December 28, 2012
I’m in back in Fort Lauderdale, off on another adventure. This time I’m on the Eurodam for two weeks. It’s been a long day.
I made it to the airport fine, despite all the holiday travelers. Arriving in Ft. Laud is another story though. I got off the plane and made it to baggage claim before my luggage did. Then, I called for the shuttle to the hotel, and went outside. 45 minutes later, had drizzled a few times, but the shuttle bus still hadn’t shown up despite them telling me it would be 5-15 minutes. So, I went inside and called again. They said traffic was bad and that it might be another 30 minutes. I went back outside, considering just taking a taxi (until I saw the line of people waiting for taxis, none had come in for a while). However, when I walked back to where the shuttles came in, I saw the one for my hotel finally!
I was glad to finally sit down on the ride. I got to the hotel and saw the comedian from the Oosterdam. I talked to her for a second before I had to get my luggage. I’m glad I’ll know someone else on the Eurodam.
I walked across the street to Burger King and got something to eat before coming back to the hotel to relax for a while.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
next stop: Eurodam
So, I emailed to confirm my next contract in February and got a reply asking if I could help out on the Eurodam for two weeks over New Years. I agreed and I already have my flight information. I fly to Ft. Lauderdale on the 28th and start my two weeks in the Caribbean the next day!
I'll know people the whole time I'm there as well! I'm very excited about getting to help out.
I'll know people the whole time I'm there as well! I'm very excited about getting to help out.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
St. Thomas
December 4, 2012: St. Thomas, USVI
I was very surprised when some of the kids showed up in Club HAL not long after I got there at 8. When we actually docked, they had to leave so they could go ashore with their family. However, the tween girl I play Harry Potter with came not long after and we played Harry Potter the rest of the morning.
I ate a few pieces of pizza quickly before going downstairs to change and get off the ship with Glenn. Kayley and Blake joined us, and I told them all that I was trying to meet up with my friend Natalie (she was on the Oosterdam with me this summer) since she’s on the Nordam and they were in St. Thomas as well (in addition to Oasis of the Seas, Carnival Dream, Disney Fantasy and the Emerald Princess). We had to tender because there were so many ships there, and we were definitely the smallest one.
We got to shore and walked around for a bit while I found out where Natalie was. We finally found the place and sat down for food, and I couldn’t find her. We were sending messages to each other, but couldn’t find the other! Finally, I stood up to walk around, and a girl that had been behind Glenn facing the other direction turned around and stood up as well. It was Natalie! So, we chatted for a while, catching up on life since July, introducing our friends to the other and their friends- she was with the pianist from their HAL Cats, a cast member, and the cellar master. I kind of felt like I was neglecting Glenn, Blake and Kayley, but I told them that’s what I’d be doing before we left the ship. After a while, Natalie and her friends decided to go shopping, and we had to get back on the ship, so we parted ways until the next time we’re on a ship together or are in port together.
We took a taxi back to the tender dock and that was an adventure because he misunderstood where we wanted to go. He tried to take us downtown to the shopping area instead of downtown near the water, then he thought that we meant the other cruise ships docked on the other side of town (the two biggest: Nordam and Oasis of the Seas). We did make it back before they had been instructed to be back on the ship. I wasn’t quite ready to give up my phone usage, so I went to the OB for an hour to talk to Mom and try to post some of these blogs.
I watched Harry Potter for a bit with Kayley until dinner and then work. It was Pirate night, which we started right away because the little kids leave early. We made a pirate ship flag, then treasure maps. The girls decided not to color but made up a play to perform for the rest of us. The parents of the young ones came during the show and then we were left with the tweens. We played foosball the rest of the night. Somehow I managed to hurt myself during that. I moved one arm over the other hand and my bracelet hit the bottom of my fingernail.
I had to stay a few minutes late to wait for someone to pick up the food tray, so got down to the room too late to go to the show, so I’m waiting in the room until everyone is free to hang out
I was very surprised when some of the kids showed up in Club HAL not long after I got there at 8. When we actually docked, they had to leave so they could go ashore with their family. However, the tween girl I play Harry Potter with came not long after and we played Harry Potter the rest of the morning.
I ate a few pieces of pizza quickly before going downstairs to change and get off the ship with Glenn. Kayley and Blake joined us, and I told them all that I was trying to meet up with my friend Natalie (she was on the Oosterdam with me this summer) since she’s on the Nordam and they were in St. Thomas as well (in addition to Oasis of the Seas, Carnival Dream, Disney Fantasy and the Emerald Princess). We had to tender because there were so many ships there, and we were definitely the smallest one.
We got to shore and walked around for a bit while I found out where Natalie was. We finally found the place and sat down for food, and I couldn’t find her. We were sending messages to each other, but couldn’t find the other! Finally, I stood up to walk around, and a girl that had been behind Glenn facing the other direction turned around and stood up as well. It was Natalie! So, we chatted for a while, catching up on life since July, introducing our friends to the other and their friends- she was with the pianist from their HAL Cats, a cast member, and the cellar master. I kind of felt like I was neglecting Glenn, Blake and Kayley, but I told them that’s what I’d be doing before we left the ship. After a while, Natalie and her friends decided to go shopping, and we had to get back on the ship, so we parted ways until the next time we’re on a ship together or are in port together.
We took a taxi back to the tender dock and that was an adventure because he misunderstood where we wanted to go. He tried to take us downtown to the shopping area instead of downtown near the water, then he thought that we meant the other cruise ships docked on the other side of town (the two biggest: Nordam and Oasis of the Seas). We did make it back before they had been instructed to be back on the ship. I wasn’t quite ready to give up my phone usage, so I went to the OB for an hour to talk to Mom and try to post some of these blogs.
I watched Harry Potter for a bit with Kayley until dinner and then work. It was Pirate night, which we started right away because the little kids leave early. We made a pirate ship flag, then treasure maps. The girls decided not to color but made up a play to perform for the rest of us. The parents of the young ones came during the show and then we were left with the tweens. We played foosball the rest of the night. Somehow I managed to hurt myself during that. I moved one arm over the other hand and my bracelet hit the bottom of my fingernail.
I had to stay a few minutes late to wait for someone to pick up the food tray, so got down to the room too late to go to the show, so I’m waiting in the room until everyone is free to hang out
sea day and san juan
December 2, 2012: Sea Day 2
It was another full day of work! We attempted to follow the schedule of activities, but it just didn’t happen because we had the littles and the tweens combined, and the schedules are very different for them; it didn’t help that no one was there for the first hour either. We ended up coloring and playing board games all morning. I went downstairs for a bit before having lunch with the HAL Cats since their pool set was cancelled due to wind (again).
The afternoon was very quiet, none of the kids showed up for the first hour, then a few of the tweens did, so we let them play video games. Some of the little ones showed up and Aaron got them started on another activity while I stayed with the tweens. One of the tweens loves Harry Potter as well and we’ve been playing Lego Harry Potter together. I had to leave early because I’m back on Bingo duty. I told them that they’re going to have to find a replacement soon, since I leave soon and I’m not going to stay on the ship just to sell Bingo cards!
We had an hour of free time before starting Camp night. We divided them into groups, the two youngest together, then two other groups of two, and gave them paper to come up with a camp name, flag and chant. That took a very long time, by the time everyone had finished their flags, two had left, and two siblings had parents there waiting to sign them out. Only two tweens were left, so we told riddles and played some riddle games until they left. They left kind of early and I had told Aaron that I wanted to go to the show, so Aaron told me I could go early to get formalized and get there on time so I didn’t have to clean up.
