YVRteacher

The Silver King welcoming committee was very enDEERing

Disclosure: I have just spent a good amount of time at Maltings. I have no idea what I’m going to write. Here’s our tour bus. We are clearly in the right place. Our NCL excursion is the Alaska Lodge Adventure and Seafeast. Unfortunately our time was changed from 10:45 to 9:30am which isn’t ideal for a food-based excursion. Oh well. I booked this one for dad since he loves seafood. I did register a vegetarian meal and have low, low expectations. Don’t tell ANYONE but I have a banana and some cookies in my purse for backup. I’ve said this before: I was a Girl Guide and am always prepared. Our driver is Matt. In his other life he is a sixth grade history teacher in Las Vegas. Matt says speaking of history, our bus is older than him. He also says he doesn’t know what is more difficult: dealing with sixth graders or cruise ship passengers from Atlanta. We had a lovely drive north from Ward Cove to Clover Pass. Clover Pass Marina The properties here aren’t connected to the city water supply. All homes have cisterns. I know someone who lives in Wales who had frog eggs hatch in her cistern so her water was teaming with tadpoles. Here is our boat for the trip to Silver King Lodge So some excursions are meh. Some are outstanding. Ours was the latter! Every time the captain spotted wildlife he zipped the boat closer and did a slow 360 so everyone could see. It was like we were on a wildlife viewing tour! My dad and I once did a wildlife tour out of Ketchikan and saw nothing except ocean. Today made up for that! We saw (sorry the capital letters) Eagles Seagulls Kittiwakes Crows Sea lions Seals One Humpback Whale Sitka deer x3 Our tour took us through Clover Passage This boat zooms like a luge and I say wheeee many times. My dad holds on and looks afraid for his life. This dock is part of the Navy base These two barges are part of SEAFAC which is the acronym (can you believe I spelled that correctly when I’m this tipsy!!??) for the SouthEast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility. Their technology is so sensitive they can hear a snowflake hitting the water. They are designed to detect submarine signals and determine foe or ally. We see a humpback whale and take a little detour for gasps of awe before spotting Grant Island and the neighbouring Silver King Lodge. You can stay for a week here (that’s the minimum) and each cabin includes its own skiff.

I get Evan all the time at Starbucks too!! I know Burns and Allen (not personally…!)

This was in Seymour Narrows on the sea day between Vancouver and Ketchikan. We are heading north, not south.

Day 3 With apologies to Billy Joel here are scenes from a breakfast buffet. This is what I made Look as these snowy peaks in Ketchikan! We have a sunshine day and it is glorious. Here we are: It’s going to take more than the washy washy team to fix this When we came back to the cabin my dad asked what he needed for the day. I’m now giving instructions one step at a time. First his Keen shoes Then a jacket Then a discussion about a hat. No hat. Then camera. My dad took his camera out of the travel pouch and turned it on. He got this delighted look on his face and exclaimed “oh look at that! What a great picture!” I asked “is it me?” Dad said, “no, it’s a goose.” The security officer tapping key cards was saying good morning to each passenger as they disembarked and greeting them by name. To my dad she said, “Good morning John!” With me she paused Took a read I get called “why von knee” a lot so I was expecting that. Instead she said, “Good morning, Jiv in Knee.” Better than Starbucks’ names!

The Jewel spent the late autumn and winter cruising Asia. She did a Tokyo to Tokyo trip before the transpacific from Tokyo to Dutch Harbor. Instead of Flow water, we have Japanese water for our Latitudes free water. I assume this water is selectively harvested from gurgling brooks tricking down from the mighty peak of Mount Fuji. The snow crystals formed atop the mountain from clouds of breath exhaled by the daily prayers of Buddhist monks and sushi chefs, melted as the sun rose. This must be water at its purest, the elixir of life in a cardboard and foil box that has ended up in my cabin. Japanese people live long lives so I drank a whole box of water tonight, hoping it will counteract the day’s accumulation from the ultimate beverage package. Now I have to pee.

