March 29, 2013: Ft. Lauderdale
Today was an interesting day. It started at 6:30 when Charlotte, me and a few others had to be in the Vista Lounge to help out with the full crew inspection. We got there on time and realized that we weren’t even docked yet; no one else was there, so we just sat half-asleep until people came to tell us what to do to help. It was about 7 before anyone came to give us instructions. Guess which job I got? I had to scan everyone’s ID cards once they went through customs! After about 15 minutes, Charlotte came out wondering why no one had come to relieve me (she had already finished). She went back in and got August to replace me, then I went through. It took a surprisingly short time, for which I was grateful since I’d gotten up so early. I talked to August for a few minutes after I got through and we decided to get off ship together as soon as crew leave was granted. I guess it’s surprising to me because of how full-crew inspection on the Maasdam went after our Europe trip, but we were off by 9:30!
Anyway, August and I got off and did some shopping for various things, had lunch then found internet until we decided it was time to head back to the ship.
I changed and went upstairs to meet the new Club HAL girls and help out with the remaining bit of open house. It was a bit crazy up there when I arrived. Chrissy wasn’t there and there were tons of families there, filling out the registration paperwork and some just playing around.
The girls walked around with me doing wristbands, then we had an entertainment dept meeting at 4. After the meeting, the three of us went to the bow as the ship pulled out of the port. It was fun because we all waved at the general direction of the webcam that Mom and Dad were watching.
I went to Club HAL for a while at 8 to cover for Michelle and Kassie as they had to do crew office and HR stuff. In the Loft, there were a few teens there hanging out. Most of them have been on cruises before so knew how everything works and where everything was. We pretty much just hung out and got to know one another a bit, introducing ourselves as new people came in. I think about 12 or so showed up, which isn’t bad for a first night. They all left pretty early because they were tired.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
panama
March 25, 2013: Panama
Yet another mock-sea day for me. At least some of the teens were on board so I wasn’t completely bored. We spent the day playing Archery, and 100-pin bowling on the wii and then playing Balderdash (now that I found it and remember which game it was that I’d been trying to remember for the last few days). I stayed with them until 6 since I know it’s been frustrating to them for me to keep having to go help out Chrissy when I’m supposed to be in the Loft.
I went at 8 to help Chrissy out. She left, I started theme night, and snack, more theme night, she came back, I did another activity for theme night, then she left again. It was nearly 10 before I managed to get away to my teens (who had been wandering the hall doing random things waiting for me). I understand that Chrissy had to deal with the situation of the two boys bullying the other boy, but that’s why I’ve been going early, to help her out so she can deal with that stuff at the times I’m NOT scheduled to be with the teens.
Anyway, once I finally got away, the teens and I immediately went down to the showroom to see the magician. They were all pretty astounded and I’m still trying to work out a few of the tricks. Now I feel like I should show them the movie “the Prestige” like I did with the teens last week! After the show, we went up to Club HAL and played foosball almost until time for me to close.
Yet another mock-sea day for me. At least some of the teens were on board so I wasn’t completely bored. We spent the day playing Archery, and 100-pin bowling on the wii and then playing Balderdash (now that I found it and remember which game it was that I’d been trying to remember for the last few days). I stayed with them until 6 since I know it’s been frustrating to them for me to keep having to go help out Chrissy when I’m supposed to be in the Loft.
I went at 8 to help Chrissy out. She left, I started theme night, and snack, more theme night, she came back, I did another activity for theme night, then she left again. It was nearly 10 before I managed to get away to my teens (who had been wandering the hall doing random things waiting for me). I understand that Chrissy had to deal with the situation of the two boys bullying the other boy, but that’s why I’ve been going early, to help her out so she can deal with that stuff at the times I’m NOT scheduled to be with the teens.
Anyway, once I finally got away, the teens and I immediately went down to the showroom to see the magician. They were all pretty astounded and I’m still trying to work out a few of the tricks. Now I feel like I should show them the movie “the Prestige” like I did with the teens last week! After the show, we went up to Club HAL and played foosball almost until time for me to close.
cartegena
March 24, 2013: Cartegena
Sea day for me. I worked 8-12 port day, then my usual 2-5 and 9-12, with the added 8-9 helping Chrissy out. It was an extremely long day it seemed like. Nothing much of interest happened really except during the night session.
We went to the Queen’s Lounge to participate in the game show again. It was kind of like a scavenger hunt, like the kind we used to play at camp: bring random items with you and they’ll call for a specific thing and the runner has to bring it to the table before the other team gets there. Our team ended up winning because one of the teens had brought a lot of random stuff with them from their room. It was a really entertaining time. I’ll have to look into what night that’s happening next cruise so I can take the teens again! After that, a few of the teens went with me to see the show: DreamPark. This show has had a lot of problems, and this is only the second time they’ve done it since Charlotte’s been on the ship (end of December!), so I knew I had to go because they may not be able to do it again for a while if something else breaks. It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.
Sea day for me. I worked 8-12 port day, then my usual 2-5 and 9-12, with the added 8-9 helping Chrissy out. It was an extremely long day it seemed like. Nothing much of interest happened really except during the night session.
We went to the Queen’s Lounge to participate in the game show again. It was kind of like a scavenger hunt, like the kind we used to play at camp: bring random items with you and they’ll call for a specific thing and the runner has to bring it to the table before the other team gets there. Our team ended up winning because one of the teens had brought a lot of random stuff with them from their room. It was a really entertaining time. I’ll have to look into what night that’s happening next cruise so I can take the teens again! After that, a few of the teens went with me to see the show: DreamPark. This show has had a lot of problems, and this is only the second time they’ve done it since Charlotte’s been on the ship (end of December!), so I knew I had to go because they may not be able to do it again for a while if something else breaks. It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.
sea dayy again
March 23, 2013: Sea Day
It was an interesting day. I was on Decks 9 and 10 from 9:30am until midnight. We played Monopoly all day, I stayed an extra thirty minutes during lunch because none of us wanted to quit the game quite yet.
After a quick lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the game. We ended up turning into teams. One team had more money than the bank while the other team was scrambling around for money to pay off rent! It was a pretty intense game that I finally decided was over at 5:30.
I covered for Chrissy for an hour right after dinner, then went to the Loft early and we talked for a while before playing Phase 10. Phase 10 actually took up the whole rest of the night!
It was an interesting day. I was on Decks 9 and 10 from 9:30am until midnight. We played Monopoly all day, I stayed an extra thirty minutes during lunch because none of us wanted to quit the game quite yet.
After a quick lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the game. We ended up turning into teams. One team had more money than the bank while the other team was scrambling around for money to pay off rent! It was a pretty intense game that I finally decided was over at 5:30.
I covered for Chrissy for an hour right after dinner, then went to the Loft early and we talked for a while before playing Phase 10. Phase 10 actually took up the whole rest of the night!
curacao
March 22, 2013: Curacao
I didn’t expect it, but there was a fire drill this morning. My original plan had been to sleep in a bit, then go out until I had to work at 12. I did sleep in, but as I was getting ready, they called for the fire drill. It was 10 by the time that was over and I still had wet hair, so I ended up not getting off the ship. So, a normal port day quickly turned into a mock-sea day for me. I ended up going back to sleep for an hour, then getting lunch with Charlotte.
I worked the afternoon, not many kids were there, just two of the boys, and they were content to play Xbox. They played while I worked on cutting construction paper for the kids to decorate on the various theme nights (swords for pirate night, cupcakes for un-birthday party, rockets for alien night, etc). It wasn’t that bad of an afternoon at least, the boys are a lot better behaved when there aren’t other kids around to tease.
Chrissy wanted me to come cover her for a little bit while she went to the office to get stuff ready for all the kids next week and for Easter. I went up at 7, right after dinner thinking that I’d have time to go down to the room before 9. She ended up not coming back until a few minutes after 9. My teens had been waiting on me to go to the game show in the Queen’s Lounge. They’re not too impressed with Chrissy at the moment. But, we did make it to “Battle of the Sexes” and laughed as we watched. After that, we went back to the Loft and played the actual board game and devoured snack. We’re definitely a fruit-eating group this week. All the grapes are gone within minutes, but it takes longer to eat the other stuff.
I didn’t expect it, but there was a fire drill this morning. My original plan had been to sleep in a bit, then go out until I had to work at 12. I did sleep in, but as I was getting ready, they called for the fire drill. It was 10 by the time that was over and I still had wet hair, so I ended up not getting off the ship. So, a normal port day quickly turned into a mock-sea day for me. I ended up going back to sleep for an hour, then getting lunch with Charlotte.
I worked the afternoon, not many kids were there, just two of the boys, and they were content to play Xbox. They played while I worked on cutting construction paper for the kids to decorate on the various theme nights (swords for pirate night, cupcakes for un-birthday party, rockets for alien night, etc). It wasn’t that bad of an afternoon at least, the boys are a lot better behaved when there aren’t other kids around to tease.
