Trip Review: Jewel of the Seas Alaska July 3-10 2015

[jazzdoc54]

This is my first review and is probably way too long. :-)

 

Note:

DW and I have been on at least 1/2 dozen cruises but it has been well over 10 years since our last one so we decided it was past time and since we had heard so much about the Alaska inside passage cruise, we decided to go for it.

 

Originally, I had booked an Ocean view room on deck 4 but decided to take the advice here on the forum and switched to a deluxe stateroom with balcony and am I glad I did - it was well worth the extra cost! Our Cabin, 8658 was located almost all the way aft on the starboard side. The scaffolding for the painting crew is about 2-3 cabins aft so stay away from that cabin because it has an obstructed view. Our cabin 8658 had a great view and I liked that it forced me to do a lot of walking (which I love) to get some exercise while cruising.

 

The cruise started in Seattle and we flew in the evening before. We didn’t have much time for sightseeing in Seattle as we met up with a relative for dinner. The morning of the cruise we did get a chance to stop by the Space Needle for a photo op and we also walked around Pike Street market for about 30 minutes. It was too crowded for my likings but I can say that I've been there, done that.

 

We got to the cruise terminal at about 11:15am. The embarkation was very orderly but quite crowded. Our RC Gold status helped us get through the queue quickly and we were aboard ship within about 15 to 20 minutes. We made our way to the Windjammer for food, and scored a nice table outside overlooking the stern.

 

Our stateroom was ready at 1 pm and most of our baggage arrived fairly quickly. Unfortunately, our one large bag was still missing at 8:00 PM and we went to security to see if it had been detained but it wasn't there. We were starting to get a bit worried until about 9:00pm when our room steward said she had found it on a different part of the deck we were on. We were quite relieved.

 

The first night at sea our room steward (Debbie from Jamaica) and her supervisor knocked on our door to tell us the seas would be rough and we should take some medication before going to sleep. We had brought Bonine with us and each took one pill before going to bed. We both slept through the night, and because the seas were still rough in the morning, we each took another Bonine as directed on the package. The good news is that we never experienced any sea sickness, the downside is that we felt groggy the entire day while at sea, having to lay down and nap periodically. We decided not to take any more Bonine and we would just take our chances if the seas became rough again (they never did). Our room steward was great and kept our room spotless and entertained us with her humorous towel art

 

This cruise, being over the 4th of July had a few perks one of which a giant Flag cake in the Windjammer. Also, at 7:50 PM they dropped a bunch of red, white and blue balloons from the top of the Centrum.

 

We arrived at the inside passage at about 5am on the second day. The seas were amazingly calm. We made our way through Fredericks Sound and saw numerous whales. It was great to be able to watch from our balcony so early in the AM and get some pictures.

I will digress to discuss two items I purchased just before the trip.

1. Binoculars - I knew these are essential for an Alaskan cruise. I wanted something compact and not too expensive. I settled on a pair of Bushnell Compact 12 x 25 waterproof / fog proof purchased through Amazon. Not anywhere near high end (cost about $40), but definitely served the purpose and really helped when it came to spotting whales.

 

2. Camera - Once again, compactness was important to me (I like to travel light). Never having used a DSLR I didn't want to start something new just before the trip. I wanted something with lots of zoom power, and point and shoot ease of use. I looked at several bridge cameras but they were still a bit too large. I finally ended up with the LUMIX DMC-ZS40 by Panasonic purchased at Costco. This camera fit into my pocket nicely for portability, although a good part of the time I wore it around my neck using a quick detach neck strap. I could easily walk around with the camera and binoculars hanging around my neck and never felt weighed down or uncomfortable. The camera did have a little learning curve for use and I found myself accidentally hitting the video record button instead of the off button on several occasions ending up with a nice video of my feet. Most of the pictures contained in this review were taken with it, although I still used my cell phone for a few pics. One other feature I really liked, although I see that most new cameras have this, is Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity. This allowed me to upload photos directly to my Flickr account or to transfer them to my phone for viewing. I really love this feature.

 

Our first stop was Juneau. We decided to take the $20 per person roundtrip bus ride out to the Mendenhall Glacier. The views are spectacular and the hike to Nugget Falls is easy. It was sunny and 75 degrees and actually pretty hot out on the trail. We took the bus back to town and walked around Juneau, quaint but touristy.

