NCL Jewel-Tokyo to Alaska live review (maybe...)

[natefish95]

It's 4:26am here at DCA. I've dropped my bag off at Delta and I'm waiting for Chick Fil-A to open. I'm also about to begin my 24 hour journey over to Japan to tour around on land before boarding the NCL Jewel in Tokyo on April 10th, which will then take us to northern Japan and then over to Alaska, ending in Seward on the April 22nd. 

 

Full disclosure up front-I have no idea if I'm going to keep up this, but I figured I would at least start it and try to keep up. If I fall off posting, or the wifi connection isn't great, I'll fill y'all in afterwards! 

 

For starters, I will not be as great as a lot of the other trip reviewers on here. There might be typos. My grammar may not be the goodest, and my pictures may not be award-winning, but you're reading this so you must be at least a little interested in this trip. 

[natefish95]

To introduce myself, I'm Nate and I'm from Washington DC (I actually live in Arlington but claiming DC is easiest), but I'm originally from Georgia and will always claim Atlanta as my hometown. I'm in my late 20s and love to cruise and travel solo. I keep all my cruises in my signature, so I can remember which ones I take. Ever since I graduated college in 2018 (Go Jackets!!) I've been trying to cruise as often as I can. Thankfully Uncle Sam lets me escape my cubicle pretty often. 

 

There's a bit of a backstory as to how this trip came about that y'all probably don't care about, but I'll share anyway because this cruise was definitely not on my wish list or on my radar...until it was. Last summer I got a hefty flight credit after volunteering to take a later flight back to DC. The number had a comma and I only got back DC 2ish hours later than originally planned. I could have used that to book all my flights the rest of the year...or I can do something I wouldn't have done otherwise. The gate agent in Montana said someone last week used their credit to go to Chile. South America could be cool... Or... I could go to Asia. I debated between Seoul and Tokyo, but then I was searching cruises and found this cruise. I could fly into Tokyo using my flight credit...and I could use 2 CruiseNext certificates for a very reasonably priced interior stateroom (including Free at Sea because obviously). So long story short, I booked this cruise about 7 months ago and I've been planning (off and on) ever since. 

[natefish95]

Itinerary

So today is April 2nd and I'm flying to Japan (duh). The plan is travel over land for about a week and then board the ship in Tokyo on April 10th. As fas as Delta Air Lines is concerned, my final destination is Tokyo, but I'm actually hopping on a quick ANA flight down to Osaka, where I'll be spending four nights. The first full day is going to be a "wake up when I wake up" day, walk around Osaka and check out a Japanese onsen (or sento-I forget the difference). The next full day is a day trip to Kyoto with the next day being a day trip to Nara and a food tour. 

 

Then I'm taking the shinkansen (bullet train) up to Tokyo where I'll spend 3 nights. 1 full day is a Mt Fuji trip and the next full day is a "take the subway to different places and get lost" day. I have another food tour booked in Tokyo too, but I just love food.

 

The Japanese ports on this sailing are Sendai (maybe docking in Ishinomaki?), Hakodate, Aomori, and Kushiro (late addition). We then have FIVE sea days in a row, stop in Dutch Harbor (I hear docking there can be dicey), sea day, and then our final day is in Kodiak, AK. We get back to Seward on April 22nd where I have an NCL transfer booked to the Anchorage airport ($75). The plan is to store my luggage at ANC and go to the Alaskan aviation museum or head into downtown. I was in Anchorage last summer, but got there 27 hours later than planned after Delta cancelled my flights, so I didn't see much of the city. I have a big love/hate relationship with Delta. 

 

For shore excursions, I didn't book any through NCL because I didn't want to sell my kidneys on the black market. Seriously, $300 for a 4 hour sightseeing excursion? Absof***inglutely not. Something in the water down in Miami y'all. I'm a big wanderer and have a general list of things I want to see in each port, so that's the plan. It's so difficult to find things to do in Dutch Harbor this early in the season, so I'll just see what comes up. For Kodiak, I booked a half day off-roading/sightseeing excursion through a local guide. Again, it's still early in the season, so if the weather isn't great, that may not happen. 

 

My pre-cruise tours were all booked through Viator. After each one I will (maybe) give a quick rundown of the tour and will (maybe) provide links (if that's even allowed on this site). 

[natefish95]

Welp, that's enough talking to myself on a public forum. I'll continue this review from my phone (maybe). Chick Fil-A opens in 5 minutes (I think) and I board in 20 minutes (I know that for sure). Sayonara! 

[natefish95]

Sustenance secured

 

[natefish95]

The guy in front of me ordered a mimosa, so I felt compelled to join him. 
 

I am, however, judging the person behind me who asked for whiskey neat at 5:30am.

 

Next stop: Atlanta! 

[lepidoptera]

I am super excited to read this review! I booked this cruise in January of 2022 and had been day dreaming and planning. Ended up having to cancel since my niece was due during the trip (she ended up being born a week early so is already here). I was hoping someone would do a live review! So excited can’t wait to read all about it!

