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NCL Jewel Alaska - July 1-8 - Northbound


CardFanDubG
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Thanks for the great review, OP!  We will be on the July 29 sailing of this cruise. 

 

Did you notice what cell reception was like when not in port?  I assume that most of the time at sea is too far from cell towers on the ground?

 

Did you use the ship internet?  I see that they are offering premium (streaming) on Jewel which surprises me since the general commentary is that the internet barely works. 

 

Any connectivity insights appreciated!  Looking forward to the rest of your review.

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11 minutes ago, Tetu said:

Did you notice what cell reception was like when not in port?  I assume that most of the time at sea is too far from cell towers on the ground?

 

Did you use the ship internet?  I see that they are offering premium (streaming) on Jewel which surprises me since the general commentary is that the internet barely works. 

 

We normally put the cell phone in Airplane Mode when not in port. There were multiple phones that are on my plan aboard. Just received my T-Mobile bill and there were a couple of charges, $4.99 for a 1 minute call and $.50 for 1 text. Evidently someone thought we were still in cellular service. 

 

Really did not use the ship internet much but our son's did. I did not hear any complaints so I assume they were able to accomplish what they needed. Sorry, wasn't much help there. 

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Thanks for posting your review and the dailies. I think there are many, like me, that only see reviews and scans of the bigger AK ships for NCL, so it is nice to have some love for the Jewel. We are going on the Jewel to AK cruise immediately following the 4th of July next year, so I am enjoying your review.

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Day 6 - Glacier Bay

 

The ship entered Glacier Bay National Park about 6 AM. The Park Ranger was scheduled to give a presentation in the Spinnaker Lounge on deck 13 at 7:00 AM. We decided to have an early breakfast so that we could watch the ship come into the park. Problem none of the restaurants began serving breakfast until 6 AM. Even the buffet and room service did not begin until 6:30 AM. We did discover that you could go to O’Sheehan’s before and sit down to drink coffee and then order breakfast at 6 AM. They actually started taking orders a little early. 

 

After breakfast, went to the Spinnaker Lounge to listen to the Park Ranger. It was very informational. After the presentation we enjoyed the windows of Spinnaker Lounge. We watched as sailed into the Park toward  Margerie Glacier. We were scheduled to arrive at Margerie Glacier about 9 AM. We decided to go down to Deck 7 promenade to view and hear  Margerie Glacier. We found that on this deck we could find a viewing spot along the rail. If one desires they can go from port to starboard through the atrium. The captain did an excellent job of turning the ship 360 Degrees so that every part of the ship could see the glacier. We were lucky to see and hear two calvings. The ranger gave great information over the ship PA system. This also came over the TV on channel 12 if one wanted to view from the cabin balcony.  The ship then left and went to Lamplugh Glacier. Again the same procedure was followed. We did not see any whales, but a bear was spotted on the distant shoreline. It took binoculars to see it. As the ship was leaving the Park about 1:00 PM our grand-daughter said she sighted many sea-lions, otters, and whales on the starboard side of the ship. 

 

Margerie-Glacier.jpg

 

BTW before the trip we were concerned on what to wear during the glacier sailings as we had heard it was very cold. Well like the rest of the cruise again the weather was warm. On this day only a light jacket was needed, but I am sure that is not the usual. The rest of the day was a typical sea day. 

 

That evening we had reservations for La Cucina Italian restaurant at 5:30 PM. In my opinion this was the best of the three specialty restaurants we ate in. Again before we ordered the waiter gave the talk about only being able to order one item from each category on the menu. If the pizza is selected that is the entree. My DIL did order both a soup & salad and was not charged. I will say that all that ordered Filet thought that it was better than Cagney’s. I ordered the Sea Bass and it was delicious. Here is a copy of the menu. 
 

La-Cucina-1.jpg

 

La-Cucina-2.jpg

 

After dinner we attended the 9:15 LE CIRQUE BIJOU. We arrived at the theater 30 minutes before show-time. At that time we were able to sit almost anywhere. Our grandson selected the fourth row center. These seats ended up being fantastic as much  of the show was in front of us, next to us and over us. That really pleased everyone, especially the grandchildren. We discovered that entering the theater from deck 6 brought you in at the middle of theater. If you want to be a the top enter from deck 7. 

