Live from the Breakaway March 17-31, 2024

[NikiPinkston]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

Love NOLA, too.  Our last visit I just didn’t get to the Pharmacy Museum…which was on my to do list.  Guess it’s time to book a cruise down and out of the Mississippi.  

We did a cruise up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Memphis a few years ago and it was one of our very favorite cruises of all time. Very different from ocean cruising but we loved it!

[laudergayle]

45 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

We did a cruise up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Memphis a few years ago and it was one of our very favorite cruises of all time. Very different from ocean cruising but we loved it!

Our son was a deckhand on one of the River cruise lines.  He would do the NOLA to a Red Wing MN on a regular basis, but with drought and flooding the past few years the ships haven’t really been able to do the entire transit.  He told me that we would be bored…lol.  Nice to know that you found it enjoyable.  We may need to rethink River cruising.  I’ve often thought I’d like to do the Columbia/Snake River.

[Rosequin]

I’ll be on this cruise with you! So looking forward to going from a snowstorm to warm sandy beaches

[www3traveler]

On 3/12/2024 at 9:19 AM, laudergayle said:

Our son was a deckhand on one of the River cruise lines.  He would do the NOLA to a Red Wing MN on a regular basis, but with drought and flooding the past few years the ships haven’t really been able to do the entire transit.  He told me that we would be bored…lol.  Nice to know that you found it enjoyable.  We may need to rethink River cruising.  I’ve often thought I’d like to do the Columbia/Snake River.

Unfortunately The American Steamboat Company went out of business several weeks ago with very little or no notice at all to anyone including all the employees.  A number of river cruises including the Columbia River/Snake River are now canceled.  Have not seen anything yet to indicate if anyone has stepped forward to purchase the company.

[NikiPinkston]

We went up the Mississippi on American Cruise Lines and they still have a Columbia and Snake River cruise.

https://www.americancruiselines.com/cruises/columbia-and-snake-river-cruises

[www3traveler]

The American Steamboat Company and the American Cruise Line Company are two different companies.

[NikiPinkston]

Yes, that's what I meant - that it was still possible to take a Snake River cruise . My apologies for being confusing.

[Travelicious]

Ooh, so excited about another @YVRteacher live!  It's been too long.

[laudergayle]

29 minutes ago, NikiPinkston said:

We went up the Mississippi on American Cruise Lines and they still have a Columbia and Snake River cruise.

https://www.americancruiselines.com/cruises/columbia-and-snake-river-cruises

 

25 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

The American Steamboat Company and the American Cruise Line Company are two different companies.

Our son worked for American Cruise Lines in 2018-2019.  He went on to Lindblad who does the Nat Geo expeditions…where he got to do Alaska down through Panamal Canal…then Covid hit.  He has since pivoted careers, unfortunately the “free cruise” we were going to get on Lindblad never materialized.  

It is unfortunate for American Steamboat Company and its employees and cruisers.  

[www3traveler]

YVRteacher-- I pray that you have an uneventful journey to New Orleans, a wonderful time in one of my favorite cities followed by two wonderful cruises.

[SenatorsFan]

How nice to see you back cruising and reporting again! I look forward to following along again. 😊It's wonderful that your job is so fantastic and Dad is well.

[Tallulah20]

On 3/10/2024 at 5:09 PM, YVRteacher said:

Hi Niki! Do you have any must-dos for NOLA? This will be my first time.

I haven’t been in about 10 years, but I am going to assume it’s still there. Find a hole in the wall called Mother’s and have a giant stack of delicious pancakes for breakfast. Or, go later in the day and have one of the best po Boys of your life.

[Norwegianprincess]

Hi @YVRteacher

Looking forward to follow along on your Breakaway cruise! Hope it will be a very good one!!
Also happy to read that you love your new job 😊

I just came home to Norway yesterday from my music cruise and visit at friends in US.

Bon voyage!!

[vacation44]

Happy travel day!   

[tjatczak]

Looking forward to your trip report (LOVE your writing style!) We did this same cruise/itinerary in February 2023!

 

[ceilidh1]

On 3/9/2024 at 11:46 PM, YVRteacher said:

Winter bumped up against spring today with blustery showers. In a moment of clear skies, the neighbour kids ran across my lawn with their Nerf guns poised and I took a moment to pause at their freedom and joy.

