**Photo Review: Norwegian Jewel to Alaska 5/27/18 - 6/4/18

[alainamarie]

A few more pictures around the center of town.

 

 

 

 

 

Visitors center where we met our tour bus.

 

[alainamarie]

Believe it or not, I had not visited Creek Street on my previous stop to Ketchikan. It was on my list for today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

Of course, there's Dolly's house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thought the kayakers looked like they were having fun -

 

[not ice cream]

Great review. We were booked on this cruise but a family wedding got in the way. Looks like we missed a terrific time but Alaska ain't going nowhere!!

 

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[alainamarie]

We got on the bus and then it was about a 20 minute ride to George Inlet Lodge. Only a few things have changed, like they moved this crab in the corner so they could set up an outdoor covered shopping area. Did you feel me roll my eyes?

 

 

View from the back deck -

 

 

This was the area we were in last time -

 

 

We were in a dining room this time - close the bar ;)

 

 

[alainamarie]

Our endless crab - it was just as good as I remembered!

 

 

 

Our dessert -

 

 

My final photo before we left - I believe I took this on the long stairway back up to the bus -

 

[alainamarie]

We got back on the ship around 1230, there was a long line to get back on. Met up with Paul in the cabin, he got on the ship after me. He was processing the fish he caught - don't even ask what it cost us to overnight 2 scrawny fish. :rolleyes:

We went to Spinnaker for a couple of drinks, then the Great Outdoors for a snack - we missed Garden Cafe since it closed at 2.

We took a nap and then a shower. We went to the Sugarcane Mojito bar (great bartender is here, I believe his name was Ali) before our dinner reservations at La Cucina for 730.

 

 

We had a table by the window. Here's the view from the table.

 

 

 

Our appetizers were great -

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

My osso bucco was finger-licking good! Our friends also ate here at the same time and she did not like the osso bucco. Paul even said it was great and I would definitely order this again.

Service here was ok for the most part, got progressively slower as the evening went on. We actually found this to be the case at most restaurants but still much better than MDR.

 

 

 

Paul ordered the salmon and it came out raw and ice cold in the center. I really thought he was being dramatic, but I put my finger in the middle and hit a piece of ice. It took our waitress a while to come back to the table so he could send it back. They did remake this and it was much better. I told Paul that's what he gets for ordering salmon at an Italian restaurant. ;p

 

Dinner took a while and Paul had way too many cocktails at this point, so it was time to go back to the cabin. I think this is the night he went to his favorite bartender at O'Sheehans while I napped and had a few Manhattan's. :rolleyes:

Our towel creation for the night -

 

[alainamarie]

Great review. We were booked on this cruise but a family wedding got in the way. Looks like we missed a terrific time but Alaska ain't going nowhere!!

 

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So sorry you missed this unique itinerary! Our weather was great and Alaska is a game-changer in terms of cruising. Hope you get to rebook soon!

[alainamarie]

Day 3 daily -

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

I know it's going to seem weird that I'm posting this photo, but I did a packing guide and wanted to show you a photo of how I dressed in port. I've seen soooo many questions on social media pages as well as CC on "WHAT DO I PACK?!"... I was on Amtrak with a couple who literally each packed 7 bags/suit cases. I have no idea what they packed, but it was crazy. They each needed their own cart and flew Delta and had to pay for the excessive bags.

 

 

My suggestion - shirt under sweater, these are my Zella leggings and socks/tennis shoes. I did not find you needed hiking boots or special footwear unless you're doing an excursion that requires it.

Of course this outfit was topped off with my hooded rain jacket when I got off the ship.

[hawk1972]

So sorry I missed you! Can't remember if we met at Sailaway.. I kept trying to ask people their screennames! I appreciate your input here - I think we all had a great cruise with just a few hiccups. Alaska was beautiful and boy did we luck out on weather!!!

 

We disembarked first thing - my husband was worried about getting to the airport and through customs, so we self disembarked before 8am, actually right when they called priority. It was a breeze and we were off the ship in less than 10 minutes. No line for a cab and I easily found the East Vancouver Convention Center. The staff working this cruise port were wonderfully nice. I'll touch on that at the end. :)

 

We usually self-disembark because we are in a hurry to get on the road, but this time we were in no rush because our bus to Seattle wasn't until 10:45. We took the latest time of 9:15 to leave the ship and I guess that was our problem. The people in the port were trying to be helpful -- there just so many people by then that it was pure crowd control. And the instructions we got from Quick Shuttle weren't correct. They were gathering people in the taxi waiting area when they should have had us move out closer to where the buses were. But it all worked out in the end.

