Norwegian Jewel Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise for a couple of reasons: our two oldest children, who accompanied us, had requested Alaska, and my parents wanted a return trip to Alaska for their 55th wedding anniversary. We liked the 9-day itinerary as opposed to the typical 7-day trip, and we had a couple of Norwegian deposits saved up.
We flew to Seattle two nights before the cruise and enjoyed a full day of sightseeing the day before departure.
Embarkation did not go very well because of the previous cruise's tardy disembarkation, which created a big traffic jam on the sidewalk in front of the port as people were trying to board shuttles while others were trying to drop off luggage and check in. The muster drill and sail-away were both delayed.
Cabin Review
Family Oceanview Picture Window
Our cabin was perfectly serviceable, but nothing special. Our steward left the trundle bed set up between the two twins throughout the cruise for our baby, so we lost quite a bit of floor space. With four people inside, it always felt crowded, but that is the nature of the beast. Storage and bathroom facilities were good.
Port Reviews
Seattle
We arrived two nights before departure in order to sightsee in Seattle, which we had never visited. We went to the Pike Place Market and the various attractions at the Seattle Center (Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Science Museum) and enjoyed them all.
Skagway
We were booked on the train ride to White Horse Pass, but our excursion was canceled due to a rock slide, so we ended up just walking into town from the pier and looking around for a couple of hours. The visitors center for the Klondike Gold Rush NHP is highly recommended! The rest of the town was mostly souvenir shops and restaurants as far as we could tell.
Sitka
The one drawback of our Sitka day was that there were two ships in port, which made the shuttle situation congested. Otherwise we had a great experience. We explored on our own and visited the Russian Orthodox cathedral, the Russian Bishop's House NHS, and the Alaska Raptor Center. We felt that the Raptor Center was overpriced, but did not begrudge them the money because they do good work.
Victoria
The shuttle downtown from the port cost $13 round trip, which seemed a bit pricey considering the distance. We spent a couple of hours walking up and down Government Street and enjoyed the brief visit to Canada.
Vancouver
We boarded a Quick Shuttle coach at the pier and went straight to Seattle, so we did not experience Vancouver in any meaningful sense.