Live from the Jewel May 2-16, 2022

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

Day 10

May 11, 2022

Icy Strait Point

Today is my dad’s birthday! He is 79.  He was born in a bomb shelter in Bristol during WW2.  (I never met his mom but she volunteered in the old folks’ home until she was 98!) He says he doesn’t like having birthdays and definitely is having a hard time accepting that he is getting older.  I think it’s important to celebrate and honour every trip around the sun.

Rumi asked us to have dinner with him so I secretly arranged for the dinner to be tonight in Le Bistro.

 

In 2008 my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She was incredibly sick for 18 months and none of her treatments worked.  She died in April 2010.  That first Christmas I told my dad I couldn’t do it; my mom loved Christmas and it hurt too much to even think about celebrating without her.  My dad booked an NCL cruise that December and we discovered we travel very well together.  That’s how our cruising began.  Several people in this thread have mentioned how lucky I am to cruise with my dad and you’re right.  This time with him is an absolute gift.  I’ve noticed a huge difference in him on this cruise in his alertness, word retrieval and his old zest for life returning.  Maybe this is too personal (I had a writing professor who once said good writing IS personal…) but it took a lot of convincing to get him to cruise again as he lost confidence in himself after his stroke.  I haven’t mentioned this yet, but it looks like my dad is in the beginning stages of dementia.  We have an appointment this summer for an assessment.  Being on a familiar ship with a familiar itinerary and crew members we know and care about has made a world of difference.  I will somehow word this better in a thank you letter to NCL.

On his birthday, I am grateful to be here with him and we are having a wonderful cruise.  Yes, the sunshine is a factor.  The Jewel, a ship we have so many memories with, is another factor. The people on board are the biggest factor.  Today I went to guest services and took the few remaining Vacation Hero cards.  We have been on this second cruise for just over 24 hours and the vacation hero card drop box is full and they are out of cards.  Fortunately a restock is happening later in the week because there are many thank yous to be communicated.  This is why we choose NCL.

 

Our first time in Icy Strait Point it was August.  We did the Whale and Mammal Tour where the anticipated draw was to see bears.  First we zipped through the ocean on a speedy little catamaran and saw both orcas and humpbacks.  They were breaching and teaching the babies to hunt.  It was one of those trips where whales were so plentiful we didn’t know where to look.

After an exhilarating morning we boarded the bumpy, rickety and likely marginally safe old school bus to take us to the bear walk.  We tromped along a newly built boardwalk, over the meadows and through the woods (did anyone take piano lessons using the Leila Fletcher method?) before arriving at the bear viewing platforms.  The men with the rifles kept us safe from the bears that weren’t actually anywhere near us but I’m sure it made them feel important.

The salmon were spawning and a mama was teaching her cubs to hunt.  One cub caught on right away and stealthily waited for a salmon to swim near him then POUNCE like Simba in Lion King.  The other cub tried a different strategy that involved a lot of leaping about, bounding up and down, stirring up the water and no salmon.  He did, however, provide a group of about 10 tourists with the bear show of our lives.

Tomorrow the salmon aren’t running yet and the bears won’t be at the river.  They are starting to emerge from dens and are busy eating dandelions higher up in the mountains.  This is why we changed our excursion.  We had Whales and Bears booked but we know we won’t see bears (Melvin, the bar manager, has offered to dress up a bear…) so we will be exploring on our own, hopefully taking the gondola (after my dad had his stroke he is no longer afraid of heights!) exploring the town, beach exploring in the tide pools then taking the 1:35 whale watch excursion.

I will update you on how the day transpired tonight after I go to bed.

[ggTexasGal]

@YVRteacher  Happy Birthday to you and your dad!

And, thank you for sharing your cruises in such a beautifully written and photographed manner!!!

 

[EllieinNJ]

Enjoying your review so much.  We went on an Alaska cruise in 2012 and thought one and done.  Now I may reconsider going again.  Your pictures are mah-va-lous.

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you so much YVRteacher - your report is so funny that reading it I keep calling my commuting husband to share new posts with him! So looking forward to our July Alaska trip.

[disneylover89]

Loving your live trip report!!  Wishing you and your dad, wonderful birthdays and a happy and healthy year ahead.

[YVRteacher]

Day 10

Part 2

Icy Strait Point

We both slept well last night and enjoyed a hot breakfast in Moderno which was bustling today.  Many new crew members are now onboard so breakfast was a little long.  I ordered scrambled eggs and an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce on the side.  It was delicious.

