Norwegian Jewel 10-Day September 17-27, 2016 Alaska Review

[pnerissa]

Norwegian Jewel, September 17 – September 27, 2016

 

 

Ports of call: Seattle (Embarkation), Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Sitka, Victoria and Vancouver (Disembarkation.)

 

 

This will be my third cruise, but first official review. I've decided to just write it in my style and pace and let it be what it will be. There will be pictures (I'm a writer/photographer in my spare time); not too many of the ship, although I did take a few. My experiences revolve more around the destinations than the ship, although I'll include some of that too. So, sit back, enjoy, and remember I do have a day job so don't get upset if a couple of days go by before I post a follow-up installment. This is a free service and you get what you pay for. ;-)

 

 

I came into Seattle from Florida a couple of days prior to sailing so that I would have a chance to see some of the sights before sailaway. My friend, Melanie, flew in from Arkansas to meet me. We both arrived on Thursday and day one was simply settling into our hotel, the Edgewater, right next to Pier 66. I won't bore you with too many details, but the Edgewater is a very lovely hotel (pictures to follow) which has looooong hallways perfect for training to get ready to walk those looooong halls of the cruise ship.

 

 

 

Edgewater Hotel by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Edgewater Sitting Room by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Edgewater Infinity Hall by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Again, I won't bore you with all the details, but on Friday we explored Seattle starting with Pike Place Market. They don't have anything like this where I live, so it was absolutely fascinating. We spent half the day exploring the market, and then headed up to catch the Lightrail to Pioneer Square where we toured Smith Tower. The weather cooperated and I got some good shots of Mt. Ranier. Next we headed back down to street level, then below street level to check out the Underground Tour. Interesting, but I expected more.

 

 

 

Pike Place Market by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Seattle Transit Tunnel by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Smith Tower by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Continued next post...

[pnerissa]

Underground Tour

 

 

 

Underground Tour by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Mt. Ranier

 

Mt Ranier2 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Mt Ranier by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

After the tour we caught the Lightrail back to Westlake Station and hoofed it back down toward the market. Things were wrapping up, but we still got to look around a bit before walking back to the hotel. Talk about some tired feet after tackling stairs and hills all day. We rested for a bit before heading down to the Sculpture Park on Alaska Way and stopping in to eat at Paddy Coynes. I ordered off of the Chef's Special and thoroughly enjoyed my crab cakes and grilled salmon. I should mention that the previous night we ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory just across the street with Pizzalady1 and her husband Bob. Great people and full of personality. I was too tired from travel to enjoy my meal the first night, but I made up for it at Paddy Coynes.

 

Paddy Coynes Grilled Salmon Kabobs by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Paddy Coynes Crabcakes by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Sculpture by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Continued next post

[pnerissa]

Spaghetti Factory

 

Spaghetti Factory by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Space Needle by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Echo in the Sculpture Park

 

Sculpture Echo by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

After a restful night's sleep (don't let the nearby trains scare you off... the hotel provides earplugs, but I absolutely love trains) morning broke a bit wet and dreary. We thought we'd head over to the local Starbucks and purchase a mug, but the nearest one didn't have any for sale. We then tried the next closest and struck out there too. Next we thought we'd try to get a FlatRateforHire cab to take us to the market, but after 3 phone calls to dispatch they never showed up so we gave up and decided to walk the three blocks back to the hotel, only Melanie slipped on a wet street grate and went down hard, bruising the entire side of her right leg, but luckily not breaking anything.

 

 

We hobbled back to the hotel and refocused our efforts of just getting from the hotel to next door. The convenience of staying next door to the pier can't be beat. The Edgewater graciously walked our bags over and handed them off to the luggage handlers. In short order we were in line and breezing through the check-in process. We quickly boarded and as soon as we were on board I asked about lunch in the Tsar's Palace and was given directions. I prefer dining in the restaurant to grazing at the buffet. It's much harder to find a table at the buffet during peak times like embarkation. Tsar's had plenty of tables and service was spot on. We relaxed over lunch while the rooms were being prepared and before we had even finished they were giving us the all-clear to proceed. (Sorry, I was starving to death, so no photos of our lunch. I'm sure you'll all live.)

