Water Adventures

I had an amazing day of snorkeling in Grand Cayman! On Tuesday we docked in George Town, Grand Cayman. After rehearsals for our upcoming Christmas show, Joce, Lucky, Ian, Luke and I had breakfast at a small crepe restaurant. I had a delicious crepe with scrambled eggs and an unbelievable tomato pesto sauce that I MUST get the recipe for! (So my dad can make it, of course! :D) I also savored a sweet iced chai latte; I haven’t had one of those since I worked at Caribou and I’d forgotten how much I loved it!

Once we finished our satisfying meal, I say this because usually our meals in the staff mess are never satisfying, we journeyed across the street to the beach. I got on my snorkel gear, hopped in the water, and SCREAMED!!!!! There were giant fish, probably half my length, surrounding me! I had seen pictures of these enormous fish from Joce’s last time snorkeling at this spot, I just didn’t know they would be right in my face the moment I sank into the water!!!!! Luke was laughing at me because although we were all surprised by the immediate interaction, I was screaming and curling into a tight ball. He thought it was just A RIOT to chase me around the water and pinch me, like a fish biting my leg. Luckily, I have grown up with the torment of two brothers so I knew how to properly dunk him :)

We swam along the shore and saw amazingly bright fish in shades of blue, red, yellow, and all sizes. We saw crabs and even squid, which are such interestingly shaped creatures. There appeared to be some sunken parts of a ship as well, an anchor and a cannon. I hope to some day be able to dive and explore another shipwreck, or even a sunken ancient city! 

Luke and I have signed up to take the scuba diving course and get certified on the ship. We have been studying all this week and just passed our first written test last night! WOOHOO! Our first practical exam will be tomorrow morning in the pool, mostly getting used to the equipment and testing our physical abilities. I hope that since I have two dives already under my belt, that I’ll be successful. I have really enjoyed studying the material and keeping busy learning a new skill! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

It was so nice to be in San Juan, Puerto Rico with cell phone service so I could Facetime with my family back home to celebrate today :D It’s always hard to be away from my loved ones around the holiday seasons; but thanks to technology, I was able to see the warm smiles and hear the loving voices of those I miss most! So today, I am thankful for the internet and cell phone service that allowed me to speak to my family and friends! :D 

These past two weeks I’ve been spending most of my days on the beach with the exception of Roatan, Honduras. Joce, Lucky, Ian (our friend from the broadcast department), and I hopped in a taxi to tour the downtown and get some food. It reminded me a lot of my time I spent in Brazil. The atmosphere was relaxed, everyone was on island time! 

Labadee, Haiti is one of Royal Caribbean’s private islands, a beautiful secluded paradise. They have a roller coaster, zip-line, and jet skiing that I have added to my “to do list” for this port. We will be there every week so I will be able to do a lot of activities, including lazily reading on the beach :)

On November 20th we were docked in Cozumel, my first time in Mexico!!!!! Joce, Lucky, Ian, LeConte and I went scuba diving and it was UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! We were 50 feet beneath the surface, swimming among the fish and skimming the sand at the bottom of the ocean floor. I saw the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen in my life! I also saw beautiful coral, a stingray, giant crabs, hundreds of fish varying in color and size, even a barracuda! The best part was getting close enough to touch a large sea turtle as he was munching on his meal. He was curious about us but I couldn’t believe how he allowed us to approach him and take pictures! It’s a completely different world down there, and I can’t wait to explore more!!!!! I feel like Ariel, the Little Mermaid!!!! :D 

November 25th we were ported in St. Maarten again. We dock on the Dutch side, so Joe (piano bar player), Sarah and I took a taxi to the French side. We spent some time downtown, devouring divine French cuisine. I had a savory crepe with vegetables and eggs, and a chocolate croissant :) After brunch, we took the local bus towards the beach. This, was an adventure! There were some hilarious teenagers who spoke very little English, and thought we were equally amusing. They would repeat any word we said that they hadn’t heard before, laughing hysterically. The “bus” itself was a run down car, torn seats and no seat belts. I had a seat that folded up and I had to keep standing to let people off as we came to their “stop”. I put this in quotations because there’s no assigned stops, you just yell to the driver to stop. Joe had been to the Orient Beach before so he knew when to yell! Once we were dropped off, we said “au revoir” to our French friends, one named Loompa (I’m not sure if they were playing a joke on us but I said I liked his name and would name my dog Loompa in honor of him. HAHA). We walked for about 15 mins down a windy hill surrounded by gorgeous beach homes and resorts. I was reminded of my time in LA when my roommates and I would drive thru Beverly Hills or somewhere we knew the wealthy lived and marvel at the mansions. It was a peaceful walk and the beach was lovely. I enjoyed reading beneath the trees and laying in the warm sand. Next St. Maarten we plan on returning to the French side, perhaps by renting jeeps so we can find a private beach! 

