After a sea day, we docked into Scotland. Once shore leave was granted we took a tender to land, where a friend of ours was waiting. His name is Alistar and he was Ocean Adventure manager while he was on the ship, but now he is on vacation. He lives in another city of Scotland but he took two trains and a taxi to meet up with us, on his last day in Scotland too! The next day he was moving down to Mexico to be with his girlfriend. His nickname is Shrek, because he’s a loveable giant!!!! :D
Shrek acted as our personal tour guide, taking us to all the highlights of Edinburgh. He showed us the modern government building, the Queen’s home when she comes to visit, and two ancient castles. He told me about how most of the old city was burnt and the new city was built on top of the ruins. It is the most haunted city in the world! They have ghost tours that take adventurers down to the catacombs, I’m not sure I’m that brave. I do know that next I’m going into the Edinburgh castle when I have more time to explore it.
Shrek and I talked about William Wallace because, of course, the movie Braveheart made his story famous. Wallace was brought to Edingurgh when he was arrested. We stopped in a few shops to check out the Scottish scene. I was tempted to buy a kilt but I would never wear it, LOL. We ended the day in a pub, toasting to Shrek’s future and the last days of our contract. It was a difficult goodbye at the train station; I don’t know how people get used to it. I have met so many great people and I really hope I can visit them in all the various places they live.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Kiss Me, I'm Irish
Finally, the port I was most excited for! DUBLIN, IRELAND! I have always wanted to see Ireland, not just because I heard it has gorgeous landscapes, but because of my Irish ancestry. I signed up to assist the Easy Dublin Highlights and Phoenix Park Tour. I didn’t realize though that “easy” meant “wheelchairs” since most of my guests were in wheelchairs. And this was a bit of a disappointment because the tour was mostly in the bus, passing places of interest and only stopping two times. But being on a bus, I was certainly able to see more of the city than if I had simply walked around. And since everyone had to take a shuttle to get there, my transportation was free. :)
My guest was a very friendly old man. It was so cute when he said things like “me” in place of “my” and “wee” for “little”! Right away, when I introduced myself, his eyes light up from my Irish name. He told me Shannon was a Celtic Goddess and the largest river in Ireland! How awesome is that! So now, when people ask me if I’m named after the famous actress I can say, “Nope, I’m named after my river in Ireland.”
The city of Dublin is over 1,000 years old. Vikings settled here and built the first town to have streets. It was a major trading center. I noticed the drivers driving on the right, which is WRONG! ;) As we headed out of the docks, the guide explained that Ireland has a healthy economy, by exporting more than importing. But the Government spends way too much. He pointed out on building and told the legend of how St. Patrick and how he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. “We keep 166 snakes in there,” he said. “It’s our reptilarium.” It was the Senate house. LOL.
We headed along the Northwall, opposite the Grand Central Dock. The first part of the city was the new Dublin, with developments like apartments and a convention center. Then we would see the old city. He informed us that they keep their buildings short because they want light from the sky. We passed a bridge that in the olden days, you had to pay half a penny to cross. We saw the Rugby stadium, a polo park, and the Guiness Brewery. The Guiness family was very rich and owned much of the property, a lot of which was donated to Dublin. We didn’t get out at Phoenix Park, the largest enclosed park in a city of Europe, which I thought would have been one of the stops. We continued on and saw the Dublin Zoo, the birthplace of Clarence, MGM’s famous lion.
The guide asked if there were any French people on the tour. Since there was none, he went on to explain that he always told the French to not look at the statue we were about to see. It was a monument of Wellington, general at Waterloo. “I try to save them from embarrassment, but they always look!” We moved along Dublin and drove a round about to see where diplomats resided. The two we saw were home to the American ambassador, neighbor to the Presidents house because we were the first to establish diplomatic relations with the Irish. Our guide said they do have to pay rent like everyone else, ONE DIME! For that gorgeous house, SO NOT FAIR!!!!
Maybe I should be an ambassador and move to Ireland!
GUESS WHAT! Ireland has a FEMALE PRESIDENT! Geez, somebody has it right!!!! We saw a parade of fancy cars ad police escorts leaving from the President’s place. Estates of royalty or politicians in Europe have flags on top of the building. If more than two are flying, the owner is currently there. Since only one flag was flying that day, I don’t think the president herself was there, or maybe they took the flag down because that was her leaving! :o Our guide said for Americans the house is a “copy” of the White House, to be diplomatic. It was the same Irish architect, but theirs was built before ours.
The weather was beautiful; he said despite the rumors, Ireland rarely has bad winters. I guess that depends on who is speaking; the Brazilians may beg to differ. Our first stop was
St. Patrick’s cathedral, one of the two Protest Episcopalian churches. St. Patrick’s is the largest church in Ireland and has the largest choir. The interior of the cathedral was gorgeous with its decorative Bishop’s chair and the knights of Ireland. The podium was a large golden eagle because in the bible, the word of the lord will be carried on the back on a large bird of prey. The eagle is also used for its likeness to God, it flies at great height and sees in amazing detail.
I learned that stain glass windows are strategically designed and placed in cathedrals. The northern window is always the brightest to catch the sun. The south has the darker colors. This church’s southern window had illustrations of the New Testament, the Old Testament and the Promises. Throughout the church, there were various dedications. There was a grave and burial devotion for Jonathan Swift and his wife. Swift was the Dean of St. Patrick’s while he wrote his famous novel, Gulliver’s Travels. There were monuments for other important people and discoveries, including a statue of Carolan, a famous Irish musician.
I finally learned how to read European license plates because the guide said that the Lord/ Mayor gets the first new car of the year so his plate now read 10 D1, D for Dublin. He also told us there are wheelchair taxis available here, that’s a brilliant idea. I’ve never heard of that before! Our second stop was at Trinity College. Queen Elizabeth the 1st of England made the university. We walked through the square, viewing all the aging buildings. All of them are neo classical design except on that was Elizabethan style. We passed the Berkley library. The creator of Berkley College in the US attended Trinity.
There are a total of eight million books throughout the libraries on Trinity campus. The main attraction here is the Book of Kells. Our guide said young people come from the US to bring the Irish “the new religion of Christianity”. When they try to enlighten him, he asks, “Have you seen our Book of Kells? It’s a bible that is 1,200 years old.” So, the Irish always reply to the converters, “WE KNOW!” Unfortunately, the public can see the book any day but Mondays, and of course we are there on a Monday. Still, the campus was worth the trip. Our guide joked how Americans say the best college in the world is Harvard, but their professors come from Trinity of Dublin!
On our trip back to the ship, he showed us the statue of Lyre. The legend says that the Queen, who was also their stepmother, transformed children into swans. They traveled over the seas for 800 years. When they were transformed back, they were only children for a short time because they aged quickly. Back in the port, I did some gift shopping. I’m very happy I got to see the important spots of Dublin, it was a very pretty and well kept city.
My guest was a very friendly old man. It was so cute when he said things like “me” in place of “my” and “wee” for “little”! Right away, when I introduced myself, his eyes light up from my Irish name. He told me Shannon was a Celtic Goddess and the largest river in Ireland! How awesome is that! So now, when people ask me if I’m named after the famous actress I can say, “Nope, I’m named after my river in Ireland.”
The city of Dublin is over 1,000 years old. Vikings settled here and built the first town to have streets. It was a major trading center. I noticed the drivers driving on the right, which is WRONG! ;) As we headed out of the docks, the guide explained that Ireland has a healthy economy, by exporting more than importing. But the Government spends way too much. He pointed out on building and told the legend of how St. Patrick and how he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. “We keep 166 snakes in there,” he said. “It’s our reptilarium.” It was the Senate house. LOL.
