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

[carohs]

I enjoyed your review. Thanks for letting us tag along!

[YVRteacher]

Freestyle Dailies for week one which was northbound, Vancouver to Seward May 1-8, 2023

 

Monday

[YVRteacher]

Tuesday

[YVRteacher]

Wednesday

[YVRteacher]

Thursday 

[YVRteacher]

Friday

[YVRteacher]

Saturday

[YVRteacher]

Sunday 

[YVRteacher]

Officers on the Jewel, current as of May 15, 2023.

 

The Cruise Director will change four times in the next two months as Emma heads to the Gem, Alvin transitions from assistant CD to CD then Tahani returns for a few weeks before transferring to the Star (or the Sky or the Sun.  It starts with an S!) After that a new CD will be assigned to the Jewel.

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Week 2 Day 7

Sea Day

 

At breakfast today our waitress exclaimed, “you didn’t miss breakfast today!”  I told her I had to set an alarm.  

 

I get bonus points for this alarm due to the time change and the lost hour.

 

The captain had the fog horn going early this morning but now the fog has cleared and we have a beautiful day.  

At the Q and A with the Officers  we learned the regulation for fog horns came in the 1960s.

At the same Q and A a passenger asked what they don’t like about their job. 

Chief Engineer Igor said budgets 

GM Rumi said if he didn’t love his job he wouldn’t be doing it (but I happen to know he doesn’t like it when people take their drink into the bathroom and come out without washing their hands)

Captain Vicente said what bothers him is when people come up to him and ask where is the casino or where is Bliss lounge without saying good morning or hello.  He also doesn’t love it when people ask who’s driving the ship when he does these Q and A sessions.

 

Random notes from the Q and A:

Dry dock- is every 5 years but when the ship reaches 15 years it’s every 2.5 years

 

When a cruise ship hits a whale it’s never a healthy whale.  Either the whale is old, sick or already deceased.  Did you know it costs $30000.00 to autopsy a dead whale?  

 

In Endicott Arm we made it to Mile 15.

 

They are selling pull tabs during the Q and A and people are pulling them while we are trying to listen to the presentation.  Hashtag rude!

 

Earlier in the week I asked Rumi and Emma why they weren’t doing the How To Run a Floating Hotel and they said they are only offering this on the longer cruises on the Jewel since there isn’t time on a port-intensive cruise such as a 7 day to Alaska.  

 

Bartender Curwin from St. Lucia is getting hit on by all the cougars today.  Some lady tried to auction him off to her daughter. 

 

Aan came and got us at the bar and said to join Martini tasting.  We said sure but I asked them not to make a separate set of drinks for dad as I knew he wouldn’t drink them.  We ended up having a great time and both of us tried 6 new-to-us drinks.  Aan continues to be one of our Vacation Heroes and NCL is fortunate to have him!

Notes from the Martini tasting:

 

Dirty Martini-tastes like I stuck my head in an olive jar.  They ran out of stuffed olives and now they have only pickle.  It’s made with Belvedere vodka. If you ask for a Pearl onion garnish the name of the martini is Gibson.

 

Lemon Drop

Sugar on the rim.  Ketel One vodka, orange curaçao, fresh lemon.  You could add watermelon or passion fruit.

 

Passionate Kiss=called porn star martini in the UK.  Has Prosecco on the top. SKYY vodka, Chinola, little bit of passion fruit purée. Little bit of orange juice.

 

We are getting a surprise today with a 7th drink…

 

A classic martini has gin, vermouth and olive (if I heard correctly.  I’m three drinks in at this point.) Martinis are the strongest drink a bartender makes according to Aan.  Even stronger than Long Island Iced Tea. The martini was created in San Francisco in 1860.  Jerry Thomas was making a drink called Martinez.  2 parts gin, 2 parts sweet vermouth, maraschino cherry liquor and lime juice. 

 

The martini glass was invented in 1920 during prohibition in the French Exhibition.  With the wide rim the smell wafts straight up your nose to know if the alcohol is fine or not fine. It also looks elegant and sophisticated.  Hold the glass by the stem so you don’t transfer heat to the drink. 4 drinks in and I can’t make words.

 

 

Melontini 

Tito’s vodka, Midori from Japan, pineapple juice, sour mix.

 

Glacier Blue Martini

Wheatley vodka, blue curaçao, fresh lime, simple syrup and pineapple juice.  I heard something about sour mix but it doesn’t taste sour to me.

 

Chocolate martini=absolute vodka, vanilla vodka is best but NCL can’t get this anymore from the supplier, crème de cocoa, Mahoney’s, Kahlua.  Maybe Bailey’s.  I’ve now had six drinks and I can’t spell or hear.  I can barely see. This was my favourite!!  

