Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Pearl- Part I- Pre Travel

There was a saying prevalent in the 90s that cruises were for the “newly wed or nearly dead”. It has been a long time since then, and the demographics of the annual 27 million cruise passengers is far more varied and complex.  We took a 7-day Alaska cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines (www.ncl.com) as part of our family vacation in the United States.  Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Miami, FL, operates 26 ships under the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, totaling approximately 54,400 berths.  Seattle in the northern state of Washington is the most common origin for Alaska cruise route. 

 

For a first time cruise passenger, the decision making can be somewhat overwhelming.  There are 4-6 major decisions to be taken if one has to make an informed choice.  This is particularly important because of the costs involved, and the strict cancellation rules.  Full payment is taken four months before the sailing date, and about 75% of the full cost becomes non-refundable within two months of the journey (100% in the last week).  I will try to present this article from the perspective of an international tourist and a first time cruise passenger.  The major decisions to be taken before booking are as below:

 

• Month and date (Alaska cruises operate between May-September, 20-25 sailing options each week)
• Cruise route (one way vs. roundtrip; port of departure; preference of locations if any)
• Preference of cruise line (12 cruise lines operate)
• Direct online booking vs through travel agent
• Choice of cabin (six types- prices vary widely depending on choice)
• Choice of one or two from among 5-6 on-board free offers from the cruise line    

 

The first decision to make is whether you want to do a round trip to/from the same port (Seattle,  Vancouver or San Francisco), or a one-way (in which case, you will take a flight from the other end).  Roundtrip is usually the easier for first time international travelers.  This route covers the highlights of Southeast Alaska and return to the same port.  In the second option, travelers see the same locations of Southeast Alaska but also spend more time on land in south central and interior parts of Alaska.  There are five broad types of itineraries-

 

 

Picture courtesy: www.cruisealaska.com

 

The Seattle Inside Passage is the most popular itinerary, with about one-third of all weekly departures being on this route.  This protected waterway is one of the most scenic in the world and one of the few locations where deep-draft vessels can sail close to steep mountain walls.  The attractions in this route are emerald green water, glaciers, forest-clad islands, fjords and charming coastal towns.  Once the route is chosen, one can go either by the preferred date of departure (up to three options on any given day of the week), or by a preferred cruise line if there is any.  Alaska cruises operate between May-September, with 561 sailings listed in a calendar year.  Twelve cruise lines operate in this sector- Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea, Disney Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Crystal and Seabourn Cruise Line.  Between them, the companies run 22-25 cruises in the Alaska region every week.  The cruises are almost always for seven nights.  Some cruises originating in San Francisco are for ten nights.

There is a very helpful cruise calendar for 2018 available in this website: http://www.cruisealaska.com/cgi/calendar2.pl?all+2018

   

Frankly, I did not know much of this when I did my booking.  I have never been on a cruise before.  Our trip was planned at very short notice of less than two months.  Apparently, cruise passengers research, plan and book a year or more in advance.  For us, roundtrip from Seattle, on or about mid-May, was pre-ordained because of our overall itinerary.  So (fortunately) our choice narrowed down significantly.  Among the options, the name Norwegian sounded vaguely familiar; the price point seemed competitive and the date of sailing on a Sunday matched my overall schedule.  For the ticketing, I could easily book online using credit card; but I paused at the last minute and explored local travel agent options.  I called up two from among I knew.  One surprised me by saying they had a group booking of 20+ doctors from Kolkata in the same month, but the date did not exactly match my schedule.  Then I contacted Gainwell Travel (www.gainwelltravel.com) and found that they do cruise bookings, including for Norwegian.  The price they offered was very competitive and comparable with the online rate.  I am glad I booked through them- not only I now had the advantage of making Rupee payment, but also I benefited from their knowledge about cruises and their patience with nagging first time cruise passengers asking dumb questions.  I think their tolerance with me was tested most severely when I had a last minute panic attack 48 hours before the cruise and called them up while traveling on Amtrak train towards Seattle to ask whether food is included in the price of the ticket.  They assured me that “all is well” and I should not worry.  The dumbness of the question became apparent when on board we realized the food options were more than we could gorge on in 7 days- a 24X7 Café serving elaborate breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks buffet and six specialty dining restaurants- all complimentary!

