Live from the Jewel April 29-May 13, 2024: will definitely contain sarcasm and grumpiness

[YVRteacher]

I’m a full day behind on posting! We are having a great time and have been so busy having fun!

 

Our cabin steward is outstanding. Thank you, Fajar, for being so friendly and efficient. He is doing our room twice a day which we don’t need. This was on my  bed yesterday

 

but when I tried to move it the head fell off and I feel so badly about decapitating a towel bunny. Fajar and I have the same birthday so I bought some truffles in Juneau for him.

 

My unlimited internet ends today (we have been docked in Seward for three hours already) so I’m trying to get yesterday’s Hubbard Glacier viewing posted before I revert to minutes.

[YVRteacher]

We had night caps in Sugarcane. Yummy raspberry Guava mojitos.

 

Hubbard

 

I believe I have perfected the morning open-faced breakfast sandwich: from bottom to top it consists of a toasted English Muffin, a layer of cream cheese with green onion, a freshly scrambled real egg, a slice of ripe tomato, a drizzle of Hollandaise sauce and a garnish of Camembert slices and capers. Best served warm with a side of glaciers.

 

Here is my dad’s breakfast. He eats like a sparrow on a diet

 

@laudergayle this would be a good time to look away as this post contains glacier spoiler photos!🩷

 

We arrived at Hubbard early today. When I say early, Rumi received a wake up call from Captain Stefan at 5:30am saying “we’re here!”

 

Rumi said where?

 

The captain said Hubbard!

 

Rumi said we can’t leave because the guests are expecting a glacier from 8:30-9:30am.

 

The captain said ok so we did doughnuts for a few hours.

 

 I was expecting a  long-distance viewing. Instead we were treated to the close encounter which lasted through breakfast. We didn’t go to the Haven deck viewing extravaganza today because it was so wet and you all know how my dad feels about getting his hair mussed up. 

 

Hubbard on a rainy Sunday:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rumi said last week they were 7 miles away from Hubbard. The Captain’s skillful early morning maneuvering brought us within crackling and hissing distance where every creak and thunder was clear and spectacular. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Hubbard Bubbles

 

My dad said I have bubbled him out. I had to blow the bubbles in one hand and take the photos in the other hand. This is not an easy endeavour 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

 

 

Our breakfast food took a long time to arrive so we just made it to the cupcake making demonstration on time. Someone went to all the trouble to set up the display table and make sure the AV system was working then the event was over in 10 minutes. No exaggeration!

 

 

 

 

In teaching we are trained not to spend more time on our lessons plans than the actual lesson will take. Seems like NCL needs to heed this advice. The event was not fun and there was no humour or silliness like in the Black Forest cake demo or audience participation. It was just watching a guy frost 4 cupcakes.  

 

 

 

 

They did have cupcakes for the onlookers but we didn’t want one. I do love cupcakes but not with all this coloured food dye.

 

 

The flavours were

Black Forest

 

Pistachio 

 

Vanilla

 

 

Strawberry

 

 

A woman who came to sit nearby when we were up in Spinnaker was complaining that she didn’t get a cupcake. I felt badly for her! Cupcake denial is no fun!

[tcmagnum]

On 4/30/2024 at 2:24 AM, YVRteacher said:

They did not know the Full Monty would be showing tonight in the spa.

If we get kicked off the ship due to indecent exposure, I’ll be really mad I don’t get those huckleberry truffles.

I am so very behind due to Kentucky Derby week, but I wanted to tell you that 'You are one hell of a daughter'!!  I'm at the beginning of the process that you are in the middle of with your father.  My parents are both starting down that long road.  Some days great, some days.... You are showing me how to use humor to get through whatever they throw at us.  I love the fact that you are traveling with him so much.  We still go to Vegas every 3 or so months since that's what they love and know.  I can't wait to see what else this cruise brings.  Hugs to you and your father.

[tcmagnum]

On 5/3/2024 at 8:07 PM, YVRteacher said:

Back to Juneau!

 

After lunch we all walked to the Alaskan Fudge Company for truffles (so many truffles!)

 

 

I want them ALL!!!

[YVRteacher]

48 minutes ago, tcmagnum said:

I am so very behind due to Kentucky Derby week, but I wanted to tell you that 'You are one hell of a daughter'!!  I'm at the beginning of the process that you are in the middle of with your father.  My parents are both starting down that long road.  Some days great, some days.... You are showing me how to use humor to get through whatever they throw at us.  I love the fact that you are traveling with him so much.  We still go to Vegas every 3 or so months since that's what they love and know.  I can't wait to see what else this cruise brings.  Hugs to you and your father.