We headed along the Northwall, opposite the Grand Central Dock. The first part of the city was the new Dublin, with developments like apartments and a convention center. Then we would see the old city. He informed us that they keep their buildings short because they want light from the sky. We passed a bridge that in the olden days, you had to pay half a penny to cross. We saw the Rugby stadium, a polo park, and the Guiness Brewery. The Guiness family was very rich and owned much of the property, a lot of which was donated to Dublin. We didn’t get out at Phoenix Park, the largest enclosed park in a city of Europe, which I thought would have been one of the stops. We continued on and saw the Dublin Zoo, the birthplace of Clarence, MGM’s famous lion.
The guide asked if there were any French people on the tour. Since there was none, he went on to explain that he always told the French to not look at the statue we were about to see. It was a monument of Wellington, general at Waterloo. “I try to save them from embarrassment, but they always look!” We moved along Dublin and drove a round about to see where diplomats resided. The two we saw were home to the American ambassador, neighbor to the Presidents house because we were the first to establish diplomatic relations with the Irish. Our guide said they do have to pay rent like everyone else, ONE DIME! For that gorgeous house, SO NOT FAIR!!!!
Maybe I should be an ambassador and move to Ireland!
GUESS WHAT! Ireland has a FEMALE PRESIDENT! Geez, somebody has it right!!!! We saw a parade of fancy cars ad police escorts leaving from the President’s place. Estates of royalty or politicians in Europe have flags on top of the building. If more than two are flying, the owner is currently there. Since only one flag was flying that day, I don’t think the president herself was there, or maybe they took the flag down because that was her leaving! :o Our guide said for Americans the house is a “copy” of the White House, to be diplomatic. It was the same Irish architect, but theirs was built before ours.
The weather was beautiful; he said despite the rumors, Ireland rarely has bad winters. I guess that depends on who is speaking; the Brazilians may beg to differ. Our first stop was
St. Patrick’s cathedral, one of the two Protest Episcopalian churches. St. Patrick’s is the largest church in Ireland and has the largest choir. The interior of the cathedral was gorgeous with its decorative Bishop’s chair and the knights of Ireland. The podium was a large golden eagle because in the bible, the word of the lord will be carried on the back on a large bird of prey. The eagle is also used for its likeness to God, it flies at great height and sees in amazing detail.
I learned that stain glass windows are strategically designed and placed in cathedrals. The northern window is always the brightest to catch the sun. The south has the darker colors. This church’s southern window had illustrations of the New Testament, the Old Testament and the Promises. Throughout the church, there were various dedications. There was a grave and burial devotion for Jonathan Swift and his wife. Swift was the Dean of St. Patrick’s while he wrote his famous novel, Gulliver’s Travels. There were monuments for other important people and discoveries, including a statue of Carolan, a famous Irish musician.
I finally learned how to read European license plates because the guide said that the Lord/ Mayor gets the first new car of the year so his plate now read 10 D1, D for Dublin. He also told us there are wheelchair taxis available here, that’s a brilliant idea. I’ve never heard of that before! Our second stop was at Trinity College. Queen Elizabeth the 1st of England made the university. We walked through the square, viewing all the aging buildings. All of them are neo classical design except on that was Elizabethan style. We passed the Berkley library. The creator of Berkley College in the US attended Trinity.
There are a total of eight million books throughout the libraries on Trinity campus. The main attraction here is the Book of Kells. Our guide said young people come from the US to bring the Irish “the new religion of Christianity”. When they try to enlighten him, he asks, “Have you seen our Book of Kells? It’s a bible that is 1,200 years old.” So, the Irish always reply to the converters, “WE KNOW!” Unfortunately, the public can see the book any day but Mondays, and of course we are there on a Monday. Still, the campus was worth the trip. Our guide joked how Americans say the best college in the world is Harvard, but their professors come from Trinity of Dublin!
On our trip back to the ship, he showed us the statue of Lyre. The legend says that the Queen, who was also their stepmother, transformed children into swans. They traveled over the seas for 800 years. When they were transformed back, they were only children for a short time because they aged quickly. Back in the port, I did some gift shopping. I’m very happy I got to see the important spots of Dublin, it was a very pretty and well kept city.
Crème Brulee
Last Sunday we were in another French port, Cherbourg. After sanitizing our rooms and having them inspected, my shift serving food in the Windjammer followed by boat drill, I was left with only three hours to be off. Kristin, Maude, Kat, Robert, Kevin and I all got off together. We stopped for a bit in the terminal to taste the pastries and local cider that was offered. BLAH I didn’t realize European cider usually means with alcohol. But the sugar cookie was good, a sort of fudge-taste.
Stephany and Brandon were in the terminal when we got out. Because we had been in Paris while there was a holiday going on, the trains had stopped early. They had to take two taxis to get back to the port, and they made it just in time to watch us sailing off in the water. After staying the night in a hotel, and taking another taxi to meet us at the next port, their total cost was around 1,000 euros to get back to the ship. OUCH. It makes me even more cautious with public transportation now, especially here in Europe cause they like to just randomly stop working or are always running late.
Our group left them to board the ship and headed out to Cherbourg. It was a bit of a walk to get to the town, we had to maneuver through abandoned warehouses and cross a river. We passed several guests heading back to the ship and watched as a boy tragically tripped over a bump in the road, face planted, and lost his brand new soccer ball he had just bought to the depths of the river. Robert was snapping away pictures of the graffiti while Kevin (the new Schooner Bar player) and I discussed California. Turns out he grew up in Burbank, the area I was living when I was dancing in LA. We talked fondly about Porto’s the bakery that was on my street, and the Grove mall where I had worked. What a small world!
Since we didn’t have enough time to get out of the dock town, we decided to grab some lunch then head back. The information lady in the terminal said there was a free horse and carriage ride to see the town, so maybe I can do that next time. I learned Kat is allergic to horses; it’s amazing to me that after 8 months of nearly 24/ 7 contact with my cast, I still don’t know everything about them. But I suppose that’s a good thing, LOL. After walking through the deserted streets of restaurants and shops, we started to worry that nothing would be open. Finally we found a cute little place, tucked away behind a stone archway.
The inside was beautifully decorated with bright colors. Kat and I ordered a bread and cheese fondue to share. It was so delicious! We also all had small glasses of the house cider and again I tried it, but I still hated it. I finished off my French cuisine with crème brulee, which I don’t know if I have ever liked before this one. I had a more vanilla cream flavor and I think is a lot better than how they make it in the states. But… DUH. :D
A French family came to eat after what looked like a first communion. I liked the atmosphere, I wasn’t sure how French people would take to us after all the stories I had heard from my friends and even sister. I know they dislike Americans, or really anyone who doesn’t speak French, but I haven’t been mistreated so far. Maybe they just make fun of me behind my back or even in front of my face, since I wouldn’t be able to tell! Oh well!
After our lunch we had to return back through the maze. We started to run through the streets because we hadn’t given ourselves enough time for leisure walking AND to be lost. HA HA. Kristin speaks a little French from studying in college, so she was helpful in the restaurant and she was able to ask a man on the street where the dock was. He was kind enough to walk us to the right street and point us the rest of the way. We ran into one of the ship’s doctor, who was lost as well. Except he was confident that the ship was the other way, despite our argument that we had just come from there. So we left him to walk that way, not sure what time he made it back on!
We made it in plenty of time, just had to jog a bit. Kristin purchased a bottle of the cider and we got on the ship. I layed down for a bit because running right after I had just ate ALL THAT, the cheese was starting to rumble in my tummy. Good thing we didn’t have a show! I’m not sure why we dock here, if it is a popular French town or has a certain attraction. I should do some more research for the next time we cruise there.
Brandon and Stephany had their hearing with the Captain, Head of Security, Hotel Director, and other important officers the next morning. They were each given a final warning, which lasts on their records for two years. Basically, if they get into any other trouble, they are fired. But luckily, they can stay with us for the rest of our cruise. It would be so sad to lose two people with just three weeks of our contract left. We signed on together, we need to finish together!