Chrissy wanted me to come cover her for a little bit while she went to the office to get stuff ready for all the kids next week and for Easter. I went up at 7, right after dinner thinking that I’d have time to go down to the room before 9. She ended up not coming back until a few minutes after 9. My teens had been waiting on me to go to the game show in the Queen’s Lounge. They’re not too impressed with Chrissy at the moment. But, we did make it to “Battle of the Sexes” and laughed as we watched. After that, we went back to the Loft and played the actual board game and devoured snack. We’re definitely a fruit-eating group this week. All the grapes are gone within minutes, but it takes longer to eat the other stuff.
Friday, March 22, 2013
I'm liking this week a lot: Aruba!
March 21, 2013: Aruba
It was another great day! The morning went slowly as we were waiting to get to Aruba. We took out Apples to Apples and played that until lunchtime. It was the first time some of them had played it. They were amused by it, so we’ll probably play it again a few times (it’s a step up from playing cards over and over and over).
I had a quick lunch before going up to Club HAL. There was a general drill after we got to Aruba and Chrissy had to go since she’s newly embarked; someone had to work Club HAL so we’d filled out an excusal form for me. One kid came and we played Wii Sports until the drill was over and Chrissy came back at 2.
I ran downstairs to get changed and get my stuff together for the crew excursion. Charlotte waited for me and we were outside only a few minutes late- we weren’t the last at least. Once everyone was there and had signed waivers for the snorkeling part, we were lead to the Catamaran. It was a great 45 minute sail to the place where we could snorkel. Most of us were laying out near the front getting some sun and talking and taking pictures. We stopped where a lot of other boats were and saw others snorkeling, different companies doing different tours. They gave us instructions on how to do everything properly and we were set free to snorkel. Ana and Jessie jumped off the side and I got pictures of them in the process! Kayleigh and I were the only ones of our group who didn’t want to jump so we got off by the stairs.
There was so much to see! Above water, my goggles were very streaked and made everything blurry, but underwater everything was clear. I saw a lot of different types of fish and plants and some coral. I actually swam through a school of little tiny fish. It was a lot of fun. Now I think I’m going to have to invest in underwater housing for my camera so that I can take it snorkeling with me next time I go! Snorkeling is definitely more of an individual activity once you’re under water, but there was always a chance you’d run into someone because you’re looking under the water instead of the surface where everyone else was. I turned into a few people a couple of times. They blew the horn and we all had to get back on. We took a lot of pictures then to, with the lines from the masks on our faces. The ride back seemed rather quick, I was stretched out trying to get some sun while talking with Kayleigh, Jessie and some others. It was over before I knew it.
Kayleigh, Jessie and I made plans to go back out once we’d changed and cleaned up a bit. We meant to meet two of the HAL Cats and all go out together, but they were nowhere to be found so we just left a note on their door. We did meet some of the other crew and got internet for a bit before Justin and August showed up and we all went to a place to eat dinner. It was fun getting time to hang out off-ship; it’s the first time I’ve eaten off the Zuiderdam and I was very grateful for it! I had to go back to work to help Chrissy out for a bit so Kayleigh and I left a bit earlier than Jessie and the boys.
I covered for Chrissy for 30 minutes while she worked on stuff. All we did really was play “Where’s my shoe?” I had some difficulties with the ages again tonight, which wasn’t fun to sort out. Chrissy’s had trouble with the older boys as well, so she’s going to talk to their parents.
The teens and I went to the Lido pool party to eat and dance until we just got tired of it and decided to head back up to the Loft to hang out the rest of the night. We did trivia questions. One of their dads is apparently really good at trivia so they all wanted to see how well they could do. Next thing I knew, it was after 12!
It was another great day! The morning went slowly as we were waiting to get to Aruba. We took out Apples to Apples and played that until lunchtime. It was the first time some of them had played it. They were amused by it, so we’ll probably play it again a few times (it’s a step up from playing cards over and over and over).
I had a quick lunch before going up to Club HAL. There was a general drill after we got to Aruba and Chrissy had to go since she’s newly embarked; someone had to work Club HAL so we’d filled out an excusal form for me. One kid came and we played Wii Sports until the drill was over and Chrissy came back at 2.
I ran downstairs to get changed and get my stuff together for the crew excursion. Charlotte waited for me and we were outside only a few minutes late- we weren’t the last at least. Once everyone was there and had signed waivers for the snorkeling part, we were lead to the Catamaran. It was a great 45 minute sail to the place where we could snorkel. Most of us were laying out near the front getting some sun and talking and taking pictures. We stopped where a lot of other boats were and saw others snorkeling, different companies doing different tours. They gave us instructions on how to do everything properly and we were set free to snorkel. Ana and Jessie jumped off the side and I got pictures of them in the process! Kayleigh and I were the only ones of our group who didn’t want to jump so we got off by the stairs.
There was so much to see! Above water, my goggles were very streaked and made everything blurry, but underwater everything was clear. I saw a lot of different types of fish and plants and some coral. I actually swam through a school of little tiny fish. It was a lot of fun. Now I think I’m going to have to invest in underwater housing for my camera so that I can take it snorkeling with me next time I go! Snorkeling is definitely more of an individual activity once you’re under water, but there was always a chance you’d run into someone because you’re looking under the water instead of the surface where everyone else was. I turned into a few people a couple of times. They blew the horn and we all had to get back on. We took a lot of pictures then to, with the lines from the masks on our faces. The ride back seemed rather quick, I was stretched out trying to get some sun while talking with Kayleigh, Jessie and some others. It was over before I knew it.
Kayleigh, Jessie and I made plans to go back out once we’d changed and cleaned up a bit. We meant to meet two of the HAL Cats and all go out together, but they were nowhere to be found so we just left a note on their door. We did meet some of the other crew and got internet for a bit before Justin and August showed up and we all went to a place to eat dinner. It was fun getting time to hang out off-ship; it’s the first time I’ve eaten off the Zuiderdam and I was very grateful for it! I had to go back to work to help Chrissy out for a bit so Kayleigh and I left a bit earlier than Jessie and the boys.
I covered for Chrissy for 30 minutes while she worked on stuff. All we did really was play “Where’s my shoe?” I had some difficulties with the ages again tonight, which wasn’t fun to sort out. Chrissy’s had trouble with the older boys as well, so she’s going to talk to their parents.
The teens and I went to the Lido pool party to eat and dance until we just got tired of it and decided to head back up to the Loft to hang out the rest of the night. We did trivia questions. One of their dads is apparently really good at trivia so they all wanted to see how well they could do. Next thing I knew, it was after 12!
another sea day
March 20, 2013: Sea Day
It was a few minutes before anyone showed up this morning. It wasn’t a terribly exciting morning, we just played cards. Lunchtime came and went, and the afternoon went by kind of slowly. Most of them had gone to trivia, so I ended up playing Lego Harry Potter until some of them came, they didn’t really want to do anything, so they watched me play and asked questions about it. I was a bit shocked that none of them seemed to know much of anything about Harry Potter; I had to explain a lot to them.
I went up to Club HAL almost right after dinner to take over for Chrissy for a while so she could get stuff organized (print off programs, make them for next week, get ready for Easter next week, etc). She took longer than I expected to, which was kind of difficult for me, since I wasn’t entirely mentally prepared to do the theme night. This cruise also has some difficult kids; there’s a few younger kids who need help with a lot of stuff and then there’s two older boys who are kind of mean and demanding. Having such differences creates a lot of conflict, especially when I’m trying to do something and aren’t keeping a close watch on those boys, who seem to like making the 4-year-old girl cry.
Anyway, Chrissy came at about 9, and had given me permission to get formalized since my teens wanted to be out around the ship tonight. So, I ran down to change really quickly and found them in the Loft. We went down to the Queen’s Lounge for “Battle of the Sexes,” then went to the Northern Lights where we talked for a while and danced until 10:30 when it became 18&up. Once we left there, we just went up to the Loft and had our own dance party. Two of the boys figured out how to work the music station thing (I just plug in my mp3 and it works, but they had two plugged in and were mixed songs and stuff). They seemed to enjoy it.
It was a few minutes before anyone showed up this morning. It wasn’t a terribly exciting morning, we just played cards. Lunchtime came and went, and the afternoon went by kind of slowly. Most of them had gone to trivia, so I ended up playing Lego Harry Potter until some of them came, they didn’t really want to do anything, so they watched me play and asked questions about it. I was a bit shocked that none of them seemed to know much of anything about Harry Potter; I had to explain a lot to them.
I went up to Club HAL almost right after dinner to take over for Chrissy for a while so she could get stuff organized (print off programs, make them for next week, get ready for Easter next week, etc). She took longer than I expected to, which was kind of difficult for me, since I wasn’t entirely mentally prepared to do the theme night. This cruise also has some difficult kids; there’s a few younger kids who need help with a lot of stuff and then there’s two older boys who are kind of mean and demanding. Having such differences creates a lot of conflict, especially when I’m trying to do something and aren’t keeping a close watch on those boys, who seem to like making the 4-year-old girl cry.
