The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist!

[Caretames1]

So have you backed your photos up yet? Sorry, had to pester. I'm pretty bad at it too. But a couple times a year I do clone my hard drive that contains my photos.

Congrats on the new camera! How exciting! I hope you post some photos on the DIS when you break it out.

Congrats to Sammy! It sounds like she's really finding her way. And LOL on Cadence "feeling out her tweeness". Say no more. We're 3 years ahead of you in that game, so I totally get that. Of course, it's not your first rodeo, but it is for us and this girl thing. Robbie just graduated with his Accounting degree and has started looking for a job. Timmy is a Junior this year and is still majoring in Chemical Engineering. Katie just started HIGH SCHOOL! Heaven help us all.

Doesn't it just seem like yesterday that Robbie and Sam were graduating high school? Sigh.

I hope you don't disappear again. I sure missed having you around. Any Disney plans in the near (or far) future?

John had a hard drive that we thought would hold everything, but I didn't. Ugh once life settled down here, (Kadence hurt her knee, again...)
We have plans to get one one that will.

I've just started using the new camera. Just cheer/football pics so far. I'm just so thrilled at how much faster it is than my old one. I've got a few awesome shots of Kadence, that unfortunately will have to be all I will get this, her last year in cheer.

Aww, Sam has not caused my breath to tighten in well over a year. It's good. I do look back at her grad year and am glad it's far removed. Lol

Kadence will actually be in the high school next year, which I'm not happy about, as the 7th & 8th graders have been moved to the HS building. I can stand some tweeness, but here's to hoping it stays at a level we can all live with.

Disney plans... Sigh. Every time it gets brought up lately, we have something happen, either planned or unplanned. Nov 2016 has been lightly talked about, but Thursday we received paperwork for the Washington DC class trip that won't take place until May of 2017. 1st payment is due next month! It'll depend on what the cost is for that because John and I have decided to chaperone. :0

Are you heading west or east this year?

 

[Caretames1]

I can totally understand your near to tears feeling. All the planning and hard work just vanished. No one wants a black cloud over their trip. Getting the ressies and excursion tickets back was a relief I bet.

Food, so much food! I think I'd gain 30 lbs if I sailed!

Kadence says Patrick is the coolest. Lol, Dora not so much.

Men! John always asks me which drawer his stuff is in everytime we go anywhere.

Beautiful shots of Mt Rainer.

Kadence won't be cheering in high school as the HS doesn't offer it. Dumb I know. She's looking forward to volleyball next year, that is her knee will allow all the jumping it will require.
We'll find out hopefully in the next few days if she torn anything. I'm just glad it's not broken again.

 

[jenseib]

What an huge boat! It seems like everywhere you went there was a restaurant!!! Loved the pictures. I have to say that chandelier kinda would have freaked me out. I would be in danger of running people over watching to make sure nothing fell!!

What interesting choices for dinner. That is a big menu! Of course, I have only sailed DCL so what do I know. Just out of curiosity, how many restaurants were there? How on earth did you pick?

We are ready for a great second day! The scenery to Alaska is so amazing. Who knew that watching the shore would be so fun! I have never spent a much time on a balcony as I did in Alaska. Also, how did Claire find her bed? My son is ready for more comfort on the boats. He is almost too tall for the couch anymore.

Bring on the glaciers and the animals!

I do wish DCL would add more options to their menus. some restaurants have several things I like where others just barely offer 1.
Being on the balcony was so nice. Most mornings I would get dressed and just sit out there as we pulled into port....or just as i watched the world go by.
Claire liked the bed. I never laid on it so I don't know how comfy it actually was.

Yes, we did a back to back cruise on the Jade in 2009. The bar set up was just as strange there.

What a shame that you missed the show, but at least it looks like you did not miss much. The gift shops on Norwegian seem to be a bit strange. It was the same on the Jade. The good thing is that I spent hardly any money.

The dinner menu looked lovely.

Corinna

Yes, I guess I really didn't need to buy too much anyways so it was nice not to be tempted. I have to say I did well with not buying a whole lot even on the shores. Mainly because of time or just didn't need much. And Claire seems to be getting past that buy something just to buy it mentality now.

John had a hard drive that we thought would hold everything, but I didn't. Ugh once life settled down here, (Kadence hurt her knee, again...)
We have plans to get one one that will.

I've just started using the new camera. Just cheer/football pics so far. I'm just so thrilled at how much faster it is than my old one. I've got a few awesome shots of Kadence, that unfortunately will have to be all I will get this, her last year in cheer.