Day 2 VIP After our impromptu (and “free”) whale watching excursion to the Great Outdoors we headed to Bliss Lounge for an event. I stopped at a bathroom and when I came out Armando was standing next to my dad and my dad was looking all distraught and forlorn. I asked him what was wrong and he said he found a party but we weren’t invited. I said, dad this is why we’re here. Did you think there was a party that we didn’t get to go to? He said yes. He was very relieved when he found out he got to attend the party upon which he had stumbled. Armando had a little giggle too. I guess my dad loves a good party! He met my mom at a party. He was traveling around the world in 1964, met my mom and ended his travels in Vancouver. Back to Bliss Lounge and the party. This was the Captain’s VIP party. There was a great turn out from all the officers, department managers, CD and guest services team. The Love Brothers played fabulous tunes while butlers served food on silver spoons (if you know me, you know this isn’t me at all!) We didn’t eat any canapés but they looked yummy. We did have some drinks and wow were they good! They had rum and pink stuff but they weren’t rum punches or Bahama Mamas. The captain went to the bar and stood there drinking water with the staff captain and chief engineer. All the department managers left without talking to guests and the cruise director didn’t say anything to anybody. We enjoyed the music, the drinks, talking to Tyson and Rumi and Cruise Critic friends Tammy and Ron. Then it was showtime! My dad had circled Rock You Tonight. Before I tell you about tonight’s show, let’s recall how on previous cruises he left this show due to noise. Before we left Vancouver we went to the store and I had my dad choose the ear plugs he wanted. Armed with said earplugs, we stuffed them in and braced for noise. Turns out the volume was perfect and the show was a high energy production that got my dad’s feet tapping and hands clapping. The singers, dancers and musicians give it their all (truly) and gave us a fantastic show. The Stardust Theatre was packed and there was a standing ovation. I didn’t see anyone leaving early. I just saw a theatre full of cruise ship passengers enjoying an excellent performance. When the applause stopped and the lights came on my dad turned to me in a panic. He told me he put the earplugs in his ears and only one earplug came out. He said the other was still stuck in his ear. As this was happening my head was whirling with what was going to happen next. I hate body stuff and can’t even handle it when the kindergarten kids lose their teeth and want to tell me ALL ABOUT IT. Just as I was envisioning an ear plug search and rescue mission I looked on the floor and saw the ear plug. It never even made it into my dad’s ear. We chatted with Chip and Chris for a little bit then I could see dad was done. He kind of droops a little when this happens. We went back to the cabin and dad found typos in tomorrow’s Freestyle Daily while I blew bubbles on the balcony. He ate some cookies and I ate the chocolate strawberries. What a busy sea day! This is what happens when you travel with someone who likes to circle/highlight the Freestyle Daily. Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan and I’m excited for a new-to-us shore excursion.

After dinner we went to the Great Outdoors for whale watching! Wow wow wow! Orcas on the port side, orcas on the starboard side, orcas in our wake! That was a treat and we were both enchanted! I didn’t even try to take photos. I just enjoyed the moments. Every few seconds there would be a spout followed by the arcing of a glistening black back. The sun was still high at 6:00pm so the whales were almost sparkling. Magic.

Day 2 more There weren’t any draft beers on the Jewel yesterday. Today there is Stella. My dad is demonstrating excellent flexibility in accepting beer out of a can or bottle. We have found our musician! His name is Ed Young. He is a stellar pianist who does everything I like! Phantom! Copa Cabana! Oh wait. What’s this? Sweet Caroline. Day 2. I’m doomed. Not even 36 hours into the cruise. I drowned my sorrow in some nachos at O’Sheehan’s. My dad and I shared the nachos but he doesn’t understand the joy of nachos so really I ate them by myself. Peeking at the Freestyle Daily at 4pm I said, “we could go make flowers.” My dad screwed up his face and made a long exhaling nooooooooooo then said, “I don’t want to make flowers.” He didn’t circle flower making so we don’t get to do flower making. When he looked at his Freestyle Daily he also told me there was no dinner circled so how were we supposed to eat dinner. I could tell my dad was waning but he didn’t want to go have a nap in the cabin. I told him I needed a nap and we went back to the cabin together where he napped and I read. I’m not sure he actually napped though, because I distinctly heard the lid of the cookie tray being lifted, paused and replaced with a little thunk. When I asked my dad what he wanted for dinner he said he thought he already ate dinner. We went to Garden Cafe. The soup of the day was clam chowder plus it was shrimp boil night so I took a bowl of clam chowder and added shrimp and mussels and it was dad heaven. I added some broccoli on his plate so at least something came from the plant kingdom today. My dinner was lentil dal, basmati rice and broccoli. There was cake! Such scrumptious cake! Mocha with milk chocolate icing adorned with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The world needs more peanut butter cups as garnishes! Dad complaint of the day: the ice cream is too cold.

We board the day you disembark.

It’s a free latitudes perk.

Cookies Treats from our concierge Chocolate covered strawberries

Sorry-not all photos would upload.