 

 

 

Now, here's where I'm a sneaky little thing. Melanie thought we had a cabin on deck 5. Little did she know that a couple of days earlier I called the upgrade department and managed to score us a balcony up on deck 9. Now for the sneaky part. I led Melanie to the elevators and told her that we had to drop off a package with one of the Cruise Critic folks, so when I slid my card into the lock of cabin 9516, Melanie was speechless for the first time in all of the years I've know her. Win!

 

 

 

Balcony by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Snacks!!!

 

Alaska 476 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

I had thought that we were going to be saddled with one of the hull balcony cabins, but it was a full balcony. Yay again!! We dropped off our carryon luggage and headed back out to find our muster station in the Stardust lounge. This was a bit surprising for me since the previous musters I have done were all outside on the deck. Maybe because it was raining they moved us indoors...

 

 

 

Lounger by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

After muster I relocated to the Spinaker Lounge. It's honestly my favorite place on the ship, especially those loungers near the front windows. I parked myself on one for sailaway and camped out there for probably two hours while I took in the sights. Finally it was time for dinner so I reluctantly gave up my lounger and headed back to Tsar's for dinner. Dinner was good, and then it was back to the cabin. Today was mostly just a lazy day and I had to prep for the Meet & Greet the next day.

 

 

Continued... soon...

Edited October 8, 2016 by pnerissa

[mtb242]

Looking fwd to more on your trip!

[pnerissa]

1st Sea Day

 

 

Agenda 1: I dropped off my luggage at Customer Service. Apparently the luggage that I dropped off curbside arrived at the room damaged. One end of the side handle was ripped completely off. Rather than panic and get upset over the state of my brand new luggage, I walked down the night before and asked if there was anything that we could do to fix it and they told me to drop it off and they would send it to the ship's carpenter. Excellent! I told them to take their time with it and as long as I had it back before the end of the cruise, everything would be fine.

 

 

So, next it was a quick trip to the Garden Cafe to scrounge up a light breakfast. I normally try to avoid the buffet, but I needed something quick to eat. The place was crowded so I scooted out to the Great Outdoors to find a table and take in the view. I didn't stay long because I still had things to do, like our Meet & Greet at 11:00 in Le Bistro, so I headed back to our cabin in the bow and started getting things organized. Melanie was off in the Spa getting her hair done, so she actually missed the next event.

 

 

I stepped out on the balcony and was able to witness one of those magical sightings that sometimes happen. At first I thought it was a group of Pacific White-sided dolphins, but once I was able to review my pictures after I got home, it was a large group of seals on the hunt. The balcony upgrade was defnitely worth it.

 

 

 

Seals on the hunt by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Melanie finally got back from the Spa and we headed down to Le Bistro to meet the rest of the folks from our roll call. I was really pleased at the large turnout and hoped that I could get everyone engaged and talking. The last roll call that I went to was poorly organized and boring. For this roll call I ordered a portable microphone/speaker so that people in the back wouldn't have to strain to hear me. The first order of business after I got the ball rolling was that the ship's Officers came forward for an introduction. They all did a great job and I really appreciated the effort that they put in.

 

 

 

Officers at Meet and Greet2 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Officers at Meet and Greet by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Next we moved on to the main event. I had put together a trivia game and had everyone group up into teams of 5-6. This was a fun and competitive group and it wasn't long before laughter was filling the room. Yay! There were 10 questions, and finally the “Fierce Five” won the trivia contest with 8 out of 10 correct answers. Everyone on the team received one of my Florida photo books as a prize. The rest of the meet & greet was spent just talking and getting to know everyone. Hopefully some people left the room with a lifelong friend or two, I know I did. We spent most of the cruise with Susan (Pizzalady1) and her husband Bob.

 

 

 

Meet and Greet by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Meet and Greet Fierce Five by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

After the meet & greet was over I headed up to the Spinaker Lounge and the Lattitude party. I accepted a drink and some h'ordeurves and settled in to watch the antics. The ship's officers put in another appearance, as did the captain. Then the Emcee launched into the drawing, which, seemed a lot lamer than those I've attended in the past. Not quite a waste of an hour but you could definitely miss it and not suffer for the loss.

 

 

 

Lattitudes Party Officers by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Continued next post...

[pnerissa]

Bahama Mama from the Lattitudes Party in Spinaker Lounge.

