Live from the Jewel April 29-May 13, 2024: will definitely contain sarcasm and grumpiness

[Suetravel]

5 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Sue ... you're lucky to cruise w. Yvonne & others to see Alaska.  How was your flight to/from ... booked thru NCL or independent.  

 

NYC's pier check-in issues aren't bad all the times, sometimes, a matter of luck & timing ... we usually managed to get thru security within 30 minutes, arriving around 10 - 10:30 in the morning assuming a routine ship turnaround.  Prima's TA last month was an absolute disaster for most, security wasn't the bottleneck despite ship's delayed arrival & delayed sailing, rather it was pier check-in by the outsourced contracted NCL contractors ... they're still wheeling accessible pax off the ship at 1 PM, 3+ hours after she docked.  

Hi Henry

 

Indeed I was lucky to meet and cruise with Yvonne and her dad in Alaska. We been to Alaska about 5 times. Although Seward was a new port for us. Enjoyed the 6 hours tour from major marine tour. (Answer to Yvonne question). We done 1 transatlantic cruise and enjoyed it for the sea days, no rushing off the ship! Thanks. 

Flight out of Newark was early evening but return flight was 10:30pm, arrival next morning. 
 

Next time we would take an exursion with Jaylee in Juneau.
 

I was also lucky to cruise with you on the southern carribean. 
 

When is your next cruise adventure? For this year I might just stick closer to cruise out of New York. Bermuda or New England/canada. We were in Bermuda in late March 2024, Embark and disembark was a nightmare. And last night back to New York we had 40 foot wave. Got seasick for the first time! 

[mking8288]

@Suetravel  Got it on closer to NY ... have another TA booked this Fall, decision deadline is about 30 days to paid in full or move/do something else, not too sure ... our plans - see here ... 

BIL/SIL and 2 best friends currently on the Joy 7 nights to BDA, smooth sailing this week and 2 other friends from old work days getting on as others get off ... Fleet weekend.  

 

@YVRteacher  I know some of our fellow CC'er are happy to see that cookies hasn't gone extinct as an endangered commodity on NCL, but not sure with the latest corporate push, whether this will endure on the Jewel.  Goes back to our bias that despite the newer ships with the extra whistles, bells & money grabs, we still prefer the mid-sized, older ships for the basics.  

Sorry for sidebar post/comments - return to your regular programming while I go back to square one to read & catch up, as I only skim thru some of the pages while at sea.  Starlink WiFi at sea for cruisers, as deployed on NCL isn't delivering on the promises.  

[TheGuys16]

I always bring Antivert, Pepto tablets, excedrin migraine, Tylenol, Advil, Mucinex D and Airborne gummies.  Then the first aid supplies - Benadryl cream, bandaids, Biofreeze.  One cruise, we had to hunt down Tylenol in Guatemala and that’s when I became a walking Walgreens.

[Jordan61]

On 5/20/2024 at 4:32 PM, YVRteacher said:

Spoiler alert: don’t read this if you don’t want to know the truth about the truffles from the Alaskan Fudge Company in Juneau!

 

Don’t worry, they are still delicious.

 

However, they are not made by the Alaskan Fudge Company! They are made by Michele’s which is a subsidiary of Spokandy Chocolatier in Washington state. 

 

 

I drive past Spokandy every day on my way to work and now it’s my mission in life to get some of these.

[AKR2011]

I always pack some cold meds, Excedrin for headaches, Pepto for any nausea from alcohol/food, and Emergen-C. Also sea bands for my husband in case he gets motion sickness. And a mini first aid kit just in case too.

[QuattroRomeo]

5 hours ago, TheGuys16 said:

I always bring Antivert, Pepto tablets, excedrin migraine, Tylenol, Advil, Mucinex D and Airborne gummies.  Then the first aid supplies - Benadryl cream, bandaids, Biofreeze.  One cruise, we had to hunt down Tylenol in Guatemala and that’s when I became a walking Walgreens.

So true.. we pack several drug store items, too. The ship shops have limited items and those that are there cost a fortune! Cough & Cold meds are hard to find sometimes so I always pack those.