Thank you!

 

[YVRteacher]

Hubbard 3

 

As mentioned we went to Spinnaker for some mid-morning scenery viewing. I’m not sure how it happened, but drinks suddenly appeared. 
 

 

Beer for dad and pineapple mimosa for me. Yum! I read my book while dad looked out the window at the rain and complained about the weather.

 

We picked up a pilot today

 

We stayed in Spinnaker until 12:10. Lunch time! The Garden Cafe has been excellent on this cruise. Everything is yummy and fresh and the Indian food is divine. Of course that’s what I had. Dad had soup and some Asian stir fry and french fries and pizza and cake.

I found these:

[YVRteacher]

Hubbard 4

 

Earlier in this thread I mentioned that Sail and Sustain was scheduled for 1:00pm while we were in Skagway. We had signed up because I really do enjoy this but due to the tendering and meeting our friends and just loving the sunny day we didn’t make it back to the ship. I had told Aan ahead of time that we wouldn’t make it. Yesterday during lunch Armando came to say that NOBODY went to Sail and Sustain so it was rescheduled for today at 1:00pm.

12 people booked so 12 sets of drinks were prepared. 6 people came so we shared theirs. 

 

 

 

 

 

Guess who came and sat with us? Marko Markovich! He was the head mixologist on the Bliss two years ago and did Sail and Sustain for @fstuff1 and I B2B. At that time his wife was on the Jewel. Now Marko is on the Jewel as the assistant beverage manager and his wife is on the Bliss. The same is true for our wonderful butler, Rogin. He and his wife were both on the Jewel. Now he is on the Getaway and his wife has signed a two year contract for the Pride of America. 20% of the staff of POA can be non-American but NCL is requiring a two-year commitment since there is such a high staff turnover.

[YVRteacher]

Hubbard 5

 

For anyone in the thermal spa tonight around 5:15pm, I sincerely apologize for the string of profanities uttered as my dad tried to extract himself from the reclining benches in the thalassotherapy pool. 

 

I had the best nap of my life today, fueled by all the alcohol I consumed at Sail and Sustain, a gently rocking ship and a cozy warm ceramic lounger layered with towels and cushions.

 

Afternoon view

 

We are going to get the spa passes for the return journey. I have never had two weeks of spa!  Just think, I cruised with NCL for 12 years without using the thermal spa. 

 

The spa emptied out at dinner time so I took some peopleless spa photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have an extra free speciality dining meal to use this week and I didn’t know this was going to happen until yesterday so I hadn’t made reservations for tonight. When I checked the NCL app everything was full. When I checked with the hostess at Moderno she said all the restaurants were full for the last night. At 6:00 when we were ready to eat I called Armando and asked where we could eat. He called me back within a minute and we had a lovely table in Moderno waiting for us. 

 

The food was excellent but the service was bizarre. Our waiter was absolutely frenetic and had a very stressed energy surrounding her. I told her not to worry and that we weren’t in a rush but her interactions with each table were just so frenzied. It was bizarre bordering on unprofessional and I think she needs to be trained. She kept flipping my “bring the meat hither” card to green and was flipping my dad’s card over when he didn’t want meat. We left without having dessert and this ended up being a good thing because we were early enough to get Haven seats before they opened them up to everyone and the Stardust Theatre was standing room only.

 

We have seen Cirque Bijou many, many times and this production was the best. The male aerialists stole the show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

After the We Are Norwegian farewell from the incredible team on the NCL Jewel

 

 

 

 

 

 

my dad said,

”This show is on again at 9:15! Who wants to stay up til 9:15?”

 

Captain Stefan is hilarious! He gave a farewell message in which he told us after tonight there would be no more breakfast in bed and we would all have to go home. And suffer.

 

[laudergayle]

Thanks for he heads up yo scroll past Hubbard Glacier.  Looking forward to your return cruise!  

[SenatorsFan]

@YVRteacher thanks for another book recommendation. I've just put "The Island of Missing Trees" on hold.📔

Still really enjoying your review! 🥰

[gzmtlock]

18 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

If you are doing this cruise, try to position yourself with a forward view as you leave Glacier Bay around 4:00pm. The rangers told us this is the place to see whales and we saw many! It was wonderful! Whale watching from the spa is my new favourite pastime.

We'll be on the Escape later this month and have Thermal Spa passes. Thanks so much for this tip!!!

[ceilidh1]

I was excited to try the croissant Mai tai cocktail on the bar crawl on Bliss. Sadly, it made me almost vomit. Or maybe that was just because I was already 5 hours into the bar crawl…what did you think of that one?

