Live from NCL Spirit 06/21/23-07/05/23 - Alaska B2B Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver

[McKJohnOlip55]

19 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

Good morning from beautiful Seward. We had a nice evening listening to B12 and watching the silly Battle of the Sexes game show. Most areas seemed quiet as people must have gone back to pack or to go to bed early. 
 

We are excited for 7 more days. 
 

Wow, that’s a good amount of drink suggestions!  Thank you! 
 

Now off to pack to change rooms.  We are on the same deck but change sides. 

Welcome to Seward. I guess I should go outside our B&B and see if I can see the ship. Looked like you’ve had a beautiful cruise so far. Hoping it isn’t as rainy as the forecast shows for this next week and that we get to see Hubbard. 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

Good morning from beautiful Seward. We had a nice evening listening to B12 and watching the silly Battle of the Sexes game show. Most areas seemed quiet as people must have gone back to pack or to go to bed early. 
 

We are excited for 7 more days. 
 

Wow, that’s a good amount of drink suggestions!  Thank you! 
 

Now off to pack to change rooms.  We are on the same deck but change sides. 

After your stories, photos, and sharing of experiences I might be even more excited for round 2. Here's hoping for Hubbard Glacier. Wishing you fair seas, bright skies, and fogless days!

 

I'm still learning (a lot) about back to backs. Why are they allowing you to stay on the ship? I thought you had to get off and then come back on. Obviously I believe you, but am just curious if you know what the reason is for this. 

[YVRteacher]

@cruiseny4life I think I can answer this.

 

At large ports such as San Pedro in LA the Coast Guard requires a “zero count” of passengers on the ship before new passengers can board.

 

Seward is such a small port that the Coast Guard doesn’t require the zero count so passengers doing a back to back can stay on the ship if they choose.

[bluesea777]

@Seas2mountains although you're a b2b cruiser, you still need to go to your new muster station, and make sure they scan your cards!

 

They didn't scan our cards at the turnaround point - they waved it off saying we're B2B .... our friend who was with us had different muster station, and they did scan his card .... later in the day we got a letter in our cabin (and our friend didn't) saying we missed the muster drill and had to attend a make-up muster drill the next morning at 10am!

 

Enjoy the second week! We saw the Hubbard Glacier in its glory the first week but saw it in its dismal the following week.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by bluesea777

[bluesea777]

58 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

@cruiseny4life I think I can answer this.

 

At large ports such as San Pedro in LA the Coast Guard requires a “zero count” of passengers on the ship before new passengers can board.

 

Seward is such a small port that the Coast Guard doesn’t require the zero count so passengers doing a back to back can stay on the ship if they choose.

 

Also they don't require the Canadian Immigration forms from all passengers until later on in the cruise.

 

We had to get off in Vancouver (turnaround point of our B2B) in order to go through the US pre-clearance Immigration. Took us about 20 minutes (most of it walking!).

 

 

[vacation44]

17 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

@Seas2mountains have you ever tried an espresso martini?

I have!!!   My daughter made me try one on the Epic this past March and I am really looking forward to having another one on the Jewel in August.   

[Seas2mountains]

After packing, my husband assisted our current room steward to get our suitcases moved to the new stateroom. Our room steward, Joel, has been wonderful and we were lucky to have him for the first half of the cruise. He will depart today for a two month vacation and will return to the Spirit in August to begin another contract. He and others we have encountered on the Spirit seem really happy to be on this ship and it definitely shows with their great service and kindness. Those who are on until September or later are also excited about going to Hawaii.  
 

My husband did tip the room steward on day 3 to thank him for keeping the room clean and making sure we got  everything we needed. After that day, Joel had our room cleaned earlier in the day. My husband did tip him again and you are in good hands if Joel is your room steward. We are content with the change to one time per day cleaning.  As we tend to tidy things up when we know the room steward may be in the room, we can now leave things where we want them once he has been in the room. 
 

We departed our stateroom about 8:15am and everyone was supposed to be out of the rooms by 8:30am.  As we were too late to go to the dining room which closed at 8:00am, we went to Garden Cafe. We have been eating in Onda as it is a quiet overflow space. 
 

We got our new keycards before 9am as was requested of us to do that before 9am but we do have to wait until all staterooms are ready which we think will be about 1:15pm based on the time they were ready in Vancouver which was at 1:11pm. 
 

They asked all guests to disembark at 9:15am and asked again about 9:25am.  At 9:30am, they called about 10 names asking them to disembark. 
 

While we made restaurant reservations using our old room number but need to stop by to ask if the reservations are moved to our new room number. 
 