Stephany and Brandon were in the terminal when we got out. Because we had been in Paris while there was a holiday going on, the trains had stopped early. They had to take two taxis to get back to the port, and they made it just in time to watch us sailing off in the water. After staying the night in a hotel, and taking another taxi to meet us at the next port, their total cost was around 1,000 euros to get back to the ship. OUCH. It makes me even more cautious with public transportation now, especially here in Europe cause they like to just randomly stop working or are always running late.
Our group left them to board the ship and headed out to Cherbourg. It was a bit of a walk to get to the town, we had to maneuver through abandoned warehouses and cross a river. We passed several guests heading back to the ship and watched as a boy tragically tripped over a bump in the road, face planted, and lost his brand new soccer ball he had just bought to the depths of the river. Robert was snapping away pictures of the graffiti while Kevin (the new Schooner Bar player) and I discussed California. Turns out he grew up in Burbank, the area I was living when I was dancing in LA. We talked fondly about Porto’s the bakery that was on my street, and the Grove mall where I had worked. What a small world!
Since we didn’t have enough time to get out of the dock town, we decided to grab some lunch then head back. The information lady in the terminal said there was a free horse and carriage ride to see the town, so maybe I can do that next time. I learned Kat is allergic to horses; it’s amazing to me that after 8 months of nearly 24/ 7 contact with my cast, I still don’t know everything about them. But I suppose that’s a good thing, LOL. After walking through the deserted streets of restaurants and shops, we started to worry that nothing would be open. Finally we found a cute little place, tucked away behind a stone archway.
The inside was beautifully decorated with bright colors. Kat and I ordered a bread and cheese fondue to share. It was so delicious! We also all had small glasses of the house cider and again I tried it, but I still hated it. I finished off my French cuisine with crème brulee, which I don’t know if I have ever liked before this one. I had a more vanilla cream flavor and I think is a lot better than how they make it in the states. But… DUH. :D
A French family came to eat after what looked like a first communion. I liked the atmosphere, I wasn’t sure how French people would take to us after all the stories I had heard from my friends and even sister. I know they dislike Americans, or really anyone who doesn’t speak French, but I haven’t been mistreated so far. Maybe they just make fun of me behind my back or even in front of my face, since I wouldn’t be able to tell! Oh well!
After our lunch we had to return back through the maze. We started to run through the streets because we hadn’t given ourselves enough time for leisure walking AND to be lost. HA HA. Kristin speaks a little French from studying in college, so she was helpful in the restaurant and she was able to ask a man on the street where the dock was. He was kind enough to walk us to the right street and point us the rest of the way. We ran into one of the ship’s doctor, who was lost as well. Except he was confident that the ship was the other way, despite our argument that we had just come from there. So we left him to walk that way, not sure what time he made it back on!
We made it in plenty of time, just had to jog a bit. Kristin purchased a bottle of the cider and we got on the ship. I layed down for a bit because running right after I had just ate ALL THAT, the cheese was starting to rumble in my tummy. Good thing we didn’t have a show! I’m not sure why we dock here, if it is a popular French town or has a certain attraction. I should do some more research for the next time we cruise there.
Brandon and Stephany had their hearing with the Captain, Head of Security, Hotel Director, and other important officers the next morning. They were each given a final warning, which lasts on their records for two years. Basically, if they get into any other trouble, they are fired. But luckily, they can stay with us for the rest of our cruise. It would be so sad to lose two people with just three weeks of our contract left. We signed on together, we need to finish together!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wee Wee, Par-ee
I finally made it to Paris!!!! Oh my GOSH!!!!! Paris is incredible, but there is WAY too much stuff for me to see, I definitely need to spend at least a week there! I signed up for the crew tour, only 40 dollars, which is measly compared to a 60-euro train ticket. We left at around 9:30. It was a two hour shuttle bus ride, so we all took nice long naps. The bus dropped us off right at the feet of the Eiffel Tower. There were so many people crowded beneath it; I think it is the number one most visited tourist spot. From there, our group of fifty crew members split off for their adventures, I stayed with Cristian and Micheal. We walked beneath the tower and paid for a hop on- hop off tour bus, which would take us to the main attractions.
The entire tour takes two hours, because the buses run every ten minutes so you can hop off at each stop. We were short on time though, we had only four hours since the commute back to the ship is such a long drive. The day had started out a little chilly but I started putting away layers as the sun began to warm us. It was such a gorgeous day, encouraging me to return for an extended vacation so I can enjoy all the sites and have time for a picnic on the lawns of Paris.
The first stop we got off at was the Louvre. I was a bit confused at first; because in all the movies, the museum appeared as the glass pyramids. But the bus had dropped us off at a gigantic square building. We went in through one of the entrances and found the pyramids! I heard a rumor that it takes seven years to see the museums’ entirety, because they are constantly adjusting it. Regardless if that is a true statement, the museum is the largest in the world and is absolutely on my “To-Do List” when I return. Several photos later, we were back on the bus and headed to Notre Dame.
The minute we came around the corner and Notre Dame was towering right in front of me, I almost cried. I don’t know why I was in such awe of it, I guess because I’m a Disney fanatic and I have seen the Hunchback of Notre Dame a million times. It was a dream to see the real thing, a dream I had never thought possible to make into a reality. But there it was! It’s free to go into the cathedral, but there was no time! We had the rest of Paris to see! So after we took pictures of the man dressed as Quasimoldo, and picked up a few souvenirs, we caught the next bus.
The rest of the tour we stayed on the bus, but it was good because we were on the top of the double- decker and we could see everything. We passed the Opera house, circled around the Arc de Triomphe, and even drove over the tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life. There is so much history to take in; I was overloaded trying to listen to the radio tour guide on my headphones and take pictures. Like I said, there is no WAY you can do Paris in a day!
When we reached the Eiffel Tower again, we got off and bought some AMAZING crepes. I had a chocolate one (OF COURSE) and the guy folded the warm pastry like an ice cream cone and topped it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. I don’t think I have ever had anything more perfect! We had just enough time to do a little souvenir shopping before we found our shuttle bus. After all the fuss about being punctual and the threat they would leave us behind if we were late, we had to wait for our driver, and I doubt he got lost. But I have no complaints! I was in PARIS!!!!! GAH!!! :D
I came back to the ship and ate a little dinner before heading up to the Windjammer for my shift. It was actually a pretty fun shift. I was in charge of coffee, which is simple enough, and I enjoyed helping the waitress I was assigned with. Only one guest was annoying, because she insisted on a certain amount of coffee, milk and water, and she kept asking me where the captain was. She asked about one of the officers over and over again and I continued to say “no ma’am, that’s not the captain. He is not in here right now.” She eventually got the message and left.
Last night was a chaotic mess. It was day two of the cruise, and a sea day. We had Broadway scheduled for 9 and 11 at night. But in the morning, we got a call that we had to re-block for Stephany because she had thrown up. So we re-blocked until 4, when we had a full show tech run. Than I got a call at around 7:40, it was Chris asking me to come to the theater to re-block for Maude. She hadn’t thrown up but she has had a nasty cough and her fever has been rapidly increasing. So we had an hour before the show to throw a show together. I only had my hair done, and by the time they were calling 10 minutes to show, I was not stretched and I still needed to do my make up.
So the first show was sloppy and crazy. Everyone was bumping into each other, trying to remember which number of which re-block they needed to go to and what new choreography to do. But we got through it, and we must have performed more than usual to hide our madness because they seemed to really like it. Backstage, Brian was looking pretty awful. He was really gray in the face and his eyes were blackening. He said he needed to throw up. He ran to his room and then had to go to medical because he did throw up, even though he felt better after he did. It was the same thing with Stephany, they both threw up and felt better right after, which is not the case with GI.
