Impressed
Norwegian Jewel Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 56
7 Night Alaska Sawyer Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 16, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Jewel
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 9002
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
This was our first time. Love freestyle. Staff are very well trained and are really pleasant to be around, the ship is lovely, the captain is cute…we'll be back…AAA+Embarkation
Actually getting onto the ship was annoying. Lack of signs at the Seattle port had us wandering all over. Emails told us there would be priority boarding…there wasn't anything significantly different until the very end…no shortened lines etc. At one point we came to a selection point (terminal staff) I was told 'you're probably this way' (opposite direction of priority boarding) shouldn't judge a book etc…only saving grace was once we in the hands of NCL staff all went very quickly & smoothly. The lunch at Moderno was a really nice touch. Staff were fabulous.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The restaurants we booked were really good…I can't decide which one was best (Moderno, Carney's & Tappenyaki) so I'm not going to say. We ate a couple of times at The Grill by the pool. Not bad…however the food at the German cook out was horrible…ugh!! Everything was cold & not tasty at all. The bread had been on display too long & was like concrete! We also tried Garden Grill buffet…just not my thing. I guess people are in a hurry or something…this was the first time I'd ever been jostled at a restaurant…very weird…rather go hungry. We did try a couple of other places but honestly Caesar (our butler) left so many yummy snacks in our room it wasn't always necessary to eat in a restaurant. One thing I loved was Moderno for breakfast every day…a nice touch for Haven/suites. Staff there were excellent!
Onboard Activities
We didn't do a lot on the ship mostly because we liked sitting on our balcony & chatting with our neighbors. I loved the comedy show at the Stardust…oh my goodness, a clever & funny comic. I did like the show at Fyzz with 'Fire & Ice'. Great that they had a musical tribute each night…my husband danced a lot…but he also drank a lot too…maybe the two were linked?? Spent time at Magnums champagne bar, no tv's, live music. Lots of places to sit & chat with new friends.
We spent a lot of our time in the casino…so much fun!! My husband got a royal flush at table poker & won $5000!! Pretty sure we left it all there…but still tremendous fun!
Entertainment
Only saw two shows…the comedienne was extremely good…we really loved the various musicians around the ship, particularly 'Fire & Ice'.
Service and Staff
This was our first cruise…we arrived very stressed from our home in FL after hurricane Irma hit (left FL still with no power after a week) I wasn't even sure if I could relax enough to enjoy everything. I have to say once we met Bowen & were taken on board…we were off!!
Our concierge Bowen was there whenever we needed him, even when we didn't know we needed him! He encouraged us to get involved with activities & entertainment on board. Made sure we knew where to be for shore excursions, made sure we were ON TIME!! At one point we hadn't been out of our room for the whole day…my husband wasn't feeling well…Bowen came to our room to make sure we were ok…just amazing service. Caesar, our butler was super nice…making sure we had everything we needed. Coming back to the room after on-shore excursions to find his tasty treats waiting was lovely. He was literally a phone call away…always available. Our cabin was beautifully made-up & cleaned every day by Charlton, our steward. He is so dedicated to what he does, a friendly, helpful man…nothing was too much trouble. Both my husband & I read the reviews about 'indifferent' & 'unhelpful' staff & honestly did not find this at all…what we really loved was the friendliness to cruisers & each other…they appear to really like their jobs, even though their hours are long & hard. A credit to NCL.
Ship Quality
We loved the ship…so pretty. The aisles/staircases were wide enough that we never felt crowded. The decor was nice, the seating comfortable & plenty of it everywhere you went. We heard this ship was showing its age but honestly didn't really feel that…of course this was our first cruise so we have nothing to compare it to. Our room was always spotless as we're the common areas of the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
The size of our cabin was perfect…we decided that in the future this is the only way to sail. We like space & I'm a bit of a neat freak (easy for our steward…never any mess to negotiate around). I really liked the separate vanity area, it free's up the bathroom & makes getting ready quicker & more comfortable. Our balcony was fabulous, we spent a lot of time relaxing on it & using it as our viewing station (binoculars in hand). The bed was incredibly comfortable & fresh every day…kudos to Charlton for keeping it so beautiful & clean.
Ship tip
Think of The Jewel as a lovely resort…explore & take advantage of what's on offer…if you're bored…it's because you're boring!
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Ports of call
We arrived a day ahead of our cruise & were able to visit the Pike St Market…(Sat) amazing!! I bought the biggest bouquet of flowers for $20 for the ship (the fragrance in my cabin was amazing for days). We had lunch, we had drinks..we had a great time in Seattle…(stayed at the Marriot on the quay side). Would def recommend going a day early & spending time in Seattle!!
Our excursion was cancelled (Rainforest zip-line) at the last minute because of lack of interest…disappointing. When we got off the ship the zip line people were there & couldn't understand why there was no interest on the ship but couldn't help us until later (not possible, ship was leaving in 5 hrs) because for this time they were fully booked. In the end we booked a sea-plane trip to the Misty Fjords…only to discover we weren't actually going to the fjords…they said it was too foggy…flew over the mountains…frankly it was a boring waste of money…should have just asked for money back. The shopping was typical of this type of tourist place, not really impressed.
Juneau was bigger than I anticipated. Our excursion here was whale watching with an emphasis on photography. Nicely executed. We did see a couple of whales…but not really too much activity…just too late in the season I guess. This was followed by a walk to Mendenhall lake which was really nice & informative…as a zoology major, I'm a bit of a buff so it was nice to spot things before anyone else. Good shopping in Juneau…spent too much money!!
This was our favorite stop. Skagway still has the look & feel of an old prospecting town…parts of it contrived, but most of it not… great stores/bars with an old-world feel. The whole place is nestled in the valley between huge snow-capped mountains…just really beautiful. You can walk the entire length of the town in 30mins (if you don't stop to shop/drink/eat…impossible). Our excursion was a hoot…zipping along the fjords in a zodiac boat with Ashley (captain) & Allissa (guide). We got up close & personal with waterfalls & eagles…breataking!!
Very, very touristy…I was excited to visit the Empress Hotel for afternoon tea…are you kidding me…$75 per person!!! I'm not a cheapskate…that's just ridiculous…it's not Claridges in London…it's not the Waldorf in New York…neither of these great hotels charge that much…I did shop for clothes…not expensive at all…but not super quality, nothing to differentiate their products from anywhere in US…just nothing different or amazing. Took forever to get a taxi back…not worth a visit!
Disembarkation
As usual, Bowen had everything under control. The color coding of bag-tags & placement for collection of bags in priority area worked really well. We were able to have a leisurely breakfast at Modernos' then head down to Chin Chin to be escorted off the ship before the mad rush began. We were staying at the Marriot for an additional day across from the dock…so just got our bags and walked over…because disembarkation was so easy & quick we were enjoying our second cup of coffee by 10:30 in Seattle.
Traveler Photos