Aww, Sam has not caused my breath to tighten in well over a year. It's good. I do look back at her grad year and am glad it's far removed. Lol

Kadence will actually be in the high school next year, which I'm not happy about, as the 7th & 8th graders have been moved to the HS building. I can stand some tweeness, but here's to hoping it stays at a level we can all live with.

Disney plans... Sigh. Every time it gets brought up lately, we have something happen, either planned or unplanned. Nov 2016 has been lightly talked about, but Thursday we received paperwork for the Washington DC class trip that won't take place until May of 2017. 1st payment is due next month! It'll depend on what the cost is for that because John and I have decided to chaperone. :0

Are you heading west or east this year?

I saw that about Kadence. I hope she heals fast! And Glad to hear about the camera. I love mine so much and I really hope it lasts several more years, but I do know I have used it more than the average person does.

I can totally understand your near to tears feeling. All the planning and hard work just vanished. No one wants a black cloud over their trip. Getting the ressies and excursion tickets back was a relief I bet.

It was hard to get past that black cloud but I was determined to make this fun.

Food, so much food! I think I'd gain 30 lbs if I sailed!

Yes...I do not hold back with the eating on vacation and I had plenty of choices on the ship....I still have not got back into the swing of things of dieting back at home, but I lost most of the gained weight in the first week of being home.

Kadence says Patrick is the coolest. Lol, Dora not so much.

LOL!

Men! John always asks me which drawer his stuff is in everytime we go anywhere.

I don't get why they just can't pay attention to what we tell them!

Beautiful shots of Mt Rainer.

Thanks

Kadence won't be cheering in high school as the HS doesn't offer it. Dumb I know. She's looking forward to volleyball next year, that is her knee will allow all the jumping it will require.
We'll find out hopefully in the next few days if she torn anything. I'm just glad it's not broken again.

That is odd. You would think that would be where the focus for cheerleading would lead....So they offer nothing for girls that age in the way of cheering. That's so sad.

 

[jenseib]

Say 3, Aug.2, 2015, Day at Sea



My body was still on Eastern Standard Time and I woke up extremely early. I tried to go back to sleep but after a while I gave up and put on some clothes and decided to walk around the ship for a bit. It was still dark out.


I went up to deck 12 thinking I would check out the pool area and see what it looked like at night. This was easier said than done. I had to cut through the buffet area. Not a sole in site, but a lot of the area was roped off. As I walked through I came to a door that would lead me out of the buffet and it was closed. I could not for the life of me figure out how to open it so I gave up and started walking back. A crew member suddenly showed up and I asked him how to get through and he came back and opened the door for me. It was easier than I thought…that is if you knew how to do it.


I walked out and it was still chilly and windy.


jnight1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


jnight2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


jnight3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


jnight4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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I always enjoy early morning walks on DCL, but on this ship it really felt more forbidden and after a bit I decided to head back to the room and try to sleep a little more.


jnight7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Plus it was too cold.


I did manage to fall asleep for about 2 more hours or so.


Once everyone else woke up, we got dressed and went to see how the weather was for the day.


seaday1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


seaday2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


On the pool deck there is a little area that is for kids with a kids hot tub and a VERY small slide.


seaday3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


seaday4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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It was still windy and chilly. We decided we needed some breakfast and headed to the buffet.


There are bathrooms and a shower room near the pool.


seaday7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


seaday8 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I helped Claire with her food and got a few pictures as well while we made our selections.


seaday9 by Jenseib, on Flickr



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The seating area is big, but it was crowded. We were directed to go sit in La Cucina for more seating. La Cucina is the Italian specialty restaurant, which is located right near the buffet area.


My plate


seaday12 by Jenseib, on Flickr


The thing in the middle is a pancake loaded with whipped cream (I don’t do syrup). I had read how the whipped cream on NCL is so tasty and wonderful. OMG! They weren’t lying. This stuff was like crack! It tasted heavenly!


Claire’s plate. When there are waffles and bacon, Claire is happy!


seaday13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And Skip’s plate.


seaday14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


When we were done we headed out the back door of La Cucina and checked out the back deck. There was some empty seats here, but it was still cold and windy too.


seaday15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We went back to the room for a bit. We looked over the Freestyle Daily to see what we would like to do today.


daily2-1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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daily2-4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Claire and I decided to go and talk to Florentina and check up on our excursion tickets for Ketchikan.