Anyway, Chrissy came at about 9, and had given me permission to get formalized since my teens wanted to be out around the ship tonight. So, I ran down to change really quickly and found them in the Loft. We went down to the Queen’s Lounge for “Battle of the Sexes,” then went to the Northern Lights where we talked for a while and danced until 10:30 when it became 18&up. Once we left there, we just went up to the Loft and had our own dance party. Two of the boys figured out how to work the music station thing (I just plug in my mp3 and it works, but they had two plugged in and were mixed songs and stuff). They seemed to enjoy it.
great day in Half Moon Cay despite the rain!
March 19, 2013: Half Moon Cay
Ohhh it was a great day!
It started out not-so-great because when I went off early with all the supplies for island games, it was cloudy and rainy. While I was building a sandcastle with three of the kids, it started to pour, such cold rain for a cloudy day. Chrissy came about then and took over with two building the sandcastles while I played Frisbee with the other. Then, it was time to clean up. Chrissy and I walked down to beach to find a place to lay out and keep our stuff. We found Charlotte with Ana, Colleen (sax player), and Matan so we joined them!
It was just the six of us for a while, but Chrissy and Matan left to do stuff back on the ship. But then Kayleigh and Jessie came by, and August and Justin (from the HAL Cats, they had just gotten done playing). We all ended up getting in the water and playing Frisbee for half an hour before we dried off and laid in the cloudy sun until it was time to get back on the ship. So much fun! We’re planning on doing the same thing next time we’re in Half Moon Cay, plus building sandcastles with the stuff I have for the kids!
We got back on the ship almost on the last crew tender. I had to change quickly so I could run upstairs for lunch and work. None of the teens came up right away, which made sense since I’d seen the ones I knew on the beach and knew they had been looking forward to spending as much time as possible there. They did come up eventually and we ended up going back to the Lido for food. We stayed in the Lido talking until 5. One of the boys likes photography as well so we had a nice discussion about that.
I went back to the room and went through pictures from today until dinner. The night went like they usually do. We took a field trip to the Queens Lounge to watch karaoke then went back to the Loft where we sat the rest of the night talking.
Ohhh it was a great day!
It started out not-so-great because when I went off early with all the supplies for island games, it was cloudy and rainy. While I was building a sandcastle with three of the kids, it started to pour, such cold rain for a cloudy day. Chrissy came about then and took over with two building the sandcastles while I played Frisbee with the other. Then, it was time to clean up. Chrissy and I walked down to beach to find a place to lay out and keep our stuff. We found Charlotte with Ana, Colleen (sax player), and Matan so we joined them!
It was just the six of us for a while, but Chrissy and Matan left to do stuff back on the ship. But then Kayleigh and Jessie came by, and August and Justin (from the HAL Cats, they had just gotten done playing). We all ended up getting in the water and playing Frisbee for half an hour before we dried off and laid in the cloudy sun until it was time to get back on the ship. So much fun! We’re planning on doing the same thing next time we’re in Half Moon Cay, plus building sandcastles with the stuff I have for the kids!
We got back on the ship almost on the last crew tender. I had to change quickly so I could run upstairs for lunch and work. None of the teens came up right away, which made sense since I’d seen the ones I knew on the beach and knew they had been looking forward to spending as much time as possible there. They did come up eventually and we ended up going back to the Lido for food. We stayed in the Lido talking until 5. One of the boys likes photography as well so we had a nice discussion about that.
I went back to the room and went through pictures from today until dinner. The night went like they usually do. We took a field trip to the Queens Lounge to watch karaoke then went back to the Loft where we sat the rest of the night talking.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
last day and first day
March 17, 2013: Sea day, last day
This morning was rather quiet, only three of the boys came up and we ended up playing cards. I taught them Speed, Spit and Rummy. One of them caught on really quickly to the first two but kept doing very badly in Rummy. After a long lunch with Sarah, Jessica, Ana and a few others, I went back up to see if anyone was there since we had decided that we were going to the shows (Island Magic-the steel band-was on before Dancing with the Stars this afternoon).
After both the shows, we went to the Lido for a quick snack, then back up to the Loft just to hang out. After a few left to go find music, the ones of us that were left played Battle of the Sexes. Surprisingly (they’re the younger group that stayed) they could answer a lot more questions than I’d expect, especially since they knew questions that the teens last week had no idea about.
It’s been an exhausting cruise, so I was kind of glad when tonight came around so I could wrap it up. We didn’t really do much tonight, just some games, chatting, card games, exchanging of emails, etc. The usual last-night stuff. Immediately after work, I changed quickly and went to the OB to hang out with Jessie and everyone else since it was the last night of the cruise AND St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
March 18, 2013: Fort Lauderdale
We had a meeting with morning at 9 with Dan Struck, the person who interviews a lot of the entertainment department and has to give permission to hire the rest. There wasn’t really anything that I specifically needed to hear, so I was kind of bored. I honestly don’t think most of what he talked about had anything to do with me. He talked about why he may not respond to emails, new titles that may be coming for some people, the new alcohol policy, etc. At least it was a quickish meeting. Chrissy found out that immigration was going to take a while, so we went up to breakfast together. When she left to wait for that, I went up to the bow with my phone.
It was another quiet embark day lunch, I hope I don’t get too used to this in case it changes! Open House went pretty slowly, I organized the programs for Chrissy, texted Mom, and had 5 kids come to get registered. I realized at the last minute that Chrissy asked me to do wristbands during the drill (I haven’t had to do that in quite a few weeks). It didn’t seem like many kids were there, but I walked around a few times and talked to some families that didn’t know about Club HAL. I was exhausted with a slight headache left over from this morning, so I went back to the room to take a nap before dinner. I actually managed to sleep, but it didn’t help the headache.
Dinner didn’t completely cure the headache either, the salt in the pasta and sugar in the apple crumbled helped some, but I went up to Club HAL to help Chrissy for a bit and still my head was hurting. I helped Chrissy for an hour since she had to do stuff with the crew office and I didn’t have much else to do.
At 9 I went to the Loft, two girls came to look around, but they didn’t stay for long. Another couple of teens came up, and I had five up there total: 4 from Canada, one from TN, and two sets of siblings. They didn’t really care enough to do anything else, so we drew/colored and got to know everyone. At 12, I had to kick them out so I could quickly clean up and get to bed. Thankfully it didn’t take long!
This morning was rather quiet, only three of the boys came up and we ended up playing cards. I taught them Speed, Spit and Rummy. One of them caught on really quickly to the first two but kept doing very badly in Rummy. After a long lunch with Sarah, Jessica, Ana and a few others, I went back up to see if anyone was there since we had decided that we were going to the shows (Island Magic-the steel band-was on before Dancing with the Stars this afternoon).
After both the shows, we went to the Lido for a quick snack, then back up to the Loft just to hang out. After a few left to go find music, the ones of us that were left played Battle of the Sexes. Surprisingly (they’re the younger group that stayed) they could answer a lot more questions than I’d expect, especially since they knew questions that the teens last week had no idea about.
It’s been an exhausting cruise, so I was kind of glad when tonight came around so I could wrap it up. We didn’t really do much tonight, just some games, chatting, card games, exchanging of emails, etc. The usual last-night stuff. Immediately after work, I changed quickly and went to the OB to hang out with Jessie and everyone else since it was the last night of the cruise AND St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
March 18, 2013: Fort Lauderdale
We had a meeting with morning at 9 with Dan Struck, the person who interviews a lot of the entertainment department and has to give permission to hire the rest. There wasn’t really anything that I specifically needed to hear, so I was kind of bored. I honestly don’t think most of what he talked about had anything to do with me. He talked about why he may not respond to emails, new titles that may be coming for some people, the new alcohol policy, etc. At least it was a quickish meeting. Chrissy found out that immigration was going to take a while, so we went up to breakfast together. When she left to wait for that, I went up to the bow with my phone.
It was another quiet embark day lunch, I hope I don’t get too used to this in case it changes! Open House went pretty slowly, I organized the programs for Chrissy, texted Mom, and had 5 kids come to get registered. I realized at the last minute that Chrissy asked me to do wristbands during the drill (I haven’t had to do that in quite a few weeks). It didn’t seem like many kids were there, but I walked around a few times and talked to some families that didn’t know about Club HAL. I was exhausted with a slight headache left over from this morning, so I went back to the room to take a nap before dinner. I actually managed to sleep, but it didn’t help the headache.
Dinner didn’t completely cure the headache either, the salt in the pasta and sugar in the apple crumbled helped some, but I went up to Club HAL to help Chrissy for a bit and still my head was hurting. I helped Chrissy for an hour since she had to do stuff with the crew office and I didn’t have much else to do.
At 9 I went to the Loft, two girls came to look around, but they didn’t stay for long. Another couple of teens came up, and I had five up there total: 4 from Canada, one from TN, and two sets of siblings. They didn’t really care enough to do anything else, so we drew/colored and got to know everyone. At 12, I had to kick them out so I could quickly clean up and get to bed. Thankfully it didn’t take long!