When we arrived back to the cabin we saw NCL had fully decorated my dad’s bedroom with birthday banners and garlands.  There were cards from Naveen and Armando and a card from NCL.  NCL certainly does birthdays beautifully.  I had also wrapped and lugged presents including a jigsaw puzzle, a reading pillow (influenced by the A Beautiful Mess podcast), a new Yeti coffee mug for travel and some old man pills to help with the night time bathroom visits.  Webber Naturals from Costco if anyone is in need.

We didn’t have plans for the morning and walked off the ship knowing how much we love Icy Strait Point.  The Transporter gondola was free today and we took it from Adventure Landing to Welcome Landing then bought tickets for the main gondola that goes up the mountain. Wow wow wow.  Smooth ride with amazing views.  You can see all the way to Glacier Bay on a clear day like today.  Up top, we hiked a little bit but the trails became too muddy.  I built a mini snowman and we spent time taking in the expansive views. With a one day pass for $49 you can ride the gondola as many times as desired so we headed down, then up, then down, then up and did it one more time.  After taking the transporter back to the main part of Icy Strait Point (where the stores, restaurants and museum are) we walked along the beach as far as we could go then browsed the stores.  My dad left his binoculars on the ship so we picked them up and had a quick slice of pizza (yum!) before meeting our Whale and Mammal tour on the pier next to the Jewel.  This was an NCL excursion contracted out to Allen Marine which is the same company with which we did the whale watching in Juneau last week.  Yes we saw many whales and we were quite excited to see bears on the beach.  At first there was one big old bear and as soon as a sow and her cub arrived the big male took off.  We were so close we could see them poop!  None of our whales were close up so my photos consist of shiny black points in the ocean.  The trip that left at 1:25pm had 80 people and the trip that left at 1:35pm had 29 people and we definitely appreciated the space.  The crew served samples of local products including milk and dark chocolate, caramel popcorn and smoked salmon.  There were doughnut holes and other treats but we knew we had a special dinner coming up so we didn’t want to eat too much. In addition to whales and bears we saw otters, porpoises and eagles.   The eagles in Icy Strait Point are plentiful as are the brown bears: there are 2000 bear dens here. Something I love about Icy Strait Point is the air.  It feels clean and fresh and exhilarating.  It’s the kind of air that makes you want to go for a hike instead of staying home and eating bonbons on the couch.

Back on board we headed for the hot tubs (3 were cold and one was perfect) where we met some really great people!  I was thinking today that this cruise has had awesome passengers.  I’m normally pretty shy and I’ve found it so easy to chat and connect.  It was sunny and I was grateful for sunglasses.

We met Rumi at 6:00pm in Bistro and enjoyed a wonderful evening of great conversation, laughter, stories and delicious food.  The pastry team created a special cake for my dad and he was so happy he looked like was going to burst.  When I asked him later at the bar how he would rate the day out of ten he said it was higher than a ten.

At Maltings we capped off the evening with a great crowd of people, a round of Duck Farts, beer for my dad and an Old Fashioned for me.  Alex brought my dad another dessert that looked like a hot dog dipped in ganache but it was a chocolate mousse roll.  Some kind of kitchen wizardry went into that!

32 additional crew members are joining the ship in Juneau tomorrow as are several passengers.  Alaska Airlines canceled a flight from LA to Anchorage and the crew and passengers were affected and didn’t make the ship in Seward.  Several passengers declined to board, stating the trip would be 4 days through by the time they got on board.  

That would suck but Alaska will always be here.

[YVRteacher]

A few photos from today in Icy Strait Point

 

[Turtles06]

On 5/11/2022 at 3:11 AM, YVRteacher said:

Our laundry was returned (in baskets, not on the requested hangers) and in what I consider to be a feat of true technical prowess and  ingenuity I managed to hunt down and remove all little yellow tags.  

 

Truly hysterical comment for long-time NCL cruisers.  I still sometimes find a tag in some bizarre place on a shirt that was laundered on NCL a few years ago and obviously has been through many washes since.  It's fun as it always brings up good memories.   And those tags are really indestructible!

[smillerholmes]

8 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Truly hysterical comment for long-time NCL cruisers.  I still sometimes find a tag in some bizarre place on a shirt that was laundered on NCL a few years ago and obviously has been through many washes since.  It's fun as it always brings up good memories.   And those tags are really indestructible!

