Alaska with NCL Jewel

It was my husband's choice to cruise to Alaska but I enjoyed it immensely and would totally recommend it. We were reasonably lucky with the weather as we had sunshine every day except the second day at sea when it rained. My best impression was how good all the staff were. Every member of staff we had dealings with were helpful and friendly - even the reception staff, who on a lot of ships are not particularly helpful. Some staff members went out of their way to help us on more than one occasion. The waiters were very efficient and we never had to wait for our food or drinks. I was pleasantly surprised how good the food was and enjoyed every meal. And also how good the alcoholic drinks were - I think the best we have ever had on a cruise. Just don't try the Margarita's on deck as they are ready mixed. My husband was slightly disappointed that he couldn't get English beer but he was happy to drink Blue Moon. The shows were average for cruise ships but there was something going on in every bar every night, so something for everyone. The daytime entertainment was a bit lacking, especially when outdoor activities had to be cancelled because of the weather. The daytime itineraries looked impressive but consisted of things like 'an hour in the library' when the library had very few books. There certainly was not enough going on in the daytime on sea days. We enjoyed the excursions. I went on a trolley bus around Ketchikan and then spent time in all the lovely shops. My husband went salmon fishing. We both went whale watching in Juneau which was Ok but a little disappointing as we mostly only saw the tails of the whales (4 whales). In Skagway we did the railway journey which was amazing. We would definitely sail on this ship again but as it stays in Alaska for the season it seems highly unlikely.

The cabin was clean and pleasant and had everything we needed. The obstructed view was better than we had expected as we had plenty of daylight and even a reasonable view. Our cabin steward George was pleasant and efficient. There was a large reasonably comfortable bed and plenty of storage. The one problem with the cabin was the lack of space between the bathroom door and the dressing table (only about 2 ft in area). Only one person could be in this space at a time which made it difficult at times of getting ready, i.e. morning and evening.