 

There is a wide choice about type of room to choose on a cruise ship.  Our ship had 18 Haven category mega suites at the top deck of the ship, with personal butler and concierge; 10 number 2-bedroom family suites with balcony; 20 Penthouses; 134 mini Suites; 360 rooms with balcony; 243 rooms with ocean view but no balcony and 412 Inside rooms with no view.  These can be at the rear (Aft), middle (Mid) or front (Forward) part of the ship.  Usually the higher category rooms are at the upper decks- 8-12.  Most rooms and suites accommodate an average of 4 guests. 

 

The last major decision is about choosing free on-board offers, if applicable with the category of ticket purchased.  There is a discounted ticket category termed “Sail Away” rate, which usually can’t be combined with other deals and discounts.  The free offers are unlimited beverage package, free specialty dining package, $50 shore excursion credit, 250 minutes of free wifi worth $125, and reduced rate for friends and family.  I wanted unlimited beverage and wifi- I was told our ticket category could only provide the free 250 minutes of wifi.  The beverage package and wifi are the most worthwhile in my opinion.

 

Two other sundry points need to be considered- travel insurance and Canada visa.  There is lot of confusion whether overseas travel insurance covers cruise or not.  Considering that there is significant cost in evacuating a passenger by helicopter in case of a major emergency, this should have been explicitly stated by the insurance companies.  I received two contradictory opinions of yes and no from two different executives of the same company.  Most insurance agents say it is covered, but the brochure is silent about inclusion or exclusion.  I was further confused to note that the offline policy details provided by agents did not match the details provided by the company online.  The online rates were lower too.  At the end, I chose the Indian philosophical way of not worrying about it and just booked a comprehensive travel insurance for my overall trip which included by cruise dates.  There is also a compulsory requirement of Canada visa for Indian nationals.  Seattle based round trip cruises have a compulsory docking in a Canadian port under the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act 1886.  Norwegian and most other cruises stop at Victoria in British Columbia.  It takes 3-4 weeks to obtain Canada visa from Kolkata in peak travel season.  We applied 5 weeks in advance and were worried, but luckily received the passports back with visa well in time.

 

The next part of the blog describes out travel experience during the 7-day Alaska Cruise with Glacier Bay on board Norwegian Pearl in May 2018.          

 

Alaska Cruise- Part II- Travel Experience on board Norwegian Pearl

This part describes my travel experience during the 7-day Alaska Cruise with Glacier Bay from Seattle on board Norwegian Pearl in May 2018.          

We built up the tempo of the cruise by reaching Seattle on a 36-hour Amtrak train ride from Los Angeles; being wined and dined luxuriously in their sleeper cabin.  During the journey, at the smoking stop I met a co-passenger family group from Britain who were heading to Seattle to board the same cruise as ours.  They had done their booking online a year in advance, and had received the dining and beverage package.  We reached Seattle on Saturday at 8:00 pm, and had a relaxed stay in our relative’s house.  Our cruise was to sail on Sunday at 4:00 pm.  Check in starts from noon, and last check in is 2 hours before departure of the ship.  We reached the Pier 66 at 2225 Alaskan Way, Seattle at 1:00 pm.  The big bags had to be dropped off first before proceeding to check in, which is an elaborate process by itself.  The screening of handbag is very thorough, and no liquid including water is allowed to be carried in.  This is to prevent people from carrying in their own alcoholic beverage.  Even empty water bottles are to be thrown out.  At the next stage, passport/visas are checked, a credit card is taken for the file to meet on board expenses, passports are deposited to facilitate Canadian immigration and then room keys cum ship identity cards are issued to each and every passenger.  The key card holds information about the passenger identity as well as billing/payment details.  It took about an hour from reaching the pier when we finally stepped in to the ship through the 6^th floor deck.