[natefish95]

2 hours ago, lepidoptera said:

I am super excited to read this review! I booked this cruise in January of 2022 and had been day dreaming and planning. Ended up having to cancel since my niece was due during the trip (she ended up being born a week early so is already here). I was hoping someone would do a live review! So excited can’t wait to read all about it!

I remember seeing your screen name in the roll call. Hope you enjoy the review and that mom and new baby are both happy and healthy!

[natefish95]

My flight to Tokyo is about to push back. I’m spoiled in Delta One yall. This will be just fine. 

[natefish95]

Let’s see how strong this in flight wifi is

 

[Faulkh]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Love to read whether live or not. Would love to do this one day, not sure I could get hubby to agree to 5 sea days in a row but maybe someday, in the meantime I will live vicariously through you.

[cruiseny4life]

Well this looks like it could be a fun ride!! 

[schmoopie17]

5 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Well this looks like it could be a fun ride!! 

24 hours on a plane...doesn't sound fun.

[cruiseny4life]

50 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

24 hours on a plane...doesn't sound fun.

Oh, schmoopers! He's in Delta One. He'll be fine. The plane could be a wild ride. Or tame and sore. The time in Japan sounds fun! And the cruise sounds stunning. 

[natefish95]

5 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

24 hours on a plane...doesn't sound fun.

Plane is about 17 hours in total (2 hours to ATL, 14 hours to Tokyo, and then 1 hour to Osaka). I had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta and have about 4 hours in Tokyo.

[natefish95]

Good (time of day)

Just woke up over Alaska with about 7 hours to go. So far everything has been great. The Japanese food and the ice cream sundae were delicious. Trying to decide on what to watch now. We might lose wifi service once we exit Alaskan airspace, so I might catch back up with yall from the ground in Tokyo. 
 

zensai appetizers 

 

main dish (beef sukiyaki)

 

ice cream!

[natefish95]

Made it to Tokyo! Taxiing to the gate now, then customs/immigration. I have about 4.5 hours until my ANA flight to Osaka. 

[natefish95]

Arrived in Tokyo early and then spent about 45 minutes to an hour in line at Customs. There were several flights from China that landed ahead of our flight from Atlanta, so the line was pretty long. Before the flight the Delta app prompted me to fill out an online declaration form, which will then generate a QR code. I did not do that, but was able to pick up a declaration form before getting in line (don't forget to pack a pen!) 

 

Customs was extremely painless. International arrivals come into terminal 3. My connecting domestic flight is on ANA, so i took the free shuttle bus to terminal 2 (very easy to find with the signs in English). There is a domestic check-in area located in terminal 3, but it didn't open until 15:00. 

 

For my ANA flight, the app was not working for me at all. When I checked in (prompted via an email) I added my boarding pass to my Apple Wallet, which was a GREAT decision. The bag drop is a bit different than anything I've seen, so I had a staff member help me. You put it on a stand, scan your pass, and then a baggage tag prints out. Unlike US bag tags, where you pull a tab and stick it to the other side, these have a special material at the ends that you just have to press together. Once the bag is approved (by the machine) the door closes and the bag flips into the nether until I see it in Osaka. 

 

I'm flying ANA priority class since it included a free checked bag. There is a special security area for priority and there was no line. I didn't have to take my laptop out and brought through an entire bottle of water. I like Japanese TSA but that US TSA. 

 

I've heard there is a lounge with showers, but the lounge attendant said there isn't. I'll be at my hotel soon enough, so not the biggest deal. I'm having a beer (maybe Sapporo?) that was poured automatically and will see what food I can find. 

 

All is going well so far!

[natefish95]

 

Hopefully this works

[YVRteacher]

Eagerly following! We don’t often see lives from this itinerary so thank you!

 

Have a wonderful time on the Jewel!

[natefish95]

1 minute ago, YVRteacher said:

Eagerly following! We don’t often see lives from this itinerary so thank you!

 

Have a wonderful time on the Jewel!

Thanks for following! That's mostly why I'm doing it since it's a unique itinerary (and you don't get many reviews on the Jewel in general). 

[YVRteacher]

Where do you disembark?

[natefish95]

3 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Where do you disembark?

I get kicked off in Seward. I booked an NCL transfer from Seward to the Anchorage airport. It was a bit difficult finding transportation options since it’s a bit early in the season, and the ones I did find, were the same price as NCL ($75)

[natefish95]

I’ve landed in Osaka and I’m taking a bus to Namba. The bus was 650 yen (~$4) but a taxi would have been almost $50. My hotel is only a short walk from the Namba station…I think. 
 

I already had my Suica card loaded in my Apple wallet, so I was just able to tap that on the bus as I boarded. Super easy

[lepidoptera]

I’m glad you made!

 

The food from your flight looks very good. Hope you get over any jet lag quickly and found your hotel easily.