Photo Credit: Mason Liu
On Sept. 29, Hamber’s Class of 2027 set sail on Grad Cruise, an event organized through Harbour Cruises. The boat sailed around the Vancouver Harbour and Burrard Inlet, giving grads an event of their own early on in their last year of high school.
Grad Cruise has become a recent tradition for Hamber’s graduating classes. It has run for three years, since Principal Mr. J. Lauzon (Administration) and now-retired Vice Principal Mr. N. Despotakis (Administration) joined Hamber’s administration in 2024. Mr. Lauzon organized Grad Cruise this year, and in past years, Mr. Despotakis organized the event.
Ms. B. Panesar (English), a former Grad Committee teacher-sponsor who chaperoned two of the three grad cruises for Hamber students, shared, “We had tried to do something like that in the past and we never got around to doing it.
Either it was too expensive or we just didn’t get that kind of commitment. So it is really great that we [had] that grad cruise in September.”
For Colin Wong (12), the sunset views and the dance floor were the best parts of the evening. “I think just standing on the top deck, watching the sunset and talking with friends,” he said, when asked what he enjoyed most about Grad Cruise.
There was also a dance floor and music on the boat. America Garcia (12) picked “Gasolina” as her favourite from the evening, but for Maile Fong (12), the best song was “Apple Bottom Jeans,” while Tirzah King (12) chose “Shut Up and Dance” as her favourite. King added that the best part was “the dance circle, when everyone was taking turns going in [the middle].”
For some seniors, the cruise made the beginning of their senior year feel more real. Fong shared that she had been looking forward to the event since last year.
“It was very anticipated, and it just seemed like so much fun [...] Now I’m just waiting for Grad and Prom!” she said, adding that Grad Cruise made the year sink in.
Jordan Tran (12) said that the cruise brought his grade together. He talked to “people I wouldn't really know or see sometimes. It was pretty nice seeing that. It felt more cohesive.”
Tran also agreed that the boat outing is now one of the biggest events of senior year. “I think it’s [in the] top three, definitely. After Grad and Prom, I think it is up there for sure,” he said.
When attendees were asked what they would change about the cruise, they only had one suggestion: a little more variety in food choice. “The sandwich was a bit disappointing,” Wong shared.
The teachers that chaperoned Grad Cruise also said that they enjoyed the evening. Mr. R. Lam (Business Education) said his favourite moment was when the boat went under the Lions Gate Bridge. “The light was really nice. It wasn't too dark and the photo opportunities were really pretty.”
When asked to recall a memorable anecdote, Ms. J. Lau (English) said that when some taller students started jumping in the dance circle underneath the boat’s low ceiling, she asked Ms. S. Lemmon (Learning Commons) to go in and calm the students down.
“She went in, pushed her way into the center of this circle and then was telling them to calm down with her hands,” Ms. Lau said, but the grads couldn’t hear her and didn’t understand what she was saying.
“All of a sudden she sort of went in a circle and went, ‘Oh, forget it,’” and joined in on the dancing. All the students started getting really excited, Ms. Lau said, and she’s happy to have this memory to look back on, seeing “just how nice everybody really was to each other and supportive. It was really fun to see.”