 

This is a good occasion to describe the ship.  It is larger than anything I have ever stayed before- even bigger than some of the very large Las Vegas hotels.  Built in 2006 and refurbished in 2017, Norwegian- Pearl is a 93,530 ton behemoth, with 965 feet length and 13 decks.  The ship accommodates 2394 guests and 1072 ship crew.  It has 1197 rooms, 16 bars and lounges, 6 complimentary restaurants/dining venues, 6 specialty dining venues with cover charge, 12 elevators, duty free shopping arcade, two outdoor swimming pools, six hot tubs, an open air deck surrounded by sun beds and deck chairs, jogging/walking track, basketball/volleyball/tennis court, fitness center, bowling alley, art gallery, casino, library, card room, video arcade, chapel, kids room, spa and one 13,000 sq ft Stardust theatre which can seat 1,016 guests.  Still, this Jewel class ship now qualifies as mid-sized- the company now operates Breakaway and Epic class ships with 4000 passengers and is launching Leonardo class ships with 5000 passenger capacity by 2025.  Full detail about the ship is available in https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Norwegian-Pearl-ShipFeatures_May2017.pdf      

   

    

As we stepped in to the ship, we found ourselves in the 6th floor central reception area.  This is the social hub, from where various dining/entertainment/information areas radiate out.   Rooms were not yet ready; so people were loitering, chattering excitedly, some ensconced themselves at the bar and some others queued up at the customer service desk to ask questions.  I was feeling quite lost- so holding on tight to my room key which read as 10036, I joined the customer service queue.  Soon a Guest Relations executive walked up even before I reached the counter.  He turned out to be Raj from India.  I later learnt that several staff members are from India.  He provided helpful initial guidance.  Soon we were told we could proceed to our room but immediately thereafter assemble first at the Stardust Theatre for a briefing and then on the 13th floor open deck for the Sail Away Party.  We walked up to the elevator along very bright jewel-theme carpeting and went up to the 10th floor to walk along a long aisle lined with rooms before we found our room on the Starboard (right) side.  As we opened the room, we were charmed.  The ocean-view Family Balcony Stateroom in the mid-forward section was of size 205 sq ft.  The room was smartly designed and elegantly decorated.  It had a comfortable double bed, a pull out sofa bed and a wide berth which remains flushed to the ceiling until unlocked by housekeeping staff.  The room had a cabinet, safe, wall mounted TV, tea-/coffee maker, mini bar and a well appointed bathroom.  The wide balcony with two chairs and a table, separated from the room by floor-to-ceiling glass door, was a highlight.  It helped us to experience the ever changing view and feel of the ocean and the landscape.  Balcony Cabin

Layout (floor plan)

Picture Courtesy: www.cruisemapper.com

We quickly placed our luggage and went up to the 12^th floor deck.  There was already a sea of people, all in very casual attire, eating drinking and chatting by the poolside.  DJ Franco and party band Energy Plus was playing.  The four hot tubs were already full.  We looked out of the glass lined side of the ship and could see the pier moving away at 4:30 pm.  The Seattle port was coming in to full view.  We were sailing!  We were hungry and wanted to eat.  It took a while to figure out from where food was coming from.  The quest took us in to the Garden Cafe on the same floor- where there is a nearly all-day buffet.  I felt like a kid in a candy store looking at the spread.  It had 100+ types of snack food temptingly laid out.  We loaded our plates and came out to the deck.  A colorfully-dressed flash mob soon appeared from nowhere and put up quite a dance show.  We shared a table with three middle aged ladies.  They told us they were school friends and have come together from three different states of United States to be on the cruise.  It was a perfect beginning of a fun-filled and hectic seven days on board Norwegian Pearl.  The rest of the evening went in exploring the ship, stopping by places where contests and lucky draws were being held, a dazzling dance acrobatics show at the Stardust Theatre and a gala dinner at Garden Café.  However, within about four hours of leaving Seattle the ship ran in to choppy sea.  At around 11 pm when I went to the open deck, water in the two swimming pools was swishing wildly from one end to another and people were swaying while walking across the deck.  The gust of wind blowing across the open deck was sending a shiver down the spine.  The rough weather continued for much of the next day too, which was a full sailing day on open sea.  It became progressively better thereafter and became as benign as a flight ride by day four.           