Costa Rica!
March 15, 2013: Costa Rica
Another busy day. I had a fire and a raft drill this morning. I had a 30 minute breakfast before coming back down to the room to wait for the drill, then spent 30 minutes sitting in the front office, then waited another 30 minutes for the raft drill, which again took 30 minutes. I debated for a few minutes whether or not to get off-ship for a bit, since I had to work at 1 and of course needed lunch before that. I ended up getting off mainly to get the free wifi next to the market. The wifi wasn’t working, so I walked around the market until I had to come back for lunch.
Chrissy finally arrived today! She came to visit me while I was in Club HAL, she’s had a crazy week; they didn’t book her a hotel room for Ft. Laud because something got mixed up and they thought she wasn’t joining until the next Ft. Laud (but they did have her flights, odd). After a few hours of getting that straightened out, she woke up the next morning feeling awful. They flew her into Costa Rica yesterday and she had to take a 3 hour taxi ride to get to Puerto Limon. She went to go rest some and I went back to reading Les Miserables since no kids had come yet. At 3:15 (it closes at 4), two kids came up: a 12-year-old and a 3-year-old. That was interesting. At least the 12-year-old was content to play Wii tennis while I attempted to keep the 3-year-old under control.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. After dinner, I hung out with Kayleigh and Jessica, we joined Ana and Colleen (of the HAL Cats) to listen to the other HAL Cats play in the Ocean Bar.
The teens and I went to the show at 10, it was the magician. We sat right up front again, they were all pretty amused by him, wanting to go to his afternoon show tomorrow to see his “up-close” magic. After the show, we just went back to the Loft and ate snack and played more Super Mario Bros.
March 16, 2013: Sea Day
Morning: prestige.
Afternoon: I am number 4, finish prestige
Evening: hang out, show, chocolate extravaganza, just dance
Another busy day. I had a fire and a raft drill this morning. I had a 30 minute breakfast before coming back down to the room to wait for the drill, then spent 30 minutes sitting in the front office, then waited another 30 minutes for the raft drill, which again took 30 minutes. I debated for a few minutes whether or not to get off-ship for a bit, since I had to work at 1 and of course needed lunch before that. I ended up getting off mainly to get the free wifi next to the market. The wifi wasn’t working, so I walked around the market until I had to come back for lunch.
Chrissy finally arrived today! She came to visit me while I was in Club HAL, she’s had a crazy week; they didn’t book her a hotel room for Ft. Laud because something got mixed up and they thought she wasn’t joining until the next Ft. Laud (but they did have her flights, odd). After a few hours of getting that straightened out, she woke up the next morning feeling awful. They flew her into Costa Rica yesterday and she had to take a 3 hour taxi ride to get to Puerto Limon. She went to go rest some and I went back to reading Les Miserables since no kids had come yet. At 3:15 (it closes at 4), two kids came up: a 12-year-old and a 3-year-old. That was interesting. At least the 12-year-old was content to play Wii tennis while I attempted to keep the 3-year-old under control.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. After dinner, I hung out with Kayleigh and Jessica, we joined Ana and Colleen (of the HAL Cats) to listen to the other HAL Cats play in the Ocean Bar.
The teens and I went to the show at 10, it was the magician. We sat right up front again, they were all pretty amused by him, wanting to go to his afternoon show tomorrow to see his “up-close” magic. After the show, we just went back to the Loft and ate snack and played more Super Mario Bros.
March 16, 2013: Sea Day
Morning: prestige.
Afternoon: I am number 4, finish prestige
Evening: hang out, show, chocolate extravaganza, just dance
Saturday, March 16, 2013
sea day and Panama
March 13, 2013: Sea Day
It was a quiet morning, only one girl came in 15 minutes after I did and we just talked for another thirty minutes when a few others started to show up. We played Super Mario Bros until it was time for lunch.
This afternoon, the teens all decided that they wanted to attend the dance class. I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet about the new thing HAL is doing called “Dancing with the Stars at sea.” (I call it dancing with the cruisers). Last cruise was the first week of that for us. It went as well as it could considering the information the dancers and techies were given. Sarah, the stage manager/events technical manager, told Charlotte and me a lot about it. They have three dance classes the first few days of the cruise and choose 4 couples to be “finalists” in that type of dance, they dance with one of the cast members and then it goes down to two (they try for one male, one female). The last day of the cruise, there’s a big production where the six guests perform with the dancers and the crowd pretty much decide who wins. This will happen during EVERY cruise. Then, next January or so, all the winners from all the ships apparently will get a free cruise for two and compete to see who is the ultimate winner.
Interesting, no? I wonder what they’ll do after they’ve exhausted their pool of participants (a lot of people who cruise on HAL repeat cruises, and not a whole lot want to actually participate in the competition)?
Anyway, we went as a group to the class and they learned a cha-cha routine. I had it memorized after 5 minutes, haha. It was pretty fun. They’re not allowed to be in the final four though, since they’re not 18, but it seems like they enjoyed it! After the class, most of them went to the pool together. Only one girl came up with me to the Loft, where we watched Mean Girls all afternoon.
I hung out in the library with Charlotte for a while after dinner, then took over for Jacob for a little bit before going early to the Loft where the teens were waiting on me. We played Super Mario Bros for a while, then watched Indiana Jones. We timed that perfectly because it was exactly 12 when the movie ended!
March 14, 2013: Panama
There was horrible noise as we went through the locks this morning. I think it was kind of windy so we kept bumping against the sides. I had breakfast then went up to the Loft to wait for the four kids who didn’t go on excursions. One was there right away; he had borrowed “Batman Begins” from the front office for us to watch. The others slowly trickled in and joined us in watching the movie. I stayed a bit later to finish it, then went down for lunch.
There weren’t many people at lunch, but I managed to stay until nearly time to go back up to the Loft. I was up there early and the one teen and I just played Super Mario Bros until I went to take over for Jacob so he could print programs. Since the one teen that had been there was a crew-kid, Jacob said I could leave at 4 if no one else came. I went back to the Loft to find an empty room. About 3:45 though, more of the teens got there. We had arrived to Colon early (by over an hour) and most of the tours that had left in the morning were back. So, I had to stay working until the usual 5. I couldn’t get off then because all aboard is 5:30. We didn’t leave until at least 6:30 though, apparently one of the tours got back really late so we had to wait on them. I had dinner with Sarah and Charlotte and talked about what’s going on the theatre. Sarah was supposed to have a replacement come on for this cruise, but they backed out 2 days before leaving. Now, they’re asking Sarah to stay on an extra cruise to train the new person coming on now that they finally found a replacement. It all seems pretty crazy, why can’t they have a plan for when things like this happen, at least have a back-up person to call so people can actually leave on their assigned date.
I went to the Loft early since there really was nothing better to do. One of the girls and I talked, then we all went to the show (a comedian) together. It was entertaining since half of the teens were down in the front row, so he picked on them a bit during the show. After the show, we just went back to the Loft and hung out until time to leave.
It was a quiet morning, only one girl came in 15 minutes after I did and we just talked for another thirty minutes when a few others started to show up. We played Super Mario Bros until it was time for lunch.
This afternoon, the teens all decided that they wanted to attend the dance class. I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet about the new thing HAL is doing called “Dancing with the Stars at sea.” (I call it dancing with the cruisers). Last cruise was the first week of that for us. It went as well as it could considering the information the dancers and techies were given. Sarah, the stage manager/events technical manager, told Charlotte and me a lot about it. They have three dance classes the first few days of the cruise and choose 4 couples to be “finalists” in that type of dance, they dance with one of the cast members and then it goes down to two (they try for one male, one female). The last day of the cruise, there’s a big production where the six guests perform with the dancers and the crowd pretty much decide who wins. This will happen during EVERY cruise. Then, next January or so, all the winners from all the ships apparently will get a free cruise for two and compete to see who is the ultimate winner.
Interesting, no? I wonder what they’ll do after they’ve exhausted their pool of participants (a lot of people who cruise on HAL repeat cruises, and not a whole lot want to actually participate in the competition)?
Anyway, we went as a group to the class and they learned a cha-cha routine. I had it memorized after 5 minutes, haha. It was pretty fun. They’re not allowed to be in the final four though, since they’re not 18, but it seems like they enjoyed it! After the class, most of them went to the pool together. Only one girl came up with me to the Loft, where we watched Mean Girls all afternoon.
I hung out in the library with Charlotte for a while after dinner, then took over for Jacob for a little bit before going early to the Loft where the teens were waiting on me. We played Super Mario Bros for a while, then watched Indiana Jones. We timed that perfectly because it was exactly 12 when the movie ended!
March 14, 2013: Panama
There was horrible noise as we went through the locks this morning. I think it was kind of windy so we kept bumping against the sides. I had breakfast then went up to the Loft to wait for the four kids who didn’t go on excursions. One was there right away; he had borrowed “Batman Begins” from the front office for us to watch. The others slowly trickled in and joined us in watching the movie. I stayed a bit later to finish it, then went down for lunch.