But medical declared them not fit for duty because they had “GI” and we were scrambling 20 minutes before the second show to think of what to do. OB was trying to talk us into making an announcement for the guests pre show that one of the singers had gotten injured and then play Brian’s sick track throughout the show. We tried to explain how ridiculous this would be, especially because he does so much partner work with Kristen, including a wedding scene. It would just make no sense. Not to mention, we didn’t think our managers and bosses at the studios in Florida would be too happy if they heard we did a show missing a singer and not having someone stand in but there is a “magical voice”.
In the end, Chris told them there was no way to do a show and we had to cancel. It’s been really frustrating to me that we still have GI on this ship. We sanitize every night. And it feels like a punishment to crew. Tomorrow morning, we have inspection by our supervisors, boat drill, and then inspection by the captain and staff captain and other important officers. Also our food shifts. We now have all these restrictions, like they took away our slop chest, which used to sell candy bars and other treats and now we are only allowed water. Tomorrow we need to throw away all our toilet paper, tissues, cotton balls, and spray all these chemicals to “kill the virus”. The most aggravating part is that it is the GUESTS that have it.
We sailed the transatlantic and never once had a case. When we had our first few cases after we made it to Europe, we immediately sanitized the ship. The new guests come on and guess what, they bring it with them. And the worst of it is, the people in charge think that by setting up hand sanitizers and requiring guests to “wash” before they come to eat, it will kill the virus. How do they not see that this isn’t working! Why have we been in code red for this long and they STILL don’t understand that hand sanitizer is for GERMS. Germs and viruses are two completely different things!!! They are letting guests not wash their hands with soap and water, which HELLO…GROSS, and giving them false security with the hand sanitizers.
Now the officers are trying everything they can think of, which is mainly just affecting crew. But how can they not see that in the current static of about 60 cases of GI, 6 are CREW. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!! WE DON’T HAVE IT. We have easily accessible water and soap areas right when we walk into our mess. There are no sinks in guest areas except in the bathrooms. OMG just put a portable sink in the entrance of the Windjammer and the Dining Hall, rather than the stupid hand sanitizer dispensers, and force them to wash their hands. THEN all our sanitizing won’t go to waste. GEEZ.
So yes, I’m a little bitter at this point because we are starting to be punished for guests not keeping simple hygiene. I’m over being in this Code Red business. The rest of the cast keeps encouraging me that this will never happen on my other contracts. I have had the most intense first contract I think ever, to be honest. We have all been through so much, and just to add another thing, Stephany and Brandon missed the ship. They were on the crew tour with us, but they wanted to take the train back so they stayed later. Our bus came back at about 7, and crew on board was 11. I got a call at about 11:35 from Dave, and he was asking if I had any contact information because they still weren’t back. But I told him we can’t call their cells because we all turned ours off, there was no point in other countries to pay all that money. So we waited, checked our emails in case they had tried to contact us, and sailed away.
We are still in France tomorrow, and I’m told we aren’t too far from the port we were at today. So I’m hoping they will get their passports from the port agents, because our HR people took them off and left them in the port, and they will figure out their way to meet us in Cherbourg. Sometimes, if you miss the ship, it is an immediate dismissal from the captain. But if there is a good excuse, or if you have an understanding officer, you can save your job. Chris said that if we had had a show tonight, they would have lost their jobs right away because they missed their duties. I don’t know if they just didn’t plan out the train properly, or if there was strikes, or what, I just pray that they are ok. Luckily, Stephany has been to Paris a few times and speaks French, so that should help some. But it’s very scary that we can’t call them and I don’t think they know how to call the ship.
I guess I will find out tomorrow what happened. I should go to bed now; I need to be up at 7 am cleaning our cabin. JOY. But hey, I was in Paris, so I am still very, very, very happy!!!! :D
The entire tour takes two hours, because the buses run every ten minutes so you can hop off at each stop. We were short on time though, we had only four hours since the commute back to the ship is such a long drive. The day had started out a little chilly but I started putting away layers as the sun began to warm us. It was such a gorgeous day, encouraging me to return for an extended vacation so I can enjoy all the sites and have time for a picnic on the lawns of Paris.
The first stop we got off at was the Louvre. I was a bit confused at first; because in all the movies, the museum appeared as the glass pyramids. But the bus had dropped us off at a gigantic square building. We went in through one of the entrances and found the pyramids! I heard a rumor that it takes seven years to see the museums’ entirety, because they are constantly adjusting it. Regardless if that is a true statement, the museum is the largest in the world and is absolutely on my “To-Do List” when I return. Several photos later, we were back on the bus and headed to Notre Dame.
The minute we came around the corner and Notre Dame was towering right in front of me, I almost cried. I don’t know why I was in such awe of it, I guess because I’m a Disney fanatic and I have seen the Hunchback of Notre Dame a million times. It was a dream to see the real thing, a dream I had never thought possible to make into a reality. But there it was! It’s free to go into the cathedral, but there was no time! We had the rest of Paris to see! So after we took pictures of the man dressed as Quasimoldo, and picked up a few souvenirs, we caught the next bus.
The rest of the tour we stayed on the bus, but it was good because we were on the top of the double- decker and we could see everything. We passed the Opera house, circled around the Arc de Triomphe, and even drove over the tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life. There is so much history to take in; I was overloaded trying to listen to the radio tour guide on my headphones and take pictures. Like I said, there is no WAY you can do Paris in a day!
When we reached the Eiffel Tower again, we got off and bought some AMAZING crepes. I had a chocolate one (OF COURSE) and the guy folded the warm pastry like an ice cream cone and topped it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. I don’t think I have ever had anything more perfect! We had just enough time to do a little souvenir shopping before we found our shuttle bus. After all the fuss about being punctual and the threat they would leave us behind if we were late, we had to wait for our driver, and I doubt he got lost. But I have no complaints! I was in PARIS!!!!! GAH!!! :D
I came back to the ship and ate a little dinner before heading up to the Windjammer for my shift. It was actually a pretty fun shift. I was in charge of coffee, which is simple enough, and I enjoyed helping the waitress I was assigned with. Only one guest was annoying, because she insisted on a certain amount of coffee, milk and water, and she kept asking me where the captain was. She asked about one of the officers over and over again and I continued to say “no ma’am, that’s not the captain. He is not in here right now.” She eventually got the message and left.
Last night was a chaotic mess. It was day two of the cruise, and a sea day. We had Broadway scheduled for 9 and 11 at night. But in the morning, we got a call that we had to re-block for Stephany because she had thrown up. So we re-blocked until 4, when we had a full show tech run. Than I got a call at around 7:40, it was Chris asking me to come to the theater to re-block for Maude. She hadn’t thrown up but she has had a nasty cough and her fever has been rapidly increasing. So we had an hour before the show to throw a show together. I only had my hair done, and by the time they were calling 10 minutes to show, I was not stretched and I still needed to do my make up.
So the first show was sloppy and crazy. Everyone was bumping into each other, trying to remember which number of which re-block they needed to go to and what new choreography to do. But we got through it, and we must have performed more than usual to hide our madness because they seemed to really like it. Backstage, Brian was looking pretty awful. He was really gray in the face and his eyes were blackening. He said he needed to throw up. He ran to his room and then had to go to medical because he did throw up, even though he felt better after he did. It was the same thing with Stephany, they both threw up and felt better right after, which is not the case with GI.
But medical declared them not fit for duty because they had “GI” and we were scrambling 20 minutes before the second show to think of what to do. OB was trying to talk us into making an announcement for the guests pre show that one of the singers had gotten injured and then play Brian’s sick track throughout the show. We tried to explain how ridiculous this would be, especially because he does so much partner work with Kristen, including a wedding scene. It would just make no sense. Not to mention, we didn’t think our managers and bosses at the studios in Florida would be too happy if they heard we did a show missing a singer and not having someone stand in but there is a “magical voice”.