 

We decided on the My Time Dining in the MDR and made a standing reservation for 7:30 each night at a window table for two. Our server Agnelo and his assistant Valento were from Gao, India and were outstanding. DW has some food allergies and they were extremely accommodating getting her gluten free bread and making her gluten free pasta as a side dish each night. On day 6, they served a Lobster dinner in the MDR. I am old school and although I didn’t bring a tux for the formal nights I did wear a suit and tie. As others have noted, the “suggested” dress is just that, and people pretty much wear whatever they wanted and that was fine with me. About the MDR : I felt the service, presentation and ambience rated 5 stars but the food only about 3 ½ - 4. It certainly is good, but not excellent. Actually, my favorite food item on the whole trip was a roll that had pumpkin seeds on the outside - they were amazing and I looked forward to having one (or more) every night with dinner. We had breakfast a couple of times in the MDR but mostly had breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer.

 

 

Skagway

I had emailed the week before and checked with M & M Tours in Skagway about doing their combination Train/Bus White Pass Tour. The cost was about the same as the RC shore excursion. The main difference was that it went all the way to Fraser BC on the Train and then the return trip was by motorcoach.

 

M & M Tours has a stand at the end, on the left of the Railroad Dock. We purchased our tickets ($248 for 2 people) and a very nice woman drove us in her own car to the depot in town to catch a motorcoach that took us to another depot from where the train departed. The train ride started at about 8am. When the person at the train station assigned us to our railroad car we were thrilled to get the last car! We sat on the left side for the ride up (as suggested by others here on the forum) and by standing on the outside platform of the last car was able to get some fantastic camera shots (especially coming out of the tunnels).

We got off the train at Fraser BC and boarded the Motorcoach for the ride back to Skagway. Amazingly, we were the only people on the bus! We had this large Motorcoach all to ourselves and had our own private tour guide explaining the sites on the way down. We made a few photo-op stops one of which at the very cool carved wooden sign that says “Welcome to Alaska” and then the driver took us all the way back to the ship where we went to the Windjammer for a quick lunch.

 

We headed back out to the town of Skagway to walk around. It was 83 degrees - way too hot. The stores were the typical tourist type (which we stayed out of) and a few locally run stores where we made a few gift purchases.

 

Next it was off to the main event - Tracy Arm.

Early the next morning we found ourselves in a beautiful fjord. The Captain came over the PA and announced that an RC sister ship from the Celebrity Line had tried earlier to get into Tracy Arm but had to turn back because of too much ice. Therefore, he had redirected us a little further South on Stephens Passage to Endicott Arm. At the end of Endicott arm (after passing beautiful vistas and waterfalls) was Dawes Glacier - MAGNIFICENT! We saw several sea lions resting on the icebergs as we headed towards the glacier. On the advice of others here on the forum, we went down to the Helipad on deck 5 for a close-up view. I had on about 5 layers and a wool cap and was comfortable, although my fingers did get cold taking so many pictures without wearing gloves. The Captain turned the ship so the Port side faced the glacier for 30 minutes, then turned it so the Starboard side faced it for another 30 minutes.

 

As we travelled out of Endicott Arm and back through Frederick sound, we had several more whale sightings and I even saw two killer whales, with their distinctive fins sticking high out of the water (captured on video).

 

The last stop of the cruise was Victoria, BC with a day at sea in between. We encountered very thick fog the entire night and a good part of the day causing the fog horn on the ship to sound every two minutes. The seas were very calm making for a smooth ride and I watched the sunrise outside windjammer, grabbing a cup of coffee from the beverage station located there (on Deck 11).

 

Once in Victoria, since I had already been to the Butchart gardens before, we decided to spend the day walking around Victoria BC. We had a quick breakfast in the MDR and then took the 35 minute walk along Fisherman’s wharf into town, passing by the colorful houseboats on the way. I was very impressed at how clean the city is and the people very friendly. We stopped at an outside bazaar at Bastion Square next to the Maritime Museum where DW found 2 really nice necklaces by a local artist and we purchased a beautiful hand made glass bowl also from a local artist.

 

The prices were very reasonable. We had a very nice lunch on the patio of the Steamship Grill and Bar overlooking the waterfront - highly recommended.