There weren’t many people at lunch, but I managed to stay until nearly time to go back up to the Loft. I was up there early and the one teen and I just played Super Mario Bros until I went to take over for Jacob so he could print programs. Since the one teen that had been there was a crew-kid, Jacob said I could leave at 4 if no one else came. I went back to the Loft to find an empty room. About 3:45 though, more of the teens got there. We had arrived to Colon early (by over an hour) and most of the tours that had left in the morning were back. So, I had to stay working until the usual 5. I couldn’t get off then because all aboard is 5:30. We didn’t leave until at least 6:30 though, apparently one of the tours got back really late so we had to wait on them. I had dinner with Sarah and Charlotte and talked about what’s going on the theatre. Sarah was supposed to have a replacement come on for this cruise, but they backed out 2 days before leaving. Now, they’re asking Sarah to stay on an extra cruise to train the new person coming on now that they finally found a replacement. It all seems pretty crazy, why can’t they have a plan for when things like this happen, at least have a back-up person to call so people can actually leave on their assigned date.
I went to the Loft early since there really was nothing better to do. One of the girls and I talked, then we all went to the show (a comedian) together. It was entertaining since half of the teens were down in the front row, so he picked on them a bit during the show. After the show, we just went back to the Loft and hung out until time to leave.
Ostrich farm!
March 12, 2013: Curacao
I went to an ostrich farm today! It was quite fun actually!
I worked the morning port day shift so I could leave by 12 to meet Ana, August, Matan (HAL Cats), two of the photogs and Kayleigh and Jessica (the two cadets) so we could go. No one came to Club HAL, so I just read more of “Les Miserables” until Jacob came to take over.
After a quick lunch, I changed and met everyone at the gangway. We then had kind of a small adventure walking around trying to find a taxi, we ended up in a large van-type taxi. Twenty-five minutes later, we arrived at the ostrich farm! The rest of them paid to ride an ostrich, they had to fill out a waiver in case the ostrich got angry and injured one of them; I was just there to hang out, take pictures and see everything ($35 for a minute or two riding on an ostrich?). They had a TON of other animals there too though, so that was cool: baby ostriches and emus, warthogs, pigs, chickens, geese, a few parrots, two ponies, lots of goats, and of course iguanas everywhere! I have lots of pictures. Have I seen a parrot in person before? They’re pretty big, and so colorful!! It was so much fun to watch as everyone else rode the ostrich down a path and back. Their expressions were priceless.
Our taxi stayed there to take us back; so when we were done, he dropped us off across the bridge in town. Kayleigh and Jessica went back to the ship while the rest of us decided to get a drink and some internet since we still had an hour before all aboard. The internet didn’t work but we stayed and talked anyway until time to leave. The rest of the day was pretty boring comparatively, I spent the rest of the afternoon going through some of the 200 pictures I took today!
The evening wasn’t too exciting either. We just put in another movie and most of them talked through the whole thing. It was a pretty eventful day though, so I was happy just to sit and relax as work.
I went to an ostrich farm today! It was quite fun actually!
I worked the morning port day shift so I could leave by 12 to meet Ana, August, Matan (HAL Cats), two of the photogs and Kayleigh and Jessica (the two cadets) so we could go. No one came to Club HAL, so I just read more of “Les Miserables” until Jacob came to take over.
After a quick lunch, I changed and met everyone at the gangway. We then had kind of a small adventure walking around trying to find a taxi, we ended up in a large van-type taxi. Twenty-five minutes later, we arrived at the ostrich farm! The rest of them paid to ride an ostrich, they had to fill out a waiver in case the ostrich got angry and injured one of them; I was just there to hang out, take pictures and see everything ($35 for a minute or two riding on an ostrich?). They had a TON of other animals there too though, so that was cool: baby ostriches and emus, warthogs, pigs, chickens, geese, a few parrots, two ponies, lots of goats, and of course iguanas everywhere! I have lots of pictures. Have I seen a parrot in person before? They’re pretty big, and so colorful!! It was so much fun to watch as everyone else rode the ostrich down a path and back. Their expressions were priceless.
Our taxi stayed there to take us back; so when we were done, he dropped us off across the bridge in town. Kayleigh and Jessica went back to the ship while the rest of us decided to get a drink and some internet since we still had an hour before all aboard. The internet didn’t work but we stayed and talked anyway until time to leave. The rest of the day was pretty boring comparatively, I spent the rest of the afternoon going through some of the 200 pictures I took today!
The evening wasn’t too exciting either. We just put in another movie and most of them talked through the whole thing. It was a pretty eventful day though, so I was happy just to sit and relax as work.
Aruba
March 11, 2013: Aruba
We get to Aruba in the afternoon (I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned that before) around 1, so I worked normal morning sea day hours, basically we played card games all morning. I had a quick lunch, then went up to Club HAL for port day. None of the kids showed up so I played Lego Harry Potter (I’m slowly getting farther in it) until about 3:30 since Jacob told me I could leave if no one was there by then because they’re not going to come and stay for just 30 minutes. Charlotte had waited for me to get off, so we went to the ice cream place for internet. It wasn’t working there, so Charlotte took us to an internet café that she had been at before. It was a bit expensive for my taste, but then again, I’m used to just buying a drink or something to use the internet for as long as I want. We spent about two hours there before walking back to the ship because Charlotte had to work right after dinner.
I spent a long time in the Lido. Charlotte left because she had to work, so I stood up to go get dessert, but I got distracted when one of my teens walked by and we started talking. We stood there in the Lido talking for probably 30 minutes after which I joined Kayleigh (a Cadet), and some of the HAL Cats for a little while. I decided since I didn’t have too long to wait to just go ahead and see if Jacob needed any help with the kids. I took over the remote as they played “Disney Scene It?” and Jacob went to print off schedules for the week.
It was an interesting night with the teens. Two of the boys were playing a video game and the older ones came, saw that, and left again (as a group at least). A few of the younger girls came in as well. It was actually a pretty quiet night. They went to the front office and got an Indiana Jones which we started watching, then some of the other teens came back and took us to the Explorers Lounge where they had been practicing piano. By the time they showed us what one of the girls had learned to play, I had to head back up to start locking up. Everyone actually ended up back in the Loft with just a few minutes before I had to close up.
Monday, March 11, 2013
sea day
March 10, 2013: Sea Day
Lots of confusion this morning. I woke up with my phone alarm as usual, Charlotte had left a few minutes before so I got up and turned the TV to the navigation channel (it says the time, has maps that zoom in, sometimes has weather, etc) like is my habit here because there are so many time changes. The TV time was an hour before my phone time, so I checked my watch which was also an hour behind. I was so confused, I tried to remember whether I’d missed an hour back or if I hadn’t changed my watch an hour forward (apparently sometimes they forget to change the TV clock as well) or what, so I got ready for work. I was really tired and still confused when I finally realized that my phone must have changed for Daylight Savings! I thought I’d set it to not do that, but it must have. Turns out that Charlotte’s tablet (with her alarm) did the same thing, so she went to work an hour early and didn’t realize it until an hour later. Such fun, I went back to bed for a bit before breakfast (since I now had time!), then up to the Loft.
I was extremely surprised to see the teens come AT 10. I’m used to having teens that sleep in a lot, so this is odd. They were all pretty tired though so we ended up just sitting around talking, and eating the candy some of the girls had brought in their purses. I had a quick lunch with the wife of one of the band leaders. She’s a flight attendant, from Quebec! I think we have great potential to be friends! She’s only on for this one cruise (because her husband disembarks next Ft. Laud), but they’re going to be on the Nieuw A with me in August!
After lunch, I had time to relax in the room for a while until work, good considering I’m still sleepy I guess from the hour forward yesterday, then getting up early today. This afternoon, we talked for a while, then I got everyone started playing Phase 10. That took up the rest of the afternoon, including a trip downstairs for an ice cream break. We started with 9 people playing, then went down to four as it started raining and some of them ran outside to see. Once we were down to 4, the game went a lot faster, especially since everyone was paying attention!
I actually managed to take a nap during my break after dinner. Work tonight was pretty easy. We hung out for an hour, then went to the show (called “In Concert”; famous songs from various time periods). After the show, we met the other teens (who had left before the show to play shuffleboard) who had gotten Toy Story 3 from the front office. So, we ended up watching that, while the few older teens left since they didn’t want to watch it (I felt the same way since I watched it so much on the Maasdam). Sleep time!
