it. I have gotten off the ship in the past at 0845 in MIA and been back at FLL for a 1020 flight home with time to spare in the past so I can move fast. haha

Anyway, I should have gotten breakfast but I couldn’t decide what to get so I got nothing. LOL. Bad choice but I will talk about that in a minute. We boarded ontime, pushed, and were late taking off but the flight was pretty smooth until we reached Potomac Tracon, where a large thunderstorm had just passed over the airport. We slowed down a good bit to wait out the weather, and landed a little late but we were safely home and after 6 hours on the plane in a window seat, I was glad to deplane. Back to the humid and polluted mid-Atlantic air, lol.

Good flight until we got close to BWI. 6 hours on a narrowbody plane is a long time though.

 

We got our bags, got our shuttle back to the Econo Park, were dropped off right at our car, and were on our way home. No repeat of the dead battery I had when we got back from a cruise back last October. If you are wondering, I talked all about it in a review I posted and it is linked in my signature. Fun times. Anyway, the drive home took a couple hours and we actually stopped at the revamped Maryland House on Interstate 95 and got some decent grub to hold us all over til we got home because we were all hungry again. We all made it back around midnight, and jetlagged and all, our vacation was officially over.

I do hope you enjoyed my adventure, and next up I will post my thoughts on the entire experience, ship, ports, crew, etc. Happy cruising all!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

OVERALL THOUGHTS/CRITIQUES/COMMENTS

I always like to give a little editorial review of the overall cruise experience at the end of my reviews, so here goes. I generally liked this ship, NCL in general and Alaska for sure, but I will hit each point as I go along.

As far as the embarkation process, NCL seemed to be pretty good. I had mentioned at the beginning of my review that although this port is in a very cramped downtown area with not a lot of space, the process went smoothly for check-in and embarkation. Yes, the lines were long but that is to be expected and they did make the process as painless as possible. I will say that although the check-in agent we had was pleasant enough, she forgot to add my mom’s credit card to our account so when we checked our folio later in the cruise, all our cabin’s charges were on my account. And of course, they couldn’t transfer that over to her card once she went to guest services to get it fixed, so I ended up paying for both our tabs and my mom just had to give me cash to cover it later. They also gave her a Welcome First time Norwegian card, instead of a welcome back returning cruiser sign and sail card and it was not intentional but that also had to be cleared up at guest services when we boarded. Little things you know? Things like that are avoidable and kinda make you wonder but I guess if that’s the worst thing that could happen, we were still ahead of the game. I would rate it all a B.

The onboard service was hit or miss. The main dining room service sucked although the food was OK. The buffet service was decent as was most of the service in the specialty restaurants. The bar service was pretty good. I never had to wait more than a minute or two for any kind of drink, soda or alcoholic. I thought the entertainment staff was OK, but the lack of varied comedian shows was really a downer. They only had one comedian and he only performed once, and was not that entertaining at that. The stage and music shows along with live music all around the ship was good though. The room stewards were average, at best. For the most part, did their jobs but did not go above and beyond. I would again rate this overall, B+.

Guest services was OK, although my mom did encounter one really rude person at the counter when she went to clear up the issue with our onboard accounts. The person who ended up fixing the issue was much better. The hotel department also should have seen that they had disabled pax onboard and put them in a handicapped cabin before sailing, rather than begging people to move from cabins they had already settled in to move to accommodate them. B.

I didn’t do much shopping but I stopped in the photo gallery and the duty free shops once, and they seemed pleasant and helpful enough. In my limited encounters with these people, I would give an A.

The food was pretty good, plentiful and varied. My only beef is that there is no late night dining, unless you want a room service pizza or delivery, which costs money. I mean the $7.95 upcharge had not begun yet on this cruise but the $5 pizza was in full effect. I also heard that the pizzas weren’t so good on a few of the evenings. But in terms of dining options, great. Food choices were also excellent. Something for pretty much everyone onboard I think. A.

Ship layout and décor was not over the top and the ship was generally pretty easy to navigate. I liked that you could go outside on the promenade deck and get pictures or just fresh air and then right back to see a show or listen to music or whatever. The elevators did have some waits but nothing extreme. I would just take the stairs if I was feeling up to it a lot of the time. For a ship with what, 3000 passengers and a thousand crew, it was pretty well laid out and you always had space to do what you wanted to do and no major lines for venues. I would rate this an A-.