It was my last time to see Bob Mackey’s Broadway with this cast, so I took my camera and took pictures of them, some of them turned out really well, which I’m happy about since I kept having to change light settings as the colors and spotlights kept changing.
Cass and I went to hear the Neptunes’ last set of the night and then went to late night. It was fun, the cruise director and the last Neptunes band leader were there as well, in addition to the cast.
December 3, 2012: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Aaron took over the morning shift, even though we weren’t in port until the afternoon. That meant that I got to sleep in for the first time in a while, and the last time until I get home probably. I had a quick lunch before going upstairs. It was a nice afternoon, I started Lego Harry Potter years 5-7 (which is one of the video games we just got) with one of the tweens, played Candyland with some of the younger kids, and we all played foosball for a little while. Club HAL was open until 5 today since we didn’t get to port until 1. After that, I got off the ship and walked around for a while before coming back for dinner and work again.
It was “cosmic cruisers” night. We drew our own alien, rolling a die to see how many heads, eyes, ears, mouths, arms, etc it had and then coloring him in. After that, we had snack! Dinner hasn’t been very good lately, so I was very pleased to have chicken nuggets and fruit! Then, we had all the kids make their own planet. This didn’t last too long because the parents of the little ones picked them up a few minutes into that activity. So, we were left with the tweens who were more than happy to play foosball and video games until we closed.
I went to the room to change and go to the OB, but got distracted as Cass started watching Monsters Inc. I haven’t seen that movie in a long time, so I ended up watching the whole thing with her before going out to see people for a little while. I had work at 8, so didn’t stay out long, just long enough to catch up with Glenn since I hadn’t seen him at all today.
It was another full day of work! We attempted to follow the schedule of activities, but it just didn’t happen because we had the littles and the tweens combined, and the schedules are very different for them; it didn’t help that no one was there for the first hour either. We ended up coloring and playing board games all morning. I went downstairs for a bit before having lunch with the HAL Cats since their pool set was cancelled due to wind (again).
The afternoon was very quiet, none of the kids showed up for the first hour, then a few of the tweens did, so we let them play video games. Some of the little ones showed up and Aaron got them started on another activity while I stayed with the tweens. One of the tweens loves Harry Potter as well and we’ve been playing Lego Harry Potter together. I had to leave early because I’m back on Bingo duty. I told them that they’re going to have to find a replacement soon, since I leave soon and I’m not going to stay on the ship just to sell Bingo cards!
We had an hour of free time before starting Camp night. We divided them into groups, the two youngest together, then two other groups of two, and gave them paper to come up with a camp name, flag and chant. That took a very long time, by the time everyone had finished their flags, two had left, and two siblings had parents there waiting to sign them out. Only two tweens were left, so we told riddles and played some riddle games until they left. They left kind of early and I had told Aaron that I wanted to go to the show, so Aaron told me I could go early to get formalized and get there on time so I didn’t have to clean up.
It was my last time to see Bob Mackey’s Broadway with this cast, so I took my camera and took pictures of them, some of them turned out really well, which I’m happy about since I kept having to change light settings as the colors and spotlights kept changing.
Cass and I went to hear the Neptunes’ last set of the night and then went to late night. It was fun, the cruise director and the last Neptunes band leader were there as well, in addition to the cast.
December 3, 2012: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Aaron took over the morning shift, even though we weren’t in port until the afternoon. That meant that I got to sleep in for the first time in a while, and the last time until I get home probably. I had a quick lunch before going upstairs. It was a nice afternoon, I started Lego Harry Potter years 5-7 (which is one of the video games we just got) with one of the tweens, played Candyland with some of the younger kids, and we all played foosball for a little while. Club HAL was open until 5 today since we didn’t get to port until 1. After that, I got off the ship and walked around for a while before coming back for dinner and work again.
It was “cosmic cruisers” night. We drew our own alien, rolling a die to see how many heads, eyes, ears, mouths, arms, etc it had and then coloring him in. After that, we had snack! Dinner hasn’t been very good lately, so I was very pleased to have chicken nuggets and fruit! Then, we had all the kids make their own planet. This didn’t last too long because the parents of the little ones picked them up a few minutes into that activity. So, we were left with the tweens who were more than happy to play foosball and video games until we closed.
I went to the room to change and go to the OB, but got distracted as Cass started watching Monsters Inc. I haven’t seen that movie in a long time, so I ended up watching the whole thing with her before going out to see people for a little while. I had work at 8, so didn’t stay out long, just long enough to catch up with Glenn since I hadn’t seen him at all today.
Ft. Lauderdale and sea day
November 30, 2012: Ft. Lauderdale
We had full crew inspection this morning; none of the crew could get off the ship until all crew members had gone through. All departments were assigned times that they were going to be called to go out for customs, Entertainment was at 10. I woke up not long after we docked and they called the first department. A few minutes later, they called for Entertainment department to head down. It was 7:50. We went out and stood in line for half an hour before I handed the person my passport, stood there for a second, then got back on the ship. We figured since we were called so early, everyone would get through pretty quickly and we’d be able to get off the ship. No such luck. By 9:30, Blake, Cass and I were ready to go and waiting with all the disembarking crew to get off (they couldn’t leave until everyone had gone through customs too). We waited, and waited, and waited. Finally we went to the OB to use our phones for a few minutes since we figured it wouldn’t be much more of a wait. They were calling people to come down by names by that point. Finally we were able to get off at 11:20.
The HAL Cats had to play at one, which meant they had to be back by 12, so there wasn’t much time. Cass opted out of going and being rushed, so Blake and I joined Sam and LaVance (cast members) going out. Blake left us to go to Walgreens and I went to Publix with Sam and LaVance. We shopped around for a bit, and I got to talk to Mom. We then went to a restaurant for lunch, LaVance had been there before so knew the food was good and that they had good internet. We ended up staying there for a few hours. I really enjoyed the food, especially after ship food only the past 9 days. Sam and I came back to the ship and I went upstairs to meet the new YPC. A few kids had come by and a few more came by while I was there. There are 11 on board!! I actually had to attend the Emergency Drill and walk around to check if all the kids had wristbands. I’m extremely happy that I finally get to go my job. It’s just amazing that the last 6 cruises combined (over two months) have had less kids than this one.
After the drill, Kayley and I watched Harry Potter 7 part 1 until she had to go to a meeting. Hardly anyone was at dinner, just some of the spa people and a few officers. It was really strange how quiet it was while eating. I went up to Club HAL a bit early since there wasn’t much of a reason to hang out at dinner. One of the tweens came up right at 7 so we played foosball until some of the other kids showed up. It was a relaxed night, 7 of the kids were up there at one point. Some came while their parents finished eating dinner, then left for dessert and quite a few left because they’d had long days on planes. We colored, played some video games, played Uno, sorry, connect-4 and foosball. I was happy to have real work for the first time in two months.
December 1, 2012: Sea Day 1
Wow, it’s already December. Six months ago, I didn’t have a job and now I’ve been away from home on a cruise ship for 3 and a half months. I’m starting to feel ready to come home. I love my job, but I do like land for more than 24 hours at a time. I’ll miss my friends here, but I can’t wait to see everyone when I get back, I miss you all!
I got up a little earlier than normal today since starting work at 9 really does mean STARTing work at 9. The tween that was there on time last night was there this morning as well. She started her ship for the drawing contest and two of the younger ones came in and we got them started making memory handprints. Aaron, the new YPC, saw my Club HAL bag on the wall and thought it was a great way to keep track of all the arts/crafts we do over the cruise. So, we spent the next hour with the kids decorating their own Club HAL bags to keep their drawings and stuff in, and to take home at the end of the cruise. That kept most of them busy until the end of the morning session.