[schmoopie17]

@YVRteacher Don't know if you saw this. You (and others) should be able to take advantage of this.

 

 

[MrsTocko]

21 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

After the We Are Norwegian farewell from the incredible team on the NCL Jewel

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Stefan is hilarious! He gave a farewell message in which he told us after tonight there would be no more breakfast in bed and we would all have to go home. And suffer.

 

He is our favorite captain.  We had him on the Star in July 2022. The only time that everyone EVERYWHERE went silent when he started talking so we could hear what he was going to say….we boarded the Jewel April 2023, and to our surprise and delight, he was again our Capitan.  

 

 

 

[MrsTocko]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

@YVRteacher Don't know if you saw this. You (and others) should be able to take advantage of this.

 

 

Ok..need to try this, DH is a special ed aide at his HS Alma mater.   We have 3 booked, but even if at the moment we only get the obc I will be happy.  My pcc is good about double checking the prices so if we have to “rebook” we are not paying more to get the discount…

[YVRteacher]

Seward

 

Morning views from the cabin balcony 

Do you know what I’m loving about this cruise? No announcements are blasted like a foghorn in our cabin! I remember on this cruise last year being woken up morning after morning with way too many early announcements. That hasn’t happened once on this cruise! We slept in until 9:30 today and it was glorious. I love sleeping in but rarely get to do so. I think I misunderstood the B2B letter and thought there was no breakfast in Moderno today so we went to the Great Outdoors. It was a long wait for eggs. I asked if they could start another egg station and the food prep guy started to mansplain embarkation day to me. 

 

I eventually reached the egg station and I give the egg cook credit: those were good eggs!

 

At breakfast I asked my dad what he liked most about our first week. He said the excursion in Ketchikan where we went to Silver King Lodge and he had the seafood feast.

 

The Garden Cafe staff were mopping, wiping and spritzing everything in sight this morning. They were also setting up for embarkation lunch and I asked if I could come in to take a close up photo of the welcome aboard cake.

Spa passes were for sale at 11:00am so we waited to secure those before leaving the Jewel for a day in Seward. I probably could have asked Armando to arrange spa passes but I didn’t want to make work for him.  As we were leaving the cabin our fabulous steward, Fajar, asked if it was ok if he did our cabin a little later today. I said of course then I said actually he didn’t need to service the cabin at all. He looked aghast at this suggestion and said he needed to do our cabin. I said I wanted him to have a break but he said no.

 

We took the free Seward shuttle to the Alaska Sea Life Center and arrived at the same time as a school bus bursting with excited third graders. 

One of my favourite Alaska artists has an exhibit at the Sea Life Center so this is a bonus.

 

My dad loves animals and was in dad bliss at the Alaska Sea Life Center today. We both had a wonderful time and enjoyed every moment, every creature and every display. I loved listening to the kids and seeing their excitement. They knew so much.  The only disappointment today was the giant pacific octopus was either not in his habitat or was deeply camouflaged. 
 

We walked along the waterfront admiring the snowy mountains then explored the main part of town. My favourite stop was Dreamland Books and Yarn. I could live in this bookstore!!

We wanted to go Seward Brewing per @shadowmeboy‘s recommendation but it didn’t open until 4:00pm so we kept on walking.

 

 

Overheard from dad today:

“Dang it’s cold!”

 

I was trying to photograph signs of spring in Seward but buds are just forming and branches are still bare and thin. There’s beauty in that too!

 

The port security staff were screaming at people in the terminal today. It was awful. Truly awful. They were yelling at passengers to take off all jackets and belts. My poor dad can dress himself independently but anything unexpected is a challenge. We have Nexus so he hasn’t needed to take off his belt when flying and we haven’t had a port security belt removal for years. I went through security first and whispered to the officer that my dad has dementia and please don’t scream at him and she was very nice and patient, thankfully, because my dad forgot to put his camera in the the little round bin so he beeped going through the metal detector. 

 

My dad did not enjoy the whole port security rigamarole and told me he was never going to cruise again. I did not think it was the right time to remind him that we will be back here in 16 weeks. Perhaps it’s time to go shopping for man pants with a stretchy waist. Are those a thing? Also, can anyone recommend a good brand of slip on shoes without laces for my dad, please? He needs wide shoes. Outside shoes, not slippers. He keeps complaining that his feet are too far away and the last time I suggested slip on shoes he didn’t say no.

 

We had a snack in the Garden Cafe (excellent!) then played Scrabble in the card room.  

 

I think I’m getting a cold so  I took a Tylenol and a double whiskey ginger.  

 

When the wine steward delivered my whiskey ginger he said, “enjoy! Take your time!”