She informed me it was sold out but they were working on it since I have proof I pre-booked the reservation. I was going to demand something bigger …for the same cost if they did not come through for me. This was unacceptable. She said “let me make a phone call and check on it” so Claire and I waited and she said they pushed us through and we are in! yes!!! Our tickets would be sent to our room later (and they were).

I now was feeling a bit better.


Claire and I went to the gift shop again then to browse around, hoping to find new items. Nope, still very unimpressive. We walked towards the Atrium then, passing through the art Gallery, which had the art packed away currently.


seaday16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We noticed the shore excursion desk crew members were dressed up in Alaskan wear. You can kind of see the guy to the right of this picture. He is wearing a red flannel lumberjack type shirt.


seaday19 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And the gal…..well I think you can guess the profession she was dress up as.


seaday20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was now getting close to the first activity we wanted to do today, so we met up with Skip and headed that way.




Up next…all about Glaciers and too many drinks!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am glad that they got the excursion booking sorted out. I like the idea of a kids' hot tub. It is a real shame that this ship does not lend itself to early morning wanders. I rather enjoy doing this on our cruises.

Corinna

 

[DisDance]

So odd the gifts hops were so bare, usually cruise lines are pushing sales there with all kinds of crap

You had me worried about your excursion, what a relief! Can't wait to hear how Skip likes it!

That first sea day on my Alaskan cruise had a lot of people seasick, including myself. I missed lobster night in the dining room the medical room said it is common to experience rough seas there, and that wind is insane at times which of course does not help

Oh my, that lady looks like she belongs at Red Dog Saloon!

 

[Beth D]

Fingers crossed for a better day two!

That gift shop looked positively empty! That is so strange to me!

 

[Gilland18]

I'm late to the party. I wanted to say we were just at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis. It has a Chihuly chandelier in the lobby that I recognized largely because of your pictures from Seattle. I love his stuff! They had a couple other pieces on the grounds. I'm enjoying your TR.

 

[KitkatMahn]

loving your trip report - thanks for posting. plus your picture taking has inspired me to snap more shots on our upcoming cruise

 

[TestingH2O]

I'm late to the party. I wanted to say we were just at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis. It has a Chihuly chandelier in the lobby that I recognized largely because of your pictures from Seattle. I love his stuff! They had a couple other pieces on the grounds. I'm enjoying your TR.

Were you able to see the rest of the floating sculptures in the ponds or were the Chinese lanterns still up?

 

[AussieMumma]

I still can't believe the muck around you started with! Sounds like things started to settle after day two.
I love the idea of a kids only hot tub, they would need one for that cruise I'm sure!

 

[Gilland18]

Were you able to see the rest of the floating sculptures in the ponds or were the Chinese lanterns still up?

There was a set in the geo-dome and a paired sculpture over the arbors in one of the rose gardens, in addition to the lobby sculpture/chandelier. Was fun seeing them.

 

[canyoncam]

Playing catch up.

Glad you got the excursion.

Norwegian has always been low on my list of cruise options because of the either severe or flashy stateroom photos I've seen. But the rest of the ship looks pretty descent and price is very good. Now knowing about the "crack" whip cream it looks like a better option!!! Of course I have to read all your report to see how they really treated you throughout.

 

[jenseib]

I am glad that they got the excursion booking sorted out. I like the idea of a kids' hot tub. It is a real shame that this ship does not lend itself to early morning wanders. I rather enjoy doing this on our cruises.

Corinna

I was so happy that it did get sorted out. Florentina did admit to me that day she has never had that type of thing happen and she didn't know what to do.

So odd the gifts hops were so bare, usually cruise lines are pushing sales there with all kinds of crap

It was an awful gift shop. now the Princess one did not have much for kids but still had a lot of adult items and i bought several cute tops on that cruise...and they came with me on this cruise. LOL.

You had me worried about your excursion, what a relief! Can't wait to hear how Skip likes it!

I was so happy that it all came together ...finally!

That first sea day on my Alaskan cruise had a lot of people seasick, including myself. I missed lobster night in the dining room the medical room said it is common to experience rough seas there, and that wind is insane at times which of course does not help

With all the wind you would've thought the seas were rough but it wasn't at all. It was such a smooth cruise and I was amazed. I think not till day 6 did I feel much movement.

Oh my, that lady looks like she belongs at Red Dog Saloon!

Yes she does!

Fingers crossed for a better day two!

That gift shop looked positively empty! That is so strange to me!

