Hey everyone,
So it looks like I went over 20 days without posting...oops. Sorry to those that keep checking back hoping for an update...well, now you have it. The last post you would have read before this post goes all the way back to the 6th. Today's the 28th, so maybe I'll write out the rest of the missing posts today and post them later tonight. Other than that, things are still great, but I couldn't be more excited to get home. I can't believe that out of 6 months, I'm now within weeks of returning, I think the count is exactly 20 days before I'm standing back in Illinois. Anyways, thanks for keeping up with these posts and sorry about the 20 day delay in making these posts. Seeya soon!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sea Day/Belize
Dec 23rd/24th
Sea/Belize
The 23rd started out with the now standard discover shopping show that I’ve been working at. That was fine, but my throat was kind of hurting, something that started the day before, but something that I didn’t worry too much about. I just grabbed some cough drops and got through it. But then, by the time we got to the Captains cocktale show that night, the throat thing had grown into a full fledged sinus issue to where it just really blew to be playing sax in public. So that gig was no fun, and I was terribly uncomfortable for the two guest performer shows we had that evening with Kenny James. II went to sleep almost immediately after in hopes to keep it from getting worse. However, the 23rd was Bart’s Bday, the Polish trumpet player who plays in the orchestra with me. Unsurprisingly, he had a huge party planned out with lots of alcohol. I tried to back out but felt some obligation to at least wish him a happy birthday. So after his convincing, I had a shot of Vodka cause his Grandpa swears it’s the solution to all colds, followed by him now famous pickle chaser, and then a sausage from some big bag of cooked sausages who’s origin will remain unknown to me. But following that I went to bed immediately.
The 24th was spent in Belize for most, but for me, was spent in bed. I stayed in bed till we got paid around 4:30, laid down for a bit after, and then played the caroling show and big band set that evening, both of which I felt like garbage at. Greg, the guitarist, brought some Nyquils to the set, which I took, and would like to think helped. I went to sleep after the set in hopes that I’d be able to escape the cold for Christmas.
Sea/Belize
The 23rd started out with the now standard discover shopping show that I’ve been working at. That was fine, but my throat was kind of hurting, something that started the day before, but something that I didn’t worry too much about. I just grabbed some cough drops and got through it. But then, by the time we got to the Captains cocktale show that night, the throat thing had grown into a full fledged sinus issue to where it just really blew to be playing sax in public. So that gig was no fun, and I was terribly uncomfortable for the two guest performer shows we had that evening with Kenny James. II went to sleep almost immediately after in hopes to keep it from getting worse. However, the 23rd was Bart’s Bday, the Polish trumpet player who plays in the orchestra with me. Unsurprisingly, he had a huge party planned out with lots of alcohol. I tried to back out but felt some obligation to at least wish him a happy birthday. So after his convincing, I had a shot of Vodka cause his Grandpa swears it’s the solution to all colds, followed by him now famous pickle chaser, and then a sausage from some big bag of cooked sausages who’s origin will remain unknown to me. But following that I went to bed immediately.
The 24th was spent in Belize for most, but for me, was spent in bed. I stayed in bed till we got paid around 4:30, laid down for a bit after, and then played the caroling show and big band set that evening, both of which I felt like garbage at. Greg, the guitarist, brought some Nyquils to the set, which I took, and would like to think helped. I went to sleep after the set in hopes that I’d be able to escape the cold for Christmas.
Sea Day/Lauderdale
Dec 21st/22nd
Sea/Lauderdale
Again, the usual turn around schedule. The 21st was nothing really worth mention. I got off in port on the 22nd to go do some mailing and walk into the shopping area somewhat near the ship with Brandon. Following that, I basically just made some phone calls, did my boat drill, and let the day pan out as usual. Nothing too exiting to report back, though I am excited for Christmas coming up this cruise. But that’s all for now, thanks!
Sea/Lauderdale
Again, the usual turn around schedule. The 21st was nothing really worth mention. I got off in port on the 22nd to go do some mailing and walk into the shopping area somewhat near the ship with Brandon. Following that, I basically just made some phone calls, did my boat drill, and let the day pan out as usual. Nothing too exiting to report back, though I am excited for Christmas coming up this cruise. But that’s all for now, thanks!
Cozumel/Belize
Dec 19th and 20th
Cozumel and Belize
So the 19th was Cozumel, but this visit wasn’t nearly as exciting as the previous ones. But…I did get a hair cut! My friend told me there was a shop right outside the terminal that I could go to, so I decided to give it a shot. I was nervous going into it seeing as my Spanish will not be good enough to communicate what I’m looking for in a haircut, so I brought a picture of my last cut just to be safe. I went with Greg, the new guitar player, who wanted a haircut himself. We initially walked right by the shop because it was so small, there most have been four different stores cramped into the smallest area ever, so I’m not surprised we passed by it. When we did eventually figure it out, we went in to this tiny place via some glass sliding door you’d see as an entrance onto a porch. There were 4 women inside, terribly cramped, just talking waiting for whoever came by. Greg and I sat down in the only two chairs in the place and our hair dressers were then assigned to us. The shop had no sinks to pre-wash your hair, which made me nervous as well seeing as I’ve had my hair washed before a trim for what must be the last 8 years. I showed my lady the picture I took, she nodded and got started. The desk in front of me was certainly different than I’m used to. Usually, I see a fairly large shelf with many organized drawers, along with a series of products by the mirror. This place had the shelf, I guess, a single drawer with two pairs of clippers and a random collection of plastic attachments floating around, and as far as products go, ha. There was one jar in front of me that was entitled “Gorilla Snot”, of which I prayed would never touch my hair, which thankfully didn’t happen. There was a slightly more normal product stacked on top of the snot, but that was it. The two hair dressers shared the scissors, combs, and spray bottle for wetting the hair. Mid way through the styling, my lady opens up a plastic package containing a ladies pink Bic razor…I’m confused. She then squeezes some cream from an unlabeled bottle like thing, and rubs it on parts of my face and begins trimming around my beard. I guess I appreciated that she was going the extra mile by shaping my facial hair, but when it was all over, I could certainly detect a Mexican flair to my facial hair I feared might happen. She also cleaned up the back of my neck with the razor. It made me nervous because when I shave, I have an electric razor I use, I was just waiting for her to slice my head off with this pink piece of garbage. But all said and done, I made it out with just a tiny nick on my neck, but after feeling the freshly shaven areas, it was obvious that the blade couldn’t have been further from my skin. The hair cut was advertised as $8, so that was good, and I gave her $12 considering the beard shaping I didn’t really need. I wanted to take a picture of the place, but unfortunately was so concerned with the masses of hair covering my face as I walked out that I forgot entirely till we were a couple blocks away. End result, I’m slightly disappointed with how she shaped my hair and even made some modifications when I got back to the room. For $12, I guess it was worth the story, and the hair will certainly even itself out, and I don’t look like a complete moron, but I wasn’t exactly impressed by the Mexican quality of hair styling. Maybe I should have known by the posters hanging on the walls that obviously had been there since the mid 80’s, but whatever, at least I’m Gorilla Snot free! The rest of the day was nothing spectacular, just a big band set.
And for the 20th, our Belize day, I didn’t even get off the ship. Between my Crew Welfare meeting in the morning and the 90 minute rehearsal at 1:00, there wasn’t any time to get off. But that’s ok, Belize doesn’t have that much for me anyways. The show for the night was ok, way too long, but the music didn’t suck. The guest was Kenny James, 13 time winner of Star-Search. We haven’t had a guest performer for about a month, it was weird getting new music and having to read a completely new show again. But that all aside, that was about it for the day. Thanks!
Cozumel and Belize
So the 19th was Cozumel, but this visit wasn’t nearly as exciting as the previous ones. But…I did get a hair cut! My friend told me there was a shop right outside the terminal that I could go to, so I decided to give it a shot. I was nervous going into it seeing as my Spanish will not be good enough to communicate what I’m looking for in a haircut, so I brought a picture of my last cut just to be safe. I went with Greg, the new guitar player, who wanted a haircut himself. We initially walked right by the shop because it was so small, there most have been four different stores cramped into the smallest area ever, so I’m not surprised we passed by it. When we did eventually figure it out, we went in to this tiny place via some glass sliding door you’d see as an entrance onto a porch. There were 4 women inside, terribly cramped, just talking waiting for whoever came by. Greg and I sat down in the only two chairs in the place and our hair dressers were then assigned to us. The shop had no sinks to pre-wash your hair, which made me nervous as well seeing as I’ve had my hair washed before a trim for what must be the last 8 years. I showed my lady the picture I took, she nodded and got started. The desk in front of me was certainly different than I’m used to. Usually, I see a fairly large shelf with many organized drawers, along with a series of products by the mirror. This place had the shelf, I guess, a single drawer with two pairs of clippers and a random collection of plastic attachments floating around, and as far as products go, ha. There was one jar in front of me that was entitled “Gorilla Snot”, of which I prayed would never touch my hair, which thankfully didn’t happen. There was a slightly more normal product stacked on top of the snot, but that was it. The two hair dressers shared the scissors, combs, and spray bottle for wetting the hair. Mid way through the styling, my lady opens up a plastic package containing a ladies pink Bic razor…I’m confused. She then squeezes some cream from an unlabeled bottle like thing, and rubs it on parts of my face and begins trimming around my beard. I guess I appreciated that she was going the extra mile by shaping my facial hair, but when it was all over, I could certainly detect a Mexican flair to my facial hair I feared might happen. She also cleaned up the back of my neck with the razor. It made me nervous because when I shave, I have an electric razor I use, I was just waiting for her to slice my head off with this pink piece of garbage. But all said and done, I made it out with just a tiny nick on my neck, but after feeling the freshly shaven areas, it was obvious that the blade couldn’t have been further from my skin. The hair cut was advertised as $8, so that was good, and I gave her $12 considering the beard shaping I didn’t really need. I wanted to take a picture of the place, but unfortunately was so concerned with the masses of hair covering my face as I walked out that I forgot entirely till we were a couple blocks away. End result, I’m slightly disappointed with how she shaped my hair and even made some modifications when I got back to the room. For $12, I guess it was worth the story, and the hair will certainly even itself out, and I don’t look like a complete moron, but I wasn’t exactly impressed by the Mexican quality of hair styling. Maybe I should have known by the posters hanging on the walls that obviously had been there since the mid 80’s, but whatever, at least I’m Gorilla Snot free! The rest of the day was nothing spectacular, just a big band set.
And for the 20th, our Belize day, I didn’t even get off the ship. Between my Crew Welfare meeting in the morning and the 90 minute rehearsal at 1:00, there wasn’t any time to get off. But that’s ok, Belize doesn’t have that much for me anyways. The show for the night was ok, way too long, but the music didn’t suck. The guest was Kenny James, 13 time winner of Star-Search. We haven’t had a guest performer for about a month, it was weird getting new music and having to read a completely new show again. But that all aside, that was about it for the day. Thanks!
Sea day/Lauderdale/Sea day
Dec 16th – 18th
Sea/Lauderdale/Sea
We had our usual turn around schedule, which leads to the usual turn around post, which is minimal. The 16th was our farewell show with a jazz jam that night. The jam was fun, I felt I played well, and Justin and myself were the only horn players, so I got a lot of playing in. The 17th was Lauderdale and I wasn’t quite in the mood to get off the ship. Having nothing I needed in port, I stayed on board and made a bunch of phone calls. We had all the usual welcome aboard stuff to play, and that was about it for the day. The 18th was equally uneventful. We played Captain’s Cocktail as we always do on day 2 and had a production show after that. Nothing too exciting for those three days beyond what’s listed, so thanks and have a great one!
Oh, but I am now within a month of being back home, so that’s exciting. It’s fun in the Caribbean, but I’m certainly feeling ready to get back home.
Sea/Lauderdale/Sea
We had our usual turn around schedule, which leads to the usual turn around post, which is minimal. The 16th was our farewell show with a jazz jam that night. The jam was fun, I felt I played well, and Justin and myself were the only horn players, so I got a lot of playing in. The 17th was Lauderdale and I wasn’t quite in the mood to get off the ship. Having nothing I needed in port, I stayed on board and made a bunch of phone calls. We had all the usual welcome aboard stuff to play, and that was about it for the day. The 18th was equally uneventful. We played Captain’s Cocktail as we always do on day 2 and had a production show after that. Nothing too exciting for those three days beyond what’s listed, so thanks and have a great one!
Oh, but I am now within a month of being back home, so that’s exciting. It’s fun in the Caribbean, but I’m certainly feeling ready to get back home.
Cozumel
Dec 15th
Cozumel
Today was the big Christmas party, which oddly enough, I almost missed. We were supposed to be out on the pier at 1:15, ready to get on the Catamaran that the party was being held on. Well, after staying up late last night doing some reading, I ended up sleeping way longer than expected. I was woken up at 1:10 by Brandon when he knocked on my door asking is I was going. Had he not knocked, I’d have missed the Catamaran, and with that, what turned out to be a really great time.
So after I threw on my bathing suit and got all my stuff together for the party, I ran outside and met everyone on the pier. We walked to the catamaran, were all handed life preservers, facemasks, and fins for swimming. After motoring south for a little ways, we stopped above a national reef that was there off the coast. The rules were that we were not to touch anything and had to wear the inflatable life vest at all times. For those of us who wanted to free dive, we just left the life preservers un-inflated and had no problem swimming down to the sea floor that was maybe up to 35 feet deep. We did what was called a drift dive, meaning due to the current, we’d simply get off the ship and drift along without really needing to swim much if we chose not to. The ship would drift at the same speed as us, so as soon as someone wanted to get back on the ship, it was easy enough to just swim back to the stairs they had between the two hulls. I had a great time in the water, saw a ton of fish, some conch shells, and some nice coral formations. The water itself was perfect as well, it’s always amazing to think that the water and the weather can be so nice where I am in the middle of December while being so cold back at home. I was one of the first in the water and the last out of it, and when everyone got back on the cat, they opened up the bar. The crew was serving margaritas, beer, and coke, and seeing as I haven’t had a margarita yet in Mexico, that’s what won out. All the drinks were included in the $10 fee to get on the boat, which really made it a great deal considering all the stuff we got to do. We all drank our margaritas as the ship continued south to a beach that I suppose was owned by the company. The cat drove all the up onto the beach, meaning we could walk down the stairs between the hulls into water waist deep and walk up onto the beach from there. At the beach, they had a grill going where they served huge hamburgers for $5. I bought one and loaded it up with absolutely everything I could put on it seeing as I missed breakfast and lunch from sleeping in so late. Following that, I hit the sand volleyball court and played volleyball with some friends till I had to get back on the ship. It was a great time though, playing on a beautiful beach, and where everyone there at the beach were friends of mine from the ship. We spent an hour there, got back on the Cat, and then sailed back to the Navigator. From there, most of the group got in taxis that we took down to No Name Bar, a popular crew hangout. This is a really cool outside bar right off the water with both entrance into the gulf and a huge swimming pool and pool side bar of it’s own. Most people ordered drinks and hung out around the pool, I however, joined a few other in jumping off this 20 foot wall into the sea, which was really fun. Then we’d swim back around, climb up on the pier, and do it all over again. We hung out there from before 5 till about 6:30 and really had a great time. Then we all took taxis back to the ship, stopped outside another bar right there in the port (where I again passed on buying any drinks), and got back on the ship just before our deadline. I spent the rest of the night pretty low key (I had the whole day off too), and where as some people went to the dancing under the stars party on the sun deck, I decided to hang out in the room and relax from an already long day of nonstop fun. It takes a lot of energy to have that much fun! I got a few good pictures out of it all, though not as many as I’d have liked cause I’m always afraid of my camera getting wet. But all in all, I had a fantastic day in Cozumel and got to really enjoy these few perks of working on a cruise ship. Tomorrow is a sea day, nothing too exciting. Thanks for reading!
Cozumel
Today was the big Christmas party, which oddly enough, I almost missed. We were supposed to be out on the pier at 1:15, ready to get on the Catamaran that the party was being held on. Well, after staying up late last night doing some reading, I ended up sleeping way longer than expected. I was woken up at 1:10 by Brandon when he knocked on my door asking is I was going. Had he not knocked, I’d have missed the Catamaran, and with that, what turned out to be a really great time.
So after I threw on my bathing suit and got all my stuff together for the party, I ran outside and met everyone on the pier. We walked to the catamaran, were all handed life preservers, facemasks, and fins for swimming. After motoring south for a little ways, we stopped above a national reef that was there off the coast. The rules were that we were not to touch anything and had to wear the inflatable life vest at all times. For those of us who wanted to free dive, we just left the life preservers un-inflated and had no problem swimming down to the sea floor that was maybe up to 35 feet deep. We did what was called a drift dive, meaning due to the current, we’d simply get off the ship and drift along without really needing to swim much if we chose not to. The ship would drift at the same speed as us, so as soon as someone wanted to get back on the ship, it was easy enough to just swim back to the stairs they had between the two hulls. I had a great time in the water, saw a ton of fish, some conch shells, and some nice coral formations. The water itself was perfect as well, it’s always amazing to think that the water and the weather can be so nice where I am in the middle of December while being so cold back at home. I was one of the first in the water and the last out of it, and when everyone got back on the cat, they opened up the bar. The crew was serving margaritas, beer, and coke, and seeing as I haven’t had a margarita yet in Mexico, that’s what won out. All the drinks were included in the $10 fee to get on the boat, which really made it a great deal considering all the stuff we got to do. We all drank our margaritas as the ship continued south to a beach that I suppose was owned by the company. The cat drove all the up onto the beach, meaning we could walk down the stairs between the hulls into water waist deep and walk up onto the beach from there. At the beach, they had a grill going where they served huge hamburgers for $5. I bought one and loaded it up with absolutely everything I could put on it seeing as I missed breakfast and lunch from sleeping in so late. Following that, I hit the sand volleyball court and played volleyball with some friends till I had to get back on the ship. It was a great time though, playing on a beautiful beach, and where everyone there at the beach were friends of mine from the ship. We spent an hour there, got back on the Cat, and then sailed back to the Navigator. From there, most of the group got in taxis that we took down to No Name Bar, a popular crew hangout. This is a really cool outside bar right off the water with both entrance into the gulf and a huge swimming pool and pool side bar of it’s own. Most people ordered drinks and hung out around the pool, I however, joined a few other in jumping off this 20 foot wall into the sea, which was really fun. Then we’d swim back around, climb up on the pier, and do it all over again. We hung out there from before 5 till about 6:30 and really had a great time. Then we all took taxis back to the ship, stopped outside another bar right there in the port (where I again passed on buying any drinks), and got back on the ship just before our deadline. I spent the rest of the night pretty low key (I had the whole day off too), and where as some people went to the dancing under the stars party on the sun deck, I decided to hang out in the room and relax from an already long day of nonstop fun. It takes a lot of energy to have that much fun! I got a few good pictures out of it all, though not as many as I’d have liked cause I’m always afraid of my camera getting wet. But all in all, I had a fantastic day in Cozumel and got to really enjoy these few perks of working on a cruise ship. Tomorrow is a sea day, nothing too exciting. Thanks for reading!
