Alaska was amazing, Norwegian not so much
Norwegian Jewel Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
7 Night Alaska Sawyer Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: July 16, 2016
Ship: Norwegian Jewel
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 4589
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Alaska was absolutely beautiful, we spent maximum time possible in port. The time on the boat was not as exciting. The majority of the staff does not speak English which became pretty frustrating. There were a LOT of children on the cruise which made finding a quiet spot to enjoy the scenery a real challenge. We managed to find a quiet sun deck on the very top of the ship; however, they closed the entire deck down during the tour of Sawyer Glacier for the "Haven" guests. I felt that was uncalled for as the public access portion of that deck was only about a third of the overall area anyway, and the captain turned the ship 360 degrees so everyone could see. We ate at the Brazilian restaurant one night and were pretty disappointed; waiters would walk right by us with meat choices without stopping even though our card was green and the salad bar wasn't stocked (lots of empty bowls). Food at Azura was pretty good, we ate there most evenings. I'm not sure if it's a Norwegian problem or generally any cruise, but there were a lot of foreign people who were incredibly rude...between the rude adults and the load children, most of the common areas were generally ruined. I felt like there wasn't a ton to do on the boat, half way through our first day at sea I felt like I'd seen everything there was to see (maybe we're just not resort/cruise ship type people). This is not the boat if you're looking for a little quiet to appreciate the beauty of Alaska. I felt that time in port was incredibly short, I would opt for an itinerary with more port time. If I could do it again, I would fly to Juneau and skip the boat all together.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
If you're looking for a quiet spot, head up to the top deck from the basketball court. There are some nice chairs and no kids.