Jewel to Alaska - June 4 - 11

[Florida 1]

I wanted to give a short review on our amazing Alaskan cruise on board the Jewel. This was our first time to Alaska and our first cruise with Norwegian. Hopefully I can answer any questions that come up.

 

Overall, the Jewel is a fantastic ship and contrary to what I'd read a time or two previously, it didn't look or feel dated at all (maybe some didn't realize that some areas were purposely retro?) What stood out to me was the feeling of more areas to walk outdoors to see the glorious scenery, other than the pool/jogging deck areas. We had what seemed to be unusually warm and beautiful weather the whole week and lots of outdoor areas to enjoy it from.

 

We upgraded from BB to Aft Penthouse Suite - 9172 - a month or so before sailing. We really enjoyed the extra space in the cabin and bathroom, and the aft balcony & view were perfect! It got a bit chilly a time or two, but nothing like what those who didn't have benefit of the aft location experienced. We didn't notice ash, but we did notice the wonderful smells emanating regularly from the Great Outdoors kitchens a few floors up! I can't imagine a better location.

 

For our ports, we did some walking around Ketchikan which is every bit as quaint as the photos suggest. In Juneau, we booked the Icefield Tour with Coastal Helicopters. We had a great pilot - Scott - who took us by helicopter to a glacier that we landed and walked around on. He was fantastic - giving us loads of information and taking pictures of us in such an incredible location. He also pointed out a spec on the side of the mountain near us and told us it was a mountain goat - even with binoculars we couldn't tell that it was anything. We we left, he flew us close to the spot and sure enough, it was a mountain goat and her baby perched on a ledge on the mountain! This tour was definitely the highlight of our trip and one that I highly recommend. In Skagway, we did the Sled Dog excursion booked directly with Alaska Excursions. We really enjoyed all of the guides that we came in contact with and the dogs were great! I didn't know beforehand that these type of tours serves two purposes - the dogs are getting summer workouts, and the money generated from the tours helps support the cost the teams encounter running Iditarod races. We didn't do much in Victoria other than walk down to Fisherman's Wharf and see float houses and seals swimming close to the docks. It is a beautiful city, with really nice architecture.

 

At the last minute, we found out that we were going to have a Meet & Greet on board. I expected what I had from RCI - an assistant Cruise Director welcoming us and maybe raffling off a bottle of wine. Instead, we had ALL the senior officers on board, including the Captain! (There were more officers than the few cruisers we had show.) They introduced themselves and told us what they do, and explained that they can and do make changes based on what they read from the Cruise Critic reviews/message boards and suggestions made by members. I have to say, I was hugely impressed by this. A lot of times we hear the mottos/goals of customer service but the experience doesn't match up. That was not the case on the Jewel. My husband and I were regularly commenting on the personal feel of the service we got in all aspects on board. We have not previously found so many people so happy to be doing what they do and it really made a difference in our enjoyment of the cruise. First and foremost, our steward Sulihin, was fantastic! He always had a smile on his face and in his voice when he greeted us and made it a point to ask about our meal/excursion/show, etc. Our cabin butler Putu and concierge Bruno were very helpful the few times we needed their assistance. Putu brought us snacks daily which were a nice surprise to see when returning to our room. Other crew members such as Marcella, Milka, Mervyn and Julian seemed to go out of their way to make us cruisers happy. There are many others, whose names I did not catch. And how does the lady at the restaurant desk, who literally sees thousands of guests remember our names to greet us as we walk past in the hall? To be personally greeted by so many crew was quite nice.

 

We thought that this would be a once in a lifetime trip, but now know that we have to go back and see even more of Alaska. We will also cruise again in the future on Norwegian and hope that the hospitality we experienced on the Jewel is found company-wide. Stephen, the Hotel Director, has much to be proud of with the crew he has on board.

[www3traveler]

Thank you for your review. I have sailed a number of times with HD Steven and have always enjoyed. Currently I have three cruises booked on The Jewel and will probably add a fourth soon.

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks for your review. I love the Jewel (my second favorite ship after the Pearl), have cruised in her aft penthouse (awesome) and I think the crew on the ship is incredible.

[luvtotravelandcruise]

Glad you had a great time! We will be cruising the Jewel to Alaska in July and would appreciate it if you could post the Dailies with the schedule of activities/shows from your cruise.

 

Also, any thoughts on the dining on your cruise? Which specialty restaurants would you recommend or any memorable dishes from the complimentary restaurants?

 

Thanks!

[Florida 1]

As soon as I get a chance I will take pics of the dailies - not sure if I even know how to attach photos but I'll find out.

 

We got the UDP (3 nights) when we upgraded to the Suite so we didn't eat in the main dining room (Azura) any more than one night. It was fine, but I think I prefer the arranged time/seating that we've previously had on other cruises because of the consistency of wait staff, etc. The rolls offered with dinner were never warmed/heated which I thought was unusual. I actually wish that we would've eaten in the main complimentary dining rooms more often to see how it compares to what we've had on RCI in the past (which was always great).

 

Our first night on board we ate in Teppanyaki. It was VERY entertaining and the food they cooked in front of us was delicious. The soup and seaweed salad they served while he cooked was not something that I normally like, so I gave it to my husband. The meats, seafood, vegetables and rice that he cooked - well I think everyone at our table would've licked our plates if we weren't in front of strangers! There was plenty to eat and I was "Thanksgiving" full when we finished. I got the chicken and filet mignon combo, and unexpectedly I liked the chicken far more than the filet. I believe it was the sauce that went along with it that gave it such a wonderful flavor. As far as the desert, I would recommend the fruit since in spite of what I'd read on the boards about the green tea cake and ice cream, I ordered it. I ate one small bite of the cake and about 2 bites of the ice cream - not a fan. My husband is the only one at our table who ate all of his.