 

 

Bahama Mama by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Next it was off to find a snack for lunch before the Captain's party. I can't really remember what I had or where, so it must not have been memorable. I explored the ship a bit, and then headed back to the cabin to dress up a bit. Melanie accompanied me up to the party in the Haven's common area, where, once again we were greeted with drinks and appetizers as people started to filter in and mingle. The common area was very pretty, with a pool, hot tub and cabana. I could appreciate being able to enjoy the pool even if the weather was nasty outside.

 

 

 

Haven by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Haven Pool by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Haven and Hot Tub by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

The party wrapped up and we headed back down to our cabin to change clothes again and headed to the spa for my hot stone therapy masage followed by a late dinner at Tsar's Palace. We agreed to a shared table and were soon chatting away with a lovely couple. I don't mind the shared dining tables for the simple reason that I do get to meet people. I consider myself somewhat shy and interacting with people like this forces me out of my shell a bit. The food, again, was somewhat unmemorable.

 

 

Tomorrow was our first port of call, Ketchikan, so after dinner it was back to the cabin for a restful night's sleep... except... I was pretty sure that I our cabin had another guest of the ghostly persuasion, and after a slow start to blissful sleep, I finally settled down.

 

 

 

Continued soon...

[cincicruisers]

Enjoying your review.

[hpecorari]

Enjoying your review.

 

Great review

[pnerissa]

Great review

 

Looking fwd to more on your trip!

 

Thanks everyone. I've been working all day on the next installments. Got sucked into processing some RAW photo files too. I think I'm going cross-eyed.

[boopsahoy]

Loving your review!:)

[pnerissa]

Ketchikan

 

 

The morning dawned gray and misty. We were still about an hour out from Ketchikan so I glued myself onto the balcony with my camera and binoculars hoping to spot some wildlife on the shoreline. Our plan was to start the morning with a hike on Rainbird Trail, but upon disembarking, the weather looked like it was going to need a couple of more hours before it lifted. I decided to stall with a few shops right across the street and then lead us over to Creek Street via the Whale Park.

 

 

Ketchikan Mist by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Rock by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

I'm really not that big into shopping, but it was the perfect opportunity to teach Melanie about scoring free jewelry from some of Norwegian's partners, so into the shops we went to get free pendants, bracelets and charms. We got into a conversation with a really nice guy at Colors of Alaska and after we told him our plan was to hike Rainbird trail, he outfitted each of us with bottles of water. Thanks Mario!

 

Ketchikan Creek Street Sign by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Ketchikan1 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr (Afternoon Photo)

 

I checked with a cab before our next stop. The guy quoted me $10 ea to drive us up to the Rainbird trailhead. I thought that was a bit steep since all the reviews I had read kept saying that it was no more than $6. It was still dreary so I tabled the hike for the time-being and we wandered up Mission Street beneath the iconic “Welcome to Ketchikan” street sign with a mist-covered mountain as the backdrop. Along the way we sampled smoked salmon at the Salmon Market and coffee addict, Melanie, managed to find a coffee shop while I was distracted with salmon.

 

 

 

We entered the small but interesting Whale Park. The lighting wasn't quite right to photograph the totem, but I gave it my best effort. I was also able to score a trail map from the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center across the street before heading back to the park to continue our walk to Creek Street.

 

 

Totem Pole by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Creek Street by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Continued next post...

Edited October 9, 2016 by pnerissa

[pnerissa]

We entered Creek Street near the Funicular and turned left along the creek. It was toward the end of the season for the salmon run, but there were still a few salmon attempting the journey upstream. A few dead salmon littered the stream bed, and one woman couldn't help but complain out loud about the stench. As dead fish go, it wasn't nearly as pungent and acrid as some of the red tides in Florida, so I found it more tolerable than most people. It's part of the life cycle; their born, they grow up, they die, they become food for other animals (and even plants.)

 

 

 

Ketchikan Creek by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Jumping Salmon by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

We continued up Married Man's Trail toward the salmon ladder at Park Street. It took a few minutes but we finally spotted some salmon trying to make their run upstream. The extreme angle of trying to photograph the fish by leaning over the rail was not the best situation I could hope for, but I managed to get a couple of photos.

 

 

Salmon by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Salmon2 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Next we headed back down onto Creek Street and explored the shops as we made our way down to main entrance. I knew to watch the creek for Harbor seals and lo and behold, I spotted three of them on the hunt! Melanie knew it was a lost cause to try to prod me along so she left me unattended for about half an hour with my furry babysitters.

