Live from the NCL Jewel May 1-15, 2023 (caution: may contain grumpiness and sarcasm.)

[YVRteacher]

Hello!  Welcome to another live with YVRteacher and her dad.  We will be enjoying the NCL Jewel from May 1-15, 2023 and are both incredibly excited.  We will both be celebrating birthdays on this cruise and my dad is turning 80!  He says he is not having any more birthdays but I am the kind of person who celebrates everything (including National Talk Like A Pirate Day and National Jump in a Puddle Day.) He was born in a bomb shelter in Bristol during WWII and he likes beer, cruising and drinking beer on a cruise.  He also loves to complain, mostly to me.  I have a rule that he is not allowed to phone me and start with “I am so mad…” before he says hello.  In October 2020 my dad had a deep brain thalamic stroke and he can no longer live independently without support.  We don’t live in the same city so I did a job pivot and for now work part time (I’m an elementary school teacher librarian and literacy specialist) so I can spend a few days a week taking my dad out on adventures.  Our cruises have transitioned to be more about spending time together and enjoying being on an NCL ship than about ports and adventures.  There’s a season in life for everything so no ziplining for us on this trip.  Ok, let’s keep it real.  There’s no ziplining for us on any trip.  I’m not paying to hurtle down a mountain attached to a small chain and a rope while the wind messes up my hair and a groin strap goes in unexpected places.

 

This is my 33rd and 34th cruise with NCL and my 11th and 12th Alaskan cruises (Sun, Pearl, Jewel and Encore.)  Both my dad and I love walking and exploring and are always happy to be in the Alaskan ports, with or without excursions.  On previous cruises to Alaska we did the following NCL excursions:

 

Ketchikan

*Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer

*Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary 

*Black Bear and Wildlife Exploration

*Hovercraft Eco-Adventure and Wildlife Viewing

*Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show (x2)

*Eagle Island Sea Kayak

*Rainforest Island Adventure

*Tatoosh Island Kayak

 

Juneau

*Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest

*Whales, Glaciers and Rainforest Trails

*Luxury Whale Watch

*Evening Whale Watch

*Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari

*Mendenhall Glacier River Float

*Mendenhall Glacier Lake Canoe

*Sea Kayak Adventures

 

We have also done the Juneau Tram (x3) and whale watching through Jayleen’s (spectacular!)

 

Skagway

*Best of Skagway and White Pass Railway (loved the train trip, hated the time at Liarsville and the lunch that was served)

*VIP White Pass Scenic Railway

*regular White Pass Railway

*Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (x3 which was incredible before the glacier receded and people took all the sparkly rocks home)

*Chilkoot Lake Wilderness Kayaking in Haines

*Chilkoot Trail Hike and River Float (big slugs!)

*Skagway’s Original Streetcar

 

Last year we booked the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour directly through the Red Onion Saloon.

 

Seward

(on our own)

*Kenai Fjord tour through Major Marine (x2)

*Alaska Sea Life Centre

*Seward shuttle hop on/hop off

 

Icy Strait Point

*Whale Watching and Bear Search (x3) This includes the excursion titled “Spasski River Valley and Wildlife”

*Whale and Marine Mammal Cruise (x2)

 

For the Skyglider Mountaintop Gondola in May 2022 we purchased at the site because we didn’t want to pre-purchase then have cloudy weather.  Rides are unlimited on the day of purchase. 

 

As you can see from the above excursions we both love being out on the water doing boat trips, kayaking, canoeing, rafting and one of us (me!) loves to swim and stand up paddleboard but that isn’t offered in Alaska. We have learned that neither of us enjoys excursions involving sightseeing bus rides.  In 2017 we did a cruise on the Jade from Hamburg to Norway, Iceland and Scotland and after we did a bus trip to Inverness we both promised to never again book a bus-based excursion.  Now my dad lives in a senior’s home and looks forward to his weekly bus trips.  When I take him out on our Thursday adventures we walk (we also have cake or sushi or fancy coffee depending on what he wants.)

