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

[ChiefK92]

Me and my girlfriend will be joining on the back half of your trip, getting excited as it's my first cruise since being a teenager and her first cruise ever. Had some hotel problems yesterday (Westmark Anchorage cancelling and rebooking our reservation) but it balanced out with getting our room upgrade today! We're doing Mendenhall in Juneau but otherwise going on hikes and enjoying the cities (and food) we head into. Hopefully will get to watch the Canucks play in the second round on the ship. Excited to possibly run into some of you while on board!

[YVRteacher]

A lovely walk is Yakutania Point in Skagway

[YVRteacher]

Today’s email exchange with dad

 

This is what I sent last night

 

 

This is reply #1 today

 

 

 

This is the “I have come to my senses” reply which came after he ate breakfast

 

 

 

(Dad is the one with an aol account, not me. You have no idea how hard I’ve tried to teach him Gmail. I had to set up a Gmail account that he doesn’t know about since his financial planning company can’t send emails to aol. Don’t tell him!)

[luvteaching]

@YVRteacher - so looking forward to another trip report from you and DD. I'm a retired teacher and a Canadian citizen/permanent US resident. If you need a book fix - try Parnasus books in Ketchikan. It's a favorite local book store! 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your last few months of school. 

Karen

[Seas2mountains]

20 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

That’s funny! I never go back and read my previous reviews. I booked that trip a few days before sailing and was onboard to spend time with a friend who is a bartender so I didn’t have much to say. The Encore is such a beautiful ship and Deepak is a top notch GM.

 

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

 

When is your next cruise?

See you are already on page 4 and the cruise hasn’t even started!   We loved the Encore, too, and had to do an encore also. It was the last ship we sailed before Covid in February 2020 and we got back on the Encore in August 2021 to Alaska for the second week of the great cruise ship restart from Seattle. 
 

Next NCL cruise is at the end of May on the Breakaway with family. But first, we have a long weekend on Celebrity Reflection which includes one of the first times Celebrity will stop at Coco Cay.  I hope you do a live review when you are on Princess. It’s interesting but also a little scary to check out the competition especially when being used to wonderful Latitudes perks. Your calendar really highlighted the difference in events. 
 

How did you already find out when the Dinner with the Officers is scheduled? 

 

Love the list!  Where are the crepes? 

[YVRteacher]

In previous years Dinner with the Officers has always been on Skagway night. If I’m wrong I can just move the Post-It Note.

 

I think I’m in my CGE (cake girl era) and am hoping for some of that delicious red velvet cake I enjoyed on the Breakaway. I like cake better than crepes. However, the chance of crepes showing up in this review are high. I don’t like any of the desserts in La Cucina so that might be crepe night.

 

John Lawlor will be on the Breakaway when you are on board! I hope you get a chance to meet him and share some laughs. If you enjoy sushi, make sure to eat at Wasabi (but not on the last night when they are super busy.)
 

I will definitely be doing a live review from the two Princess ships. I have unlimited wifi so won’t need to worry about internet minutes dwindling away.

[YVRteacher]

My friend is on Celebrity this week and they were the first Celebrity ship to stop at Coco Cay.

[NillaB]

3 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

A lovely walk is Yakutania Point in Skagway

I've been looking at doing that- is it safe to do solo? (Also the bear thing? 😉)

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yes...more sarcasm and grumpiness...please!

 

Reading your reviews is like wrapping myself in a warm blanket in front of a cozy fireplace with a cup of thick, rich, hot chocolate after a fun-filled day of skiing. 

 

I will be sailing across the Atlantic on the Prima during your two weeks on the Jewel, but I will be looking forward to ending my evenings onboard with your daily musings. 

 

[YVRteacher]

4 hours ago, luvteaching said:

@YVRteacher - so looking forward to another trip report from you and DD. I'm a retired teacher and a Canadian citizen/permanent US resident. If you need a book fix - try Parnasus books in Ketchikan. It's a favorite local book store! 

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your last few months of school. 

Karen

Love Parnassus in Ketchikan!

 

What did you teach?

 

Thank you for the good wishes for travel and school. We go right up until the end of June.

[YVRteacher]

2 hours ago, NillaB said:

I've been looking at doing that- is it safe to do solo? (Also the bear thing? 😉)

It’s a beautiful walk!

 

I definitely felt nervous when I did it by myself and actually turned back. It was a drizzly day and there weren’t any other humans on the trail that day. They say you don’t need to be faster than the bear, just faster than at least one other person but that doesn’t hold true when hiking solo!

[YVRteacher]

18 hours ago, libtrek said:

Yes, yes! BTW, I actually found little books of post-it notes. I shall bring you a few. R has been a bit mellower lately, hope it continues. I think ice cream in all varieties is a useful bribe. R cannot have booze with his Alzheimer drugs. So, I will be quietly ordering n/a beer, mock Long Island Ice Tea, etc. I just noticed that R has hidden the bolero tie he has been wearing under his shirt for months. Maybe it can stay lost? C U soon. Maltings bar at 4:30 on Monday?