 

 

The trip back to Seattle was uneventful. RC was supposed to try out a new arrangement with the airlines that would have allowed us to pay $20 each and have all our luggage taken directly from the ship and supposedly the next time we would see it would be our final destination luggage carousel. They cancelled this at the last minute so we ended-up locating our luggage with the rest of the people at the cruise terminal. The debarkation process was easy as well as going through customs. The 45 minute wait in the taxi line was a bit annoying and they really need to do a better job with the logistics. The taxi driver told us that they make the taxis wait in a holding lot and only let some out at a time and that’s what is holding up the process.

 

All-in-all a great ship and a great trip. I’m sure the Jewel will be amazing once she undergoes her refurbishing later this year.

 

Things I am glad I brought:

1. Magnetic hooks used to hang binoculars, hats, camera, belts etc

2. Northface winter hat

3. Mini tripod for balcony selfie

4. Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 Digital Camera with 30x optical zoom and Bluetooth transfer to phone and wifi transfer to Flickr.

5. Wide brim hat

6. Backpack

7. Pump soap for bathroom (DW's idea)

8. Belkin 3 outlet USB adapter - priceless! I had this in my backpack carry on. Had plugged in 2 cell phones , digital camera, iPad and kindle. A friend on the same cruise had their power strip confiscated.

 

 

Things I didn't bring but could have used:

1. Gloves

2. Refillable coffee cup

 

Things I brought but didn't need:

1. Collapsible water bottle - I know some people swear by these - I just never found a use for it.

[gardnerna]

This was a very good and informative

review. Thank you for taking the time to

post.

 

Nancy

[lag9122]

Thanks for your review . We just got back from the same cruise June 12-19 I loved everything about it

 

Lisa

[kegsgram]

Thank you. We leave on July 24th. Your suggestions will be very helpful.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[jazzdoc54]

Here are a couple more photos from the trip.

 

The is Bastion Square in Victoria, BC - the outdoor market with local artisans.

 

We bought this lovely 12 inch diameter glass bowl and stand for $65 Canadian (about $51 USD) at the outdoor market and had it packed in bubble wrap so we could safely transport it back in a carry-on.

This is the "Welcome to Alaska Sign" on the way from Fraser BC to Skagway. If you take the White Pass Railway Train ride up to Fraser and the Bus trip back to Skagway, the bus will pull over so you can take a picture here. You could also take the bike trip back (it's an all downhill ride) and get the picture as well.

 

The huge Fourth of July cake in the Windjammer:

 

Red, white and blue Balloons ready to drop from the Centrum ceiling:

 

If you've ever wondered how much food is consumed on these cruises here is a picture taken in Seattle showing the crates of cauliflower, oranges, pineapple, melons, onions, etc as they are preparing to stock up for the next cruise.

[cruisingsince94]

Nice review. Thanks for the posting and pictures. We have yet to do Alaska but it is certainly on our bucket list. We are hoping for summer of 2017 at this point.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the review and photos.

[garts]

Sounds like fun

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[pterp]

Thanks for posting your experience on the Jewel. We are taking her for the final Alaska trip of the season in Sept. As for the review itself, it was very informative and concise (some reviews go on for pages [although I enjoy those too]). Also, thanks for the list of items you were glad you brought. That is very helpful.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review.

[mashy]

Beyond excited we leave in 3 days!!!

 

Thank you for the review.

[Doug S]

DW and I (part of a group of 10) were on board with you and enjoyed it as well. I may post a few of my thoughts/experiences in a separate thread rather than hijack yours. Yes, the weather sure was unusually great. We did not even notice that the seas were a bit rough early. Did not see the Orcas, but did get up pretty close to a black bear on tour out of Juneau.

[BillOh]

This is my first review and is probably way too long. :-)

 

Let me start by thanking you for the effort. I read a lot of reviews and find value in 99% of them. In your case you are using paragraphs, so if you talk about something of no interest to me, I skip to the next paragraph! I don't think you can be too long as I can skim if needed. Enjoying so far.

[sassyredhat]

Awesome review, in content and presentation. Great pictures.

We have taken 2 Alaska cruises, planning another, but I was curious about the Jewel.

We sail on her in Sept., after a long absence.