Lauderdale/At Sea
Dec 13th and 14th
Lauderdale/At sea
The 13th, another stop at Lauderdale, was fairly uneventful. I didn’t get off the ship as I had no need to, and after sleeping in way too late, the day was mostly gone by the time I woke up anyways. I made a number of phone calls though to some friends and family back home, and that was about all the excitement I had for that day. Then we had the usual welcome aboard show, followed by the stupid parade.
The 14th was also nothing too spectacular. I had the Discover shopping show to help out with in the morning like I have been for the past few weeks, and then a tech run immediately afterwards. That night we played the two production shows, and the rest of the day was just like most other sea days, relaxed. Tomorrow is a big crew division Christmas party in Cozumel, so I’ll use today to rest up for that. Have a great one!
Lauderdale/At sea
The 13th, another stop at Lauderdale, was fairly uneventful. I didn’t get off the ship as I had no need to, and after sleeping in way too late, the day was mostly gone by the time I woke up anyways. I made a number of phone calls though to some friends and family back home, and that was about all the excitement I had for that day. Then we had the usual welcome aboard show, followed by the stupid parade.
The 14th was also nothing too spectacular. I had the Discover shopping show to help out with in the morning like I have been for the past few weeks, and then a tech run immediately afterwards. That night we played the two production shows, and the rest of the day was just like most other sea days, relaxed. Tomorrow is a big crew division Christmas party in Cozumel, so I’ll use today to rest up for that. Have a great one!
Sea Day
Dec 12th
At sea
Another typical sea day, nothing too important to report back about. I had a nice night though with a few friends as we said farewell to Gianni. But aside from the farewell show and jazz jam we played that night, the day was relatively uneventful.
At sea
Another typical sea day, nothing too important to report back about. I had a nice night though with a few friends as we said farewell to Gianni. But aside from the farewell show and jazz jam we played that night, the day was relatively uneventful.
Grand Cayman
Dec 11th
Grand Cayman
Today was my second stop in the Caymans. I got off the ship right after lunch to walk to a beach with Pieter, his girlfriend Caro, and Gianni. We walked along the coast line for about a half hour till we got to a beach detached from the tourist points of interest. It was a small little cove, known as Smith’s Cove, but was beautiful. The water in the Caymans is some of the clearest I’ve ever seen, and the beach was no exception to that. I had a great time swimming for a while, just enjoying the great weather and warm water, especially when considering all the ice storms going on at home (ha!). Pieter and Caro left early due to her work schedule, while Gianni and I stuck around for a little bit longer before finally packing up to walk back. Before we left though, Gianni had become intrigued by a coconut tree, which he then scaled in order to retrieve a coconut from. Luckily, it wasn’t the tallest tree. After pulling the coconut from the tree, he started stabbing at the top of it with a fork he had found on the ground, surely not the most sanitary means of opening a coconut, but it was a start. Soon after, and car pulled up to the beach, and after watching us struggle with the fork method, offered us a screw driver to stab the thing with. And after a few minutes of unskilled stabbings, we did managed to break the nut inside and drink the coconut water, which was really good. I let Gianni have the most of it seeing as he was leaving the Caribbean the next day. We then walked back to the terminal, boarded the tender, and sailed back to the ship. The tender, however, took much longer than expected to fill with people, and by the time we arrived at the ship, it was 4:05, five minutes past our arrival deadline. This means that after we wait for all the passengers to get off the tender, the remaining crew sign on to the ship where security then confiscates our sea pass cards, the cards with our ID and our credit card on the ship. I’m supposed to pick it up from security tomorrow, at which point they will punch a hole in the card and warn me about the consequences of being late. I’m not too upset because the whole tendering operation is totally bogus, and the extra time spent hacking away at the coconut with Gianni was totally worth it. Anyways, that was about it for the day aside from a production show that night. Thanks!
Grand Cayman
Today was my second stop in the Caymans. I got off the ship right after lunch to walk to a beach with Pieter, his girlfriend Caro, and Gianni. We walked along the coast line for about a half hour till we got to a beach detached from the tourist points of interest. It was a small little cove, known as Smith’s Cove, but was beautiful. The water in the Caymans is some of the clearest I’ve ever seen, and the beach was no exception to that. I had a great time swimming for a while, just enjoying the great weather and warm water, especially when considering all the ice storms going on at home (ha!). Pieter and Caro left early due to her work schedule, while Gianni and I stuck around for a little bit longer before finally packing up to walk back. Before we left though, Gianni had become intrigued by a coconut tree, which he then scaled in order to retrieve a coconut from. Luckily, it wasn’t the tallest tree. After pulling the coconut from the tree, he started stabbing at the top of it with a fork he had found on the ground, surely not the most sanitary means of opening a coconut, but it was a start. Soon after, and car pulled up to the beach, and after watching us struggle with the fork method, offered us a screw driver to stab the thing with. And after a few minutes of unskilled stabbings, we did managed to break the nut inside and drink the coconut water, which was really good. I let Gianni have the most of it seeing as he was leaving the Caribbean the next day. We then walked back to the terminal, boarded the tender, and sailed back to the ship. The tender, however, took much longer than expected to fill with people, and by the time we arrived at the ship, it was 4:05, five minutes past our arrival deadline. This means that after we wait for all the passengers to get off the tender, the remaining crew sign on to the ship where security then confiscates our sea pass cards, the cards with our ID and our credit card on the ship. I’m supposed to pick it up from security tomorrow, at which point they will punch a hole in the card and warn me about the consequences of being late. I’m not too upset because the whole tendering operation is totally bogus, and the extra time spent hacking away at the coconut with Gianni was totally worth it. Anyways, that was about it for the day aside from a production show that night. Thanks!
Jamaica
Dec 10th
Jamaica
Today was my second stop in Jamaica. This time though, instead of turning right off the ship and heading towards the beach where I went last time, I headed left with Brandon and George and walked about an hour in hopes of finding another beach. Those hopes weren’t exactly realized though. It turns out that once you get outside of the city of Ocho Rios, which is considerably dirty, busy, and run down, you get to a fairly empty area of the island where the majority of the buildings on the water front are high quality beach and vacation resorts that we weren’t allowed into. After getting of tired of walking in the same direction towards a beach we just couldn’t seem to find, Brandon found some path through the forest towards the water, which we hoped would take us to a beach. Instead, it took us inside a resort area where the water was lined with condos and private homes, not with accessible beaches. We exited that area, found our way back to the main road we walked there on, and started heading back towards the ship. We stopped at one of the resorts in hopes of talking the guard at the gate into letting us in to look around. The resort was the Jamaica Inn, and the guard did let us in, where we were soon after greeted by a manager who gave us a tour of the area. It was really interesting walking around the place, seeing the rooms, the spa, and this paradise they were trying to create on 45 acres of Jamaican waterfront. It was really nice, the beach was beautiful, and the rooms looked like they’d provide a really great get away for anyone with enough money. The pricing guide I was given lists the rooms starting at $280 per day for a cheap balcony suite in low season, to $1,760 per day for a small cottage in high season, not including the $100+ meal plan. And after a minimum stay of 10 days over the holidays, this place has the potential of bringing in over $20,000 per cottage in 2 weeks, wow. It was really nice though, and the people there enjoying the resort didn’t seem too fond of three guys walking around the area.
Following that stop, we walked back to the ship. George was getting impatient and after speeding up his walking pace, eventually disappeared from our view. From doing the discover shopping shows, I recalled hearing about an offer of free beer if you go to the House of Diamonds and shout out “crazy Larry”, so after telling Brandon about the offer, we tried to locate the retailer. I did manage to find the place, at which point Brandon looked inside, saw it was a fancy diamond and watch retailer, and was sure that I must have been mistaken because there was no way a place that nice was going to be serving drinks of any kind. Well, that didn’t stop me, and after walking in and confirming the offer with a girl behind the desk, yelled out Crazy Larry! Larry, the owner, then laughed and offered us both drinks. Brandon had a red stripe and I went for the rum and coke (because you drink run in the Caribbean). We talked to the owner for a while about the ship and his drink offer, and then left with the intentions of coming back again next time we’re in port. We then walked back to the ship, played our big band set, and that was about it for the day. Thanks for reading!
Jamaica
Today was my second stop in Jamaica. This time though, instead of turning right off the ship and heading towards the beach where I went last time, I headed left with Brandon and George and walked about an hour in hopes of finding another beach. Those hopes weren’t exactly realized though. It turns out that once you get outside of the city of Ocho Rios, which is considerably dirty, busy, and run down, you get to a fairly empty area of the island where the majority of the buildings on the water front are high quality beach and vacation resorts that we weren’t allowed into. After getting of tired of walking in the same direction towards a beach we just couldn’t seem to find, Brandon found some path through the forest towards the water, which we hoped would take us to a beach. Instead, it took us inside a resort area where the water was lined with condos and private homes, not with accessible beaches. We exited that area, found our way back to the main road we walked there on, and started heading back towards the ship. We stopped at one of the resorts in hopes of talking the guard at the gate into letting us in to look around. The resort was the Jamaica Inn, and the guard did let us in, where we were soon after greeted by a manager who gave us a tour of the area. It was really interesting walking around the place, seeing the rooms, the spa, and this paradise they were trying to create on 45 acres of Jamaican waterfront. It was really nice, the beach was beautiful, and the rooms looked like they’d provide a really great get away for anyone with enough money. The pricing guide I was given lists the rooms starting at $280 per day for a cheap balcony suite in low season, to $1,760 per day for a small cottage in high season, not including the $100+ meal plan. And after a minimum stay of 10 days over the holidays, this place has the potential of bringing in over $20,000 per cottage in 2 weeks, wow. It was really nice though, and the people there enjoying the resort didn’t seem too fond of three guys walking around the area.
Following that stop, we walked back to the ship. George was getting impatient and after speeding up his walking pace, eventually disappeared from our view. From doing the discover shopping shows, I recalled hearing about an offer of free beer if you go to the House of Diamonds and shout out “crazy Larry”, so after telling Brandon about the offer, we tried to locate the retailer. I did manage to find the place, at which point Brandon looked inside, saw it was a fancy diamond and watch retailer, and was sure that I must have been mistaken because there was no way a place that nice was going to be serving drinks of any kind. Well, that didn’t stop me, and after walking in and confirming the offer with a girl behind the desk, yelled out Crazy Larry! Larry, the owner, then laughed and offered us both drinks. Brandon had a red stripe and I went for the rum and coke (because you drink run in the Caribbean). We talked to the owner for a while about the ship and his drink offer, and then left with the intentions of coming back again next time we’re in port. We then walked back to the ship, played our big band set, and that was about it for the day. Thanks for reading!
Sea/Lauderdal/Sea
Dec 7th, 8th, and 9th
Sea/Lauderdale/Sea
Did anything really happen any of these days? No, probably not. It’s been about a week since the 7th at the time I’m writing this, so maybe I just forgot, but I doubt there was anything too exciting. The 8th, Lauderdale, I spent a couple hours off the ship with Brandon and Gianni walking through the shopping area on 17th street. We made a stop at cold stone, which was a nice reminder of American snacks, and continued walking through the area while I made phone calls to people back at home. We stopped at a GNC where I picked up a multi vitamin because I’m trying to be healthy, we’ll see if it helps any. But that aside, those three days were all fairly laid back to the best o
For whatever reason that’s where my post ended when I just pulled it up today. I’m sure there wasn’t much more I was about to say, but to finish that sentence that stops mid word…”laid back to the best of my knowledge.” And we’ll leave it there, thanks!
Sea/Lauderdale/Sea
Did anything really happen any of these days? No, probably not. It’s been about a week since the 7th at the time I’m writing this, so maybe I just forgot, but I doubt there was anything too exciting. The 8th, Lauderdale, I spent a couple hours off the ship with Brandon and Gianni walking through the shopping area on 17th street. We made a stop at cold stone, which was a nice reminder of American snacks, and continued walking through the area while I made phone calls to people back at home. We stopped at a GNC where I picked up a multi vitamin because I’m trying to be healthy, we’ll see if it helps any. But that aside, those three days were all fairly laid back to the best o
For whatever reason that’s where my post ended when I just pulled it up today. I’m sure there wasn’t much more I was about to say, but to finish that sentence that stops mid word…”laid back to the best of my knowledge.” And we’ll leave it there, thanks!
Belize
Dec 6th
Belize
So it’s presently the 16th as I’m writing this entry, somehow the 6th escaped me. I know that was the day we were in Belize, and I also know that I didn’t get off the ship. I had wanted too, but after a boat drill and maybe even a rehearsal, Brandon didn’t exactly want to get off, and I wasn’t about to go wandering the city alone, so I played it safe and just stayed on the ship doing my usual thing. So there’s nothing really to write about anyways, but I’ll be mad at myself if what will soon be 6 months of posts is missing a couple days. Seeya!
Belize
So it’s presently the 16th as I’m writing this entry, somehow the 6th escaped me. I know that was the day we were in Belize, and I also know that I didn’t get off the ship. I had wanted too, but after a boat drill and maybe even a rehearsal, Brandon didn’t exactly want to get off, and I wasn’t about to go wandering the city alone, so I played it safe and just stayed on the ship doing my usual thing. So there’s nothing really to write about anyways, but I’ll be mad at myself if what will soon be 6 months of posts is missing a couple days. Seeya!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
At sea/Cozumel
December 4th-5th
At sea/Cozumel
I usually don’t combine sea days with port days where I get off the ship, but this post needs to incorporate both days…yeah, it’s complicated.
Anyways, the sea day started like any other usual sea day leaving Florida, with me waking up early to go do the discover shopping show that I’ve done every Caribbean Cruise. The show was fine, same as always aside for bringing in an extra person to help sell books. The show generally goes from 10 till 11am, which should have been fine for the 11:30 tech run that I was under the impression we were having. At right around 11, one of my friends/manager of Studio B (where the show was being held) informed me Justin (musical director) had just called her to let me know that a) I’m late, b) I owe a case, and c) Run! Apparently I just misread the schedule, confused the time with previous tech runs we’ve had, and was on the other side of the ship when they were scheduled to raise the pit and start the show. It’s no big deal because I made it there in time to not severely delay the start of the tech run, something the dancers have recently been accountable for 90% of the time, and Justin was cool about everything. They joked when I walked in, informing me of my new nickname of “side-job”, and we started the rehearsal. About b), the case thing – the rule among the musicians is that if someone is late, screws up a part really bad, or just does something really dumb that could possibly get them in trouble, all is forgiven if the perpetrator buys a case of beer. Once before I owed a case for missing an entrance to get on stage because I was reading a book back stage and didn’t hear the call to go out, this case makes #2 in over 4 months, so not too bad I guess. I was kind of upset with myself for just nullifying 3 hours of work for $30 with suddenly owing a $30 case of beer, but everyone thought it was funny, so I went along with it. It worked out well though because the next day was Ron’s Birthday, the drummer of the orchestra. He’s one of the people who has been on ships for quite some time, and has one of those fun personalities where he’s all about having a good time, making friends, and enjoying each day as it comes at him. I knew he was going to be having a party anyways, so now I could buy the case for him so that everyone would have drinks. The remainder of the day wasn’t anything too spectacular, just two production shows of Now and Forever, but it was that night that the story really begins.
There was a crew party that night thrown by crew welfare, something that happens every month. These parties are just big get togethers on the back deck, usually with food, and always with free beer. Now from those of you who know me well from back home, you know I’m not a drinker, and my college friends can verify I didn’t drink at all till after my 21st birthday, but being on a ship where it drinking has become so firmly entwined with the social scene, it’s impossible to go out and meet people without at least a beer. I still rarely drink, but because of my low tolerance, it doesn’t take a lot before I start having a little more fun than usual. So anyways, I went to the back deck with Ron to check out the party, grab some food, get a few free drinks, and then get to the theater to see the late night comedy act that was going on. The act was good, some new York comedian, and we both headed back to Ron’s room to drop off our empty glasses. By that point it was about 1 am, now officially his Birthday, and we both walked up to the Dungeon (nightclub) to heck out what was going on. The combination of an American guest list and these short cruises means the Dungeon is much more busy on a nightly basis than it ever was in the Med. So Ron and I are standing up on the top floor looking down at the people dancing below us, when this guy next to me starts up a conversation. He’s a bald black guy, probably in his late 30’s, and he recognizes Ron and I from the orchestra and compliments the band. To make conversation and get Ron involved, I mention that it’s now his Birthday, at which point our new friend insists on buying a round of drinks. He gets Ron a refill on a Vodka Tonic, and brings me a beer despite my requests that he doesn’t get me anything. Additionally, he brings over some sort of shot for us all to drink, of which I still don’t know what it was. So we start talking again, and he mentions that’s he’s here with the installation crew for the new dance cast. He asks if I’ve met the choreographer, Karen (who I haven’t), lets me know he’s leaving at the end of this cruise, and somewhere had thrown in there the point that he’s bisexual. I’m sure it was mentioned at some point slightly less random than I just made it seem, but regardless, it came across as a fact that he just threw out there. I don’t exactly know how to respond, and just continue on talking to him about whatever. Eventually I need a bathroom break from the multiple drinks I’ve had, and have difficulty excusing myself from the conversation without making him a promise to come back to the Dungeon. I kind of wanted to go back to my room, but came back because I couldn’t ditch Ron, and start talking to my new friend again. He buys everyone another round of drinks at about this time, Ron kind of wanders off, and things get slightly more interesting.
This is the point where my younger readers, as in under 16, might need parental approval before continuing on…not that it’s bad, but because the subject matter is slightly more adult. So if you’re in that age group, ask your parents to read this first before you read it, not because I think it’s necessarily any worse than what’s in the media and movies, but because I really don’t want to get in trouble with anyone. You don’t want me to get in trouble, do you?