 

 

 

 

Our itinerary was as below:

Sun, 13-May   4:00 pm                       Ship departs Seattle

Mon, 14-May  full day                        At sea

Tue, 15-May    2:00-10:00 pm             Anchor at Juneau, Alaska

Wed, 16-May  7:00 am - 8:15 pm       Anchor at Skagway, Alaska

Thu, 17-May                                       Cruise Glacier Bay

Fri, 18-May     6:00 am - 1:30 pm       Anchor at Ketchikan, Alaska

Sat, 19-May    6:00 pm - 11:59 pm     Anchor at Victoria, British Columbia in Canada

Sun, 20-May   7:00 am                       Ship arrives back in Seattle

Here’s a graph of the route:

Source: www.ncl.com

The seven days of the cruise went like a breeze.  My highlights of the cruise were on-board gourmet food; swim and hot tub on the 12^th floor deck of the ship; playing table tennis with Chinese and German fellow passengers; watching fabulous shows in the evening; watching magnificent sunrise from our private balcony; seeing mini icebergs float past us; witnessing the wild beauty of the Glacier Bay National Park and the majestic Margerie Glacier therein up close and personal; chatting with ship Officers; land excursion in Juneau to see Mendelhall Glacier and whale watching at Auke Bay; stroll in the quaint gold mining town of Skagway; pretending to be interested in buying $10,000 mink coat and $30,000 fox skin blanket; enjoying super fresh Alaskan salmon at Ketchikan; touching Canada land at Victoria, British Columbia and taking a stroll in the small upmarket town; chatting with strangers and connecting with friends from mid-sea using rationed wifi allowance.  A super highlight of the trip was checking my daughter’s ICSE result on day four of the cruise and finding out that she did really well in her exams. 

Every day, a four page newsletter named Freestyle Daily was delivered to the cabin.  It contained weather forecast, details of all entertainment events on board, location and timings of all restaurants and bars on board, special event details such as guided ship tour/liquor tasting/solo travelers meet & greet/art gallery events and several other types of useful information.  There are too many events going on each day.  When I am looking back at it, I feel we should have collected it the previous evening and studied it with lot more attention to plan our next day.  But as first-time cruise passenger, it all looked too new and overwhelming.  For the first three days, we literally ended up stumbling from one random thing to another without a strategy to maximize the fun or optimize our time.  

 

Highlight of entertainment:  The exquisitely designed Stardust Theatre is the venue for the big-ticket evening entertainment shows.  The first day show was a dance acrobatics show- Las Vegas style.  The second day show was Duo Quintessence- a dynamic man-woman duo displaying dazzling acrobatic artistry on stage, encapsulated in a sleek visual presentation accompanied by elegant costumes and dramatic lighting.  The third day late evening event, after passengers returned from land excursion in Juneau, was a powerful vocal performance by Nicola Ward- Unscripted Journey.  On day 4, Comedy Hypnotist Nadeen put up a hilarious group hypnotism show, where he picked up members of the audience to conduct the hypnotism.  However, to a critical mind, it appeared as if it was choreographed.  On Day 5, stand-up comedian Eddie Clark performed.  The Day 6 show was the best in my opinion.  In this Legends in Concert show, look-alikes of Michael Jackson, Elton John and Madonna not only recreated the charm through their costumes and gait, but also sang or danced to perfect imitation of the legendary artists.   The show had Vegas style stamped all over it.   In addition, live classical music with piano played daily at the Magnums on Deck 6-perfect for the passengers who preferred to enjoy their evening quietly over a glass of good wine.  The high-energy events such as cardio fitness class, karaoke and dance were at other venues such as Spinnaker Lounge on the top Deck 13 and Bliss Lounge on Deck 7.  The Crystal Atrium in the main lounge area of the ship in Deck 7 had a variety of programs every day- ranging from music bands, night movie, art and craft exhibition, ship presentation and trivia with cruise staff, photography session, balloon twisting workshop, documentaries on the Alaska region, other cruise destination presentations.  The shopping arcade hosted attractive programs such as Guest the Carat Raffle at the Jewelry Shop and whiskey/liquor tasting at the Duty Free Shop.  Art appreciation workshops and auction happened at the Art Gallery.  Shopping and Jewelry consultant Robbie created an early impression by distributing free ship charms, and then motivated guests to indulge in shopping spree through his presentations on shopping options at the ports of call and the specialty of the jewelry that is sold in Alaska.  The Mandara Spa staff on the social deck 12 was always available to greet guests with a smile and offered massage and spa to the guests.  Several other events were happening everyday- ranging from fitness, sports, lucky draws, contests (fun ones such as guess the weight of a metal rhino), workshops, meet-up with cruise staff and Officers, and so on.                    

