I rode a donkey in Greece

September 21, 2013: Santorini
I had to be up early again today, this time to help with tendering. I collected tickets and talked with some of the guests until we hit open tender after only an hour and a half. Just in time to run up and get breakfast! I called Megan and she joined Emily and me for breakfast; we ended up staying there talking until 11. Megan and I went downstairs, changed and got off the ship to walk around Santorini.

I managed to convince Megan that we should take the donkeys up the mountain instead of the cable car, so we did that. It was interesting, at least they didn’t just set the donkeys off on their own like I’ve heard a lot of people talk about. We didn’t take a whole lot of pictures because Megan didn’t have time to get her camera out before they told her to get on the donkey, and I had my camera out, but it was a really bumpy ride! Someone did take pictures though, and had them printed out and waiting for us once we reached the top (for a price of course, but we bought them anyway, 4 euros to have the documentation that you rode a donkey in Greece isn’t bad).

We just wandered around taking pictures until we ran into part of the photo team, we joined up with them for lunch and internet, and ended up walking down the mountain (on the slippery donkey path/steps). I definitely do NOT recommend walking down! I slid and fell quite a few times, got cut off from the others by a train of donkeys, got squished against the wall by a donkey and just slid down a few of the steps a lot It’s a dangerous way to go.

Once we got back to the ship, I decided to go through some of my pictures from the last few days, but ended up inadvertently taking a nap instead. Megan and I split did the two night shifts together again, we played Skip-Bo, Super Mario Bros, air hockey, foosball, made paper airplanes and played hide-and-seek with the kids. A pretty busy night for us. After work, we ended up playing Skip-Bo in the OB for a while, talking to a few people and attempted to be somewhat social in our exhausted state. It’s another busy day tomorrow, I have port day, and there’s a crew party (in Club HAL of all places… they’re going to be trying to set up while we have kids there, should be interesting; we’ll see how that turns out.).

Ephesus

September 20, 2013: Ephesus
I had port day yesterday, so didn’t have to deal with Lesbos tendering, of course that meant that I never got off at that port, but according to most people, there’s not much to miss in going. Anyway, I signed up for a few excursions to Ephesus a few days ago, hoping that I may get one, despite the fact that the sign-up page was already half full. Luckily, there were at least two buses for each excursion, and it seems like they sent an escort with each bus, so I got to go to Ephesus. It was a very early morning, I had to be in the showroom by 7:15 to meet the rest of the group and direct them downstairs where we all got off the ship and walked around to find our bus. The Celebrity Equinox arrived in port and got cleared the same time as us, so all of their excursions were leaving at the same times as well, it was a bit chaotic! The parking lot was full and there were people attempting to direct tours to their buses, and directing traffic as buses left. I almost walked into a bus, yikes. We had a small bus, a rather small tour group; 23 of us including me. The 30 minute drive to Ephesus wasn’t bad, our guide told us a bit about the history of the area and the general plan for our tour.

We arrived and hung out at the entrance, and bought hats/bottles of water while our guide got the tickets. Once inside, we put in our headphones and tuned into our tours’ channel on the audio guide things and followed her as she told us about what different building were, what they were used for, where the harbor was, etc. That was a LOT of information thrown at us all at once, especially as we were trying not to lose her in the crowd and take pictures at the same time. I also had the added responsibility of making sure all the guests in our tour weren’t lost and were managing to keep up somewhat well (the ground was somewhat slippery as we were going downhill on well-worn rocks).

It wasn’t bad though, we got a good tour of the area and got to go up into one of the Terrace Houses. We had about 30 minutes on our own near the end to either get some souvenirs, use the restrooms, or see the theatre. I walked around the theatre, took some pictures, ran into a 5-minute long “gladiator” show, and got a snack since I’d missed breakfast. We all made it back to the bus on time and listened to our guide talk as we rode back to the ship. We got back just after 11:30, so I hung out in the room a bit before going to lunch and hang out with Megan in Club HAL since it was her port day. We watched a movie with the 4-year-old that’s been staying most days this cruise (she’s bored of it, will have been here for 24 days at the end of this cruise, too long for this child).

