Hey everyone,
I'm currently sailing from Southampton to Gibralter, and after failing at locating an internet connection in england, I'm still unable to make posts as I would like. I know Ville Franche does have an area where I can get on, so in about 3 days, everything I can possibly get posted will get posted. I have been keeping up with the posts on my own and have hundreds of pics that will be going up first chance I get. I can't get on with my computer, and it's not possible to make the posts with pics from this crew computer. Otherwise, the ship is great, we just started a new cruise with new passengers yesterday. This cruise is similar to the first, but this time we stop in rome, which should be fun. The band has been great as well. All my fears of playing with aweful musicians never became a reality. The tenor player I play with is phenominal, the trumpet players are both extremely solid as well and have great chops (ability to improvise for all you non jazzers). We do play some combo music and big band sets a couple times a week, so musicianship isn't suffering. But, at the same time, most of these guys are in their 30's, so they better be good. Otherwise, the food has been good, the ports great, and the ship has been comfortable. The only thing I really miss is not knowing what's going on at home, both locally and nationally. I'm afraid I'm gonna get home after 6 months and find out the world's completely different. So keep me up to date with going on at home and I'll get these posts made the first chance I can. Thanks!!!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I'm working on it
Hey Every one,
I'm still working on this online thing from the ship. I've been writing blogs on my laptop and saving them as word files, so as soon as I can i'll add those here, but I haven't yet been able to get on with my computer, only these public computers. So fear not, there will be about 10 posts by the time I get this all worked out, and 500 pics. Currently, I'm sailing through the straights of Gibralter, pretty cool right? I have a show though in 30 mins, so I gotta run. Thanks for checking!
I'm still working on this online thing from the ship. I've been writing blogs on my laptop and saving them as word files, so as soon as I can i'll add those here, but I haven't yet been able to get on with my computer, only these public computers. So fear not, there will be about 10 posts by the time I get this all worked out, and 500 pics. Currently, I'm sailing through the straights of Gibralter, pretty cool right? I have a show though in 30 mins, so I gotta run. Thanks for checking!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Primero dia en Barcelona
Buenos Dias! This here officially begins my blog. I’m currently in my hotel just outside of Barcelona, and luckily have free Wi-Fi in the room. But anyways, the trip over…
My plane was scheduled to leave O’hare at 1:45, so my parents and brother drove me in to say goodbye. The plane was packed, and I ended up sitting there in the plane for an hour while they weighed it to make sure if wasn’t off balance. After leaving about 3, we got into Philadelphia around 6, at which point I had to catch a plane leaving at 6:25. So after speed walking to the new terminal, I found it to be delayed till 7:15, so I got to sit down and make some last minute phone calls before leaving the country. The flight over was great (on a 767), and having never been over seas, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I really felt comfortable, enjoyed the food, and was able to get some sleep in preparation for the 7 hour time change.
After arriving fairly close to on time, we got off the plane through this cool tube stairwell (see pic) and took a bus to the terminal to go through customs. Following that, I spent the next 30 minutes trying to locate my 80lbs bag, but to no avail. It seems there were a good deal of people on that plane who’s baggage had somehow been left in Philly, or so they say. So I am currently without all my clothing (good thing I dressed somewhat nice coming over). Supposedly there’s another flight coming in tomorrow that my bag should be on, at which point they will try to get it to the ship before it leaves for the next port. I let the Royal Caribbean people know about it, and they didn’t seem too worried, so I guess I won’t be either.
Today, after finally locating my unmarked shuttle getting me to the hotel, I was given a great room, and two meal tickets for the restaurant. I got to my room and walked back down for lunch, where I had a great tomato and cheese salad, and then a veal dish that was fantastic, followed by authentic Spanish flan! Why are Best Westerns a million times better in Barcelona? After lunch, I came back to the room, tried to find something to keep me busy, which eventually brought me to finding my pillow for the next 5 hours. I just woke up at 10:50PM, but with the restaurant closing at 11, missed dinner…idiot. Well, now I can talk to you. Tomorrow, I’ve been informed that my ship gets in at 7PM, but they’ll be picking me up around 11AM so that I have the day in Barcelona, which I’ll be looking forward to. Also, I’ll be setting my alarm for everything from here on out. But that’s about it for now, the hotel isn’t in the best neighborhood for tourism, so I’m stuck here till 11. My phone does work here, but please don’t call, it’ll cost me millions per minute, so send emails and leave messages here! Needless to say, I’m excited to be here, and can’t wait to see the ship tomorrow (but will fully enjoy this 2 day pre-employment vacation). Talk to you soon, Adios!