 

Patti

[jazzdoc54]

DW and I (part of a group of 10) were on board with you and enjoyed it as well. I may post a few of my thoughts/experiences in a separate thread rather than hijack yours. Yes, the weather sure was unusually great. We did not even notice that the seas were a bit rough early. Did not see the Orcas, but did get up pretty close to a black bear on tour out of Juneau.

 

Feel free to post your thoughts and photos here, I'd love to see them. Lucky you! I wish I had seen a bear, my sister had seen one the previous week on the White Pass train ride out of Skagway.

 

The orca sighting was eerie. Just after a group of humpbacks had passed by the ship here come 2 large fins sticking up out of the water....killer whales following the group of humpbacks! I was zoomed in with my camera taking video so I could confirm the sighting.

[jazzdoc54]

Beyond excited we leave in 3 days!!!

 

Thank you for the review.

 

You're welcome and Bon Voyage!!! You'll have a great time!!

[jazzdoc54]

Awesome review, in content and presentation. Great pictures.

We have taken 2 Alaska cruises, planning another, but I was curious about the Jewel.

We sail on her in Sept., after a long absence.

 

Patti

 

Thank you Patti - the Jewel is a great ship!!

[jazzdoc54]

Let me start by thanking you for the effort. I read a lot of reviews and find value in 99% of them. In your case you are using paragraphs, so if you talk about something of no interest to me, I skip to the next paragraph! I don't think you can be too long as I can skim if needed. Enjoying so far.

 

Thank you Bill, I appreciate your comment.

[jazzdoc54]

Thanks for posting your experience on the Jewel. We are taking her for the final Alaska trip of the season in Sept. As for the review itself, it was very informative and concise (some reviews go on for pages [although I enjoy those too]). Also, thanks for the list of items you were glad you brought. That is very helpful.

 

Glad you liked the review - you will have a fantastic cruise!! Your cruise, being late in the season will most likely require you to need warmer clothes than we did. It was unseasonably warm for our trip (83 degrees in Skagway!).

[jazzdoc54]

Here is the cruise route map that was on the easel on Deck 4. I have marked the alternate route (red arrow) we took into Endicott Arm just south of Tracy Arm. Sorry the flash of the camera obscures Seattle, but you can get the idea of the route from this.

 

[alexkrn46]

thanks I enjoyed your review.

[pterp]

Glad you liked the review - you will have a fantastic cruise!! Your cruise, being late in the season will most likely require you to need warmer clothes than we did. It was unseasonably warm for our trip (83 degrees in Skagway!).

Yea, I was checking the average temps for that time of year and we will definitely be packing to wear layers. Juneau averages mid 50s, so I am guessing it will be colder aboard ship.

[madgepadge]

This is my first review and is probably way too long. :-)

 

Note:

DW and I have been on at least 1/2 dozen cruises but it has been well over 10 years since our last one so we decided it was past time and since we had heard so much about the Alaska inside passage cruise, we decided to go for it.

 

Originally, I had booked an Ocean view room on deck 4 but decided to take the advice here on the forum and switched to a deluxe stateroom with balcony and am I glad I did - it was well worth the extra cost! Our Cabin, 8658 was located almost all the way aft on the starboard side. The scaffolding for the painting crew is about 2-3 cabins aft so stay away from that cabin because it has an obstructed view. Our cabin 8658 had a great view and I liked that it forced me to do a lot of walking (which I love) to get some exercise while cruising.

 

The cruise started in Seattle and we flew in the evening before. We didn’t have much time for sightseeing in Seattle as we met up with a relative for dinner. The morning of the cruise we did get a chance to stop by the Space Needle for a photo op and we also walked around Pike Street market for about 30 minutes. It was too crowded for my likings but I can say that I've been there, done that.

 

We got to the cruise terminal at about 11:15am. The embarkation was very orderly but quite crowded. Our RC Gold status helped us get through the queue quickly and we were aboard ship within about 15 to 20 minutes. We made our way to the Windjammer for food, and scored a nice table outside overlooking the stern.

 

Our stateroom was ready at 1 pm and most of our baggage arrived fairly quickly. Unfortunately, our one large bag was still missing at 8:00 PM and we went to security to see if it had been detained but it wasn't there. We were starting to get a bit worried until about 9:00pm when our room steward said she had found it on a different part of the deck we were on. We were quite relieved.

