Alaska was amazing, Norwegian not so much

Norwegian Jewel Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 55

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Jewel

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: 8 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

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Very spacious, mostly quiet, great cabin service

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.

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5
Make sure to take a walk down Creek Street and look down for some salmon swimming in the stream.

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5
Schedule a tour through the Ice Caves!

Cruise Sawyer Glacier

3 out of 5
The top sun deck was closed off for this, but deck 7 had some nice views and was fairly quiet. No need to run to either side of the boat, the captain will turn it all the way around.

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5
Try the Spruce Tip Ale at Skagway Brewing!

Victoria, British Columbia

5 out of 5
If you're a fan of ice cream, go to Chocolats Favoris!! Vanilla ice cream dipped in orange infused chocolate...amazing! Also, we did whale watching on the Orca Spirit....great crew, incredibly knowledgeable and nice, and they give you free professional photos of the whales!
Was this review helpful? 55

2 Comments

Rieslingfam    8 years ago

It's Norwegian! Try celebrity next time!

Rokababy05    8 years ago

I think You are right when You say maybe You are just not cruise people. Different strokes for different folks. If You are looking for constant entertainment and are not resort People You should "pass" on cruises for sure. 😎

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