Lots of confusion this morning. I woke up with my phone alarm as usual, Charlotte had left a few minutes before so I got up and turned the TV to the navigation channel (it says the time, has maps that zoom in, sometimes has weather, etc) like is my habit here because there are so many time changes. The TV time was an hour before my phone time, so I checked my watch which was also an hour behind. I was so confused, I tried to remember whether I’d missed an hour back or if I hadn’t changed my watch an hour forward (apparently sometimes they forget to change the TV clock as well) or what, so I got ready for work. I was really tired and still confused when I finally realized that my phone must have changed for Daylight Savings! I thought I’d set it to not do that, but it must have. Turns out that Charlotte’s tablet (with her alarm) did the same thing, so she went to work an hour early and didn’t realize it until an hour later. Such fun, I went back to bed for a bit before breakfast (since I now had time!), then up to the Loft.
I was extremely surprised to see the teens come AT 10. I’m used to having teens that sleep in a lot, so this is odd. They were all pretty tired though so we ended up just sitting around talking, and eating the candy some of the girls had brought in their purses. I had a quick lunch with the wife of one of the band leaders. She’s a flight attendant, from Quebec! I think we have great potential to be friends! She’s only on for this one cruise (because her husband disembarks next Ft. Laud), but they’re going to be on the Nieuw A with me in August!
After lunch, I had time to relax in the room for a while until work, good considering I’m still sleepy I guess from the hour forward yesterday, then getting up early today. This afternoon, we talked for a while, then I got everyone started playing Phase 10. That took up the rest of the afternoon, including a trip downstairs for an ice cream break. We started with 9 people playing, then went down to four as it started raining and some of them ran outside to see. Once we were down to 4, the game went a lot faster, especially since everyone was paying attention!
I actually managed to take a nap during my break after dinner. Work tonight was pretty easy. We hung out for an hour, then went to the show (called “In Concert”; famous songs from various time periods). After the show, we met the other teens (who had left before the show to play shuffleboard) who had gotten Toy Story 3 from the front office. So, we ended up watching that, while the few older teens left since they didn’t want to watch it (I felt the same way since I watched it so much on the Maasdam). Sleep time!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Half Moon Cay from the ship
March 9, 2013: Half Moon Cay
This morning was not fun. We arrived early, but didn’t get cleared from port authorities to let anyone off the ship until 9:30. I woke up kind of late, but didn’t know we weren’t allowed off so I thought I’d missed the first crew tender. I ended up calling Jacob (who was giving out tender tickets) and asking whether I should still try to get off or not. He said just don’t go since it was already late and there were so many people waiting to get off. So, I went back to sleep until Charlotte came back to the room and we went to lunch early. After lunch, I pretty much slept until I had to head up to the Loft. It was a short afternoon at least! We took a kind of long trip to go get ice cream/pizza right in the middle of our time. Other than that, we just played games and talked.
After the afternoon session, I came down to the room, did a Sudoku or two, then went up for dinner. Krista (Jacob’s wife, the techspert) asked if Charlotte and I could help her in the digital workshop, so we went down with her after we ate. She just got new computers so had to set them all up on the tables in there; she needed our help to ziptie the cords under the tables so that there weren’t cords for people to trip on all over the floor. It was kind of fun, I haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to her much because her schedule is so odd and there’s other stuff going on during meals.
We just sat talking for a while in the Loft, then we decided that we wanted to watch Harry Potter (one of the boys hadn’t seen it), so we had an adventure going to the front office, realizing they gave us the third instead of first, going back down to correct it, watching about 45 minutes before the disc started skipping. At least it was nearly closing time when it started skipping, so we’ll finish it tomorrow.
This morning was not fun. We arrived early, but didn’t get cleared from port authorities to let anyone off the ship until 9:30. I woke up kind of late, but didn’t know we weren’t allowed off so I thought I’d missed the first crew tender. I ended up calling Jacob (who was giving out tender tickets) and asking whether I should still try to get off or not. He said just don’t go since it was already late and there were so many people waiting to get off. So, I went back to sleep until Charlotte came back to the room and we went to lunch early. After lunch, I pretty much slept until I had to head up to the Loft. It was a short afternoon at least! We took a kind of long trip to go get ice cream/pizza right in the middle of our time. Other than that, we just played games and talked.
After the afternoon session, I came down to the room, did a Sudoku or two, then went up for dinner. Krista (Jacob’s wife, the techspert) asked if Charlotte and I could help her in the digital workshop, so we went down with her after we ate. She just got new computers so had to set them all up on the tables in there; she needed our help to ziptie the cords under the tables so that there weren’t cords for people to trip on all over the floor. It was kind of fun, I haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to her much because her schedule is so odd and there’s other stuff going on during meals.
We just sat talking for a while in the Loft, then we decided that we wanted to watch Harry Potter (one of the boys hadn’t seen it), so we had an adventure going to the front office, realizing they gave us the third instead of first, going back down to correct it, watching about 45 minutes before the disc started skipping. At least it was nearly closing time when it started skipping, so we’ll finish it tomorrow.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Fort Lauderdale
March 8: Fort Lauderdale
I got off early to take the shuttle with Charlotte to the shopping center. First we went to OfficeMax to mail some stuff, then we crossed the street to Publix for some grocery shopping; I got a few things I needed and Charlotte bought snack food (she’s nearly as picky of an eater as I am). After that, we stopped outside a restaurant that had internet (though it wasn’t open) until Charlotte had to get back to work.
When we got back, Charlotte went up to open the library and I went to the bow to use my phone. I got to talk to Dad AND Mom! :) Conversation was cut kind of short since I was worried about getting lunch before work at 1. Lunch is always extremely crowded on embark day and it takes at least 10 minutes to get through any of the lines. Today was different though. No one was there, I think I saw maybe 20 crew and 10 guests getting food/eating. When I got up to Club HAL I found out why. Because of some kind of budget cuts, there are many less people who take care of the ships for customs. Thus, it took longer than usual, and the new guests can’t get on until the old guests leave so it was about 12:45 before anyone was even allowed to get on. I hope this doesn’t keep up. Or maybe not, since I kind of liked how quiet and non-crowded it was at lunch.
And again, because of the long wait to get on the ship, none of the passengers came to Club HAL for the first hour of open house. It gave Jacob the chance to tell me about Chrissy, who was supposed to come on today. She’s currently at the hotel, sick. She’s still going to come, but not until Aruba or Curacao. In the meantime, we’re one youth staff down and have a big difference in the kids/tweens age. There’s quite a few 3-5 year olds, and quite a few 10-12 year olds, only a couple in the middle; that’s going to make it hard on Jacob until Chrissy gets here. I am going to help out as much as I can, but I have 20 teens myself.
In total, three people came to look around during open house: two teens and a 3-year-old. I went to the bow to talk to Mom again while the passenger drill was taking place, and then went up to the top deck to watch as we left and to listen to the band. I met the wife of the band leader since she was up there as well, so I might have made another friend. I still think that it’s difficult on this ship to make friends; I’m definitely friends with the two cadets, and Charlotte, and kind of friends with one or two members from each of the HAL Cats, but I still don’t feel really comfortable around anyone else. If there’s nowhere else to sit, I’m fine asking if I can sit with them (others, not the ones I names), but sitting with them is just that, sitting and eating.
I went down to the room and did a few sudokus instead of napping until dinner- I was tired but apparently not tired enough to sleep. I stayed a long time at dinner with one of the guitar players, then with the cadets before going up to Club HAL to help Jacob out for a bit until it was time for me to head to the Loft. Two showed up right at 9, then another came a minute later. We started to play ERS, but then two more came in, so we had to re-deal the cards; just as we dealt again, someone else came in! We started the game and let her slap-in. We chatted and got to know each other a bit before moving on to another game. Two sisters came in and we started another card game, then went around the circle telling facts about ourselves (name, favorite color, superpower and random fact) to make sure we could remember everyone’s name. By that time, it was after 11 so we ate snack and chatted more about school, differences between Canada and US (half of them were from each; the US half was from warm states!), sports, etc. Next thing I knew, it was time to close up. They all made sure to ask when I’ll be up there tomorrow, so that’s a good sign. This seems like a good group, even though there’s two sets of siblings, they’ve gotten along so far. Hour forward tonight, and Half Moon Cay tomorrow. It’s sure to be crazy because the Nieuw Amsterdam will be in port with us and we have to use our own tenders instead of the big ones from the island.
I got off early to take the shuttle with Charlotte to the shopping center. First we went to OfficeMax to mail some stuff, then we crossed the street to Publix for some grocery shopping; I got a few things I needed and Charlotte bought snack food (she’s nearly as picky of an eater as I am). After that, we stopped outside a restaurant that had internet (though it wasn’t open) until Charlotte had to get back to work.
When we got back, Charlotte went up to open the library and I went to the bow to use my phone. I got to talk to Dad AND Mom! :) Conversation was cut kind of short since I was worried about getting lunch before work at 1. Lunch is always extremely crowded on embark day and it takes at least 10 minutes to get through any of the lines. Today was different though. No one was there, I think I saw maybe 20 crew and 10 guests getting food/eating. When I got up to Club HAL I found out why. Because of some kind of budget cuts, there are many less people who take care of the ships for customs. Thus, it took longer than usual, and the new guests can’t get on until the old guests leave so it was about 12:45 before anyone was even allowed to get on. I hope this doesn’t keep up. Or maybe not, since I kind of liked how quiet and non-crowded it was at lunch.
