July 2-9 Norwegian Jewel Alaskan Cruise Review

Never done a review before but I think I have a perspective that might be helpful to others so thought I'd do one. A little bit of a delay in posting the review but we didn't get home until Wednesday and I had to go back to work immediately - and you guys know how vacations go. You spend the first three days back at work just trying to catch up. So just able to sit down and get some writing done now.

This first post will be an about us and some general quick hitter information. Throughout the coming days I'll go more in detail regarding different experiences, ports, specific details, etc. I'll post the occasional photo or four as well. I'm also *planning* on doing a YouTube video with different photos and videos we took throughout the cruise as well. Would like to get that done within the next week or so but it's going to take a lot of time since we took a lot of photos and a lot of video.

About us? Bridget (my wife) and I are both 34 years old. We met in high school but didn't actually start dating until our early 20s. We've been together for 13 years now and do not have any children. We married on the second most popular wedding day in history (bonus points if you can tell us the first most popular), 07/07/07. We take vacations for our anniversary every year. I was always steadfastly against cruises as I thought they were cheesy. Then Bridget convinced me to take one five years ago for our anniversary and I realized that she's always right and we've been taking cruises every year now on our anniversary since then. We love the value we get from cruises and the opportunity to see new places of the world without having to worry about travel or scheduling.

Until this cruise we had cruised exclusively on RCI. Bridget had done one cruise as a kid on Carnival but that's so long ago it doesn't count. We love RCI and have never had a bad experience there. But I'm wary of being a "Loyal to Royal" kinda person because you can't do that if you don't know what else is out there. I'm loyal to my checkbook. And since NCL was a good bit cheaper for us after combining all of the factors, we decided to take the plunge. Glad we did if for no other than to get a different experience.

Thanks in advance for this review!

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Looking forward to your review.

We’ll be on the end of July. Looking forward to hearing about your cruise.

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Some general "quick hitter" information for people that might not want to read the full review. We'll go more in detail about individual ports and individual shows, meals, etc. later on.

I tried not to go into the cruise with a "Compare NCL vs RCI" mentality but that's just human nature. And since I feel like that might be a helpful perspective for others, I'll include comments from time to time about that as well.

Travel/Pre-Cruise

We flew into Anchorage after a really long day of flying from Atlanta, GA. Took about 22 hours of travel including layovers. We stayed at Camai Bed & Breakfast which we highly recommend. We spent one day in Anchorage before the cruise and enjoyed the city. We then took the train to Seward. We booked it through Norwegian. I suppose we could have saved some money by booking it independently but I liked the security of booking through the line for that. I'd recommend the train as it was a great experience, but man it's a long ride. About 4-5 hours and while we knew that going in, that last two hours really drug on.

Embarkation

The process of checking in with NCL at the airport for the train ride was very smooth. Took maybe 10 minutes tops and then we waited for the train. They took our luggage at the airport and that went very smooth. Bags were already at our room by the time we boarded the ships. But Embarkation was my one major problem on this cruise. There was a sign at the NCL check-in at the airport that since we were at a remote location we would need to go to Guest Services in the first 24 hours on the ship and check-in with our credit card. This was our first time doing remote check-in on any cruise so I figure this is across all lines but not sure. It makes sense, except to say that with RCI I know the online check-in you do prior to the cruise you give your credit card info so maybe you don't have to do so with RCI?

I saw the sign and thought of what a madhouse Guest Services would be on the first day of a cruise. But no worries, I thought. I'd just wait until late the first night or early the second day to get it done. The lines would be shorter for sure, right? So I was pretty upset when I boarded the ship and the first words out of a cruise ship staff's mouth weren't welcome aboard or nice to have you. It was "Sir, you need to go to Guest Services now and check-in". I was under the impression we had 24 hours but when you've got a cruise staff member telling you that you have to go to Guest Services, you do it (or at least I do). The line was damn near to the end of the Crystal Atrium. There were three, maybe four, computers working. The line moved at a snails pace. We stood in this line for 45 minutes until finally a guy came up to us and explained we really could have done this all later. Looking at this line, it was going to be at least another 30 minutes so we ditched it hoping the line would be shorter later on. Nope.

Maybe I'm out of line. But put yourself in our shoes. You've traveled 22 hours and spent two days in Alaska. You've taken a five hour train ride to the port. By the time you've gotten to the ship and gone through Seward security and waited in the line to board, it's already 6pm. All of the excitement of boarding the ship and the very first thing you're told to do is stand in a slow moving line. The fact that I could have done this all later was not well communicated at all. It totally killed the excitement of the cruise. It made us grouchy. I don't even mind going so far as it sort of ruined the first night of the cruise. There must be a better way. Either they need to find a way to make it so that those checking in at Anchorage can give their credit information there or they need to find a way to put *many* more computers and staff members checking people in on the ship. You know that hundreds of passengers are going to have to go to Guest Services this first day, and you've only got 3-4 computers and staff members operating the line? It's just really poor management of the process.