 

 

 

Harbor Seal by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Harbor Seal4 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

After about 300 photos Melanie collected me from the sitters and we headed back toward the ship to drop off some packages, however, we wound up strolling into The Rain Barrel. This is not your run of the mill store because the staff is absolutely EPIC. I started chatting with Wendy and asked if they were able to mail packages back and the answer was YES. So after selecting a few more items I off-loaded everything I had previously purchased and addressed the package for mailing. While I was doing that, Wendy asked what we had planned next and I mentioned that we were heading up to Rainbird Trail. She conversed briefly with another gentleman in the shop and then told us that George would be happy to give us a lift to the trailhead. How incredibly awesome and unexpected!!!

 

 

So after finishing up in The Rain Barrel, we clambered into the van with George and he gave us a brief tour of Ketchikan on the way up to Rainbird Trail. He also gave us a few pointers on making our way back to town once we finished our hike. The people in Ketchikan are so friendly and helpful they just made our visit amazing!

 

 

Continued next post...

[pnerissa]

There will be a brief intermission. Flickr appears to be having issues with its Uploader today, so until I can get the photos for the rest of this installment uploaded, I'm hanging in limbo.

[boopsahoy]

There will be a brief intermission. Flickr appears to be having issues with its Uploader today, so until I can get the photos for the rest of this installment uploaded, I'm hanging in limbo.

 

 

Looking forward to more!

[pnerissa]

George dropped us off at the trailhead and we started up the staircase. The weather was improving, but the rocks were still a bit slick so we took our time making our way up the hill. Once we leveled out, it still took some careful maneuvering on the trail, but the views were beautiful. The edge of the Tongass forest was astounding; the towering trees, the seep springs crossing the trail, the feel of the thick moisture permeating the forest. Even down to the yellow slugs and black and yellow caterpillars.

 

 

 

Rainbird Trail by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Slug Native by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

The forest was oddly quite for the most part; we could easily hear the sea planes landing and taking off in the harbor below. Then we heard an odd call; part cry – part knock, knock. Woodpecker? I wasn't familiar with the birds of Alaska so I listened more intently. “Haw, Haw!” It sounded like a cross between a woodpecker and a crow. I mimicked the call and our feathered stalker called back and came closer, finally flying out of the treetops and down over the town. I still wasn't certain as to what it was, so I made a note to ask Wendy when we got back to town (she was graciously holding some of my other bags for me while I went hiking.)

 

Rainbird Trail by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Sea Plane by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Rainbird Trail View2 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Rainbird Trail View by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

About halfway along the trail we met a local that told us he often walks the trail at lunch. He told us which set of stairs to take back down to town, which actually turned out to be a bit short of where we actually wanted to go. Oh well. By this time Melanie was crashing from low blood sugar since she decided to skip breakfast, so I dragged her into the first restaurant I saw on Tongass Avenue and ordered food.

 

 

Finally we started making our way back toward the ships and back over to The Rain Barrel so I could pick up my remaining bags. I asked Wendy about the bird I had heard and she informed me that it was a Raven, which according to legend, is also the “Rainbird.” Some legends also list it as the Trickster. A little local lore for the local hike. I thank Wendy and started heading back to the ship. There was still a half hour until boarding time, so I bought some caramel corn from a street vendor and brought it back on board with me.

 

 

 

Continued next post...

[pnerissa]

Once on board we had to hoof it up to the Spa for the pampered ladies facial treatment. Not sure how I got talked into that, since I'm usually not much of a spa girl. I only had two spa bookings for the entire trip, the Hot Stone Therapy which I had already done and a hair cut for Friday. Melanie had some sort of treatment booked for after the facial, but then I escaped for some balcony time, an early dinner before the show, and another quick look around the ship.

 

 

 

Ketchikan Whale Spout by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Ketchikan Sunset by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Tomorrow: Juneau

[boopsahoy]

Beautiful sunset!

[pnerissa]

Beautiful sunset!

 

Thanks! I think the one I got in Victoria is even more spectacular.

 

I've got a full schedule this week, but I'm going to try to get the Juneau port of call put together.

[boopsahoy]

Thanks! I think the one I got in Victoria is even more spectacular.

 

I've got a full schedule this week, but I'm going to try to get the Juneau port of call put together.

 

Can't wait!:)

[pnerissa]

I've been in class for most of the day, my continuing studies to become a Florida Master Naturalist, but I did get a partial installment put together.

