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

[shadowmeboy]

We might have too!

[YVRteacher]

We went to Cirque Bijou and it was fantastic. The We are Norwegian farewell was tonight. I love that NCL does this. If you have traveled on other lines, do they do a crew farewell and applause/standing ovation? 

 

Captain Stefan spoke. I was hoping he would. Last week he told us we were all going to go home and suffer. This week he told us that since the cruise was over our lives were going to suck.

 

He said we found all the ports and got close to Hubbard so this was a good cruise.

 

Renan summed up the week perfectly:

Cold, cold, raining, cold, Northern Lights, one nice day, cold.

 

 

Edited May 15 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

1 minute ago, shadowmeboy said:

We might have too!

Have you ever seen such awful looking ranch?

[libtrek]

32 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

I wondered about that. Rich didn’t look too well on day one and I’m sure the whole cruise experience and the flights and hotels were overwhelming for him. He looked happy that first night when I saw you in Moderno, so I hope you enjoyed some lovely meals together.

 

How was disembarkation and your travel day?

 

I’m sending you a virtual hug! Thinking of you, my friend.

We did have many good moments and spent some quality time with New Jersey Joe and Susan. He was totally wiped by disembarkation and travel. Thanks for the hug and back at you!

[MamaToMany]

22 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Thank you!

 

How is Ben enjoying Hoonah and Icy Strait Point?

He’s loving it. I think he's through the growing pains of adjusting to a new place and has made some great friends! He has a cute little bike and rides all over the place and enjoys watching the whales and sea lions. I’m a little jealous! Wish those amazing creatures were in my backyard too. ☺️.
 

Are you sailing to Alaska again this season? Also- HUGE congratulations on Ambassador status. Wow! 

[YVRteacher]

I knew my dad would be more functional in the afternoon than in the evening so we packed before dinner. My dad did a great job packing all on his own.

 

I had to do some serious stuffing since I had three new books, 4 bottles of wine, Alaskan Fudge Company truffles, Glacier Silt Soap and the gifts from the spa.

[YVRteacher]

3 minutes ago, MamaToMany said:

He’s loving it. I think he's through the growing pains of adjusting to a new place and has made some great friends! He has a cute little bike and rides all over the place and enjoys watching the whales and sea lions. I’m a little jealous! Wish those amazing creatures were in my backyard too. ☺️.
 

Are you sailing to Alaska again this season? Also- HUGE congratulations on Ambassador status. Wow! 

I’m so happy for him!
 

Yes, we are doing a B2B again on the Jewel.

Edited May 15 by YVRteacher

[shadowmeboy]

11 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Have you ever seen such awful looking ranch?

it honestly looks like they were trying to stretch it and thinned it out way too much. I would have sent it back.

[YVRteacher]

I had already sent back last night’s dinner and both our entrees from lunch today. All in Cagney’s.

 

For lunch my dad had soup and I ordered one crab cake for him. I very clearly stated “nothing else on the plate.”

 

I’m so tired of the waitstaff in Cagney’s doing such an awful job that I send back everything that isn’t good or isn’t what I ordered. Instead of one crab cake on a plate they put a layer of sauce, a pile of French Fries and ketchup. Back it went.

 

I ordered half an avocado and a small side of fries. The waiter spilled my dad’s beer on the fries so I sent those back.

 

By far this is the worst Cagney’s service ever. By faaaaaar. It was atrocious.

[libtrek]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Note: I did a Covid test and it was negative. It felt like I had a cold that turned into a cough. I had a doctor’s appointment for something else yesterday and the doctor said he is seeing a lot of this right now.

Same here. Good description of the gurgle. My Covid test was -. I have dr. visit tomorrow. My complaint with NCL is that we get one bill on a B2B. But when I rented the wheelchair for Rich, they made me pay 2 one-week rentals. On the price list, I would have saved $80 on a 14-day rental. Mary 
Lou

[YVRteacher]

Sometimes a photo is better than words

 

[ChiefK92]

3 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

@ChiefK92 congratulations!!!! Can you share more?  Where in Hoonah? Who asked whom? Did you get mini doughnuts to celebrate? This is big news!!!!!

I proposed to her! There was a spot behind the baseball diamond park where a little gravel spit extends into the water where it was just us two there. She took this panorama and then turned around to me on one knee and a ring 💍 She said yes very quickly!

Once it happened and the happy crying stopped, we went to the brewery for a pint (blonde ale for me, red ale for her) and after the beautiful walk back following a humpback whale, got some delicious mini donuts which were well worth the wait! Somehow better than the PNE ones which I thought were impossible to top 🤣

[YVRteacher]

What a beautiful spot for a proposal!!!

 

I agree that the mini doughnuts in ISP are better than the PNE! I think it’s the cold air, the small town feel and a touch of mosquito.

[YVRteacher]

That whale you followed is Frederick. He lives in Hoonah (Frederick Sound) year round.

 

Not sure if you need suggestions for a first born child’s name but Frederick has a nice ring to it…

 

Did the crew on the Jewel do anything for you to celebrate your engagement?

