Semi-Live from the Jewel, Alaska one way Aug 19-26

[troyphoto]

3 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

A very quick Goggle search says that the airport is 5 miles South of town.  Does not look like there is much  to see or do outside of the airport.  A couple of things inside the airport look interesting but will probably take just a very few minutes to see. 

We can uber or catch a cab if needed. 5 mile walk may not be in our cards.

[zqvol]

52 minutes ago, troyphoto said:

Looks like there is luggage storage at Ted Stevens Airport in the south terminal near baggage claim. Both we and travel buddies have late night flights. So we'll drop the bags and then go explore. What's the favorite things to do/see within walking of the airport?

Ted Steven’s is a very large, very busy airport. (one of or maybe even the busiest cargo airport in the US). There is not really anything within walking distance except maybe the seaplane terminal or The Alaskan Aviation Museum. Your best option is to get an Uber or cab and go downtown for a few hours. 

Edited August 24 by zqvol

[ldlewis45]

Hopefully you won't wind up with Covid after your cruise.  I was on the one that debarked on the 19th and we apparently had an outbreak on board.  One person removed in Juneau with covid and pneumonia (family was allowed to stay on the shop and continue their cruise), another died the last night (room roped off and personnel started misting everywhere).  At least 5 people in my group for the cruise on another platform have now tested positive.  

 

The amount of coughing that I heard during the debarkation process was wild.

Edited August 24 by ldlewis45

[troyphoto]

DISEMBARKING AND ANCHORAGE
(I realized I missed a couple of days. Rather than backtrack, I'll add details to the next write-up which is going to be a recap, and final thoughts on the cruise, NCL, and cruising in general)

Greetings and salutations from NE Indiana.

We have returned home after a gruelling red-eye 8 hours of flights following a napless day in Anchorage.

 

First we disembarked in the giant warehouse of a terminal. found our bags easily and checked in with the Big ACT Bus folks. We got Eddie as our driver. His patter and narration was entertaining and kept us awake... Well, it kept me awake, but I'm a morning person. Wife fell asleep during the 25-mile stretch with no narration. Travel buddies fell asleep then and I'm not sure when they woke.

 

 

We were dropped off by the ticketing area upstairs at Ted Stevens airport in Anchorage. Baggage storage is downstairs next to baggage #4 turnstyle. It's a tiny office, but well run. Easy breezy. The toughest part was figuring out where to put the credit card on their terminal.

 

Next was figuring out the People Mover Bus system to get downtown Anchorage. It's currently the #40 Bus. And there's a stop on the lower level of the airport drive (lowest level is the train connection). I think it's near Baggage #7. Cross to the median with EXACT FAIR.

 

HINT if you're over 60, ask for a senior discount. We got an all day pass for $2.50US each instead of $5. EXACT bills needed, but you can do multiple passes on larger bills (2 for $5). Be warned NO CHANGE given. Save a five$ or a ten$ for this situation.

 

The 40 bus runs a loop downtown, then to the airport, then back downtown. You're looking for the stop called "Downtown Transit Center" at 6th ave and G st. This is where you return to board for your trip back to the airport. You got the day pass, right?

 

We then headed over to see the mall and shops nearby. Some more touristy gift shops are near the mall. There are free downtown maps all over (we got ours at the airport - They're FREE as my father in law said every Christmas when he passed out the latest Indiana State maps he snagged from the rest stop near his home. You always need a good map, and free is a bonus.

 

A block away from the transit center is a pub called "Humpys" and was recommended by Eddie the Bus Driver. We decided to return for dinner. Everything from pub burgers to Hallibut fish and chips.

 

We headed to do some shopping but didn't purchase anything. If you need a beverage and place to sit, the upper floor of the mall has a food court.  We got sodas and a snack to share, and then hung out with a celebrity from Indiana, our home state.

Yep. The lasagna loving feline is a Hoosier! His creator, Jim Davis, is from our part of the state, and even attended our collegiate alma mater...