Edited by CardFanDubG
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1 hour ago, K_e_short said:

Random question that came to mind as I was swimming at my local beach.

Do they supply pool towels on Alaska cruises? I will not be swimming but my 12 year old will swim in anything, anywhere 🙂

Yes they have a towel stand near the pool. In fact many people used the pool throughout the cruise. It was very warm. I am told that on cold days they also have blankets available at the towel stands. On the Glacier Days they had soup stands set up on the pool deck. 

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Day 7 -  Hubbard Glacier

 

On this day we sailed by  Hubbard Glacier. We were at the glacier from about 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM. Just like Glacier Bay the Captain did A 360 degree rotation so that everyone could view  Hubbard Glacier. The rest of the day was a typical sea day. 

 

That evening the party of 12 had dinner in the Moderno Brazilian Steakhouse. As always the salad bar was excellent. The staff did a great job of bringing out the meat at a steady pace. Here is the menu from that night. 

 

Moderno.jpg

 

We did not eat at Le Bristo, but I was able to get a picture of the menu. 

 

Le-Bristro.jpg

 

That evening we readied our luggage to be picked up for disembarkation. We had a transport scheduled with Bear Paw Transportation for 9 AM. WE had picked up 8:15 AM luggage departure tags. Disembarkation for this cruise was one of the smoothest that I had done. We arrived at port early and the disembarkation process was ahead of schedule Even though our color was called earlier than 8:15 we waited until that time to disembark. The was no line and we were able to just walk off the ship. The luggage groups were easy to work with and we found our luggage very quickly. We were outside waiting for our transportation by 8:30 AM. Luckily Bear Paw Transportation arrived at 8:45 and we began the trip to Anchorage. 

 

Since our Delta red-eye flight did not leave until 6:55 PM we had booked a seven hour tour on the way to the Anchorage Airport. The Seward - Anchorage highway was a beautiful drive.  The tour included the following:

  • Turnagain Pass (a scenic mountain stop)
  • Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (a wildlife rehabilitation site for injured and orphaned animals) - This was a nice stop but very busy with tourists. Glad that they are taking caring of rescued animals  that need assistance. We ha 45 minutes to visit. Admission was included with transportation cost. 
  • Beluga Look Out (a coastal stop looking for Beluga whales) - did not see any whales, but was a nice place to stretch our legs. 
  • Potters Marsh (a wet lands area to see different types of birds)
  • 1 hour Lunch Stop at Alyeska Ski Resort - we ate at the The Bake Shop - The food was very good and the restrooms very clean
  • Ship Creek Salmon Run (a stop in down town Anchorage to see the salmon swim up a local river) 
  • Earth Quake Park (to see the effects of the 1964 earth quake) 
  • Lake Hood float plane area 
  • Anchorage Airport

I have mixed recommendations for this tour/transportation. Our driver and guide David did an excellent commentary of what we were seeing however only the people in the front could hear him as the van did not have a working speaker system. Also again this day was very hot with temperatures in the 90's. The Air-Conditioner worked great in the front, but not so much in the back. The passengers in the front had a great tour, while for the passengers in the back the tour was miserable. 

 

This concludes the review. Any other questions about the Jewel or cruise itinerary, I will be happy to try to address. Now to get ready for the October NCL Joy Panama Canal cruise. 

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I can't find it now but someone posted a picture of a wonderful seafood buffet from the Jewel.  It looked like it had mussels, crab claws, clams.  Was it offered on your cruise, if so, what night/port and what venue?  We'll be on the Jewel in August and I wouldn't want to miss it.  Also, do you remember what night was prime rib night?  Thank you, your review and dailies are much appreciated.

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12 hours ago, farjar said:

I can't find it now but someone posted a picture of a wonderful seafood buffet from the Jewel.  It looked like it had mussels, crab claws, clams.  Was it offered on your cruise, if so, what night/port and what venue?  We'll be on the Jewel in August and I wouldn't want to miss it.  Also, do you remember what night was prime rib night?  Thank you, your review and dailies are much appreciated.