Edited May 22 by QuattroRomeo

[AmyJA]

On 5/20/2024 at 5:23 PM, YVRteacher said:

I run an elementary school library so our students are in grades Kindergarten through 7. I do have a mature section for the grades 6 and 7s but we don’t have a lot of young adult fiction. They they horror and fantasy which are not my personal favourite genres. I have to do a lot of reading and research when buying YA for my older students. If you have recommendations I’m happy to hear them!

 

I read ALOT of SiFi and fantasy. One YA set I have read and reread is Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall trilogy.. 

[YVRteacher]

I haven’t abandoned this thread! I have to work to pay for my love of (addiction to?) cruising and work has been intense this week!

[ludalex]

Hello Yvonne,

 

I have read your full account of the trip -- very entertaining.  Sorry about the Canucks, but I am a lifelong Leafs fan, so my sympathy is VERY limited!

 

I do have a question.  My wife and I are taking the same back-to back 'Jewel' Alaska cruise as you just did in late summer:  Aug. 19 to Sept. 2.  It might even be the one you'll be taking.  We are interested in Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier, but I can't figure out whether or not the Jewel goes there.  My understanding is that it's on the way to Juneau out of Vancouver, but does the ship actually end up there?  Anything that you know about it would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

Alex

[snickers93]

Yvonne--

 

Where will we find your live feeds from your upcoming Princess trips? Will I have to scout the Princess  threads? We are also considering Princess for our next Alaskan cruise so I am really looking forward to what you think of Princess.

Have a. great end of the year. I am also a teacher so I understand how intense at the end.

Take care--

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, ludalex said:

Hello Yvonne,

 

I have read your full account of the trip -- very entertaining.  Sorry about the Canucks, but I am a lifelong Leafs fan, so my sympathy is VERY limited!

 

I do have a question.  My wife and I are taking the same back-to back 'Jewel' Alaska cruise as you just did in late summer:  Aug. 19 to Sept. 2.  It might even be the one you'll be taking.  We are interested in Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier, but I can't figure out whether or not the Jewel goes there.  My understanding is that it's on the way to Juneau out of Vancouver, but does the ship actually end up there?  Anything that you know about it would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

Alex

Yes, we will be on the same cruise.

 

Endicott Arm/Dawes glacier is not on this itinerary this year. For both of our cruises the glacier will be Hubbard. We don’t go to Glacier  Bay either. I recommend booking the Hubbard Glacier and Wilderness Explorer excursion to get a close up glacier viewing. I also recommend booking a trip into Kenai Fjord on the turn around day in Seward for spectacular glacier and wildlife viewing.

[YVRteacher]

1 hour ago, snickers93 said:

Yvonne--

 

Where will we find your live feeds from your upcoming Princess trips? Will I have to scout the Princess  threads? We are also considering Princess for our next Alaskan cruise so I am really looking forward to what you think of Princess.

Have a. great end of the year. I am also a teacher so I understand how intense at the end.

Take care--

I’ll write the live on the Princess board. Thanks for reading and have a great end to your school year.

[ludalex]

5 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Yes, we will be on the same cruise.

 

Endicott Arm/Dawes glacier is not on this itinerary this year. For both of our cruises the glacier will be Hubbard. We don’t go to Glacier  Bay either. I recommend booking the Hubbard Glacier and Wilderness Explorer excursion to get a close up glacier viewing. I also recommend booking a trip into Kenai Fjord on the turn around day in Seward for spectacular glacier and wildlife viewing.

 

Thanks for the tips -- will definitely look into these.  And perhaps we'll meet on the ship!

BTW, I am quite disappointed by what you wrote about the food.  We were on two other NCL cruises over the past 8 months, both coincidentally on the Epic:  one in the Mediterranean, the other, a Transatlantic. We had no problem with the food overall.  There were issues here and there, but on the whole, we could always find the right dishes, particularly at the Garden Cafe and the MDR.  On the other hand, over the past couple of months, I have noticed a lot of comments on NCL-related social media which echo what you wrote.  Hope to get lucky over those two weeks in August!