Here is our view in the nice elevated and angled space in Spinnaker. 
 

With the prediction of rain all day and having been here a year ago, we will stay on the ship but will try to come back again next year. 

[Seas2mountains]

There was someone washing the windows in Spinnaker when we arrived this morning even though it is raining. We have seen the window washers out every day we have been in a port. 

[Seas2mountains]

38 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

@Seas2mountains although you're a b2b cruiser, you still need to go to your new muster station, and make sure they scan your cards!

 

The didn't scan our cards at the turnaround point - they waved it off saying we're B2B .... our friend who was with us had different muster station, and they did scan his card .... later in the day we got a letter in our cabin (and our friend didn't) saying we missed the muster drill and had to attend a make-up muster drill the next morning at 10am!

 

Enjoy the second week! We saw the Hubbard Glacier in its glory the first week but saw it in its dismal the following week.

 

 

Thank you.  We do have a different muster station and did plan to get our cards scanned. 

[YVRteacher]

Have you been to the Alaska Sea Life Centre? It’s a stop on the free Seward shuttle.

Edited June 28, 2023 by YVRteacher

[Seas2mountains]

We are still hanging out in Spinnaker while waiting to get hungry for lunch.  An announcement was made at 10:45am to warn the crew that embarkation would start at 11am.  
 

There have been some new passengers embarking but we saw a lot of crew coming in with several large suitcases. 
 

While waiting, the eagles entertained us a bit as they were flying and hanging out in the area. My husband has gone to the fitness center as he remembered to keep his workout gear in his backpack. I’m still hoping the rain will clear so we can walk around in Seward. 
 

Here is a photo of a window washer and the Eagle. 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Bar servers from the Bier Garten came to Spinnaker at about 10:45am to take drink orders from all B2B guests

 

First drink for me is a favorite and was supposed to be a ‘66 Gin by Norwegian with club soda but it didn’t taste like the ‘66 gin or had too much club soda. Oh well. Husband likes Jack and Di (Diet Coke).  

[Seas2mountains]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Have you been to the Alaska Sea Life Centre? It’s a stop on the free Seward shuttle.

Yes, we really enjoyed going there last June. I do recommend it, too, but we won’t go back this year.  Thank you for the suggestion.  

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I have!!!   My daughter made me try one on the Epic this past March and I am really looking forward to having another one on the Jewel in August.   

That’s a winning combo right there! The Jewel plus an espresso martini!

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Have you been to the Alaska Sea Life Centre? It’s a stop on the free Seward shuttle.

 

@YVRteacher on your recommendation I visited the Alaska Sea Life Center during my B2B on the Jewel. It was very well done and I spent almost two hours there. Highlight for me were the puffins. Still hoping to see them in the wild one day. Been to the North Atlantic and arctic regions several times but nary a puffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

21 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

New-to-me drink.  Dark and stormy.

 

It’s like the Moscow Mule but with rum instead of vodka. I would not order it again as there are other drinks I like more than this one. 

 

I love ginger beer but not alcohol. When I ordered a ginger beer on the Epic recently, I was told that they only use ginger beer to mix drinks. It was suggested that I order a Moscow Mule but request the ginger beer and vodka to be in separate glasses so I can mix the drink to my own liking. 

 

[The Traveling Man]

36 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

@YVRteacher on your recommendation I visited the Alaska Sea Life Center during my B2B on the Jewel. It was very well done and I spent almost two hours there. Highlight for me were the puffins. Still hoping to see them in the wild one day. Been to the North Atlantic and arctic regions several times but nary a puffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There usually are lots of passengers puffin' in the smoking areas on board.😄

[Tyskie]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I love ginger beer but not alcohol. When I ordered a ginger beer on the Epic recently, I was told that they only use ginger beer to mix drinks. It was suggested that I order a Moscow Mule but request the ginger beer and vodka to be in separate glasses so I can mix the drink to my own liking. 

 

 

That's interesting - I love Dark and Stormy but I do order frequently just Ginger Beer.  Never had an issue with that request.  It's either the specific ship or bartender. (BA, Pearl, Joy) 🤷‍♀️

 

Great way around it though - 2 separate glasses - good idea!

[Seas2mountains]

While we were finishing lunch at 1pm, it was announced that all staterooms were ready.
 

We got everything unpacked by 1:30pm and noticed that it had stopped raining.  We took advantage of the time to get off the ship to walk around Seward. We were able to walk for about an hour and get back on the ship before the rain resumed.  We decided it was time to go to the hot tub.  I think the week with cool weather has us acclimated so it didn’t feel cold getting in or out of the hot tub.  And it wasn’t due to alcohol as we had one glass of wine with lunch.
 