I went down to the room for a bit before going back up for lunch. I finally saw Cass today, she had dessert with me because their set was cancelled on account of wind. Edison joined us, then Blake and Glenn. It was a busy lunch.
This afternoon in Club HAL, we made picture frames, colored ships, went out for ice cream, played video games and played games on the Kinect. We’ve been kind of combining the age groups because there haven’t been enough to keep separate, and Aaron’s been running around the ship getting his new-crew stuff done, prepping for Christmas decorating and putting in orders for Club HAL since we’re running low on some supplies like tape.
The afternoon took a long time to go by, but it went quickly at the same time. I’m very confused about how that can happen.
It was movie night in Club HAL so we gave them the choice between three of the movies, they chose Despicable Me. At least it’s one we didn’t watch constantly for three days on the crossing. I don’t think I would be able to handle watching Megamind, Rango, or Zookeeper again any time soon after that.
Aaron let me get off a little bit early because it was formal night and I had mentioned that I would like to go to the show. I made it to the show on time and had my camera so I could take pictures. Some of the pictures turned out really well, others not so much because the lights changed colors too quickly for me to snap the shot when it wasn’t red or purple (people on stage under those colors have weirdly distorted features sometimes in photos).
After the show, I went by the Ocean Bar to listen to the new Neptunes play, then went up for late night where I found the band. I had some fruit and we hung out upstairs for a while before going down to the OB. I seem to spend a lot of time with the photo department because I hung out with Annette again in addition to the band. Fred, one of the officers, joined us as well. He’s a bit sad because the other guys who used to go to the OB with him left yesterday. We had fun talking about music, movies and I learned a little bit about what goes on on the Bridge sometimes.
We had full crew inspection this morning; none of the crew could get off the ship until all crew members had gone through. All departments were assigned times that they were going to be called to go out for customs, Entertainment was at 10. I woke up not long after we docked and they called the first department. A few minutes later, they called for Entertainment department to head down. It was 7:50. We went out and stood in line for half an hour before I handed the person my passport, stood there for a second, then got back on the ship. We figured since we were called so early, everyone would get through pretty quickly and we’d be able to get off the ship. No such luck. By 9:30, Blake, Cass and I were ready to go and waiting with all the disembarking crew to get off (they couldn’t leave until everyone had gone through customs too). We waited, and waited, and waited. Finally we went to the OB to use our phones for a few minutes since we figured it wouldn’t be much more of a wait. They were calling people to come down by names by that point. Finally we were able to get off at 11:20.
The HAL Cats had to play at one, which meant they had to be back by 12, so there wasn’t much time. Cass opted out of going and being rushed, so Blake and I joined Sam and LaVance (cast members) going out. Blake left us to go to Walgreens and I went to Publix with Sam and LaVance. We shopped around for a bit, and I got to talk to Mom. We then went to a restaurant for lunch, LaVance had been there before so knew the food was good and that they had good internet. We ended up staying there for a few hours. I really enjoyed the food, especially after ship food only the past 9 days. Sam and I came back to the ship and I went upstairs to meet the new YPC. A few kids had come by and a few more came by while I was there. There are 11 on board!! I actually had to attend the Emergency Drill and walk around to check if all the kids had wristbands. I’m extremely happy that I finally get to go my job. It’s just amazing that the last 6 cruises combined (over two months) have had less kids than this one.
After the drill, Kayley and I watched Harry Potter 7 part 1 until she had to go to a meeting. Hardly anyone was at dinner, just some of the spa people and a few officers. It was really strange how quiet it was while eating. I went up to Club HAL a bit early since there wasn’t much of a reason to hang out at dinner. One of the tweens came up right at 7 so we played foosball until some of the other kids showed up. It was a relaxed night, 7 of the kids were up there at one point. Some came while their parents finished eating dinner, then left for dessert and quite a few left because they’d had long days on planes. We colored, played some video games, played Uno, sorry, connect-4 and foosball. I was happy to have real work for the first time in two months.
December 1, 2012: Sea Day 1
Wow, it’s already December. Six months ago, I didn’t have a job and now I’ve been away from home on a cruise ship for 3 and a half months. I’m starting to feel ready to come home. I love my job, but I do like land for more than 24 hours at a time. I’ll miss my friends here, but I can’t wait to see everyone when I get back, I miss you all!
I got up a little earlier than normal today since starting work at 9 really does mean STARTing work at 9. The tween that was there on time last night was there this morning as well. She started her ship for the drawing contest and two of the younger ones came in and we got them started making memory handprints. Aaron, the new YPC, saw my Club HAL bag on the wall and thought it was a great way to keep track of all the arts/crafts we do over the cruise. So, we spent the next hour with the kids decorating their own Club HAL bags to keep their drawings and stuff in, and to take home at the end of the cruise. That kept most of them busy until the end of the morning session.
I went down to the room for a bit before going back up for lunch. I finally saw Cass today, she had dessert with me because their set was cancelled on account of wind. Edison joined us, then Blake and Glenn. It was a busy lunch.
This afternoon in Club HAL, we made picture frames, colored ships, went out for ice cream, played video games and played games on the Kinect. We’ve been kind of combining the age groups because there haven’t been enough to keep separate, and Aaron’s been running around the ship getting his new-crew stuff done, prepping for Christmas decorating and putting in orders for Club HAL since we’re running low on some supplies like tape.
The afternoon took a long time to go by, but it went quickly at the same time. I’m very confused about how that can happen.
It was movie night in Club HAL so we gave them the choice between three of the movies, they chose Despicable Me. At least it’s one we didn’t watch constantly for three days on the crossing. I don’t think I would be able to handle watching Megamind, Rango, or Zookeeper again any time soon after that.
Aaron let me get off a little bit early because it was formal night and I had mentioned that I would like to go to the show. I made it to the show on time and had my camera so I could take pictures. Some of the pictures turned out really well, others not so much because the lights changed colors too quickly for me to snap the shot when it wasn’t red or purple (people on stage under those colors have weirdly distorted features sometimes in photos).
After the show, I went by the Ocean Bar to listen to the new Neptunes play, then went up for late night where I found the band. I had some fruit and we hung out upstairs for a while before going down to the OB. I seem to spend a lot of time with the photo department because I hung out with Annette again in addition to the band. Fred, one of the officers, joined us as well. He’s a bit sad because the other guys who used to go to the OB with him left yesterday. We had fun talking about music, movies and I learned a little bit about what goes on on the Bridge sometimes.
last days of the 42-day cruise
November 26, 2012: Sea Day 5
I met both the kids while we were all eating breakfast this morning. The boy came up and we were coloring when the girl came up. She and her mom argued about her staying and then she left; apparently she is very upset when I’m not working the afternoon shift because she wants to be there with the other girl and she doesn’t like Brian. So, the boy and I put on a movie, made a rocket out of plastic cups and construction paper, and went outside to play basketball. It was a really easy morning.
It was a quiet afternoon as Kayley and I watched Harry Potter, and I helped out with Bingo. I went to dinner with the band, then Cass and I went downstairs to watch Amelie (she has it on her hard drive). Glenn was singing in the Piano Bar so after the movie I went to listen. Blake came up right after Glenn finished (he had planned on being up there, but got distracted), and the three of us went up to dessert extravaganza. I was very happy they had lots of strawberries at the chocolate fountains!