I always "think" I've gotten them all and inevitably when I get home I continue to find them.  Those things are so sticky - I can't wait until Behind the Scenes Tours start up again...I need to see this process in person!

[FabFam]

Hi Yvonne, we are back home and still smiling from our cruise, which was the first leg of your trip.  Loving your perspective and reviews, as well as your pictures!  It was such a pleasure to meet you and your father at the meet and greet and I was sorry we couldn't attend the next one.  Happy belated birthdays to both of you and enjoy the rest of your trip!   I hope we get to sail with you again... PS  where are you all headed next?  🙂 Sherry

[YVRteacher]

Captain’s Log

Day 11

It has happened and I expect mutiny will soon occur.  There is a tragedy onboard of a highly consequential nature.  A few passengers have noticed but most are still unaware.  This is an event worthy of widespread cruise refunds and is far worse than the game show last week where the cruise director’s staff forgot the prizes.  If I survive, this, my friends, will go down in the logbooks as one of the greatest obstacles ever overcome in maritime lore.  I’m not sure I can divulge this information as it makes me so sad.  My tears are raising the ocean levels in the Juneau area.

It is with great misery that I inform you that both soft serve ice cream machines in the Garden Cafe are broken!!

[YVRteacher]

Day 11

Juneau

Today we were back in Juneau for the morning.  Instead of telling you about our morning on the ship (breakfast and trivia which is so much better when you’ve done it the week before and know all the answers) I’ll tell you about our bus driver.  I think his name is Mark.  Mark, if you’re reading this and your name is actually Steve I’m so sorry!  Mark began by telling us this is the nicest day in Juneau so far this year which is exactly what our bus driver in Juneau said last week.  Mark’s son came to Juneau for summer work as a bus driver throughout his college years and he told his dad, “Dad, when you retire you have to come to Juneau for a summer to drive the bus.”  Mark and his wife came to visit their son up here one summer and fell in love with Southeast Alaska.  This summer, they made Mark’s dream come true.  He arrived in March and his wife joined him six weeks later.  They are from Phoenix.  Mark’s wife drove their car to Seattle, put the car on a barge and flew to Juneau.  The car arrived 5 days later and it cost $2000 to have it barged (is that even a word?) Mark said this is his dream, not hers, and he wanted her to be comfortable.  She is one of the people welcoming cruise ship passengers on the AJ dock and Mark says she reminds him daily that while he is warm and dry on the bus she is standing in the cold and rain most days.  Mark feels only slightly badly about this.  The city of Juneau put them up in a hotel room suite for their stay and they get free utilities and free internet.  I didn’t want the shuttle ride to end because it was such a treat to hear Mark’s story and how he made his dream happen and how he and his wife worked this out together.  Go Mark!

Once in Juneau we walked along the waterfront to get some exercise and soak up the sun.  We walked a lot today, heading east into the residential area, exploring used bookstores and enjoying the ravens swooping overhead.  Our time in Juneau was 7:00am-12:30pm so we didn’t book an excursion.  We are not 7:00am people!

Back on board we did the word puzzle game which was really fun then went to the Garden Cafe for a light lunch.  We played Scrabble, did afternoon trivia and got the same questions wrong as last week.  Insert face palm here.  There was time for a short nap before glacier time.

Today’s glacier event was the best ever. (I should get a job driving the bus in Juneau!) We entered Endicott Arm at 4:00pm heading east toward Dawes Glacier.  Endicott is a glacier-carved fjord with steep cliff sides covered in trees and jagged mountains covered in snow.  The snow is starting to melt so waterfalls are abundant.  They look like they’re flowing in slow motion as they wind their way to the sea.  It took 90 minutes before we reached Dawes Glacier and in that time I thoroughly enjoyed two hot chocolates with Bailey’s and Kahlua.  I either saw mountain goats or white snowballs grazing near the water’s edge.  The icebergs today were enchanting and I kept saying that one looks like a heart, that one looks like a snowman, that one looks like an ice sculpture carved into a swan.  We found a Haven cabana with comfy lounge chairs, wrapped ourselves up in the cozy blankets and stayed outside until 6:45pm.  I didn’t want to leave but my dad wanted dinner.  He’s British and thinks dinner should be at 5:30 whether or not one is hungry so 6:45 was a pretty big deviation from his normal, beloved schedule.