Wines Around the World Not a dad story: As we were gathered, waiting for Wines Around the World I asked someone if this was the line for Wines Around the World. The event was taking place in Le Bistro so we corralled in Magnums. A woman said she had stepped inside and they were still setting up. I asked her if it was Aan. She said no, it wasn’t on. I said not on. Aan. She said no, not on. Then I went and got us pre-wine tasting pineapple mimosas. The two best Wines Around the World sessions we have experienced have both been on the Jewel and one of them was today. 50 people attended! Room numbers were checked off a list as we entered so there was no sneaking in. We were divided into 4 groups of +/- 12 people and sent to one of 4 stations. A knowledgeable wine steward was at each of the four stations and they did a presentation for each wine we sampled. For each wine we learned where it was made, what flavours and layers to notice, the alcohol content and recommended food pairing. Our first stop on our worldly tour is Italy. Wonderful wine steward Siegefreid (I need to check the spelling of his name) was at the Italy station and as he poured our wine he said “alcohol for you, alcohol for you, alcohol for you…” I took notes as fast as I could but it’s hard to type on a phone with a glass of wine in one hand and a dad to manage. Below you’ll see the photo of the wine with the notes underneath. White flowers Passion flowers Golden raisins Food pairing Mushroom soup and endive salad Carbonara (peas on the side because Siegefreid does not like peas.) Chianti Red berries Red morello cherries Food pairing Porterhouse at Cagney’s The fastest way to travel from Italy to France is to move clockwise in Le Bistro. Rose Organic 12% alcohol Pairs well with Japanese dishes Red Pinot Noir Thin skin grape Low acidity Goes well with chicken or pork 13.5% alcohol Good for celebrating Dad likes this one. Quicker than a flight across the Atlantic, we mosey over to the USA Chateau Ste Michelle Chardonnay from Washington State. This is an older vintage which becomes yellower as it ages. Hints of oak, vanilla and pineapple. Good with chicken, fish, oysters and lobsters -a medium to full bodied white wine so it goes with steak, sausages, pork chops Red East West California Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot Lots of plum, blackberries and raspberries. This is a fruit forward wine. This was dad’s favourite! Good with spicy food. Order your meat medium with this wine. Michael Mondavi wine It was a quick jaunt from the USA south Argentina (except our wine is from New Zealand. I guess they didn’t have the funds for a New Zealand sign.) At this station Wonderful Wine steward Jennifer taught us the Ss and Vs of wine tasting: 4Ss See Swirl Sniff Sip 4Vs Vintner Vintage Vineyard Variety Matua 2019 White Sauvignon Blanc High acidity Pairs well with green salad Teppanyaki Spicy food Shellfish Shrimp Red Raspberries Blueberries Fruit forward Slow legs Swirl for flavour 14% alcohol Pairs well with steak or pasta with red sauce As most of you know I’m not a wine drinker. I had tiny tastes of the Italian white and the French rosé. Both tasted good to me. My dad tried all 8 and enjoyed them all. I was so impressed with the organization and effort to make this a fun sea day event for Latitudes members.

I’m sorry to hear about your dad. Sending you love and care!

We are having a wonderful time! We love the Jewel! It’s a great feeling on board with happiness abounding.

Sea day afternoon One of the activities dad circled in the Freestyle Daily was Alaskan Trivia. This was a popular event and Bliss lounge was full of trivia doers. The questions were challenging so my dad was at his best, making pfft noises and announcing how stupid the questions were. A team from Alaska won with 17 points and we came second with 11. After trivia dad said he couldn’t do any more cruises. I told him he had to since we just paid in full for August. He said he couldn’t. I said I wasn’t talking about this right now. In 5 minutes he will forget this conversation as well as all the trivia questions and answers so the swearing and grumpy noises will make a return next week. Before making the long trek one floor up to the spa, I did a bathing suit check for all those involved. Swimwear adorned, we secured hot ceramic loungers like the hopeful Gold Rushers staked their claims in the Yukon. Unlike the miners we left our horses and pick axes back in the cabin. My dad looked at me as soon as I got him settled in the hot ceramic lounger and asked, “is it time for a sleep?” Let’s talk spa etiquette. I think people don’t realize how loud their voices are when amplified by the acoustics of the thalassotherapy pool. People are trying to talk over the noise of the jets and it turns into shouting. Both last night and today the spa has been really loud. Continuing with Spa Etiquette 102 (I wrote volume 101 last year) do not use your arm to reach in and unclog the lemon that is blocking the inside spout of the large lemon water vessel. No one wants your hairy arm in their lemon water. @schmoopie, I am expecting great things from you with that lead in… There was a woman on one of the ceramic loungers picking the dead skin off her toenails and leaving the detritus behind on the lounger. I almost threw up seeing that. Speaking of throwing up, someone tossed their cookies this afternoon near where the art sculpture is. I get it. That thing is ugly. I heard a man ask the art consultant how he would get the statue home if he won it. She told him he doesn’t win the statue; he would win a piece of art if he guessed correctly. He seemed disappointed and walked away. Good call, buddy.