 

My dad doesn’t know but I have booked the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer as a surprise for his birthday.  We have never done this before.  This is the only excursion that is pre-booked; we will be taking each port as it comes and making decisions based on weather.  My dad really wants to do the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour again this year so hopefully I can make that happen.  I think he liked the shimmying last year.  In November I put on my winter jacket and felt something bunchy in the pocket: it was the garter from the tour!  I yearn to do the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour and wish we did it years ago. Now the cost for the two of us would be $700 Canadian.  I just want to see the octopus and $700 is a lot to see an octopus. I have a thing for octopuses.  Has anyone read Remarkably Bright Creatures or The Soul of an Octopus? 

[YVRteacher]

What am I looking forward to doing on this cruise? Playing Scrabble, enjoying sailaway under the Lions Gate Bridge, seeing Steven and Rumi and Emma, being on the ocean, watching all the port operations, circling around deck 7 to burn off calories from the almond croissants, soaking in the lukewarm hot tub, playing trivia, spending time at Maltings whiskey bar, enjoying slow breakfasts in Moderno, the Nespresso machine and the gummy bears, the glacier days, the drinks up on the Haven sundeck while glacier viewing, reading, writing, wind, rain, sun, fog, walking around the ports and being on the Jewel with my dad. I also love that first drink on board.

 

We were on Vancouver Island for the Easter long weekend and as we were driving to the ferry home I asked my dad what he was looking forward to on the cruise.  He said “everything, being in Alaska and seeing Rumi on the southbound trip.”

 

Aside: I was in charge of the appetizer for Easter dinner

 

We are not Haven people (or morning people!) but we stay in a 2 bedroom suite so we each have personal space and I can sleep.

He snores. 

Loudly.

 

School is still in session for us in May.  The rule for the last day of school is that we have to be out on the last Friday before July 1.  So, I am taking a two-week unpaid leave.  Life is short: take the trips then come home and survive on ramen noodles and toast just like the university days.

 

Is it too soon to pack?

I just ordered this book for the cruise

 

[www3traveler]

Maybe you should consider writing a book about your cruise adventures with your Dad or even a book about his life and family.

[Elvis1209]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Hello!  Welcome to another live with YVRteacher and her dad.  We will be enjoying the NCL Jewel from May 1-15, 2023 and are both incredibly excited.  We will both be celebrating birthdays on this cruise and my dad is turning 80!  He says he is not having any more birthdays but I am the kind of person who celebrates everything (including National Talk Like A Pirate Day and National Jump in a Puddle Day.) He was born in a bomb shelter in Bristol during WWII and he likes beer, cruising and drinking beer on a cruise.  He also loves to complain, mostly to me.  I have a rule that he is not allowed to phone me and start with “I am so mad…” before he says hello.  In October 2020 my dad had a deep brain thalamic stroke and he can no longer live independently without support.  We don’t live in the same city so I did a job pivot and for now work part time (I’m an elementary school teacher librarian and literacy specialist) so I can spend a few days a week taking my dad out on adventures.  Our cruises have transitioned to be more about spending time together and enjoying being on an NCL ship than about ports and adventures.  There’s a season in life for everything so no ziplining for us on this trip.  Ok, let’s keep it real.  There’s no ziplining for us on any trip.  I’m not paying to hurtle down a mountain attached to a small chain and a rope while the wind messes up my hair and a groin strap goes in unexpected places.