Sorry we did not eat dinner in the buffet during the cruise so I am not sure. I did check the dailies and I found the following descriptions of the buffet dinner. I am not sure what the meal consisted of. This was the Northbound itinerary:

  • Day 2 - Alaska Dinner
  • Day 4 - Country Western 
  • Day 5 - Oriental
  • Day 6 - Fisherman
  • Day 7 - Grill Extravaganza

 

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We were on the same cruise and I am pretty sure I had prime rib the last night, it was listed on the regular menu in the main dining room.  Not sure if that would technically be considered prime rib night but it was delicious!  Came with a baked potato, veggies and corn on the cob.

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Question to OP - when/how do they announce the disembarkation deck on port of calls days ? I was wondering if at anypoint you disembarked on deck 5. Our rooms are on that deck close to the exists and I was wondering how noisy or busy it got.  

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1 hour ago, amisup said:

Question to OP - when/how do they announce the disembarkation deck on port of calls days ? 

I am not 100% positive, but I think at the three ports they actually disembarked on two different decks. For sure it was 4 and I also think deck 5. Since they used two decks the lines moved quickly. zi never saw people lined up away from the staircase and elevators. 

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I loved your reviews - thanks so much for all the details. We're going on the Jewel late September and while we're doing the Vancouver Return trip so different itinerary, it still makes us very excited to read all your comments of the on-board activities, menus etc. Much appreciated. 

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Thank you for the review, We will be taking our first Alaska cruise next August but we will be doing a southbound.  I am just beginning my research - can only hope we have luck with the warmer temps.  Thank you also for so much detail, dailies and menus.

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Quick question about laundry.

I remember reading somewhere about a laundry deal half way through the cruise. I read the dailies but couldn't find any information.

Do you remember if they had a laundry deal (something like $20 for a bag).

 

I'm packing and this will determine how much I pack.

 

Thank you 🙂

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47 minutes ago, K_e_short said:

Quick question about laundry.

I remember reading somewhere about a laundry deal half way through the cruise. I read the dailies but couldn't find any information.

Do you remember if they had a laundry deal (something like $20 for a bag).

 

I'm packing and this will determine how much I pack.

 

Thank you 🙂

Sorry no help on that. I was not planning on using it so did not pay attention. Became Platinum after that cruise so plan on using the perk on our 16 day Panama Canal cruise in October.  

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Great reviews, thank you. I took advantage of the 20% off promotion and just today booked an Alaska cruise for Aug 2020. We are doing the northbound one, and it includes airfare which is perfect. I’d like to fly in a day early and explore Vancouver a bit. Very excited!

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CardFanDubG Thank you for this Wonderful post!  It is one of the best reviews I have ever seen!  It is well-written, to the point & includes the important information folks are always asking about. The additional picture & PDF file(s) put this review over the top. We are traveling in the end of September & your review is most helpful. :classic_smile:

 

ps: I have grandchildren living near Bowling Green KY & plan on visiting next spring.  

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10 minutes ago, krisdamom said:

CardFanDubG Thank you for this Wonderful post!  It is one of the best reviews I have ever seen!  It is well-written, to the point & includes the important information folks are always asking about. The additional picture & PDF file(s) put this review over the top. We are traveling in the end of September & your review is most helpful. :classic_smile:

 

ps: I have grandchildren living near Bowling Green KY & plan on visiting next spring.  

Thank you and enjoy your visit to Kentucky. Especially enjoy the grandchildren. 😎

Also hope that you cruise has great weather. 

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On 7/12/2019 at 9:03 AM, CardFanDubG said:

After leaving Spinnaker Lounge, we stopped to view the bridge. This nice feature is port side bow of deck 11. I am glad that a Cruise Critic review shared this information as we would've missed it otherwise. It was very interesting watching what was involved in the navigation of such a large vessel.

Possible dumb question...were you going under a bridge (if so, which one), or watching them steer the ship in the bridge?  Thanks!

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