[Luckynana]

Great job, alainamarie! I've been following since your 1st post the other day☺. Loving it![emoji6]

 

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[alainamarie]

We usually self-disembark because we are in a hurry to get on the road, but this time we were in no rush because our bus to Seattle wasn't until 10:45. We took the latest time of 9:15 to leave the ship and I guess that was our problem. The people in the port were trying to be helpful -- there just so many people by then that it was pure crowd control. And the instructions we got from Quick Shuttle weren't correct. They were gathering people in the taxi waiting area when they should have had us move out closer to where the buses were. But it all worked out in the end.

 

My experience disembarking is typically similar to yours - chaos and a lot of hurry and wait. Are you settled at home yet? I’ve started cleaning, cooking, and I’m already unpacked and laundry is done. Does this mean vacation really is over??? :(

 

Great job, alainamarie! I've been following since your 1st post the other day☺. Loving it![emoji6]

 

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Thank you so much for following along!!

 

 

 

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[paiagirl]

alainamarie, I am enjoying your photos and perspectives. and most of all to meet you and your husband.

 

This was the best Alaska cruise we had for seeing nature. The NCL Tracy Arm excursion was amazing. It was beautiful and there was a very large, tall iceberg that the captain came close to that we were able to touch.

 

Another excursion (private) we did was at Sitka, with 4 other cc members, where we saw puffins, seals etc.

 

Like Hawk

 

We disembarked early, thinking of crowds like previous cruises at Canada Place, and walked right out. The Canadian immigration personnels didn't check our passport, they just waved us out. Like you, it was a breeze.

 

Caught the skytrain to the Vancouver airport and was there by about 8:20 am.

 

Anxious to see more of your photos.

[alainamarie]

alainamarie, I am enjoying your photos and perspectives. and most of all to meet you and your husband.

 

 

 

This was the best Alaska cruise we had for seeing nature. The NCL Tracy Arm excursion was amazing. It was beautiful and there was a very large, tall iceberg that the captain came close to that we were able to touch.

 

 

 

Another excursion (private) we did was at Sitka, with 4 other cc members, where we saw puffins, seals etc.

 

 

 

Like Hawk

 

 

 

We disembarked early, thinking of crowds like previous cruises at Canada Place, and walked right out. The Canadian immigration personnels didn't check our passport, they just waved us out. Like you, it was a breeze.

 

 

 

Caught the skytrain to the Vancouver airport and was there by about 8:20 am.

 

 

 

Anxious to see more of your photos.

 

 

 

I did a really wonderful excursion in Sitka too, I will get to that for sure!

Thanks for reading and it was great to meet you!!

 

Take care,

Alaina

 

 

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[alainamarie]

Day 4 - Tuesday May 29 - Juneau

We woke up around 7 and had the express breakfast at O'Sheehans. We were off the bus by 8 and took the shuttle downtown.

 

On my previous cruise, we booked a river rafting excursion through Celebrity - this took place on the Mendenhall River. We didn't even get a glimpse at the Mendenhall glacier, so I knew this would be a priority for us. I booked two tickets on the Glacier Express ("blue bus"). It was $90 total for the two of us.

It was a little chaotic to figure out if we were in the right place, the signage needs to be updated because there are sooo many buses (and several blue buses!) .

 

 

 

We did both walks and we are glad we did both - Nugget Falls took about 20 minutes each way. The weather was beautiful and we are so glad we did this without any time constraints.

 

 

OK - A couple of shameless selfies in front of Mendenhall and Nugget Falls

 

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alainamarie]

The Glacier Express runs every 30 minutes, so we hopped back on the bus when we were done and chose to be dropped off by the Red Dog Saloon (there were only 2 options for drop off, downtown or by the saloon).

 

 

 

 

Paul decided he was ready for lunch, so he suggested Tracy's and I was a little hesitant thinking it was tourist trap. Let me just say - Paul gets all the credit for this great meal. We are still talking about it!

 

 

 

 

We paid $65 for two king crab legs, crab cakes, and crab bisque. Rolls were included as well. Crab shack combo plus we added one king crab leg (original combo #1).