Food:  Simply stated, there were took much food during the cruise.  The ship had 16 bars and lounges, 6 complimentary restaurants/dining venues and 6 specialty dining venues with cover charge.  The most popular place was the informal Garden Café on the 12^th floor social deck.  It operated almost round the clock, serving elaborate buffet.  Breakfast was from 6:00-9:00 am, lunch from 11:30 am-2:00 pm, dinner from 4:00 – 9:30 pm and then late night snacks from 9:30-11:30 pm.  Two cheerful staff members are positioned at the entrance during major meal timings, spraying hand sanitizer on the palms of every incoming guest, and sometimes strumming guitar while singing “I just wanna wash your hands”.  The spread was lavish for each meal, and lunch/dinner was multi-cuisine.  There was even a small Indian section.  Five other restaurants required a table booking to be done, and dress code was semi formal.  The Lotus Garden restaurant served Asian fusion cuisine, O’Sheehan’s served prime rib, Summer Palace served continental food and Topsiders Grill served grilled items.  Six other specialty restaurants required cover charge / a la carte charge- Japanese Sushi Bar, Cagneys Steakhouse, Italian La Cucina, French Le Bistro, Brazilian Moderno and Japanese Japanese.  I have no doubt the beef, pork and seafood in these places were excellent.  I enjoyed the salmon; but I was frustrated that the ship was serving Norwegian salmon from its previous trip and not freshly caught Alaskan ones.  Finally, a note of dissent to the F&B Director helped and Summer Palace served fresh Alaskan salmon towards the end of the trip.  Chocolate & wine tasting sessions were conducted at Le Bistro- allowing guests to experiment beyond recommended pairings.  Mixing and matching unrelated items from the elaborate buffet at Garden Café was fun.  Halfway in to the journey, I developed food fatigue and ended up eating rice with dal from the Indian section and French fries from the adjoining burger counter.              

 Shore Excursions: The cruise offered large number of shore excursions at the first three ports of call- Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.  Juneau is the capital of Alaska and is the largest city with a population of 30,000.  In Juneau, the top attractions are the 13-mile long Mendelhall Glacier, gold mine tour, Tracy Arm Fjord and whale watching at Auke Bay.  Adventure tour options such as zipline, sled ride, sportsfishing and glacier lake canoeing are also available.  While most are group tours, private tour options on chauffeur driven hummer and seaplane are also available.  We opted for a whale watching plus glacier tour combo.  The catamaran ride on Auke Bay was excellent.  But the whales were benign humpbacks, which surface and dip like mermaids.  The image I had in mind was that of blue whale or Orca, which jump up dramatically from the water and make a full splash landing.  The sight of a colony of sea lion in the Bay was quite exciting.  The stop at the Mendelhall Glacier Lake and the Visitor Center on its shore was charming too.  The placid lake had floating icebergs, and the glacier descended gently on to the lake.  

    

The nest stop was Skagway- a gold mining town with a population of 800-1000.  It was a sheer pleasure walking through the wooden buckboard sidewalks along near-empty streets, which had more tourists than residents.  Quaint shops lined both sides of the Dock Road, which is also the railhead of the White Pass & Yukon Route established in 1898.  The gold mining museum captured the history of the town with imaginative display and narratives.  Several jewelry shops were selling jewelry set with diamond and other precious and semi precious stones.  Tanzanite is a Canadian mineral which is marketed quite aggressively to the Alaska tourists.  I entered a caramelized popcorn shop which offers unlimited sampling.  It was so good, I sampled generously and then bought to have more on board.  In Skagway, tour options included an alluring White Pass & Yukon Train ride, which charts a 40-mile dramatic route on narrow gauge railroad and climbs to a 3000 foot elevation.  The ride passes through Bridal Veil Falls and features panoramic views of mountains, gorges, tunnels, trestles and historic sites.  I did not take the ride, but learnt from fellow passengers that they could complete only half of the ride as the track ahead was blocked by landslides.  They got a partial refund.