It was not like anything you see on Disney, thats for sure.

I'm late to the party. I wanted to say we were just at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis. It has a Chihuly chandelier in the lobby that I recognized largely because of your pictures from Seattle. I love his stuff! They had a couple other pieces on the grounds. I'm enjoying your TR.

Welcome! So cool that you saw a Chihuly! it's amazing how you see them pop up all over once you know what to look for.

loving your trip report - thanks for posting. plus your picture taking has inspired me to snap more shots on our upcoming cruise

Thanks for reading. I do try to take a lot, not only for Trip report purposes but because it helps me remember things about the cruise. Great memories can be triggered by a picture.

I still can't believe the muck around you started with! Sounds like things started to settle after day two.
I love the idea of a kids only hot tub, they would need one for that cruise I'm sure!

There was a lot of muck but finally things were getting taken care of.
I have heard a lot of the NCL ships have a kids hot tub but a lot of adults still often go in them and then get upset when the kids go in. There were a lot of adults in the adult hot tubs though on this cruise.

 

[jenseib]

Playing catch up.

Glad you got the excursion.

Norwegian has always been low on my list of cruise options because of the either sparse or flashy stateroom photos I've seen. But the rest of the ship looks pretty descent and price is very good. Now knowing about the "crack" whip cream it looks like a better option!!! Of course I have to read all your report to see how they really treated you throughout.

It seems like only brand new ships have decent looking staterooms anymore. And only recently. So many are always flashy or really old fashion looking.
The crack whipped cream was soooo delicious. I had it almost every day.

 

[jenseib]

At some point in time we met up with Skip. I believe the plan was to meet in the Stardust theatre but we found him beforehand.

We were going to go and watch a presentation on Glaciers and then after that about port excursions.


We made our way there passing through Chin Chin.


seaday21 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Tepanyaki is right off of Chin Chin.


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A look down…that is where Le Bistro is.


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These seats are in the waiting area for Chin Chin and Tepanyaki.


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And Walking through Fyzz.


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A lot of activities went on in here. I kept calling it the Bubble Room and Skip would call it the Fuzzy Lounge. Of course Claire knew the correct name and would get mad at us for calling it by the wrong name…so of course we kept doing that.


Claire stopped for a quick picture.


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We sat in the balcony area. The bad thing about these seats is they have glass panels for safety…but it makes it hard to see at times. They seem to end right at eye level so you have to kind of duck to see through the glass or stretch up to see over.


They have these little cup holders on the floor. They are not that great though and many were broken or just not very sturdy.


seaday29 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And then the presentation began and we learned about Glaciers and Ice Fields and it was very interesting.


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Next up was a talk about port adventures so in between I took a quickie shot of the pillar that I thought was pretty.


seaday31 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This next talk was interesting too. They just touched on different activities and excursions, but it was neat to see what all is offered. Each time Skip would ask “Are we doing that one?” LOL. He really wanted to do the plane or helicopter ones, but then I told him the price (which I had told him several times already over the past 2 days) and he backed off quite a bit. But he says next time we go…and he is pretty certain there is a next time….he wants to do at least one plane excursion.


We were told to dress like an onion in the ports…..so you can peel off layers as you go….the temps can range all over the place in different areas and it often gets warmer during the day.


Ketchikan is the rain capital of the US. Expect it to rain….actually expect for a chance of rain in all the ports as it is a rain forest. I had planned for that and brought rain ponchos too. I had been watching the weather for about 2 weeks before going and the last one I looked at (and it changed so many times) said that all port days had very low chances of rain. That being said, we all know how weather forecasts go and I was not going to be disappointed if it did rain and that is just the way it goes.


There was a shopping presentation next and we had no interest in staying for that so we headed out.


seaday32 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Dora’s Dance Party was going on in the Fyzz. Claire refused to stay and watch but I did take a couple of quick pictures as we passed through.


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I remember when my days were filled with Dora shows and Dora talk. My baby has grown up.


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We walked outside to admire the views and it seemed like the wind had died down and the day was getting better.


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I just love to watch the wake of the ship. It’s so mesmerizing.


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We separated from Skip once again. We told him we were going to Moderno for lunch and if he wanted to go there to meet us at a certain time. He was determined he was going to eat at the buffet today. We also had plans to go to the family pizza making later in La Cucina and if we didn’t see him before that then he was to meet us there.