In the end, Chris told them there was no way to do a show and we had to cancel. It’s been really frustrating to me that we still have GI on this ship. We sanitize every night. And it feels like a punishment to crew. Tomorrow morning, we have inspection by our supervisors, boat drill, and then inspection by the captain and staff captain and other important officers. Also our food shifts. We now have all these restrictions, like they took away our slop chest, which used to sell candy bars and other treats and now we are only allowed water. Tomorrow we need to throw away all our toilet paper, tissues, cotton balls, and spray all these chemicals to “kill the virus”. The most aggravating part is that it is the GUESTS that have it.
We sailed the transatlantic and never once had a case. When we had our first few cases after we made it to Europe, we immediately sanitized the ship. The new guests come on and guess what, they bring it with them. And the worst of it is, the people in charge think that by setting up hand sanitizers and requiring guests to “wash” before they come to eat, it will kill the virus. How do they not see that this isn’t working! Why have we been in code red for this long and they STILL don’t understand that hand sanitizer is for GERMS. Germs and viruses are two completely different things!!! They are letting guests not wash their hands with soap and water, which HELLO…GROSS, and giving them false security with the hand sanitizers.
Now the officers are trying everything they can think of, which is mainly just affecting crew. But how can they not see that in the current static of about 60 cases of GI, 6 are CREW. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!! WE DON’T HAVE IT. We have easily accessible water and soap areas right when we walk into our mess. There are no sinks in guest areas except in the bathrooms. OMG just put a portable sink in the entrance of the Windjammer and the Dining Hall, rather than the stupid hand sanitizer dispensers, and force them to wash their hands. THEN all our sanitizing won’t go to waste. GEEZ.
So yes, I’m a little bitter at this point because we are starting to be punished for guests not keeping simple hygiene. I’m over being in this Code Red business. The rest of the cast keeps encouraging me that this will never happen on my other contracts. I have had the most intense first contract I think ever, to be honest. We have all been through so much, and just to add another thing, Stephany and Brandon missed the ship. They were on the crew tour with us, but they wanted to take the train back so they stayed later. Our bus came back at about 7, and crew on board was 11. I got a call at about 11:35 from Dave, and he was asking if I had any contact information because they still weren’t back. But I told him we can’t call their cells because we all turned ours off, there was no point in other countries to pay all that money. So we waited, checked our emails in case they had tried to contact us, and sailed away.
We are still in France tomorrow, and I’m told we aren’t too far from the port we were at today. So I’m hoping they will get their passports from the port agents, because our HR people took them off and left them in the port, and they will figure out their way to meet us in Cherbourg. Sometimes, if you miss the ship, it is an immediate dismissal from the captain. But if there is a good excuse, or if you have an understanding officer, you can save your job. Chris said that if we had had a show tonight, they would have lost their jobs right away because they missed their duties. I don’t know if they just didn’t plan out the train properly, or if there was strikes, or what, I just pray that they are ok. Luckily, Stephany has been to Paris a few times and speaks French, so that should help some. But it’s very scary that we can’t call them and I don’t think they know how to call the ship.
I guess I will find out tomorrow what happened. I should go to bed now; I need to be up at 7 am cleaning our cabin. JOY. But hey, I was in Paris, so I am still very, very, very happy!!!! :D
Wee Wee, Par-ee
I finally made it to Paris!!!! Oh my GOSH!!!!! Paris is incredible, but there is WAY too much stuff for me to see, I definitely need to spend at least a week there! I signed up for the crew tour, only 40 dollars, which is measly compared to a 60-euro train ticket. We left at around 9:30. It was a two hour shuttle bus ride, so we all took nice long naps. The bus dropped us off right at the feet of the Eiffel Tower. There were so many people crowded beneath it; I think it is the number one most visited tourist spot. From there, our group of fifty crew members split off for their adventures, I stayed with Cristian and Micheal. We walked beneath the tower and paid for a hop on- hop off tour bus, which would take us to the main attractions.
The entire tour takes two hours, because the buses run every ten minutes so you can hop off at each stop. We were short on time though, we had only four hours since the commute back to the ship is such a long drive. The day had started out a little chilly but I started putting away layers as the sun began to warm us. It was such a gorgeous day, encouraging me to return for an extended vacation so I can enjoy all the sites and have time for a picnic on the lawns of Paris.
The first stop we got off at was the Louvre. I was a bit confused at first; because in all the movies, the museum appeared as the glass pyramids. But the bus had dropped us off at a gigantic square building. We went in through one of the entrances and found the pyramids! I heard a rumor that it takes seven years to see the museums’ entirety, because they are constantly adjusting it. Regardless if that is a true statement, the museum is the largest in the world and is absolutely on my “To-Do List” when I return. Several photos later, we were back on the bus and headed to Notre Dame.
The minute we came around the corner and Notre Dame was towering right in front of me, I almost cried. I don’t know why I was in such awe of it, I guess because I’m a Disney fanatic and I have seen the Hunchback of Notre Dame a million times. It was a dream to see the real thing, a dream I had never thought possible to make into a reality. But there it was! It’s free to go into the cathedral, but there was no time! We had the rest of Paris to see! So after we took pictures of the man dressed as Quasimodo, and picked up a few souvenirs, we caught the next bus.
The rest of the tour we stayed on the bus, but it was good because we were on the top of the double- decker and we could see everything. We passed the Opera house, circled around the Arc de Triomphe, and even drove over the tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life. There is so much history to take in; I was overloaded trying to listen to the radio tour guide on my headphones and take pictures. Like I said, there is no WAY you can do Paris in a day!
When we reached the Eiffel Tower again, we got off and bought some AMAZING crepes. I had a chocolate one (OF COURSE) and the guy folded the warm pastry like an ice cream cone and topped it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. I don’t think I have ever had anything more perfect! We had just enough time to do a little souvenir shopping before we found our shuttle bus. After all the fuss about being punctual and the threat they would leave us behind if we were late, we had to wait for our driver, and I doubt he got lost. But I have no complaints! I was in PARIS!!!!! GAH!!! :D
I came back to the ship and ate a little dinner before heading up to the Windjammer for my shift. It was actually a pretty fun shift. I was in charge of coffee, which is simple enough, and I enjoyed helping the waitress I was assigned with. Only one guest was annoying, because she insisted on a certain amount of coffee, milk and water, and she kept asking me where the captain was. She asked about one of the officers over and over again and I continued to say “no ma’am, that’s not the captain. He is not in here right now.” She eventually got the message and left.
Last night was a chaotic mess. It was day two of the cruise, and a sea day. We had Broadway scheduled for 9 and 11 at night. But in the morning, we got a call that we had to re-block for Stephany because she had thrown up. So we re-blocked until 4, when we had a full show tech run. Than I got a call at around 7:40, it was Chris asking me to come to the theater to re-block for Maude. She hadn’t thrown up but she has had a nasty cough and her fever has been rapidly increasing. So we had an hour before the show to throw a show together. I only had my hair done, and by the time they were calling 10 minutes to show, I was not stretched and I still needed to do my make up.
So the first show was sloppy and crazy. Everyone was bumping into each other, trying to remember which number of which re-block they needed to go to and what new choreography to do. But we got through it, and we must have performed more than usual to hide our madness because they seemed to really like it. Backstage, Brian was looking pretty awful. He was really gray in the face and his eyes were blackening. He said he needed to throw up. He ran to his room and then had to go to medical because he did throw up, even though he felt better after he did. It was the same thing with Stephany, they both threw up and felt better right after, which is not the case with GI.
But medical declared them not fit for duty because they had “GI” and we were scrambling 20 minutes before the second show to think of what to do. OB was trying to talk us into making an announcement for the guests pre show that one of the singers had gotten injured and then play Brian’s sick track throughout the show. We tried to explain how ridiculous this would be, especially because he does so much partner work with Kristen, including a wedding scene. It would just make no sense. Not to mention, we didn’t think our managers and bosses at the studios in Florida would be too happy if they heard we did a show missing a singer and not having someone stand in but there is a “magical voice”.
