.png)
I recently had the pleasure of cruising from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK on the Norwegian Jewel and it was, in a word: breathtaking! From the amazing shows to the spectacular scenery, both the Jewel and the great state of Alaska completely dazzled me. I cannot wait to go back, and I already have my next Alaskan cruise booked for Memorial Day 2024 on the Norwegian Bliss. Join our Solo Cruise Group on Facebook if you want to come!
Getting to Vancouver
I decided to take the train across the border between the US and Canada because I was visiting with an old friend in Seattle right before my cruise. The Amtrak ticket was only $45 for a Coach seat, plus they have a rewards program that I earned points for with the purchase. I was emailed the option to upgrade my seat to business class several times before my trip but declined the offer since it was only a 4-hour ride.
On the day of my trip, I arrived at the train depot and was very impressed with the architecture of the historic King Street Station. Come to find out, it was designed by the same architecture firm that created the famous Grand Central Station in New York. I loved the ceilings!
Once inside, I was able to check my luggage in quickly, as there were no long lines or security checkpoints like at the airport. I did have to show my passport to a nice lady at the customs desk, but the process took only minutes. I needed to be at the station 30 minutes before departure since I already got my ticket and had my passport and luggage checked. I decided to grab a quick snack before my train began boarding, as the station itself only had vending machines, and no snack bars or restaurants.
My friend and I walked just down the block to SEA Crab House and were happy we did. We decided on a few local craft beers and some appetizers to share. The crab cakes, the shrimp stuffed avocado, and the crab spinach artichoke dip in a bread bowl were our selections. Everything was good, but the crab cakes were very different than what I was expecting having tried numerous variations of crab cakes over the years. They had a chewy consistency of more like a sausage patty than a crab cake, in my opinion. My favorite was the crab spinach artichoke dip in the bread bowl. I couldn’t stop eating it even after I was full, it was so delicious!
After I bid farewell to my buddy, I went back to the train station and waited for my 7 pm train to Vancouver. They had given me a little colored paper slip with a letter on it when I checked in and that is how you are called to board. There was plenty of seating to choose from, and I ended up with a row to myself, which I didn’t mind. The train ride was wobblier at times than I expected, but we passed some lovely scenery before the sun went down. The ride was mostly uneventful, except for a small delay because a drawbridge was stuck for about 10 minutes or so. Another nice thing was that I never lost cell phone service, so no Airplane Mode like on a plane. Shortly before we entered Canada, they passed out the declaration form and pens so everyone could fill them out in advance. It was a simple one-page form and straightforward enough.
When we arrived in Vancouver, it was after 11 pm, and was raining slightly. The checked baggage was set on the platform so you could grab it and then there was a line outside waiting to go through the door into customs. There were two officers on duty and both were super nice and made the line move swiftly. After a few quick questions about why I was visiting and telling the officer about my cruise the next day, he welcomed me through and I was on my way to the line of taxis waiting outside the station to take me to my hotel.
Fifteen minutes later, I was at the Best Western Plus Sands for the night. I chose this hotel because I consulted a crime map of Vancouver and this was in a better neighborhood than downtown, close to a beach, and not far from the cruise terminal either. Check-in was a breeze and although it was nice to have the option to go to their onsite bar and restaurant, I went straight to my room to get some sleep. My room had a private balcony, so that was nice except that the door was banging in the wind all night. If I had put a little bit of paper or cloth in the crack, it would have stopped it most likely, but I was too tired to get up to fix it in the middle of the night. Besides that, the hotel was clean and everything was up to standards. Bonus, it was right next to Starbucks in the morning so I could get my favorite drink.
Day 1 Vancouver Embarkation
I checked out of my hotel at about 10:45 am and took a Lyft to the Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal where I had selected the 11 am boarding time slot. It was kind of confusing, but since I already had completed my check-in on the NCL app and I printed out my luggage tags at home, I was able to go right to dropping off my luggage and could skip those steps and their associated lines. I went through a security checkpoint with metal detectors and bins for your bags to pass through the scanner. Then I had to scan my passport at a kiosk and go to the counter to get my cabin card and to finish checking that everything was completed. It was onto the ship right away and the whole process was much faster than I had anticipated.
When you get onto the ship, your cabins are usually not available yet because they are still being cleaned from the previous guests who just disembarked. What better time to check into your muster station? Check! That took mere minutes, so next on the agenda is something to eat! The buffet was a popular choice for most people to grab some lunch and enjoy the beautiful view of the Port of Vancouver while the ship was still docked. Everything I tried was really good, and the brisket was yummy. I had a blueberry lemon tart and it was a treat. But the best part of the buffet, also known as the Garden Cafe, is the location on the aft of the ship with deck seating which you can enjoy when the weather is nice.
I explored the ship after I was done eating. Not many people on the pool deck yet, but it was Canada in September, so you would expect that it would not be as crowded as compared to a Caribbean itinerary. As the afternoon passed, they started announcing that cabins were ready according to your floor. I was on deck 8, and once they announced it was open, I made my way to my cabin to check it out.
While passing through the hall, I was disheartened to encounter a passenger practically yelling at a crew member over their luggage not being in their cabin yet, as the crew members were still hurriedly distributing the bags to their appropriate locations. There was nothing he could do except tell her that they were still working on it, but she was relentless. So, always be sure that you have anything you might need in a bag on you or be prepared to wait for your luggage on the ship, as taking your frustrations out on a crewmate does nothing for you except make you look like a jerk. My two cents! Fortunately, that was the only time I encountered anyone being rude to the staff while on my cruise.