 

Juneau

 

Another morning dawned with a fog thick enough to swallow the ship. Standing on the balcony all I could see is a wall of mist and I started to think about Stephen King's “The Mist” and wondered if stepping back into the room might be wise... Never one to shy away, my camera and I waited patiently by the rail and it seemed like the mist lifted right as we sailed into sight of Juneau. From our balcony I was able to make out two eagles sitting amongst the sea gulls on the beach. Hopefully this was an indication of things to come.

 

 

 

Juneau Foggy by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Juneau by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

Eagle Pair Rocky Beach by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

We made our way off the ship and headed a few blocks into town to pick up the rental car that I reserved with Avis. Along the way we saw colorbul murals and unique sculptures. It's a shame more cities don't offer public works of art for visitors to admire.

 

 

 

Mt Roberts Tram by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

Juneau Mural by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

If I hadn't already explored Juneau using Google Streetview, I would never have found our car rental place. It was inside of a hotel that was being renovated and there was no signage whatsoever. Melanie hesitantly followed me inside, convinced that I had no idea where I was going. Joke's on her; that's why I plan, plan, plan. I picked up the car and a map and we headed out onto Glacier Hwy.

 

 

Our destination was outside of town at Eagle Beach. We were heading here first because I'd checked the tides and knew that it would be low tide, the best time to view eagles and bears on the tidal flats. It was also very near (5 miles) from Herbert Glacier. We weren't going to have time to hike up to the glacier, but we'd had a good view of it from down on the tidal flats. As we approached Eagle Beach from the road, we were able to spot several eagles perched here and there, becoming more numerous as we got closer to Eagle and Herbert Rivers. In retrospect, I should have pulled the car over and taken pictures then, as I'll explain more in a minute.

 

 

We stopped at the last overlook first and surveyed the broad area. There wasn't much going on there, so we moved on to the next area, which also had picnic benches and a public vault restroom. We parked a bit past a vehicle with California plates and piled out of the car with binoculars and cameras in hand and headed down to the beach trail. Using the binoculars I panned the area and spotted a family walking the beach with their 3 large dogs off leash scaring away all of the wildlife. Seriously?! I'm a dog person and have dogs and I know better than to let my dogs run offleash. Grrrr.

 

 

We started hiking the river trail toward the bridge and away from the halfwits with the dogs. I spotted a couple of juvenile eagles perched on deadfall in and on the other side of Eagle River, but I wasn't seeing any adults. I was able to get some pictures of Herbert Glacier as the mist would roll in and out. Finally, I started spotting adult pairs of bald eagles, but they were perched in the tree line on the opposite side of the river and not close enough to get the crisp, clear shots that I desired.

 

 

 

Juvenile Bald Eagle by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

 

 

We headed back toward the vehicles after spending about an hour and a half at the beach. The family and dogs passed Melanie, who was several yards ahead of me, and she told me they were complaining about not spotting any eagles. Good! You ruined it for everyone else too by letting your dogs run loose!

 

 

We headed back toward town, stopping in Auke Bay to mail packages home at the post office. I am a big fan of “If It Fits It Ships” boxes and I planned on using them for the entire trip. I kept my eye open for a quick lunch, but never did find one to stop at, so we headed on to Mendenhall Loop Drive toward the National Park.

 

Continued soon... and I'll add more pics from this particular section also.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review and photos.

[pnerissa]

Hoping to get some more posted this weekend. Next week is going to be busy for me. I don't know how I managed to get so many projects going at once. :eek:

[suesings]

Great review. Love your pictures. I am definitely going to find me one of those loungers in the Spinnaker Lounge!!!

[pnerissa]

More photos for the Juneau/Eagle Beach post.

 

A view of Herbert Glacier from Eagle Beach. The mist kept rolling in and out.

 

Herbert Glacier by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Two Eagles perched on Eagle Beach. This was taken with the long lens before I could get down to the beach and before the dog people spoiled things for everyone.

 

Eagle Beach Eagles by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Dog people A-holes.

 

Eagle Beach Dogs by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Eagle Beach. Dog people in distance. Sadly they weren't eaten by bears. (I was almost later, but we're not to that part of the story yet.)

 

Eagle Beach 1 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Eagle River

 

Eagle Beach 2 by Beverly Hill, on Flickr

 

Eagle River

 

Eagle Beach Eagle River by Beverly Hill, on Flickr