We went down and changed and went to the OB. Not many people were there. I hung out with Annette and we played Rummy for a bit with Edison before he left, then we played Speed. There were only a few other people in there so after a while the other group, a group of officers and electricians came over. We’d hung out some before, but it was interesting when we tried to show them how to play the game. They didn’t really get it, it just looked like we were throwing down cards to them. We stopped playing and talked instead, and then they all started trying to do tricks with the cards, none of which really worked.
November 29, 2012: Half Moon Cay
The last few sea days were uneventful, so there is too little to merit a whole entry on them. We’ve finally returned to civilization, no more being in the middle of the ocean with no connection to the outside world. In some ways, that disconnect is liberating, not having to worry about keeping in touch because it is so difficult. However, it also makes for a boring time, stressful as well because spending 7 straight days confined with the same people (most of whom you’ve spent the last 30-something days with) makes people start to turn on each other. Although there is stuff to do, it all starts to get monotonous and you long for a change of scenery. It’s been a long 7 days, an even longer 42 day cruise.
I was feeling slightly sick last night. More than slightly I guess, since I did have to call Brian to cover for me at work because I felt so bad. It wasn’t quite the sick feeling, but it was a headache turning migraine, added to feeling clammy and shaky. As soon as I got to my room, I climbed in bed and fell asleep, not noticing a thing until 4am. I dozed on and off from then until 7, really 6 because I’d forgotten about the last hour back. Cass was getting ready to take the first tender to land with the HAL Cats so they could get their instruments over there before all the guests needed the space. She left and I got up. It was an earlier morning than I’ve been used to, but I’d had more sleep than usual.
I had breakfast, then came back down to prepare my bag to go to shore with the kids. I met Brian in Club HAL at 10 and realized that all the kids were going to meet us on shore, so we headed down. He made a stop by his room and said he’d meet me downstairs. I got down there and waited, and waited and waited. After 20 minutes, I tried calling, but there was no answer. The party planner and I talked for a bit, and she told me that only one of us really was allowed off because we’re on an IPM rotation with the Explorations Team, all of whom were off the ship. So, I stayed on the ship; I didn’t know where the Club HAL area was on land anyway, that’s why Brian and I were getting off together so we could find it. At least I’m going one more time next week, I can get off then.
I hung out in the room until I was scheduled to work. I knew the kids were on shore, so I had lunch before going up to Club HAL. No one ever showed up, so I ended up listening to music and playing Lego Harry Potter all afternoon. It was a strange day.
After work, I read until dinner, then went up to Club HAL again, not expecting any of the kids to show up because the French boy’s parents were in the show, and the siblings told me they probably weren’t coming up because they needed to pack. All three of them came up. They played Kinect Sports while I took down drawings from the walls and organized them into their bags to take home. They played sports for a while, but then wanted to watch a movie, so I put one on, the girl and I made snowflakes while the boys just watched the movie and talked. Then they all left for the last time. Club HAL was oddly quiet as I cleaned up and prepped the room for tomorrow and the new kids coming aboard. It’s strange to think I’ve spent so much time with these kids and now they’re just gone.
I met both the kids while we were all eating breakfast this morning. The boy came up and we were coloring when the girl came up. She and her mom argued about her staying and then she left; apparently she is very upset when I’m not working the afternoon shift because she wants to be there with the other girl and she doesn’t like Brian. So, the boy and I put on a movie, made a rocket out of plastic cups and construction paper, and went outside to play basketball. It was a really easy morning.
It was a quiet afternoon as Kayley and I watched Harry Potter, and I helped out with Bingo. I went to dinner with the band, then Cass and I went downstairs to watch Amelie (she has it on her hard drive). Glenn was singing in the Piano Bar so after the movie I went to listen. Blake came up right after Glenn finished (he had planned on being up there, but got distracted), and the three of us went up to dessert extravaganza. I was very happy they had lots of strawberries at the chocolate fountains!
We went down and changed and went to the OB. Not many people were there. I hung out with Annette and we played Rummy for a bit with Edison before he left, then we played Speed. There were only a few other people in there so after a while the other group, a group of officers and electricians came over. We’d hung out some before, but it was interesting when we tried to show them how to play the game. They didn’t really get it, it just looked like we were throwing down cards to them. We stopped playing and talked instead, and then they all started trying to do tricks with the cards, none of which really worked.
November 29, 2012: Half Moon Cay
The last few sea days were uneventful, so there is too little to merit a whole entry on them. We’ve finally returned to civilization, no more being in the middle of the ocean with no connection to the outside world. In some ways, that disconnect is liberating, not having to worry about keeping in touch because it is so difficult. However, it also makes for a boring time, stressful as well because spending 7 straight days confined with the same people (most of whom you’ve spent the last 30-something days with) makes people start to turn on each other. Although there is stuff to do, it all starts to get monotonous and you long for a change of scenery. It’s been a long 7 days, an even longer 42 day cruise.
I was feeling slightly sick last night. More than slightly I guess, since I did have to call Brian to cover for me at work because I felt so bad. It wasn’t quite the sick feeling, but it was a headache turning migraine, added to feeling clammy and shaky. As soon as I got to my room, I climbed in bed and fell asleep, not noticing a thing until 4am. I dozed on and off from then until 7, really 6 because I’d forgotten about the last hour back. Cass was getting ready to take the first tender to land with the HAL Cats so they could get their instruments over there before all the guests needed the space. She left and I got up. It was an earlier morning than I’ve been used to, but I’d had more sleep than usual.
I had breakfast, then came back down to prepare my bag to go to shore with the kids. I met Brian in Club HAL at 10 and realized that all the kids were going to meet us on shore, so we headed down. He made a stop by his room and said he’d meet me downstairs. I got down there and waited, and waited and waited. After 20 minutes, I tried calling, but there was no answer. The party planner and I talked for a bit, and she told me that only one of us really was allowed off because we’re on an IPM rotation with the Explorations Team, all of whom were off the ship. So, I stayed on the ship; I didn’t know where the Club HAL area was on land anyway, that’s why Brian and I were getting off together so we could find it. At least I’m going one more time next week, I can get off then.
I hung out in the room until I was scheduled to work. I knew the kids were on shore, so I had lunch before going up to Club HAL. No one ever showed up, so I ended up listening to music and playing Lego Harry Potter all afternoon. It was a strange day.
After work, I read until dinner, then went up to Club HAL again, not expecting any of the kids to show up because the French boy’s parents were in the show, and the siblings told me they probably weren’t coming up because they needed to pack. All three of them came up. They played Kinect Sports while I took down drawings from the walls and organized them into their bags to take home. They played sports for a while, but then wanted to watch a movie, so I put one on, the girl and I made snowflakes while the boys just watched the movie and talked. Then they all left for the last time. Club HAL was oddly quiet as I cleaned up and prepped the room for tomorrow and the new kids coming aboard. It’s strange to think I’ve spent so much time with these kids and now they’re just gone.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
more sea day
Towards the end of the night, the French boy got the idea to make a rocket ship, so we helped him with that (a few plastic cups taped together and construction paper. Then, we decided to hang it from the ceiling, which gave us the idea to make a solar system and hang it up. So the rest of the night was spent coloring circles as planets and me taping them to the ceiling.
The French boy’s mom came a bit late to pick him up, so I had to run downstairs and change quickly to catch the last 20 minutes of the show. It was a variety show, I missed the singer/comedian, but I enjoyed hearing the other two (singer and clarinet player) perform. After the show, I went up with the band for late night as usual. We stayed and talked to the Neptunes band leader until we all got too tired to stay up chatting any longer
November 25, 2012: Sea Day 4
I made it to breakfast at the perfect time this morning, there were plenty of tables open and no one in line, but there were a few crew members there to eat with. After breakfast, I went back to the room and hung out with Cass before she had to go upstairs to play in the Lido. I went up not long after to get lunch and listen to them play, but the ceiling was closed so they weren’t playing. Something had gone wrong in the dome and it was stuck closed, but they were fixing it, so I sat with them until they finally could play and I had to go to work. All four of the kids were there this afternoon, we did the usual activities, and I took them outside to play basketball and tennis and shuffleboard because they really needed to run around for a while. I helped with Bingo, then I was done for the day.
