After our second night at the Vancouver Pan Pacific hotel, we woke up to find the Norwegian Jewel, the ship we’d be taking to Alaska, docked just outside our room. We boarded later that day and spent the afternoon exploring the ship, then had a wonderful time watching from our balcony at the bow as we sailed at a leisurely 10 knots from Vancouver and up the Inside Passage towards Ketchikan. We had cruised the Inside Passage many times in our first boat, but only through the Canadian portion, and we enjoyed the sights, old and new.
We quite liked the “ship-within-a-ship” Haven concept on the Norwegian Encore, and booked it again on the Jewel. The much-smaller Jewel doesn’t have the dedicated restaurant and lounge areas of the Encore, but it still includes many extras, and we appreciated the overall experience.
On the Encore, we had an aft cabin and spent a lot of time underway on the sheltered balcony. We decided to try a forward balcony for this trip, for better views, and chose a forward cabin with a second balcony on the starboard side that would give us a sheltered spot outside when the forward balcony was too windy due to the ship being underway at speed. This worked well, and we spent much time on both. We particularly enjoyed having the starboard balcony to watch the ship arrive and depart each port. Because the forward balcony is exposed to the weather, we also learned that if we could have only one, we’d prefer having it aft or on the side. But the combination of having both the side and forward balconies was wonderful.
Below are highlights from May 1st and 2nd, 2023. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.
5/1/2023
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Norwegian Jewel
Position: 49°17.28’N, -123°6.75’W
The Norwegian Jewel docked outside our room at the Vancouver Pan Pacific hotel.
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Eagle
Position: 49°17.29’N, -123°6.73’W
An eagle perched atop one of the Canada Place sails.
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Exercising
Position: 49°17.28’N, -123°6.75’W
Working out in our hotel room prior to boarding the Norwegian Jewel. The exercise program we follow, You Are Your Own Gym with added High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), adapts well to travel.
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Checking In
Position: 49°17.34’N, -123°6.65’W
Checking in just prior to boarding the Norwegian Jewel. The Vancouver Cruise Port isn’t as modern as Norwegian’s dedicated building in Miami, but the check-in was just as efficient with few people in line.
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Deck 12
Position: 49°17.36’N, -123°6.54’W
We boarded shortly after checking in and toured through the ship. This is looking across the pools on deck 12
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Helijet
Position: 49°17.29’N, -123°6.60’W
A Helijet arriving into the Vancouver Harbour Heliport. The company runs scheduled flights between the harbors of Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo, plus Vancouver International Airport.
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Bunkering
Position: 49°17.32’N, -123°6.53’W
The Norwegian Jewel taking on fuel with a SeaBus departing for North Vancouver beyond.
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Grand Princess
Position: 49°17.37’N, -123°6.46’W
The cruise ship Grand Princess docked opposite the Norwegian Jewel at the Vancouver Cruise Terminal.
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Cabin 9004
Position: 49°17.30’N, -123°6.63’W
Our cabin, 9004, on the Norwegian Jewel. On our previous cruise, aboard the Norwegian Encore, we had an aft cabin and spent a lot of time underway on the sheltered balcony. We decided to try a forward balcony for this trip, for better views, and chose this cabin because the side balcony would give us a sheltered spot outside when the forward balcony was too windy due to the ship being underway at speed.
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Forward Balcony
Position: 49°17.30’N, -123°6.63’W
Checking out our forward balcony on the Norwegian Jewel.
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Bridge Wing Floor Window
Position: 49°17.32’N, -123°6.63’W
From our forward balcony, we can see the bridge of the Norwegian Jewel two decks above. This is looking up through the glass floor in the bridge wing as the officers get ready for departure.
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Side Balcony
Position: 49°17.32’N, -123°6.64’W
On our side balcony to watch the Norwegian Jewel depart the Vancouver Cruise Terminal.
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Removing Lines
Position: 49°17.32’N, -123°6.63’W
The lines coming off the Norwegian Jewel.
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Watching Departure
Position: 49°17.35’N, -123°6.50’W
Watching from our side balcony as the Norwegian Jewel departs the Vancouver Cruise Terminal.
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Vancouver Skyline
Position: 49°17.37’N, -123°6.41’W
View across the Vancouver Cruise Terminal and the downtown skyline as the the Norwegian Jewel departs.
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Koningsdam
Position: 49°17.66’N, -123°5.76’W
The cruise ship Koningsdam heading under the Lions Gate Bridge ahead of the Norwegian Jewel. The bridge clearance looks very close.
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Captain
Position: 49°17.69’N, -123°5.71’W
The caption of the Norwegian Jewel, facing the camera, on the bridge with another officer.
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Harbour Air
Position: 49°17.72’N, -123°5.66’W
Harbour Air seaplanes are constantly arriving and departing from Vancouver Harbour. Here one is landing as the Norwegian Jewel departs.
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Seaspan
Position: 49°17.72’N, -123°5.66’W
Large gantry crane at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard.
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The Lions
Position: 49°17.72’N, -123°5.66’W
Looking north to the snow-covered twin peaks, The Lions, as the Norwegian Jewel departs Vancouver. The 5,427 ft (1,654 m) peaks are the namesake of the BC Lions Canadian football team.
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Lions Gate Bridge
Position: 49°18.85’N, -123°8.14’W
The Norwegian Jewel passing under the Lions Gate Bridge, another reference to The Lions twin peaks. The bridge first opened in 1938, and the entire suspended structure was replaced in 2000/2001.