 

The first night at sea our room steward (Debbie from Jamaica) and her supervisor knocked on our door to tell us the seas would be rough and we should take some medication before going to sleep. We had brought Bonine with us and each took one pill before going to bed. We both slept through the night, and because the seas were still rough in the morning, we each took another Bonine as directed on the package. The good news is that we never experienced any sea sickness, the downside is that we felt groggy the entire day while at sea, having to lay down and nap periodically. We decided not to take any more Bonine and we would just take our chances if the seas became rough again (they never did). Our room steward was great and kept our room spotless and entertained us with her humorous towel art

 

This cruise, being over the 4th of July had a few perks one of which a giant Flag cake in the Windjammer. Also, at 7:50 PM they dropped a bunch of red, white and blue balloons from the top of the Centrum.

 

We arrived at the inside passage at about 5am on the second day. The seas were amazingly calm. We made our way through Fredericks Sound and saw numerous whales. It was great to be able to watch from our balcony so early in the AM and get some pictures.

I will digress to discuss two items I purchased just before the trip.

1. Binoculars - I knew these are essential for an Alaskan cruise. I wanted something compact and not too expensive. I settled on a pair of Bushnell Compact 12 x 25 waterproof / fog proof purchased through Amazon. Not anywhere near high end (cost about $40), but definitely served the purpose and really helped when it came to spotting whales.

 

2. Camera - Once again, compactness was important to me (I like to travel light). Never having used a DSLR I didn't want to start something new just before the trip. I wanted something with lots of zoom power, and point and shoot ease of use. I looked at several bridge cameras but they were still a bit too large. I finally ended up with the LUMIX DMC-ZS40 by Panasonic purchased at Costco. This camera fit into my pocket nicely for portability, although a good part of the time I wore it around my neck using a quick detach neck strap. I could easily walk around with the camera and binoculars hanging around my neck and never felt weighed down or uncomfortable. The camera did have a little learning curve for use and I found myself accidentally hitting the video record button instead of the off button on several occasions ending up with a nice video of my feet. Most of the pictures contained in this review were taken with it, although I still used my cell phone for a few pics. One other feature I really liked, although I see that most new cameras have this, is Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity. This allowed me to upload photos directly to my Flickr account or to transfer them to my phone for viewing. I really love this feature.

 

Our first stop was Juneau. We decided to take the $20 per person roundtrip bus ride out to the Mendenhall Glacier. The views are spectacular and the hike to Nugget Falls is easy. It was sunny and 75 degrees and actually pretty hot out on the trail. We took the bus back to town and walked around Juneau, quaint but touristy.

 

We decided on the My Time Dining in the MDR and made a standing reservation for 7:30 each night at a window table for two. Our server Agnelo and his assistant Valento were from Gao, India and were outstanding. DW has some food allergies and they were extremely accommodating getting her gluten free bread and making her gluten free pasta as a side dish each night. On day 6, they served a Lobster dinner in the MDR. I am old school and although I didn’t bring a tux for the formal nights I did wear a suit and tie. As others have noted, the “suggested” dress is just that, and people pretty much wear whatever they wanted and that was fine with me. About the MDR : I felt the service, presentation and ambience rated 5 stars but the food only about 3 ½ - 4. It certainly is good, but not excellent. Actually, my favorite food item on the whole trip was a roll that had pumpkin seeds on the outside - they were amazing and I looked forward to having one (or more) every night with dinner. We had breakfast a couple of times in the MDR but mostly had breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer.

 

 

Skagway

I had emailed the week before and checked with M & M Tours in Skagway about doing their combination Train/Bus White Pass Tour. The cost was about the same as the RC shore excursion. The main difference was that it went all the way to Fraser BC on the Train and then the return trip was by motorcoach.

 

M & M Tours has a stand at the end, on the left of the Railroad Dock. We purchased our tickets ($248 for 2 people) and a very nice woman drove us in her own car to the depot in town to catch a motorcoach that took us to another depot from where the train departed. The train ride started at about 8am. When the person at the train station assigned us to our railroad car we were thrilled to get the last car! We sat on the left side for the ride up (as suggested by others here on the forum) and by standing on the outside platform of the last car was able to get some fantastic camera shots (especially coming out of the tunnels).