 

Our second specialty restaurant was Cagney's and the food was terrific. My husband got the tomahawk steak on the advice of previous posters and he said it was one of the best steaks he'd ever had. I had filet mignon and it too was great. The chocolate volcano cake - yum!

 

We also went to La Cucina one night and stuffed ourselves on italian food. I had the Carbonara Alfredo and my husband had ? We were so full that we could only take a bite each of a shared lemon cheesecake which was very tasty.

 

We ate in Moderno a few times for breakfast and once for lunch as suite guests. The breakfast was tremendous, the lunch on par with the other venues on board. The first morning I was awake exceptionally early and ended up in O'Sheehan's and ordered breakfast. I asked for my scrambled eggs cooked with onion and cheese. It was served with hash browns, country potatoes, bacon and toast. It was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had on a cruise ship, strangely enough. I'm a big fan of a basic breakfast and the way the food was seasoned and the fluffiness of the eggs - wow. We heard great things about the prime rib dinner as well at O'Sheehan's, but ours was not so great unfortunately. I guess they can't be perfect every time!

 

The buffet was good - like most buffets are good. One thing that stood out to me was the burgers - nice thick burgers and very tasty!

 

The daily pool side BBQ should not be missed. Once we discovered it, we wished we would've gone there every day- the food was wonderful and the atmosphere was a lot of fun.

[delighted2sail]

Thank you for your positive and detailed review. We sail on the Jewel in s few months.

[boclico]

Nice to hear so many good things, we have sailed to Alaska several times, our first on a Norwegian ship will be in September.

[hawgwildterry]

Tracey, the jpg's failed to upload properly. I'm trying to figure out how to post each day so that people can actually be able to read them. I have them all scanned so now I just need to work out the details.

Edited June 12, 2016 by hawgwildterry

[Florida 1]

Thanks Terry!

[PhillyTravelBug]

Great review! Hoping we will cruise Alaska in a few years.

[hawgwildterry]

NCL Jewel Seattle-Alaska 2016

 

[hawgwildterry]

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[Florida 1]

Terry, I didn't get a chance to tell you on board - when we were in Seattle sight-seeing I remembered that you had said that it's best not to wander in a certain direction too far from Pike's Place Market. For the life of me, when we were there I couldn't remember WHICH direction you said and was constantly scanning the areas we were in when we left there!

[hawgwildterry]

Day 7 Daily

 

[hawgwildterry]

Terry, I didn't get a chance to tell you on board - when we were in Seattle sight-seeing I remembered that you had said that it's best not to wander in a certain direction too far from Pike's Place Market. For the life of me, when we were there I couldn't remember WHICH direction you said and was constantly scanning the areas we were in when we left there!

 

Head on a swivel the entire time is the best rule to follow. Westlake Mall and Pike Street are the worse areas for panhandlers, drug dealers and gang bankers. At night it's Bell Town and Pioneer Square.....shootings almost every weekend at one or the other or both places.

[hawgwildterry]

Overall the food was excellent but Le'Bistro and O'Sheehan's stand out in my mind. Garden Cafe was a zoo in the morning so we ended up eating at Moderno after the second day.

 

We ate at Teppanyaki, too loud and I honestly make better fried rice. :D We would not pay to eat there again.

 

Cagney's was fine as was LaCucina. The calamari at LaCucina was wonderful. We would eat at both again.

 

Le'Bistro was the hit among the specialty restaurants. The steak I had at Cagney's was pretty good but the steak I had at Le'Bistro was AWESOME.

 

O'Sheehan's blew us both away!!! What a great, fun place to eat lunch, grab a snack or even have dinner and as a free venue it's a must visit. I honestly lost track of how many orders of chicken wings I had...but I'm sure my wife was keeping track. :eek:

 

The ships company was some of the friendliest we have encountered on any of our cruises to date. Another plus was the evening entertainment. We liked having a different act/show each night.

 

I think if there was any real disappointment it was with our stateroom and a little disappointed with our butler. We normally cruise with Holland America and stay in Neptune Suites. The size of the NCL forward penthouse was smaller than what we expected yet cost more than the HAL Neptune Suite. We had also requested certain afternoon snacks from our butler that we knew were available to us. None of our requests were fulfilled and as such we lessened our tip but by no means stiffed him.

 

Overall, yes we would sail with NCL again and plan on doing so whenever NCL gets around to posting their 2017 Fall Panama Canal schedule. Will we be staying in a Penthouse or higher category? We will book a balcony and hope for a decent up-sell as the cruise gets closer to sailing.

[pspercy]

Westlake Mall and Pike Street are the worse areas for panhandlers, drug dealers and gang bankers. . . .

 

Gang bankers, LOL :)

[www3traveler]

While you folks were on this cruise, Norwegian announced that at the end of the 2017 Alaskan season, The Jewel will be heading for Australia and New Zealand for the winter season.

[Laszlo]

I thought their was a time change on Alaskan cruises.....guess not

[hawgwildterry]

Westlake Mall and Pike Street are the worse areas for panhandlers, drug dealers and gang bankers. . . .

 

Gang bankers, LOL :)

 

Oooooooooops........now that is funny but actually also not far from the truth. :)

[hawgwildterry]

I thought their was a time change on Alaskan cruises.....guess not

 

There is a time change on Sunday the first sea day and again on Thursday the last sea day. Lose and hour and Sunday and gain it back on Thursday.