Edit: Another note about Embarkation. They held a second muster drill for those that took the train since we got on board later than everyone else. But on Day 2 morning we had a letter in our door telling us we hadn't gone to the drill and telling us we had to meet the Safety Officer again. That was a bit frustrating since I knew we had checked in at the first muster drill. The Safety Officer did dismiss us from the drill after we notified him that we had already been the day before. Maybe a bit frustrating to have to go through that, but humans make mistakes and it wasn't a huge deal.

Itinerary

Awesome itinerary and the best we've ever done. Alaska is the most beautiful place I've ever been. There was something to see at all times. The cruise days had fjords or glaciers. The ports were great. The highlight of this cruise more than anywhere else as the itinerary. Alaska is a cruise everyone needs to experience at some point.

Northbound or Southbound? I would assume they're mostly the same but I'd recommend Southbound if for no other reason than I think taking that 5 hour train ride after the cruise would be demoralizing. Don't think you'd enjoy it as much either since you would have already seen things much larger and beautiful on the cruise ship before the train ride. So I'm glad we ended up on Southbound.

Entertainment Shows/Nightlife

Not bad, not great. Maybe just a touch less variety and quality than what we've gotten on RCI ships. The lounge acts were pretty bad save for one. Leo on the guitar is amazing if anyone else boards anytime soon. Took requests well and made everyone feel welcome. There was a group of about 25 of us that followed him everywhere he went every night. Everyone else was pretty bad. The piano lounge singer sang so low you couldn't make out any words. There was another lounge act - Fire and Ice maybe? - in Fyzz that was just awful screeching.

Some of the other nightlife took place in Spinnaker Lounge. The lounge itself is really unique and a good spot. But it's rather small and for some of the larger activities in there get cramped. RCI has always done things like the newleywed show and larger gameshows in the Theatre. It both gives more space and makes the event "feel" special. I like that better.

Daytime Entertainment

Not a ton of variation or quality here. We enjoy the trivia but all of the trivias on this ship were just general trivia. We did a few of them and it's just like trivia on any other ship. But we do enjoy that in our experiences on RCI there are different themes to most of the trivias which makes them feel a bit more unique. They did always seem to have something going on in the pool areas so that was cool.

Dining

Again, okay not great. A lot of people complain about cruise line food and I generally try not to. I don't have to cook it, clean it, or serve it. Good enough for me. The quality was again a touch lower than what I feel like we get on RCI. The buffets were generally spot on and what you're expecting. The main dining rooms are what they are. In all areas it's mass produced food so there is going to be very little seasoning and going to be lacking some flavor. It's not bad. It's fine. It is sort of what it is. You can't expect flavorful robust dishes when the galley has to feed 3000 people in the span of three hours.

I did really enjoy the variety of options that NCL gives you for complimentary options. Really unique and gave options. There is a concern that if you try the galley be a jack of all trades they will not master anything and I did experience that. But giving the guests options is probably worth that risk.

The one real disappointment was the Specialty Restaurant we tried. We typically never pay for a Specialty because we feel like it's sort of a waste. But we decided to try Moderno one night. I would expect since this isn't as mass produced and you're paying for it you'd get better quality and more flavor. I was wrong. The meat was dry with no flavor and the service wasn't any better than what we'd get at a complimentary restaurant. We had such a poor experience there (when considering value) that we decided to cancel our reservations at another Specialty later on.

Ship/Stateroom

We thought the Jewel was a really nice ship. The decor and cleanliness was pretty good and we were really impressed with the cleanliness. Our stateroom was 5021 an interior cabin. In order to make the trip work with the flights and all of the things we wanted to do, that was what we could afford. Some people can't do an interior for 7 days and we typically book balconies but we were fine. The cabin was very clean and the apportionments were pretty nice. The shower was the largest shower we've ever had. It almost made me think the room was designed as a handicap accessible room since the shower was larger but not sure.

Disembarkation

We always do self-assist. We pack light and we're still young and active enough we can do it. We enjoy being able to sleep in a bit more and make our own schedule. We did not use RCI services for anything including transportation to the airport. Disembarkation was a breeze and handled really well. We had plenty of time since our flight wasn't until later that night. The walk to the public transportation train in Vancouver was maybe a bit longer than we would've liked, but overall it wasn't bad.

That's it for now. More detailed review with photos and maybe a video or two to follow.

Day One

We packed our bags on Friday and were flying out on Saturday. As far as packing goes everyone hears about layers. We did that pretty well. It was a very warm week for Alaska while we were in the state so we ended up wearing a lot of short sleeved shirts without anything else but we were prepared if the weather changed. It did a couple of times and we needed something warmer.