I read in the room for a while until it was time for church. I met Kayley as she was getting back and she told me that church was at 9am, not the usual 5pm, so I’d missed it. I was very sad about that, because I was really looking forward to the church service. Saddened by that, I just read the rest of the afternoon since my plan had been ruined. I went to dinner at the usual time and sat with the band. We sat there talking until 8:30 when Cass and I separated from Glenn and Blake. The guys went downstairs to go to the crew office while Cass and I went to the shops and the Mix to listen to Brandi play. When she was done, the guys joined us in the shops and we talked to some of the shop staff, then went to the piano bar to listen to the music there before the show.
The show was the French boys parents, an acrobatic show. It was pretty amazing. She is extremely flexible and they’re both amazingly strong, lifting one another up and holding poses, then doing stuff on the silk ribbons hanging from the ceiling. The boy was even in the show, as part of the last bit, it was kind of cool seeing someone I spend a lot of the day with on stage. I was very impressed. After the show Cass and I were on our way to late night when we stopped by the piano bar again and talked to some of the guests for a while. We finally made it to late night, and strangely there weren’t many people there.
The French boy’s mom came a bit late to pick him up, so I had to run downstairs and change quickly to catch the last 20 minutes of the show. It was a variety show, I missed the singer/comedian, but I enjoyed hearing the other two (singer and clarinet player) perform. After the show, I went up with the band for late night as usual. We stayed and talked to the Neptunes band leader until we all got too tired to stay up chatting any longer
November 25, 2012: Sea Day 4
I made it to breakfast at the perfect time this morning, there were plenty of tables open and no one in line, but there were a few crew members there to eat with. After breakfast, I went back to the room and hung out with Cass before she had to go upstairs to play in the Lido. I went up not long after to get lunch and listen to them play, but the ceiling was closed so they weren’t playing. Something had gone wrong in the dome and it was stuck closed, but they were fixing it, so I sat with them until they finally could play and I had to go to work. All four of the kids were there this afternoon, we did the usual activities, and I took them outside to play basketball and tennis and shuffleboard because they really needed to run around for a while. I helped with Bingo, then I was done for the day.
I read in the room for a while until it was time for church. I met Kayley as she was getting back and she told me that church was at 9am, not the usual 5pm, so I’d missed it. I was very sad about that, because I was really looking forward to the church service. Saddened by that, I just read the rest of the afternoon since my plan had been ruined. I went to dinner at the usual time and sat with the band. We sat there talking until 8:30 when Cass and I separated from Glenn and Blake. The guys went downstairs to go to the crew office while Cass and I went to the shops and the Mix to listen to Brandi play. When she was done, the guys joined us in the shops and we talked to some of the shop staff, then went to the piano bar to listen to the music there before the show.
The show was the French boys parents, an acrobatic show. It was pretty amazing. She is extremely flexible and they’re both amazingly strong, lifting one another up and holding poses, then doing stuff on the silk ribbons hanging from the ceiling. The boy was even in the show, as part of the last bit, it was kind of cool seeing someone I spend a lot of the day with on stage. I was very impressed. After the show Cass and I were on our way to late night when we stopped by the piano bar again and talked to some of the guests for a while. We finally made it to late night, and strangely there weren’t many people there.
sea days
November 23, 2012: Sea Day 2
I had gone to bed earlyish last night, and slept in kind of late this morning, I was ready to go before breakfast closed though, but that meant I didn’t really didn’t have anything to do until lunch then work. I watched the news for a bit, since Fox News is, yet again, the only thing we can get on the TV. I had lunch with Kayley and Brandi, happily they had fried chicken in the Lido, and it was actually good!
Work this afternoon was interesting. The girl and the French boy came in about the same time a few minutes after I got there. They both wanted to make more picture frames, so they followed me to the cabinet where the box was. The boy suddenly decided to tickle me as I was putting the box back in the cabinet, so I bent down to pick them up; as I stood up, I slammed my head into the cabinet door. It was really painful and I had to run to the bathroom because I didn’t want it to bleed more (it wasn’t really bleeding badly, but it was in my hair and I wanted to make sure it stopped quickly). I think they realized after that that I wasn’t going to put up with them screaming any more today because my head was hurting. The others came by not long after and they amused themselves running around the room before I took them outside to play tag. They really needed to get some of that energy out, and they did because it was windy and they were running everywhere. Finally we went back to Club HAL and the boys sat down for video games while the girls colored. Cass came by and colored with us for a while. She even went downstairs with us for snacktime. It helped having someone else there, I could take one or two of them to get water or more jello or more ice cream while I knew the others would be somewhat well behaved with someone watching them.
Cass and I got down to the room a little after four and the phone rang just as we walked in the door. Cass answered and as soon as she said the DJ’s name I remembered Bingo, so I told him I’d be right up and ran upstairs to do the math for Bingo since I’d been at work when they sold the cards. After that, Cass game me an ice pack for me to hold on my head for a while as I sat on my bed just to make sure the scrape on my head didn’t swell up any more than it already had (it’s okay, it only did a little bit). It helped having something (the cold) to distract me from the occasional pain it gave me.
I called Maria because she had said a few days ago that she really wanted to do my hair for the Black and White Ball. She looked at my dress and got an idea of what to do and we went to her room so she could fix my hair. It looked really good. She curled it all, then pinned it kind of into a ponytail on the side, adding a black flower. I changed, then went up to dinner. There weren’t many people at dinner. I guess a lot of people, like Kayley and Sam (who I went to see before I went up), ordered room service. I sat with everyone in the photo department; they all had to leave before I was done though so I sat alone for a little while.
After dinner, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I sat in on the first show (both the shows were an hour earlier because of the Black and White Ball). Then, I attended the show for the second run-through. It was a really good show, a singer/comedian. She sang some famous songs, but changed them up some, the song Over the Rainbow was changed to “Over-indulgence” talking about the food on cruise ships.
After the show, the Black and White Ball began. Kayley sang a few songs, and then the Captain and all the officers came in. The guests had to go up and grab an officer to dance with, there were three specific dances where they had a chance to get a prize, depending on which officer had the prize in his/her pocket. It was fun to watch as a lot of guests scrambled to get to a particular person before someone else did. By the hour mark, most of the officers had left and quite a few of the guests; the entertainment department and the guests that know us and talk to us all the time remained until the end.
November 24, 2012: Sea Day 3
I worked this morning. The girl came up with her mom, but didn’t really want to stay because the other kids weren’t there. She was unhappy that I worked in the morning because she wanted to spend all afternoon with me and the others. That was an interesting conversation as the mother tried to convince her to stay. I read for a while until the French boy came. We made snowflakes, played Lego Harry Potter and watched Megamind. Not a bad morning.