 

Next we decided to head toward the salmon viewing area along ship creek... yep. We went there.And me without a paddle. Fortunately, my sweetie was able to help me out of the jam I was in.

 

Across the railroad tracks is the Ulu Factory. It's worth a stop. Just make sure you put the blades in your checked bags. I'm sure the TSA has enough confiscated Ulus and don't need more.

 

Behind the Ulu factory is a paved path. Take it about 1/2 a mile to the right and you'll come to a green bridge over Ship Creek at a small waterfall.

 

 

There were only two fish there. One dead on a sandbar, and another looking dazed and confused like he just swam out of that loud rock show on the second night of the cruise.

 

After exploring that area, we made the hike back to 6th Ave. Warning it's uphill for about three big blocks. 

 

Much like YVRteacher's dad, I'd had enough of the walking around in the cold, and wanted to eat. So we got a booth at Humpy's. gotta love a good pub ceiling!

 

 

Travel buddies who eat a lot of seafood, pronounced their halibut & chips very good. Wife and I went for comfort food of a good pub-burger for each. Good meals, reasonably priced, and excellent service. There is a smaller Humpy's inside the airport as well, but their ceiling isn't as cool as the one downtown.

 

Warning: Back at the airport, check with your booking agents for your airlines when you can drop bags off. Despite the airport website saying "four hours" before the flight, United wouldn't take the bags early than 3 hours before. So we sat with our bags in the ticketing area for an hour.

 

Wife and I bid farewell to our friends after getting our bags checked. Amazingly our two bags, after hap-hazard packing weighed in at point-six of a pound different from each other.

 

Three hours later we were on a red-eye back to Indiana (via OHare). We left Anchorage on a 9:55pm flight, and at 9:55am local Indiana time, were back in our car driving home. An 8-hour trip! (We lost four hours flying east).

And I got to see a lightning show in this could system the pilot diverted around as the sun rose.

 

Laundry is only half done, and the essential groceries are restocked. We're both in the mood for a pizza tonight. But, alas, no Dan-the-Man in Maltings to make us whiskey cocktails.

 

The next major post from me will probably be more of a wrap up and fill in of the days I wasn't able to cover due to #%^$! internet on board. It might take a day to pull the thoughts together. And Pizza. I need some good midwest style pizza.

Edited August 27 by troyphoto

[zqvol]

Glad you enjoyed Humpy’s. It one of our favorites. 

[troyphoto]

And another update before the recap. 

 

Monday, wife noticed a tickle in her throat, but chalked it up to being around all the diesel exhaust (the Anchorage city busses had a bit of exhaust make it inside each one). 

After the redeye flight home, I noticed a tickle in my throat. Hoped it was the lack of sleep on the flight. 

 

This morning still had a tickle, so I tested for Cov!d. Negative! Headed out for a more complete grocery run.

 

Came home, wife was still in bed. So I tossed a test kit in the bathroom for her.

 

An hour later, she's Positive! And not the type of Positive that resolves itself in 9 mos (we're just turned 60, that's not our job any longer).

And my symptoms started getting worse. Stuffy head. Slight headache. What the wife said had yesterday but chalked up to the flight. Today, she's the same. with a very mild fever. So it looks like I'm a day behind her on symptoms. We're vaccinated, and have had it before (this is my third time). 

 

So my final wrap up may wait a few days. 

 

Here's some more pics.

Me in my happy place on the Jewel class

 

an inside cabin on deck 9

 

I always forget we're platinum level and get strawberries. By the time I see them, I'm not hungry. Then we go to dinner, and I'm really not hungry when we come back.

 

The mouse-ship leaving Vancouver.

 

Who's favorite drink is this? For me it was OK, but I like whiskey cocktails better. Wife loved it and had a few more through the cruise.

 

A very foggy morning at sea.

 

A boring pic but an interesting story you might have heard before. Our travel buddies are Japanese-Americans (He's dual citizen, as his parents were Japanes-Americans, but he was born in Japan, and came to the US when he was 6). And he laughed every time we walked past this sign. Wife finally asked why. 

