CCruiser08

My husband is Punjabi/Pakistani (I am not) and the Indian food selections on the Jewel cruise to Alaska in the Garden Cafe last year (July 22) were quite good according to him. They had freshly prepared roti and paratha while you were waiting and rotating dishes like idlli/sambaar/daal/ saag paneer/ kitchari served with the usual sides. He particularly enjoyed their lamb curry, but they had various chicken dishes as well. Northern Indians tend to enjoy bones in some of their more stewed meat dishes from what I’ve seen, for added flavor. Each morning they had a small server of chai and I had to fight the aunties who kept cutting in front of me in line to get a cup- it was also very good.

Just thanks again for posting this! Truly helpful.

Just adding my (probably worthless) $0.02)- the Flow water tastes absolutely gross and I am not a water snob by any means. I definitely found the cabin water or filling at the buffet preferable so would consider a refillable bottle an essential item to pack.

I sailed on July of 2022 and they did have a fresh made to order juice station in the Garden Cafe in the morning.

Rum cake 😍

A note- We sailed the Jewel to Alaska in July 2022 and I have to agree with @YVRteacher, La Cucina was far and away our worst specialty dining package meal, the food was bland and terrible. Second worst (if I’m rating) was the Teppanyaki where our chef was over an hour late, but the mixed drinks and the food when we finally got it were good. Am really enjoying this review!

I guess I’m the unfortunate outlier, but our experience at the Teppanyaki was terrible while at Cagney’s quite good. At the teppanyaki restaurant, which had 4 tables of 8 with assigned times, so all four tables were supposed to start and end at the same time. I do not know what happened and we were never given an explanation, but our chef was over 1 hour late. Our table just got to sit there while the other tables were enjoying their meals which was awful. Our chef finally arrived, but the whole experience was rushed and strained and you could tell he felt badly so was just trying to crank out the food as quickly as possible (and it was not great, honestly). The person in charge of all the ship’s dining did nothing, we asked for another specialty meal to make up for it and were denied. They did send a delicious bottle of wine and goodies the next night, but we ended up missing our show and everything. I will never book the teppanyaki again! Might be a one off experience (I hope so!) but that’s what happened. Cagney’s was solidly good- steak, appetizers, entrees, desserts.

The “White Hot Night” was in our Alaska cruise and it looked fun! People wore an array of white outfits. I’ve gotten a cub white dress for my next cruise.

Found photos! I realized I’ve had this jewelry organizer since 2013.

Wow I love the topic! I’ve gotten a lot of great ideas. For me, I love my accessories (earrings, necklaces etc.) and have a great flat roll up jewelry organizer with a hanging hook that goes on all my trips- it’s one of my favorite things. It easily fits in my personal item. I also have a small “laundry needs” bag- a leftover cosmetic bag that I have a small roll-up hanging laundry line I got at Daiso, a small container of powdered tide, stain wipes, safety pins, a sheet of moleskin, a tiny tube of superglue, a matchbook sized sewing kit and a small pair of scissors. I wash and hang dry my underwear almost daily- I can’t stand dirty underwear lying around and the rest of it has saved me (and my husband) from stains and various other wardrobe malfunctions. Guess I need to add a pencil with some duct tape! Totally also agree with a small first aid kit- also a lifesaver if you get an upset stomach, seasickness or a cold. It’s important to check dates and restock as needed before each trip! I have sensitive skin so always use all my own skin/hair products- I keep a set in their own small travel containers ready to go at all times. (Daiso is great for these type of containers, too).

We did the Jewel to Alaska last July, it was my first cruise experience and overall I really enjoyed it. It was just my husband and myself (no kids! They were at camps) and we loved that the ship was smaller and very few kids running around. We had a balcony and wow, sitting drinking hot chai and watching the glaciers was a true highlight! I also saw orcas when I was in the women’s spa of all places, they had beautiful windows. Favorite port was Ketchikan- we did the off-road trail via Jeep through the Tongass forest and then canoeing across a lake- was spectacular. Afterwards we went into town and got all the crab legs and crab fries- hands down, best crab I’ve ever tried.

For those of you who have done the upgrade- Does the Free at Sea Plus incur additional gratuities for bar/dining? I’m assuming it does (hoping to be wrong!) Where are those listed? It’s kind of a hefty charge for the 10 day Prima Iceland/Norway cruise for 2 people, I do want to know if there are additional fees outside the upgrade charge.

I went to Alaska on the Jewel in July 2022 (from Vancouver). I was a first time cruiser and here’s what I learned: - It was relatively easy to book spa appointments during the cruise -They had a discounted massage (50 minutes, was $135 I think) that was wonderful, and they started offering 1 or 2 days in. Attend the spa tour on the first day and they will send offers to your room. -it was also relatively easy to get Thermal Suite day passes and so nice to sit in the hot tubs and relax on the heated stone loungers. Surprise- I saw orcas while sitting in the women’s spa tub.