 

This is my 33rd and 34th cruise with NCL and my 11th and 12th Alaskan cruises (Sun, Pearl, Jewel and Encore.)  Both my dad and I love walking and exploring and are always happy to be in the Alaskan ports, with or without excursions.  On previous cruises to Alaska we did the following NCL excursions:

 

Ketchikan

*Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer

*Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary 

*Black Bear and Wildlife Exploration

*Hovercraft Eco-Adventure and Wildlife Viewing

*Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show (x2)

*Eagle Island Sea Kayak

*Rainforest Island Adventure

*Tatoosh Island Kayak

 

Juneau

*Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest

*Whales, Glaciers and Rainforest Trails

*Luxury Whale Watch

*Evening Whale Watch

*Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari

*Mendenhall Glacier River Float

*Mendenhall Glacier Lake Canoe

*Sea Kayak Adventures

 

We have also done the Juneau Tram (x3) and whale watching through Jayleen’s (spectacular!)

 

Skagway

*Best of Skagway and White Pass Railway (loved the train trip, hated the time at Liarsville and the lunch that was served)

*VIP White Pass Scenic Railway

*regular White Pass Railway

*Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (x3 which was incredible before the glacier receded and people took all the sparkly rocks home)

*Chilkoot Lake Wilderness Kayaking in Haines

*Chilkoot Trail Hike and River Float (big slugs!)

*Skagway’s Original Streetcar

 

Last year we booked the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour directly through the Red Onion Saloon.

 

Seward

(on our own)

*Kenai Fjord tour through Major Marine (x2)

*Alaska Sea Life Centre

*Seward shuttle hop on/hop off

 

Icy Strait Point

*Whale Watching and Bear Search (x3) This includes the excursion titled “Spasski River Valley and Wildlife”

*Whale and Marine Mammal Cruise (x2)

 

For the Skyglider Mountaintop Gondola in May 2022 we purchased at the site because we didn’t want to pre-purchase then have cloudy weather.  Rides are unlimited on the day of purchase. 

 

As you can see from the above excursions we both love being out on the water doing boat trips, kayaking, canoeing, rafting and one of us (me!) loves to swim and stand up paddleboard but that isn’t offered in Alaska. We have learned that neither of us enjoys excursions involving sightseeing bus rides.  In 2017 we did a cruise on the Jade from Hamburg to Norway, Iceland and Scotland and after we did a bus trip to Inverness we both promised to never again book a bus-based excursion.  Now my dad lives in a senior’s home and looks forward to his weekly bus trips.  When I take him out on our Thursday adventures we walk (we also have cake or sushi or fancy coffee depending on what he wants.)

 

My dad doesn’t know but I have booked the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer as a surprise for his birthday.  We have never done this before.  This is the only excursion that is pre-booked; we will be taking each port as it comes and making decisions based on weather.  My dad really wants to do the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour again this year so hopefully I can make that happen.  I think he liked the shimmying last year.  In November I put on my winter jacket and felt something bunchy in the pocket: it was the garter from the tour!  I yearn to do the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour and wish we did it years ago. Now the cost for the two of us would be $700 Canadian.  I just want to see the octopus and $700 is a lot to see an octopus. I have a thing for octopuses.  Has anyone read Remarkably Bright Creatures or The Soul of an Octopus? 

Tell your dad that the secret to birthdays is to keep on having them!  That was wisdom passed down to me by my dad!  He also told me that there's nothing wrong with getting old so long as you keep getting older!  He lived to the age of 95!

 

Elvis

[YVRteacher]

Love this! Thank you.

[MommaK2D2]

On a past cruise to Alaska we stopped by the red onion and I think my dad will get a huge kick out of it. Will see how time and energy is- we are doing the train tour w chilkoot because I want my sis and dad to enjoy the amazing trip, but perhaps after will try to get him in to enjoy the saloon!  So excited for him to experience his first cruise!

[vacation44]

Really looking forward to reading about this next adventure with your dad.   As we will be on the Jewel this August as first time Alaskan cruisers, I recently re-read your prior Alaskan posts.   They were just as enjoyable to read again.  Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. 

[TSUmom]

Looking forward to your review...Your last review was the reason my DH and I booked Alaska.

I would also like to say you are an awesome daughter!  If I had a do over in life it would be to spend more time with my dad and to take him to Alaska!!

