Live from the NCL Jewel May 1-15, 2023 (caution: may contain grumpiness and sarcasm.)

[YVRteacher]

I can see why it’s rated a 3 on the adventure scale: there’s lots of room for cartwheels on the bow!

[#55worktoplay]

@YVRteacher  what a great review. You and your Dad sure seem to have fun. He sounds like a real hoot. You are a great daughter. 
 

I spent many sailings with my mother who also had dementia and for the most part I loved every minute of it because of how happy she was doing things even though she may not have remembered the next day. Lived every day in the moment 😀. I miss her but treasure the memories.  I got her a kids band in case she wondered off and she often asked why she had a band and I didn’t. I always answered it was because she was over 80 and the band provided all her drinks free.  She was very happy with that😀

Edited June 16, 2023 by #55worktoplay

[NanaAnn23]

Could you or someone else post the dailies for this cruise?  Apologies if you already did.  Going in August.  Very excited as this is our first Alaskan adventure!  

[bluesea777]

38 minutes ago, NanaAnn23 said:

Could you or someone else post the dailies for this cruise?  Apologies if you already did.  Going in August.  Very excited as this is our first Alaskan adventure!  

 

@YVRteacher (aka the OP of this thread) has posted all the dailies on this thread for their two weeks b2b cruises. Steam up a cuppa yourself and sit back and enjoy reading through this thread. 😉

 

[NanaAnn23]

Thanks so much.  I did find them and downloaded most of them.  Just like to make sure I have proper attire, etc.  Thanks again to all of you for your very helpful information!  Happy cruising! 

[bluesea777]

On 5/20/2023 at 3:49 PM, YVRteacher said:

Yes, we did book excursions for the cruise on the Spirit.  I did all the planning and research for this trip last night.  

week one:

 

Icy Strait Point: shore ex through NCL

Spasski River and Wildlife (this is the walk that takes you to the bear viewing point.  We have done it 3 times before.) We went on the ZipRider (via NCL Shore Ex) and it was so worth it. It is the zipline where you sit in a chair. It takes 90 seconds to ride thru the air.

 

Juneau: private excursion

Jayleen’s whale watching in a boat with up to 6 people. Thanks to you, we used Jayleen's and had a fantastic time - Luke was the captain.

 

Skagway:  shore ex through NCL

Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour (done it before and I don’t want to do this again but my dad really wanted to do it so I booked it.)  We are docked at Broadway dock.

 

Hubbard Glacier: shore ex through NCL

Hubbard Glacier Wilderness Explorer (little boat off the Spirit that goes closer to the glacier.) This is to replace the shore ex I had booked for my dad’s birthday that was originally the Tracey Arm Fjord that got changed to Endicott Arm that was then cancelled due to excessive ice.  If it happens, great.  If not, we’ll try again the next week on board.  The Hubbard Glacier shore ex is quite a bit more expensive than the Endicott Arm excursion.

 

Valdez: for the first week we are going to walk around and explore.  We are back two days later!

 

Seward: private tour

Kenai Fjords Resurrection Bay and Fox Island 5 hour cruise. May I suggest you switch this to the 7.5 hour Kenai Fjords National Park cruise with Major Marine as this cruise will take you to not one, but TWO glaciers - the second one (Aialik glacier) is more spectacular than the first one (Holgate) and you get to cruise thru the iceberg fields and hear the wild sounds the boat makes! The time is 9:30 to 5:00. We saw various wildlife. While in the vicinity of Aialik glacier the crew collected big pieces of icebergs off water and served various drinks with chipped parts of ice! That was good!

 

week two

 

Valdez: private excursion through Stan Stephens

8 hour Meares Glacier cruise.  I tried to book the Columbia Glacier cruise through them but they were sold out for July 11 and 13 which are the two days the Spirit is in Valdez on our cruise. 
If we booked the Columbia Glacier Cruise through NCL the cost would be $1100 for two people in Canadian funds.  If we could have booked the same tour through Stan Stephens, the cost would be less than $400 for two people in US funds.  Huge price difference!  Good thing I like to research. It's a pity that the Valdez port has been cancelled. The town itself wasn't quite worth the walkabout BUT we went on the Valdez Glacier and Icebergs tour and it turned out to be the second most significant tour out of all the excursions we have been on in Alaska (the first being the Major Marine 7.5 hour tour mentioned above).