After 4, Megan and I got off and walked around inside the port for a bit, took a few pictures, broke a few hearts (because we didn’t stop in some of the shops in the port area), and bought a few souvenirs; all in the hour before all aboard. I had enough time to go through a few of my pictures before dinnertime. It was another movie night, so we hung with Ryan for a bit until he put in the movie, then Megan and I walked around the ship for an hour or so, running various errands (picking up photos from the photo gallery, withdrawing money at the crew office, looking around the shops, and generally showing Megan around the areas of the ship she hasn’t been to yet). Then, we went back upstairs just as the movie was ending and my night shift started. Right about the time that movie ended at 9, all but one of the kids left, so we put in Dumbo (it’s only an hour) for her, and after she left Megan and I tried not to fall asleep for the last hour of my shift. We had intended to play Skip-Bo in the OB, but decided against it since we both had almost fallen asleep watching movies tonight.

Istanbul

September 18, 2013: Istanbul day 2
Megan and I got breakfast together, then I had to go for the fire drill, she got ready, and we met up after the fire drill was finished. We got off the ship, and walked to the Spice Market, walked around for a while, then to the Grand Bazaar. I led the way, despite the fact that I’d only been once before. That was a bit scary, especially when I went for a few minutes without recognizing anything. We got there fine though, the few times I thought we were going the wrong way, we were going the right way and I just didn’t realize it for a few minutes. We wandered around the whole Bazaar, not buying anything but looking and taking quite a few photos.

Once we figured we had walked around the whole thing, we made our way back down the hill to the bridge. We considered making our way to Taksim Square since I hadn’t been there yet and so many people talk about it, but ended up going back to the restaurant we were at yesterday and getting internet for an hour or so before heading back to the ship early (I was paranoid about getting back before the lines got long).

Emily and I ended up getting to chat in the room, I hadn’t seen her much over the last two days. Who knew you could live in the same room with someone, work in the same department and not see them for nearly two days? She went to work, and I sat down to read until dinner and work. Megan and I shared the night, it was “games galore” but none of the kids were really into doing anything at all, so we played Skip-Bo. Two of them found something to complain about every other minute, but they all left about 9, I think they’d just had a really busy day and were tired, that’s why they were so grumpy and whiny. I left later than usual, half past 9 instead of 9, just as another kid was coming in, a guest entertainer’s kid; I felt bad leaving Megan alone with her, but I’d told Emily I’d meet her and Steph in the Queen’s Lounge to listen to the band. Formal night, so I had to change and head up, just in time for the last 15 minutes or so of 50/60’s night. The band had another set though, so we stuck around and the three of us got to hang out, which was fun. After the band finished, they had a meeting, so we went up to the Lido for pizza since we were hungry for some reason. It was a nice “girls night.” Hopefully next time, it’ll be Megan’s night off or her early work shift so all four of us can have a girls night

sea day/Istanbul

September 17, 2013: Istanbul day 1
Today was half a sea day for us of course, I got to sleep in, then went to breakfast and hung out in Club HAL with Megan for half of her morning shift. I had the afternoon shift and Megan hung out with me for a bit during that. It was a small group, so not bad at all, and they all left around 3:30 because parents wanted to get them ready because it looked like we were arriving a bit early. I got to change, and Megan met me at my room not long after we docked so we could go out in Istanbul together. She was absolutely amazed by everything she saw; I’m still amazed by Istanbul. We walked down the coast to the bridge that leads to the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar. We didn’t go to the Bazaar today, we got to the bridge, then turned around and started walking back to the ship. We stopped at a restaurant, got some “Turkish pancakes” (basically quesadillas), coke, and wifi. It was nice just sitting, snacking, and talking to friends back home. I had to get back for work though, so we left and made our way back to the ship. I got changed and to work just in time. It was movie night, so I started “The Princess and the Frog.” Megan came up to join me after a while, and we watched “Great Mouse Detective.” Still none of the kids came, so around 10, we went downstairs for pizza before moving in to the Loft and watched the start of the new “Alice in Wonderland.” None of the teens came, so we left after 11, too tired to stay much later and finish the movie. It was fun sharing both of our shifts, especially since it was movie night and that would be very lonely to work alone.

