Return of the Jedi… Ovation of the Seas, Live Aug 26 - Sept 2

[Tree_skier]

A long time ago in galaxy far far away…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Episode VI

Return of the Jedi.

 

Tree_skier has returned to

his home planet of Tatoonie 

(anything north of the 49th parallel is his home planet)

in an attempt to rescue his

friend Hans Solo from the

clutches of vile gangster

Jabba the Hutt.

 

Little does Tree_skier know that the

GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly 

begun construction on a new 

armored space station even 

more powerful than the first 

dreaded Death Star.

 

When completed, this ultimate 

weapon will spell certain doom 

for the small band of rebels 

struggling to restore freedom 

to the galaxy… 

 

Welcome to my live thread.  Our first cruise after the restart was this same week last year aboard Serenade of the Seas hence the reference to Return of the Jedi Episode VI.  There may be a few Star Wars references and a couple of trivia moments but like C3P0 I’m kind of lazy so it is entirely possible that there will not be any further Star Wars references.  

 

Mostly I will just chronicle our journey.  I generally focus on eating and drinking.  We have a few specialty dinings planned, two dinners and two lunches and as Diamond members I will be depending on both my free four drinks as well as DW’s. She’ll consume a few sodas and a daily latte every morning.  Getting good value means we pay for those and I consume her four free ones as well. There will be at least a daily updates of the excursions on shore and entertainment on board. Maybe more if DW doesn’t get mad because I’m always on my phone.

 

 This will be our second time on a Quantum class ship.  Our first was Odyssey last February.  Odyssey was new to the fleet and still had that new car smell.  I suspect Ovation, like the Millennium Falcon, will be a little older but faithful and dependable.  The comparison will be interesting.  

 

Unlike our Odyssey journey to the southern Caribbean this journey takes us to the rugged Alaskan wild.  Our plans are simple.  Sitka we will just get off the ship, take the shuttle, and wander the local sites.  Last year we did a private excursion of the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear.  This year nothing new jumped out at me and I didn’t want to just repeat last years experience on a different ship.  If, when we get off the ship, we see an excursion that jumps out at us we might grab it.  Follow along to find out.

 

Stop two is Skagway. We have the White Pass train scheduled for that day.  I’m sure the scenery will be beautiful.  This is our first time back to Skagway since 2007 so I imagine we’ll do a little shopping as well after we get done.

 

Stop three is Juneau.  Last year Juneau was the highlight of the trip.  We did the Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching tour and the whale watching experience was so spectacular I’m scared I’m ruined for life with whale watching so I determined to do something different.  I’ve booked a 5 Glacier seaplane tour while DW, playing the role Princess Leah, will be kayaking the Mendenhall lake up close to the glacier and then indulging in a shoreside salmon feast.

 

Finally, stop four will be Victoria BC.  Initially my plan was just to stay on the ship.  We were scheduled to arrive at 5pm and depart at 10pm.  It was just a stop to comply with PVSA.  As an Ex-pat Canadian originally from Vancouver now living in sunny California I have been to Victoria so many time I can’t even count.  A five hour stop, over the dinner hour, was just worthless to me.  However, I have received no official notice from Royal yet but my cruise planner now shows that we arrive at 8am and leave at 6pm.  That changes things a little.  I will get off the ship but will most likely do so with no excursion or plan in mind and just see what unfolds.

 

Most male fans of the Star Wars franchise and “Return of Jedi” will be very familiar with Princess Leah’s (Carrie Fisher) gold bikini sequence as Jabba the Hutt’s slave.  As a tribute to the late Carrie Fishier, the object of many young boys fantasy, I have asked DW to model that look once we board Ovation of the Seas.

 

She rather impolitely declined.  

 

You will have to settle for pics of me.  I look a little like a hairless Chewbacca.  I’m sorry… I tried.

 

For those who are interested, here is a link to last years Serenade of the Seas.  

 

May the force be with you.

Edited August 24, 2022 by Tree_skier

[ReneeFLL]

You forgot the link.

[Tree_skier]

3 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

You forgot the link.

Updated 🙂 

[reefgeek83]

We get on the Ovation as you get off, looking forward to the preview.

[helen haywood]

Following!

[Lionesss]

@Tree_skier

 

All that I can say is WOW.

 

Well thought out introduction to your live thread.

 

Here's to smooth sailing and cooperative WiFi, Zoom, internet..................or whatever the method of communication is..................to document your travels.

 

Safe travels.

[Tree_skier]

19 minutes ago, reefgeek83 said:

We get on the Ovation as you get off, looking forward to the preview.

I’ll try not to break her before you get on. 

