The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist! updated 12/13/2015 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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This was the cruise we were going to take. Unfortunately we had to cancel. Maybe another year. So I'm looking forward to seeing what I'll get to look forward to at another time.
Great start! The cruise sounds amazing!
Btw, Claire looks so grown-up in that picture.
She won't stop growing!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jandsdennis
This was the cruise we were going to take. Unfortunately we had to cancel. Maybe another year. So I'm looking forward to seeing what I'll get to look forward to at another time.
That really sucks you had to cancel. I hope you can work it out to go next year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
It sounds like you got a great deal on your cruise - looking forward to hearing all about it.
We really did get a pretty good deal...of course had we booked earlier it might have been better.
Before I get started with our first day, I do want to add a few things.
About 2 weeks before our cruise I was in contact with someone from Concierge. They asked our likes and wants and anything we may need. Our anniversary is mid July, so I had added this was an anniversary trip. I also requested foam pillows, an egg crate topper for Claire’s bed, and hot cocoa packets for our room. Also extra towels and a few other odds in and ends and she said she had it all noted and attached to our reservation. Great. One less thing we would have to ask about.
Also about a week or so before our cruise NCL announced that as of Aug. 1st the gratuities/service charges were going up. Now Skip and I were already covered in the promo, but Claire wasn’t. I decided to prepay hers. The savings wasn’t huge, but hey, every penny counts and we were already spending the most we ever had on a vacation. (the flights were killers and I still cringe at the price we ended up paying, but it could have been more, I guess. That’s one of the downsides of not booking WAY out ahead of time)
Skip did not know what kind of room we had, except that it was a balcony. I was a bit nervous on what he would think when a butler would show up daily. I just knew he would cringe about it. I was a bit nervous too really. We just are not the type to need extra pampering. I figured we would play it by ear and if we felt uncomfortable we would let him/her know that we didn’t need any extra services. And then I wasn’t sure about how to tip the butler. I read up on it on Cruise Critic and there were a lot of heated debates on how much to tip. I came up with a price that sounded acceptable to me and stashed that money in an envelope. I figured if the service was exceptional we could add more and if it was less, then we could take away.
Another service for suite guests is Concierge. Now I knew Florentina was the concierge person on the Jewel. I still wasn’t sure exactly how much we would ever actually need or use her. I had prebooked everything, so again I figured we would play it by ear. This is another person to tip, so I added what I thought was appropriate to my special tip envelope and again if we needed to add or subtract to it we could.
I also made up another envelope for extra tips like porters, bus drivers, excursions, etc. I put 5’s and 10’s in that envelope to make it easier to have easy access to money when needed.
For those that don’t know, Skip is a dairy farmer. He and his brother actually retired early spring. I knew they would go nuts with just general farming, but they were also going into the beef cattle business. They are so used to being active and working so much, that it was a culture shock for them to have so little to do now and sure enough within a month they decided to go back into the dairy business. However they were going back in in a different way. They ordered a robot milker so they no longer had to be there to milk the cows twice a day every day. The cows will be able to just go up to this milker and get milked when needed. All summer long the robot has been in the processed of being installed and the milking parlor is going through a transformation to accommodate this machine. A lot was going to happen while we were gone and Skip’s brother Dave tends to panic when Skip isn’t around. Luckily with all this extra relaxation they have had over the summer, he was not too nervous and things were going pretty smoothly.
A few nights before we left, a bunch of “the guys” came out to the barn and were having a few beers and chit chatting…..or really shooting the bull is probably a better term for their chit chat. I walked out to nosey in on the latest farm gossip. Of course the conversation turned to our upcoming trip. All the guys were jealous and Skip was really eating it up. He then asked if I ever booked any excursions. Yes I did! (no thanks to you and your input). I told him what they were and he was very excited I booked the Deadliest Catch one. I knew this was going to be a big thing for him and I also knew this was one thing that was making him want to go to Alaska. He beamed a big smile when I told him about it and all the guys once again were jealous and excited. Skip did not seem too excited about the other excursions, but I knew he would be happy with them once we got there. He was just unfamiliar with them and he is one who likes to be familiar with everything. (He is NOT good with change in most cases…to a point it can drive me batty).
I was so glad I had booked these excursions though as they promised to be pretty exciting and I could tell he would be disappointed if I hadn’t prebooked.
It sounds as if it's good there's one person who was dealing with everything - I loved the bit where Skip was asked about whether you'd booked any excursions, classic!
So is the robot in yet? I seem to remember someone promising me some photos when it was... Any cows right now as well?
Sounds like a great plan. My DH is a lot like yours when it comes to planning and packing. Sounds like you have an amazing suite booked. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
I'm so excited that you started your TR Jen! It sounds like you had a fabulous time and I'm sure we'll hear what didn't work well for you either. Glad you got to go on a vacation that Skip was excited about too! I loved following all your pictures on Facebook.
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It sounds as if it's good there's one person who was dealing with everything - I loved the bit where Skip was asked about whether you'd booked any excursions, classic!