The first cabin we were in was the largest cabin I have ever had on a cruise but the one we got moved to was smaller than your standard balcony cabin although I liked the idea of sliding glass doors to the balcony that you could leave open, rather than the doors that swing closed in balconies on other lines. The bathroom was painfully tiny. I am not a big person but I still was having a hard time moving around in it. Imagine what a larger person would have to deal with. But I know that is standard for NCL. I liked that they had a few different news networks to choose from, although the TV selection is not Royal Caribbean quality, it is better than Carnival and maybe even Princess. Multiple power ports to plug my phone and camera and other things into in the cabin and that was another plus. I would grade the cabin a B.

I have to say that this ship seemed to have many older folks and married couples with and without children onboard. Not a lot of kids. I heard that the sailing the week after ours would feature many, many, many more. But everyone was well-behaved and considerate of one another, and I think everyone had a good time. It is definitely a different atmosphere from your average Caribbean or Mexican Riviera cruise though.

Debarkation was done well on this ship. I have been on ships where it was not done properly and it was a complete mess. Any good feelings you got during the cruise were shattered once you went through their nightmare debarkation. But it was done properly here and left everyone with a good impression. Rate A.

Overall, the ship and onboard experience was in the B+ range. A good first impression of Norwegian, I felt welcome for the most part and would not hesitate to sail NCL again in the future.

Now, for the ports we visited.

Ketchikan was awesome. The town itself, the tours we picked, people, food, definite A+.

Same for Juneau. I had been to both Juneau and Ketchikan in the past, but for some reason I feel I got to experience more this time around and had a better overall time in both places than when I went there before. Maybe it is that I am older now and maybe I just had a better idea of what to expect. But the tours and food were great there again. Would rate this an A+ as well.

Skagway is another place I saw years ago and it is hard to explain the White Pass train route to somebody as you really have to check it out yourself to appreciate it. The town, although very small, is also unique in that it reminds you of a real functioning old wild west type town. Nice place and good time had there. Once again, rate this place an A+.

Glacier Bay was awesome. Just pure awesome nature. The crew really got us close to some of the glaciers and the pilot onboard was really informative about what we were looking at. We also got to spend more time at the glaciers than usual because of the fact it was early in the season and not that many vessels were in the area yet. Nice day had there. Rate an A.

Hoonah was cool. It was different from the other towns as most of the people there are native to the area and in other cities, many of the people are transplants. The nature there and the tour were both fun. The culture show we saw at the end of the visit was also authentic and entertaining. The people there are very proud of their culture and it showed. I would rate Hoonah an A.

Victoria, our last stop, was nice, but it was different than the places we had visited previously. It is located much further south, has a much more complex economy, more people, etc. Plenty to do there though, and the people are very welcoming and there is an activity for pretty much everyone’s tastes there. I may as well rate it an A as well.

So, overall, I rank the ports visited as an A. After all, that is what we cruise to see, right?

I rate the cruise overall A-, and that is only because of some of the poor service we got from a few different departments during the cruise. But it was really an enjoyable experience for a first time Norwegian cruiser such as myself, and I had a good time.

So, that is it for my review and overall ship and port comments. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hopefully all of you who have NCL Jewel or even just trips to Alaska coming up have as much fun as I did on this vacation. Good night and happy cruising!

[RoobyDoo]

FlyingCruiserNJ,

 

Thanks for a great review! I enjoyed reading it very much. :)

[jenseib]

Great review! I can't wait to review this ship when I get back as well!

[fairy_dancer]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences on the Jewel. My son and I are planning to take the September cruise to Alaska on the Jewel. Can't wait.

[FloaterGirl]

Very much enjoyed reading your review from start to finish. Thank you for the time and energy you put into it!!

[theloo]

Thanks for your "OVERALL THOUGHTS/CRITIQUES/COMMENTS" post. It was very interesting for future Jewel cruisers like myself (to Mexico though). Can I ask if the poor service you received in the MDRs was at Tsar's or Azura, or both? Incidentally, I was planning on going on the very same cruise as you, but ended up on a similar itinerary on the Sun on May 8 so had some similar experiences.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

FlyingCruiserNJ,

 

Thanks for a great review! I enjoyed reading it very much. :)

 

Thanks for checking it out! I'm glad you enjoyed. This was one of my favorite cruises out of the 15 or so I have taken overall. :)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Great review! I can't wait to review this ship when I get back as well!

 

Thanks. I can't wait to see your review when you come back also. Have fun on your cruise!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences on the Jewel. My son and I are planning to take the September cruise to Alaska on the Jewel. Can't wait.