Anyways…at the next lull in the conversation, he looks at me and says “you’re beautiful”. The Dungeon is a loud place, I can’t hear half of what he’s saying anyways, so I just look and nod, maybe say OK, but obviously don’t understand what he said. So he restates, “did you hear me? I said, you’re beautiful.” I wouldn’t know how to really handle that situation completely sober, so you can imagine I found it slightly awkward being inebriated (I did look good though, I had my tux on because it was formal night, ha). I guess I just brushed it off with a “thanks?” or some other not exactly appreciative remark, and tried to continue the conversation, aiming towards more heterosexual topic matter. Unfortunately, he continues on with the remarks, complimenting me on being beautiful and having an amazing personality…which as a side note, means very little coming from someone I’ve known for 15 minutes, but that’s besides the point. He guesses my age at 24, I correct him by saying 22, at which point he responds with “you’re a big boy for 22”, yet another comment I don’t really have a response for, regardless of blood-alcohol content. Why at that point I didn’t walk away, I’ll never know, perhaps I just liked the attention regardless of the implications, but I continued talking, if you can consider awkward responses, confused shrugs, and nervous laughter talking. So we continue on, and him guessing at the level of my intoxication, recommends that I get something to eat. So his idea, go back to his room and order pizza from room service…uhhh, how ‘bout not. Now I’ve had some drinks, but I’m not an idiot, and try to communicate that I really don’t want to go back to his room for pizza without tarnishing my “amazing” personality. So I dodge that first bullet, and the conversation continues. He then shows me that he has an extra key to Karen’s room, the choreographer that I don’t know, and displays it and talks about it to me like it’s some great source of pride for him. “Would you rather go to Karen’s room and get pizza” he asks me. Again, no, not really, sorry, sounds like a great time but I can’t, or whatever I managed to say to try to get out of whatever he had in mind. Then somehow the conversation gets on his 11 year old niece and the BMW he claims to have bought for her. I’m relieved that the conversation has changed to cars, despite it being something I know very little about, at least it’s something that doesn’t include pizza in his room. So I say I really like BMW’s, he asks me which, and the first one that comes to mind is the M. He agrees with the choice, but then says he’ll top it by buying my a 6 series if I just go back to his room for pizza. He promises nothing will happen and is really trying to push this buying me a BMW idea. So now I’m in completely uncharted territory, I could brush off the compliments and food offers, but now things are just getting stupid. Well don’t worry, I again said no, despite the fact that it did really sound like a good idea for a BMW at the time, but there’s no way I’m going to a bisexual’s room for pizza after he’s hitting on me. I try to forget the ridiculous offer, but he just continues on. He is dressed very nicely, and points out his big diamond ring, and then points to his watch saying, “look at my watch, I have a lot of money. I can buy you anything you want if you just come back to my room.” Or it was something utterly ridiculous like that, but one of those one liners that are just too unbelievable to forget about. Again, I say no, sorry, I can’t, it sounds great and all…and so on. He then tells me it’s because I’m straight that I’m that much more attractive to him. You know, I’m starting to get the feeling he’s tried this before… Maybe there was more that was said, but this is what I remember up till the point where he requested Ron and I go down to the dance floor to dance. I deny that I do any sort of dancing whatsoever, but that doesn’t fly with him. Ron then walks down the stairs, which sort of surprised me, and I followed for the sake that I wasn’t about to be left alone with Mr. BMW. So we go down and stand off towards the side of the floor and I let Ron in on the fact that this guy is coming on to me, and really coming on hard. Ron’s convinced he’s just a jerk and recommends bailing on the dungeon, probably the best thing I heard all night. Oddly enough, I felt kind of bad that I was just ditching the guy after he bought me those few drinks I didn’t want, I guess regardless of what happens, I still try to maintain my values for how to treat people. I figure I’d make a great girlfriend, but thankfully that’s not going to be happening…ever.
So anyways, Ron and I leave to go up to the Staff and Officers Bar with Thad and some girl they new. We hung out there for a bit, I didn’t have anything else to drink, and eventually walked back to my room when I got tired. I didn’t drink so much that I got sick at night, and I certainly didn’t drink so much that I compromised my own sexuality, and luckily that was where the night ended for me. But the story…that continues…
Next morning, I wake up around 11:30 to go grab lunch and rent a bike for Cozumel before the office closed. After the last Bike ride in Cozumel, there was no way I was going to attempt any big journeys, and Brandon and I planned to just stick around the city, exploring the more local areas and back roads. I met Brandon for lunch in the mess before leaving for the bike ride, during which time I told him about the eventful night. He thought it was a pretty good story, we finished eating, and set off for the city. We stopped at a coffee shop to try and find Pieter, who didn’t end up showing up, and then continued on to find La Choza, a restaurant that has gained popularity among the crew, and the place we knew Ron and a number of people were going for his birthday. So Brandon and I happen across the restaurant, park the bikes, and find our friends inside…all laughing about my previous night. Apparently, Ron told everyone all about it on the way over to the restaurant, and everyone thought it was the funniest thing that Pottsy was getting hit on. So I walk in to comments like, “how does that BMW drive”, or “look at my watch”, or “you should have just taken one for the team.” I had no intention of going in and sharing the story, not because I was embarrassed, but because it was the last thing on my mind and I honestly didn’t think it’d be so popular with everyone. I inevitably had to sit down though and retell it to everyone, clarify some details, and set myself up for weeks of hearing about it. Brandon and I weren’t there long, we had gotten there right when everyone had finished eating, so after the story and a few laughs, we set off to explore the city.
We stopped at a nice local place for a meal, the same place we stopped at last time after the 65k bike ride. The food was great and cheap, just the kind of place I like to find. We then rode about an hour through the city, took some pics, and then headed back. We stopped off at a grocery store for a few supplies, and then made it back to the ship right on time. We had a day off, so there was nothing else planned but Ron’s party. I bought the case as I said I would, and people started hanging out around 10:30. Seeing as half the people there were at La Choza and heard about my night, that was a big topic of conversation, and every time someone new came by, I had to retell the story to bring them up to speed and further solidify the legendary status of that night. One of the people I had to explain the story to was Jamie, the production manager, and person in charge of everything that happens on stage. He hears the story, takes a few shots at me about the BMW, and then comes to a realization about who I’m talking about. Being the Production Manager, he knows everyone with the installation crew and figures out who exactly the guy was that I was talking to the night before. Turns out that this guy, Eric, got kicked off the ship that day. Supposedly, that same night that he was talking with me, he approached guest services late at night requesting he get his cabin upgraded to a full guest cabin so that he could receive the full room service benefits. Oddly enough, the pizza he was offering, wasn’t ever going to happen. So he goes and complains, mentions the crew party, and threatens that he’ll notify the coast guard of the party back deck and get the ship pulled over. That didn’t go over so well with the Hotel director and Captain. Jaime said that “Eric” was escorted off the ship in Cozumel buy security, and will likely be fired from the company he was working for here on the ship. So I guess not only did I dodge being in the wrong place at the wrong time by not hanging out with him any longer than I did, but I don’t have to worry about running into him ever again. Crazy, crazy story, and that surprise info that night re-sparked the interest and made for the perfect conclusion to what was probably the most odd night I’ve experienced.
The rest of the evening I didn’t really drink, aside from one beer from the case of 24 that I bought, and a few shots Bart forced upon everyone. Bart, a trumpet player, is from Poland, and certainly drinks like it. So he’s walking around all night with this bottle of Mexican vodka that he’d bought, making people do shots. I’ve never seen someone pressure anyone like this guy, it’s quite impressive actually. But the odd thing is that all those eastern Europeans are huge drinkers, and as part of the culture, always eat something after each shot. Brandon drank with them one night and they were feeding him tomatoes after each drink. Bart, instead of tomatoes, had bought a huge bag of pickles to supplement the vodka. So the process was first to do the shot of Vodka, and then eat one of these pickle slices. It was the strangest thing ever, but seeing as I enjoy pickles, it didn’t make for a bad combination. I ended up distributing the pickles to every one, I found it was the best way to keep out of Bart’s scope for getting people to drink, simply because I was helping by holding the pickles. Bart had way to much to drink, as he always does, and after going through most of the second bottle of Mexican vodka, he was just getting blasted. He had already dropped the glass bottle 3 times and spilled vodka everywhere, and finally on the fourth fall while pouring a drink, the bottle shattered and the vodka shots were no longer an issue. Bart cleaned it up, not without cutting his finger on the glass, and then disappeared for the remainder of the night. I went to bed soon after, right when people started going up to the SOB to continue the party. And there, finally, ends the story of the 4th and 5th of December. Crazy times, and if you read the entire post, congrats. Have a great one and beware of guys with fancy watches and Polish people with pickles.
At sea/Cozumel
I usually don’t combine sea days with port days where I get off the ship, but this post needs to incorporate both days…yeah, it’s complicated.
Anyways, the sea day started like any other usual sea day leaving Florida, with me waking up early to go do the discover shopping show that I’ve done every Caribbean Cruise. The show was fine, same as always aside for bringing in an extra person to help sell books. The show generally goes from 10 till 11am, which should have been fine for the 11:30 tech run that I was under the impression we were having. At right around 11, one of my friends/manager of Studio B (where the show was being held) informed me Justin (musical director) had just called her to let me know that a) I’m late, b) I owe a case, and c) Run! Apparently I just misread the schedule, confused the time with previous tech runs we’ve had, and was on the other side of the ship when they were scheduled to raise the pit and start the show. It’s no big deal because I made it there in time to not severely delay the start of the tech run, something the dancers have recently been accountable for 90% of the time, and Justin was cool about everything. They joked when I walked in, informing me of my new nickname of “side-job”, and we started the rehearsal. About b), the case thing – the rule among the musicians is that if someone is late, screws up a part really bad, or just does something really dumb that could possibly get them in trouble, all is forgiven if the perpetrator buys a case of beer. Once before I owed a case for missing an entrance to get on stage because I was reading a book back stage and didn’t hear the call to go out, this case makes #2 in over 4 months, so not too bad I guess. I was kind of upset with myself for just nullifying 3 hours of work for $30 with suddenly owing a $30 case of beer, but everyone thought it was funny, so I went along with it. It worked out well though because the next day was Ron’s Birthday, the drummer of the orchestra. He’s one of the people who has been on ships for quite some time, and has one of those fun personalities where he’s all about having a good time, making friends, and enjoying each day as it comes at him. I knew he was going to be having a party anyways, so now I could buy the case for him so that everyone would have drinks. The remainder of the day wasn’t anything too spectacular, just two production shows of Now and Forever, but it was that night that the story really begins.
There was a crew party that night thrown by crew welfare, something that happens every month. These parties are just big get togethers on the back deck, usually with food, and always with free beer. Now from those of you who know me well from back home, you know I’m not a drinker, and my college friends can verify I didn’t drink at all till after my 21st birthday, but being on a ship where it drinking has become so firmly entwined with the social scene, it’s impossible to go out and meet people without at least a beer. I still rarely drink, but because of my low tolerance, it doesn’t take a lot before I start having a little more fun than usual. So anyways, I went to the back deck with Ron to check out the party, grab some food, get a few free drinks, and then get to the theater to see the late night comedy act that was going on. The act was good, some new York comedian, and we both headed back to Ron’s room to drop off our empty glasses. By that point it was about 1 am, now officially his Birthday, and we both walked up to the Dungeon (nightclub) to heck out what was going on. The combination of an American guest list and these short cruises means the Dungeon is much more busy on a nightly basis than it ever was in the Med. So Ron and I are standing up on the top floor looking down at the people dancing below us, when this guy next to me starts up a conversation. He’s a bald black guy, probably in his late 30’s, and he recognizes Ron and I from the orchestra and compliments the band. To make conversation and get Ron involved, I mention that it’s now his Birthday, at which point our new friend insists on buying a round of drinks. He gets Ron a refill on a Vodka Tonic, and brings me a beer despite my requests that he doesn’t get me anything. Additionally, he brings over some sort of shot for us all to drink, of which I still don’t know what it was. So we start talking again, and he mentions that’s he’s here with the installation crew for the new dance cast. He asks if I’ve met the choreographer, Karen (who I haven’t), lets me know he’s leaving at the end of this cruise, and somewhere had thrown in there the point that he’s bisexual. I’m sure it was mentioned at some point slightly less random than I just made it seem, but regardless, it came across as a fact that he just threw out there. I don’t exactly know how to respond, and just continue on talking to him about whatever. Eventually I need a bathroom break from the multiple drinks I’ve had, and have difficulty excusing myself from the conversation without making him a promise to come back to the Dungeon. I kind of wanted to go back to my room, but came back because I couldn’t ditch Ron, and start talking to my new friend again. He buys everyone another round of drinks at about this time, Ron kind of wanders off, and things get slightly more interesting.
This is the point where my younger readers, as in under 16, might need parental approval before continuing on…not that it’s bad, but because the subject matter is slightly more adult. So if you’re in that age group, ask your parents to read this first before you read it, not because I think it’s necessarily any worse than what’s in the media and movies, but because I really don’t want to get in trouble with anyone. You don’t want me to get in trouble, do you?
Anyways…at the next lull in the conversation, he looks at me and says “you’re beautiful”. The Dungeon is a loud place, I can’t hear half of what he’s saying anyways, so I just look and nod, maybe say OK, but obviously don’t understand what he said. So he restates, “did you hear me? I said, you’re beautiful.” I wouldn’t know how to really handle that situation completely sober, so you can imagine I found it slightly awkward being inebriated (I did look good though, I had my tux on because it was formal night, ha). I guess I just brushed it off with a “thanks?” or some other not exactly appreciative remark, and tried to continue the conversation, aiming towards more heterosexual topic matter. Unfortunately, he continues on with the remarks, complimenting me on being beautiful and having an amazing personality…which as a side note, means very little coming from someone I’ve known for 15 minutes, but that’s besides the point. He guesses my age at 24, I correct him by saying 22, at which point he responds with “you’re a big boy for 22”, yet another comment I don’t really have a response for, regardless of blood-alcohol content. Why at that point I didn’t walk away, I’ll never know, perhaps I just liked the attention regardless of the implications, but I continued talking, if you can consider awkward responses, confused shrugs, and nervous laughter talking. So we continue on, and him guessing at the level of my intoxication, recommends that I get something to eat. So his idea, go back to his room and order pizza from room service…uhhh, how ‘bout not. Now I’ve had some drinks, but I’m not an idiot, and try to communicate that I really don’t want to go back to his room for pizza without tarnishing my “amazing” personality. So I dodge that first bullet, and the conversation continues. He then shows me that he has an extra key to Karen’s room, the choreographer that I don’t know, and displays it and talks about it to me like it’s some great source of pride for him. “Would you rather go to Karen’s room and get pizza” he asks me. Again, no, not really, sorry, sounds like a great time but I can’t, or whatever I managed to say to try to get out of whatever he had in mind. Then somehow the conversation gets on his 11 year old niece and the BMW he claims to have bought for her. I’m relieved that the conversation has changed to cars, despite it being something I know very little about, at least it’s something that doesn’t include pizza in his room. So I say I really like BMW’s, he asks me which, and the first one that comes to mind is the M. He agrees with the choice, but then says he’ll top it by buying my a 6 series if I just go back to his room for pizza. He promises nothing will happen and is really trying to push this buying me a BMW idea. So now I’m in completely uncharted territory, I could brush off the compliments and food offers, but now things are just getting stupid. Well don’t worry, I again said no, despite the fact that it did really sound like a good idea for a BMW at the time, but there’s no way I’m going to a bisexual’s room for pizza after he’s hitting on me. I try to forget the ridiculous offer, but he just continues on. He is dressed very nicely, and points out his big diamond ring, and then points to his watch saying, “look at my watch, I have a lot of money. I can buy you anything you want if you just come back to my room.” Or it was something utterly ridiculous like that, but one of those one liners that are just too unbelievable to forget about. Again, I say no, sorry, I can’t, it sounds great and all…and so on. He then tells me it’s because I’m straight that I’m that much more attractive to him. You know, I’m starting to get the feeling he’s tried this before… Maybe there was more that was said, but this is what I remember up till the point where he requested Ron and I go down to the dance floor to dance. I deny that I do any sort of dancing whatsoever, but that doesn’t fly with him. Ron then walks down the stairs, which sort of surprised me, and I followed for the sake that I wasn’t about to be left alone with Mr. BMW. So we go down and stand off towards the side of the floor and I let Ron in on the fact that this guy is coming on to me, and really coming on hard. Ron’s convinced he’s just a jerk and recommends bailing on the dungeon, probably the best thing I heard all night. Oddly enough, I felt kind of bad that I was just ditching the guy after he bought me those few drinks I didn’t want, I guess regardless of what happens, I still try to maintain my values for how to treat people. I figure I’d make a great girlfriend, but thankfully that’s not going to be happening…ever.
So anyways, Ron and I leave to go up to the Staff and Officers Bar with Thad and some girl they new. We hung out there for a bit, I didn’t have anything else to drink, and eventually walked back to my room when I got tired. I didn’t drink so much that I got sick at night, and I certainly didn’t drink so much that I compromised my own sexuality, and luckily that was where the night ended for me. But the story…that continues…
Next morning, I wake up around 11:30 to go grab lunch and rent a bike for Cozumel before the office closed. After the last Bike ride in Cozumel, there was no way I was going to attempt any big journeys, and Brandon and I planned to just stick around the city, exploring the more local areas and back roads. I met Brandon for lunch in the mess before leaving for the bike ride, during which time I told him about the eventful night. He thought it was a pretty good story, we finished eating, and set off for the city. We stopped at a coffee shop to try and find Pieter, who didn’t end up showing up, and then continued on to find La Choza, a restaurant that has gained popularity among the crew, and the place we knew Ron and a number of people were going for his birthday. So Brandon and I happen across the restaurant, park the bikes, and find our friends inside…all laughing about my previous night. Apparently, Ron told everyone all about it on the way over to the restaurant, and everyone thought it was the funniest thing that Pottsy was getting hit on. So I walk in to comments like, “how does that BMW drive”, or “look at my watch”, or “you should have just taken one for the team.” I had no intention of going in and sharing the story, not because I was embarrassed, but because it was the last thing on my mind and I honestly didn’t think it’d be so popular with everyone. I inevitably had to sit down though and retell it to everyone, clarify some details, and set myself up for weeks of hearing about it. Brandon and I weren’t there long, we had gotten there right when everyone had finished eating, so after the story and a few laughs, we set off to explore the city.
We stopped at a nice local place for a meal, the same place we stopped at last time after the 65k bike ride. The food was great and cheap, just the kind of place I like to find. We then rode about an hour through the city, took some pics, and then headed back. We stopped off at a grocery store for a few supplies, and then made it back to the ship right on time. We had a day off, so there was nothing else planned but Ron’s party. I bought the case as I said I would, and people started hanging out around 10:30. Seeing as half the people there were at La Choza and heard about my night, that was a big topic of conversation, and every time someone new came by, I had to retell the story to bring them up to speed and further solidify the legendary status of that night. One of the people I had to explain the story to was Jamie, the production manager, and person in charge of everything that happens on stage. He hears the story, takes a few shots at me about the BMW, and then comes to a realization about who I’m talking about. Being the Production Manager, he knows everyone with the installation crew and figures out who exactly the guy was that I was talking to the night before. Turns out that this guy, Eric, got kicked off the ship that day. Supposedly, that same night that he was talking with me, he approached guest services late at night requesting he get his cabin upgraded to a full guest cabin so that he could receive the full room service benefits. Oddly enough, the pizza he was offering, wasn’t ever going to happen. So he goes and complains, mentions the crew party, and threatens that he’ll notify the coast guard of the party back deck and get the ship pulled over. That didn’t go over so well with the Hotel director and Captain. Jaime said that “Eric” was escorted off the ship in Cozumel buy security, and will likely be fired from the company he was working for here on the ship. So I guess not only did I dodge being in the wrong place at the wrong time by not hanging out with him any longer than I did, but I don’t have to worry about running into him ever again. Crazy, crazy story, and that surprise info that night re-sparked the interest and made for the perfect conclusion to what was probably the most odd night I’ve experienced.