We got off the train at Fraser BC and boarded the Motorcoach for the ride back to Skagway. Amazingly, we were the only people on the bus! We had this large Motorcoach all to ourselves and had our own private tour guide explaining the sites on the way down. We made a few photo-op stops one of which at the very cool carved wooden sign that says “Welcome to Alaska” and then the driver took us all the way back to the ship where we went to the Windjammer for a quick lunch.

 

We headed back out to the town of Skagway to walk around. It was 83 degrees - way too hot. The stores were the typical tourist type (which we stayed out of) and a few locally run stores where we made a few gift purchases.

 

Next it was off to the main event - Tracy Arm.

Early the next morning we found ourselves in a beautiful fjord. The Captain came over the PA and announced that an RC sister ship from the Celebrity Line had tried earlier to get into Tracy Arm but had to turn back because of too much ice. Therefore, he had redirected us a little further South on Stephens Passage to Endicott Arm. At the end of Endicott arm (after passing beautiful vistas and waterfalls) was Dawes Glacier - MAGNIFICENT! We saw several sea lions resting on the icebergs as we headed towards the glacier. On the advice of others here on the forum, we went down to the Helipad on deck 5 for a close-up view. I had on about 5 layers and a wool cap and was comfortable, although my fingers did get cold taking so many pictures without wearing gloves. The Captain turned the ship so the Port side faced the glacier for 30 minutes, then turned it so the Starboard side faced it for another 30 minutes.

 

As we travelled out of Endicott Arm and back through Frederick sound, we had several more whale sightings and I even saw two killer whales, with their distinctive fins sticking high out of the water (captured on video).

 

The last stop of the cruise was Victoria, BC with a day at sea in between. We encountered very thick fog the entire night and a good part of the day causing the fog horn on the ship to sound every two minutes. The seas were very calm making for a smooth ride and I watched the sunrise outside windjammer, grabbing a cup of coffee from the beverage station located there (on Deck 11).

 

Once in Victoria, since I had already been to the Butchart gardens before, we decided to spend the day walking around Victoria BC. We had a quick breakfast in the MDR and then took the 35 minute walk along Fisherman’s wharf into town, passing by the colorful houseboats on the way. I was very impressed at how clean the city is and the people very friendly. We stopped at an outside bazaar at Bastion Square next to the Maritime Museum where DW found 2 really nice necklaces by a local artist and we purchased a beautiful hand made glass bowl also from a local artist.

 

The prices were very reasonable. We had a very nice lunch on the patio of the Steamship Grill and Bar overlooking the waterfront - highly recommended.

 

 

The trip back to Seattle was uneventful. RC was supposed to try out a new arrangement with the airlines that would have allowed us to pay $20 each and have all our luggage taken directly from the ship and supposedly the next time we would see it would be our final destination luggage carousel. They cancelled this at the last minute so we ended-up locating our luggage with the rest of the people at the cruise terminal. The debarkation process was easy as well as going through customs. The 45 minute wait in the taxi line was a bit annoying and they really need to do a better job with the logistics. The taxi driver told us that they make the taxis wait in a holding lot and only let some out at a time and that’s what is holding up the process.

 

All-in-all a great ship and a great trip. I’m sure the Jewel will be amazing once she undergoes her refurbishing later this year.

 

Things I am glad I brought:

1. Magnetic hooks used to hang binoculars, hats, camera, belts etc

2. Northface winter hat

3. Mini tripod for balcony selfie

4. Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 Digital Camera with 30x optical zoom and Bluetooth transfer to phone and wifi transfer to Flickr.

5. Wide brim hat

6. Backpack

7. Pump soap for bathroom (DW's idea)

8. Belkin 3 outlet USB adapter - priceless! I had this in my backpack carry on. Had plugged in 2 cell phones , digital camera, iPad and kindle. A friend on the same cruise had their power strip confiscated.

 

 

Things I didn't bring but could have used:

1. Gloves

2. Refillable coffee cup

 

Things I brought but didn't need:

1. Collapsible water bottle - I know some people swear by these - I just never found a use for it.

Hi, thanks for your review of the Alaska cruise. We just got back from the same cruise on the Jewel, and we had the same waiters that you did- Agnelo and Valento. We loved them, and wish had gotten their photos. Do you happen to have one of them?

[hollon]

I can't see some of the pictures, is anyone else having this problem?