Kayley met me for lunch because we planned on eating then watching Harry Potter 6 together since I had the afternoon off. Sam and Brandi joined us. I somehow ate really quickly and got bored sitting there as I couldn’t contribute at all to the conversation, not that I had much of a chance to anyway. I came downstairs to read and wait until Kayley was ready to watch the movie. We watched most of the movie before she had to go to rehearsal for HAL Chorale and I had to go to Bingo. After Bingo I thought she’d come by my room to get me to watch the rest of us, but she didn’t show up so I listened to music and read for the rest of the afternoon. I sat with Glenn at dinner. Apparently Staff Dinner is no longer a thing, guests keep coming over to our side probably because they see the shorter line and get jealous. Of course, that also means that they have to eat the not as well done food. Maybe that means that the food quality will improve on the staff side! A lot of crew have been complaining about all the guests taking over our side, but my view is if guests come, then the food is bound to get better, who cares if we have to wait a few extra minutes for food.
Anyway, the usual three kids came up and we colored, played video games, watched Tangled and ran around for a while. Towards the end of the night, the French boy got the idea to make a rocket ship, so we helped him with that (a few plastic cups taped together and construction paper. Then, we decided to hang it from the ceiling, which gave us the idea to make a solar system and hang it up. So the rest of the night was spent coloring circles as planets and me taping them to the ceiling.
The French boy’s mom came a bit late to pick him up, so I had to run downstairs and change quickly to catch the last 20 minutes of the show. It was a variety show, I missed the singer/comedian, but I enjoyed hearing the other two (singer and clarinet player) perform. After the show, I went up with the band for late night as usual. We stayed and talked to the Neptunes band leader until we all got too tired to stay up chatting any longer
I had gone to bed earlyish last night, and slept in kind of late this morning, I was ready to go before breakfast closed though, but that meant I didn’t really didn’t have anything to do until lunch then work. I watched the news for a bit, since Fox News is, yet again, the only thing we can get on the TV. I had lunch with Kayley and Brandi, happily they had fried chicken in the Lido, and it was actually good!
Work this afternoon was interesting. The girl and the French boy came in about the same time a few minutes after I got there. They both wanted to make more picture frames, so they followed me to the cabinet where the box was. The boy suddenly decided to tickle me as I was putting the box back in the cabinet, so I bent down to pick them up; as I stood up, I slammed my head into the cabinet door. It was really painful and I had to run to the bathroom because I didn’t want it to bleed more (it wasn’t really bleeding badly, but it was in my hair and I wanted to make sure it stopped quickly). I think they realized after that that I wasn’t going to put up with them screaming any more today because my head was hurting. The others came by not long after and they amused themselves running around the room before I took them outside to play tag. They really needed to get some of that energy out, and they did because it was windy and they were running everywhere. Finally we went back to Club HAL and the boys sat down for video games while the girls colored. Cass came by and colored with us for a while. She even went downstairs with us for snacktime. It helped having someone else there, I could take one or two of them to get water or more jello or more ice cream while I knew the others would be somewhat well behaved with someone watching them.
Cass and I got down to the room a little after four and the phone rang just as we walked in the door. Cass answered and as soon as she said the DJ’s name I remembered Bingo, so I told him I’d be right up and ran upstairs to do the math for Bingo since I’d been at work when they sold the cards. After that, Cass game me an ice pack for me to hold on my head for a while as I sat on my bed just to make sure the scrape on my head didn’t swell up any more than it already had (it’s okay, it only did a little bit). It helped having something (the cold) to distract me from the occasional pain it gave me.
I called Maria because she had said a few days ago that she really wanted to do my hair for the Black and White Ball. She looked at my dress and got an idea of what to do and we went to her room so she could fix my hair. It looked really good. She curled it all, then pinned it kind of into a ponytail on the side, adding a black flower. I changed, then went up to dinner. There weren’t many people at dinner. I guess a lot of people, like Kayley and Sam (who I went to see before I went up), ordered room service. I sat with everyone in the photo department; they all had to leave before I was done though so I sat alone for a little while.
After dinner, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I sat in on the first show (both the shows were an hour earlier because of the Black and White Ball). Then, I attended the show for the second run-through. It was a really good show, a singer/comedian. She sang some famous songs, but changed them up some, the song Over the Rainbow was changed to “Over-indulgence” talking about the food on cruise ships.
After the show, the Black and White Ball began. Kayley sang a few songs, and then the Captain and all the officers came in. The guests had to go up and grab an officer to dance with, there were three specific dances where they had a chance to get a prize, depending on which officer had the prize in his/her pocket. It was fun to watch as a lot of guests scrambled to get to a particular person before someone else did. By the hour mark, most of the officers had left and quite a few of the guests; the entertainment department and the guests that know us and talk to us all the time remained until the end.
November 24, 2012: Sea Day 3
I worked this morning. The girl came up with her mom, but didn’t really want to stay because the other kids weren’t there. She was unhappy that I worked in the morning because she wanted to spend all afternoon with me and the others. That was an interesting conversation as the mother tried to convince her to stay. I read for a while until the French boy came. We made snowflakes, played Lego Harry Potter and watched Megamind. Not a bad morning.
Kayley met me for lunch because we planned on eating then watching Harry Potter 6 together since I had the afternoon off. Sam and Brandi joined us. I somehow ate really quickly and got bored sitting there as I couldn’t contribute at all to the conversation, not that I had much of a chance to anyway. I came downstairs to read and wait until Kayley was ready to watch the movie. We watched most of the movie before she had to go to rehearsal for HAL Chorale and I had to go to Bingo. After Bingo I thought she’d come by my room to get me to watch the rest of us, but she didn’t show up so I listened to music and read for the rest of the afternoon. I sat with Glenn at dinner. Apparently Staff Dinner is no longer a thing, guests keep coming over to our side probably because they see the shorter line and get jealous. Of course, that also means that they have to eat the not as well done food. Maybe that means that the food quality will improve on the staff side! A lot of crew have been complaining about all the guests taking over our side, but my view is if guests come, then the food is bound to get better, who cares if we have to wait a few extra minutes for food.
Anyway, the usual three kids came up and we colored, played video games, watched Tangled and ran around for a while. Towards the end of the night, the French boy got the idea to make a rocket ship, so we helped him with that (a few plastic cups taped together and construction paper. Then, we decided to hang it from the ceiling, which gave us the idea to make a solar system and hang it up. So the rest of the night was spent coloring circles as planets and me taping them to the ceiling.
The French boy’s mom came a bit late to pick him up, so I had to run downstairs and change quickly to catch the last 20 minutes of the show. It was a variety show, I missed the singer/comedian, but I enjoyed hearing the other two (singer and clarinet player) perform. After the show, I went up with the band for late night as usual. We stayed and talked to the Neptunes band leader until we all got too tired to stay up chatting any longer
madiera
November 20, 2012: Madeira day 1
We had a fire drill and a general emergency drill this morning. The fire drill was scheduled for 9:30, so I was ready for it. The general drill was scheduled for 10:30, that one includes all crew not on duty. However, a few minutes before 10, they sounded the general alarm. All I had to do was stay in the front office until they dismissed us to our life rafts, but all the musicians are traffic directors so they had to get to their station; really they all had to get up because the drill wasn’t supposed to be for another 30 minutes. It took a long time for them to dismiss us to our rafts, but at least Rachel was there to talk to until then.
After the drills, I only had an hour before I had to be at work which meant I couldn’t get off the ship. Glenn invited me to go up and sit in the Lido with him and Blake since they’d missed breakfast and wanted coffee. I sat with them until work. All the kids were up there, the siblings having just arrived. We played video games for a few minutes before going down to lunch. All they wanted was chips so they had to wait for me to get my food before we all went to sit down. Lunch took a while, despite them only having chips, but we finally made it back upstairs and the girls set off to play house, while the boy and I worked more through Lego Star Wars and watched How to Train Your Dragon.
I was kind of tired after work, and only really had about an hour and a half, so I didn’t get off the ship but took a nap instead. Very few people were on the ship for dinner, but at least the crew had a good view for once, we were actually on the side next to the city, so we could see all the lights.