And again, because of the long wait to get on the ship, none of the passengers came to Club HAL for the first hour of open house. It gave Jacob the chance to tell me about Chrissy, who was supposed to come on today. She’s currently at the hotel, sick. She’s still going to come, but not until Aruba or Curacao. In the meantime, we’re one youth staff down and have a big difference in the kids/tweens age. There’s quite a few 3-5 year olds, and quite a few 10-12 year olds, only a couple in the middle; that’s going to make it hard on Jacob until Chrissy gets here. I am going to help out as much as I can, but I have 20 teens myself.
In total, three people came to look around during open house: two teens and a 3-year-old. I went to the bow to talk to Mom again while the passenger drill was taking place, and then went up to the top deck to watch as we left and to listen to the band. I met the wife of the band leader since she was up there as well, so I might have made another friend. I still think that it’s difficult on this ship to make friends; I’m definitely friends with the two cadets, and Charlotte, and kind of friends with one or two members from each of the HAL Cats, but I still don’t feel really comfortable around anyone else. If there’s nowhere else to sit, I’m fine asking if I can sit with them (others, not the ones I names), but sitting with them is just that, sitting and eating.
I went down to the room and did a few sudokus instead of napping until dinner- I was tired but apparently not tired enough to sleep. I stayed a long time at dinner with one of the guitar players, then with the cadets before going up to Club HAL to help Jacob out for a bit until it was time for me to head to the Loft. Two showed up right at 9, then another came a minute later. We started to play ERS, but then two more came in, so we had to re-deal the cards; just as we dealt again, someone else came in! We started the game and let her slap-in. We chatted and got to know each other a bit before moving on to another game. Two sisters came in and we started another card game, then went around the circle telling facts about ourselves (name, favorite color, superpower and random fact) to make sure we could remember everyone’s name. By that time, it was after 11 so we ate snack and chatted more about school, differences between Canada and US (half of them were from each; the US half was from warm states!), sports, etc. Next thing I knew, it was time to close up. They all made sure to ask when I’ll be up there tomorrow, so that’s a good sign. This seems like a good group, even though there’s two sets of siblings, they’ve gotten along so far. Hour forward tonight, and Half Moon Cay tomorrow. It’s sure to be crazy because the Nieuw Amsterdam will be in port with us and we have to use our own tenders instead of the big ones from the island.
Friday, March 8, 2013
crazy few days!
March 3, 2013: Cartegena
It was pretty much a normal sea day for me. I worked the port day shift since Jacob had to attend a security/safety meeting, then had the usual afternoon/evening sessions with the teens. Only two girls were there in the morning so we played games on wii sports resort. The boy ‘teen’ came in and played as well since he didn’t get off the ship and was bored. We ended up taking that disk to the Loft in the afternoon and playing that with the other teens all afternoon. At least it’s a different type of video game. I found out I’m decent at archery and good at Frisbee with the wii! :)
I stayed in the Loft late since I really didn’t want to go back to my room quite yet, and the teens weren’t ready to stop yet. So, I had about 10 minutes in the room talking to Charlotte before dinner. Dinner was a bit disappointed. I finally caved and had fries for the first time on the Zuiderdam because I’d had pizza with the teens earlier and the pasta sauce had been overcooked.
Most of the night session, we just played FIFA (soccer on xbox). The other teen showed up again (she’s been coming more today and yesterday) and we convinced her to at least try to play it with us. After FIFA and an ice cream break, we took out the Battle of the Sexes questions and amused ourselves with asking/answering those the rest of the night.
March 4, 2013: Panama Canal
All of the teens were going on excursions today, so Jacob asked if I would mind taking the afternoon shift in Club HAL, and just sleeping in in the morning. It wasn’t a bad afternoon, we just played on the wii and Xboxes. I got off the ship and did a little shopping on my own before getting back on the ship and attempting to upload pictures (Charlotte told me afterwards that she should’ve told me before that internet on Panama day is really really slow). The teens and I just talked and showed each other pictures the whole night, so it was a really easy day.
March 5, 2013: Costa Rica
There was a drill this morning, a fire drill and a raft drill for certain number rafts (not mine, Charlotte had to go though). I had a good breakfast then went to the front office for the fire drill. I met Charlotte in the room and we agreed to get off together after her drill. I got our shore passes (Costa Rica makes crew have to have shore passes-like a visa I guess) while she was at the drill then we went out wandering. Right off the ship is a market, so we wandered through there and each bought a few things. I now have a really cool blue bracelet with a butterfly carved into a diamond-shaped piece of coconut shell! It’s pretty cool!
We had lunch back on the ship after spending an hour or so looking around the market. The teen boy came and joined us when we were almost done eating, and I agreed to open the Loft for the afternoon. When I went back upstairs all three of them were there talking. We ended up staying there playing games all afternoon! Then, I opened early again after dinner. They’re a really great group, sometimes they tire me out, but I still enjoy hanging out with them.
March 6, 2013: Sea Day
It was pretty much movie day in the Loft. We watched a few of the movies I had in the Loft, then they went to the front office and got some more movies to watch! That’s all we did all day. I didn’t go to the room at all from when I left for breakfast at 9 until after midnight! It was a relaxing, but full day it seems. Nothing else really interesting happened.
March 7, 2013: Sea Day
What a day! I went up to Club HAL a bit early, which was lucky since Jacob had forgotten to ask me to come by so he could go to “Love in Any Language” (the “crew’s final farewell” show-type thing). Two of the teens showed up and everyone ended up just sitting and watching Despicable Me, which Jacob had started before he left. The little kids had fun kind of attacking the teen boy when he wouldn’t give them back the ball of model magic they’d thrown at him; watching and helping with that entertained those of us that weren’t completely focused on the movie. The teens and I left when Jacob came back and just hung out for the last hour until lunchtime. Then, they told me not to come back until 2 (odd since they’re usually ready for me to come back as soon as possible). At lunch they came by with a “present” for me - a glass of ice, they figured out that I don’t like ice so decided to give me some. After they gave me that, they not-so-discretely told Charlotte to not let me go back to the Loft until after 2. I was a little bit worried at that point at what they were planning. Though, I did end up helping Charlotte shelve all the books people had begun to turn in since it’s the last day of the cruise. One of the teens came by to tell me to meet them by the front office at 2:15.
Around 2, I went by Club HAL to see if Jacob needed anything. They were in the Loft doing something, which made me even more suspicious. I met the teens at the front office, and we went right back up to the Loft. They ran in and told me to walk really slowly up the stairs, so I did. Apparently too slow though, haha. I come in to find the lights off and ‘decorations’ all around the room, and all the Club HAL kids and teens jumped out and yelled “surprise.” I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. There was toilet paper strung across the room from the ceiling and all over the floor, and pieces of paper with words taped to the wall. The Club HAL kids left and the teens then told me what everything was about. There was random stuff that they’d written to do with me (random things: orange&blue, the word y’all, ice, etc) on the wall. We cleaned it all up and hung out for a while before starting a movie, which really kept us occupied until dinner.
It was pretty much a normal sea day for me. I worked the port day shift since Jacob had to attend a security/safety meeting, then had the usual afternoon/evening sessions with the teens. Only two girls were there in the morning so we played games on wii sports resort. The boy ‘teen’ came in and played as well since he didn’t get off the ship and was bored. We ended up taking that disk to the Loft in the afternoon and playing that with the other teens all afternoon. At least it’s a different type of video game. I found out I’m decent at archery and good at Frisbee with the wii! :)
I stayed in the Loft late since I really didn’t want to go back to my room quite yet, and the teens weren’t ready to stop yet. So, I had about 10 minutes in the room talking to Charlotte before dinner. Dinner was a bit disappointed. I finally caved and had fries for the first time on the Zuiderdam because I’d had pizza with the teens earlier and the pasta sauce had been overcooked.
Most of the night session, we just played FIFA (soccer on xbox). The other teen showed up again (she’s been coming more today and yesterday) and we convinced her to at least try to play it with us. After FIFA and an ice cream break, we took out the Battle of the Sexes questions and amused ourselves with asking/answering those the rest of the night.
March 4, 2013: Panama Canal
All of the teens were going on excursions today, so Jacob asked if I would mind taking the afternoon shift in Club HAL, and just sleeping in in the morning. It wasn’t a bad afternoon, we just played on the wii and Xboxes. I got off the ship and did a little shopping on my own before getting back on the ship and attempting to upload pictures (Charlotte told me afterwards that she should’ve told me before that internet on Panama day is really really slow). The teens and I just talked and showed each other pictures the whole night, so it was a really easy day.