The rest of the evening I didn’t really drink, aside from one beer from the case of 24 that I bought, and a few shots Bart forced upon everyone. Bart, a trumpet player, is from Poland, and certainly drinks like it. So he’s walking around all night with this bottle of Mexican vodka that he’d bought, making people do shots. I’ve never seen someone pressure anyone like this guy, it’s quite impressive actually. But the odd thing is that all those eastern Europeans are huge drinkers, and as part of the culture, always eat something after each shot. Brandon drank with them one night and they were feeding him tomatoes after each drink. Bart, instead of tomatoes, had bought a huge bag of pickles to supplement the vodka. So the process was first to do the shot of Vodka, and then eat one of these pickle slices. It was the strangest thing ever, but seeing as I enjoy pickles, it didn’t make for a bad combination. I ended up distributing the pickles to every one, I found it was the best way to keep out of Bart’s scope for getting people to drink, simply because I was helping by holding the pickles. Bart had way to much to drink, as he always does, and after going through most of the second bottle of Mexican vodka, he was just getting blasted. He had already dropped the glass bottle 3 times and spilled vodka everywhere, and finally on the fourth fall while pouring a drink, the bottle shattered and the vodka shots were no longer an issue. Bart cleaned it up, not without cutting his finger on the glass, and then disappeared for the remainder of the night. I went to bed soon after, right when people started going up to the SOB to continue the party. And there, finally, ends the story of the 4th and 5th of December. Crazy times, and if you read the entire post, congrats. Have a great one and beware of guys with fancy watches and Polish people with pickles.
At sea/Lauderdale
Dec 2nd/3rd
At sea/Lauderdale
There’s really nothing much too report back about. The 2nd was our sea day returning back to Florida, we had a farewell show to play along with a jazz jam that evening, and then the 3rd was the turn around day. I didn’t even get off the ship in Florida, I had no real need to walk into the shopping area, so I just stayed and worked on the ship. We had the usual welcome aboard show and parade, just the usual. Thanks!
At sea/Lauderdale
There’s really nothing much too report back about. The 2nd was our sea day returning back to Florida, we had a farewell show to play along with a jazz jam that evening, and then the 3rd was the turn around day. I didn’t even get off the ship in Florida, I had no real need to walk into the shopping area, so I just stayed and worked on the ship. We had the usual welcome aboard show and parade, just the usual. Thanks!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Cozumel
Dec 1st
Cozumel
So now we’re into the first day of December, which just further amazes me at how long I’ve been here and how fast time seems to go. But that aside, we certainly kicked off December in a way I won’t soon forget.
Pieter did indeed rent a bike, and after the tech run we had that morning, Pieter, Brandon, and I got off the ship with our bikes after lunch, right around 1:30. We followed Pieter’s idea of riding south to the southern point, then riding up the coast to a road that crossed the island and would take us back to the main town that was near the ship. We got started riding, and quickly realized how uncomfortable these seats were going to be. The bicycle seats were rock hard and thin, putting way too much pressure on certain areas of my body, and within 10 minutes of riding, the discomfort had already grown to the point of reasonable pain. Maybe that’s where I should have stopped and turned around, but thinking that the beaches we were about to see would be worth it, I continued on. And anyways, I’m with a 38 and 44 year old…there’s no way I’m going to be the first to back out at 22. Oh, and in addition to the seats, Brandon’s loose handle bars, and my bike’s inability to make it to 3rd gear, all the tires were completely flat. Now I’m not too far out of childhood, and I remember riding on flat tires and not caring, but these tires were probably the flattest that I’d ever actually ridden on. We figured it’d be all right for a bit, till we found some sort of gas station at least, but till then, it was as if we were riding in sand. So we rode on, riding along this main road of the island, passing the occasional tourist resort, but never really stopping at any beaches, or seeing any for that matter. Pieter just simply kept saying that we couldn’t stop there and that we had to make it to the other side where there aren’t really any people, and where it’s all one big long beach. So we kept on going, and after close to 2 hours of peddling, we finally made it to the point he was talking about. There we found a bunch of beaches and a cool reggae themed restaurant/shop. For as hot as Brandon and I were, not to mention tired and uncomfortable from the flat tires and hard seats, Pieter strongly encouraged that we continue on along the coast till we get to a small hut where we could buy something to drink for really cheap and spend some time on the beach. After riding another hour or so, Brandon and I just gave up looking for this hut Pieter swore existed “just around the point”, and we stopped at the next place that looked like it had a nice entrance into the water. Most of the coast we were riding along was way too rocky to get into the water, especially considering the size of the waves, which we later saw some people surfing on. By this time, it was getting pretty obvious Pieter was having a difficult time keeping up with us on the bike, and we reached the stop maybe 5 minutes before him. So we took a break for everyone’s sake, and Brandon and I went for a swim. The water was nice, unusually salty, and really wavy, which made it interesting. I swam out from shore a ways and floated around till I realized the current was taking me really far away from my starting point, so I started to swim back to the beach against the current. When I finally made it back close to the beach, the next challenge was in exiting the water without getting killed. The beach got really rocky just below the water line, and with the large waves, it made for a section about 10 feet long where fairly large rocks got pushed forward and back by each wave. Unfortunately, I got scratched up pretty bad on my way out and took a few hits to my feet and shins, enough to draw blood, but nothing too bad. We hung out on the beach for just a bit longer before getting our stuff together and continuing along the coast.
The beach was a nice stop, but I’m sure all the leg work from swimming didn’t help me get any strength back for the next part of the course. It wasn’t long before I was hurting again, and really thirsty as well. We had brought some water, but me not having a back pack here, always just have to ask others for water, something I don’t really like doing. At the next hut I found, I convinced everyone to stop and get something to drink, and take another break, one where I didn’t go swimming. So we stopped at this nice outside restaurant, everyone ordered Pina Coladas and water. After about 20 minutes there, we picked up again and continued along the coast towards the cross street we were looking for. We had asked a few people for estimates on how long it would take by bike to get back to the city, all of which were around 90 minutes. However, one guy at the restaurant we had just stopped at estimated 30 kilometers, meaning we’d made it about half way. I knew we’d already gone 30 km from watching the km markers on the highway, so when he told us it’s be another 30 km, I got somewhat worried about time, Pieter’s ability to keep up, and even my own ability to make it. Brandon, the oldest of the group, appears to be in fantastic shape and didn’t seem to ever be struggling with the pace that he was often times setting. At this point in riding though, it was often that Brandon lead, I followed at his pace a couple feet back, where as Pieter would trail significantly, to the point where in 15 minutes of riding, we’d no longer be able to see him. At which point, Brandon and I would get off of the bike and walk till Pieter slowly caught up. We’d then give him a few minutes of a head start, quickly close that gap, and have to start walking again within 15 minutes to wait for Pieter. I was struggling around this point, but was determined enough to keep up with the 44 year old. But despite the noticeable headwind coming off the water, we at least had a relatively straight and unusually flat road to ride on, which was one of the few factors actually working in our favor.
We eventually made it to the cross road, and after a very short stop, we set off again. I had recommended walking for a while, both for Pieter’s sake and my own, but he was determined to go on. Brandon and I were getting worried though, both because of his slow pace and our time requirement, but just for the fact that he had been swerving pretty heavily the past 10k. We couldn’t talk him off his bike though, he continued, and for the first 4k, the trend of stop and go continued. This cross road also worked in our favor and was as flat and perfectly straight as you could imagine. I’ve never been on a road that was so straight and flat in my life, so that really helped to make it back. At this point, Pieter claims to have gotten his second wind, picks up the pace, and we make fairly good time back into the city. As we continue, we start to see more and more people, along with more buildings, offering encouragement to keep going with the knowledge that we’re actually getting closer. After checking the time, we decided there’d still be time enough to find a cool local place and get a beer, the athlete’s drink of choice. We found this great little place outside of the main tourist area where were ordered our drinks, which then came with about 10 different small tapas dishes. These dishes ranged from salsas for chips to sausages that we’d eat with toothpicks to flavored fruits, all of which were amazing. We didn’t get charged for any of it either, just for the beer, further proving that the best places to eat are off the beaten path. We’re all going to go back next time for a real meal, so long as we can find it again.
After leaving there, we had given ourselves about 25 minutes to make it back to the ship. We figured it was about 5k from the main city to our dock, and had a really lovely bike ride along the coast with little more than the street lights to guide us back. We made it back to the ship with 5 minutes to spare before the point where we’d have gotten in trouble for being late. During the course of the excursion, we came to the conclusion that we’d gone around 65 to 70 km, which is about 41 miles, give or take 2. I figure that this is more than I went in one day than probably all last year combined. I’m not an avid bicycler, nor do I even pretend to be. Had I known that the route was going to be so long, I would have backed out of if, even if I had a comfortable seat, inflated tires, and a functioning 3rd front gear. There’s no doubt that it was an incredible day, and I can’t recall ever having such an intensive day of exercise…ever. And despite the ride, Brandon and I still went up to the gym that night as per our scheduled gym time, needless to say, we didn’t do any leg work.
I went to sleep that night around 11 pm after getting back from the gym, exhausted from a really long day. I’m more than glad that I did it, especially now that I’m back safe. I got to see a lot, had a pina colada sitting on a beach, rode along a beautiful coast, had a great stop in the city, and certainly got some exercise. I can’t say that I’d ever do it again, or at least not with out some training before hand, but I am glad I did it and had a great day. I can’t believe that we all made it back on time, and especially can’t believe how far we went on those awful bikes. But hey, we got a great story out of it, I had a lot of fun, and I got to see about all someone can see of that island in a single day. We’re looking at renting a bike next time as well, just without the whole southern beach route. But till then, thanks for reading this long post, and have a great one!
Cozumel
So now we’re into the first day of December, which just further amazes me at how long I’ve been here and how fast time seems to go. But that aside, we certainly kicked off December in a way I won’t soon forget.
Pieter did indeed rent a bike, and after the tech run we had that morning, Pieter, Brandon, and I got off the ship with our bikes after lunch, right around 1:30. We followed Pieter’s idea of riding south to the southern point, then riding up the coast to a road that crossed the island and would take us back to the main town that was near the ship. We got started riding, and quickly realized how uncomfortable these seats were going to be. The bicycle seats were rock hard and thin, putting way too much pressure on certain areas of my body, and within 10 minutes of riding, the discomfort had already grown to the point of reasonable pain. Maybe that’s where I should have stopped and turned around, but thinking that the beaches we were about to see would be worth it, I continued on. And anyways, I’m with a 38 and 44 year old…there’s no way I’m going to be the first to back out at 22. Oh, and in addition to the seats, Brandon’s loose handle bars, and my bike’s inability to make it to 3rd gear, all the tires were completely flat. Now I’m not too far out of childhood, and I remember riding on flat tires and not caring, but these tires were probably the flattest that I’d ever actually ridden on. We figured it’d be all right for a bit, till we found some sort of gas station at least, but till then, it was as if we were riding in sand. So we rode on, riding along this main road of the island, passing the occasional tourist resort, but never really stopping at any beaches, or seeing any for that matter. Pieter just simply kept saying that we couldn’t stop there and that we had to make it to the other side where there aren’t really any people, and where it’s all one big long beach. So we kept on going, and after close to 2 hours of peddling, we finally made it to the point he was talking about. There we found a bunch of beaches and a cool reggae themed restaurant/shop. For as hot as Brandon and I were, not to mention tired and uncomfortable from the flat tires and hard seats, Pieter strongly encouraged that we continue on along the coast till we get to a small hut where we could buy something to drink for really cheap and spend some time on the beach. After riding another hour or so, Brandon and I just gave up looking for this hut Pieter swore existed “just around the point”, and we stopped at the next place that looked like it had a nice entrance into the water. Most of the coast we were riding along was way too rocky to get into the water, especially considering the size of the waves, which we later saw some people surfing on. By this time, it was getting pretty obvious Pieter was having a difficult time keeping up with us on the bike, and we reached the stop maybe 5 minutes before him. So we took a break for everyone’s sake, and Brandon and I went for a swim. The water was nice, unusually salty, and really wavy, which made it interesting. I swam out from shore a ways and floated around till I realized the current was taking me really far away from my starting point, so I started to swim back to the beach against the current. When I finally made it back close to the beach, the next challenge was in exiting the water without getting killed. The beach got really rocky just below the water line, and with the large waves, it made for a section about 10 feet long where fairly large rocks got pushed forward and back by each wave. Unfortunately, I got scratched up pretty bad on my way out and took a few hits to my feet and shins, enough to draw blood, but nothing too bad. We hung out on the beach for just a bit longer before getting our stuff together and continuing along the coast.
The beach was a nice stop, but I’m sure all the leg work from swimming didn’t help me get any strength back for the next part of the course. It wasn’t long before I was hurting again, and really thirsty as well. We had brought some water, but me not having a back pack here, always just have to ask others for water, something I don’t really like doing. At the next hut I found, I convinced everyone to stop and get something to drink, and take another break, one where I didn’t go swimming. So we stopped at this nice outside restaurant, everyone ordered Pina Coladas and water. After about 20 minutes there, we picked up again and continued along the coast towards the cross street we were looking for. We had asked a few people for estimates on how long it would take by bike to get back to the city, all of which were around 90 minutes. However, one guy at the restaurant we had just stopped at estimated 30 kilometers, meaning we’d made it about half way. I knew we’d already gone 30 km from watching the km markers on the highway, so when he told us it’s be another 30 km, I got somewhat worried about time, Pieter’s ability to keep up, and even my own ability to make it. Brandon, the oldest of the group, appears to be in fantastic shape and didn’t seem to ever be struggling with the pace that he was often times setting. At this point in riding though, it was often that Brandon lead, I followed at his pace a couple feet back, where as Pieter would trail significantly, to the point where in 15 minutes of riding, we’d no longer be able to see him. At which point, Brandon and I would get off of the bike and walk till Pieter slowly caught up. We’d then give him a few minutes of a head start, quickly close that gap, and have to start walking again within 15 minutes to wait for Pieter. I was struggling around this point, but was determined enough to keep up with the 44 year old. But despite the noticeable headwind coming off the water, we at least had a relatively straight and unusually flat road to ride on, which was one of the few factors actually working in our favor.
We eventually made it to the cross road, and after a very short stop, we set off again. I had recommended walking for a while, both for Pieter’s sake and my own, but he was determined to go on. Brandon and I were getting worried though, both because of his slow pace and our time requirement, but just for the fact that he had been swerving pretty heavily the past 10k. We couldn’t talk him off his bike though, he continued, and for the first 4k, the trend of stop and go continued. This cross road also worked in our favor and was as flat and perfectly straight as you could imagine. I’ve never been on a road that was so straight and flat in my life, so that really helped to make it back. At this point, Pieter claims to have gotten his second wind, picks up the pace, and we make fairly good time back into the city. As we continue, we start to see more and more people, along with more buildings, offering encouragement to keep going with the knowledge that we’re actually getting closer. After checking the time, we decided there’d still be time enough to find a cool local place and get a beer, the athlete’s drink of choice. We found this great little place outside of the main tourist area where were ordered our drinks, which then came with about 10 different small tapas dishes. These dishes ranged from salsas for chips to sausages that we’d eat with toothpicks to flavored fruits, all of which were amazing. We didn’t get charged for any of it either, just for the beer, further proving that the best places to eat are off the beaten path. We’re all going to go back next time for a real meal, so long as we can find it again.
After leaving there, we had given ourselves about 25 minutes to make it back to the ship. We figured it was about 5k from the main city to our dock, and had a really lovely bike ride along the coast with little more than the street lights to guide us back. We made it back to the ship with 5 minutes to spare before the point where we’d have gotten in trouble for being late. During the course of the excursion, we came to the conclusion that we’d gone around 65 to 70 km, which is about 41 miles, give or take 2. I figure that this is more than I went in one day than probably all last year combined. I’m not an avid bicycler, nor do I even pretend to be. Had I known that the route was going to be so long, I would have backed out of if, even if I had a comfortable seat, inflated tires, and a functioning 3rd front gear. There’s no doubt that it was an incredible day, and I can’t recall ever having such an intensive day of exercise…ever. And despite the ride, Brandon and I still went up to the gym that night as per our scheduled gym time, needless to say, we didn’t do any leg work.
I went to sleep that night around 11 pm after getting back from the gym, exhausted from a really long day. I’m more than glad that I did it, especially now that I’m back safe. I got to see a lot, had a pina colada sitting on a beach, rode along a beautiful coast, had a great stop in the city, and certainly got some exercise. I can’t say that I’d ever do it again, or at least not with out some training before hand, but I am glad I did it and had a great day. I can’t believe that we all made it back on time, and especially can’t believe how far we went on those awful bikes. But hey, we got a great story out of it, I had a lot of fun, and I got to see about all someone can see of that island in a single day. We’re looking at renting a bike next time as well, just without the whole southern beach route. But till then, thanks for reading this long post, and have a great one!
Sea Day
Nov 30th
Sea Day
This morning I was scheduled to do another one of those Port and Shopping shows where I get paid $10 an hour to help out. That went fine, aside from me not waking up that morning. I had to be there at 8:30, and had set my alarm for 7:55 am to give me enough time to shower, get dressed, and get a light breakfast before the show. There is an alarm system on the phones in our cabins that is pretty simple to use, and when it goes off, the phone simply rings. I heard the alarm go off at 7:55 and decided not to touch it, knowing that I’d go off two minutes later, sort of a short automatic snooze button. Turns out, I never heard the second time it went off, or any time after that. Then at 8:40 when the organizer of this activity noticed I was unusually later, he called me, a call that I also didn’t hear. It wasn’t till 8:55 when he called me for a second time that I finally heard it and woke up. So I missed some of the prep work, no big deal really, and no one seemed too upset with it, but I’m still somewhat disappointed in myself, while amazed that I was able to sleep through a so many blaring phone rings.
Following the show that went fine, there’s not much else to report back about. We played our Captain’s Cocktail set that evening, and that was about all. Later that night, Brandon and I went up to the SOB as he wanted to buy a few drinks for later. After finding out a few days earlier that him and a number of other people in the orchestra like the game of chess, we ended up finding a chess board in the SOB and played all night. So there were 5 of us musicians huddled around the chessboard from about 9:30 to 1:15…not boring at all, right? I don’t know why I stayed so long, but what ever, it was kind of funny thinking about how nerdy we all must have looked being so intrigued watching our friends play chess. Tomorrow is Cozumel. Brandon and I are planning on renting some bikes from the ship for a cheap $5, with the intention of doing some exploring. I know Pieter expressed some interest in renting a bike as well, thinking we should try riding around the island, so maybe he’ll come with us tomorrow. But it should be fun so long as the weather is as nice as it’s been at each port.
Sea Day
This morning I was scheduled to do another one of those Port and Shopping shows where I get paid $10 an hour to help out. That went fine, aside from me not waking up that morning. I had to be there at 8:30, and had set my alarm for 7:55 am to give me enough time to shower, get dressed, and get a light breakfast before the show. There is an alarm system on the phones in our cabins that is pretty simple to use, and when it goes off, the phone simply rings. I heard the alarm go off at 7:55 and decided not to touch it, knowing that I’d go off two minutes later, sort of a short automatic snooze button. Turns out, I never heard the second time it went off, or any time after that. Then at 8:40 when the organizer of this activity noticed I was unusually later, he called me, a call that I also didn’t hear. It wasn’t till 8:55 when he called me for a second time that I finally heard it and woke up. So I missed some of the prep work, no big deal really, and no one seemed too upset with it, but I’m still somewhat disappointed in myself, while amazed that I was able to sleep through a so many blaring phone rings.
