Just Retired TN Teacher

My sister and I took a bus/van tour from Skagway to the Yukon. We had many opportunities to get out and make pictures, even at the Welcome signs of Alaska and Yukon. We booked that through the cruise line. Lunch was included plus a stop in a town so we could get a stamp in our passport. Our best excursion.

I was on this trip and we did the Glacier viewing in the morning. It was pitch dark by 7:30 so I imagine they reversed the schedule to allow daylight viewing of the arm and glacier. Ice prevented us from getting really close but view was still pretty amazing.

Our inside cabin had a hand held shower head you could take off the wall. I love those because I hate getting hit with a shot of cold water before the water warms up.

I just got back from an Alaskan Cruise on the Jewel and had a wonderful experience. Do sign up for the meet and greet. We had a small group of 12 or so to show up but it gives you a heads up on who the Management Staff is and you will see them throughout your cruise. We did only dining that was complimentary. We ate at the Irish pub once, Chin Chin once and Tsars once and took all of our other meals in the Garden Cafe or the outdoor area at the back of the ship. We found the variety at the Garden Cafe to be exactly what we wanted. We could try a little of anything we wanted and let me tell you, there was a lot to pick from. There were themed nights like Mexican, Asian, Grill, German, and one night was fish. There was always a stir fry section, pizza, pasta bar, salad of the day, grill with burgers, chicken, hot dogs,etc. as well as the normal hot bar, salad bar, fruit bar, and bread bar options. Desserts were impressive but to my taste looked better sometime that they actually were. There was a crepe making section most nights and 2 ice cream machines open most all the time. Breakfast was awesome too and there usually was 2 places you could get special omelets made. The garden cafe might have been busy but we could always get food without waiting. If the dining room was full there was a section they would open for the extra people.

We always got a seat for the shows and usually arrived 15 minutes early. Don't miss the one on the last full day of the cruise. There are some staff members who perform talent show fashion and I enjoyed it very much. The young man know as "Washy, Washy" even performed to everyone's delight. But if you don't eat at the garden cafe, you will never meet this cheerful employee.

The swimming pool was only usable a few times on my cruise because of the cooler climate but the area around the pool is welcoming. There is an eating area that had some delicious looking food and they did have a couple of BBQ's in this area.

Freestyle cruising for me is the way to go. You can dress up if you want or be casual if you want, up to you. I guess if you do eat at some of the fancier restaurants you will need to dress accordingly.

Before you go, study the ship layout some. But basically, you have activities or food on 6, 7, 8 or 12 and 13. The rest of the floors are where the cabins are located. There are 3 sets of stairs/elevators. Each floor is marked with a number and under the number tell you which staircase you are at, like forward, aft, or mid. There are also signs everywhere. I did not realize for a few days that part of them are touch screens and will go on to tell you about each item. On the room floors, remember that the fish always swim forward. We did spend the first hour or so on the trip getting familiar by just walking around.

Have fun, we sure did.

Traveling on the Jewel in a few weeks. Are there any sugar free options for beverages on the buffet drink station?

I sailed on the Flavia for my senior class trip in 1974. Round trip ticket to Miami from Nashville and the 5 day cruise to the Bahamas was $274.00. What memories.....the food was awesome, the staff friendly and our room for 3 was tiny. LOL. My second cruise will be this September to Alaska. I am excited to be cruising once again.