So is the robot in yet? I seem to remember someone promising me some photos when it was... Any cows right now as well?
Yes. He is so wishy washy. Doesn't want to spend the money but wants an awesome time once the time actually comes.
They have placed the robot but it's not up and running yet. Still working on modifications. I saw they had the construction team out there today so I should walk out and check out if any new changes happened today.
I'll have to take a few cow pictures too.
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Originally Posted by jimmymac
Looking forward to the next installment. We've done 4 RCI Alaska cruises, so I'm curious about NCL
Obviously you liked the RCCL ones if you took 4. I should really go back several times and try all the lines. LOL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Thank goodness you prebooked the excursions!
Well you would think......
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
Sounds like a great plan. My DH is a lot like yours when it comes to planning and packing. Sounds like you have an amazing suite booked. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
It wasn't too big in suite terms but much more room than a normal room has. We loved the space and location.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
I'm so excited that you started your TR Jen! It sounds like you had a fabulous time and I'm sure we'll hear what didn't work well for you either. Glad you got to go on a vacation that Skip was excited about too! I loved following all your pictures on Facebook.
Glad you could make it. He has said he would go back Alaska a million times over a Caribbean cruise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Can't wait to hear all about it!
Got one more installment ready!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TinkerbellJenn99
Hi Jen! Signing on to catch up a bit leter today
Welcome! I know how it is about catching up. I am still not caught up with all the ones I read on different boards since I have been back.
The plan for today was to leave the house by 6 AM. We had a 9:40 flight out of Detroit, which is the closest big airport for us. We were driving to my Aunts house and then she was driving us to the airport.
I got up around 5ish to get ready and Skip and Claire were not far behind me. I had packed the car with the suitcases the night before so we should’ve been ready to go….but I know better than that. Skip of course had to run out the barn a couple of times to check things and it probably was about 6:10 before we actually left the house.
I drove to my aunts….I always drive and Skip tells me how to drive from the passenger seat. I asked Skip if he had cigarettes and he said just the packs he had in his hand. UGH! I told him to be sure to pack some and he NEVER does. I knew he could get some on the ship at a reasonable price so I wasn’t too worried. I asked if he brought his phone charger. NOPE! He and his brother Dave have dumb phones and share a charger out in the barn. He said Dave would need it to keep his phone charged. Of course it won’t help if Skip’s phone is dead. Luckily I was pretty sure my kindle charger would work with his phone and I had that packed. Aunt Mary was ready and we moved our suitcases to her CRV, made a potty break and soon were on our way.
On the way we chattered away about our trip. Aunt Mary told us about their trip to Seattle a while back and how they wanted to see Mt. Rainier. She said they were going to ask at the hotel desk how to get nearer to see it and low and behold that day the clouds and mist that had been around for the whole trip had lifted and they could see the Mountain right outside their hotel. I was hoping to see the Mountain myself.
We talked about the excursions we had planned and what we hoped to see and do. After a bit Aunt Mary said to watch for signs to turn onto another highway. Oh…..I saw that a while back, is that where we were supposed to turn? Shoot! Skip confirmed he had seen us pass it too. I then pulled out my phone and asked Siri to get us to DTW. She seemed to think we could still get there by getting off at an exit in about 10 miles. I then called Uncle Geoff (Aunt Mary’s husband) and asked if he thought we should turn around or keep following Siri’s directions. Geoff said to turn around. We thought about it and we knew we were pretty far from where we had seen the turn off and decided to follow Siri. We also started seeing planes, which is usually a good sign you are close to the airport.
This route actually ended up being better as my Aunt said when she went back home there was an accident and we would’ve been stuck in traffic and probably pretty late to the airport.
We arrived and pulled our bags out and said our good byes to Aunt Mary and went to the curbside check in and left our bags.
Smokers have to make 1 final stop before we go in, so off to the side we went. Claire was ready!!!
We headed in through security and it was pretty painless for us. Since Claire is 10, she and I still can go through the old scanner. Skip has had 3 hip replacements….yes I said 3…. 2 on 1 hip and 1 on the other, so he had to go through the body scanner and then they typically wand him down as well.
We grabbed our carryons and back packs and headed to our gate. We were hungry so Claire and I went to find some food. I knew what I wanted. Earl of Sandwich! I think I got some sort of ham and cheese, though I no longer really remember, but it was very tasty. Claire is picky and options were limited this early in the morning so she got a muffin from another spot. She headed back to sit with Skip and I stopped and got us some drinks as well.
We sat and ate and Skip headed off to find something for himself.
He seemed to be gone quite a while and I was starting to wonder where the heck he went. Finally he came back and told us he got some breakfast at Ruby Tuesdays. He went in and sat down and had a full service meal. LOL!
We saw that our plane had arrived…I think it was a little bit late…and so we made a last potty stop before it was time to line up.