P.S. My 4 years of high school Spanish is getting some chuckles, but I can tell they appreciate the effort. I could almost communicate with my shuttle driver…almost.
P.S.S My blog page is now comes up in Spanish, not helping my communication difficulties.
My plane was scheduled to leave O’hare at 1:45, so my parents and brother drove me in to say goodbye. The plane was packed, and I ended up sitting there in the plane for an hour while they weighed it to make sure if wasn’t off balance. After leaving about 3, we got into Philadelphia around 6, at which point I had to catch a plane leaving at 6:25. So after speed walking to the new terminal, I found it to be delayed till 7:15, so I got to sit down and make some last minute phone calls before leaving the country. The flight over was great (on a 767), and having never been over seas, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I really felt comfortable, enjoyed the food, and was able to get some sleep in preparation for the 7 hour time change.
After arriving fairly close to on time, we got off the plane through this cool tube stairwell (see pic) and took a bus to the terminal to go through customs. Following that, I spent the next 30 minutes trying to locate my 80lbs bag, but to no avail. It seems there were a good deal of people on that plane who’s baggage had somehow been left in Philly, or so they say. So I am currently without all my clothing (good thing I dressed somewhat nice coming over). Supposedly there’s another flight coming in tomorrow that my bag should be on, at which point they will try to get it to the ship before it leaves for the next port. I let the Royal Caribbean people know about it, and they didn’t seem too worried, so I guess I won’t be either.
Today, after finally locating my unmarked shuttle getting me to the hotel, I was given a great room, and two meal tickets for the restaurant. I got to my room and walked back down for lunch, where I had a great tomato and cheese salad, and then a veal dish that was fantastic, followed by authentic Spanish flan! Why are Best Westerns a million times better in Barcelona? After lunch, I came back to the room, tried to find something to keep me busy, which eventually brought me to finding my pillow for the next 5 hours. I just woke up at 10:50PM, but with the restaurant closing at 11, missed dinner…idiot. Well, now I can talk to you. Tomorrow, I’ve been informed that my ship gets in at 7PM, but they’ll be picking me up around 11AM so that I have the day in Barcelona, which I’ll be looking forward to. Also, I’ll be setting my alarm for everything from here on out. But that’s about it for now, the hotel isn’t in the best neighborhood for tourism, so I’m stuck here till 11. My phone does work here, but please don’t call, it’ll cost me millions per minute, so send emails and leave messages here! Needless to say, I’m excited to be here, and can’t wait to see the ship tomorrow (but will fully enjoy this 2 day pre-employment vacation). Talk to you soon, Adios!
P.S. My 4 years of high school Spanish is getting some chuckles, but I can tell they appreciate the effort. I could almost communicate with my shuttle driver…almost.
P.S.S My blog page is now comes up in Spanish, not helping my communication difficulties.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Welcome!!!
Now that I've gone public with the blog, maybe I should post some sort of welcome note so no one gets confused. So yes, you found it, below are simply test entries of no particular importance, but you can see how to access the albums by clicking the larger pictures.
If you're curious about the ship, here's a link to the cruises over the next couple months - http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/search/vacationSearchResult.do;jsessionid=0000XN9SWKLo57hDZ9l1EbjKs3q:10ktmf1jr?promoType=&cruiseTourOnly=false&dest=ANY&duration=ANY&date=20073&port=ANY&ship=NV&selectedCurrencyCode=USD&price=ANY&x=58&y=9
Check back often and please leave messages, It'd be great to keep in contact with everyone!! Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
First Post
Hey everyone, here's a trial post. I'll be trying to make weekly, if not daily posts on here while on the ship. I'm using this site to document my travels for friends and family, along with share pictures I've taken. Check back often and see what's been updated!
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