"Because that is Japanese slang for Naughty Bits"

I have no idea if that's correct, but that's what he remembers. Though his command of the language is mostly forgotten. His parents pushed him to learn English early on after immigrating when he was 6.

Edited August 28 by troyphoto

[ldlewis45]

3 hours ago, troyphoto said:

And another update before the recap. 

 

Monday, wife noticed a tickle in her throat, but chalked it up to being around all the diesel exhaust (the Anchorage city busses had a bit of exhaust make it inside each one). 

After the redeye flight home, I noticed a tickle in my throat. Hoped it was the lack of sleep on the flight. 

 

This morning still had a tickle, so I tested for Cov!d. Negative! Headed out for a more complete grocery run.

 

Came home, wife was still in bed. So I tossed a test kit in the bathroom for her.

 

An hour later, she's Positive! And not the type of Positive that resolves itself in 9 mos (we're just turned 60, that's not our job any longer).

And my symptoms started getting worse. Stuffy head. Slight headache. What the wife said had yesterday but chalked up to the flight. Today, she's the same. with a very mild fever. So it looks like I'm a day behind her on symptoms. We're vaccinated, and have had it before (this is my third time). 

 

So my final wrap up may wait a few days. 

 

Here's some more pics.

Me in my happy place on the Jewel class

 

an inside cabin on deck 9

 

I always forget we're platinum level and get strawberries. By the time I see them, I'm not hungry. Then we go to dinner, and I'm really not hungry when we come back.

 

The mouse-ship leaving Vancouver.

 

Who's favorite drink is this? For me it was OK, but I like whiskey cocktails better. Wife loved it and had a few more through the cruise.

 

A very foggy morning at sea.

 

A boring pic but an interesting story you might have heard before. Our travel buddies are Japanese-Americans (He's dual citizen, as his parents were Japanes-Americans, but he was born in Japan, and came to the US when he was 6). And he laughed every time we walked past this sign. Wife finally asked why. 

"Because that is Japanese slang for Naughty Bits"

I have no idea if that's correct, but that's what he remembers. Though his command of the language is mostly forgotten. His parents pushed him to learn English early on after immigrating when he was 6.

I'm sorry!  Like I said before, I was on the cruise immediately before it, and we definitely had a severe outbreak that NCL ignored until the last night.  I tested positive today, too, but started showing symptoms that I'd hoped were just allergies or a cold on Friday or Saturday.  I'd recommend testing again in another day or so (the test I took on Saturday was negative).

Edited August 29 by ldlewis45

[troyphoto]

24 minutes ago, ldlewis45 said:

I'm sorry!  Like I said before, I was on the cruise immediately before it, and we definitely had a severe outbreak that NCL ignored until the last night.  I tested positive today, too, but started showing symptoms that I'd hoped were just allergies or a cold on Friday or Saturday.  I'd recommend testing again in another day or so (the test I took on Saturday was negative).

Oh, don't worry. I've got a fever and blah head. I tried to ride it out without cold meds, but my fever is over 100f so time to control it.

I'll waste the test tomorrow, but it's pretty obvious. We're in hibernation mode for the next week.

[ldlewis45]

Just now, troyphoto said:

Oh, don't worry. I've got a fever and blah head. I tried to ride it out without cold meds, but my fever is over 100f so time to control it.

I'll waste the test tomorrow, but it's pretty obvious. We're in hibernation mode for the next week.

Same here.  It got to the point today that I had to lay down twice while I was getting ready for work because my head was spinning.  My friend at work talked me into taking another test, and I'm glad he did because I was certain it was a sinus infection.  So I got to go home early and am now working from home for the next several days.

[troyphoto]

In between Cov!d naps, I decided to go through my photo archives and see what the Jewel looked like before the painted over all of the promenade deck outside murals and figures.

 

Here's a few from days gone by. Cruise was in 2016 Mex Riviera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And what is now the Pitstop bar 13-Mid

Edited August 29 by troyphoto

[Tyskie]

@troyphoto

Feel better - seems to be a common occurrence on all cruises.