So far my time in the Caribbean has been fun and memorable. I have my snorkel to discover sea treasures and I can’t wait to start working towards my scuba certification! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

The installing of our four shows is officially completed and I couldn’t be happier :D This has been a long and tiring process; from two months in the studios of Florida to intense flying training aboard the ship, and finally a month of working with sets, costumes, and flying apparatuses to put up four full production shows! I feel very accomplished and motivated to continue seeking other opportunities to challenge myself as a performer and ways to grow as a person :D

The most challenging show to open has been Under The Big Top, our circus show. Independence is the only ship in the fleet that has this show and there’s so much that goes into it because it has the most circus elements. Right in the beginning I’m flying on what’s called the Spanish web, a rope used to climb and hang off of. Luke stands beneath me and twirls the rope so that I can do different positions in the air, while spinning really fast :D Now, I know you all are wondering how I’ve been handling this with  my severe motion sickness :/ During training I took my motion tablets to learn the apparatus as I had to do it over and over. But eventually I had to attempt it without the help of the pill and I did get very dizzy and have to sink to the ground and lay there for awhile to calm my tummy LOL. But now that I’ve been practicing it more and more I’m getting used to it! :D I don’t think I will ever get over the weird sensation of being in the air and losing feeling in my arms and feet because I’m whipping so fast! But don’t worry mom, I’m safe :D  

Though we’ve been working long hours in the theater, we’ve had some time off here and there to run out and explore the ports. I made the trip to Brugge, Belgium twice to marvel at the gorgeous city and munch on Dutch French fries and the incomparable Belgian hot chocolate and giant Belgian waffles!! The weather was so perfect, a nice crisp chill in the air to gently remind you that it is autumn. The leaves were changing colors and the air smelt of the fall harvest. I wish I could stay in Brugge for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to see how beautiful the seasons change because it’s one of my favorite places in the world!!!!

We also docked twice in Le Havre, France, which is the gateway city to Paris. We didn’t have enough time off to make it to Paris but I was grateful to get off for dinner and enjoy a port at night. When we were there Monday, the 27^th, we had a bit of a hard time finding a restaurant open because it was a holiday and the French usually don’t open til late anyways. We finally happened upon a pub and sipped on wine while we waited for the kitchen to open. I ordered a veggie pizza, which surprisingly came with potato slices on it. A “French fry” pizza?!? It was DELCIOUS!!!! I naturally had a nutella crepe for dessert ;)

Wednesday night we found a fancy restaurant serving more traditional French food. I had a boiled egg in a bowl of cheese (I can’t remember the fancy French cheese name but it was good!) and had nibbles of my friend’s garlic and cheese mushrooms :D We later found a cute bar designed to look like a farm house where I drank a very tasty cherry beer. I hate the taste of beer but I guess this was more of a cider and to me, it tasted like cherry juice so I was happy!

Tomorrow we start the crossing back to the states and though I’m sad to leave Europe, I’m very excited to have my phone back to contact the ones I love more easily and to start my vocal and scuba lessons! I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday! We will be celebrating tonight with a scary movie (eek!!) and the crew Halloween party will be next cruise. I will be appearing as Zorro but unfortunately I can’t bring a fake sword on the ship so I hope the mask and outfit do the job!!! 

Indy!!!!

Hello family and friends!!! I can’t believe it’s already October, and my second week aboard the Independence of the Seas! It feels like just yesterday when I was auditioning in New York and now here I am, flying in aerial shows with Royal Caribbean Productions!! 

I started rehearsals July 28th in the RCCL studios in Hollywood, Florida. We learned four shows before I was flown to Barcelona, Spain on September 24th. I had an overnight before I was to join the ship so I was able to spend the day exploring the beautiful city! It was a gorgeous day; the streets were packed with people celebrating a holiday in honor of their town. I watched the parade of elaborate costumes and enjoyed the festive marching band music. Then I toured around, admiring the brilliant designs on the houses and businesses, stopping at a few street vendors to gaze at the various craftwork. 