I went up to work and read a chapter and played solitaire until 9, the kids never came up so I went down to the room to change and catch the end of the HAL Cats show. On the way up, I started talking to Annette, the newish photographer, so I made it up to the Showroom as the band was leaving the stage. I met them back downstairs though and there was a bunch of calling from room to room as we made plans to go out. The band, two of the cast members and I went out. A lot of them walk really slowly so it took us a while to get to a restaurant. Once we got there it started raining harder so we ended up staying there instead of moving to different places. It was fun, more people from the ship showed up later and we all just had a good time chatting.
November 21, 2012: Madeira day 2
I worked 9-12 this morning. The girl came up and played video games with me until the other kids showed up. The girls played house while I showed the boy how to get past one of the levels we’d been having trouble with in Lego Harry Potter. Brian came not long after and I got some lunch before going downstairs. There really wasn’t much to do so I ended up playing games on my computer and phone before taking an unintentional nap until dinner.
As I was keeping Cass company since she got to dinner late, I saw a kid getting dessert. Now no one had said anything to me about someone new coming on board so I was very confused. I was pleasantly surprised as well and as soon as Cass was done, I went upstairs to see what Brian knew. Very exciting! The kid is the son of one of the guest entertainers that got on board today, ANNNNNNDDDDDDD (drumroll please) they’re FRENCH!! I was very happy to find this out! Another kid, which means I have more of a job, and I get to use my French again!
I hung out in Club HAL for a while since I wasn’t going to work out with the ship moving like it is tonight, then changed and went to the show. It was a very good show, the guy sang a lot of Frank Sinatra stuff and the audience really liked it.
November 22, 2012: Sea Day 1
Why do things like this keep happening? I slept in a bit since I didn’t work this morning, but as soon as I got out of the shower, Brian called to see where I was because the kids were up there and I apparently was supposed to work this morning. He’d changed the schedule for the sea days and I hadn’t realized it. So, I got ready in a few minutes and ran upstairs. The girl and the French boy just played video games, it was kind of nice not having to keep them entertained since I was a bit out of it because of the confusion.
After work, I went back downstairs and actually got ready before going up for lunch with the HAL Cats. I stayed up there hanging out with them until time for Bingo. We ended up not having the normal Bingo since not enough people showed up, but I got to run to the Entertainment Office and get some mugs to use as prizes.
After that, I got a call from Brian letting me know that I had to go to the Entertainment meeting at 5:30, so I talked to Cass and read for a bit until then. It wasn’t really anything special, basically they told us to keep up the patience for the last 7 days of this cruise and keep the guests happy because they’re filling out their comment cards and ratings soon. Sam, Cass and I went to dinner after that; they had a special dinner tonight because it’s Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! I didn’t see what was so different about it from normal dinners aside from there being less for me to eat. But, I did enjoy eating with everyone there (the HAL Cats and the Neptunes and Sam).
I was up at work for an hour before the French boy came up. He played video games with me for a while, then we started up a dance game on the Kinect when his mom came. He wanted to play it a little longer so the mom and I talked in French for a few minutes when the siblings came in. He really didn’t want to leave then, so she left and the three of them amused themselves chasing each other (and me) around the room. I’m definitely going to have to take them out to the Sports Deck tomorrow, they don’t need to be cooped up inside for such long periods of time!
At 10, I ran downstairs, changed very quickly and ran back upstairs to see the show, a clarinet player with the HAL Cats as back-up (as is usually the case for singers/other musicians). He was a good clarinet player, but in my opinion he talked too much between songs. After the show, I went up to late night with Robyn, Blake and Glenn. It’s a lot of fun hanging out with the band, I keep wondering why Kayley never really joins them when they do stuff. No wonder people think I’m her, I’m with the band all the time. We’ve started saying that I’m Kayley’s understudy, which is why no one hears me sing, but why I’m with them all the time.
November 23, 2012: Sea Day 2
I had gone to bed earlyish last night, and slept in kind of late this morning, I was ready to go before breakfast closed though, but that meant I didn’t really didn’t have anything to do until lunch then work. I watched the news for a bit, since Fox News is, yet again, the only thing we can get on the TV. I had lunch with Kayley and Brandi, happily they had fried chicken in the Lido, and it was actually good!
Work this afternoon was interesting. The girl and the French boy came in about the same time a few minutes after I got there. They both wanted to make more picture frames, so they followed me to the cabinet where the box was. The boy suddenly decided to tickle me as I was putting the box back in the cabinet, so I bent down to pick them up; as I stood up, I slammed my head into the cabinet door. It was really painful and I had to run to the bathroom because I didn’t want it to bleed more (it wasn’t really bleeding badly, but it was in my hair and I wanted to make sure it stopped quickly). I think they realized after that that I wasn’t going to put up with them screaming any more today because my head was hurting.
The others came by not long after and they amused themselves running around the room before I took them outside to play tag. They really needed to get some of that energy out, and they did because it was windy and they were running everywhere. Finally we went back to Club HAL and the boys sat down for video games while the girls colored. Cass came by and colored with us for a while. She even went downstairs with us for snacktime. It helped having someone else there, I could take one or two of them to get water or more jello or more ice cream while I knew the others would be somewhat well behaved with someone watching them.
Cass and I got down to the room a little after four and the phone rang just as we walked in the door. Cass answered and as soon as she said the DJ’s name I remembered Bingo, so I told him I’d be right up and ran upstairs to do the math for Bingo since I’d been at work when they sold the cards. After that, Cass game me an ice pack for me to hold on my head for a while as I sat on my bed just to make sure the scrape on my head didn’t swell up any more than it already had (it’s okay, it only did a little bit). It helped having something (the cold) to distract me from the occasional pain it gave me.
I called Maria because she had said a few days ago that she really wanted to do my hair for the Black and White Ball. She looked at my dress and got an idea of what to do and we went to her room so she could fix my hair. It looked really good. She curled it all, then pinned it kind of into a ponytail on the side, adding a black flower. I changed, then went up to dinner. There weren’t many people at dinner. I guess a lot of people, like Kayley and Sam (who I went to see before I went up), ordered room service. I sat with everyone in the photo department; they all had to leave before I was done though so I sat alone for a little while.
After dinner, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I sat in on the first show (both the shows were an hour earlier because of the Black and White Ball). Then, I attended the show for the second run-through. It was a really good show, a singer/comedian. She sang some famous songs, but changed them up some, the song Over the Rainbow was changed to “Over-indulgence” talking about the food on cruise ships.
After the show, the Black and White Ball began. Kayley sang a few songs, and then the Captain and all the officers came in. The guests had to go up and grab an officer to dance with, there were three specific dances where they had a chance to get a prize, depending on which officer had the prize in his/her pocket. It was fun to watch as a lot of guests scrambled to get to a particular person before someone else did. By the hour mark, most of the officers had left and quite a few of the guests; the entertainment department and the guests that know us and talk to us all the time remained until the end.
We had a fire drill and a general emergency drill this morning. The fire drill was scheduled for 9:30, so I was ready for it. The general drill was scheduled for 10:30, that one includes all crew not on duty. However, a few minutes before 10, they sounded the general alarm. All I had to do was stay in the front office until they dismissed us to our life rafts, but all the musicians are traffic directors so they had to get to their station; really they all had to get up because the drill wasn’t supposed to be for another 30 minutes. It took a long time for them to dismiss us to our rafts, but at least Rachel was there to talk to until then.