March 5, 2013: Costa Rica
There was a drill this morning, a fire drill and a raft drill for certain number rafts (not mine, Charlotte had to go though). I had a good breakfast then went to the front office for the fire drill. I met Charlotte in the room and we agreed to get off together after her drill. I got our shore passes (Costa Rica makes crew have to have shore passes-like a visa I guess) while she was at the drill then we went out wandering. Right off the ship is a market, so we wandered through there and each bought a few things. I now have a really cool blue bracelet with a butterfly carved into a diamond-shaped piece of coconut shell! It’s pretty cool!
We had lunch back on the ship after spending an hour or so looking around the market. The teen boy came and joined us when we were almost done eating, and I agreed to open the Loft for the afternoon. When I went back upstairs all three of them were there talking. We ended up staying there playing games all afternoon! Then, I opened early again after dinner. They’re a really great group, sometimes they tire me out, but I still enjoy hanging out with them.
March 6, 2013: Sea Day
It was pretty much movie day in the Loft. We watched a few of the movies I had in the Loft, then they went to the front office and got some more movies to watch! That’s all we did all day. I didn’t go to the room at all from when I left for breakfast at 9 until after midnight! It was a relaxing, but full day it seems. Nothing else really interesting happened.
March 7, 2013: Sea Day
What a day! I went up to Club HAL a bit early, which was lucky since Jacob had forgotten to ask me to come by so he could go to “Love in Any Language” (the “crew’s final farewell” show-type thing). Two of the teens showed up and everyone ended up just sitting and watching Despicable Me, which Jacob had started before he left. The little kids had fun kind of attacking the teen boy when he wouldn’t give them back the ball of model magic they’d thrown at him; watching and helping with that entertained those of us that weren’t completely focused on the movie. The teens and I left when Jacob came back and just hung out for the last hour until lunchtime. Then, they told me not to come back until 2 (odd since they’re usually ready for me to come back as soon as possible). At lunch they came by with a “present” for me - a glass of ice, they figured out that I don’t like ice so decided to give me some. After they gave me that, they not-so-discretely told Charlotte to not let me go back to the Loft until after 2. I was a little bit worried at that point at what they were planning. Though, I did end up helping Charlotte shelve all the books people had begun to turn in since it’s the last day of the cruise. One of the teens came by to tell me to meet them by the front office at 2:15.
Around 2, I went by Club HAL to see if Jacob needed anything. They were in the Loft doing something, which made me even more suspicious. I met the teens at the front office, and we went right back up to the Loft. They ran in and told me to walk really slowly up the stairs, so I did. Apparently too slow though, haha. I come in to find the lights off and ‘decorations’ all around the room, and all the Club HAL kids and teens jumped out and yelled “surprise.” I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. There was toilet paper strung across the room from the ceiling and all over the floor, and pieces of paper with words taped to the wall. The Club HAL kids left and the teens then told me what everything was about. There was random stuff that they’d written to do with me (random things: orange&blue, the word y’all, ice, etc) on the wall. We cleaned it all up and hung out for a while before starting a movie, which really kept us occupied until dinner.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Aruba and Curacao
February 28, 2013: Aruba
It was a long morning as we waited to get to Aruba. A lot of people were walking around crooked because the ship was rocking a bit, but I didn’t really notice it except in the Loft when the ball of Christmas-lights started swinging more. The boy was the only one to come up, we started playing another Halo game. I’m still pretty bad at it, but at least I’ve learned how to look and walk around at the same time in it.
After lunch, there was a lapse of time when crew couldn’t get off because of the general drill. Charlotte and I started laundry since we both really needed to do it and had time. After the drill (which surprisingly didn’t take that long!), we finished up laundry finally and went out to get ice cream and wifi. I really appreciate the invention of the internet, this kind of job would be so much harder for most crew members if we didn’t have it. We got back on not long before dinner so we changed and went up for our nightly pasta.
I met the 16-year-old tonight. She and her mom came up to find and check out the Loft so she can possibly come up later this week. I couldn’t really tell if she was that interested in coming up or not, but I’m glad they checked in. The boy and I played FIFA (soccer) on the xbox. I’m not too horrible at it; it’s easier than the other games, and now that I know what all the buttons make the players do, I’m in much better shape to play it! Plus, it’s actually fun! We ended up playing that the entire night session, with a short break to go to the pool party in the Lido and get some snacks.
March 1, 2013: Curacao
Curacao is an easy day for Club HAL, especially if no one signs up for port day! I got up late since I just wanted to sleep in, but I somehow got ready in time to make it up to breakfast. I ate with Charlotte who had just gotten off work, then I came down to the room to read until lunch (I didn’t want to get lunch off-ship, especially alone). After a quick lunch, I changed quickly and went to town for the afternoon.
Not far into town, I met up with some of the front office girls (one of whom had been on the Maasdam with me, Lianne). I walked around with them until they got to KFC where they were getting lunch and wifi. I didn’t need lunch since I’d already eaten, and didn’t really feel I needed to spend more time on wifi since I had a few hours yesterday, so I went off wandering around on my own. After walking around the shops and markets for a while, I met the doctor and his family. I actually spent the rest of the afternoon with them, wandering around town, showing each other things we’d discovered in and around town! It was pretty fun hanging out with them. We found a place where a bunch of crabs were scuttling around, stopped on a little bridge and watched little fish and big blue fish swimming around, and found some trees that had polished designs carved into them. I enjoy hanging out with that family; I’m sad they’re leaving at the end of this cruise, but hopefully I’ll see them again sometime. Funnily enough, they’re going to be on the Maasdam this fall for the Transatlantic trip!
Charlotte and I had our normal dinner, then back to the room to talk for a while until we each had to work. In the Loft, we played a few board games. Started Monopoly, then gave up; the boy tried to teach us Risk, but the girl and I didn’t have enough patience for it. We ended up getting out Battle of the Sexes and I read off questions for them to answer. It was actually really hilarious because of their reactions to some of the questions and answers and they just fed off each other. I laughed a WHOLE lot the rest of the night! After a quick trip to the OB, which was pretty much empty (probably due to the new rule just put into place), I came back to the room and talked to Charlotte as we both tried to fall asleep.
It was a long morning as we waited to get to Aruba. A lot of people were walking around crooked because the ship was rocking a bit, but I didn’t really notice it except in the Loft when the ball of Christmas-lights started swinging more. The boy was the only one to come up, we started playing another Halo game. I’m still pretty bad at it, but at least I’ve learned how to look and walk around at the same time in it.
After lunch, there was a lapse of time when crew couldn’t get off because of the general drill. Charlotte and I started laundry since we both really needed to do it and had time. After the drill (which surprisingly didn’t take that long!), we finished up laundry finally and went out to get ice cream and wifi. I really appreciate the invention of the internet, this kind of job would be so much harder for most crew members if we didn’t have it. We got back on not long before dinner so we changed and went up for our nightly pasta.
I met the 16-year-old tonight. She and her mom came up to find and check out the Loft so she can possibly come up later this week. I couldn’t really tell if she was that interested in coming up or not, but I’m glad they checked in. The boy and I played FIFA (soccer) on the xbox. I’m not too horrible at it; it’s easier than the other games, and now that I know what all the buttons make the players do, I’m in much better shape to play it! Plus, it’s actually fun! We ended up playing that the entire night session, with a short break to go to the pool party in the Lido and get some snacks.
March 1, 2013: Curacao
Curacao is an easy day for Club HAL, especially if no one signs up for port day! I got up late since I just wanted to sleep in, but I somehow got ready in time to make it up to breakfast. I ate with Charlotte who had just gotten off work, then I came down to the room to read until lunch (I didn’t want to get lunch off-ship, especially alone). After a quick lunch, I changed quickly and went to town for the afternoon.
Not far into town, I met up with some of the front office girls (one of whom had been on the Maasdam with me, Lianne). I walked around with them until they got to KFC where they were getting lunch and wifi. I didn’t need lunch since I’d already eaten, and didn’t really feel I needed to spend more time on wifi since I had a few hours yesterday, so I went off wandering around on my own. After walking around the shops and markets for a while, I met the doctor and his family. I actually spent the rest of the afternoon with them, wandering around town, showing each other things we’d discovered in and around town! It was pretty fun hanging out with them. We found a place where a bunch of crabs were scuttling around, stopped on a little bridge and watched little fish and big blue fish swimming around, and found some trees that had polished designs carved into them. I enjoy hanging out with that family; I’m sad they’re leaving at the end of this cruise, but hopefully I’ll see them again sometime. Funnily enough, they’re going to be on the Maasdam this fall for the Transatlantic trip!
Charlotte and I had our normal dinner, then back to the room to talk for a while until we each had to work. In the Loft, we played a few board games. Started Monopoly, then gave up; the boy tried to teach us Risk, but the girl and I didn’t have enough patience for it. We ended up getting out Battle of the Sexes and I read off questions for them to answer. It was actually really hilarious because of their reactions to some of the questions and answers and they just fed off each other. I laughed a WHOLE lot the rest of the night! After a quick trip to the OB, which was pretty much empty (probably due to the new rule just put into place), I came back to the room and talked to Charlotte as we both tried to fall asleep.
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