[clochette]

looking forward to your review, safe travel

[DaniDanielle]

Have a great time!

[cruise77]

We are on there toooooo   Can't wait.

[Ozark_Kid]

Glad you decided to do the live.  Hope you ha e a safe trip and a fun trip.

You mentioned that you have nothing planned at Sitka.   You may of already visited but have you ever tried Sitka National Historical Park?  It's not that far of a walk from where they drop you off at the shuttle and some nice views on the way.  It is known for all of the totem poles but it is also a beautiful trail easy trail to walk.  Towards the end the trail runs along a river where we viewed eagles.  If you haven't tried it I bet you would really enjoy.

[bobmacliberty]

Better be careful over the next couple of days.  Don't want to end up on Park Place or Boardwalk during the cruise.  😉

 

Following and anxiously awaiting every word/picture.

Edited August 24, 2022 by bobmacliberty

[Sea Dog]

Great intro, love it. Glad you are back in the game. Looking forward to hearing about your adventure. I will especially be interested in hearing how all the bars are stocked and if there are any shortages. Let me know what whiskey's and bourbons are on board as we whiskey snobs don't get the love that wine and scotch lovers get. I also hope you get great food. Seems to be hit and miss on different ships.

 

Have a great cruise!!!

[Tree_skier]

In return of the Jedi there is something on as hibernation sickness also it was known as carbonite sickness. Both myself and my wife have tested negative. All systems are go. Prepare to launch the adventure.

[Tree_skier]

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

[Ourusualbeach]

12 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Both myself and my wife have tested negative. All systems are go. Prepare to launch the adventure.

As much as we all appreciate the updates at time from your friend Rusty we hope that he remains silent this week.

[Momof3gurlz]

Great start!  I’m following along.  

[barbeyg]

Love the intro! May your wifi signal be ever strong! 

[Tree_skier]

5 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Glad you decided to do the live.  Hope you ha e a safe trip and a fun trip.

You mentioned that you have nothing planned at Sitka.   You may of already visited but have you ever tried Sitka National Historical Park?  It's not that far of a walk from where they drop you off at the shuttle and some nice views on the way.  It is known for all of the totem poles but it is also a beautiful trail easy trail to walk.  Towards the end the trail runs along a river where we viewed eagles.  If you haven't tried it I bet you would really enjoy.

We actually did that as part of our bears and eagles tour. It was great and watching the salmon swim upstream was fascinating. What we do will probably be weather dependent. 

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

As much as we all appreciate the updates at time from your friend Rusty we hope that he remains silent this week.

He told me he has sworn off CC for ever. 

[Tree_skier]

I have had way too much time on my hands for the last two weeks.  So to fill that time one morning I decided to experiment with Google earth.  This was inspired by @Sea Dog but is nowhere near his brilliant editing skills.  I’m just a novice with a MacBook Pro. 

 

 

[Sea Dog]

42 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I have had way too much time on my hands for the last two weeks.  So to fill that time one morning I decided to experiment with Google earth.  This was inspired by @Sea Dog but is nowhere near his brilliant editing skills.  I’m just a novice with a MacBook Pro. 

 

 

Great Job Dave! I think you did an awesome job. I bow down to you my friend. I’m glad I inspired you. Thank you!

[justKirbo]

Love your intro and I'm happily following along. We get on on 9/9 and I'm pretty excited.

[Tree_skier]

So the original plan was to fly up on Thursday, stay at the Hilton Seattle and board the ship Friday morning.  After the cruise I’m staying over until Wednesday the following week.  I have a conference I am attending over the Labor Day weekend and then I was making a one day trip up to my old home in Vancouver to see a friend and family. 

 

I had first class tickets with Alaska Airlines booked but ended up cancelling them as the the best rate I could find for a car rental 5 days was $750 and I just could bring myself to pay that price.  So we are leaving home Wednesday morning and driving half way, completing the trip to Seattle on Thursday evening.  DW is a little addlepated over it but I’m a miser.  To quote Darth Vader from the aforementioned movie… 

 

“The emperor is not as forgiving as I am” 

 

I’m not sure I’m forgiven yet. 

 

However, the extra nights in the hotel and all fuel, driving DW’s Ford Hybrid, both directions will cost less than the flights and I won’t have to spend a dime on a rental for the after the cruise portion of this trip.  Plus we’ll have the added convenience and reduced costs of no Uber pre and post cruise.

 

We’re still staying at the Hilton Friday night so that part remains unchanged.  

 

We’ve arrived in Grants Pass OR for the evening and I’m ordering pizza. 

[perfect match]

Great start! I’m happily following along and can’t wait to see all of the places you’ll be taking us.