It was easy to get off the ship and get back on while new passengers are embarking.  It’s another reason why I love Seward. 
 

There is one outdoor shower on the port side of the main pool area that we have been using as it has an adjustable water temperature knob so you can take a hot shower on the pool deck to rinse off the chlorine without freezing. We still always shower off in our room but getting the chlorine off the swimsuits helps to avoid fading especially when we can’t wash them. 
 

We are now listening to Nature’s Rhythm in the Atrium before dinner

 

All aboard time is 7:30pm with sail away at 8pm. In Seward, people are slow to embark compared to other cruise ports. We will see a bunch of people embark when the NCL chartered train arrives which should be soon. Until then, the ship seems a bit empty. 
 

My husband enjoyed being on the balcony watching an otter play around.  

[Seas2mountains]

3 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

@YVRteacher on your recommendation I visited the Alaska Sea Life Center during my B2B on the Jewel. It was very well done and I spent almost two hours there. Highlight for me were the puffins. Still hoping to see them in the wild one day. Been to the North Atlantic and arctic regions several times but nary a puffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great photos! Thank you for sharing! 
 

I also had fun watching some birds dive deep into the water in one of their displays. I can’t remember what bird it was but I had no idea it would dive so deep. 

[Seas2mountains]

9 hours ago, McKJohnOlip55 said:

Welcome to Seward. I guess I should go outside our B&B and see if I can see the ship. Looked like you’ve had a beautiful cruise so far. Hoping it isn’t as rainy as the forecast shows for this next week and that we get to see Hubbard. 

Thank you. I hope you enjoyed your time in Seward. Yes, me too and hoping we have a great viewing of Hubbard Glacier.  The forecast isn’t good for Icy Strait Point and Skagway but I’m hopeful for a good weather day in Juneau and Ketchikan. 

[Seas2mountains]

Expresso Martini.  Thank you @YVRteacher for the suggestion. It was yummy and like drinking  dessert, too. 😀
 

My husband who isn’t a coffee drinker says it reminds him of the only coffee drink he likes a Mocha Frappuccino.  
 

I’m going to try one of the many suggested by @bluesea777  next. 

[Seas2mountains]

10 hours ago, KDebreuil said:

I see in the program that the 'Sail and Sustain' cocktail is only available at the Great Outdoors bar.  Do the other bars specialize in certain types of drinks? 

 

I'm familiar with Magnum's (whiskey), Shaker's (Martinis) and Sugarcane (Mojitos) that they have on some other ships.  On the Jewel ships I was able to get an old fashioned with a proper big ice cube in Magnum's, but no big ice cubes to be found anywhere else.

 

Also, I think I see Starbucks vending machine's in the photos.  I'm assuming that those are not included in the Starbucks, nor Premium package.  Can anyone confirm that?

Yes, each bar seems to have certain drinks they specialize in making. Henry’s Pub has been the one I found to make an assortment.  
 

Here are the types of coffee available in the vending machine. It’s $2.45/cup and not covered by packages similar to wine vending machines on other ships. 
 

The Starbucks on the Spirit is not a full service one like exists on some other ships. You can’t order all drink options such as iced teas. 

[Seas2mountains]

We had a really nice dinner at Onda earlier this evening. 
 

We were the ONLY people there for our entire meal with the exception of people coming to look at the menu and to make reservations. We loved our food so much tonight that we will use two other speciality dining meals here on this cruise. 
 

My husband ordered Yellowtail Crudo for the appetizer which is like a ceviche and Ravioli filled with beef short  ribs for the entree. I ordered the beef short rib with polenta appetizer which was more like an entree size portion and was excellent. My husband loved his appetizer and entree. I ordered the salmon with broccoli and lentils for the entree and would order it again as it was perfectly prepared. We got spinach and mushroom side dishes to share. As the appetizer portions are so large and the food is so good, we could barely finish our entrees so we could not think about dessert. They told us we were welcome to return later for dessert. 

[Seas2mountains]

After dinner, we went to Spinnaker for sail away. We looked at the gangway and saw it was being removed at about 7:25pm and cruise port employees were walking to their cars. Engines were on before 7:30pm and we left about 20 minutes early as is normal in previous ports. 
 

We watched dolphins or other marine mammals and saw a glacier on the starboard side as we got closer to the Gulf of Alaska. We actually saw some patchers of blue skies which was really exciting. It’s 11:30pm now and it’s finally getting a little  dark. A few minutes ago when we moved to the Atrium, we saw families outside playing shuffleboard. 
 

Here are some views from Spinnaker including the glacier.