Following the show that went fine, there’s not much else to report back about. We played our Captain’s Cocktail set that evening, and that was about all. Later that night, Brandon and I went up to the SOB as he wanted to buy a few drinks for later. After finding out a few days earlier that him and a number of other people in the orchestra like the game of chess, we ended up finding a chess board in the SOB and played all night. So there were 5 of us musicians huddled around the chessboard from about 9:30 to 1:15…not boring at all, right? I don’t know why I stayed so long, but what ever, it was kind of funny thinking about how nerdy we all must have looked being so intrigued watching our friends play chess. Tomorrow is Cozumel. Brandon and I are planning on renting some bikes from the ship for a cheap $5, with the intention of doing some exploring. I know Pieter expressed some interest in renting a bike as well, thinking we should try riding around the island, so maybe he’ll come with us tomorrow. But it should be fun so long as the weather is as nice as it’s been at each port.
Sea Day/Lauderdale
Nov 28th-29th
Sea day/Lauderdale
The sea day was about as uneventful as most. We had to rehearse the farewell show for he dancers, and then perform it twice that night, which was then followed by a jazz set. The day itself wasn’t anything too spectacular, I just spent some time writing blogs and doing my usual other internet errands. I went to the dungeon that night thinking that the new cast would be having some fun in the night club on the last day of this cruise, but it was absolutely devoid of crew members. So, I went up to the SOB (staff and officers bar) to see what was going on up there. The SOB turned out to be packed, so I hung out for 20 minutes or so till I eventually made it back to my room to just hang with some of my friends here.
The plan for Lauderdale was to get off the ship, take a taxi to a music store, and then hang around the area for a bit. The group that I was going with consisted of Pieter, Brandon, and Gianni (a guitarist on the ship). Pieter said Gianni knew exactly where to go and had the address, so I figured it’d be nice to get off the ship, see if I could pick up a few things, and have a good day. That didn’t go quite to plan… First, it took forever to get off the ship for who knows what reason. It wasn’t till 11:20 that we actually got off, 90 minutes later than originally planned. When we got outside and grabbed the taxi, I found out that no one really had a solid idea on where we were going. After being quoted $20 to go to the music store, somehow, between the poor language of the driver and our general confusion on what we really wanted, the course got changed to sawgrass mills, twice the distance away, and therefore twice the price. While everyone else went to best buy, circuit city, or where ever else they needed to go, I walked to this gigantic shopping mall and looked around for a couple hours before meeting up with everyone again. Unfortunately, after the superb display of incompetence with directing the taxi driver, I was in a terrible mood over the extra $10 I knew this would cost me. Sure, $10 isn’t a lot, but when it’s a result of people not knowing where to go, and me going along more so for the ride than the actual shopping, I was pretty upset. So I spent that part of the day sulking around the shopping mall, which slightly cheered me up, but I couldn’t manage to bring myself to buy anything. After meeting up with everyone, we walked to an office max, where Pieter managed to take another 30 minutes out of our day searching for a printer cartridge, all while swearing there was some sort of taxi stop in front of the store (which turned out to be completely untrue, further aggravating my disposition). When it was finally time to leave the store, we got the cashier to call a cab for us, who then took us back to the ship for another $40. We got back, did the passenger boat drill, a rehearsal, welcome aboard show, and that was about it for the day. This cruise that we’re just leaving on today is a 4 day cruise to Cozumel and back, meaning tomorrow is a sea day, the day after is Cozumel, followed by a sea day returning to Florida, and then we’ll be back home after that. Keep checking back for more posts, thanks!
Sea day/Lauderdale
The sea day was about as uneventful as most. We had to rehearse the farewell show for he dancers, and then perform it twice that night, which was then followed by a jazz set. The day itself wasn’t anything too spectacular, I just spent some time writing blogs and doing my usual other internet errands. I went to the dungeon that night thinking that the new cast would be having some fun in the night club on the last day of this cruise, but it was absolutely devoid of crew members. So, I went up to the SOB (staff and officers bar) to see what was going on up there. The SOB turned out to be packed, so I hung out for 20 minutes or so till I eventually made it back to my room to just hang with some of my friends here.
The plan for Lauderdale was to get off the ship, take a taxi to a music store, and then hang around the area for a bit. The group that I was going with consisted of Pieter, Brandon, and Gianni (a guitarist on the ship). Pieter said Gianni knew exactly where to go and had the address, so I figured it’d be nice to get off the ship, see if I could pick up a few things, and have a good day. That didn’t go quite to plan… First, it took forever to get off the ship for who knows what reason. It wasn’t till 11:20 that we actually got off, 90 minutes later than originally planned. When we got outside and grabbed the taxi, I found out that no one really had a solid idea on where we were going. After being quoted $20 to go to the music store, somehow, between the poor language of the driver and our general confusion on what we really wanted, the course got changed to sawgrass mills, twice the distance away, and therefore twice the price. While everyone else went to best buy, circuit city, or where ever else they needed to go, I walked to this gigantic shopping mall and looked around for a couple hours before meeting up with everyone again. Unfortunately, after the superb display of incompetence with directing the taxi driver, I was in a terrible mood over the extra $10 I knew this would cost me. Sure, $10 isn’t a lot, but when it’s a result of people not knowing where to go, and me going along more so for the ride than the actual shopping, I was pretty upset. So I spent that part of the day sulking around the shopping mall, which slightly cheered me up, but I couldn’t manage to bring myself to buy anything. After meeting up with everyone, we walked to an office max, where Pieter managed to take another 30 minutes out of our day searching for a printer cartridge, all while swearing there was some sort of taxi stop in front of the store (which turned out to be completely untrue, further aggravating my disposition). When it was finally time to leave the store, we got the cashier to call a cab for us, who then took us back to the ship for another $40. We got back, did the passenger boat drill, a rehearsal, welcome aboard show, and that was about it for the day. This cruise that we’re just leaving on today is a 4 day cruise to Cozumel and back, meaning tomorrow is a sea day, the day after is Cozumel, followed by a sea day returning to Florida, and then we’ll be back home after that. Keep checking back for more posts, thanks!
Grand Cayman
Nov 27th
Grand Cayman
Today I had a very short time in Grand Cayman. After a boat drill in the morning, it wasn’t until later that I was able to get off the ship. This was another tender port, and between the tendering time, the morning drill, and a rehearsal at 2:30, I had very little time to actually check out the port. I did get off though, and spent my 90 minutes or so wandering through the city. I tried not to stray to far from the port, but did want to get past all the tourist areas. Grand Cayman, unlike all these other Caribbean ports, is actually still fairly nice outside of the tender stations. The city is fairly clean, and it has a lot of large, well kept buildings, many of which are banks. After taking joy in the fact that I could walk around without feeling like my life was in imminent danger, I made my way back into the tourist areas and checked out a few shops. And as far as shopping is concerned, Grand Cayman probably had the nicest selection of little shops to visit, and I actually enjoyed walking through the tourist areas. The weather was great as always, and my souvenir sunburn from Jamaica reminded me of its presence. I then made it back to the tender, which barely got me back to the ship on time. The problem with tenders is that you have to wait forever for the boat to fill up before they sail back to the ship. Luckily though, I made the rehearsal with no problem and the All Access production show for that night went off just fine. But that aside, that’s about all for Nov 27th, thanks!
Grand Cayman
Today I had a very short time in Grand Cayman. After a boat drill in the morning, it wasn’t until later that I was able to get off the ship. This was another tender port, and between the tendering time, the morning drill, and a rehearsal at 2:30, I had very little time to actually check out the port. I did get off though, and spent my 90 minutes or so wandering through the city. I tried not to stray to far from the port, but did want to get past all the tourist areas. Grand Cayman, unlike all these other Caribbean ports, is actually still fairly nice outside of the tender stations. The city is fairly clean, and it has a lot of large, well kept buildings, many of which are banks. After taking joy in the fact that I could walk around without feeling like my life was in imminent danger, I made my way back into the tourist areas and checked out a few shops. And as far as shopping is concerned, Grand Cayman probably had the nicest selection of little shops to visit, and I actually enjoyed walking through the tourist areas. The weather was great as always, and my souvenir sunburn from Jamaica reminded me of its presence. I then made it back to the tender, which barely got me back to the ship on time. The problem with tenders is that you have to wait forever for the boat to fill up before they sail back to the ship. Luckily though, I made the rehearsal with no problem and the All Access production show for that night went off just fine. But that aside, that’s about all for Nov 27th, thanks!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Yeah, so I was a little behind...
Ok, I'm almost all caught up with the posts, I have a few more to finish writing out and get up here before it's completely up to date, but unfortunately, the pics have still yet to go up. They'll be up, sometime, before I get home...I hope. But till then, enjoy the new posts, there is a lot of writing up there now, so it might take a little while to get through it. Thanks for reading and talk to you soon!
Ocho Rios
Nov 26th
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Today was great! After a safety meeting early in the morning, Thad, Brandon, Gianni, and myself all left the ship to go to the beach for free diving. Brandon and I went to the dive shop earlier in the morning to borrow a face mask, snorkel and fins, to use when we got to the beach. After walking a ways along the coastline, we made it to this small beach that you could only get to by climbing through a gap in the fence, walking down a steep hill, and following a path through the foliage. But once you got there, it was just this small beach that no one really knew about, and considering it was just us four and the couple locals that had a shack there for selling drinks, it was the perfect Jamaican get away. The beach wasn’t the nicest or most beautiful I’ve ever been on, but it had a nice view, and directly to the left, was a fairly large waterfall formed by the Dunn’s river, and this was one of the places where the river emptied into the ocean. It wasn’t long though till we were in the water swimming, which was really warm. But it was interesting to observe the effects of the river on the ocean, because you’d be swimming along, and out of no where, you’d run into this small patch of really cold water from the river, and meanwhile, you wouldn’t be able to see under the water because the mixing of the salt and fresh water made everything extremely blurry, but that was all closer to land. We were aimed to go much further out, to where the reef dropped off and the depth suddenly went from 5 feet to 30-40 feet. It was there that we’d take a big breath, dive down and swim around, and them come back up for air. It wasn’t the nicest day as far as waves were concerned, and the chop made everything more difficult up on the surface. I didn’t see anything too amazing, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a great time swimming and enjoying the environment. I saw a bunch of those black spiny sea urchins, a good number of small fish, and some great coral formations. It was just me and Thad for a while, until Brandon made his way out to where we were, at which point, I was about ready to go back in and take a break. So while Thad and Brandon continued, I swam back inland to a large tree that was just laying above the reef, somewhat wedged into place, where I then just sat for a while enjoying the scenery. Swimming back in was really difficult though, not to mention dangerous, The reef was only in about 3 feet of water, if even that, and with the waves, it make it extremely easy to get pushed into a rock and cut something. So swimming inland meant stay right at the surface, small kicks, and constant awareness of your surroundings so you didn’t catch a wave at the wrong time and find your chest all cut up from rubbing against a piece of coral. And because ot the fins and still moderate depth, it was impossible to walk on the reef without falling. I was lucky enough to escape with a slight scratch to my palm from an over ambitious free stroke, but nothing else. Both Thad and Brandon ended up with a few cuts on their legs that drew blood, which still seemed fairly fortunate to how bad we could have ended up had we not been pretty competent swimmers.
When we got back to the beach, we dried off quickly, removed our swim gear, and went to go play in the waterfall. We climbed up to the top of the thing, which was great, minus stepping on some of the most painful rocks ever. We took a lot of picture of the picturesque area and climbed back down, where Thad and I eventually found a small little cove behind the fall itself. It was really cool to be able to stand there on the other side of the fall watching all the water in front of you like something you’d see in the movies. After a few more pictures, we went back to the beach, all drank a red stripe (Jamaican beer), and eventually started to walk back to the ship. Gianni had left way earlier because he didn’t have the gear that we all had, so at that point it was just Thad, Brandon, and me. Thad broke off of the group to go back to the ship when we were outside the gate, where as Brandon and I continued on to find a place to eat. Thad told us of a fast food place called Juici Patty, which after a lot of looking, we stumbled across. Juici Patties are almost like some kind of Calzone, except the bread is fried and flakey, and my beef juici didn’t have anything inside the breading but a spiced ground beef. I liked it, and it was really cheep, and these are the types of places we like to find because it’s where all the locals go to eat.
We then made it back to the ship, where all we had to do that night was play a big band set. Tomorrow will be Grand Cayman, but unfortunately, we have a tech run to play right in the middle of our port time, meaning I don’t know how long I’ll be able to spend in the city, but we’ll see.
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Today was great! After a safety meeting early in the morning, Thad, Brandon, Gianni, and myself all left the ship to go to the beach for free diving. Brandon and I went to the dive shop earlier in the morning to borrow a face mask, snorkel and fins, to use when we got to the beach. After walking a ways along the coastline, we made it to this small beach that you could only get to by climbing through a gap in the fence, walking down a steep hill, and following a path through the foliage. But once you got there, it was just this small beach that no one really knew about, and considering it was just us four and the couple locals that had a shack there for selling drinks, it was the perfect Jamaican get away. The beach wasn’t the nicest or most beautiful I’ve ever been on, but it had a nice view, and directly to the left, was a fairly large waterfall formed by the Dunn’s river, and this was one of the places where the river emptied into the ocean. It wasn’t long though till we were in the water swimming, which was really warm. But it was interesting to observe the effects of the river on the ocean, because you’d be swimming along, and out of no where, you’d run into this small patch of really cold water from the river, and meanwhile, you wouldn’t be able to see under the water because the mixing of the salt and fresh water made everything extremely blurry, but that was all closer to land. We were aimed to go much further out, to where the reef dropped off and the depth suddenly went from 5 feet to 30-40 feet. It was there that we’d take a big breath, dive down and swim around, and them come back up for air. It wasn’t the nicest day as far as waves were concerned, and the chop made everything more difficult up on the surface. I didn’t see anything too amazing, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a great time swimming and enjoying the environment. I saw a bunch of those black spiny sea urchins, a good number of small fish, and some great coral formations. It was just me and Thad for a while, until Brandon made his way out to where we were, at which point, I was about ready to go back in and take a break. So while Thad and Brandon continued, I swam back inland to a large tree that was just laying above the reef, somewhat wedged into place, where I then just sat for a while enjoying the scenery. Swimming back in was really difficult though, not to mention dangerous, The reef was only in about 3 feet of water, if even that, and with the waves, it make it extremely easy to get pushed into a rock and cut something. So swimming inland meant stay right at the surface, small kicks, and constant awareness of your surroundings so you didn’t catch a wave at the wrong time and find your chest all cut up from rubbing against a piece of coral. And because ot the fins and still moderate depth, it was impossible to walk on the reef without falling. I was lucky enough to escape with a slight scratch to my palm from an over ambitious free stroke, but nothing else. Both Thad and Brandon ended up with a few cuts on their legs that drew blood, which still seemed fairly fortunate to how bad we could have ended up had we not been pretty competent swimmers.
When we got back to the beach, we dried off quickly, removed our swim gear, and went to go play in the waterfall. We climbed up to the top of the thing, which was great, minus stepping on some of the most painful rocks ever. We took a lot of picture of the picturesque area and climbed back down, where Thad and I eventually found a small little cove behind the fall itself. It was really cool to be able to stand there on the other side of the fall watching all the water in front of you like something you’d see in the movies. After a few more pictures, we went back to the beach, all drank a red stripe (Jamaican beer), and eventually started to walk back to the ship. Gianni had left way earlier because he didn’t have the gear that we all had, so at that point it was just Thad, Brandon, and me. Thad broke off of the group to go back to the ship when we were outside the gate, where as Brandon and I continued on to find a place to eat. Thad told us of a fast food place called Juici Patty, which after a lot of looking, we stumbled across. Juici Patties are almost like some kind of Calzone, except the bread is fried and flakey, and my beef juici didn’t have anything inside the breading but a spiced ground beef. I liked it, and it was really cheep, and these are the types of places we like to find because it’s where all the locals go to eat.
We then made it back to the ship, where all we had to do that night was play a big band set. Tomorrow will be Grand Cayman, but unfortunately, we have a tech run to play right in the middle of our port time, meaning I don’t know how long I’ll be able to spend in the city, but we’ll see.
Sea day/Lauderdale/Sea day
Nov 23rd-25th
Sea/Lauderdale/Sea
As usual, two sea days with not much to write about. Most of the 23rd was spent on All Access, as it was going to be the first time that the new cast performed it for an audience. The show went well, and we all hung out later and I got to meet most of the cast members. We had a jazz jam that night, and that was about it for me that day.
Lauderdale started off with a coast guard drill. This meant we had a usual boat drill, but the coast guard was there to make sure we did everything right, and in the case that they saw something they didn’t like, we’d have to do it all over again. Luckily, everything went quickly, I didn’t even really see any coast guard people, and the drill was over relatively soon (for a boat drill). Following that, I did get off the ship for the first time in the US, which was nice. But the place where we dock is a million miles away from anything worth going to. So after a got off and walked 40 minutes, I did eventually make it to a shopping area, where I picked up a couple things. I did, however, get a chance to talk to my family while I walked, which was nice. I eventually made it back to the ship and did the usual thing for when we get new passengers…boat drill, welcome aboard show, parade. And that was about it for the day.
Then came another sea day, and like last time we left Lauderdale, I did the discover shopping show in the morning for 3 hours. That evening we played Delisco’s show, a show we’d played a few days earlier. The music was all the same, and the Stevie Wonder Medley kept it fun, but he has a bad habit of going 15 minutes too long, which kind of sucks for us sitting up on stage. But that aside, there was pretty much the 25th. Tomorrow’s Jamaica though, and I have cool plans to go free diving with Thad at some cool beach! Seeya
Sea/Lauderdale/Sea
As usual, two sea days with not much to write about. Most of the 23rd was spent on All Access, as it was going to be the first time that the new cast performed it for an audience. The show went well, and we all hung out later and I got to meet most of the cast members. We had a jazz jam that night, and that was about it for me that day.
Lauderdale started off with a coast guard drill. This meant we had a usual boat drill, but the coast guard was there to make sure we did everything right, and in the case that they saw something they didn’t like, we’d have to do it all over again. Luckily, everything went quickly, I didn’t even really see any coast guard people, and the drill was over relatively soon (for a boat drill). Following that, I did get off the ship for the first time in the US, which was nice. But the place where we dock is a million miles away from anything worth going to. So after a got off and walked 40 minutes, I did eventually make it to a shopping area, where I picked up a couple things. I did, however, get a chance to talk to my family while I walked, which was nice. I eventually made it back to the ship and did the usual thing for when we get new passengers…boat drill, welcome aboard show, parade. And that was about it for the day.