last Katakolon

September 15, 2013: Katakolon
I had port day today. I got up early, and put the sign on the Club HAL door at 8, then went to breakfast. There were a surprisingly small number of people at breakfast, I guess this cruise is full of late risers that come to breakfast late or early risers who all go to shore. It was kind of odd. Anyway, after breakfast I’d figured I’d only have a little bit of time before someone called for me on the YPC deck phone to go to work. However, I went back to the room and ended up going back to sleep until Emily had to go to her abandon ship drill at 10:30. I kept waking up thinking I heard the phone ring, but it hadn’t. I ended up going back to sleep until lunchtime, then after lunch hung out in Club HAL for a bit before going back to the room and reading. The whole afternoon I ended up having to answer the room phone when people called Emily, and the YPC phone when people tried to get a hold of Ryan. IT was kind of entertainin the situation with Emily; she would leave the room and someone would call, and when she came back and called them back, they weren’t there. They kept missing one another. Even when she went up to see him, a few seconds after she left, he knocked on our door. As I was getting down from the bunk to answer the door, I stepped on the chair and misstepped, causing the chair to fold in on itself, around my leg. That was an exciting way to answer the door. No one ended up calling for me to come up for Port Day.

I had dinner with Megan and went up to Club HAL with her for a bit, then changed clothes so I could go to the show. It wasn’t a bad show, especially since it was a comedian and I don’t typically find comedians very entertaining. Then I went to the Queen’s Lounge to hang out with Emily and watch the band play.

so starts the last Greece/Turkey cruise

September 13, 2013: Venice day 3
I didn’t have anything to do until 3 today. Lucky though because I woke up this morning and it felt like someone had their hand around my eye and were pulling on it. Painful. I went to breakfast, then went up to see how Ryan’s port day was. A bit of excitement there, as I was walking in, a guest came up to me, asked if I was staff, then showed me to a woman who’d fallen on the wet outside decks. I went in and got Ryan to call for help. Her husband thought she’d broken her wrist, but she seemed to be doing pretty well, more embarrassed than anything. The doctors came and took her to the medical center a few minutes later. First time I’ve seen anything like that happen here (not that it doesn’t, I’ve just never been around thank goodness). I still had the headache, so went back to the room to lay down for a while. I ended up missing lunch, but I did manage to wake up and get to work on time.

It was an easy afternoon, working 3:30-6. 30 minutes with two kids, and then I went to the Loft and worked on my puzzle until dinnertime.

Maasdam reunion in Venice!

September 12, 2013: Venice embark
I had to be up fairly early for Club HAL on an embark day, but that’s because of a roundabout reason. A few cruises ago, HAL got rid of the disembarkation talk and “Love in Any Language,” which was a kind of show for the guests, featuring at least half the people from every department, it was the “crew’s farewell to the guests.” Once they got rid of that, they replaced it by having one or two people from every department stand on the gangway the whole time guests are disembarking, just to wave and say bye. That’s before 7am until after 10am, just waving and saying bye. I think it’s weird, it’s too early in the morning for those of us who have this as our one absolute morning off, and it’s unfair to the departments who have to work all embark day and yet have to sacrifice a few people to just stand and wave.

Anyway, Club HAL is now on that rotation in the entertainment department, so Ryan and I split the morning, I got to stand out there 8:30-10, then had to finish packing and move rooms. Moving rooms took a lot longer than anticipated for a few reasons. I didn’t have a key, because I’ve been working when the crew office has been open the last few days; once I got a key though, the key to my old room was deactivated and I didn’t discover that until I’d gone all the way back to the room to get a load of stuff. By the way, my room was all the way at the back of the ship, and crew office is all the way forward, not to mention that they’re supposed to be closed on the morning of embark day. Then, once I got them to fix that key, I tried the other key, which wasn’t working now, and when I finally got to my third and final trip to my old room, that key had been deactivated. So, I got my exercise this morning running from the back of the ship, to the front and back and forth again and again.