Thanks for all your photos & postings. 😊

[troyphoto]

Norwegian Jewel Alaska one way from BC Aug 2024
A Review and Recap

 

***NOTE: All but one image in this post are from PAST cruises on the Jewel (and one from the Pearl)****

 

Well, howdy there internet Cruise people
It’s Troyphoto again. Mostly recovered from Covid.

 

I love the Norwegian Jewel. (That's her off Great Stirrup Cay in 2005)

 

Back in Dec of 2005, in her inaugural season, we sailed on her for an Eastern Caribbean trip. Our first ever cruise. That’s when I fell in love with Freestyle cruising.

 

You can see the list in my signature. Only one non-NCL cruise on the list. We hit platinum status with NCL a cruise or two ago. We travelled most recently with family from New Orleans aboard the Breakaway. I'm not a fan of the Breakaway class, because their obnoxiously placed casino dribbles throughout the ship, and the odour of rancid cigarette smoke permeates the common areas in the center of the ship. That made me really appreciate the smaller Jewel Class even more.

 

OK, I admit that the giant palm lights needed to be retired. but they were snazzy in 2005!

 

 

Whenever I’ve had a less than stellar cruise experience, I’ve retreated to the Jewel for my next cruise. Coming back, always revived my cruising spirit. We tried to cruise on the old Norwegian Dream. It wasn't great. The Norwegian Star lacked the Outdoors. Each time we retreated to the Jewel, or one of her sisters for our next voyage.

 

We did a Crown Princess California Coast cruise in 2015, and were reminded why we loved Freestyle Cruising (Princess was just trying to figure out the freestyle thing, and weren't doing well with it).

 

But that luster on NCL has now worn thin.

 

The Great Outdoors, my favorite spot on the Jewel Class ships. 

 

Something has shifted. And not just with the Jewel.

 

The ship’s layout and staff are both great. I love the layout. It makes soooo much sense. From the Great Outdoors as my favorite place to hangout in the warmer climates, to the Stardust theatre, getting around is a breeze. Other Jewel class ships are variations on that theme, and still a good fit with the changes.

 

When I cruise, I want to do two things: Sit and watch the ocean go by (from the Great Outdoors, with an unobstructed view), and eat good food. My wife wants to go see new destinations. She’s flat-out refusing to sail the Caribbean again. We’ve done it too many times for her. But for me it’s about the shipboard experience.

 

And that’s where NCL falls down. The NCL I came to love is no more. Something in their corporate culture has changed.

 

Follow the fishes in the cabin passageways to find the front of the ship! 

 

When you board an NCL ship, look down at the carpeting. You’ll see why.

Sitting the embarkation waiting area, we were next to a couple on their first ever cruise, and asked us for advice.

 

 

This is from The Pearl several years ago. Perhaps NCL could have included a directional fish motif in their revised carpeting designs they've recently installed? It would help directionally challenged passenger know which was was which?

 

I suggested they look at the carpet in the cabin hallways. The fish swim toward the front. And each of the stairways is color coded via carpet. Aft, Mid, and Fore all have different colors and artwork theme.

 

Well, with the remodel in drydock, NCL changed all that. So much for that advice. If only I'd known. Now that couple is probably still wandering around the ship, lost, trying to find the way out..."there are no longer fish on the carpet. Which way do we go????"

 

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a freshening up. Carpet wears out. Paint chips. Styles change. But pay a bit more for a custom design and put the rebel fish swimming toward the front of the boat into your carpet again. Little details like that matter to both the seasoned and new passengers. 

 

Counting cabin numbers take brain power. Follow the fish to the front is primal brain level thinking. Follow the fish… I know where I’m going. 

 

 

When it came to stairwells, the visual clues were gone. I had to pay attention to where we were before stepping into a stairway. Hit the teal carpeted stairway, or the purple one, and I know which of the stairwells in the ship we're at - But, No Longer.

Most of the décor changes are fine, but the attention to detail of the passenger experience, those extra little tweaks that made NCL special are now just normal décor. Normal is everywhere. NCL dropped the special.