 

The third port of call was Ketchikan.  It is a quaint small town of 14,000 population near Tongrass Forest in Southeastern Alaska.  The city has had several claims to fame since inception in 1885, starting with “Salmon Capital of the World” to “Rain Capital of Alaska” to having the world's largest collection of standing totem poles.  The best salmon I had was here, at Alaska Fish House- which take pride in their daily fresh catch.  The pink of the salmon was quintessentially Alaskan.  There were rows of shops selling Alaskan fur products and jewelry.  I explored a fur shop and marveled at mink coats, fur undergarments and a $30,000 blanket made from skin of 12 Alaskan foxes.                        

 

The final stop was at Victoria, British Columbia.  It is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest, beginning as a British settlement in 1843.  Being Canadian territory, non-Americans require Canada visa to enter, which therefore becomes mandatory for cruise ship passengers.  It was a charming city with Victorian architecture (most evident in the Parliament building and the Empress Hotel), quaint shops and great food options.  The harbor was busy with a large population of sail boats, excursion boats and water taxis in it.  We saw beautiful people (including a rickshaw puller), vibrant bars, gorgeous old cars and excited tourists.     

Glacier Bay experience: A narrative of Alaska cruise is not complete without a special reference to the Glacier Bay.  Geologically, the area is most significant, as it saw the most dramatic glacial retreat in recorded history.  Only 260 years ago, the place was one mass of glacial ice.  Then the glacier started receding, and has moved back by about 60 miles today.  The place is now a hotbed of scientific research.  The Glacier Bay National Park covers an area of 5130 sq miles, out of which 27% area is covered with 1045 glaciers.  The most famous ones are Grand Pacific Glacier, Johns Hopkins Glacier, Margerie Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier.  These glaciers are 1-2 miles wide, 12-35 miles long, with an ice flow rate of 1-15 feet per day.  5 major earthquakes of reading around 8 on Richter scale have happened in the area in the last two centuries.  Glacier Bay is a designated National Park & Preserve, World Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage site.  In 2017, the place has had around 600,000 visitors.  The most famous accommodation in the sparsely populated area is Glacier Bay Lodge at Gustavus, but the cruise ship passengers get to see the place from ship only.  We reached Glacier Bay on Day 5 morning.  When I woke up and walked up to the balcony, I was greeted by misty snow-capped mountains on the shore, and mini icebergs floating on the placid emerald blue water.  The public announcement system announced that we were approaching Glacier Bay, and the National Park Rangers were already on board (not sure how they got in) to narrate the details of the place.  The ship was moving so softly, as if it did not want  to disturb the tranquility of the place.    After a hurried breakfast, we assembled to the 8^th floor viewing deck.  By that time, the ship was almost at the end of the Bay, where a swathe of ice was floating on the water, and the retreating glaciers formed a U shape of the shore line.  On the left of our ship, lay the Margerie Glacier in full glory.  We were extremely lucky that it was a bright sunny day which allowed us a great view.  The previous week’s cruise encountered rainy weather I was told.  We could see chunks of ice falling off the glacier in to the sea.  A bright red excursion boat was much closer to the glacier- those are specialized adventure tours that are for the experienced and adventurous travelers.  Passengers were super excited and were clicking photos and selfies merrily.  We enjoyed the view from both the 8^th and the 13^th floor decks, and talked to the Rangers.  The ship stayed there for over an hour, before taking a U-turn slowly on the port side.  We did not see much wildlife, though some said they spotted beaver and rabbit.  I caught a fleeting glance of what was possibly a fly fish. 

The cruise experience overall was overwhelming.  The newness of everything, the pleasure of slowly getting assimilated in the milieu, the virgin beauty of the place, the serenity of the landscape, the crispness of the air, the sharp breeze of the sea, the grandeur of the ship, the tsunami of fun going on everywhere leaves an indelible impression in the mind.  No wonder the cruise lines have a big emphasis on loyalty programs.  One cruise line manager said “The third [sailing] is what we believe the tipping point is of when you’re considered a cruiser…We should be designing the loyalty program to hand you more from the first cruise to the second and the second cruise to the third.”