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Prospect Point Lighthouse
Position: 49°18.85’N, -123°8.14’W
The Prospect Point Lighthouse with the Stanley Park seawall winding away beyond. The first light, a white beacon atop the keeper’s house, was installed at Prospect Point in 1888, and the current light was erected in 1948.
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English Bay Anchorage
Position: 49°18.85’N, -123°8.14’W
Cargo ships moored in the Port of Vancouver’s English Bay anchorage.
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West Vancouver
Position: 49°19.34’N, -123°10.92’W
Colorful apartment buildings in West Vancouver, northwest of the city on the northern side of English Bay.
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Dusk
Position: 49°22.00’N, -123°59.88’W
Dusk in the Strait of Georgia en route to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Jewel.
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5/2/2023
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Harbor Porpoises
Position: 50°34.66’N, -126°41.63’W
Harbor Porpoises chasing the Norwegian Jewel in Johnstone Strait. The diminutive cetaceans have similar markings as Orcas, but are much smaller.
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Blackfish Sound
Position: 50°35.74’N, -126°43.29’W
Small boat underway in Blackfish Sound off the mouth of Knight Inlet, where Johnstone and Queen Charlotte straits join.
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Breakfast
Position: 50°36.05’N, -126°43.87’W
Bundled up to have breakfast on our side deck as we pass through Blackfish Sound.
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Pilot
Position: 50°48.97’N, -127°28.45’W
Picking up a pilot from Port Hardy at Pine Island at the northern end of Queen Charlotte Strait. Pilotage is compulsory the entire length of British Columbia’s Inside Passage. The pilot boarding will remain on the Norwegian Jewel until we reach Prince Rupert at the Alaska border, and the pilot we had on board from Vancouver will depart here.
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Forward Balcony Door
Position: 50°48.97’N, -127°28.45’W
The heavy-duty door to our forward balcony. In case of heavy weather, a large metal storm plate stored on the balcony can also be mounted over the adjacent window.
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Spitfire
Position: 47°36.28’N, -122°7.96’W
Spitfire on walkabout at “The Resort” (Wagly Pet Campus in Bellevue), where we board him when we are away.
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Stardust Theater
Position: 51°37.22’N, -129°42.46’W
The three-deck Stardust Theater at the bow of the Norwegian Jewel.
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Duo Sweet Serendipity
Position: 51°37.22’N, -129°42.46’W
The aerialist team Duo Sweet Serendipity practicing on the Norwegian Jewel‘s Stardust Theater stage for tomorrow night’s show.
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Tsar’s Palace
Position: 51°41.99’N, -129°46.89’W
The Tsar’s Palace main dining room at the stern of the Norwegian Jewel is one of several complementary dining options on the ship. Several upscale restaurants are available at additional charge.
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Gym
Position: 51°44.70’N, -129°49.24’W
Not many people are in the Norwegian Jewel‘s well-equipped gym this afternoon.
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Court
Position: 51°48.79’N, -129°52.81’W
Enclosed basketball/tennis court on deck 13 of the Norwegian Jewel. Years ago we watched a cruise ship pass through narrow and treacherous Seymour Narrows while someone was shooting hoops on the upper deck. We wondered then how anyone could be so little interested in their surroundings, and still do.
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Haven Courtyard
Position: 51°51.18’N, -129°54.70’W
The Haven Courtyard on the Norwegian Jewel. We quite liked the “ship-within-a-ship” Haven concept on the Norwegian Encore, and booked it again on the Jewel. The much-smaller Jewel doesn’t have the dedicated restaurant and lounge areas of the Encore, but we still appreciated the overall experience.
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Smokestack
Position: 51°47.84’N, -129°51.96’W
Looking aft past the Norwegian Jewel‘s smokestack from the Haven Sun Deck on deck 15.
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Captain’s Reception
Position: 27°0.98’N, -114°57.89’W
Attending a Captain’s Reception at the Bliss Ultra Lounge where the Norwegian Jewel‘s officer and senior crew members form a receiving line and chat briefly with each passenger. The captain is partially visible in side profile, roughly at center, speaking to the man in the light gray shirt.
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Kraken vs Stars
Position: 49°16.80’N, -123°6.42’W
We ordered pizza and IPAs to our cabin on the Norwegian Jewel to watch the Seattle Kraken take on the Dallas Stars in game one of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In an exciting and closely-contested match, the Kraken beat the Stars 5-4 with a sudden-death goal in overtime.
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Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps. |
Looks like a great time. I still prefer a smaller cruise ship. My wife and I did an Alaskan cruise on a Seabourn ship and really appreciated that the ship had its own fleet of Zodiacs and kayaks. So we had no trouble booking small group adventures right from the ship. Also, we docked in a couple of small harbors that are off limits to bigger ships and that was a real plus.
Yes, you’re right there are lots of upsides to smaller boats. We enjoyed a small boat cruise on the Rhine and the run to Antarctica had considerably less than 150 passengers and there are real upsides both in being able to access smaller ports and anchorages and in bringing less of a crowd along. The only big advantages of the big boats is the on-boat amenities. Having cruised the world on a boat with only 2 on board, we love it and it’s an experienced that can’t be equaled on a big boat. But, traveling that way is definitely more work, more overhead, and requires more planning. Some locations are more difficult to get to on a small boat where Dirona wasn’t an ideal boat for the Antarctica cruise and it’s physically unable to do our planned cruise to the north pole. Slightly bigger boats were needed for both those adventures. For this inside passage cruise, you could take it on any sized boat and, for that sort of trip, smaller gives a more intimate feel, has more flexibility on ports, and brings less of a crowd. We agree with you John.