In the end, Chris told them there was no way to do a show and we had to cancel. It’s been really frustrating to me that we still have GI on this ship. We sanitize every night. And it feels like a punishment to crew. Tomorrow morning, we have inspection by our supervisors, boat drill, and then inspection by the captain and staff captain and other important officers. Also our food shifts. We now have all these restrictions, like they took away our slop chest, which used to sell candy bars and other treats and now we are only allowed water. Tomorrow we need to throw away all our toilet paper, tissues, cotton balls, and spray all these chemicals to “kill the virus”. The most aggravating part is that it is the GUESTS that have it.
We sailed the transatlantic and never once had a case. When we had our first few cases after we made it to Europe, we immediately sanitized the ship. The new guests come on and guess what, they bring it with them. And the worst of it is, the people in charge think that by setting up hand sanitizers and requiring guests to “wash” before they come to eat, it will kill the virus. How do they not see that this isn’t working! Why have we been in code red for this long and they STILL don’t understand that hand sanitizer is for GERMS. Germs and viruses are two completely different things!!! They are letting guests not wash their hands with soap and water, which HELLO…GROSS, and giving them false security with the hand sanitizers.
Now the officers are trying everything they can think of, which is mainly just affecting crew. But how can they not see that in the current status of about 60 cases of GI, 6 are CREW. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!! WE DON’T HAVE IT. We have easily accessible water and soap areas right when we walk into our mess. There are no sinks in guest areas except in the bathrooms. OMG just put a portable sink in the entrance of the Windjammer and the Dining Hall, rather than the stupid hand sanitizer dispensers, and force them to wash their hands. THEN all our sanitizing won’t go to waste. GEEZ.
So yes, I’m a little bitter at this point because we are starting to be punished for guests not keeping simple hygiene. I’m over being in this Code Red business. The rest of the cast keeps encouraging me that this will never happen on my other contracts. I have had the most intense first contract I think ever, to be honest. We have all been through so much, and just to add another thing, Stephany and Brandon missed the ship. They were on the crew tour with us, but they wanted to take the train back so they stayed later. Our bus came back at about 7, and crew on board was 11. I got a call at about 11:35 from Dave, and he was asking if I had any contact information because they still weren’t back. But I told him we can’t call their cells because we all turned ours off, there was no point in other countries to pay all that money. So we waited, checked our emails in case they had tried to contact us, and sailed away.
We are still in France tomorrow, and I’m told we aren’t too far from the port we were at today. So I’m hoping they will get their passports from the port agents, because our HR people took them off and left them in the port, and they will figure out their way to meet us in Cherbourg. Sometimes, if you miss the ship, it is an immediate dismissal from the captain. But if there is a good excuse, or if you have an understanding officer, you can save your job. Chris said that if we had had a show tonight, they would have lost their jobs right away because they missed their duties. I don’t know if they just didn’t plan out the train properly, or if there was strikes, or what, I just pray that they are ok. Luckily, Stephany has been to Paris a few times and speaks French, so that should help some. But it’s very scary that we can’t call them and I don’t think they know how to call the ship.
I guess I will find out tomorrow what happened. I should go to bed now; I need to be up at 7 am cleaning our cabin. JOY. But hey, I was in Paris, so I am still very, very, very happy!!!! :D
The entire tour takes two hours, because the buses run every ten minutes so you can hop off at each stop. We were short on time though, we had only four hours since the commute back to the ship is such a long drive. The day had started out a little chilly but I started putting away layers as the sun began to warm us. It was such a gorgeous day, encouraging me to return for an extended vacation so I can enjoy all the sites and have time for a picnic on the lawns of Paris.
The first stop we got off at was the Louvre. I was a bit confused at first; because in all the movies, the museum appeared as the glass pyramids. But the bus had dropped us off at a gigantic square building. We went in through one of the entrances and found the pyramids! I heard a rumor that it takes seven years to see the museums’ entirety, because they are constantly adjusting it. Regardless if that is a true statement, the museum is the largest in the world and is absolutely on my “To-Do List” when I return. Several photos later, we were back on the bus and headed to Notre Dame.
The minute we came around the corner and Notre Dame was towering right in front of me, I almost cried. I don’t know why I was in such awe of it, I guess because I’m a Disney fanatic and I have seen the Hunchback of Notre Dame a million times. It was a dream to see the real thing, a dream I had never thought possible to make into a reality. But there it was! It’s free to go into the cathedral, but there was no time! We had the rest of Paris to see! So after we took pictures of the man dressed as Quasimodo, and picked up a few souvenirs, we caught the next bus.
The rest of the tour we stayed on the bus, but it was good because we were on the top of the double- decker and we could see everything. We passed the Opera house, circled around the Arc de Triomphe, and even drove over the tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life. There is so much history to take in; I was overloaded trying to listen to the radio tour guide on my headphones and take pictures. Like I said, there is no WAY you can do Paris in a day!
When we reached the Eiffel Tower again, we got off and bought some AMAZING crepes. I had a chocolate one (OF COURSE) and the guy folded the warm pastry like an ice cream cone and topped it with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. I don’t think I have ever had anything more perfect! We had just enough time to do a little souvenir shopping before we found our shuttle bus. After all the fuss about being punctual and the threat they would leave us behind if we were late, we had to wait for our driver, and I doubt he got lost. But I have no complaints! I was in PARIS!!!!! GAH!!! :D
I came back to the ship and ate a little dinner before heading up to the Windjammer for my shift. It was actually a pretty fun shift. I was in charge of coffee, which is simple enough, and I enjoyed helping the waitress I was assigned with. Only one guest was annoying, because she insisted on a certain amount of coffee, milk and water, and she kept asking me where the captain was. She asked about one of the officers over and over again and I continued to say “no ma’am, that’s not the captain. He is not in here right now.” She eventually got the message and left.
Last night was a chaotic mess. It was day two of the cruise, and a sea day. We had Broadway scheduled for 9 and 11 at night. But in the morning, we got a call that we had to re-block for Stephany because she had thrown up. So we re-blocked until 4, when we had a full show tech run. Than I got a call at around 7:40, it was Chris asking me to come to the theater to re-block for Maude. She hadn’t thrown up but she has had a nasty cough and her fever has been rapidly increasing. So we had an hour before the show to throw a show together. I only had my hair done, and by the time they were calling 10 minutes to show, I was not stretched and I still needed to do my make up.
So the first show was sloppy and crazy. Everyone was bumping into each other, trying to remember which number of which re-block they needed to go to and what new choreography to do. But we got through it, and we must have performed more than usual to hide our madness because they seemed to really like it. Backstage, Brian was looking pretty awful. He was really gray in the face and his eyes were blackening. He said he needed to throw up. He ran to his room and then had to go to medical because he did throw up, even though he felt better after he did. It was the same thing with Stephany, they both threw up and felt better right after, which is not the case with GI.
But medical declared them not fit for duty because they had “GI” and we were scrambling 20 minutes before the second show to think of what to do. OB was trying to talk us into making an announcement for the guests pre show that one of the singers had gotten injured and then play Brian’s sick track throughout the show. We tried to explain how ridiculous this would be, especially because he does so much partner work with Kristen, including a wedding scene. It would just make no sense. Not to mention, we didn’t think our managers and bosses at the studios in Florida would be too happy if they heard we did a show missing a singer and not having someone stand in but there is a “magical voice”.
In the end, Chris told them there was no way to do a show and we had to cancel. It’s been really frustrating to me that we still have GI on this ship. We sanitize every night. And it feels like a punishment to crew. Tomorrow morning, we have inspection by our supervisors, boat drill, and then inspection by the captain and staff captain and other important officers. Also our food shifts. We now have all these restrictions, like they took away our slop chest, which used to sell candy bars and other treats and now we are only allowed water. Tomorrow we need to throw away all our toilet paper, tissues, cotton balls, and spray all these chemicals to “kill the virus”. The most aggravating part is that it is the GUESTS that have it.