Then came another sea day, and like last time we left Lauderdale, I did the discover shopping show in the morning for 3 hours. That evening we played Delisco’s show, a show we’d played a few days earlier. The music was all the same, and the Stevie Wonder Medley kept it fun, but he has a bad habit of going 15 minutes too long, which kind of sucks for us sitting up on stage. But that aside, there was pretty much the 25th. Tomorrow’s Jamaica though, and I have cool plans to go free diving with Thad at some cool beach! Seeya
Roatan
Nov 22nd
Roatan, Honduras
Yet another visit to a country I’ve never been to, but today unfortunately had a rub. Because of the new dance cast, the band was needed to perform tech runs, or practice shows where the dancers could go through the motions and the singers get used to singing with a live background. So after an early boat drill and a rehearsal directly after around 11:00 (which started 40 minutes or so late), we lost most of the day. I got off with Brandon as soon as possible and had about 90 minutes in port before the 2:15 crew return time. It was a really interesting place though, somewhere that you might see on a travel channel, think it looks really cool, but not really want to go there yourself. The city was really small and just built along the water front with one main road, the shops were all very small and dirty, the people all looked fairly impoverished, and it wasn’t as nice of an area as Cozumel, or even Belize. But, it was still really great just because of the authenticity of the city. It felt local and fairly undisturbed by the tourists, especially if you found the right places to look. The area was beautiful and the weather was really hot. We just walked down the main road aways, Brandon bought some sunscreen at a little shop, then we stopped for lunch. We went to some crummy looking local place and had some of the best fried chicken ever! It was so good, and both of us ate for a total of $8, less than that even. Following the lunch, we departed the also somewhat dirty establishment hoping we didn’t pick up tapeworms somehow, and started walking back. Brandon had paid with a $10, meaning he got some change back in the local currency, and seeing as we’re unfortunately not returning to that port, we needed to find a place for him to spend it. We ended up buying what turned out to be what Brandon knows as Leachy(sp) Nuts. I guess these things grow in the area, and in there shell, look like red gerbils with spiky hair. So it’s not the most inviting thing to eat, but you pull it out of its skin and it really has a great taste. He bought the bag and we walked back to the ship taking pictures and eating these weird things. After getting back, we had another tech run, followed by a rehearsal for the show that night. We then played two shows for this singer named Delisco, who I guess won some big reality TV talent contest. He had a great voice though, and we played some good tunes including a Stevie Wonder Medley. Long day when all was said and done, I never worked that long in one day on the ship, as far as actually being on stage playing is concerned.
I guess I should mention that today is Thanksgiving. Unfortunately though, only the US celebrates it, meaning about 99% of the people who work on the ship couldn’t care less about the holiday. Thankfully, the mess is part of that 1% and I was able to have a nice dinner with the usual turkey, ham, potatoes, pumpkin products, and what ever else I’ve been accustomed to over the past 22 years with my family. But it seems like everyone had a good holiday back at home, so I’m glad for that, and all the emails that my family sent me. And of course, I’ve got to be thankful for the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving in a place like Roatan where I’m having a great time playing music and seeing the world, who could ask for anything more right now? And I’m certainly thankful for all my blog readers!
Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way back to Florida, where we will make the change over and quickly head out on the next cruise. Thanks for reading and happy turkey day!
Roatan, Honduras
Yet another visit to a country I’ve never been to, but today unfortunately had a rub. Because of the new dance cast, the band was needed to perform tech runs, or practice shows where the dancers could go through the motions and the singers get used to singing with a live background. So after an early boat drill and a rehearsal directly after around 11:00 (which started 40 minutes or so late), we lost most of the day. I got off with Brandon as soon as possible and had about 90 minutes in port before the 2:15 crew return time. It was a really interesting place though, somewhere that you might see on a travel channel, think it looks really cool, but not really want to go there yourself. The city was really small and just built along the water front with one main road, the shops were all very small and dirty, the people all looked fairly impoverished, and it wasn’t as nice of an area as Cozumel, or even Belize. But, it was still really great just because of the authenticity of the city. It felt local and fairly undisturbed by the tourists, especially if you found the right places to look. The area was beautiful and the weather was really hot. We just walked down the main road aways, Brandon bought some sunscreen at a little shop, then we stopped for lunch. We went to some crummy looking local place and had some of the best fried chicken ever! It was so good, and both of us ate for a total of $8, less than that even. Following the lunch, we departed the also somewhat dirty establishment hoping we didn’t pick up tapeworms somehow, and started walking back. Brandon had paid with a $10, meaning he got some change back in the local currency, and seeing as we’re unfortunately not returning to that port, we needed to find a place for him to spend it. We ended up buying what turned out to be what Brandon knows as Leachy(sp) Nuts. I guess these things grow in the area, and in there shell, look like red gerbils with spiky hair. So it’s not the most inviting thing to eat, but you pull it out of its skin and it really has a great taste. He bought the bag and we walked back to the ship taking pictures and eating these weird things. After getting back, we had another tech run, followed by a rehearsal for the show that night. We then played two shows for this singer named Delisco, who I guess won some big reality TV talent contest. He had a great voice though, and we played some good tunes including a Stevie Wonder Medley. Long day when all was said and done, I never worked that long in one day on the ship, as far as actually being on stage playing is concerned.
I guess I should mention that today is Thanksgiving. Unfortunately though, only the US celebrates it, meaning about 99% of the people who work on the ship couldn’t care less about the holiday. Thankfully, the mess is part of that 1% and I was able to have a nice dinner with the usual turkey, ham, potatoes, pumpkin products, and what ever else I’ve been accustomed to over the past 22 years with my family. But it seems like everyone had a good holiday back at home, so I’m glad for that, and all the emails that my family sent me. And of course, I’ve got to be thankful for the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving in a place like Roatan where I’m having a great time playing music and seeing the world, who could ask for anything more right now? And I’m certainly thankful for all my blog readers!
Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way back to Florida, where we will make the change over and quickly head out on the next cruise. Thanks for reading and happy turkey day!
Belize
Nov 21st
Belize city
After a fun day in Cozumel, I was really excited to get off the ship in Belize. I eventually made it off mid day with Brandon (tenor player) and we started our walk around the city. We’d both been warned by various people to be careful in town as Belize isn’t the safest place in the world, but I can’t say we really heeded that at all. After taking the tender into the port, we walked through the tourist area, which is this really small, separated from the city, mall like sort of area, selling jewelry and alcohol. But as soon as you get outside the gate that keeps the area separate, you walk into a completely different world. I wouldn’t call it scary quite yet, but it certainly wasn’t welcoming. So Brandon and I started to walk along the waterfront for a ways until the path ended and we were forced to turn more into the city. The waterfront walk was nice, and the temperature was really hot, and we hadn’t yet felt threatened, so we thought we were doing fairly well. Then we turned inland and started walking, hoping we could cross through the city to make it back to the water front on the other side. But that was when it got slightly more sketchy. We still felt fairly safe, but the area certainly wasn’t as nice as Cozumel. We were getting a few odd looks here and there, as I’m sure very few tourists venture as far out as we did, and then a strange thing happened as we were walking along side the road. We always tried to stay on busy roads, both for the fact of the safety of being in a more visible area and that they wouldn’t lead us into some really bad corner of town, but there was this strange bus that pulled up next to us as we were walking. It was like a usual tour bus, slightly run down, but it looked like it had people in it. So we’re just walking along side the street, and out of no where, the bus pulls up along side us and drives at our walking pace. It never stops, the door never opens, and we’re on a fairly busy road with nothing of any real interest around. After a minute or two, the bus finally speeds up and joins up with traffic again. We were kindof confused just because it had no real reason that we could see to slow down, never let anyone in or out, never tried to talk to us, and as randomly as it appeared, it eventually sped up and left us to continue walking down the street. So yeah, kind odd, but whatever, just another dumb story from a foreign country.
We eventually veered off the road in the direction of where we thought the port would be and slowly found our selves venturing into busier parts of the city, something we thought was a good sign, and it was. We stopped at one of the many tiny shacks along side the street to buy some water bottles, of which were $3 in Belize currency, or $1.50 US. Then we got to a river, which I figured would take us back to the dock where the tender left us, and fortunately, after journeying down a side street for a while, did return us to where I thought it would. We stopped in a music store along the way to check out some CDs they were selling. Funny enough, they had all the walls filled with illegal copies of music that they were selling. The CD cases were the cheap things you could buy at any office store, they had printed out paper inserts for the cover art and listing of tunes, and I’m sure all the music was just burnt on to blank disks. So there’s an example of something you’ll see in Belize that you won’t see anywhere else.
Right when we were really close to that main area where the tourist hang out, we ran across a stand selling coconuts, and a guy telling people (including myself) to “put the rum in the coconut and shake it all up”. So I figured, with the change I had left over from the water bottles, why not do the local thing of getting a coconut? There was a different guy there with some kind of machete (knife) cutting apart the coconuts in a way that there would be a small whole in the top for the straw/rum. So after buying two coconuts with my change from earlier, we first got the coconut and had to drink some of the water out of it before the rum could go in. The water, let me say, was really really good, and I was actually upset when he topped it off with rum as the only thing I could taste from there on out was the alcohol. It was still good though, and it was funny sitting on the curb with my coconut drinking out of it. They called the drink “rock the boat”, probably because they put so much rum in it that it’d make anything feel like it’s rocking.
Following that, we went back into the tourist area, looked around the shops, Brandon bought a shirt, and we eventually made it back aboard a tender and then the ship in time for a tech run of All Access, one of the two production shows we still play. But we had a great day, didn’t get killed, and I’m looking forward to going back soon to explore a couple different areas, and maybe get another coconut! Thanks for reading!
Belize city
After a fun day in Cozumel, I was really excited to get off the ship in Belize. I eventually made it off mid day with Brandon (tenor player) and we started our walk around the city. We’d both been warned by various people to be careful in town as Belize isn’t the safest place in the world, but I can’t say we really heeded that at all. After taking the tender into the port, we walked through the tourist area, which is this really small, separated from the city, mall like sort of area, selling jewelry and alcohol. But as soon as you get outside the gate that keeps the area separate, you walk into a completely different world. I wouldn’t call it scary quite yet, but it certainly wasn’t welcoming. So Brandon and I started to walk along the waterfront for a ways until the path ended and we were forced to turn more into the city. The waterfront walk was nice, and the temperature was really hot, and we hadn’t yet felt threatened, so we thought we were doing fairly well. Then we turned inland and started walking, hoping we could cross through the city to make it back to the water front on the other side. But that was when it got slightly more sketchy. We still felt fairly safe, but the area certainly wasn’t as nice as Cozumel. We were getting a few odd looks here and there, as I’m sure very few tourists venture as far out as we did, and then a strange thing happened as we were walking along side the road. We always tried to stay on busy roads, both for the fact of the safety of being in a more visible area and that they wouldn’t lead us into some really bad corner of town, but there was this strange bus that pulled up next to us as we were walking. It was like a usual tour bus, slightly run down, but it looked like it had people in it. So we’re just walking along side the street, and out of no where, the bus pulls up along side us and drives at our walking pace. It never stops, the door never opens, and we’re on a fairly busy road with nothing of any real interest around. After a minute or two, the bus finally speeds up and joins up with traffic again. We were kindof confused just because it had no real reason that we could see to slow down, never let anyone in or out, never tried to talk to us, and as randomly as it appeared, it eventually sped up and left us to continue walking down the street. So yeah, kind odd, but whatever, just another dumb story from a foreign country.
We eventually veered off the road in the direction of where we thought the port would be and slowly found our selves venturing into busier parts of the city, something we thought was a good sign, and it was. We stopped at one of the many tiny shacks along side the street to buy some water bottles, of which were $3 in Belize currency, or $1.50 US. Then we got to a river, which I figured would take us back to the dock where the tender left us, and fortunately, after journeying down a side street for a while, did return us to where I thought it would. We stopped in a music store along the way to check out some CDs they were selling. Funny enough, they had all the walls filled with illegal copies of music that they were selling. The CD cases were the cheap things you could buy at any office store, they had printed out paper inserts for the cover art and listing of tunes, and I’m sure all the music was just burnt on to blank disks. So there’s an example of something you’ll see in Belize that you won’t see anywhere else.
Right when we were really close to that main area where the tourist hang out, we ran across a stand selling coconuts, and a guy telling people (including myself) to “put the rum in the coconut and shake it all up”. So I figured, with the change I had left over from the water bottles, why not do the local thing of getting a coconut? There was a different guy there with some kind of machete (knife) cutting apart the coconuts in a way that there would be a small whole in the top for the straw/rum. So after buying two coconuts with my change from earlier, we first got the coconut and had to drink some of the water out of it before the rum could go in. The water, let me say, was really really good, and I was actually upset when he topped it off with rum as the only thing I could taste from there on out was the alcohol. It was still good though, and it was funny sitting on the curb with my coconut drinking out of it. They called the drink “rock the boat”, probably because they put so much rum in it that it’d make anything feel like it’s rocking.
Following that, we went back into the tourist area, looked around the shops, Brandon bought a shirt, and we eventually made it back aboard a tender and then the ship in time for a tech run of All Access, one of the two production shows we still play. But we had a great day, didn’t get killed, and I’m looking forward to going back soon to explore a couple different areas, and maybe get another coconut! Thanks for reading!
Cozumel
Nov 20th
Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel was our first stop, and my first Caribbean port on the ship. I got off the ship with Pieter, Brandon, and Thad, and we walked from the dock to into the city. Unfortunately, the dock that our ship is given is about a 25 minute walk outside of the city area, but it was nice to get to walk along the water front. When we finally made it into the city, there was a parade going on, who knows what for. But that was really neat seeing this parade happen with all the locals walking in different groups, dressed up, and all the different themes. When we were just getting into the city, we ended up catching just the last part of the parade, but towards the back was a large group of people making huge human pyramids, like the kinds where you stand on each other’s shoulders. That was great to see and I got a picture of it. Then we walked through the main part of the city, or the touristy part that is along the water. It’s not till you go inland a couple blocks that the scenery completely changes. And that’s really all it takes, 1 or 2 blocks in and you feel like you’re in a completely different part of Mexico. We found a place for lunch and I had some of the best chips and salsa and guacamole that I’ve ever tasted. I had ordered chicken empanadas, I think, which were great. Following that, we all made our way back into the city and split up a bit to look for different things. Then we all met up at a place entitled “No Name Bar”, which was a really hip place for people from the ship. It has an outdoor bar with a big pool and small beach, and when we got there, half of the cruise staff division of the ship seemed to already have settled in. We hung out there for a bit, then left to go to a super market for various items, and eventually headed back to the ship. That night was a big band set, so fairly easy day for us. But all in all, we had a beautiful day, hot, and it was really great to get to see Mexico. I’m certainly looking forward to the next time we stop there.
Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel was our first stop, and my first Caribbean port on the ship. I got off the ship with Pieter, Brandon, and Thad, and we walked from the dock to into the city. Unfortunately, the dock that our ship is given is about a 25 minute walk outside of the city area, but it was nice to get to walk along the water front. When we finally made it into the city, there was a parade going on, who knows what for. But that was really neat seeing this parade happen with all the locals walking in different groups, dressed up, and all the different themes. When we were just getting into the city, we ended up catching just the last part of the parade, but towards the back was a large group of people making huge human pyramids, like the kinds where you stand on each other’s shoulders. That was great to see and I got a picture of it. Then we walked through the main part of the city, or the touristy part that is along the water. It’s not till you go inland a couple blocks that the scenery completely changes. And that’s really all it takes, 1 or 2 blocks in and you feel like you’re in a completely different part of Mexico. We found a place for lunch and I had some of the best chips and salsa and guacamole that I’ve ever tasted. I had ordered chicken empanadas, I think, which were great. Following that, we all made our way back into the city and split up a bit to look for different things. Then we all met up at a place entitled “No Name Bar”, which was a really hip place for people from the ship. It has an outdoor bar with a big pool and small beach, and when we got there, half of the cruise staff division of the ship seemed to already have settled in. We hung out there for a bit, then left to go to a super market for various items, and eventually headed back to the ship. That night was a big band set, so fairly easy day for us. But all in all, we had a beautiful day, hot, and it was really great to get to see Mexico. I’m certainly looking forward to the next time we stop there.
Fort Lauderdale/Sea day
Nov 18th and 19th
Fort Lauderdale/Sea day
Home sweet home, after four months, I’m finally back in the U.S.A! But unfortunately, I spent the entire day on the ship. Due to it being our first day in the country, and considering that the ship has about 1200 people working on it not from the states, we needed to go through an entire crew immigration before being allowed off the ship. That took about half the day however, and then after making a few phone calls home, there wasn’t really anytime left to still get off the ship. So I just spent the rest of the day onboard, kind of anticlimactic after 6 sea days, but it was nice to at least sea Florida from the ship. The dancers and skaters all went home the 18th, which is sad. It’s hard to see them go, but they certainly deserve to return home.
We played a welcome aboard show that evening, or a watered down one because the new dancers weren’t yet ready to perform that show. Following that, we had our parade, something we’re going to have to get used to doing every 4 or 5 days…whoopee…
The 19th was a sea day spent traveling to Cozumel. Like most sea days, nothing super exciting that day. I did however have a side job to do in the morning. On the ship, there are a number of part time jobs that musicians and dancers often end up filling because of our relaxed schedule, and the jobs are so small that they don’t warrant bringing a new employee aboard. So that morning, I was working with the discover shopping people in the shopping show that they do n the first sea day of each cruise. The show simply presents where the best places to shop are and gives tips and finding what you might be looking for, along with giving away a bunch of free prizes throughout the show. So my job is to help make the show run smoothly by handing out maps and other materials that could be helpful in port, distributing coupon books to those who decide to by them, and just dealing with the guest as they come in and out of the presentation. It’s a three hour job, and at $10 per hour, is a nice way to just make some money on the side that I don’t have to feel so bad about blowing in the ports. That aside, the rest of the day wasn’t anything too spectacular, just the usual shows at night. But tomorrow will be Cozumel, and with that, my first time in Mexico!
Fort Lauderdale/Sea day
Home sweet home, after four months, I’m finally back in the U.S.A! But unfortunately, I spent the entire day on the ship. Due to it being our first day in the country, and considering that the ship has about 1200 people working on it not from the states, we needed to go through an entire crew immigration before being allowed off the ship. That took about half the day however, and then after making a few phone calls home, there wasn’t really anytime left to still get off the ship. So I just spent the rest of the day onboard, kind of anticlimactic after 6 sea days, but it was nice to at least sea Florida from the ship. The dancers and skaters all went home the 18th, which is sad. It’s hard to see them go, but they certainly deserve to return home.
We played a welcome aboard show that evening, or a watered down one because the new dancers weren’t yet ready to perform that show. Following that, we had our parade, something we’re going to have to get used to doing every 4 or 5 days…whoopee…
The 19th was a sea day spent traveling to Cozumel. Like most sea days, nothing super exciting that day. I did however have a side job to do in the morning. On the ship, there are a number of part time jobs that musicians and dancers often end up filling because of our relaxed schedule, and the jobs are so small that they don’t warrant bringing a new employee aboard. So that morning, I was working with the discover shopping people in the shopping show that they do n the first sea day of each cruise. The show simply presents where the best places to shop are and gives tips and finding what you might be looking for, along with giving away a bunch of free prizes throughout the show. So my job is to help make the show run smoothly by handing out maps and other materials that could be helpful in port, distributing coupon books to those who decide to by them, and just dealing with the guest as they come in and out of the presentation. It’s a three hour job, and at $10 per hour, is a nice way to just make some money on the side that I don’t have to feel so bad about blowing in the ports. That aside, the rest of the day wasn’t anything too spectacular, just the usual shows at night. But tomorrow will be Cozumel, and with that, my first time in Mexico!