Anyway, once I got that fixed and got all my stuff into the room finally, I went by to say by to James. Cass and I had agreed to meet at my gangway at 11, so we met and since I’d moved already, we went into Venice together just to walk around and catch up. We walked a different way than I’ve walked before and we saw quite a lot of cool stuff, there’s one shop that lets you paint your own Venetian mask, they apparently made masks for a movie Nicole Kidman was in, with the mask, they give you an instruction/history book of the masks. Pretty cool; we didn’t have the time to do it, but Cass and I are both thinking of going back there when we’re next in Venice. We got pizza for lunch and then had to head back to the ship so she could be ready for their drill before all aboard time.

I had a bit of a scare involving my pillow, stuffed animals, neck pillow, and devotional (all in my pillow) being gone from my newly-made bed, but I got the HR manager to help me fix it and housekeeping gave me my stuff back (which they’d apparently thought the girl before me had left).
Then I went up to Club HAL to see how Open House was going. I met Megan, a new Club HAL girl that none of us knew was coming today. She said she was supposed to come last cruise; still odd that none of us knew, Crew Office was in a scramble this morning to find a room for her (they told me this as I came in to get my key fixed for the third time).

I got to relax in my new room the rest of the afternoon, chatting with Emily. After dinner, I did the same until Ryan called to ask if I could come up early to cover for him because he had to meet someone and do Event Manager stuff (he’s taken over for the next two weeks since our EM had to go to Seattle for some kind of training). Megan came up later and we worked the night shift together. Just one kid for 15 minutes, and we played Skip-Bo. After he left (one of the 11yearolds that was here last cruise as well), we played a few more games of Skip-Bo, then closed up at 10 and went to the Loft in case one of the three teens showed up. They didn’t, so we ended up working on my puzzle for the next hour and a half before I showed her the OB and we hung out there until we could do our hours.

back in Venice!

September 11, 2013: Venice
It was a rather good day, I had the morning shift, so worked 9-11:30, then was off the rest of the day. This mornings work went well I guess, I only had one kid for the first hour and he decided to build a lego robot, then finish coloring a picture he’d started a few days ago. After a few more kids came, we played Ickle Bickle, then decided against going to the sports deck since it was cold, so played Kinect and Wii Sports instead, followed by Skip-Bo. They got pretty loud during Skip-Bo, they were all yelling at each other trying to help one another.

I had a really quick lunch, then went downstairs to do some laundry before we docked and Emily called to get off in Venice. We walked around and just hung out, shopped some, and the weather kept getting colder. It started raining a bit and that’s when we decided that we really should head back to the ship. I was freezing and would’ve been perfectly happy just to climb under my covers for a while, but it was nearly time for dinner and I needed to start packing up my stuff so I could move rooms. I got to work the first half of pajama night. It was an easy first hour of free time, they kept themselves entertained playing xbox and jumping into a pile of bean bag pillows. Cass got on as a visitor for a few hours and came looking for me, so we chatted for a while as I made sure the kids were okay. She left to see some other people after we’d made plans for tomorrow, and I put in Rango for us to watch, Ryan came early so I got to leave a bit early and continue my packing. I went to the OB later and hung out with Jessie, Voirry, a few of their officer friends, James, and the rest of the photo team until I was too sleepy to stay any longer.
Tomorrow is going to be sad, James, Jessie and Voirry are all leaving. 

hiking in Kotor

September 9, 2013: Kotor
I hiked a mountain in Montenegro today!
I had to help with tendering at 10:30, so I got to sleep in a bit instead of starting work at 9. Tendering went really well, especially considering it was so late in the morning. We started around 11, and were at open tender by 12! And no one yelled at me (I was collecting the tender tickets, no one usually yells at that point unless there’s a long wait and I don’t let them down the stairs, but still it’s a good thing). So, once Beth (the party planner), Julia, and I put the tickets back in order, I headed up to lunch.