 

My own joy happens in a few days as I embark on the Breakaway for a B2B. This will be a different cruise as I am solo for the first week then have 3 friends (2 from home, 1 from Cruise Critic) joining for the second leg.

 

The last time I was on the Breakaway she was the new, exciting, New York themed ship. We departed from Manhattan in a grey thunderstorm that made the decks incredibly slippery and watered down my Mudslide as we sailed past the Statue of Liberty in darkness. The Rockettes were on board and so was Julie Valeriote. She stopped by Le Bistro on our first night to ask us how we were enjoying the cruise, my dad said something glowing and we received daily treats from her for the rest of the week.  This was during the days of the weekly fireworks at sea, where I (unknowingly) stood on deck under the launching of the fireworks and the inside of my head felt like the 4th of July in Texas. 

 

We went to Bermuda, saw a tornado, my dad caught a cold and snored so loudly I hit him in the head with a pillow. This was the inaugural journey of the notebook I made titled “John’s Complaint Book.” He documents sleeping out on the balcony one night but I’m pretty sure that part is fiction.

It was also the trip where we learned not to take the public bus in Bermuda as it didn’t stop for us.  

 

For those of you who love my dad, here’s today’s dad story:

 

At 2:00am on Sunday March 10 our clocks roll forward in this archaic tradition of controlling daylight hours for the agrarian society in which we no longer live. My dad heard it on the news on Friday and put his clocks forward then. Saturday morning he woke up a little tired and went for breakfast at what he thought was 7:00am. It was actually 6:00am and there were no staff and no food. The front desk concierge told him to go back to bed for another hour.  Poor dad! Yes, he still buys himself one apple fritter a week, still can’t find jeans he likes and enjoys dessert more than the main course. He and I will be cruising together on the Jewel for our annual birthday cruise in six weeks. We went out for eggs Benny today then I took him to Purdy’s to choose his Easter treats since I’ll be away for Easter.

 

On the Breakaway I have a Studio Cabin so there will be no cartwheels. I know this is a  great disappointment to those of you who wanted to see a clumsy, manatee-shaped teacher librarian tumble through the cabin but alas.

I bid on a balcony cabin but the upgrade fairy has not yet blessed my inbox. In the world of cruise ship math where one should always pack twice the underwear one thinks one will need, I just saved myself $620 by not getting the upgrade. 

Upgrade bid of $155 gets doubled for a solo cruiser so that makes $310 and I bid for two weeks. In this kind of new math, this means the spa package is now on the table.

 

Speaking of new math, I am loving my new position. I’ve never loved a job this deeply and I have never worked this hard or had such long hours as this one. The students are phenomenal. Brilliant, bold, curious, voracious readers. At my previous school I usually had about 100 book sign-outs a day. At this school it’s close to 3000 over three days. The staff are the kindest, most caring, patient and amiable people with whom I have worked and I’m so incredibly happy to be there.  That said, the workload is immense and I come home at night zonked. Oh wait, we need the new math tie-in. Here it is:

Hard week+gift card= ostrich

 

Yes, I bought an emotional support ostrich.  Feel free to judge this. I am.

 

As the (carry on only) suitcase gets filled this week I await the barrage of NCL safety videos. So far the only email has been this one

 

 I surmise that NCL continues their budget cutting manoeuvres by writing an email in size .03 font so as not to take up too much paper in this online communication. Oh wait…

 

Our first day on board is St, Patrick’s Day. Good Friday and Easter Sunday also happen and it’s Spring Break.  The ship is full full, not just a little bit full. The difference between full and full full is the amount of kids in the buffet who skip the cone and just hold the self serve ice cream nozzle right up to their waiting open mouth.  As an introvert I sometimes make poor vacation decisions. 

 

On the upside, I made the good decision that seasoned professional cruisers (as opposed to those of us who wish to maintain our amateur status so as to compete in the buffet Olympics which involve such events as elbowing the omelette line budgers, judging those who dodge the washy-washy contingency and finally, avoiding getting a toe run over by a scooter on a mission for white chocolate macadamia cookies) to fly to New Orleans two days in advance of embarkation day.

 

Yes, I have a list and beignets are on it.

 

Happy International Women’s day (yesterday!) This librarian recommends these two gorgeously written and illustrated books

 

I FOUND YOU!!!!

Yahooo....