 

Thank you for following all the way through. I've read some really great reviews on cruise critic over the last few years and they have really helped me prepare for cruises to ports I've never visited or ships I've never sailed on and I'm grateful for them. I began writing my own reviews back in fall of 2013 and I enjoy doing them. Enjoy your sailing in September and be sure to let everyone know how you liked it. Have fun.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Very much enjoyed reading your review from start to finish. Thank you for the time and energy you put into it!!

 

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed reading and thanks. It was definitely worth the time and effort, because it was a really nice cruise and vacation.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for your "OVERALL THOUGHTS/CRITIQUES/COMMENTS" post. It was very interesting for future Jewel cruisers like myself (to Mexico though). Can I ask if the poor service you received in the MDRs was at Tsar's or Azura, or both? Incidentally, I was planning on going on the very same cruise as you, but ended up on a similar itinerary on the Sun on May 8 so had some similar experiences.

 

The ship had just come from doing a trip through the Panama canal and up through the west coast of Mexico before this cruise also. The service at tsar's wasn't as bad as at Azura, at least they got our orders right at tsar's and we were seated with some interesting people. At Azura they put us in a lousy seating situation, messed up our orders, and were borderline rude to us. But at both places the food we got was good at least. I love doing the mdr on cruises so this was a big disappointment for me. The buffet was a hundred times better than Carnival's though. We booked this cruise months out, which I usually don't do but yes, it was an overall good experience. I'm looking at another cruise for next fall with the same group I went with this time because they are offering really good incentives for that time period again. I'm still undecided on that one though. How was the Sun? Depending on when you go to Mexico, it might be after the coming dry dock so some things could possibly change some. But overall, the NCL product is pretty good and I liked this ship. Have fun when you go on the Jewel!

[theloo]

Thanks for the info on Tsars and Azura. I don't think the Jewel is going into dry dock next year. It is being chartered in February. I have heard that it needs some (mostly cosmetic) repairs, but that doesn't bother us too much as long as there are interesting activities, good food, and Splash Academy. ;)

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the info on Tsars and Azura. I don't think the Jewel is going into dry dock next year. It is being chartered in February. I have heard that it needs some (mostly cosmetic) repairs, but that doesn't bother us too much as long as there are interesting activities, good food, and Splash Academy. ;)

 

No problem with tsar's and Azura. I'm not sure if it was just bad luck but the mdr service surely was lacking here. I'm used to a more formal dining setup with servers who interact more and their indifference and rudeness was disappointing. I knew coming in from being told by others who are frequent NCL cruisers that it is not luxurious but I didn't think it would be that bad. Only upside is that you really don't have to clean up and dress up for the mdr on Norwegian. But it wasn't like it was busy when we went either, no wait and plenty of empty tables. But whatever. The superior dinner buffet they have and the ultimate dining package made up for it.

 

I had just seen that it was going to not be in standard revenue service this winter and assumed it was a dry dock but charter service makes sense too as they probably make more money from charters anyway. I think the last dry dock/heavy maintenance check was just last year now that I think of it. 24/7 wear and tear will take its toll on any ship, no matter how well maintained it is. The jewel is in pretty good shape overall though.

 

I believe they had splash academy on there as it was advertised in the freestyle daily but I can't remember where or when it was held.

[MADD DAWG]

Thanks for the great review. I must say that was one of the best I have read on cruise critic. My family and I are going on the Jewel in July 2016. You have given me some great ideas for our cruise. Great Job:D:D:D

[gcdogwalker]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful vacation with us. I have always had Alaska on my bucket list and, considering my age, think I had better get going! You are very kind to take the time for this great review of your trip. It is one of the best. A great job and beautiful pictures.

[MADD DAWG]

what train tour did you go on?

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the great review. I must say that was one of the best I have read on cruise critic. My family and I are going on the Jewel in July 2016. You have given me some great ideas for our cruise. Great Job:D:D:D

 

I appreciate the kind words. It does mean a lot to hear that people got something valuable from this review, believe me. I started doing these reviews a few years ago, and this is the first non-Carnival one I have done. NCL was surely a different experience and I enjoyed myself and I'm certain that we all got our money's worth on this cruise. Is the Jewel going to Alaska again next summer? You will love the ship and Alaska. Nothing else like it anywhere. Have a great time and although a year away sounds like a long time, it will go by quickly.