 

Hubbard Glacier: we will stay on the Spirit for this one

 

Skagway: nothing booked yet.  We dock at Ore dock again and will likely walk to Yakutania point and watch planes at the airport (and maybe see salmon) before going to the Klondike Brewing Company for a brewski or two for dad.

 

Juneau: nothing booked yet

 

Ketchikan: private excursion through Ketchikan Photo Safari. We had excellent Halibut n chips at this new restaurant called Ketchikan Crab & Go, which is directly opposite to the well known The Alaskan Fish House (next to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show). We had gone to the latter but it was busy and there was a queue, but when I turned my head around and saw the Crab & Go I said let's try that. The halibut was so tasty and quite moist (the halibut we had in Juneau was dry). When we were leaving I noticed some notices that that place was new - opened just a month before. I congratulated the owner. I understand you don't eat fish but I am thinking your Dad might like it.

 

@Seas2mountains check out the NCL excursion that does both the whale watching and the bear viewing in Icy Strait Point.  We both loved it the two times we did it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See my comments in red above.

 

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by bluesea777

[bluesea777]

40 minutes ago, NanaAnn23 said:

Thanks so much.  I did find them and downloaded most of them.  Just like to make sure I have proper attire, etc.  Thanks again to all of you for your very helpful information!  Happy cruising! 

 

No formal wear at all. 

 

 

[Seas2mountains]

@bluesea777 Thank you so much for your additional comments and recommendations to add to @YVRteacher recommendations!  These are greatly appreciated!   

 

We do have the whale watching and marine mammals excursion booked now for our first stop at ISP. I will go to the shore excursion desk to see if the one you mentioned is available for us to make a change or to book for our second stop.  Since ISP was recently added as a stop for the second cruise, there currently are not any excursions available  to book online as of today.

We also had a great experience with Major Marine but did the 6 hour tour.  Seward is my favorite cruise port in North America - so far.

[Sugar Magnolia]

@YVRteacher though I was unable to sample Lee’s Donuts in Vancouver or the huckleberry truffles at Alaskan Fudge in Juneau, I devoured the huckleberry donuts at Icy Strait Point. I do not know how I managed to live without them all this time and now unsure how I shall live without them.

 

Also, I know you were wondering why Handsome Rob did not like ISP. He mentioned that ISP is great if you have an excursion booked but otherwise, he preferred the other Alaskan ports as he found them more interesting. 

 

Like another poster, I booked the ZipRider at ISP and had a blast. Since I am a bit of a lightweight, I was twisting in the wind on the way down, but I was also able to descend slower than the other riders and stretched out my 90 seconds a bit longer. 

 

Looking forward to your Spirit review in a few weeks.

[bluesea777]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Like another poster, I booked the ZipRider at ISP and had a blast. Since I am a bit of a lightweight, I was twisting in the wind on the way down, but I was also able to descend slower than the other riders and stretched out my 90 seconds a bit longer. 

 

If you find yourself twisting, put your arm out and you’ll twist back. If you twist to the left, put your right arm out, vice versa.

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

3 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

If you find yourself twisting, put your arm out and you’ll twist back. If you twist to the left, put your right arm out, vice versa.

 

 

Yes I was instructed to do that but my skinny arm wasn't strong enough and had no effect 😅

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by Sugar Magnolia

[YVRteacher]

On 6/19/2023 at 5:52 PM, Sugar Magnolia said:

@YVRteacher though I was unable to sample Lee’s Donuts in Vancouver or the huckleberry truffles at Alaskan Fudge in Juneau, I devoured the huckleberry donuts at Icy Strait Point. I do not know how I managed to live without them all this time and now unsure how I shall live without them.

 

Also, I know you were wondering why Handsome Rob did not like ISP. He mentioned that ISP is great if you have an excursion booked but otherwise, he preferred the other Alaskan ports as he found them more interesting. 