We sailed the transatlantic and never once had a case. When we had our first few cases after we made it to Europe, we immediately sanitized the ship. The new guests come on and guess what, they bring it with them. And the worst of it is, the people in charge think that by setting up hand sanitizers and requiring guests to “wash” before they come to eat, it will kill the virus. How do they not see that this isn’t working! Why have we been in code red for this long and they STILL don’t understand that hand sanitizer is for GERMS. Germs and viruses are two completely different things!!! They are letting guests not wash their hands with soap and water, which HELLO…GROSS, and giving them false security with the hand sanitizers.
Now the officers are trying everything they can think of, which is mainly just affecting crew. But how can they not see that in the current status of about 60 cases of GI, 6 are CREW. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!! WE DON’T HAVE IT. We have easily accessible water and soap areas right when we walk into our mess. There are no sinks in guest areas except in the bathrooms. OMG just put a portable sink in the entrance of the Windjammer and the Dining Hall, rather than the stupid hand sanitizer dispensers, and force them to wash their hands. THEN all our sanitizing won’t go to waste. GEEZ.
So yes, I’m a little bitter at this point because we are starting to be punished for guests not keeping simple hygiene. I’m over being in this Code Red business. The rest of the cast keeps encouraging me that this will never happen on my other contracts. I have had the most intense first contract I think ever, to be honest. We have all been through so much, and just to add another thing, Stephany and Brandon missed the ship. They were on the crew tour with us, but they wanted to take the train back so they stayed later. Our bus came back at about 7, and crew on board was 11. I got a call at about 11:35 from Dave, and he was asking if I had any contact information because they still weren’t back. But I told him we can’t call their cells because we all turned ours off, there was no point in other countries to pay all that money. So we waited, checked our emails in case they had tried to contact us, and sailed away.
We are still in France tomorrow, and I’m told we aren’t too far from the port we were at today. So I’m hoping they will get their passports from the port agents, because our HR people took them off and left them in the port, and they will figure out their way to meet us in Cherbourg. Sometimes, if you miss the ship, it is an immediate dismissal from the captain. But if there is a good excuse, or if you have an understanding officer, you can save your job. Chris said that if we had had a show tonight, they would have lost their jobs right away because they missed their duties. I don’t know if they just didn’t plan out the train properly, or if there was strikes, or what, I just pray that they are ok. Luckily, Stephany has been to Paris a few times and speaks French, so that should help some. But it’s very scary that we can’t call them and I don’t think they know how to call the ship.
I guess I will find out tomorrow what happened. I should go to bed now; I need to be up at 7 am cleaning our cabin. JOY. But hey, I was in Paris, so I am still very, very, very happy!!!! :D
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
"Technical Difficulties"
Today was another day in Amsterdam. We were able to get off, because they were having technical issues with the hydros (parts of the stage that rise up and down), and needed time to fix that as well as set up the immense set for Boogie. Christian had a meeting at 10:30 and then at around 11 called to let us know we would re-block at 5:15, so we had a decent amount of time in the city.
Robert, Katrina, Kristin, Maude and I met up and headed out. The wind was making it really cold, even though the sun was out. I had bundled well, and brought a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. They are drying out though, from the change in temperature. I definitely need to start moisturizing before and after I go outside.
We made our way into the city, our plan was to visit the carnival and maybe hop on a ride, eat some good grub, and look in some of the shops. But when we made it to the middle of the square, we found the carnival had been all packed up. I think it was only here for the Queen’s birthday, so we decided to pop our head into Burger King. I don’t eat anything there, but I stayed with the group and ate some of Kristin’s french fries. I can’t believe that most of Europe charges you to use the restroom! It was 50 cents! That’s crazy! It reminds me of the musical, Urinetown. I saw them perform it at Pomona High when I was in middle school, and I distinctly remember thinking, this will never happen. BUT IT’S HAPPENING!!!!!
After the others finished their lunch, we went back outside into the cold. We popped into a few shops, to look at all the unique and trendy clothes. Europe has so much style and flair- if you think of it, they have it. And this shopping street we were on seemed to never end! Eventually, I split away from the group because they wanted to go see Anne Frank’s house and since I had already done that, I ventured off on my own. It was so amazing. I love exploring cities by myself.
I shopped a bit in a cute boutique, and then set off to find a pancake house. My last tour guide had mentioned the Dutch pancakes, and I didn’t want to leave the Netherlands if I hadn’t tried one. I came into this cute little coffee shop (no, not THAT kind of coffee shop), and ordered a hot chocolate and an apple pancake. The pancake was the size of a PIZZA!!!! It was so delicious; the waitress brought powdered sugar and rich maple syrup for toppings. I don’t know how I’m going to leave Europe, I want to stay here for the food alone!
I came back to the ship and changed for rehearsal. We re-blocked successfully, had our tech run, and then we all ran off to get ready. I had a quick sandwich, showered, and put my hair up. I brought my make up backstage, because after our rehearsal, we only had an hour til our call time. I was doing my make up in the dressing room when Robert comes in to tell us that we have to do another re-block because Nicco has a 102 degree fever. So the cruise director cancelled our first show, claiming “technical difficulties” and we rehearsed backstage and waited for our second show.
The best part of the night was watching the stage staff act like there were curtain issues. They pulled the main curtain up halfway, set up a ladder, and Tim (the new sound guy), stood at the top and shook the ladder. The other guys stood around it, scratching their heads in “confusion” talking to one another, pointing at various spots in the rafters. We were all cracking up backstage and coaching them on what they should do next. Peter pretended to call out orders to move the curtain and then would yell, “STOP!” and wave his arms frantically. Dave made the announcement to persuade the early bird audience members to come to the eleven o’clock show. It was a lot of fun putting on the hoax.
Another crazy night on the Vision, our cruises can never just be normal. :D
Robert, Katrina, Kristin, Maude and I met up and headed out. The wind was making it really cold, even though the sun was out. I had bundled well, and brought a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. They are drying out though, from the change in temperature. I definitely need to start moisturizing before and after I go outside.
We made our way into the city, our plan was to visit the carnival and maybe hop on a ride, eat some good grub, and look in some of the shops. But when we made it to the middle of the square, we found the carnival had been all packed up. I think it was only here for the Queen’s birthday, so we decided to pop our head into Burger King. I don’t eat anything there, but I stayed with the group and ate some of Kristin’s french fries. I can’t believe that most of Europe charges you to use the restroom! It was 50 cents! That’s crazy! It reminds me of the musical, Urinetown. I saw them perform it at Pomona High when I was in middle school, and I distinctly remember thinking, this will never happen. BUT IT’S HAPPENING!!!!!
After the others finished their lunch, we went back outside into the cold. We popped into a few shops, to look at all the unique and trendy clothes. Europe has so much style and flair- if you think of it, they have it. And this shopping street we were on seemed to never end! Eventually, I split away from the group because they wanted to go see Anne Frank’s house and since I had already done that, I ventured off on my own. It was so amazing. I love exploring cities by myself.
I shopped a bit in a cute boutique, and then set off to find a pancake house. My last tour guide had mentioned the Dutch pancakes, and I didn’t want to leave the Netherlands if I hadn’t tried one. I came into this cute little coffee shop (no, not THAT kind of coffee shop), and ordered a hot chocolate and an apple pancake. The pancake was the size of a PIZZA!!!! It was so delicious; the waitress brought powdered sugar and rich maple syrup for toppings. I don’t know how I’m going to leave Europe, I want to stay here for the food alone!