I prefer Southwest and I earn the rewards points through them. I took 3 roundtrip flights with them for free last year! When booking air, I kept watching Southwest and Delta. Delta was quite a bit higher plus I would have to pay for bags. The plus to Delta was that was a direct flight. When I booked the cruise I looked at SW’s prices and they were high but doable. But I stupidly waited as I was busy and I really thought they might go down a bit. Stupid mistake on my part! They went up after that that then the ideal flight ended up being booked for the way home. In the end I manually put in making a connecting flight in Chicago (it was automatically putting in Arizona or Denver) and I got the price down a bit and the total trip hours would be a bit shorter. If I had booked when I originally looked though I would’ve saved about $400 or more total for all of us.
We boarded and found seats. Claire thinks she needs a window seat and then shuts the shade. I have to remind her that when in the window seat you are not allowed to shut the shade unless mom or dad says its ok. The point of the window seat is to look out. I also informed her I would be on top of her at times looking out and trying to get some pictures. I feel bad for Skip because he rarely ever gets the window seat anymore. Maybe on our next trip I will be nice and let him have it one way.
This flight was only like 45 minutes. As soon as we leveled off they were serving drinks and snacks and then picking up trash and then landing again. I love flights like that. We had a couple of extra flight attendants on our flight. One was sitting across the aisle. We started talking about looking for our next gate when we got off and this flight attendant was going to be on that same flight. What a small world.
Once we got off we made potty stops again and then found our gate number. But wait….what is that smell???? POPCORN! Boy did it smell good. I think it was called Nuts on Clark. Skip said after we got to our gate he would come back and get some. The line was long and our gate was in another concourse so I told him he better get in line now. He was in there for quite some time and our flight attendant friend was in there as well.
When he came out he said it was like the Soup Nazi. Now Skip can tell a tale or 2 at times so I am not sure if I believe him or not. But he said they weren’t supposed to talk or chit chat and he asked the person next to him which kind to get and she whispered to just get the special. I do know that at one point I looked in and told him Claire and I were going somewhere and he put his fingers to his lips to tell me to be quiet. LOL. He came out with the special which was Caramel and cheese mixed together. The caramel was much better in my opinion. He got a big bag and said it was $27. That better be darn good popcorn….and it was.
We headed to our gate and stood at one of the plug in tables to stretch our legs and recharge our devices a bit. I always bring along mobile chargers but I try not to use them while in the airports if I don’t have to. I rather save the juice for the actual plane ride.
We munched out our million dollar popcorn and soon it was time to board again.
We found our seats and soon were in the air. This flight was going to be a bit over 4 hours. That’s the longest flight Claire has ever been on, but she had electronics and she was fine. We also brought extra snacks and of course they served drinks and snacks. I had 4 drink coupons from SW and I turned 1 in for a free Bud Light. Skip didn’t want any. I had thought we would each have one on the way there and one on the way home, but I returned with 3 unused coupons, so I guess I better see if I have any friends who want them as they expire in Dec.
Our flight offers free TV and music but I could not get the kindle to connect. I was already aware this would probably be a problem from looking online beforehand. Several people around us with different types of tablets tried to connect and they all had issues. This is something SW should fix. Not everyone owns an Apple or Driod device.
I could get it on my computer but I was using it to edit pictures from a day trip Claire and I had recently taken. I could also get it on my iphone but I was listening to an audio book. Claire has my older daughters old iphone just to use with wifi and she too was listening to an audio book….and there sat Skip. Luckily I had downloaded my book to both my phone and kindle, so I handed him the phone and set up the TV and I listened to my book on the kindle. I really think after this trip, Skip may join the real world and get a smart phone. He used my phone on more than one occasion for various reasons.
As we got closer to I could see mountains so I would randomly take pictures out of the window. I will state now that I knew my phone pictures would be off on the time stamp because of the time zone changes but the 2 other cameras I took, The Canon SLR and the Olympus point and shoot should’ve been on the same time…but when I organize them in flickr they are NOT lining up right, so at times during this report I may have pictures out of sync….which might not bother you, but drives me BATTY!!!!!
Once we got off the plane we made our way down towards luggage claim…but first things first. Smokers who have been on a plane for hours need to a bit of fresh air. I found a sign that said the smoking areas were on either ends of the building. Well we were in the middle. So we just took off one way and found the area and some people were a little less grouchy after making that stop. (Ok really no one was grouchy and Skip had been chewing Nicorette gum while on the plane).
We headed back to the luggage claim and they were just coming off and we found our bags easily….and doubled checked to be sure they were ours. A few years ago my dad had grabbed the wrong bag and we didn’t find out till the next day. Luckily the airport had their right bag and the exchange was easily made before we had to board the ship.
Off to find Shuttle Express. I had my directions written all out and they were easy to find. The only problem for us was pulling several suitcases and Claire can’t seem to handle more than a carryon bag. I think next time I would invest in one of those carts just to make it slightly easier on all of us.
I checked us in and we were told we would have a little wait, so they sat down and I walked around the area and took a few pictures.
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Any cows right now as well? 
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