Safe travels my lovely and see you for brunch in April!

[YVRteacher]

How does a non morning person best prepare 

for an 8:00am flight on the first day of Spring Break?

 

(5am view from the bedroom window)

 

They set 4 alarms, sleep in their plane clothes and place a breakfast banana on the passenger seat. If they are awake and functional they remember to remove the banana peel from the console before leaving airport parking. I was not awake and functional so in 17 days my car will smell like decomposing banana peel.

 

Yes, I said a farewell to emotional support ostrich.

On the flight from Vancouver to LA I initially had a fake-Gucci-adorned millennial next to me. Her mom did a switcheroo so they could be together and I ended up with a burly man with the shoulder breadth of Michael Phelps and the wing span of a pterodactyl.  He spent the flight with his elbow in my kidney.  Good thing humans come equipped with a spare because this one is permanently dented.

 

I fell asleep about halfway through the flight and jolted awake when the plane touched down with a significant bump. Burly Man giggled at me. He is going to a bachelorette party for the weekend in LA, staying in a home rental with 15 people. I hope there is a Home Depot nearby.

 

Like the anxious bunny I am, I spoke to the flight attendant about my miniscule connection time. She did some investigating and found there were several people doing the same flight and transfer.

 

Interjecting my own trip report to pause for bunnies. This week at school I did naked mole rats and bunnies. When your librarian is also an art teacher that happens.

 

When I boarded the connecting flight I had an assigned window seat. I said “excuse me” to the two guys who had already buckled themselves into the middle and aisle seats. Aisle guy said “oh, are you coming in here?”

For the love of sarcasm I replied, “yes, that’s why I said excuse me.”

 

Don’t ever travel with me. I have the worst fortune. Behind me all the way (not just part of the journey) was screaming baby.  Those things should be illegal. Not even Mamma Mia could drown out the ruckus. Screaming baby has a sister. She is a seat back kicker. Whose seat is she kicking? Mine. 

The guy next to me just pulled out his snack bag: dehydrated goji berries that smell like dusty caterpillars.

 

Deep orange and sunshine yellow flowers guide the plane along the runway and I take a moment to appreciate the person who scattered the seeds.

What is this chunk of land just off the coast of LA? Is it Catalina Island?

[YVRteacher]

When I finished university I did a nine week trip camping across North America with friends and we did a Mississippi River boat day trip, so I’ve seen both the start of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca and enjoyed a little jaunt in a riverboat. I will never forget seeing it from above on the flight!

 

 

My first ever swamp sighting!! 

 

 

Fuelled by Goldfish crackers and lured by jazz I joined the taxi queue

($36 set rate from the airport to a downtown hotel, $15 extra per person after the first two people) ready for my first glimpse at NOLA.
 

Things I saw that I’ve never seen before:

Big black birds along the highway. Turkeys? Vultures? Black swans?

 

What I thought were bunkers but turned out to be mausoleums in the giant graveyards in Metairie. Why do dead people need such big shelters? 

A billboard saying first wax free. I wondered if this was a bikini wax or a car wax.

 

After I checked in at the hotel (hotel description and mini review coming after I check out) I asked if the coffee shop was the only place to get a snack since I hadn’t eaten a meal all day. Front desk guy Eric said yes but they were closing in a couple of minutes. He said they had salad and immediately I wanted a salad.

 

Cue Charlie Brown wamp wah noises because all the salads and all the sandwiches had meat in them. I tried to go to the Riverwalk but it was closed so I set out on a neighbourhood walk/food hunt. Knowing that gamblers need sustenance I headed to Caesar’s and found the food hall. I’ve never had Bobby Flay burgers before and let’s just say this will be the first and last time.

The veggie burger was described as a homemade blend of chick peas, quinoa and mushrooms in BBQ sauce on a sesame seed bun with all the fixings. What they should have written was “dry patty resembling a hockey puck in both appearance and taste.” Bobby would be turning off his propane tank if he saw what I was served. For kicks I ordered cheese fries. I’ve never had cheese fries before. I got some “cheese sauce” on my hand and the stain is still there. The poor fries were drowned in the “cheese sauce” and there was no saving them, much like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic.

 

I did manage to cross the train tracks without getting hit by a train so in the spirit of positivity we will take that as a win.