I came back to the ship and changed for rehearsal. We re-blocked successfully, had our tech run, and then we all ran off to get ready. I had a quick sandwich, showered, and put my hair up. I brought my make up backstage, because after our rehearsal, we only had an hour til our call time. I was doing my make up in the dressing room when Robert comes in to tell us that we have to do another re-block because Nicco has a 102 degree fever. So the cruise director cancelled our first show, claiming “technical difficulties” and we rehearsed backstage and waited for our second show.
The best part of the night was watching the stage staff act like there were curtain issues. They pulled the main curtain up halfway, set up a ladder, and Tim (the new sound guy), stood at the top and shook the ladder. The other guys stood around it, scratching their heads in “confusion” talking to one another, pointing at various spots in the rafters. We were all cracking up backstage and coaching them on what they should do next. Peter pretended to call out orders to move the curtain and then would yell, “STOP!” and wave his arms frantically. Dave made the announcement to persuade the early bird audience members to come to the eleven o’clock show. It was a lot of fun putting on the hoax.
Another crazy night on the Vision, our cruises can never just be normal. :D
Monday, May 3, 2010
Thank Goodness For The Egg
Today we were back in Belgium. Unfortunately, we had crew boat drill, a process our captain has us run once a week. I’m very lucky that my station is inside, in the theater, because it was freezing cold outside. After the long drill, we all rushed to get off the ship, because we didn’t have much time in this port. Jade and her husband Sam, Micheal, Christain, Brian, and I hopped on the shuttle. We were taken to a small city, where we had to catch the train into Brugge.
We had about 40 minutes to wait for the train, so we went into the station to drink some delicious hot chocolate. Then, we hopped on the train. I LOVE riding trains and subways, it feels so city to me. I was in complete bliss, chatting next to Brian across from Jade and Sam. It felt like we were four good friends, riding into New York :D LOVE IT!!!!!
When we made it to Brugge, it had started to drizzle a bit and the wind was still beating against our faces. We took shelter in a cute sandwich shop, where Jade and Brian suggested we eat lunch because they had eaten here last time and it was awesome. I ordered an omelet baguette that was HEAVEN. It was a bundle of eggs, cheese and spinach! YUM! SO SO GOOD! We explained to the lady who owned the shop why we seemed like we never ate, with the way we were scarfing down the food. She was so cute, we talked to her about her husband that owned the shop with her but they had issues with his crazy ex. (Wow, it’s the same ALL over the world!)
After our amazing food, we headed over to a shop nearby that Sam said housed the best waffles in Belgium. Unfortunately, they must have had a different cook the last time he had the waffles, because we were all disappointed. I had ordered my waffle to come with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries, and other seasonal fruit. The only thing that came out was my hot chocolate, and the chocolate ice cream. The waitress never brought a waffle for me, forgot Brian’s coffee, and brought two burnt waffles to Brian and Micheal.
Because we didn’t have much time, we all ate what we got, except Brian who went to buy Belgium Beer instead, and paid for the bill. Jade talked over the issues with the waitress, who was very nice and understanding and didn’t charge us for Brian’s waffle, nor my missing waffle and the missing coffee. So we got back on the train to head back to the ship. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t get a waffle, but we have one more time there so I should be able to get one then. I try not to make small, silly things like that ruin my entire day.
The bus ride back was pretty entertaining. Norwegian is such a funny language to me, it sound like a bunch of random sounds spoken sloppily, rather than an actual conversation. Needless to say, I learned a new way I want to sneeze, thanks to the guy behind me. The guests on our ride were drunk from the beers and were a pretty rowdy bunch. But, unfortunately for us, they were Homer Simpson drunks. Loud burps, disgusting manners....yuck. :/
Once we were back on the ship, news traveled fast to us that we are back in Code Red with GI cases again. Christian called us up to the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge to rehearse ABBA because Dave, the new cruise director, wanted to move it there instead of in the Viking Crown. Right after rehearsal, Chris knocked on my door and said, “No more ABBA tonight, we are helping Dave do YMCA because Brandon has GI. We will have re-block for Boogie Wonderland in the morning, and Windjammer shifts will start again tomorrow.”
So, that’s just great. I don’t know what to plan to do tomorrow in Amsterdam, because I don’t know how long rehearsal and tech run will take, or when my shift will be. I have done all I wanted to really do there, so I’m ok with just walking around the city, but if they don’t let us off next cruise for Paris, I WILL BE VERY UPSET AND DAVE WILL KNOW IT!!!!!! All I can do is pray for now, and wash my hands even more than usual. I just hope we are more aware of how to handle this than we were in Brazil. I say we force the guests to wash their hands before entering the ship because they are the ones bringing it on. UGH people, WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!!!
That’s all for now, please pray that I will be able to get off the ship for my last four cruises. LOVE!!!!
We had about 40 minutes to wait for the train, so we went into the station to drink some delicious hot chocolate. Then, we hopped on the train. I LOVE riding trains and subways, it feels so city to me. I was in complete bliss, chatting next to Brian across from Jade and Sam. It felt like we were four good friends, riding into New York :D LOVE IT!!!!!
When we made it to Brugge, it had started to drizzle a bit and the wind was still beating against our faces. We took shelter in a cute sandwich shop, where Jade and Brian suggested we eat lunch because they had eaten here last time and it was awesome. I ordered an omelet baguette that was HEAVEN. It was a bundle of eggs, cheese and spinach! YUM! SO SO GOOD! We explained to the lady who owned the shop why we seemed like we never ate, with the way we were scarfing down the food. She was so cute, we talked to her about her husband that owned the shop with her but they had issues with his crazy ex. (Wow, it’s the same ALL over the world!)
After our amazing food, we headed over to a shop nearby that Sam said housed the best waffles in Belgium. Unfortunately, they must have had a different cook the last time he had the waffles, because we were all disappointed. I had ordered my waffle to come with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries, and other seasonal fruit. The only thing that came out was my hot chocolate, and the chocolate ice cream. The waitress never brought a waffle for me, forgot Brian’s coffee, and brought two burnt waffles to Brian and Micheal.
Because we didn’t have much time, we all ate what we got, except Brian who went to buy Belgium Beer instead, and paid for the bill. Jade talked over the issues with the waitress, who was very nice and understanding and didn’t charge us for Brian’s waffle, nor my missing waffle and the missing coffee. So we got back on the train to head back to the ship. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t get a waffle, but we have one more time there so I should be able to get one then. I try not to make small, silly things like that ruin my entire day.
The bus ride back was pretty entertaining. Norwegian is such a funny language to me, it sound like a bunch of random sounds spoken sloppily, rather than an actual conversation. Needless to say, I learned a new way I want to sneeze, thanks to the guy behind me. The guests on our ride were drunk from the beers and were a pretty rowdy bunch. But, unfortunately for us, they were Homer Simpson drunks. Loud burps, disgusting manners....yuck. :/
Once we were back on the ship, news traveled fast to us that we are back in Code Red with GI cases again. Christian called us up to the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge to rehearse ABBA because Dave, the new cruise director, wanted to move it there instead of in the Viking Crown. Right after rehearsal, Chris knocked on my door and said, “No more ABBA tonight, we are helping Dave do YMCA because Brandon has GI. We will have re-block for Boogie Wonderland in the morning, and Windjammer shifts will start again tomorrow.”
So, that’s just great. I don’t know what to plan to do tomorrow in Amsterdam, because I don’t know how long rehearsal and tech run will take, or when my shift will be. I have done all I wanted to really do there, so I’m ok with just walking around the city, but if they don’t let us off next cruise for Paris, I WILL BE VERY UPSET AND DAVE WILL KNOW IT!!!!!! All I can do is pray for now, and wash my hands even more than usual. I just hope we are more aware of how to handle this than we were in Brazil. I say we force the guests to wash their hands before entering the ship because they are the ones bringing it on. UGH people, WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!!!
That’s all for now, please pray that I will be able to get off the ship for my last four cruises. LOVE!!!!
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