Chicago to Southampton

Feb 11-14

Chicago to Southampton

As of about 2 weeks prior to the 11th, I had no idea I’d be starting up the blog again, but I received a phone call from an agent offering me a contract that I didn’t want to pass up. I’d be working for P&O (an English cruise line), be committed to just a 2 month contract, get to go to the southern Caribbean, and get paid more. And with this being a slower season at home, the opportunity couldn’t work out better.
So I flew out on the 11th with British Airways direct to London Heathrow. The flight was usual, aside from everyone having a British accent. I was able to watch the new X-Men movie until my movie screen froze up on me and prevented me from watching anything else for the final 5 hours of the flight.
I was greeted at the airport by a sharply dressed man who held a sign with my name on it, as if I was someone extremely important. He took me to his new Audi A6, and let me know (in a very thick accent) that I was his only pickup. I was feeling pretty special having my own private driver with a British accent…special till I tried to get in the car on the American passenger side, only to confuse the guy when he saw me heading straight for the English driver’s side.
He drove me to the hotel and we had an interesting conversation about something I no longer remember, I just remember thinking that the driver looked young when he said he had kids my age. When I got my keys and entered my room, my roommate was already there. John was from the St. Louis area and was the other sax player signing onto the ship with me. Turns out that he’s a retired band teacher, and actually reminds me of my own highschool band director, but I thought it was kind of cool for someone to retire from teaching and go on a ship, of which he’s done multiple. He was trying to rest though, so I left the room to go find a decent lunch in Southampton, and was pointed by the hotel receptionist towards a place called “The Slug and Lettuce”, which turned out to be considerably upscale considering the creature it’s named after. And after eating way too much humus and BBQ chicken sandwich (not at the same time), I went to the mall to blow time at the Apple store before returning to the hotel to collapse. I woke up briefly for dinner, cleaned my horns, and went back to sleep for the rest of the day.
The 13th was my first day on the P&O Oriana. It was a usual first day filled with training, briefing, rehearsal, and meeting more people than one should be expected to remember. But it doesn’t take long to get a feel for a ship and how it’s different from what you’re used to.
First, the nice thing about this ship is that I can eat in passenger areas as long as I’m dressed somewhat nicely, something that would never fly on Royal Caribbean. The band also seems great. Unlike my other ships, this band all signs on and off together, so aside for me and the other sax player, the entire band has been playing together for a couple contracts. The musical director is also great, super laid back, and unusually normal for an MD.
The drawbacks though are in the vibe, where in the English company makes everything seem a little stuffy. And even though I have deck privileges, the musicians are put on a similar level to the rest of the crew and aren’t allowed in officer areas, which I usually would be able to get into on RCCL. The dancers however receive that privilege, which makes for a really strange disconnect between the dancers and the musicians that play their shows. When the most outgoing guy in the band doesn’t know all the dancer’s names, I get concerned. However, I do know one of the singers from when I was on the Queen Victoria, so that’s a nice surprise. This ship also has “In Port Manning”, meaning I have to stay on the ship at certain times while I’m in port as a safety precaution, which is when I’m writing this blog.
The first show was a welcome aboard show where I quickly established the fact that I like to cheer on the dancers with arguably unnecessary hoots and hollers. The band thought it was hilarious, started joining in, and a couple people came up and introduced themselves to the unusually vocal saxophonist. So at least I’m getting a decent vibe there, which will make the shows a lot more fun for everyone.
And finally the 14th was just a sea day. I spent it figuring out how to go online, doing some further ship explorations, and a little practicing. There was a Valentines Day party that evening that I went to, but in true English stuffiness, it was the worst attended party I’ve seen and I left fairly early. And that brings my to my first port of call for tomorrow, Vigo Spain!