Tonight we enjoyed Tsar’s Palace where we each ordered 3 appetizers instead of a main course.  All were excellent!  In the photo below you’ll see a birthday pecan pie.  Yesterday Naveen asked if there was anything else he could do to make my dad’s day special and I mentioned that a slice of pecan pie is one of my dad’s favourite desserts.  When we came back from Juneau there was a freshly baked pecan pie in our room!  A whole pie!

The entertainment line up tonight was perfect: game show in Spinnaker, Victoria Morgan singing in Stardust then the production cast singers doing a cabaret in Spinnaker.  

Today was perfect.

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

[worldtraveller99]

Such beautiful photos! Am so looking forward to seeing this! Commiserations re the ice cream machines - I hope they mend them soon?

[Babyjax12]

You are an awesome writer! Reading your blogs is a such a treat! We sail next month on the Jewel. Can’t wait! 

[AKR2011]

Your review just keeps getting better. It sounds like crew really loved taking care of your dad. I always find that NCL goes above and beyond if you're a kind and appreciative passenger. That's why I can't get myself to switch. 

[don't-use-real-name]

On 5/12/2022 at 7:08 PM, YVRteacher said:

Captain’s Log

Day 11

It has happened and I expect mutiny will soon occur.  There is a tragedy onboard of a highly consequential nature.  A few passengers have noticed but most are still unaware.  This is an event worthy of widespread cruise refunds and is far worse than the game show last week where the cruise director’s staff forgot the prizes.  If I survive, this, my friends, will go down in the logbooks as one of the greatest obstacles ever overcome in maritime lore.  I’m not sure I can divulge this information as it makes me so sad.  My tears are raising the ocean levels in the Juneau area.

It is with great misery that I inform you that both soft serve ice cream machines in the Garden Cafe are broken!!

Truely a Cause célèbre when your soft serve faux ice cream machine

is down for whatever reason - I suspect that when the guests are not looking the crew has

a wild time making concoctions like they do for your birthday food-stuff.

 

I have told NCL they need the industrial type machine that DQ (Dairy Queen) uses to make

their treats and the ice cream cakes - as is the maintenance requirements seem to be

on-going all the time.

 

Rare that both machines would be down - I sympathize with your dilemma - my favorite is the

mix of vanilla and chocolate - sadly missing are all the soda fountain garnishes nuts and

that sort of stuff - pass on the kiddie sprinkles of candy.

 

Thoroughly enjoying your narrative of the voyage -

 

The voyage of the bathroom flood on deck 11 (11130)

What cabin were you moved to ?

You are making reference to the Haven

Must be one of the 2BR suites on deck 14 - very nice - very very nice !

[YVRteacher]

We are now in room 11024 which is a two-bedroom non-Haven penthouse suite.  It’s a great room with two fully functional non-leaky toilets and a dry carpet!

[YVRteacher]

Day 12

Skagway

I’m getting sad that we are nearing the end of this cruise.  I’ve loved every cruise with NCL and this one has been pretty darn phenomenal.  The weather had a lot to do with it as did the crew and Cruise Critic friends. I am already scanning the future cruises trying to decide what to do next year in May (and in March for Spring Break.)  A few years ago I made a life decision that I would never work on my birthday again and now that I’ve experienced a birthday on a cruise, where else would I rather be?

We had an early arrival in Skagway today that I did not see as I was wisely sleeping.  We met people today who had shore excursions scheduled to meet at 7:00am and when they arrived at Stardust they were told the time had changed to 9:00am (I was still sleeping at that time too!)

 

We missed trivia and we missed Moderno breakfast so Garden Cafe it was.  I’ve never had breakfast in one of the main dining rooms.  Do you like it?

Don’t yell at me, but I really like NCL’s oatmeal.  Maybe it’s the gloppiness or maybe it’s the stick to your ribs aspect that makes me feel like chopping down some trees and going lumberjack style for the day but there’s something kind of good about that globby grain with some brown sugar and whole milk.  I would never make or eat this at home!

My dad tried to order an omelette and that didn’t turn out too well.  He had one of those days where he woke up grumpy and stayed grumpy until he won $100 in the casino.  Holy crap on a cracker this casino is smoky.

After breakfast we headed off the ship for a sunny, picturesque walk through Skagway.  We were docked at Railroad Dock today and enjoyed the longer walk into town. Even though there were 3 ships in port the streets and stores were empty.  