Who’s on Board? Captain Stefan Nordberg General Manager Rumi Khatao Staff Captain Santiago Filevich Chief Engineer Tomislav Russo Food and Beverage Director Tyson Pinto Casino Manager Jennifer Dimalanta Restaurant Manager Maria Dizon Executive Chef Baiju Ravindran Guest Services Manager Ronan Ramos Executive Housekeeper Ricardo Nastor Cruise Next Manager Rodan Robles Cruise Director Renan Franco Beverage Manager Windchester Barracks Head Mixologist Aan Shore Excursion Manager Boyd Chin Concierge Armando De Guzman

Day 2 Last night I set an alarm in the hopes of an early start but the repeated tapping of the snooze button made for an 8:50am get up time. I came out of the bedroom and looked outside and it was stunningly beautiful! We have an absolutely gorgeous sea day. I slept so well last night but I needed seasick medication. We are rocking from bow to stern! I listened to my dad’s complaints about the prolific pillows and the sheet that got a little shifted out of place but was reported with the magnitude of WWII. Sometimes all I can do is listen. We enjoyed a relaxed and small breakfast in Moderno where we both requested a half order of Eggs Benedict (with ham for dad, sans ham for me) and no breakfast potatoes. I hate those things. They are greasy and seasoned with oregano and that is ugh in my mouth. The breakfast buffet in Moderno was fresh and beautifully presented so I savoured papaya, kiwi, orange and watermelon along with an apple pastry. The almond croissants had an extra generous heaping coating of icing sugar today so I skipped them. In a surprising change, NCL is now back to Starbucks coffee for the French Press. For the first time since Covid we had great morning coffee. Ah! So good (no, no, no-that wasn’t an invite to break out Sweet Caroline…) After breakfast we attended the This Is Alaska slide show in the Stardust Theatre. Why? Because my dad circled it. There was a much larger crowd for this than for the comedian last night. We learned there are 800 B2B2B passengers on board but I would like to confirm this. The person from the Shore Excursions department, Leah, who did the presentation was well-spoken and funny. She told everyone to get broke on this cruise buying shore excursions and creating special memories. She recommends going to the bar before looking at your final bill on a cruise. Leah encouraged us not to waste a day and said during Covid she was thinking about her last contract and wishing she had walked to the top of the Parthenon. We then took ourselves to O’Sheehan’s bar for some people watching and libations. Pineapple mimosa for me and Bahama Mama for dad. My dad asked when was the last time he had one of these. It must have been July 2023 on the NCL Spirit. As we were watching the large screen in the atrium slides came on informing us about Seymour Narrows and Ripple Rock. This is a tricky passage to navigate due to narrowing shores (a 750m wide channel) and swift currents. Ripple Rock was a submerged mountain with twin peaks just below the surface of Seymour Narrows. 119 boats struck Ripple Rock and 114 people died in marine accidents from the strikes. On April 5, 1958 Ripple Rock was detonated using 1375 tons of Nitramex 2H explosives. The explosion stands as the largest non-nuclear blast in North America. In my mom’s family all the uncles were expert tugboat captains based out of Campbell River. My uncle John was the man who was sent down as the diver who set the charges to blow up Ripple Rock! My dad is fixing to go to Guest Services to ask why Uncle John’s name isn’t on the slide in the Atrium. My dad was hungry at 11:30am. Not because he was actually hungry but because 11:30 is lunch time where he lives. I definitely wasn’t hungry so we went to the Garden Cafe so we could have something quick and small. All the food looked appealing and was nicely presented. My Indian food was excellent! Rotis are available upon request. Dad of course had his soup. He plunked down in the green plastic chair and declared “I love soup. I’m addicted to soup.” I told him there are worse addictions. For example, it seems I am addicted to cruising. Thank you to Cruise Critic member Tammy from Prince Edward Island for saying hi and chatting during lunch today. It was lovely to meet you and your husband. Tammy heard me call my dad “dad” and asked If I was Yvonne. During lunch the captain came on the PA to provide weather, navigational and wildlife information. He told us he most recently spotted whales off the port side in the distance so a bunch of people in the buffet stood up and rushed to the windows. We were on the Starboard side. Captain also mentioned that tomorrow morning from 5:30am-7:30am would be prime wildlife viewing time. I told my dad if got up at 5:30am the only wildlife people would experience would be a grumpy bear. I hope the animals all brought their watches and are prepared to turn them back an hour tonight because there are passengers on this ship expecting sightings tomorrow with the sunrise. Halfway through lunch I said we didn’t receive our chocolate covered strawberries yesterday. My dad said go tell Rumi. I said one does not go to the GM to discuss the absence of strawberries. Someone did knock on the cabin door yesterday with a plate of shrimp canapés but I said no thank you.