Edited May 15 by YVRteacher

[graphicguy]

On 5/14/2024 at 10:16 PM, shadowmeboy said:

it honestly looks like they were trying to stretch it and thinned it out way too much. I would have sent it back.

Either that, or they do not dry the lettuce enough after rinsing it that it thins out the dressings.

 

Generally speaking, they seem to not allow enough time for preparation of food and end up with wet lettuce and cold broccoli. 

 

IF you've ever done the behind the scenes tour and gone through the galley, they have pictures posted on the wall showing what EVERY dish is supposed to look like.  That broccoli and salad are NOT what they're supposed to look like.

 

Thank you for the review.  It's great!

[YVRteacher]

The lettuce was dry.

The ranch was liquid the consistency of water. 
 

While we did have some very good food, overall I rated the food poor, especially for breakfast and in Cagney’s.

[YVRteacher]

After Cirque Bijou and the Norwegian farewell my dad said he was pooped.

 

We went back to the cabin and I finished off the bubbles. Not, not champagne. I mean I blew bubbles off the balcony. So pretty!

 

My dad went to bed and I took the fuzzy warm blanket out on the balcony to watch as we cruised south down the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Our ship was close to shore!

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Sometimes the captain stands in the bridge wing. I wave, and he waves back.

 

 

 

I realized we hadn’t gone to the bridge viewing room. Up I got and took myself there.

 

The shades were drawn and this new sign was posted. Do they think modern cruisers are using antiquated technology??

 

This sign wasn’t up when Captain Vicente was at the helm. Sadly, he requested to join the Pearl to be closer to his wife and two young sons. He is my favourite captain.

Edited May 16 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

Remember when suites and Haven cabins came with those pretty, fresh purple flowers? They were too stinky for me but they were pretty.

 

The cutbacks are deep and this is what we get now:

 

Sad cactus.

 

Who wants sad cactus as decor?

Edited May 16 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

We didn’t do the Behind the Scenes tour either week on this cruise. The first week it was at 7:50am and the second week at 8:20am. 
 

Nope.

[mjcatlvr]

10 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

We didn’t do the Behind the Scenes tour either week on this cruise. The first week it was at 7:50am and the second week at 8:20am. 
 

Nope.

Thank you so very much for this beautifully detailed account of your NCL Jewel cruise. I have so much enjoyed following along. I cannot wait to board this July.

[YVRteacher]

Our final breakfast in Moderno was pretty terrible.

 

We both ordered one waffle. I had some fruit from the buffet but it was hard and not ripe.

 

We waited a long time for those waffles. They arrived steaming hot, lightly crunchy on the outside and absolutely raw in the middle.

 

During breakfast our butler came by, angling for a tip. She was useless and did nothing to enhance our trip, although twice she saw us walking to dinner and insisted on “escorting” us to our meal. Good grief. One time she saw my dad in the hallway on deck 7. I had gone to the washroom to try to find a bathroom with soap in it (took me 3 tries in 3 different bathrooms) and I had told my dad to stay put. The butler was trying to get him to come with her. This confused my poor dad. I was pretty annoyed with her.

 

We left Moderno about 8:40am, met Armando (big tip for Armando!!!!) in Chin Chin for priority disembarkation, left the ship at 8:43am, picked up my suitcase from the priority holding area (dad opted to carry his suitcase off), handed our customs forms to the Canada Customs agent, walked to the taxi waiting area and were home at my dad’s place at 9:07am.

 

There were no passport checks today.

Edited May 16 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

6 minutes ago, mjcatlvr said:

Thank you so very much for this beautifully detailed account of your NCL Jewel cruise. I have so much enjoyed following along. I cannot wait to board this July.

Thank you! Best wishes for a wonderful cruise.

[graphicguy]

17 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Our final breakfast in Moderno was pretty terrible.

 

We both ordered one waffle. I had some fruit from the buffet but it was hard and not ripe.

 

We waited a long time for those waffles. They arrived steaming hot, lightly crunchy on the outside and absolutely raw in the middle.

 

During breakfast our butler came by, angling for a tip. She was useless and did nothing to enhance our trip, although twice she saw us walking to dinner and insisted on “escorting” us to our meal. Good grief. One time she saw my dad in the hallway on deck 7. I had gone to the washroom to try to find a bathroom with soap in it (took me 3 tries in 3 different bathrooms) and I had told my dad to stay put. The butler was trying to get him to come with her. This confused my poor dad. I was pretty annoyed with her.

 

We left Moderno about 8:40am, met Armando (big tip for Armando!!!!) in Chin Chin for priority disembarkation, left the ship at 8:43am, picked up my suitcase from the priority holding area (dad opted to carry his suitcase off), handed our customs forms to the Canada Customs agent, walked to the taxi waiting area and were home at my dad’s place at 9:07am.

 

There were no passport checks today.

Had a Butler mike that once.  Didn’t see him until the last full cruise day.  Saw him 5 times on the last day “hanging around”.  I know he was around as snacks showed up in my cabin!  But, aside from that…nothing!  I tipped him but I was soured at the blatant “anything g you need?” approach on the last day!