When I arrived at my stateroom, my luggage was waiting for me outside the door. I booked the Obstructed Oceanview Stateroom, Category OK, and I was in cabin 8556. I had found a special price with no single supplement, so for one person, the size felt just fine. My window was obstructed of course, but I still appreciated the natural light that it afforded.
After a round of trivia in the Spinnaker Lounge and a few glasses of Prosecco that were included in my Free at Sea Unlimited Beverage Package, I headed to one of the main dining rooms where I ate that night. I had the shrimp cakes and the beef medallions. The food was decent. I ended up skipping dessert in search of good company, which I found at O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill. O’Sheehan’s is styled after an Irish Pub, also known as The Local on some of NCL’s other ships. I had a nice conversation with a fellow passenger there, so the evening was a good one. I said goodnight, and I made sure I got plenty of bottled water to take back to my cabin because I was ready to call it a day. Day 1 to be exact.
Day 2 At Sea
On my first full day on the Jewel, I went back to O'Sheehan’s, which has complimentary food and is on the same deck as my room, just down the hall. I had heard that they have great breakfast so I wanted to see for myself. I got the typical American breakfast, which consisted of 2 eggs, country potatoes, and a choice of meat and bread. I enjoyed my over-easy eggs with bacon and a bagel, but the potatoes stood out as my favorite. It was also nice to be served at my table instead of weaving through the mass of people in the buffet first thing in the morning.
After breakfast, I returned to my cabin to chill for a bit because the seas were kind of rough that day and I was feeling it. I checked in with home and realized that the 150 internet minutes that came with the Free at Sea were not going to be enough for a full week for me. I know some people would argue that they prefer to unplug from the rest of the world while on a cruise, but I am a mom, a wife, and a business owner so I needed to be able to connect as much as I wanted to without worrying about minute restrictions. It didn’t hurt that I was offered to upgrade to the unlimited internet package for a huge discounted rate once I started to go through my minutes onboard. I agreed to the upgrade, but for some reason, it didn’t work, and the special offer was no longer being shown in my app. I went to Guest Services, but they directed me to go speak to the Technology Manager in the Internet Café that was located inside the art gallery. He had me complete the upgrade in my app and then he credited my account the difference and I saved $100! Chalk one up for procrastination!
I went back to O’Sheehan’s for lunch since breakfast was so good, where I had the spinach and artichoke dip and the Wrangler burger with fries. The dip was mostly a very creamy dip with little spinach or artichoke, so that wasn’t what I was used to, but it was still tasty. The burger was also tasty, but not an outstanding burger or anything. The fries were crispy but I didn’t care for the side of ranch I got to dip them in so I used the excess BBQ sauce that had dripped off the burger and it worked.
I spent the afternoon walking the ship and indulged in a Mudslide on the pool deck that was yummy. I figured, now is as good a time as any to take a dip in the hot tub since we were headed north and it wouldn’t be getting any warmer. So after a quick soak and some nice conversation with fellow passengers, I headed back to my cabin to change and shower. On the way I bumped into my room attendant in the hallway.
My attendant pointed out how the cabin number sign has a roller that you can change from Available to Needs Service, to Do Not Disturb. I only ended up needing service once on my trip since I was alone and there were plenty of towels, but I still left him a good tip since I knew he wanted to clean more than I let him. Every day, several times a day I would find correspondence from the cruise line on my cabin sign, like the daily cruise planner newsletter or invitations to art auctions, etc. On the first day, I guessed the weight of a neat statue as part of a contest and after that, I suppose I was on their guest list! By checking the cruise planner, I found that they had a solo cruiser meet and greet every evening, so I decided I would go to it that night at the Bliss Ultra Lounge.
There were more solo cruisers than I had anticipated, but I was happy to have the chance to meet new friends, and I did! Having missed the first round of introductions everyone did the night before, I was given the chance to say hi and tell everyone my name along with the other stragglers that were new that day. I had a nice chat with some other solo cruisers sitting near me as well, but there were about 30-40 solo people there I would estimate. NCL keeps a standing reservation for the solo cruisers in the main dining room each night, but I didn’t go because that evening I had a reservation for specialty dining.
First, I had to check out the entertainment on board. They had two showings in the Stardust Theater each night with different shows, one at 7:15 pm and one at 9:15 pm. Since my dining reservation was at 8:30 pm, I went to the earlier showtime and enjoyed the “Le Cirque Bijou” performance. The performers were impressive and I liked the jewel theme of the show that coincided with the ship’s name. Watching all the physical feats of strength worked me up for dinner.
For my first specialty dining experience, I chose Cagney’s Steakhouse because everyone has great things to say about it. I have to agree: it was delicious! To start, I had the jumbo shrimp trio and the lobster bisque. Very good! I didn’t want to waste any food, so for my entrée, I ordered the petite filet mignon, with mushrooms and zucchini as sides. I probably should have gotten the regular-sized filet to get a more med rare center, but next time I will know better. Everything was pretty great, but the mushrooms had a flavor I wasn’t crazy about, so my server brought me some potatoes au gratin and they were delicious. My red wine glass was comically large, and it was probably the biggest glass I have ever been served. Not the pour, just the glass itself was like the size of my face! It made me smile. I had to take the seven-layer chocolate cake back to my room for later, I was so full. It was a memorable meal and I made sure to leave additional gratuity for excellent service!
After dinner, I went back to the Bliss Ultra Lounge for my favorite activity. You guessed it: karaoke! There was a karaoke contest that stretched 3 nights, with a final competition with a live band near the end of the cruise for those who wished to participate. I sang a few songs, and it was a rocking ending to a fun day at sea.
Comments