Chris (from the HAL Cats) and the Adagio band leader ate with me. Chris had invited me last night to go hiking with a group, so we agreed to meet at 1:15 for the tender. Some of the other HAL Cats were supposed to come with us, but they left before us, and we never managed to find them, so it was just the Adagios, Chris and me. Chris had hiked the path last time we were here, so instructed us where to go. It’s not the trail most people go down, because it’s on the mountain behind the fortress, so we didn’t see a whole lot of people. The path was a rocky one. It was all loose rocks, sometimes with large “wall” rocks probably to prevent a rockslide. It was nice when the ‘wall’ rocks were there, it was a much more stable and even path to walk. Most of the path wasn’t though, so I had to slide, stumble and try not to fall over as the rocks slipped under my feet. It was too much for one of the Adagios, so she left us and went back to the ship after a while.

It was a nice day for hiking though, a bit humid, but there were a lot of clouds, and it was somewhat cool. Chris said last time he was here, it was above 100; it was only about 75 today.
About halfway up, we started seeing goats around the one house on this mountain. Chris had made friends with the family last time, but they weren’t around at the time, but we did stop and take pictures of the goats. The trail got tougher from there, more loose rocks, less walked-on, and a lot of sharp, spikey plants. I did manage not to fall. It was kind of crazy looking down and seeing how high we were. We made it far above the fortress, and were about even with the mountains on the other side of the water. The ship looked small, and you could only distinguish the tenders because they’re orange!

After two hours, we decided we should head back, since Luyda and I had work, and of course we wanted to shower before that. I took a break while Chris and Luyda followed the trail a bit longer into the forest, then came back to meet me. It was a bit more treacherous coming down: gravity, loose rocks and our desire to get back somewhat quickly all worked against us. None of us fell though! I was cold by then, the sun was completely behind the clouds, and it’d drizzled a bit, so the humidity was gone, leaving the air very chilly (for me). That was the point I was wishing I HAD brought my jacket (I had a debate with myself about that before I left). We had a steady pace going down, but kept stopping for pictures. We took some fun ones near the top, then hung out around the goats halfway down. I found a almost-newborn kitten, and a goat decided it wanted to become friends and let us pet it. We also met up with some of the family at the house so we had to talk to them for a few minutes before continuing down. We made it back to the tenders just after 5:30, sweaty, dirty and tired. I was very grateful for my quick, hot shower followed by dinner (yay I got to sit for 20 minutes!). Work wasn’t bad tonight, I sat in a chair and watched the kids play for about half an hour before I had to get up and play Apples-to Apples with them. The theme was “games galore;” they didn’t want to make their own board game, so we ended up just playing Apples-to-Apples until Ryan came at 9. I had considered going to support the HAL Cats, or going to see the Dancing with The Stars final, but I was too tired, so came back to the room and climbed into bed.

few days in one

September 8, 2013
Sometimes I forget just how privileged I am with this job and all the travel I get to do. It’s a trap all crew members fall into at some point. Visiting exotic ports all over the world every week or so, the novelty of it wears off. It’s just daily life to us, like going to the grocery store, but for us it’s going to Greece. Part of why I haven’t written much lately is because I’ve fallen into this myself for the last months. I’ve been taking it for granted. Although, I have lasted longer than most others do. Some days it’s just as easy to stay on the ship and sleep instead of going out to take advantage of all the wonderful things available in the ports, the things to do, people to talk to, and different food to eat. Routine has become all-too common for me at the moment.

I got off the ship in Naples and only made it as far as the terminal, where I bought some crackers, a sprite and used the wifi for an hour. Of course, part of the reason I didn’t go much further was that I couldn’t find anyone to go out with me, and getting pizza alone didn’t really appeal to me that day; meals off-ship should be shared.