I indulged in delicious tapas and white sangria for lunch in the town square. I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I am to eat, shop, and explore various parts of the world. Sometimes it feels like it’s a movie and I’m trying to soak everything in!!!  

The next day, the six other flyers and I joined the ship. The Independence is MASSIVE!!! It’s the biggest ship I’ve ever been on, and it’s stunning! Over the next week we learned the aerial apparatuses that are used in our shows: velocity stilts, two point harness, trapeze, bungee, hand loop, silk loop, ladders, and Spanish web. I’m so excited that I can now add some of these to my resume for New York auditions!!!! :D That was my goal at the beginning of the year and now I can focus on my singing as well as continuing my aerial and dance training!

The rest of my cast joined us on the 2nd of October in Southampton. I was able to run off the ship for some quick internet and lunch with Joce and Lucky before we started rehearsals. My cast is a lot bigger than I’ve ever had, there’s twenty of us!!! We have six singers-Shawn and Stephanie, Randy and Danielle, and Nick and Michelle. I did my second contract on the Vision with Michelle so I’m really happy I have the chance to work with her again. Allie and Dima are our featured ballroom couple in two of our shows. They are married and from the Ukraine. We have the seven flyers- LeConte, Michael, Luke, Lucky, Melissa, Joce, and me. And the dancers-Elliot, Jacob, Sarah, Chloe, and Meghan. 

We had four days to open Invitation to Dance, our ballroom show. It went pretty smoothly as there’s not a lot of technical elements to deal with. I love the costumes!!! There’s a lot of fun skirts that really help me to feel like a ballroom dancer. I can now add all of the ballroom styles I’ve learned to my resume as well-quick step, cha cha, tango, and jive. Allie and Dima will continue to teach us the technique and give us notes so hopefully by the end of the contract, I will have mastered it all!!! 

Once Upon A Time will open in two days!!!! This is our fairytale show and the first show to incorporate some flying and there’s a lot of scene changes so the process has been slower. Because I have the duet as Sleeping Beauty, my part is pretty simple, just dancing :D Next cruise we will open Center Stage, which is more of a singer show with not a lot of dancing, then we will start working on Under The Big Top. UTBT is our circus show and it’s a beast. Lots of flying, lots of technical elements, LOTS OF FUN!!! I can’t wait to get the costumes on and open that show!!! 

Well folks, I will leave my update here, but keep checking back for more! Pictures will come soon! :D I’m looking forward to when people can come cruise!!!! Miss and love you all!!!

Let The Sun Shine!!!!!

The end of October thru December 8th brought us to East and West Caribbean. Our ports of call were Half Moon Cay (HAL private island), Falmouth (Jamaica), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Georgetown (Cayman Islands), Key West (Florida), Grand Turk & Caicos, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Saint Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Saint-Martin/ Sint Maarten (French/Dutch owned), and our home port of Ft. Lauderdale (Florida). Erin and I bought a snorkel so we had lots of fun exploring the ocean's hidden treasures. I love discovering fish I've never seen before, and I even found a sunken canon! I hope to someday become scuba certified so I can continue my exploration of the sea, just like Ariel :)

As most of you know, it's long been on my bucket list to swim with dolphins. AND I GOT TO DO IT!!!!! I did some research to make sure we went to a reputable location, somewhere I felt treated the animals well and that our money would go to providing good care for them. I was on the ship when the infamous Black Fish movie came out and I've watched it about a dozen times since. I agree these animals should not be kept in captivity, but I'm very grateful I was able to swim with the dolphins. They had several areas for swimming and the park had sharks, birds, and other native animals. I felt the location was really large and nice, I never got the feeling that the animals were mistreated. After doing the Trainer For A Day program with the Chicago Aquarium, I've learned the difference of trainers that work with the animals to learn from them; studying them to help recover from the disastrous effects humans have had on their environment, verses trainers that brutally force the animals to perform tricks to draw in crowds. Eventually, I want to go into a career where I can put a stop to these vicious acts.

Erin came with me and we had a lot of fun playing with our young dolphin, Zeus.

At first, I really didn't like Key West. It seemed incredibly trashy to me, much like Las Vegas. It seemed geared towards Americans who wanted a cheap vacation to get smashed and get tattoos, just not my scene at all. However, once I explored further into the city (ALWAYS GET AWAY FROM THE TOURIST TRAPS), I found gorgeous art and really cool  knick knack shops!  I even went to the original Sloppy Joe's shop where I ate.....not a Sloppy Joe haha I ate one of the most amazing cheese quesadillas of my life!!!! 