Let’s meet at 4:00 at Maltings on Monday.

@NillaB and @ChiefK92 please come!!

Edited April 26 by YVRteacher

[NillaB]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Let’s meet at 4:00 at Maltings on Monday.

@NillaB and @ChiefK92 please come!!

I've noted it down - so looking forward to meeting you all 🙂

[jimbri]

Have a great cruise!

[tjatczak]

So looking forward to your review...your "style" and love of your dad make for an entertaining combination!

[luvteaching]

Good morning @YVRteacher! 

 

I taught a 5th/6th split for a few years then mainly 6th grade. In my district 6th grade is the last year of elementary. I love that age group - a special combination of still being kids but wanting to be older. My classroom was filled with books - more than our little library had! When I started my school was 4 classrooms with a 1/2 split, 2/3 split, 4/5 split and 5/6 split. Over time we added two new classrooms so no splits and we had a kindergarten and then we added 4 more. When I started we had less than 100 kids and when I retired it was closer to 150. My drive was 8 minutes with 3 stop signs on the way over and 1 on the way home. 

 

Love Parnassus books!!! Go in each time I'm there. There's also a nice local bookstore in Juneau in the same building as the Hanger Restaurant. It used to be up by the Ben Franklin and I would go in every trip even if I only got postcards. Same in Sitka. I really enjoy the local shops. 

 

Karen

[kateeov]

I am so excited to have found this thread. This is my first time reading your reviews, but I'm already in love.

I too am a sarcastic adult daughter traveling with a grumpy old (77y) dad who's easily frustrated, but is still among my best friends. And we also did our first cruise after my mother passed (2021) and we didn't feel right doing our usual road trips. We're absolutely in love with cruising now bc we still get to explore several new places all in one trip, but we don't have to drive lol.
I'll be doing the Jewel starting May 13th so I'll wave from the terminal and tell my travel companions that someone famous is getting off the boat. This trip will be without Dad, but one of the friends I'm going with is bringing her mom, so there will still be boomer technology frustration to deal with lol. I'm already taking notes (can't wait to try that brunch!) and am excited to see what else you share!

[libtrek]

9 hours ago, NillaB said:

I've noted it down - so looking forward to meeting you all 🙂

Made a sticky note. I’ll be there with my grumpy guy. I told them they’ll have beer (shhh, NA).

[Southern Dan]

Looking forward to following your reports from the Jewel, I will be on her 8/12 Seaward to Vancouver.

[mimi'sgirl]

YAY!!  So looking forward to your next adventure with Dad! We will be sailing on the Jewel this Christmas. Wishing you a relaxing and fun filled cruise! 

[GALSews]

1 hour ago, kateeov said:

I am so excited to have found this thread. This is my first time reading your reviews, but I'm already in love.

I too am a sarcastic adult daughter traveling with a grumpy old (77y) dad who's easily frustrated, but is still among my best friends. And we also did our first cruise after my mother passed (2021) and we didn't feel right doing our usual road trips. We're absolutely in love with cruising now bc we still get to explore several new places all in one trip, but we don't have to drive lol.
I'll be doing the Jewel starting May 13th so I'll wave from the terminal and tell my travel companions that someone famous is getting off the boat. This trip will be without Dad, but one of the friends I'm going with is bringing her mom, so there will still be boomer technology frustration to deal with lol. I'm already taking notes (can't wait to try that brunch!) and am excited to see what else you share!

This thread is much more active than the May 13th cruise, which my husband and I will also be on. That one is 2 pages. I attribute that to how well Yvonne writes.

Edited April 26 by GALSews
updating

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, GALSews said:

This thread is much more active than the May 13th cruise, which my husband and I will also be on. That one is 2 pages. I attribute that to how well Yvonne writes.

I check in on roll calls here, cuz, well I like Cruise Critic. I don't like Cruise Critic for roll calls. You definitely need to go elsewhere for relevant information on meet and greets, slot pulls, etc. It's 2024 and unfortunately here is...well, no longer the medium. 

[KACTravels]

Hello Yvonne! I’m really looking forward to your review. Please say hello to your father and I hope you both have an amazing birthday back to back annual cruise.

[YVRteacher]

20 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Yes...more sarcasm and grumpiness...please!

 

Reading your reviews is like wrapping myself in a warm blanket in front of a cozy fireplace with a cup of thick, rich, hot chocolate after a fun-filled day of skiing. 

 

I will be sailing across the Atlantic on the Prima during your two weeks on the Jewel, but I will be looking forward to ending my evenings onboard with your daily musings. 

 

Best wishes for a wonderful transatlantic crossing!! Enjoy the Prima and all the CC members on board.

[YVRteacher]

14 hours ago, jimbri said:

Have a great cruise!

Thank you so much! I’m pretty much bursting with excitement.