Last Sea Day
Nov 17th
At sea
Today was our last of 6 sea days crossing the Atlantic, and was about as eventful as all the others. We had a farewell show to play that night, just like any other cruise we do, and the instead of the jazz set with the singers as we usually do, we did a big band jazz set with a improv emphasis. Following that, most of the band made it upstairs to the SOB to wish the singers and dancers farewell. I said a few goodbyes, and then went out on the bow to reflect a bit before actually getting to America. And following that long reflection, decided to come back to the room and write out my post right now. So, to reflect…
I’ve been on the ship 4 months now, pretty much to the day. Tomorrow is technically the 4 month anniversary, but I first arrived in Barcelona on the 17th of July. It’s unbelievable when I think back to the four months I just spent traveling Europe. In a mere 4 months, I’ve probably been to more countries than virtually everyone I know at home. And the best part is that I’ve been getting paid to do it, and paid to play music a couple hours a night. It seems too good to be true, but it is true and you’ve seen some of the pictures to prove it. It was strange being able to look out over the bow and see lights from what must be Florida, it gives a really interesting “going home” feeling. Being American and returning to America is a position I’ve never been in before, and returning by boat that just sailed across the Atlantic only emphasizes this feeling. It’s a strange culmination, a closing of a chapter under a star filled sky, watching as the city lights grow in intensity. I’ve concluded 4 months of being on the other side of the world, and it’s as if I’m about to embark on a completely different journey, which in many ways, I am.
The dancers and skaters are all signing off tomorrow, which is going to be hard for many of us the next few days. I think it’ll be especially hard for me because they’ve been my first ship family. For 4 months, I’ve lived with them and worked with them, and so many of them are now great friends that I hate to see go. I now have friends in Finland, Australia, Italy, England, Argentina, and so many other places that I can’t get in my car and drive to. It makes for a real strange goodbye too, cause unlike graduation, you know everyone will most likely stay close, or it’ll be relatively easy to get in touch, especially in the following days. With these friends, they all fly out to all over the world, and I can’t believe that this group will ever be together again in such away that we just were. Tomorrow I’ll be letting go of a lot of friends who have meant a lot to me in these first 4 months of ship life, and I have no doubt that it’ll be odd next week getting to know a new cast, but I guess that’s the life I signed up for. But hey, I’m a better person for knowing these people, even if it was for a short while, and I’ve been able to experience people in a way Chicago just can’t offer. It’s like, I know a lot of people at home who are Italian, but having Italian friends on the ship like Sonia and Gianni, is a completely different experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful for these relationships.
It’s sad to know everyone is leaving for other things, but also invigorating because it reminds me of all the other things still in front of me. Between the next two months in the Caribbean, time at home to catch up, and two months in Hong Kong, I know my journey is just beginning. I can only hope that my path continues to remind me of the friends I’ve made along the way. Also, I hope to never lose sight of this great chance to see the world, and that this has been made a reality through something I love, music. Like I said, tomorrow isn’t going to be easy, but it’s the first of many departures that will separate me from some of the best friends someone could ask for. But I’m better for knowing them than if I stayed in Chicago, and thanks to the magic of facebook (an online social community), I can keep in contact with everyone with just a few simple clicks. So I guess it’s by no means over if I don’t want it to be, but that doesn’t make it any easier knowing that they all will be flying to everywhere in the world but Chicago.
But I’m here on a beautiful ship in a beautiful part of the world I’ve yet to experience, I’ve still got good friends around and a great new opportunity to make some more, and 2 months to keep living a lifestyle that I don’t believe can be beat. Onward to the next chapter of my cruise experience, sure to be filled with more great stories and journeys, along with extraordinary people.
At sea
Today was our last of 6 sea days crossing the Atlantic, and was about as eventful as all the others. We had a farewell show to play that night, just like any other cruise we do, and the instead of the jazz set with the singers as we usually do, we did a big band jazz set with a improv emphasis. Following that, most of the band made it upstairs to the SOB to wish the singers and dancers farewell. I said a few goodbyes, and then went out on the bow to reflect a bit before actually getting to America. And following that long reflection, decided to come back to the room and write out my post right now. So, to reflect…
I’ve been on the ship 4 months now, pretty much to the day. Tomorrow is technically the 4 month anniversary, but I first arrived in Barcelona on the 17th of July. It’s unbelievable when I think back to the four months I just spent traveling Europe. In a mere 4 months, I’ve probably been to more countries than virtually everyone I know at home. And the best part is that I’ve been getting paid to do it, and paid to play music a couple hours a night. It seems too good to be true, but it is true and you’ve seen some of the pictures to prove it. It was strange being able to look out over the bow and see lights from what must be Florida, it gives a really interesting “going home” feeling. Being American and returning to America is a position I’ve never been in before, and returning by boat that just sailed across the Atlantic only emphasizes this feeling. It’s a strange culmination, a closing of a chapter under a star filled sky, watching as the city lights grow in intensity. I’ve concluded 4 months of being on the other side of the world, and it’s as if I’m about to embark on a completely different journey, which in many ways, I am.
The dancers and skaters are all signing off tomorrow, which is going to be hard for many of us the next few days. I think it’ll be especially hard for me because they’ve been my first ship family. For 4 months, I’ve lived with them and worked with them, and so many of them are now great friends that I hate to see go. I now have friends in Finland, Australia, Italy, England, Argentina, and so many other places that I can’t get in my car and drive to. It makes for a real strange goodbye too, cause unlike graduation, you know everyone will most likely stay close, or it’ll be relatively easy to get in touch, especially in the following days. With these friends, they all fly out to all over the world, and I can’t believe that this group will ever be together again in such away that we just were. Tomorrow I’ll be letting go of a lot of friends who have meant a lot to me in these first 4 months of ship life, and I have no doubt that it’ll be odd next week getting to know a new cast, but I guess that’s the life I signed up for. But hey, I’m a better person for knowing these people, even if it was for a short while, and I’ve been able to experience people in a way Chicago just can’t offer. It’s like, I know a lot of people at home who are Italian, but having Italian friends on the ship like Sonia and Gianni, is a completely different experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful for these relationships.
It’s sad to know everyone is leaving for other things, but also invigorating because it reminds me of all the other things still in front of me. Between the next two months in the Caribbean, time at home to catch up, and two months in Hong Kong, I know my journey is just beginning. I can only hope that my path continues to remind me of the friends I’ve made along the way. Also, I hope to never lose sight of this great chance to see the world, and that this has been made a reality through something I love, music. Like I said, tomorrow isn’t going to be easy, but it’s the first of many departures that will separate me from some of the best friends someone could ask for. But I’m better for knowing them than if I stayed in Chicago, and thanks to the magic of facebook (an online social community), I can keep in contact with everyone with just a few simple clicks. So I guess it’s by no means over if I don’t want it to be, but that doesn’t make it any easier knowing that they all will be flying to everywhere in the world but Chicago.
But I’m here on a beautiful ship in a beautiful part of the world I’ve yet to experience, I’ve still got good friends around and a great new opportunity to make some more, and 2 months to keep living a lifestyle that I don’t believe can be beat. Onward to the next chapter of my cruise experience, sure to be filled with more great stories and journeys, along with extraordinary people.
Sea days
Nov 13th - 16th
Sea days
As we continue our way across the atlantic, there’s not really all that much to write about as there’s only a limited number of things to do. The 13th we had the All Access production show to play, a show we haven’t played in at least a month. The 14th was the return of Antonio Salci, a Yanni like pianist. The rehearsal for that show always sucks, but the show itself isn’t too bad to play because he features the horn section. I had a number of sax and flute solos, including a few on Amazing Grace where I had to go to the front of the stage and play blues licks. People seemed to really enjoy my playing and a lot of people from the crew approached me the following day to let me know. And supposedly, Antonio talked to Ron (drummer) about getting his and my contact info for doing a tour sometime, which would be really cool. Now, as any musician finds out, people come up to you all the time saying all sorts of things about possible gigs and playing opportunities, but coming from this guy who said he’s only ever approached 8 musicians on ships about something like this, I can still take it as a compliment, right? Then that night we had a crew party on the back deck, which I stopped at for a minute and soon left because they didn’t have any food.
The 15th was our last time playing “Once upon a Time”. The show is leaving the ship and won’t be played ever again onboard the Navigator. So it was an emotional show for most of the cast who is getting off the ship in a couple days, and it’s kind of strange for the band as well seeing as we’ve been playing it for months. Following the shows, we had a jazz set to play, and then went to the Dancer/Skater party.
And the 16th was a day off. Nothing at all to report back home about. Tomorrow will be our last sea day, and then I’ll finally be able to set foot on land once again, or at least sea land again. The sea days have been fine though, just boring. The weather has been great with calm seas, so as far as crossings go, I’m sure everyone is pleased. But that’s all for now, thanks for reading!
Sea days
As we continue our way across the atlantic, there’s not really all that much to write about as there’s only a limited number of things to do. The 13th we had the All Access production show to play, a show we haven’t played in at least a month. The 14th was the return of Antonio Salci, a Yanni like pianist. The rehearsal for that show always sucks, but the show itself isn’t too bad to play because he features the horn section. I had a number of sax and flute solos, including a few on Amazing Grace where I had to go to the front of the stage and play blues licks. People seemed to really enjoy my playing and a lot of people from the crew approached me the following day to let me know. And supposedly, Antonio talked to Ron (drummer) about getting his and my contact info for doing a tour sometime, which would be really cool. Now, as any musician finds out, people come up to you all the time saying all sorts of things about possible gigs and playing opportunities, but coming from this guy who said he’s only ever approached 8 musicians on ships about something like this, I can still take it as a compliment, right? Then that night we had a crew party on the back deck, which I stopped at for a minute and soon left because they didn’t have any food.
The 15th was our last time playing “Once upon a Time”. The show is leaving the ship and won’t be played ever again onboard the Navigator. So it was an emotional show for most of the cast who is getting off the ship in a couple days, and it’s kind of strange for the band as well seeing as we’ve been playing it for months. Following the shows, we had a jazz set to play, and then went to the Dancer/Skater party.
And the 16th was a day off. Nothing at all to report back home about. Tomorrow will be our last sea day, and then I’ll finally be able to set foot on land once again, or at least sea land again. The sea days have been fine though, just boring. The weather has been great with calm seas, so as far as crossings go, I’m sure everyone is pleased. But that’s all for now, thanks for reading!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Note on recent posts
Hey Everyone!
As you can see, I updated the posts for the first time in about a week, so now you have some new stories to read. I've been lazy with the pictures unfortunately, but I will try to get caught up with all of that. All the pictures are here on my computer, I just haven't gone through the selection process and uploading process yet because it's a pain and I've been busy with some other projects, but they'll get up while I'm sailing across the Atlantic.
Note on recent news about doing another ship. I said in the last southampton post that I'll be going on the Splendour, but that is no longer the case. It's been really weird trying to get this worked out with the office, but I think we've finally worked out a plan. My original request was to get on the Rhapsody, and the office did let me know there was an opening on the rhap and splen, both of which were for less than 2 months. The rhap then had complications with the dates, leaving the splen, and after accepting I wrote the post. Things have changed though, the Rhap is back open and I decided to switch back to accepting that contract. This means, as of now, I'll be signing on the the Rhap on March 17th for 7 weeks or so, and I'll be cruising out of Hong Kong, going to Japan, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, and everywhere in that area. I was hoping to stay on till the end of may where I'd be able to ride back with the ship across the Pacific, through Alaska, into Seattle, but that isn't currently within the contract length. But that's the official news as of now for what's next. I'm really excited about the Itinerary, kind of bummed that I'm not going to brazil anymore, but I'd rather get on the only RCCL asian ship while I have he chance.
When I get the photos up, they'll all be in folders based on location, just as they've always been, so it shouldn't be hard for you to get caught up with all the pics.
That aside, I'll be in Florida on the 18th, I believe, and will start doing the Caribbean cruises that day. I hope all is well at home or wherever you are as you read this, and have a great one!
Mike
As you can see, I updated the posts for the first time in about a week, so now you have some new stories to read. I've been lazy with the pictures unfortunately, but I will try to get caught up with all of that. All the pictures are here on my computer, I just haven't gone through the selection process and uploading process yet because it's a pain and I've been busy with some other projects, but they'll get up while I'm sailing across the Atlantic.
Note on recent news about doing another ship. I said in the last southampton post that I'll be going on the Splendour, but that is no longer the case. It's been really weird trying to get this worked out with the office, but I think we've finally worked out a plan. My original request was to get on the Rhapsody, and the office did let me know there was an opening on the rhap and splen, both of which were for less than 2 months. The rhap then had complications with the dates, leaving the splen, and after accepting I wrote the post. Things have changed though, the Rhap is back open and I decided to switch back to accepting that contract. This means, as of now, I'll be signing on the the Rhap on March 17th for 7 weeks or so, and I'll be cruising out of Hong Kong, going to Japan, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, and everywhere in that area. I was hoping to stay on till the end of may where I'd be able to ride back with the ship across the Pacific, through Alaska, into Seattle, but that isn't currently within the contract length. But that's the official news as of now for what's next. I'm really excited about the Itinerary, kind of bummed that I'm not going to brazil anymore, but I'd rather get on the only RCCL asian ship while I have he chance.
When I get the photos up, they'll all be in folders based on location, just as they've always been, so it shouldn't be hard for you to get caught up with all the pics.
That aside, I'll be in Florida on the 18th, I believe, and will start doing the Caribbean cruises that day. I hope all is well at home or wherever you are as you read this, and have a great one!
Mike
Sea Day/Birthday
Nov 12th
Sea day/Birthday
After waking up late this morning and grabbing some food, I checked my computer and had to go upstairs for a rehearsal for a new show, Chris Riggins. He was a pop-opera singer who took slightly more operatic music and moved it more towards a popular style, or had arrangements of musical theater tunes or something more popular and gave it an operatic flare. He had a nice show, but the music wasn’t exactly the most fun to play, and there were some all around bad charts thrown into the show. The rehearsal went about 90 minutes, and for music that you don’t really like to play, a long rehearsal is a great way to put a negative spin on the day. So following the rehearsal I wasn’t in the best of moods. It’s weird being on a ship for a birthday simply because I can’t really see the people I’d like to see, and considering not everyone knew about it, it made what should be a great day feel very mediocre. I called home following the rehearsal, and in my bad mood, but it’s nice to get to talk to my parents, even if it’s just 15 minutes.
Following that, I just hung around, did my usual thing, grabbed dinner, got a few birthday wishes here and there from people who had checked there facebook that day. I had another crown and anchor big band set to play, which went better that the first, but still hasn’t high on my list of things I’d like to do on my birthday. It really wasn’t till the second show that night till everyone started to pick up that it was my birthday. That made the second show a little better though, everyone’s mood started to lighten, and I started to have a better time. We hung out that night up in the SOB (staff and officer’s bar), and had a good time. I’ve never spent a birthday at a bar, but then again, I’ve never had a birthday in the middle of the Atlantic on a cruise ship either. But it was a nice night, everyone was having a good time, and it reminded me that I do have some good friends here on the ship that want me to have a good time. But all in all, it was maybe not the most exciting Birthday ever, we weren’t in any cool ports, didn’t have any big party, but it wasn’t the worst (that’s a nice thought, right?). And now, my birthday gets stretched out as everyone who didn’t hear about it last night slowly finds out and start being really nice because the missed the actual day, ha. Anyways, I’m behind on getting these posts online and I’m guessing people might be checking these next couple days. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, I’ll try to get back to you all really soon. And if you missed it, no problem, still say hi sometime as I’d love to hear from you. Have a great one!
Sea day/Birthday
After waking up late this morning and grabbing some food, I checked my computer and had to go upstairs for a rehearsal for a new show, Chris Riggins. He was a pop-opera singer who took slightly more operatic music and moved it more towards a popular style, or had arrangements of musical theater tunes or something more popular and gave it an operatic flare. He had a nice show, but the music wasn’t exactly the most fun to play, and there were some all around bad charts thrown into the show. The rehearsal went about 90 minutes, and for music that you don’t really like to play, a long rehearsal is a great way to put a negative spin on the day. So following the rehearsal I wasn’t in the best of moods. It’s weird being on a ship for a birthday simply because I can’t really see the people I’d like to see, and considering not everyone knew about it, it made what should be a great day feel very mediocre. I called home following the rehearsal, and in my bad mood, but it’s nice to get to talk to my parents, even if it’s just 15 minutes.
Following that, I just hung around, did my usual thing, grabbed dinner, got a few birthday wishes here and there from people who had checked there facebook that day. I had another crown and anchor big band set to play, which went better that the first, but still hasn’t high on my list of things I’d like to do on my birthday. It really wasn’t till the second show that night till everyone started to pick up that it was my birthday. That made the second show a little better though, everyone’s mood started to lighten, and I started to have a better time. We hung out that night up in the SOB (staff and officer’s bar), and had a good time. I’ve never spent a birthday at a bar, but then again, I’ve never had a birthday in the middle of the Atlantic on a cruise ship either. But it was a nice night, everyone was having a good time, and it reminded me that I do have some good friends here on the ship that want me to have a good time. But all in all, it was maybe not the most exciting Birthday ever, we weren’t in any cool ports, didn’t have any big party, but it wasn’t the worst (that’s a nice thought, right?). And now, my birthday gets stretched out as everyone who didn’t hear about it last night slowly finds out and start being really nice because the missed the actual day, ha. Anyways, I’m behind on getting these posts online and I’m guessing people might be checking these next couple days. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, I’ll try to get back to you all really soon. And if you missed it, no problem, still say hi sometime as I’d love to hear from you. Have a great one!
Santa Cruz
Nov 11th
Santa Cruz
I yet again attempted to do another tour, and yet again didn’t get it to work out. This time, there just wasn’t enough space to send an escort, which happens, but I’d have really liked to see more of the island during the 10 hours we spent in port. Instead, I got off the ship in the afternoon and walked around the city trying to spend the rest of my euros. I walked along the waterfront for a ways till I got past all the busy shops and touristy areas until I came to a restaurant. I decided to get a sandwich, an exciting ham and cheese sandwich (which was good), and just hang out for a while. After spending some money there (I’m pretty sure he charged me too much, but whatever, I need to get rid of the currency), I continued walking, taking pictures, and finding snacks to buy. I bought this great pretzel at one café, and got some shoe polish at a grocery store (a necessary buy). I started to walk up the hill to explore more of the city in the extra hour or so I had left, and bean talking with an older local man who came up to me and asked me something in Spanish. After explaining I didn’t speak much of his language, he picked up on the fact that I at least know a little, at which point he became determined to have a conversation with me. So between my broken Spanish and his broken English, we talked for 15 minutes or so about the ship, the area, where I was from, and everything else I could remember a Spanish word for. It was funny though, and I thought it was a nice experience to conclude the European part of my trip with. I eventually made it back to the ship after running into a few band friends on the island, and then played a usual big band dance set that night.
After the set though, as soon as the clock struck 12, it became Nov 12th, and therefore my Birthday. So I caught up with Pieter and Brandon and we went to the crew talent show, something musicians were not allowed to participate in. The show was actually fun to watch, especially some of the performers. Imagine a guy from the Philippines doing an Elvis impression. So we watched the show, had some wine in celebration of my BDay, and I eventually made it to bed later that night. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and my first day at 22!