 

While I do miss the towel animals, I agree with NCL that ditching the evening freshen up of the cabins was an easy expense to cut. 

 

Food:
Perhaps continuing with the Free At Sea Promotion was poor planning?

Prices are high everywhere. And Cruising is a market where we lock in prices up to a year or so early. So the cruise lines have to absorb, or pre-price inflation. This is very apparent in the onboard food selection.

 

We expect menus to change. The addition of the standard NY Strip steak option, baked Ziti, and Cesare salad to the menu, meant we have fallbacks in the main dining rooms if the night’s dinner isn’t to our palate. 

 

I tried the NY Strip that was actually a square, not a strip. Once. This has been my fallback dish on every cruise since it was added to the nightly menu. No longer. I’m not sure if they’re baking the steaks? I’m not sure it ever hit a hot grill. There was no basic sear on it, and mostly devoid of flavor.

 

I don’t want to, but I’d NOW rather go to the buffet than hit the MDR based on food offerings there. That’s a shift. We were travelling with friends this trip, and our evening dinners together, after doing our own things separately in port, was a highlight to the day. Until it came to the food.

 

Our travel buddies even admitted the same. And this was their third cruise total, third on NCL. Wife of that couple normally had her phone out, photographing every plate when it hit the table with an excited Oooooo!

 

My Bacon Something Chicken with sweet potatoes and corn from this cruise. I took a pic. Travel buddy did not.

 

She’s a foodie, and loves presentation and flair.

 

As we discussed the trip, she pointed out that she hadn’t taken any food photos this trip. Something had changed. NCL had gone from “Ooooooooo!” to ordinary.

 

To be fair, the Chicken Cordon Bleu was decent in preparation and taste. As was the country fried chicken. We never had an OFF dish. But I ate chicken at dinner three times, Ziti once. I prefer beef. If I’m eating chicken or pasta, the beef dishes aren’t ones I care for, or there was only seafood and chicken. 

 

The buffet, and O’Sheehans were fine, and up to expectations. 

 

Moderno was fine. But the specialty restaurants were always swamped. Being Platinum, we had two more specialty meals we could have scheduled. But we skipped for the MDR to be with our travel buddies, who didn’t have platinum status and those included perks.

So we ate all nights but one, in the MDRs. There, something is off with the food selection, and prep. The magic is dying.

 

Entertainment:

 

A past marquee of the production cast. Before they added the digital displays outside of Stardust.

 

The Theater shows were fine, though I question why there were three nights of the same comedian? 

 

The Rock U Tonight was great entertainment – BUT TOOOOO FRICKIN LOUD. Sound at 95db for 45 minutes is right at the edge of causing hearing damage. DROP THE VOLUME by 5 db. It will still be a good show. OR WARN GUESTS TO BRING EAR PROTECTION!

 

Somewhere along the line, NCL dropped a night of the production cast in favor of a Wheel of Fortune as a “show.” WoF is a moneymaker for NCL, and has usually been in the afternoon on a sea day. I’m not going to go pay to play a game show I never watch on tv. 

 

We loved the added vocal or magician or juggler acts NCL featured in the past. No longer on the Jewel class?

 

So we dropped a night of a good show, for a pay to play show??? I preferred the entertainment on the Jewel class to the horde of small venues/loud parties on the Breakaway class. But even here, the magic is slipping away from NCL. 

 

Instead WHEEL .... OF.... FORTUNE...  we ended up in the bar, and consumed a couple more cocktails than usual on our Unlimited Beverage plan.

The good old days of entertainment  on the Jewel Class.

 

The lounge acts were fine, but again too loud by about 3-5 db for most areas. (Yes, I have a sound meter app on my phone, and I’m happy to use it). That's an audio issue, not a performer issue.

 

Ports:
Starting in BC was interesting. I covered it in a previous post on this thread.

 

One thing I didn’t pay attention to, until it was too late. NCL dropped putting port info sheets into the Freestyle Daily. I don’t bother with the port’s talk, nor do I watch TV, since those always showed up. Handy map to stick in my pocket as we explore each town. Where did those go? 