 

 

[alainamarie]

After lunch, we got back on the ship around 1130. You do have to take a shuttle from downtown to the cruise ship (and vice versa) due to the location of our dock. It was quick and easy.We went to Spinnaker to have some drinks and even got a special green lounger by the window for a while. We got a snack at the buffet before it closed and went back to the room to nap. We were getting close to Endicott arm, so we went to the bar just outside of Spinnaker. We ran into friends, so we ended up staying until we had to get ready for dinner. Our itinerary called for Sawyer Glacier, but of course we could not enter Tracy Arm due to so much scattered ice. Maybe one day I will be able to enter Tracy Arm! This was my second attempt, but both are just too early in the season.

Soapbox: let me air my complaint and move on. I'm about to compare Celebrity and NCL, so put your daggers down. On Celebrity, we had naturalist Robert Nixon who did a couple of amazing presentations on Alaska and what we were to expect (this happened on the first sea day before we hit any ports). He also could be heard on the loudspeaker throughout our sailing through Tracy Arm which ended up being Endicott Arm. He was AMAZING and such a wealth of information! He pointed things out (wild life, discussed global warming and it's affect on glacier shifting, etc). It helped everyone on board to understand what they were seeing. This happened in the early hours of the morning, so we sat on our balconies and could hear the soft tone of his voice narrating.

Norwegian's version was to have the CRUISE DIRECTOR (JC) announce our location and briefly tell us what we were seeing... I think he threw in some information on Alaska.

I couldn't believe this. Is this normal? Don't get me wrong, I liked JC as a cruise director. Perhaps I shouldn't compare him to a naturalist provided by another cruiseline, but I couldn't help it from my previous experience.

I think on some other NCL cruises there were some park rangers on board, but I wasn't sure if we had any on board and I didn't go out seeking one because it was my 2nd venture to Dawes. I just thought it would be nice to have a knowledgeable expert do some narrating. Even a recording would have been nice, but instead we had the cruise director.

Ok I am now off my soapbox, so let's move on to some photos. We had such gorgeous and sunny weather, it was amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sue402001]

The Glacier Express runs every 30 minutes, so we hopped back on the bus when we were done and chose to be dropped off by the Red Dog Saloon (there were only 2 options for drop off, downtown or by the saloon).

 

 

 

 

Paul decided he was ready for lunch, so he suggested Tracy's and I was a little hesitant thinking it was tourist trap. Let me just say - Paul gets all the credit for this great meal. We are still talking about it!

 

 

 

 

We paid $65 for two king crab legs, crab cakes, and crab bisque. Rolls were included as well. Crab shack combo plus we added one king crab leg (original combo #1).

 

 

 

Those crab legs are huge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alainamarie]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we had the most magnificent rainbow!

 

 

[alainamarie]

Dawes Glacier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will conclude with my favorite non-glacier photo - for some reason, my last shot with the rainbow came out the best.

 

[alainamarie]

After a beautiful afternoon of glacier viewing, we headed inside to get ready for dinner. We had reservations at Le Bistro for 8pm. We both really enjoyed Le Bistro and I would say I liked this as much as Cagney's. My husband would tell you the service was slacking because he got frustrated waiting on a drink each time he placed an order. I told him the easy solution would be to stop ordering drinks. ;p

Appetizers were excellent! OMG my mussels!!! Paul loved his escargot.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we both had soup - my french onion soup was so delicious and hot I couldn't even finish it. MDR had french onion soup and it was so pathetic - basically beef broth with some onion and a blob of cheese served barely warm.

 

 

Paul loved his mushroom soup -

 

[alainamarie]

I had the lamb chops and Paul has the duo duck. He claimed the duck breast was a little dry, but overall delicious. See which one of us is a food snob?? ;)

 

 

 

 

Then we ordered the fondue for two... we LOVED it! The pineapple was not quite ripe, but it was soooo good! I heard from friends who went a couple nights after us that their pineapple was very ripe, so maybe it was just not quite ready yet.

 

 

After our wonderful meal, we headed to Stardust Theatre for the show - it was a Russian couple and they were fantastic. They even had a slide show about their love story in between scenes.

Note: If you are looking for reviews on entertainment, this may not be your favorite review. Most of our dinner reservations did not allow us to make the 715 or 915 show, so we only attended this show and Magic Brian.