Decent cruise, don't book through BJ's travel... Lots of misinformation

Item: Norwegian Jewel
Rating: 3.8
Author: brandincarroll

Norwegian Jewel Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

brandincarroll

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 13

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska: Hubbard Glacier & Skagway (Vancouver To Seward)

Sail date: July 08, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Jewel

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 4511

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 months ago

Review summary

Cruise was nice but we will never book through again. 1-They did not save the first cruise we wanted and we lost that cruise. 2-I was going to pick a room on deck 8 or 9 and the travel agent talked me out of it and told me to do a guaranteed room instead. She told me it would save money and we would be guaranteed a room on deck 8 or 9. This was false information and we were given a room on deck 4 and could not change it.3-I specifically asked how far away the airport was from Seward where the cruise ended, before I booked it. She told me 10 minutes away. This was also false information as the airport was a very expensive 3.5hr-4 train and taxi ride away in Anchorage, an extra expense I was not prepared for. 4-We were told we qualified for the free welcome aboard package, consisting of wine, chocolate covered strawberries and a12 pack of water. Even after asking guest services in the ship, we never received this booking bonus that she told us we were getting. BJ's travel really let us down and we will not book from them again.... Fingers crossed that we will receive the gift card they said we would get

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Good

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Some servers took out r orders and never came back... Never got our full order .. Multiple times. Some took our orders and kept bringing us the wrong food and handed is a towel to clean up our daughter's applied water ourselves and left is to eat in a wet table cloth the entire meal. Buffet was ok. They need chicken fingers for kids.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Most activities were too late at night. Their could've been way more activities at earlier times.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The shows were good, last show was just ok. Melvin was the BEST entertainment in the entirety of the cruise. He gets 20 stars!

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

She loved it

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

My daughter had no sheets on her bed the first night and she was 3 days before they gave her a wash cloth and towel.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Or was hard to get to some places, so was a little small. Dishes in half were not picked up for days. Other that that it was nice

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

It was nice but did not get the deck we wanted sure to misinformation from travel agent. Some noise at night but not too loud

Ship tip

Don't book through

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

4 out of 5

Easy to get to. Really nice aquarium and Stanley Park was very nice. Loud of homeless people near Canada place though.

Thumbs Up 0

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5

Was asleep so idk

Thumbs Up 0

KETCHIKAN (WARD COVE), ALASKA

5 out of 5

We got lucky, only a few sprinkles in the morning then no rain!

Thumbs Up 0

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Rented a car, saw Mendenhall glacier, tacos crab shack 2, and panned for golf all on our own. Very easy to navigate. Great day!

Thumbs Up 0

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Tenders were a bit ridiculous when we could've walked straight into town. Lived the 8 hr Yukon and Bennett lake train ride.

Thumbs Up 0

Sitka, Alaska

5 out of 5

Rainiest day but we walked around anyway. Nice port.

Thumbs Up 0

Cruise Hubbard Glacier

5 out of 5

We got very close to the glacier. It was nice

Thumbs Up 0

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

5 out of 5

Great port. Very easy to get around. Went to exit glacier which was awesome and had tons of time for lunch and shopping before the train out. They had a free shuttle around town but you didn't really need it

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Easy

12 Comments

LauraRussellMT 5 months ago

I’m same as Sogmoore. I always book directly with the cruise line myself. It allows me to have control.

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Sogmoore 5 months ago

I always do all the book myself so I am the only one to blame. Thanks for sharing

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ericbran 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing..

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Gwbigdog 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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AuntPinkie 5 months ago

Appreciate your details. Sorry so many things went wrong. Glad you enjoyed Alaska.

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LivingGood 5 months ago

Sorry for your bad experience with BJ's. I've booked numerous cruises with them and never had an issue. I book with the same agent, never anyone else. Hope your next cruise is much better.

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bubbles60 5 months ago

The Jewel Class ships are great for Alaska. Glad you enjoyed your ports

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TheWags 5 months ago

Oh my, so sorry for your poor travel agent experience! I had always booked myself however, I received an enticing e-mail offer from Bj'S travel. Fortunately, we had nothing short of a great experience with them. We got a fabulous deal during a sale as well as shipboard credits not offered through the cruiseline at the time. Again, a far different experience than yours, and I hope you keep after them to do right by you. Here's to wishing you a great cruise experience your next time!

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cruising2004 5 months ago

Sorry you received false information from a travel agent. Hope that does not deter you from cruising again.

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javawoody 5 months ago

Appreciate the tip

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HeavySeas 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience

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karlgrgurich 5 months ago

Sorry for your experience. I hope you find a good and reliable travel agent.

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