We walked for a long time then returned to the ship for lunch.  Sadly the ice cream machines are still non-functional.

 

Overheard on the sidewalks of Skagway today:

“If you want to go into one more stupid little jewelry store for one more stupid little charm I’m going to knock you off the sidewalk.”  (For full effect imagine this in a loud gravelly drawl.)

“Honey, this store has those aurora borealis.  You know…those animals!”

 

This afternoon we took full advantage of the sunshine and the hot tubs.  I spent time on a lounge chair in my bathing suit drinking a Margarita on the rocks in Alaska in May!  We also spent an hour and a half in the hot tub.  One of those days where the cruise feels like a vacation.  Bald eagles, helicopters and little planes were flying above us.  It was lamp post fixing day on the Jewel so that was a little bit interesting.  Not a lot interesting.  

Today was the latitudes party and we have a new captain. I am shocked and hurt that last week’s captain did not stop by our cabin to say goodbye before he went on his vacation.  I mean, we did have that entire two minute conversation last week…

Now we have captain Giorgio.

 

Dinner with the officers was also this evening.  Steven hosted a table, Rumi hosted a table and the Staff Chief Engineer, Juan Canto, hosted a table. We had one of the best officer’s dinners we’ve ever experienced with Juan.  He is from Panama, has a two year old daughter and a son coming in August!  He was beaming when he told us this.  He used to work on cargo ships and loves being with NCL.  His sense of humour and quick wit, the excellent service and food and the great company at our table (thank you Kathryn and Ronald for an awesome evening) made for a great experience.  I told him about the two broken ice cream machines and he picked up his phone and made some very official sounding phone calls.  At one point I heard the work sprinkles but it could have been “sprinkler system.”  The ice cream machine is likely much more of a priority for the engineering team than the sprinkler system.  It is important for you to know that 2/5 of us had the banana  split for dessert and the other 3/5 should have splurged and ordered it.

Tonight’s show in Stardust was Claire Somebody on the violin.  We lasted 5 minutes and walked out, as did many other passengers.  That’s how we ended up in the casino.

The casino is so close to Maltings that we ended up there too.  I tried a new drink, a Rye and Rum sour.  It’s made with blood oranges and was refreshing after a long hard day of vacationing.

I meant to mention a book yesterday: has anyone read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi?  

Today’s book recommendation is one for anyone who loves Jodi Picoult and has been to or wants to go to the Galapagos; Wish You Were Here is her novel written during the pandemic (I spent a large chunk of time watching watercolour painting videos on You Tube and she wrote a novel.  We all have our strengths!)

Maltings bar was super fun tonight.  Lots of shots and lots of energy.  Alex and Ricky are two fabulous human beings.  

Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan and our excursion is the lumberjack show.  Perhaps I will have oatmeal again to physically prepare for the awesome feats of strength and skill in which I will not be participating.

If there are any any typos in this post please blame Alex, the bartender at Maltings.

[YVRteacher]

A few photos from Skagway today.  Note the blue sky and lack of crowds.

 

[FabFam]

Sounds like another fabulous day!  You asked about breakfast in any of the main dining rooms. We thoroughly enjoyed breakfast in Tsars Palace!  Everything was tasty - huevos rancheros, breakfast burrito, smoked salmon and bagel.... YUM.  You mentioned how you love the oatmeal on the Jewel - have you tried the Muesli?  I loved it at the Palace!  And the close second was the muesli at the Garden Cafe. 

Did you try O'Sheehan's for any lunches or dinners?  We had lunch there once and enjoyed the ruben and the salads. But subsequent experiences weren't as great.  Such a shame because it's a beautiful pub/bar with nice views. 

[GALSews]

YVRteacher, your pictures of Skagway reminded me of our cruise to Alaska in 2002. We didn't get too many pictures as the a) the digital cameras' back then went through batteries like Cookie Monster through cookies and b) we had that whopping big 16K sandisk to store the photos. Lots of pictures went to the bit-bucket in the sky.

Now, we'll have to see if we can't convince our now grown sons to take a cruise with us and their families.

Thanks again for the reminder which triggered pleasant memories, but few pictures.

[sierra89]

13 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

We are now in room 11024 which is a two-bedroom non-Haven penthouse suite.  It’s a great room with two fully functional non-leaky toilets and a dry carpet!

We're staying in room 11026 on the June 13th sailing! I'm praying for non-leaky toilets and a dry carpet! 🙏😁