 

Ketchican: Docking in Ward Cove, and having a bus ride isn’t bad, but two adults (one with dad-bod) in a school bus seat is uncomfortable at best. Try to wait for the “tour busses” to arrive if you have the time. Skip the school busses. 

 

The entire downtown shopping seems to be owned by Tongass or the Cruise Lines’ subsidiaries (the same shops in every port).

 

Juneau: It’s the capital, and has a wide variety of shopping. Someday we should do an excursion. Maybe. Like I said, I cruise to watch the ocean.

 

Skagway: More commercial shops, with some independent ones. Another port I’d take excursions if I return. We did the White Pass railway before, and once was enough for the wife. So we wondered around. Our travel buddies, who did our S Caribbean tour on the Jade with us, went jewelry shopping, and found the SAME gent in the same branded store they purchased from on that cruise, right there in Skagway. Yes, she got another ring from him. Funny how the same reps, the same store brands, the same-same are available in most cruise ports.

 

Icy Straight Point: I didn’t realize how cool this port was until I sat at the gondola stop near the Cannery, while the wife hiked the nature trail. Jack, a First Nations member, storyteller, and keep of the warm fire pit near the cannery chatted with me about how the port stop came to be. 

 

According to him, they are reinvesting their docking fees to pay off the cruise lines for building the new docks. They’re reinvesting their gondola fees to pay off the building of the gondolas. The tribe/village/corporation want to continue to own their port. That’s refreshing compared to the rubber-stamped feel of the other cruise-line owned facilities in port towns.

 

In ISP we spend time only in the Cannery section. IF I ever go back, I’d like to do more exploring. The free gondola ride to the cannery side is worth a trip. We didn’t make it to the top of the mountain ($50 ticket each) but should have used our cruise excursion voucher for it. 

 

By this point in the cruise, though, we were getting tired. Part of it was another cruise, with lower than expected experiences.

 

Hubbard Glacier: Was fogged in. We saw it, but not very close, about 7 miles out, I heard. Glacier Bay on a previous cruise was better.

 

Disembark was already covered in the thread.

 

Overall, I still love the Jewel Class design

The crew is always great. I filled out a couple of vacation hero cards for great service. We only had one clunker of a waiter in O'Sheehans, but the manager was quick to step in. The new guy will get up to speed soon. NCL has a good restaurant team.

 

The menu, and base quality of the food is where I have noticed a drop in its quality. As well as cuts in the entertainment. Really? Wheel of Fortune, buy a card to participate as a prime night’s entertainment? I don't watch the show on the telly, why watch it on a cruise? If that's your thing, I'm happy for you. But I lament what had been a different opportunity squandered by NCL.

 

When we sailed on the Breakaway, we missed the “A Cool Show in Stardust” every night. We would go back on a Jewel class, and had four nights of cool shows by the production cast. And another singer/comedian/magician night each. While the comedian this trip was funny, we didn’t need three nights of comedy with the same guy. Nor did we need a commercialized game show.

 

I miss the comedian one night, a magician or juggler another night, and four nights of the production cast. There were magic in those shows, even if we’d seen a similar act before.

The belt tightening is apparent across NCL. And every notch tighter squeezes more and more of the magic of cruising away.

 

Will we cruise NCL again?

Maybe. But platinum status only works for perks when we’re travelling alone. We’ll use those coupons for specialty dining then. But, travelling with family or friends? We’d rather spend time with them, and don’t want to wave privilege of platinum in their faces.

 

When we cruise, we want to find that magic again. NCL’s magic wand needs some serious recharging.

 

Based other other’s recommendations, perhaps it’s time we try Princess? How long does it take to get to platinum status there?

[troyphoto]

30 minutes ago, troyphoto said:

This is from The Pearl several years ago. Perhaps NCL could have included a directional fish motif in their revised carpeting designs they've recently installed? It would help directionally challenged passenger know which was was which?

Delete this from the above post. I deleted the pic, but not the caption.