 

Aan taught us how to infuse vodka with coffee beans but my notes are so garbled I can’t read them.

 

 

There are 4 classic martinis:

Dirty 

Extra Dirty 

Filthy Dirty

In and Out

I don’t know what the criteria for any of them are and will never order a drink with olive juice as long as I’m alive. 

 

4 contemporary 

Fruity 

Creamy

Fizzy=add champagne.  Good for before dinner because the bubbles 

Something else. All the words are swirling together.  Maybe I will have to do this martini testing another time to get all the facts straight.  I would not be opposed to this.

 

Aan’s favourite drink is a Sidecar.  

 

Our surprise is a shot with pineapple, coconut Malibu rum, Captain Morgan rum and blue curaçao concoction.  It is called Liquid Marijuana and it’s legal!

 

Aan says the Macallan whiskey tasting is the best deal on the ship.

 

That martini tasting was so fun!  Even my dad enjoyed it.

 

At some point today we did trivia.  Even the Cruise Director’s staff member  (who is still super sick) didn’t like the questions and asked who made these questions?!  This is the most swearing my dad has emitted the whole trip. He really has a thing against obscure trivia questions. We both dislike losing.

 

This is the wine dad enjoyed last night.

[Sugar Magnolia]

@YVRteacher thank you very much for your entertaining, lively and in depth review of your B2B on the Jewel. I also appreciate your posting the Freestyle Dailies as I prepare for my B2B and visit your beautiful city. Looking forward to reading your next live report. 

[Sailing Smooth]

Your cruise report is making me excited for our Seward to Vancouver cruise on the Jewel on June 5.  We can't wait for you to post the southbound dailies!

[Nilbog]

1 hour ago, Sailing Smooth said:

Your cruise report is making me excited for our Seward to Vancouver cruise on the Jewel on June 5.  We can't wait for you to post the southbound dailies!

I've got even longer to wait, as we won't be there until Sept 25th!  My wife just booked me the crab fishing expedition in Ketchikan, so that's another thing to look forward to.  She doesn't do small boats well, so she'll spend the day walking around Creek Street.

 

Thanks @YVRteacher!

[ChiefMateJRK]

30 minutes ago, Nilbog said:

My wife just booked me the crab fishing expedition in Ketchikan, so that's another thing to look forward to. 

Yeah, this report has me really leaning towards pulling my wallet out for that one next Summer.

[Pens fan]

This has been one of the most entertaining reviews I've read in a long time.  I love your positive attitude and most especially how kind and caring you are for your father - without ever losing your sense of humor.  We are dealing with dementia with my MIL right now, and a sense of humor is very important at times.  So is a stiff drink occasionally 😉.  

[YVRteacher]

1 hour ago, Pens fan said:

This has been one of the most entertaining reviews I've read in a long time.  I love your positive attitude and most especially how kind and caring you are for your father - without ever losing your sense of humor.  We are dealing with dementia with my MIL right now, and a sense of humor is very important at times.  So is a stiff drink occasionally 😉.  

Yes to humour, drinks and kindness!!

[YVRteacher]

2 hours ago, Nilbog said:

I've got even longer to wait, as we won't be there until Sept 25th!  My wife just booked me the crab fishing expedition in Ketchikan, so that's another thing to look forward to.  She doesn't do small boats well, so she'll spend the day walking around Creek Street.

 

Thanks @YVRteacher!

My pleasure!  Writing fuels my creative energy.  
 

I know seasickness impacts people in different ways. I am someone who gets incredibly seasick on small boats, large boats, trains, cars and swings.  I can not go on a swing!  The medication from guest services and the acupressure bands are perfect for me.  Has your wife tried them?

[YVRteacher]

3 hours ago, Sailing Smooth said:

Your cruise report is making me excited for our Seward to Vancouver cruise on the Jewel on June 5.  We can't wait for you to post the southbound dailies!

I’ll post them right now!  Just need to make sure they’re all formatted correctly.  Thank you for the reminder.

[YVRteacher]

Here is the back to back letter we received in the cabin. Procedures are so sensible in Seward for B2B passengers.  Sadly, NCL doesn’t seem to be doing the B2B parties anymore.

 

View from the balcony of the dock in Seward.  Sorry if I already posted these.

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Freestyle Dailies for May 8-15, southbound Seward to Vancouver.

 

Day 1 Monday

[YVRteacher]

Day 2 Tuesday

 

[YVRteacher]

Day 3 Wednesday 

[YVRteacher]

Day 4 Thursday 

 

[YVRteacher]

Day 5 Friday

[YVRteacher]

Day 6 Saturday