Half Moon Cay was probably my favorite beach. The sand was so soft and the water was stunning! Even when it was raining, you could stay in the water and it was perfect bliss!!!! I enjoyed playing football on the beach, various dance jams and gymnastic photo shoots, as well as just relaxing; listening to the waves or music and reading. 

                               

Fall In New England

Our New England itinerary included New York City (New York), Boston (Massachusetts), Newport (Rhode Island), and Bar Harbor (Maine). There was so much colonial history to discover in this beautiful area. I fell in love with the seaport living (and delicious seafood) of Newport and Bar Harbor. Boston became one of my favorite cities with its amazing food and live music scene in Quincy Market. Some of my favorite excursions along the Freedom Trail included walking Hanover Street (one of the oldest streets in Boston), touring Paul Revere's house and other aged architectural treasures like The Bell In Hand Tavern; established in 1795, it is America's oldest tavern!

                                                                          Paul Revere's House

Freedom Trail

                                   Jimmy Fallon!

Fall In Canada

September- October was our Canada/ New England itinerary. I wasn't too impressed with our Canadian ports; I definitely want to travel to the other side of the country to see the more mountainous parts rather than the sea towns. But I had a lot of fun exploring the towns with my friends. Some highlights include sightseeing at the citadel in Halifax with Erin's family, and hot yoga and delicious ice cream when Kevin came to cruise. Quebec was the one exception to these unimpressive locations, it was AMAZING.  I loved shopping and discovering the French quarter! We found PHENOMENAL pizza. I'm working on trying to remember the name of the restaurant!!!! I do however remember two great shops that I discovered-Roots and Simmons!!! :D

                               

From Holland To America!

September 8th we were ported in St. Johns, Newfoundland. This was a particularly exciting spot for me because I had chosen Newfoundland as my Canadian Province to study back in elementary school so I was stoked to have the opportunity to visit it! There was even a Newfoundland puppy to greet us on the pier, so I knew I would like Canada! :) We spent our day touring the port, and found George Street, the North Atlantic version of Bourbon Street. It was raining pretty heavily so we did a mini pub crawl, enjoying live music,drinks and food provided by the wonderful Canadian hospitality. After the rain ceased, we window shopped and strolled thru the rows of brightly colored houses that continued all the way down to the harbor.

"Eskimo Bells Up In.....Greenland...Are Ringing!!!"

After Iceland, we spent a day cruising the Prince Christian Sund of Greenland, translated to the Prince Christian Sound. I now know a sound is a large sea or ocean inlet that is larger than a bay, deeper and wider than a fjord. It's cool to sail on a ship thru all these types of bodies of water and landscapes and actually be able see the difference with my own eyes. The Eurodam, and ships of equal size, are the largest cruise ships that can make it on this voyage, if it's not blocked by icebergs.

The following day we docked in Nanortalik, Greenland. Cruise ship tourism to Greenland is still in its infancy so there's not much to take in but I really enjoyed people watching. The locals here reminded me so much of a typical Eskimo in Alaska, dark features and skin. We were told having a ship come to their shores is the highlight of their year, and I could see the excitement in the children’s eyes while they ran around us yelling “HI!!!! HI!!!!” We were all bundled up in giant coats and scarves, and while we walked around the small town, shivering, the natives’ fashioned shorts and t-shirts, apparently it was their summer! Our ship collected used clothes to donate to the Intuits’, since they don’t get a lot of imported goods. It must be a difficult way of living with the harsh weather and having limited resources delivered to help. I’m even more grateful for the convenience of America.

Aurora Borealis

September 1st and 2nd we had an overnight in Reykjavik, Iceland! On the first day we took a crew tour out to the Blue Lagoon, the volcanic hot springs. I felt a bit like the brave (but crazy) people who partake in the Polar Bear Plunge as I ran in my bathing suit thru the freezing wind to get to the water. Although the place smelt of sulfur (that pungent stench of rotten eggs), the water was amazing, warming our bodies from the cold air surrounding us. We even tried the natural mud cream facial scrub as we swam around the springs.

Oh Beautiful, NORWAY!

In August, we docked in Norwegian ports that were new for me: Flam, Eldfjord, and Stravanger. These days were spent hiking in the valleys and mountains, running thru the fields and strolling next to lakes. We were able to get very close to the wildlife; the yaks we happened upon on the trail and the sheep we chased on a farm. Even now, looking back at the pictures, I can remember how stunning every place was. The water was always so blue and the grass was a brilliant shade of green.