[YVRteacher]

We enjoyed the food in the Garden Cafe. The challenges there were opening hours and the lack of food during breakfast hours after 9:00am.

 

I was on the Breakaway over Spring Break and had positive things to say about the food overall with the MDR being a brutal exception.

[schmoopie17]

16 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

I’ll write the live on the Princess board. Thanks for reading and have a great end to your school year.

Can you please post an APB over here on the lowly NCL board to alert your FFF (fans/followers/friends) when it gets posted to be on the lookout for your report?

 

 

Edited May 26 by schmoopie17

[ludalex]

14 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

We enjoyed the food in the Garden Cafe. The challenges there were opening hours and the lack of food during breakfast hours after 9:00am.

 

I was on the Breakaway over Spring Break and had positive things to say about the food overall with the MDR being a brutal exception.

Well, that's good to know.  Do you mean that they didn't restock the food for those who came to eat after 9 am?

[MohrPfun]

53 minutes ago, ludalex said:

Well, that's good to know.  Do you mean that they didn't restock the food for those who came to eat after 9 am?

It sure didn’t look like it.  I was just going through this report again to make notes for our trip on her next week (exchange shorex tix for wristbands at Adventure Landing for gondola in Icy Strait to avoid line, for example and thanks Yvonne!) and between 9a and its closing at 10a, Garden Cafe was a wasteland.

 

It was also nice to reread the wonderful experiences that you did have (birthday cakes and animal towels!) and despite so many issues, there were some truly incredible moments and magical memories that I hope you hold onto, even if Dad can’t now.  The photos are just incredible of you and Dad, especially with some of the amazing crew members.

[BoundForSea]

Hey Yvonne, when you were on did they not let you book the two shows (a rock show and a Cirque style show) shows ahead of time as part of their new policy if pre booking before boarding? I’m Plat and at day 26 went to book online and said unavailable, called and they told me that on Jewel it’s only first come first serve to the shows and you can’t even book them on board? That was your case as well? That was a big w-t-f moment. 

[ihate2cruise]

@YVRteacherI always enjoy your reviews and insight. I am so sorry you had such a less than stellar experience on the Jewel.

 

We are on our last day on board and I have to say we have had a very different experience and aside from the loud drain issue in the spa all were very respectful of the space.

 

All dining venues had good service and food quality we thought was very good. The Buffet is a hot mess seating wise for sure. We tried to avoid when we can.

 

I thought of you often this week and was disappointed for you.

 

I hope your next cruising experience is much better.

 

I know you had mentioned what time you were able to disembark already, however, to save me searching through, would you give that information again. Also, will the train to the airport be running early am and is that a better option IYO then say a taxi/uber?

[www3traveler]

4 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

Hey Yvonne, when you were on did they not let you book the two shows (a rock show and a Cirque style show) shows ahead of time as part of their new policy if pre booking before boarding? I’m Plat and at day 26 went to book online and said unavailable, called and they told me that on Jewel it’s only first come first serve to the shows and you can’t even book them on board? That was your case as well? That was a big w-t-f moment. 

Shows on ALL Jewel Class ships do not require reservations.  The doors to the theater open 30 minutes prior to the performance.  You just walk in  and find a seat you like.

[reeinaz]

On 5/14/2024 at 10:21 AM, schmoopie17 said:

@YVRteacher I found it amusing that they had a sign next to the cookies that said "cookies". I guess they felt the need to identify these rare things since people haven't seen them in a while and may not recognize what those things are.

I know I'm a late responder but if they didn't label them as cookies, some people might think they were biscuits.

[lepidoptera]

Thank you for your thread, I just caught up. Sorry the Jewel did not meet your expectations. I also am sorry your Dad struggled with the cruise so much. My Grand Father had Alzheimer’s and lived with us for several years.I remember getting to the stage where taking a trip was too much for him even when it was familiar locations.

 

I plan on stopping by some of your recommended spots while on the Jewel in a week and a half. Especially looking forward to the truffles. 