 

And dad downright guffawed and said, “fat chance!”

 

I do like my whiskey.

 

Cagney’s tonight was the best we have experienced on any ship. 

 

We ate at 5:30 and for the first little while were the only ones in the restaurant. They were well staffed both in the kitchen and on the floor.

 

Dad’s food:

lobster bisque (1/2 order)

jumbo shrimp skewer (1/2 order)

raspberry crême brûlée (full order!!)

 

My food: 

Moderno salad bar (they wouldn’t let me get my own salad bar food which was odd)

tabouli from Moderno

blueberry crisp

We shared the sides and we selected onion rings, potatoes au gratin, broccoli and mushrooms. 

 

Tonight’s embarkation day entertainment in Stardust Theatre is Mission Impossible 2.  No welcome aboard show, no crummy comedian and no magician. I know there have been significant entertainment cutbacks but MI2? 

 

We went to the spa for a couple of hours then dad went to bed and I went to the hot tub and sauna part of the spa.  I would have made a terrible explorer. There is a steam room in the spa and I did not discover this until today.

 

Do you know what I was doing  while spa-ing? I was watching mountains! Two hours of mountain watching. I kept thinking to myself, “can you even imagine a more spectacular place in this universe?”

 

Then the music from Spinnaker was cranked up and Sweet Caroline interrupted my reverie. 

 

For the second week in a row we did not receive our chocolate covered strawberries. I will be staging a formal protest come morning.

[Girr]

42 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

My dad did not enjoy the whole port security rigamarole and told me he was never going to cruise again. I did not think it was the right time to remind him that we will be back here in 16 weeks. Perhaps it’s time to go shopping for man pants with a stretchy waist. Are those a thing? Also, can anyone recommend a good brand of slip on shoes without laces for my dad, please? He needs wide shoes. Outside shoes, not slippers. He keeps complaining that his feet are too far away and the last time I suggested slip on shoes he didn’t say no.

Edited May 8 by Girr
Adding info.

[Girr]

Sorry, about the two-part post - computer challenged at times. 

 

Check out Skechers men's Slip Ons for dad.  They have a large selection, and even offer wide or comfort fit.  Yes, stretchy pants are also available for men.  I'm not sure which web site DH uses, but he has a wide selection, and just looking at them you'd never know they were pull on.

Edited May 8 by Girr

[MrsTocko]

7 minutes ago, Girr said:

Sorry, about the two-part post - computer challenged at times. 

 

Check out Skechers men's Slip Ons for dad.  They have a large selection, and even offer wide or comfort fit.  Yes, stretchy pants are also available for men.  I'm not sure which web site DH uses, but he has a wide selection, and just looking at them you'd never know they were pull on.

So I wear Merrell jungle moc (or is it moc jungle?) for my everyday.  They are waterproof, and so comfy.  They are a “heavy” solid feeling shoe.  Good tread on the sole. Merrell customer service is also top notch. They are pricey, but worth it.  I have had mine for over 4 years now, and they still look new. They have for both men and women.  Here is the link to men’s wide - https://www.merrell.com/US/en/jungle-moc-nubuck-waterproof-wide-width/16955M.html?dwvar_16955M_color=J52927W&ref=Comfort black#q=waterproof&start=1.

 

on a side note I wear the Moab mid waterproof for shore excursion days, wore them in Ireland and was soaked to the bone, except my feet, they stayed dry as the desert.

[brookie848]

19 minutes ago, Girr said:

Sorry, about the two-part post - computer challenged at times. 

 

Check out Skechers men's Slip Ons for dad.  They have a large selection, and even offer wide or comfort fit.  Yes, stretchy pants are also available for men.  I'm not sure which web site DH uses, but he has a wide selection, and just looking at them you'd never know they were pull on.

Just to clarify -- Slip INS. They have slip-on shoes, but the Slip-ins are the ones that have the reinforced heel that make them special. It can sometimes get confusing when shopping for them.

 

They have a decent variety of styles, even in wide. My dad bought his first two pairs last year and he loves them! My husband and I both have a couple of pairs and the simplicity of them is awesome.

Edited May 8 by brookie848

[shadowmeboy]

Shucks about Seward Brewing; might be too early in the season. Try again next time you guys are up.

[YVRteacher]

On 5/6/2024 at 5:57 PM, ceilidh1 said:

I was excited to try the croissant Mai tai cocktail on the bar crawl on Bliss. Sadly, it made me almost vomit. Or maybe that was just because I was already 5 hours into the bar crawl…what did you think of that one?

I don’t like any of the Sail and Sustain drinks!