Spectacular

Norwegian Jewel Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Jewel

7 Night Alaska Sawyer Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 17, 2013

Ship: Norwegian Jewel

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 11 years ago

Review summary

I purchased this cruise for my husband because Alaska was on his bucket list. He always wanted to see the glaciers. Alaska is truly God's country. Breathtaking. The views through the passage is indescribable. I would love to combine a land/sea cruise next time. We only did one excursion to Mendenhall Glacier which was more than we could have hoped for. Pictures do not do the experience justice. As for the cruise, neither my husband and I had been on a cruise before. It was a total awesome experience. We both work crazy hours and it was truly a vacation where you can do as much or as little as you want. They have many options available. We did enjoy a few shows and relaxing at the Moderno. We only have a few minor complaints...basically if you do need internet, it is insanely expensive. On the upside of that, it was great to be unplugged from everything. I found out from other passengers that this is pretty standard of all cruise ships. The other thing that bugged us a little was that everything you buy on the cruise as extra is expensive. They do offer drink packages. If you have children I would say the soda package is well worth the price. We tried the Italian restaurant and Chin Chins. We were disappointed with the Italian restaurant with the food, probably because we have fantastic Italian restaurants where we live. The dessert and service was spectacular though and made up for the main course. Chin Chins was a fantastic blend of Asian and Cajun. It was nothing short of spectacular. We enjoyed it so much we went back again. I would highly recommend it. It was unique and we don't have anything like it back home so it was special and we will remember it fondly. The buffet dining was great for breakfast and good for lunch. We enjoyed the dinners in the Azure. Every dinner was delicious and portioned just right. The best part of the cruise itself was the staff. Every employee of NCL was outstanding, very friendly and attentive. They truly made our trip memorable and enjoyable. Many of the staff remembered our names and treated us life family. We definitely have plans to take another cruise in the future.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We liked the sit down meals better than the buffet. But the buffet was great for breakfast and good for lunch. Wide variety. We like our food with more seasoning which is why we liked the sit down places better than the buffet.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Lots of activities to choose from.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
We enjoyed the magic show and the comedy show.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
We didn't bring our children this time. However looking at the program available it looks like a program my kids would have enjoyed.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Should have an excellent option. They were fantastic

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
beautiful ship...always well kept

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
nice value, it was bigger than what I thought so that was a nice suprise.

Ship tip

My husband noticed about the 2nd day the colors of the carpet for which side of the ship we were on. Certain elevators didn't go to our floor. He noticed that if we were on the side with the purple carpet we walked one way and blue the other way. It helped us navigate.

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5
We didn't get to spend much time in Seattle to our dismay. Next time we are going to come earlier. We did walk around a bit in the morning before the cruise.

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5
People were fantastic. We enjoyed the Christmas shop and we enjoyed walking around. We met some awesome locals who treated us very well. I loved the fact that the whole town was shutting down for a local couples wedding. Awesome testimony to the people truly being family in the town.

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5
I highly recommend the Mendenhall Glacier excursion. with the gardens. My hubby who wasn't really into going to the gardens really was surprised that he liked the gardens, Wonderful, knowlegeable staff at the gardens. The glacier is indescribable. Wish we had more time in port. We had to rush back to port so we didn't get to enjoy the town.

Cruise Sawyer Glacier

5 out of 5
Awestruck. Such beauty and tranquility. Absolutely stunning. This alone was worth the price of the cruise.

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5
Quaint and interesting. My least favorite town, probably because I am not a big shopper. They however had awesome excursions that I would book next time.

Victoria, British Columbia

5 out of 5
We loved the big city feel yet it still felt like a small town. Very multicultural. We were more at home here because we discovered multiple book stores. This is more our type of shopping. We met a local author who shared his stories. Loved it....even got some autographed childrens books.
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1 Comment

LilaMac    11 years ago

Yes, this was our first cruise. My husband thought he was going to be bored so he received more than he expected. The views of the glacier and Sawyer Glacier were more than he expected. We went into the cruise with an open mind and with the notion of just relaxing and getting away from the stress of our work and daily lives. So it was definitely better than we expected. We are looking forward to a cruise in the future.

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