[quillwercruisers]

On 5/20/2024 at 9:55 PM, laudergayle said:

Sitting in Anchorage right now.  I probably won’t be doing my own post review, but…since you asked…our experience and rating was similar to yours.  We also canceled an NCL cruise for February and have booked MSC in the Med in the fall, and Princess next April.  We’ll also be looking for other cruise lines to cruise late summer and in Jan/Feb next year. We still have a CF cert so we’re not abandoning NCL all together.

 

Ratings: 5 being best.

Embarkation/Disembarkation:  5

 

Cabin:  2 we were in a CBS under buffet galley (11616) with the sound of running water and rolling carts all day/all night. Location is awesome.

 

Guest service staff:  2. They didn’t care if guests were happy.  They use every excuse to minimize your issue and delay resolution.  It wasn’t until I said I would be there every four hours for the entirety of the cruise…7 days if that’s what it took.

 

Bar Staff:  5. Almost everyone were efficient, friendly, and seemed to like their job.

 

Dining staff:  3.  I think we may have had some newbies so a couple times we got food we didn’t order or they missed items. 

 

Food Specialty Dining:  4.  Portion sizes keep shrinking.  I don’t eat a lot but for those that do, you may need more.  LeBistro filet was very gamey tasting and I left it on the plate. They did remove the upcharge.  Cagney and LaCucina filet were great.  Teppanyaki sirloin was too tough but the shrimp were extra large this cruise.

 

Complimentary Dining:  3.5 We only ate in the MDR twice and one of those nights I ordered the two lobster tails for $25+20%.  They were EXCELLENT.  My favorite meal the whole cruise.  The rest of the menu items were nothing special.  Lots of seafood as others have posted. Again portion sizes are smaller, and sauces/dressings have been watered down.  Even the size of the wax paper liner in O’Sheehans has shrunk so much your food easily touches the table. If you have cruised NCL frequently, the cutbacks are noticeable.  

 

Buffet:  1.  The food choices made me feel like it was a school cafeteria.  But the 1 rating is due to the awful hours.  With the AK itinerary on Jewel, there were so many days where our excursion started early or ended around 2.  Early 6-7 am all that’s available is a continental breakfast, and the main buffet closes at 2:30…which is unacceptable IMO.  
 

Entertainment:  3.  Just nothing above average.  Rock performance good, but Broadway Hits flopped.  I guess NCL won’t pay the $$ for music rights to any top song.  There were very few musicals I could name the songs from. The same average comedian three nights and two movies.  Cirque Bijou was canceled due to weather the last night.  Why they schedule a cirque show for the night most likely to have rough water makes me scratch my head.

 

NCL Excursions:  

Bering Sea Crab Tour, Ketchikan:  5. Exceptional.  I found myself crying from the stories the crew shared.  And the sea life is so remarkable.

 

Discover Whale Watch, Juneau:  3.5. The excursion really is not as described but it was still fun and we did see a few humpbacks.  What I didn’t like is we originally booked a whale watch with seafood fest for $239 pp 5 hours long.  When we got on board we were told our tour was cancelled and the only available whale watch option was $269 pp, no seafood fest and only 3 hours long.

 

White Pass Rail and Gold Panning:  4.  The gold panning was a little hokey, but it was fun to try it.  The railroad ride was beautiful as there was new snowfall the previous night.  
 

Hubbard Glacier Small Boat:  5++. The up close look to the glacier is the only way to really see a glacier.  The cruise ship is about 5 miles away and the small boat gets you 1/2 mile away.  I’ll post a pic.
 

Here are a couple of my favorite pics.  The last one is one “really really want” to see.  Marie says to tell you hello and she misses you!

 

Thanks again for letting me tag onto your story!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marie was one of our Vacation Heroes! Such a beautiful person inside and out. 

[laudergayle]

3 hours ago, quillwercruisers said:

Marie was one of our Vacation Heroes! Such a beautiful person inside and out. 

I watched so many people come up to her the last evening.  She knew everyone’s name, they hugged…and they tipped.  She really is a standout.

[quillwercruisers]

14 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

I watched so many people come up to her the last evening.  She knew everyone’s name, they hugged…and they tipped.  She really is a standout.

Agree 100%. Her and Daenielle. Daeinielle said that Marie was her mentor and enjoyed working with her which says a lot about Marie.