Santa Cruz
I yet again attempted to do another tour, and yet again didn’t get it to work out. This time, there just wasn’t enough space to send an escort, which happens, but I’d have really liked to see more of the island during the 10 hours we spent in port. Instead, I got off the ship in the afternoon and walked around the city trying to spend the rest of my euros. I walked along the waterfront for a ways till I got past all the busy shops and touristy areas until I came to a restaurant. I decided to get a sandwich, an exciting ham and cheese sandwich (which was good), and just hang out for a while. After spending some money there (I’m pretty sure he charged me too much, but whatever, I need to get rid of the currency), I continued walking, taking pictures, and finding snacks to buy. I bought this great pretzel at one café, and got some shoe polish at a grocery store (a necessary buy). I started to walk up the hill to explore more of the city in the extra hour or so I had left, and bean talking with an older local man who came up to me and asked me something in Spanish. After explaining I didn’t speak much of his language, he picked up on the fact that I at least know a little, at which point he became determined to have a conversation with me. So between my broken Spanish and his broken English, we talked for 15 minutes or so about the ship, the area, where I was from, and everything else I could remember a Spanish word for. It was funny though, and I thought it was a nice experience to conclude the European part of my trip with. I eventually made it back to the ship after running into a few band friends on the island, and then played a usual big band dance set that night.
After the set though, as soon as the clock struck 12, it became Nov 12th, and therefore my Birthday. So I caught up with Pieter and Brandon and we went to the crew talent show, something musicians were not allowed to participate in. The show was actually fun to watch, especially some of the performers. Imagine a guy from the Philippines doing an Elvis impression. So we watched the show, had some wine in celebration of my BDay, and I eventually made it to bed later that night. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and my first day at 22!
Funchal
Nov 10th
Funchal
Today was our last stop on the lovely island of Madeira. Again I’d signed up for a tour, and again, something got in the way. I was lucky enough to get on the Toboggan tour, in which you take a cable car up the mountain, and then as a part of the local history, ride down on a wooden toboggan. The toboggan is pretty much just a wooden/wicker looking crate with wooden rails, and after a few passengers get in it, the locals push you down the road, running along side this wood box, making sure you don’t crash into anything. They can control the speed of the thing to as fast or slow as you feel comfortable. And literally, it’s just a group of people sitting in a box letting gravity overcome the friction on the wood against the pavement. People who have done it on past tours all seemed to like it, so I was excited to get to go on this local “thrill ride”, but we had Boat drill that morning. Usually I can get out of the drill without any problems, but today they were doing something extra on the starboard side, my side, that resulted in the entire side being required to be there no matter what. And the dumbest thing is that nothing extra happened to my station, which is always the case because we’re at a different section of the ship, not directly near the life rafts. Maybe this could be a bad thing in case of a real emergency, but it means we never really do anything for the boat drills. So anyways, I missed my departure time and couldn’t go on the tour. I ended up staying aboard till the afternoon, when I eventually got off the ship to walk around the city for a few hours. I had a nice walk and got a few more pictures of the area, spent some of my remaining euros, and even did some shopping at a grocery store – I was out of tooth paste. And oddly enough, the store only really sold Colgate and a few other off brands, which didn’t make me happy because I’ve always been a Crest guy, but whatever. I came back to the ship for a 4:00 rehearsal with Jacqui Scott, a show we’ve all played before, played the gig that night and that was about it for Funchal. Tomorrow is Santa Cruz, La Palma, a new island we haven’t yet visited. Seeya!
Funchal
Today was our last stop on the lovely island of Madeira. Again I’d signed up for a tour, and again, something got in the way. I was lucky enough to get on the Toboggan tour, in which you take a cable car up the mountain, and then as a part of the local history, ride down on a wooden toboggan. The toboggan is pretty much just a wooden/wicker looking crate with wooden rails, and after a few passengers get in it, the locals push you down the road, running along side this wood box, making sure you don’t crash into anything. They can control the speed of the thing to as fast or slow as you feel comfortable. And literally, it’s just a group of people sitting in a box letting gravity overcome the friction on the wood against the pavement. People who have done it on past tours all seemed to like it, so I was excited to get to go on this local “thrill ride”, but we had Boat drill that morning. Usually I can get out of the drill without any problems, but today they were doing something extra on the starboard side, my side, that resulted in the entire side being required to be there no matter what. And the dumbest thing is that nothing extra happened to my station, which is always the case because we’re at a different section of the ship, not directly near the life rafts. Maybe this could be a bad thing in case of a real emergency, but it means we never really do anything for the boat drills. So anyways, I missed my departure time and couldn’t go on the tour. I ended up staying aboard till the afternoon, when I eventually got off the ship to walk around the city for a few hours. I had a nice walk and got a few more pictures of the area, spent some of my remaining euros, and even did some shopping at a grocery store – I was out of tooth paste. And oddly enough, the store only really sold Colgate and a few other off brands, which didn’t make me happy because I’ve always been a Crest guy, but whatever. I came back to the ship for a 4:00 rehearsal with Jacqui Scott, a show we’ve all played before, played the gig that night and that was about it for Funchal. Tomorrow is Santa Cruz, La Palma, a new island we haven’t yet visited. Seeya!
Lisbon/Sea Day
Nov 8th and 9th
Lisbon/Sea day
The 8th was my final visit to Lisbon, and unfortunately didn’t work out exactly as planned. First of all, I’d signed up for a walking tour through the city, which I was excited for, but I didn’t get the phone message the previous day I was looking for. Pieter let me know mid day that he was meeting up with a local friend who was taking him out for a tour of the area by car and invited me to come, so I quickly got my things together to meet Pieter outside. Well, somehow we managed to never find each other outside the terminal, and after 20 minutes of looking, we both gave up. However, that meant he left for a cool tour while I walked back onto the ship. We can’t figure out exactly what happened, and I know he waited because I have a phone call on my machine from him, just somehow we managed to screw up this simple task. So I went back to the ship and didn’t get off till later in the day, when I went for a walk with Brandon (new tenor player). We just walked into the city, eventually stopped at some place to get a sandwich, and headed back to the ship. I wanted to stop for food and found this local hole in the wall place that seemed to be where a lot of locals hung out, most around my age. So I went to the counter to order a sandwich, to which the Portuguese kind of looked at me in the confusion that comes from speaking a different language. He did figure out what it was that I wanted and made a gesture towards this block of meat he had on display under the counter. After seeing his double thumbs up stamp of approval on the mystery meat, Brandon and I both got the sandwich and something to drink. So we go back to eat it, this thickly sliced piece of something or other served on a roll of some sort, without a condiment to be seen. Oddly enough, the sandwich has absolutely no taste. I don’t have a clue what that meat was that we were eating, but it somehow had absolutely no flavor. And I mean none, nothing good or bad about it, it’s quite miraculous really that such a meat exists and is sold to people, but we were both completely boggled by this thing we were eating. I think we decided it must be someone’s dog, obviously a joke, but there were no visual clues either to aid the meat identity mystery. And even more odd is the fact that the jolly guy behind the counter thought it was great. I was glad to have experienced it, I guess, but I’m now sure that my palate is slightly above the tasteless drywall sandwich I had that day.
That evening we were supposed to play Pete Mathew’s show for the last time, but due to an emergency at home, Pete was unable to make it in. Considering Pete is the one entertainer that the entire band enjoys and likes to hang with, everyone was quite disappointed. But instead, we got the night off while the comedian got moved up to fill the space. And I guess that’s about it for my farewell to Lisbon.
Oh…..I did go up to the top deck to see the ship sail under the bridge that leaves the city, I forget the name of it, but it’s a beautiful structure. And watching the ship just barely squeeze under it was an amazing feat in itself.
The next day I figured out that the voicemail indicator light on my room phone doesn’t flash, meaning that when I checked the phone for messages, I found 7 unheard messages left over the past few days. One of which could have gotten me on a tour in Lisbon, which I now feel bad about flat out missing. So I put a call into the service department to get it fixed, but I’m sure it’s going to end up taking longer than expected.
Nothing real important happened on the sea day, at least not that I remember. We had a new entertainer to play for, Jon Courtney, who played piano, sang, and made some jokes. He did a good job and the show was nice enough to play, I never mind getting new music to read.
We did have a Crown and Anchor event to play though, something that doesn’t usually happen. C&A is for return guests, and this cruise just so happens to have 1700 returning passengers, about 10 times more people than usual. Because of this large number, a couple events were planned in the theater where the band had to play an hour-long big band set. The set that day didn’t go so well for a number of reasons, most of which I’ll blame on the brass section. But it was a busy day between a rehearsal for a new show, the two shows that night, and an extra big band set in a format know one was used to. But it’s a sea day, can’t hurt to be busy, sort of.
Lisbon/Sea day
The 8th was my final visit to Lisbon, and unfortunately didn’t work out exactly as planned. First of all, I’d signed up for a walking tour through the city, which I was excited for, but I didn’t get the phone message the previous day I was looking for. Pieter let me know mid day that he was meeting up with a local friend who was taking him out for a tour of the area by car and invited me to come, so I quickly got my things together to meet Pieter outside. Well, somehow we managed to never find each other outside the terminal, and after 20 minutes of looking, we both gave up. However, that meant he left for a cool tour while I walked back onto the ship. We can’t figure out exactly what happened, and I know he waited because I have a phone call on my machine from him, just somehow we managed to screw up this simple task. So I went back to the ship and didn’t get off till later in the day, when I went for a walk with Brandon (new tenor player). We just walked into the city, eventually stopped at some place to get a sandwich, and headed back to the ship. I wanted to stop for food and found this local hole in the wall place that seemed to be where a lot of locals hung out, most around my age. So I went to the counter to order a sandwich, to which the Portuguese kind of looked at me in the confusion that comes from speaking a different language. He did figure out what it was that I wanted and made a gesture towards this block of meat he had on display under the counter. After seeing his double thumbs up stamp of approval on the mystery meat, Brandon and I both got the sandwich and something to drink. So we go back to eat it, this thickly sliced piece of something or other served on a roll of some sort, without a condiment to be seen. Oddly enough, the sandwich has absolutely no taste. I don’t have a clue what that meat was that we were eating, but it somehow had absolutely no flavor. And I mean none, nothing good or bad about it, it’s quite miraculous really that such a meat exists and is sold to people, but we were both completely boggled by this thing we were eating. I think we decided it must be someone’s dog, obviously a joke, but there were no visual clues either to aid the meat identity mystery. And even more odd is the fact that the jolly guy behind the counter thought it was great. I was glad to have experienced it, I guess, but I’m now sure that my palate is slightly above the tasteless drywall sandwich I had that day.
That evening we were supposed to play Pete Mathew’s show for the last time, but due to an emergency at home, Pete was unable to make it in. Considering Pete is the one entertainer that the entire band enjoys and likes to hang with, everyone was quite disappointed. But instead, we got the night off while the comedian got moved up to fill the space. And I guess that’s about it for my farewell to Lisbon.
Oh…..I did go up to the top deck to see the ship sail under the bridge that leaves the city, I forget the name of it, but it’s a beautiful structure. And watching the ship just barely squeeze under it was an amazing feat in itself.
The next day I figured out that the voicemail indicator light on my room phone doesn’t flash, meaning that when I checked the phone for messages, I found 7 unheard messages left over the past few days. One of which could have gotten me on a tour in Lisbon, which I now feel bad about flat out missing. So I put a call into the service department to get it fixed, but I’m sure it’s going to end up taking longer than expected.
Nothing real important happened on the sea day, at least not that I remember. We had a new entertainer to play for, Jon Courtney, who played piano, sang, and made some jokes. He did a good job and the show was nice enough to play, I never mind getting new music to read.
We did have a Crown and Anchor event to play though, something that doesn’t usually happen. C&A is for return guests, and this cruise just so happens to have 1700 returning passengers, about 10 times more people than usual. Because of this large number, a couple events were planned in the theater where the band had to play an hour-long big band set. The set that day didn’t go so well for a number of reasons, most of which I’ll blame on the brass section. But it was a busy day between a rehearsal for a new show, the two shows that night, and an extra big band set in a format know one was used to. But it’s a sea day, can’t hurt to be busy, sort of.
La Coruna
Nov 7th
La Coruna
Today was my first visit to La Coruna, a port in northern Spain. After a rehearsal in the morning for the new tenor player, I eventually made it off the ship to explore the city. I spent a few hours walking around the waterfront of the peninsula the ship was docked at. The city was beautiful, and I had a great walk around the area going through the harbors, by a great light house, to a beach, and then through the city to return back to the ship. That night we played a production show, and I guess that was about it for the day. Check the pictures when I get them online, thanks!
La Coruna
Today was my first visit to La Coruna, a port in northern Spain. After a rehearsal in the morning for the new tenor player, I eventually made it off the ship to explore the city. I spent a few hours walking around the waterfront of the peninsula the ship was docked at. The city was beautiful, and I had a great walk around the area going through the harbors, by a great light house, to a beach, and then through the city to return back to the ship. That night we played a production show, and I guess that was about it for the day. Check the pictures when I get them online, thanks!
Southampton/Sea day
Nov 5th/6th
Southampton/Sea day
The 5th was our final stop in Southampton before making our crossing, so I had to say my goodbyes to England for the time being. I started out the day by sleeping in, eventually woke up for lunch and got off the ship to walk around the mall. I kind of wanted to buy something, but then at the same time, I have a real hard time paying for something in pounds, making everything about twice what it should be. So after walking around there for a while and a phone call back home, I eventually left to get back to the ship for the passenger drill. I then had a rehearsal for the welcome aboard show because of the new tenor player coming on, and also we got our old sound guy back in the theater. So the new tenor player’s name is Brandon, he’s 44 if I recall correctly, and it’s his first ship. He’s a real nice guy, and not a bad player. He’s not as great as Shawn, but he’ll do fine here. And, he seems to have a good personality and is excited to be here, so it should work out great. We played the show, and then I found out the dancers and skaters were having a party. Someone had a cool idea of turning different people’s rooms into different themed bars. So one room was a gay bar, one was a Saloon, and other rooms had some theme or certain drink that was their responsibility. But, put it all together, and it makes for a fun time “bar hopping” between rooms. And all before our parade, which turned out to be the most fun parade ever… But all the dancers and skaters are signing of the ship after the crossing, so this was the first of many parties I’m sure they’ll be having. And I think that was it for the 5th. For those of you who are familiar with “V for Vendetta” – Remember, Remember, the 5th of November… (and I was in England on the fifth, I’d have never guessed that a year ago).
Also, I changed cabins on the 5th. I took Shawn’s old room, who was roommates with my friend Pieter. Pieter stays with his girlfriend onboard the ship in a different room, meaning I get the room to myself, which is nice. He’s rarely here, I get the bottom bunk, and don’t have to worry about having to deal with someone else’s lifestyle…at least till his GF gets off the ship in 6 weeks. Hopefully this setup will work out fine and I’ll get a nice chunk of time to myself.
Then the 6th was a sea day as we headed towards La Coruna. This was nice day for the band because we only had our captain’s cocktail big band set to play, so it’ll be one of our few light nights this cruise. The set went well, Brandon played alright, and that was most of what happened that day. I spent a lot of time during the day on my computer, and then showed Brandon around for a bit at night, but nothing too exciting. But, I received a call that evening that I’d be signing off January 14th, five days sooner than originally planned. I guess that’s fine, I don’t really care either way. I guess I would have liked to spend an extra 5 days not in Chicago weather, but what cha gonna do.
Also, I just found out a few days ago that I’ll be going on another ship early April for 8 weeks. It’s the Splendour of the Seas, and I’ll be starting in Brazil!! From Brazil, we’ll go up the coast stopping at a number of different ports along the way, and then make a crossing to Morocco and Portugal. Then, after shipping out of Lisbon, we’ll change our home port to Venice! From there, I’ll spend the remaining weeks going to Croatia, Greece, and Turkey. So it’s going to be a really great itinerary, and a short contract! Also, I’m booked to be playing tenor on the gig instead of alto, so that’ll be slightly different. But anyways, that’s the news!
Southampton/Sea day
The 5th was our final stop in Southampton before making our crossing, so I had to say my goodbyes to England for the time being. I started out the day by sleeping in, eventually woke up for lunch and got off the ship to walk around the mall. I kind of wanted to buy something, but then at the same time, I have a real hard time paying for something in pounds, making everything about twice what it should be. So after walking around there for a while and a phone call back home, I eventually left to get back to the ship for the passenger drill. I then had a rehearsal for the welcome aboard show because of the new tenor player coming on, and also we got our old sound guy back in the theater. So the new tenor player’s name is Brandon, he’s 44 if I recall correctly, and it’s his first ship. He’s a real nice guy, and not a bad player. He’s not as great as Shawn, but he’ll do fine here. And, he seems to have a good personality and is excited to be here, so it should work out great. We played the show, and then I found out the dancers and skaters were having a party. Someone had a cool idea of turning different people’s rooms into different themed bars. So one room was a gay bar, one was a Saloon, and other rooms had some theme or certain drink that was their responsibility. But, put it all together, and it makes for a fun time “bar hopping” between rooms. And all before our parade, which turned out to be the most fun parade ever… But all the dancers and skaters are signing of the ship after the crossing, so this was the first of many parties I’m sure they’ll be having. And I think that was it for the 5th. For those of you who are familiar with “V for Vendetta” – Remember, Remember, the 5th of November… (and I was in England on the fifth, I’d have never guessed that a year ago).
Also, I changed cabins on the 5th. I took Shawn’s old room, who was roommates with my friend Pieter. Pieter stays with his girlfriend onboard the ship in a different room, meaning I get the room to myself, which is nice. He’s rarely here, I get the bottom bunk, and don’t have to worry about having to deal with someone else’s lifestyle…at least till his GF gets off the ship in 6 weeks. Hopefully this setup will work out fine and I’ll get a nice chunk of time to myself.
Then the 6th was a sea day as we headed towards La Coruna. This was nice day for the band because we only had our captain’s cocktail big band set to play, so it’ll be one of our few light nights this cruise. The set went well, Brandon played alright, and that was most of what happened that day. I spent a lot of time during the day on my computer, and then showed Brandon around for a bit at night, but nothing too exciting. But, I received a call that evening that I’d be signing off January 14th, five days sooner than originally planned. I guess that’s fine, I don’t really care either way. I guess I would have liked to spend an extra 5 days not in Chicago weather, but what cha gonna do.
Also, I just found out a few days ago that I’ll be going on another ship early April for 8 weeks. It’s the Splendour of the Seas, and I’ll be starting in Brazil!! From Brazil, we’ll go up the coast stopping at a number of different ports along the way, and then make a crossing to Morocco and Portugal. Then, after shipping out of Lisbon, we’ll change our home port to Venice! From there, I’ll spend the remaining weeks going to Croatia, Greece, and Turkey. So it’s going to be a really great itinerary, and a short contract! Also, I’m booked to be playing tenor on the gig instead of alto, so that’ll be slightly different. But anyways, that’s the news!
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