Now I want to point out that some might find it weird that Skip and I separate a lot. It doesn’t bother me one bit. I want to do what I want and Skip has other ideas of fun. That’s fine with me. I rather not force someone to enjoy what I enjoy and then hear complaints about it. Sometimes Claire will go with me and sometimes she will go with him. Sometimes she went to the club and we all were on our own. It’s what makes cruising so great for our family. We can all do what we want and not worry about the others having a good time.


One thing I wanted to do was check out Spinnakers. I had seen pictures of it and it looked so neat and I wanted to get a few of my own. Claire wanted to see it too.


seaday37 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Bingo was going on, so we quietly went in and looked around from the outer edges.


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We loved these chairs.


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They also had these strange looking couch/bed chairs but people were sitting on them and sadly I never came back when the place was empty to get a picture of them.


My preteen. It makes me so sad she is growing up, but with growing up we can now do different things than when she was little. So that’s the plus side I guess.


seaday40 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Bingo is pretty popular. We are not really bingo people so we sat in the funky chairs and watched the world go by. They crowned a Bingo King and Queen. They received a paper crown and some other little perks. The funny thing is both the King and the Queen were men! We actually saw the Bingo King later on a few times and I told him I recognized him as the Bingo King. His wife got a kick out of that I think.


seaday41 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We decided to have a drink while we were in there. I got an amaretto sour and Claire got a coke.


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Amaretto sours are small and soooo tasty. I sucked that baby down in about 2 minutes…..so I asked for another.


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I love this decoration.


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Well I sucked that one down pretty fast too. I don’t drink often these days. I am no longer young and my bar days are long in my past. Wowee. 2 quick drinks packed a little punch for me. Thank goodness I wasn’t driving the boat. I really felt tipsy.


It was time to eat now, which was a good thing. Soaking up some of those drinks would be a wise thing to do right now.


Claire and I headed off to Moderno. When we arrived the gal who seats you recognized us, as did Florentina. I think because we had spent half the day there yesterday fixing things, we were kind of easy to remember.


Every time we went to Moderno we were seated at the same 1 of 2 table’s right in the middle next to the window. I didn’t complain because the view was good but it was kind of funny.


As we walked in I heard a lady at another table say she thought I was from Cruise Critic. I said yes I am and we were on the same roll call thread (which only had a few people on it for some odd reason). We knew we were both doing the same excursion in Skagway.


Claire and I ordered the soup of the day, which I don’t remember what it was. It was good, but not a favorite for me.


seaday47 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I got the Risotto with shrimp and scallops.


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It was to die for! I wish I had gone back and had it again on another day but we never made it back for lunch.


I am pretty sure Claire had the steak again today which is probably why I didn’t take a picture of her meal.


We both got the Warm Expresso Chocolate Brownie for dessert. I worried it would taste like coffee….it did not and it was very good!!!!!!


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As we were eating dessert, Skip arrived. I told him we would wait for him if he wanted to eat but he said no. I am not sure if he did go to the buffet or if he was still full from breakfast.


We decided on an activity we wanted to do next and we still had some time, so we headed outside again to watch the beautiful world go by.


seaday51 by Jenseib, on Flickr

Up Next....Some Nick Fun and Pizzas!

 

[JKSWonder]

Amaretto Sours! Love them. I never order them though, because I'm always forgetting that I love them until someone reminds me.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Looks like you had a nice morning and lunch looked delicious. I am glad that Skip is thinking in terms of next time. I absolutely understand splitting up and everybody doing their own thing. We do this, too. This time round we are actually having separate vacations for the first part of the trip and then meet in Florida.

Corinna

 

[chiefdragon]

Loving your report. My family was actually on the Disney Wonder during the same time as you where on the Jewel. We loved everything about the trip and my husband even said before we got off, to book another one for next summer (2016) so I did.

 

[jenseib]

Amaretto Sours! Love them. I never order them though, because I'm always forgetting that I love them until someone reminds me.

They are so good! Wish they were bigger though.

Looks like you had a nice morning and lunch looked delicious. I am glad that Skip is thinking in terms of next time. I absolutely understand splitting up and everybody doing their own thing. We do this, too. This time round we are actually having separate vacations for the first part of the trip and then meet in Florida.

Corinna

I am so glad he wants to do it again. I hope in a about 2 years, but knowing him it will be 10.
We do much better splitting up.

Loving your report. My family was actually on the Disney Wonder during the same time as you where on the Jewel. We loved everything about the trip and my husband even said before we got off, to book another one for next summer (2016) so I did.

I tried to talk Skip into rebooking onboard...he ignored me!