 

Like another poster, I booked the ZipRider at ISP and had a blast. Since I am a bit of a lightweight, I was twisting in the wind on the way down, but I was also able to descend slower than the other riders and stretched out my 90 seconds a bit longer. 

 

Looking forward to your Spirit review in a few weeks.

Tell me more about the huckleberry donuts! I’ve smelled the donuts in ISP but never purchased.

[Sugar Magnolia]

5 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Tell me more about the huckleberry donuts! I’ve smelled the donuts in ISP but never purchased.

They were fresh and yummy but not cheap at $9 for a dozen mini donuts. There were many flavors; you can order one or two flavors. I opted for 6 huckleberry and 6 maple. For a very brief moment I thought I might have to give some away or heaven forbid throw some away before boarding the ship, but somehow I managed to inhale the entire batch without hesitation. 

 

 

[NanaAnn23]

YVRteacher....Do you know if we are allowed to decorate our doors on the Jewel?  We did for osme of our cruises and others were told it was not allowed.  Having a special birthday (much like your dad) and anniversary!  Just wanted to decorate if it is allowed!  Thanks for the response.  You are soo helpful.  

[NanaAnn23]

YVRteacher....One more question.  We have several hours post cruise in Vancouver before departing.  Any recommendations for a city tour either through the cruise or on our own?  

[pjc49]

NCL takes decorations down and throw them away if you do..  I was very surprised as other lines allow you to put name tags (magnetic) on the doors as well as some allow full decorations.  I would have thought they would have at least put them in the room with a note saying not allowed.

 

I also have the same question:  NCL tour of Vancouver is full.  Is there one anyone recommends?

[YVRteacher]

16 minutes ago, pjc49 said:

NCL takes decorations down and throw them away if you do..  I was very surprised as other lines allow you to put name tags (magnetic) on the doors as well as some allow full decorations.  I would have thought they would have at least put them in the room with a note saying not allowed.

 

I also have the same question:  NCL tour of Vancouver is full.  Is there one anyone recommends?

No they don’t. They would never throw away something that belonged to a passenger. Don’t make stuff up.

[YVRteacher]

8 hours ago, NanaAnn23 said:

YVRteacher....Do you know if we are allowed to decorate our doors on the Jewel?  We did for osme of our cruises and others were told it was not allowed.  Having a special birthday (much like your dad) and anniversary!  Just wanted to decorate if it is allowed!  Thanks for the response.  You are soo helpful.  

Yes, they allow door decorating on the Jewel. Post-Covid, doors have been decorated on cabins on all NCL ships on which I’ve sailed. 

[YVRteacher]

8 hours ago, NanaAnn23 said:

YVRteacher....One more question.  We have several hours post cruise in Vancouver before departing.  Any recommendations for a city tour either through the cruise or on our own?  

Can you tell me how many hours you have in Vancouver, please? Also, when is your cruise?

[YVRteacher]

For a post-cruise tour, NCL will have an option where you take your luggage and end up at the airport.

 

One of the Cruise Critic rules is you can’t recommend a tour you haven’t been on so this isn’t a recommendation but is a piece of research:

Grey Line offers tours where you can take your luggage on board with you. Their tours include a stop at Granville Island which is my #1 favourite place in Vancouver (I was there today!)

 

https://westcoastsightseeing.com/guided_tours/vancouver-city-lookout-tour/

 

They also offer a tour where you can’t store your luggage on board.
 

[pjc49]

We were on Med cruise last August. We had put up magnetic name on outside of cabin door. I went back to cabin 20 minutes later and saw both ours and our friends in the stewards trash bin. 

Wrote a note about it to agent. She said they do that. I was surprised also. 

[pjc49]

PS. We were on the NCL Gem

[YVRteacher]

The names are a privacy and safety issue.

Here is a photo I took on the NCL Bliss in March 2023. This stayed up the whole week. Note: this is not my cabin!

 

 

[UKstages]

for almost four years, NCL has had a rule that prohibits decorating doors.

 

they say it’s a fire and safety hazard.

 

enforcement varies, but, yes, technically, they can - and often do - take down door decorations.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/norwegian-cruise-line-bans-door-decorations

[YVRteacher]

That article is from 2019.