Here are photos of the Jewel just after departing from the port and swinging west to head under the Lions Gate Bridge. These photos were taken by my two friends on board the Ruby Princess.

The Thermal Spa This may be the best dad story ever. Make sure you’re sitting down and are not going to spit your coffee or wine on your companion. After our big casino win, I wanted to go to the thermal spa and hold down a hot ceramic lounger and let the thalassotherapy pool work its thalasso magic. In the cabin my dad asked, “what do I do now?” I said put on your bathing suit and robe. He went in his room to change and I went in my room to change. We both came out wrapped in the dense snuggliness of Haven terry cloth robes. When we arrived in the spa all the loungers were taken and we had to wait a few minutes before two became available. I knew from last year to go full-on Princess and the Pea and stack the towels and pillows in order for dad to be comfy. I made his ceramic stone lounger cozy nest and told him to take off his robe and lay down. He disrobed. And there he stood. Naked in the thermal spa except for his flip flops. As I and all the other patrons gasped in horror, dad asked, “What? Was I supposed to put something on?” Moments later the entire spa emptied out. My dad turned to me and said in a soft puzzled tone “everybody left.” Yes. Yes they did. They did not know the Full Monty would be showing tonight in the spa. After 20 minutes of hot ceramic lounging my dad turned to me and said, “I’m cooked.” Then he asked, “where did my clothes go?” I laughed so hard I couldn’t speak. I know this is Freestyle Cruising but no one wanted to see this. If we get kicked off the ship due to indecent exposure, I’ll be really mad I don’t get those huckleberry truffles.

Evening After dinner my dad wanted some entertainment. I knew he wouldn’t like Nikki Carr but I said I would go if he wanted. There were about 200 people in the Stardust theatre and about 12 people clapped at her jokes. We lasted a couple of minutes and just had to leave. She is that bad. This is the same comedian who was on the Breakaway last month and I was so disappointed to see her name in the Freestyle Daily. As we left my dad said he couldn’t believe NCL is hiring such poor entertainment. I then suggested the casino which was a great idea because we won!

Sailaway photos passing under the Lions Gate Bridge (built by the Guinness family) with West Vancouver and Ambleside and my dad’s house to the north (right side) and Stanley park to the south (left side) Ambleside buildings are the University of British Columbia we enter the Salish Sea It snowed last night, a light dusting of powder Howe Sound

I was wondering where you were! Let’s have another get together. I’ll set something up and post here and in the roll call.

First Dinner The short version: Dinner was mostly good. The long version: Normally Moderno isn’t popular on the first night of a cruise but this ship has a lot of B2B guests and hundreds of experienced cruisers. Moderno was busy. For the first 70 minutes there was one waiter for the whole restaurant. One. We were late leaving port due to mechanical issues (something needed to be repaired) lots of luggage, bunkering and something about this being the first big turnaround port after the transpacific. I’m telling you this because in Canadian ports only one bar per deck can be open. The Pit Stop is the smoking bar so that one stayed open and Sugarcane was closed. The waiter was not only bringing bread, sauces and sides, he also had to go up and down to the pool bar to get everyone’s drinks. He actually came and apologized to us for the poor service and we said it wasn’t poor service and we weren’t in a hurry. Moderno ended up being the perfect spot for sailaway because dad could stay sheltered and not have his hair blown about (heaven forbid) and I could pop outside for photo opportunities. The salad bar was mostly good although the potato salad and the couscous were so salty they were inedible. Here’s my plate. When I took a photo of dad’s plate he asked what I was doing. I said “taking a photo of your plate.” He asked why. I said because I think it’s funny that you went to a salad bar and came back with no salad on your plate. He did have a pile of ginger which he was about to put into his mouth all at once. I said stop! That’s ginger-you’ll hate it. He looked sad and said “I thought it was salmon.” It’s a good thing he has me around! My dad loves soup so he was happy with his plate of “salad,” a bowl of lobster bisque, one piece of bacon-wrapped chicken and a slice of fresh, hot pineapple. I had the salad bar, avocado maki, mashed potato and black beans. We shared the banana thing for dessert and both enjoyed it. When we walked across deck 13 to get to the bow, dad had a conniption because his hair got blown out of place. more salad bar photos