We needed to keep costs low so the best option for us was a 10am flight from ATL with stops at PHX and LAX. Yuck. All total including drive time to the airport and drive time to our BnB in Anchorage it was 22 hours of travel. We had our first meal of the trip (other than breakfast driving to the airport) at some Asian place in LAX. It was... uh... not good.

That cost me $16 by the way.

Travel was okay for what it was - 10 hours sitting in coach with about 6 hours in layovers. We did get a little delirious at points. We had about a four hour layover in LAX and I considered leaving the airport go get In n Out and maybe a short drive to the pier to let Bridget stick her toes in the Pacific since she's never seen it. But I didn't want to risk having to go through security again.

We landed in Anchorage right around midnight fully exhausted as neither one of us is proficient in sleeping on airplanes. For me it's that I can't sleep sitting upright and for Bridget it's that she can't sleep in noise. So were were pretty well exhausted. We got a taxi to Camai Bed and Breakfast in Anchorage. We coordinated with the innkeeper Caroline throughout the day. She said she's used to visitors coming in very late from late flights and was welcoming despite the fact we kept her up until nearly 1am and she had to get up early for church the next morning.

About Camai Bed and Breakfast. It's a great place we highly recommend. Caroline and her husband operate the place and it's their home as well. There are three suites. Ours was the Peony Suites down in the bottom of the house but the suites are all separated enough from privacy and very large and well apportioned. Could easily sleep four in each suite, I'd think. Here's some photos from the Peony Suite.

Sitting area that also had a coffee machine and minifridge (not pictured). Believe this pulled into a bed if needed.

Bedroom that had a very comfortable bed. Television only had local channels but it was decent enough to watch the World Cup.

Very nice bathroom

Beautiful back porch and garden that would be great for reading a book and sipping some coffee. Fresh strawberries on the vine were used for breakfast.

Exterior. Lovely place.

Day Two

Caroline serves breakfast at 8am every day. We weren't crazy about setting an alarm as we were in need of sleep, but I felt it'd be rude to skip out and we were honestly looking forward to it. We came up to a great breakfast. We don't typically take pictures of our food and didn't want to be the cheesy ones at the table doing it here so you'll just have to settle for my descriptions. We had a great yogurt parfait with granola and fresh picked strawberries, a great egg based casserole, and hashbrowns. Was absolutely delicious. Caroline did have to run quick to get to church but her husband stuck around and we talked with him for a bit.

The other suites included a married couple from NYC who were originally from Russia and Germany which led to some World Cup discussion as Russia was playing at the time and Germany had just been bounced from the tournament. They were leaving after breakfast. The other couple was from Nebraska and they were spending a few days before a camping trip through Alaska. We got to spend both mornings with them.

We went back to the room and slept a little bit more. Bridget slept more than I did since the NASCAR race was coming on and I'm still a fan of the sport and wanted to watch it. Love sports starting after breakfast. Glad I did as it ended up being one of the best races of the year. But once we got moving around we decided to go spend a few hours in downtown.

Unfortunately we didn't take a lot of pictures. We spent the day walking around all of the shops downtown. The Ubers throughout Anchorage were all very good. Helpful people willing to give tips and nice rides. We didn't do the trolley tour or anything like that, just walked around. I wish we had known but there was apparently an air show that afternoon because a couple of the stunts went right over our head. We also walked through a tent market down by the sound that was really cool and had some unique gifts.

We did dinner at Moose Tooth's since everyone raves about it. There was about a 45 minute wait to get a table and probably another 15 minute wait if you just wanted to get a beer at the bar. And while it was good, a good atmosphere, and had plenty of options we weren't incredibly impressed. Didn't taste any better than the neighborhood pizza joints we have here in Georgia. So while I'd recommend it for pizza lovers, I wouldn't say it's a "must have" and worth the wait if there are long lines.

We walked to Wal-Mart (about 1/2 mile) from Moose Tooth's so Bridget could pick up some things. Then I spotted this t-shirt and had to have it.

Only $3

Didn't do much after that. We needed to try and catch up on sleep.

It makes sense, except to say that with RCI I know the online check-in you do prior to the cruise you give your credit card info so maybe you don't have to do so with RCI?

On NCL, you can put your credit card in ahead of time. I was able to do it when I completed my online check-in.

Were you able to pick up any US cellular signal on the southbound cruise?

We were on the same cruise. I agree with your assessment of Moderno’s. While I have enjoyed it in the past the quality of both the food and the service was well below par.

Cagney’s and the Teppanyaki Grill, on the other hand, were both excellent.