 

It is 8:50pm here and I have been awake since 5:00am. Because I slept in my travel clothes I’ve had a bra on for 36 hours and there is a female code against that!! I tried to watch a little bit of tv but I’m craving time to read.

 

I haven’t written about this because I’m still processing it but that last few weeks at work have been extremely challenging and I’m so depleted I can tell  my brain and heart have nothing more to give.  You see, at the end of February we had a guess performer for the whole school. At one point he stopped, singled out one of our students who is Autistic, told him to stop touching the little orange cone and berated both the student and the 1:1 support aide until the aide removed the student from the gym. It was horrible to witness.

After the students were dismissed from the gym I went back to talk to the performer, letting him know that we are a school that operates from a place of kindness and inclusion. I told him that our student was wearing noise cancelling headphones and a weighted vest and was using the little cones as a sensory regulation device. I also told him that our entire school population witnessed him being unkind to a student with Autism.

 

The performer went ballistic on me. He just exploded in anger which escalated suddenly and viciously. I was able to escape the gym and lock myself in the library as he came after me.

I haven’t felt safe at work since and have been having nightmares and panic attacks on the drive to school each day. I’m also very jittery, am having a hard time focusing and am triggered by every little thing. Yes, I filed a violent incident report. No I did not take time off. 

 

My last day of work before spring break was Thursday  (look at this view!)

and I’m trying to let go of the hard stuff and just relax into vacation mode.  I’m really aware that the dynamic vibrancy of New Orleans may not be the best for my nerves this weekend but I am still going to savour this special, resilient, resourceful, soulful city. I just won’t order cheese fries again.

 

Here’s to a good night sleep and a fun day exploring New Orleans this weekend.

 

 

[www3traveler]

OH WOW!!!  I am so sorry for you, the young Autism student and the aide.  I hope he is NOT EVER allowed back in a school!!

 

I hope you have a wonderful adventure.

 

I love the City of New Orleans.

 

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

 

Love and prayers always,

 

Mandy

[YVRteacher]

On 3/14/2024 at 2:29 PM, SenatorsFan said:

How nice to see you back cruising and reporting again! I look forward to following along again. 😊It's wonderful that your job is so fantastic and Dad is well.

Thank you for reading! How are you doing?

[YVRteacher]

9 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

OH WOW!!!  I am so sorry for you, the young Autism student and the aide.  I hope he is NOT EVER allowed back in a school!!

 

I hope you have a wonderful adventure.

 

I love the City of New Orleans.

 

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

 

Love and prayers always,

 

Mandy

Thank you for the virtual hugs, Mandy! I hope you are doing great!

 

We just received notice yesterday that the aide is leaving our school.

[www3traveler]

5 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Thank you for the virtual hugs, Mandy! I hope you are doing great!

 

We just received notice yesterday that the aide is leaving our school.

OH DEAR  I am so sorry for the aide and the student.  I hope the performer (?) loses his job and is put on a "Do Not Hire" List.  I might have taken it one step further and filed a police report.

[laudergayle]

Wow, what an unfortunate experience with the guest performer.  My heart hurts for all of you who were verbally abused and I’m praying the memory fades quickly.  Your break could not have come at a better time.

Your creative writing hasn’t suffered!!  Keep it coming, please.

 

Also, the Bunny and Mole Rat art work is soooo cute.  What lucky students to have you as a teacher.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

 

 

[SenatorsFan]

21 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Thank you for reading! How are you doing?

I'm doing well, thanks. DH and I did a B2B on CCL Celebration in January and we are heading out in 3 weeks for an 11-day Southern Caribbean cruise on Jade with our oldest son and his wife. 😀

I'm so sorry to hear what happened at school. It's inexcusable what the performer did, both to the student, the aide and you. Hopefully you are able to put it behind you for now and enjoy your cruise. Hugs. 🤗

[YVRteacher]

4 minutes ago, SenatorsFan said:

I'm doing well, thanks. DH and I did a B2B on CCL Celebration in January and we are heading out in 3 weeks for an 11-day Southern Caribbean cruise on Jade with our oldest son and his wife. 😀

I'm so sorry to hear what happened at school. It's inexcusable what the performer did, both to the student, the aide and you. Hopefully you are able to put it behind you for now and enjoy your cruise. Hugs. 🤗

thank you!!❤️

 

Have a wonderful time on the Jade! I have such wonderful memories of cruises on her.