After the drills, I only had an hour before I had to be at work which meant I couldn’t get off the ship. Glenn invited me to go up and sit in the Lido with him and Blake since they’d missed breakfast and wanted coffee. I sat with them until work. All the kids were up there, the siblings having just arrived. We played video games for a few minutes before going down to lunch. All they wanted was chips so they had to wait for me to get my food before we all went to sit down. Lunch took a while, despite them only having chips, but we finally made it back upstairs and the girls set off to play house, while the boy and I worked more through Lego Star Wars and watched How to Train Your Dragon.
I was kind of tired after work, and only really had about an hour and a half, so I didn’t get off the ship but took a nap instead. Very few people were on the ship for dinner, but at least the crew had a good view for once, we were actually on the side next to the city, so we could see all the lights.
I went up to work and read a chapter and played solitaire until 9, the kids never came up so I went down to the room to change and catch the end of the HAL Cats show. On the way up, I started talking to Annette, the newish photographer, so I made it up to the Showroom as the band was leaving the stage. I met them back downstairs though and there was a bunch of calling from room to room as we made plans to go out. The band, two of the cast members and I went out. A lot of them walk really slowly so it took us a while to get to a restaurant. Once we got there it started raining harder so we ended up staying there instead of moving to different places. It was fun, more people from the ship showed up later and we all just had a good time chatting.
November 21, 2012: Madeira day 2
I worked 9-12 this morning. The girl came up and played video games with me until the other kids showed up. The girls played house while I showed the boy how to get past one of the levels we’d been having trouble with in Lego Harry Potter. Brian came not long after and I got some lunch before going downstairs. There really wasn’t much to do so I ended up playing games on my computer and phone before taking an unintentional nap until dinner.
As I was keeping Cass company since she got to dinner late, I saw a kid getting dessert. Now no one had said anything to me about someone new coming on board so I was very confused. I was pleasantly surprised as well and as soon as Cass was done, I went upstairs to see what Brian knew. Very exciting! The kid is the son of one of the guest entertainers that got on board today, ANNNNNNDDDDDDD (drumroll please) they’re FRENCH!! I was very happy to find this out! Another kid, which means I have more of a job, and I get to use my French again!
I hung out in Club HAL for a while since I wasn’t going to work out with the ship moving like it is tonight, then changed and went to the show. It was a very good show, the guy sang a lot of Frank Sinatra stuff and the audience really liked it.
November 22, 2012: Sea Day 1
Why do things like this keep happening? I slept in a bit since I didn’t work this morning, but as soon as I got out of the shower, Brian called to see where I was because the kids were up there and I apparently was supposed to work this morning. He’d changed the schedule for the sea days and I hadn’t realized it. So, I got ready in a few minutes and ran upstairs. The girl and the French boy just played video games, it was kind of nice not having to keep them entertained since I was a bit out of it because of the confusion.
After work, I went back downstairs and actually got ready before going up for lunch with the HAL Cats. I stayed up there hanging out with them until time for Bingo. We ended up not having the normal Bingo since not enough people showed up, but I got to run to the Entertainment Office and get some mugs to use as prizes.
After that, I got a call from Brian letting me know that I had to go to the Entertainment meeting at 5:30, so I talked to Cass and read for a bit until then. It wasn’t really anything special, basically they told us to keep up the patience for the last 7 days of this cruise and keep the guests happy because they’re filling out their comment cards and ratings soon. Sam, Cass and I went to dinner after that; they had a special dinner tonight because it’s Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! I didn’t see what was so different about it from normal dinners aside from there being less for me to eat. But, I did enjoy eating with everyone there (the HAL Cats and the Neptunes and Sam).
I was up at work for an hour before the French boy came up. He played video games with me for a while, then we started up a dance game on the Kinect when his mom came. He wanted to play it a little longer so the mom and I talked in French for a few minutes when the siblings came in. He really didn’t want to leave then, so she left and the three of them amused themselves chasing each other (and me) around the room. I’m definitely going to have to take them out to the Sports Deck tomorrow, they don’t need to be cooped up inside for such long periods of time!
At 10, I ran downstairs, changed very quickly and ran back upstairs to see the show, a clarinet player with the HAL Cats as back-up (as is usually the case for singers/other musicians). He was a good clarinet player, but in my opinion he talked too much between songs. After the show, I went up to late night with Robyn, Blake and Glenn. It’s a lot of fun hanging out with the band, I keep wondering why Kayley never really joins them when they do stuff. No wonder people think I’m her, I’m with the band all the time. We’ve started saying that I’m Kayley’s understudy, which is why no one hears me sing, but why I’m with them all the time.
November 23, 2012: Sea Day 2
I had gone to bed earlyish last night, and slept in kind of late this morning, I was ready to go before breakfast closed though, but that meant I didn’t really didn’t have anything to do until lunch then work. I watched the news for a bit, since Fox News is, yet again, the only thing we can get on the TV. I had lunch with Kayley and Brandi, happily they had fried chicken in the Lido, and it was actually good!
Work this afternoon was interesting. The girl and the French boy came in about the same time a few minutes after I got there. They both wanted to make more picture frames, so they followed me to the cabinet where the box was. The boy suddenly decided to tickle me as I was putting the box back in the cabinet, so I bent down to pick them up; as I stood up, I slammed my head into the cabinet door. It was really painful and I had to run to the bathroom because I didn’t want it to bleed more (it wasn’t really bleeding badly, but it was in my hair and I wanted to make sure it stopped quickly). I think they realized after that that I wasn’t going to put up with them screaming any more today because my head was hurting.
The others came by not long after and they amused themselves running around the room before I took them outside to play tag. They really needed to get some of that energy out, and they did because it was windy and they were running everywhere. Finally we went back to Club HAL and the boys sat down for video games while the girls colored. Cass came by and colored with us for a while. She even went downstairs with us for snacktime. It helped having someone else there, I could take one or two of them to get water or more jello or more ice cream while I knew the others would be somewhat well behaved with someone watching them.
Cass and I got down to the room a little after four and the phone rang just as we walked in the door. Cass answered and as soon as she said the DJ’s name I remembered Bingo, so I told him I’d be right up and ran upstairs to do the math for Bingo since I’d been at work when they sold the cards. After that, Cass game me an ice pack for me to hold on my head for a while as I sat on my bed just to make sure the scrape on my head didn’t swell up any more than it already had (it’s okay, it only did a little bit). It helped having something (the cold) to distract me from the occasional pain it gave me.
I called Maria because she had said a few days ago that she really wanted to do my hair for the Black and White Ball. She looked at my dress and got an idea of what to do and we went to her room so she could fix my hair. It looked really good. She curled it all, then pinned it kind of into a ponytail on the side, adding a black flower. I changed, then went up to dinner. There weren’t many people at dinner. I guess a lot of people, like Kayley and Sam (who I went to see before I went up), ordered room service. I sat with everyone in the photo department; they all had to leave before I was done though so I sat alone for a little while.
After dinner, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I sat in on the first show (both the shows were an hour earlier because of the Black and White Ball). Then, I attended the show for the second run-through. It was a really good show, a singer/comedian. She sang some famous songs, but changed them up some, the song Over the Rainbow was changed to “Over-indulgence” talking about the food on cruise ships.
After the show, the Black and White Ball began. Kayley sang a few songs, and then the Captain and all the officers came in. The guests had to go up and grab an officer to dance with, there were three specific dances where they had a chance to get a prize, depending on which officer had the prize in his/her pocket. It was fun to watch as a lot of guests scrambled to get to a particular person before someone else did. By the hour mark, most of the officers had left and quite a few of the guests; the entertainment department and the guests that know us and talk to us all the time remained until the end.
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