This was a bucket list item in that I wanted to visit Alaska (the only state I hadn't been to) and to experience the coast of Alaska. We did the land portion of our trip first and the cruise on the way back so it would be restful and that it was. The only disappointment was that the route is such that you only see minimal amount of the coastline and a lot of water. An up close view of Hubbard ...
My wife and I cruised on the Jewel from Anchorage to Vancouver. We have now cruised 27 times, mostly on Carnival, Princess, and Norwegian (six times). I occasionally post cruise reviews here, but only when the experience is pretty good or pretty bad. Our recent Alaska cruise on the Jewel qualifies in both categories. So here goes, starting with the good..
Fairly good cruise fare pricing ...
The cruise was the second part of my Alaska adventure . Something I have always wanted to experience. The ports and excursions were amazing , the scenery breathtaking and we saw bears ! We had a mini suite with a balcony and that was a real treat to be able sit out there and see whales ,seals and the beautiful mountain ranges. Our room steward Shakia (spelled wrong) was charming and very ...
The good: drinks, bar service, cabin service, food service (but not universally food quality) embarkation, disembarkation. Five for free.
The mediocre: food everywhere except Cagney's and La Cucina (and the one lunch we had in the main dining room). Especially the oily yellow lab that passes for low-rent velveeta, which is as close to cheese as you get in an omelette or on a burger. Also, ...
Beautiful ship, well appointed. All bars had awesome staff, especially Magnums and O’Shanahons . Specialty restaurants that we picked had wonderful food.
We didn’t buy and shore excursions, (too $$$$) but, did do the port shopping experience.
Disappointed in daytime entertainment options when we returned to ship.
Appreciated the hand sanitizer stations throughout the ship.
Best ...
This was our 6th Alaska cruise, 3rd on NCL. We flew to Anchorage on Saturday for the Monday cruise. You do need to plan $100+ to get yourself to the port. We did a taxi from Seward with another couple to save $. The train/bus options are either morning or early afternoon. We booked guaranteed less than a month before the cruise. Got a good price and all 5 options. Room assignment given within a ...
Wanted the itinerary so I chose this cruise and I have been cruising primarily on NCL. On the Jewel the staff makes you feel like family.
The entertainment this cruise ( end of Sept) to Alaska was excellent. Stateroom was great and the Jewel was recently renovated. Recognized the Hotel Director Steven as I have cruised on the Jewel a few times previously.
The food was good, some menu items ...
If you are not a meat eater, beware of this cruise line because the choices for you at dinner time are very sparse. I mean who wants to eat the same dish at dinner for 7 nights? Vegetable lasagna gets really boring after day 2.
Not sure why this cruise line does not step up like Celebrity has. It is certainly less expensive to serve well rounded vegetable or vegan dishes to your clients ...
We chose this cruise because it fit our time line. We were going from Alaska to Oregon.
We spent 10 days exploring Alaska before we boarded the ship in Seward. We are in our 70s and felt like we were on a seven day date. We loved the shows and music. We danced every night. The ports and excursions were amazing. We wish everyone we met on the cruise had spent more time in Seward, the Alaska ...
Alaska cruise was great. The ship was extremely clean, the staff goes out of their way to be friendly, The entertainment was good in quality of shows and variety. The cruise from start to finish was well organized. NCL made it easy to get on and off the ship. The two big disappointments on the ship were 1. The food served on board the Jewel was a huge disappointment. NCL does a lot of things ...