We had a different view of the buffet. Had one situation where the Offucer was just plain rude (contrary to his opinion fajitas or chili con carne are NOT normal fillings for hard tacos). The carved turkey was good but the hamburgers on two occasions were just inedible. The grills out on deck for lunch provided a much better, and fresher, meal.

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Looking forward to reading your review as its lovely to read about other peoples experiences & pick up any tips along the way, thank you for sharing

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review, Alaska is a must see place!

We were on the same cruise, just down the hall in 5070. I'm excited to hear more of your perspective.

Oh, and yeah, the Fire and Ice singer.... a couple times we thought it was someone doing karaoke and then came around the corner to Fizz lounge and saw her. By the way, did you see that couple in the period piece outfits every day?

We were on the same cruise, just down the hall in 5070. I'm excited to hear more of your perspective.

Oh, and yeah, the Fire and Ice singer.... a couple times we thought it was someone doing karaoke and then came around the corner to Fizz lounge and saw her. By the way, did you see that couple in the period piece outfits every day?

My goodness we did. Couldn't help but notice. The first time I saw them I assumed they were staff members from a show. Then someone asked while at Hubbard and they just said they liked to dress that way.

Not for me to judge. If it makes them happier, whatever. Just never seen anything like it.

Were you able to pick up any US cellular signal on the southbound cruise?

Yes in every port. Verizon.

My goodness we did. Couldn't help but notice. The first time I saw them I assumed they were staff members from a show. Then someone asked while at Hubbard and they just said they liked to dress that way.

 

Not for me to judge. If it makes them happier, whatever. Just never seen anything like it.

I agree. I thought it was creative and they obviously enjoyed it. We always got a kick out of it when our paths crossed.

Anyway, I am enjoying your review. This was also my first on NCL, after several on RCCL and Disney. I'm looking forward to more.

Day Three - Embarkation

We got up bright and early for another breakfast at Camai. There were only four of us there for breakfast this morning. Caroline had some reindeer sausage and pancakes made for us. We enjoyed that and spent another twenty of minutes talking to everyone before working with Caroline to finish any paperwork we had. We called an Uber for our ride to the airport. I believe Caroline will give you a ride to the airport if you request it but we didn't.

We had booked the Alaska Railroad train from Anchorage to Seward through the cruise line. I believe you can save money by booking independently but we liked the security of doing it through the cruise line and figured it would help with check-in. There wasn't a ton of signage about where to go at the airport but we got decent directions from staff members on how to get to the train terminal from the arrivals side. They had a baggage drop off point for us on that side so we wouldn't have to carry our luggage over as well so that was nice. We came pretty well prepared with our luggage tags already on.

The check-in process was efficient spare the issue with the credit card once we boarded. Took all of 10 minutes to check-in for the cruise and get our train tickets. An hour or so wait followed for the train to arrive and then to allow the guests coming back from Seward to get off the train.

The train ride was really cool and a good teaser & introduction to what was to come on the cruise. We had never taken a train ride before and so we were sort of excited. It is sort of awkward sharing a table with another couple you don't know and staring at them for the next five hours. That could go poorly if you were across from people you maybe don't like. We were starving throughout the train ride and it took forever to get our food ordered and brought to us. That being said, the salmon chowder bread bowl I ordered was very good.

I could post a ton of photos but this is probably my favorite from the train ride. It seemed incredible then, but looking back now it doesn't compare to anything we saw from the ship.

We got to Seward which is really not much more than the port. Or at least we didn't have time to do anything but board the ship. We got through the line at security relatively quickly but it was a really long line to board the ship. Probably about 15 minutes or so standing in the cold after being hot in the train the whole day. And then there was the aforementioned Guest Services fiasco. So we weren't off to a great start.

Finally to get on this thing!

After waiting in line at Guest Services for about 45 minutes we finally decided to ditch it as we were absolutely starving. We walked by our room to see if our luggage was there and it was. We also met our stateroom attendant Chris who did a wonderful job throughout the cruise. Chris was visibly present it seemed like 24/7. We prefer the Houdini types but he wasn't overbearing. We then took off to the buffet since we were again starving and exhausted and didn't want to deal with servers. In my experiences the buffets seem to be better on the first day than any other day - almost like they know first impressions are important. That was the case here as well. I can't remember what we got, and it might be because we were both starving, but we both enjoyed the buffet this night.

Then it was time to head off to the 2nd Muster Drill in the theatre. I liked that it was indoors and the drill was pretty efficient. There was an issue with check in that we were made aware of the next morning.

We didn't go see any shows or entertainment. We hung out on the ship while we departed as that's always a cool moment. By time we went back to the room and unpacked it was probably close to 10:30pm or so and we were just beat. We decided to pass out and try to catch up on some sleep.

Great review so far. I'm looking forward to more.

where is the rest?