[mypleasure]

So looking forward to the next adventures.

[ronkeykong]

Hey, we will be the Jewel for the May 8-15 cruise.  First NCL and first Alaska.  

[majmaj4]

Wow you have done a wide variety of excursions.  Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show  - is this mostly for kids or is it enjoyable for adults?    Look forward to reading your review.  thanks

[Jed12345]

21 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

I have a thing for octopuses.  

We've done this twice and it was a great time!

 

[Nilbog]

We'll be on the Jewel in the Haven for the southbound cruise in Sept/Oct.  Our 3rd time to Alaska.  We're going up to visit our daughter in Bethel before the cruise.  Can't wait to read more about your adventure.

[YVRteacher]

42 minutes ago, majmaj4 said:

Wow you have done a wide variety of excursions.  Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show  - is this mostly for kids or is it enjoyable for adults?    Look forward to reading your review.  thanks

Definitely great for humans of all ages! It is a short show so there is time to explore Creek Street before or after.

[YVRteacher]

13 hours ago, TSUmom said:

Looking forward to your review...Your last review was the reason my DH and I booked Alaska.

I would also like to say you are an awesome daughter!  If I had a do over in life it would be to spend more time with my dad and to take him to Alaska!!

Thank you! He is a great dad!

[YVRteacher]

I did online check in on Sunday.  It took about 10 minutes.  I used to submit a photo of my dad with a parakeet on his head but NCL no longer accepts photos with parakeets. 

[YVRteacher]

I have to work until 12:05pm on Monday May 1 which is the day we embark.  Fortunately my school is very close to the port so I selected a boarding time of 12:30pm.  My dad finds waiting in lines really challenging since having his stroke so the hope is that the line up to go through security at the Port of Vancouver is not as loooong as usual.  
 

I have not yet figured out how to get my dad to the port!

[Von & John]

Looking forward to the rest of the review - always love your reviews. 
Glad to see Dad back along on this cruise. 
 

Enjoy the Jewel & Alaska - we are now hitting  14-1/2 hours of sunlight / day in Talkeetna…

Or @ least we would be, if it would quit snowing…

Looks like Christmas out there - A true Winter Wonderland…

We just want Sun & Warmth (& no need to use the snowblower) 😎

Edited April 12, 2023 by Von & John

[disneylover89]

Following along, I love your reviews and am looking forward to this one.  Happy your dad is joining you, he cracks me up. 😄

[wil e coyote]

We will be on the May 8-15 leg of your journey as well! Looking forward to it - lots! We have also booked the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer, so if you are doing that on your second half of your cruise we will see you on the little boat!

[jcollin]

Following along as well.  We are on August 21st.  Would love to hear about the excursions as this is our first Alaska cruise.  So suggestions for must see's would be appreciated.

[mg93901]

 I almost booked this sailing, but opted for May 15.

It's been 12 years since my last cruise and 18 years since my last NCL, so thank you for the really helpful excursion information. Waiting to see what the weather is like and booking accordingly is something I hadn't thought of doing.

Looking forward to following along.

[NikiPinkston]

Yay, another @YVRteacher live review! We're on the Bliss to Alaska just a few days after you embark and I so appreciate your sharing with us. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures and your dad's "complaints." Bon voyage!

[YVRteacher]

8 hours ago, wil e coyote said:

We will be on the May 8-15 leg of your journey as well! Looking forward to it - lots! We have also booked the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer, so if you are doing that on your second half of your cruise we will see you on the little boat!

Yes we are and yay!!!

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

Yay, another @YVRteacher live review! We're on the Bliss to Alaska just a few days after you embark and I so appreciate your sharing with us. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures and your dad's "complaints." Bon voyage!

Thanks Niki!

The Bliss is experiencing issues I have never previously encountered.  I truly hope that you have a wonderful trip. She is such a beautiful ship!