The next day was a sea day; during this run, the sea day is somewhat of a restful day for the passengers (because they don’t have to get off and see the historic stuff in the port). It was busy for me and Ryan, but not nearly as busy as usual sea days are. We split up the hours, including the teens hours, so I worked the first half of each session (really the one that the kids came to), and Ryan took over for the last bit and stayed to see if any teens came. It’s nice for us to have a schedule to follow for once instead of just giving them free time like we have to on port days. It wasn’t that bad of a day. I had the first half of the night session, so I was done by 9, which meant I got to get dressed up and go out for formal night. I talked to James for a few minutes while he was working, then met Emily at the show. I’m finally getting to see some of the cast shows on this ship! Not a fan of this one: “It Takes Two,” but I know there are some other really good ones from what other people have said.

I intended to get off in Katakolon, but slept badly the night before, so spent the day reading, watching movies and attempting to get some rest. Getting off in port wasn’t nearly as important to me at the time as sleeping. I was glad to finally get to work, be done with work and actually climb in bed for the night at 10.

It seems today like the world was against my getting sleep. I had bizarre dreams last night that kept me from feeling rested. After I put up the sign on Club HAL’s door, had breakfast, I attempted to go back to bed for a bit. However, about the time I finally managed to fall asleep, we had a fire drill that I had to attend now that I’m on Passenger Notification Team again. I got a call during the drill and had to go up to work. The four-year-old came up with her dad, we colored and watched Winnie-the-Pooh until lunch, then came back and colored some more until her dad came to pick her up. I went back to the room and had just climbed into bed when I got a call and had to go back upstairs where I spent the rest of the afternoon. They played Xbox, asked me millions of questions about my book, we played Skip-Bo, then sports on the Xbox Kinect, the 4-year-old came as well, but she was perfectly content to color and talk to me. It’s weird, her grandmother or mother didn’t try to stay with her today, and I actually heard her speak for the first time; she’s a lot more communicative when her grandmother or mother don’t drop her off. When they came with her, she’d never said a word and would color with the same expression on her face. Today, we talked and she laughed and smiled. Hopefully her dad drops her off instead of the other two from now on, I can deal with her this way.

port day in Civitavecchia

September 4, 2013: Civitavecchia
Despite the fact that I had a headache when I went to sleep yesterday, I had an amazing nights sleep! I woke up on my own at 3:30, then got to go back to sleep until 7. I put the sign up on the door of Club HAL, then came back to the room, got ready for the day, then had breakfast. At 10:30, I got a call, so went up and played video games with some of the kids for two hours. Their parents picked them up for lunch, so I was free to do what I wanted for lunch until they called again around 2. Not such a bad day, I read some, and played video games with them. Only two of these kids speak English, and they weren’t here this afternoon, so I was attempting to use my basic Spanish skills and the kids were trying to speak what English they could. It worked at least, I knew generally what they were saying, what games they wanted, and they understood vaguely what I meant when I told them one of the discs was scratched and unusable.

I took over the tween room for Ryan tonight since he had Pinnacle dinner. We ended up playing Kinect Sports all night, I won a game of darts on it (left-handed oddly enough). Easy night. I left at 10, changed, and met Emily in the Queen’s Lounge where we showed our support for the band. After that I went to the OB and hung out with James for a while. First time I’ve really gone out this cruise, it’s hard having a room so far away from everyone and everything.

Livorno

September 3, 2013: Livorno
I worked yesterday, so didn’t get off for the first time in Monaco. It wasn’t too bad though, I went up at 8 to meet the family that said they’d be there, but they ended up not coming, so I sat reading in Club HAL until 10 when a 4year-old came up, we watched “The Muppets” and then her grandmother came back to pick her up. So, I got to go to lunch on my own, hang out. I’d just gotten to the room to maybe sleep, then I got a call and the family that said they’d be there at 8 was there now. So, I spent the rest of the afternoon watching them play xbox. I’m not sure how I like this system of working port days. I open up at 8, then don’t have to be there unless someone calls us on the deck phone. Thing is, you never know when the phone will ring, so it’s not like I can go to the gym and work out, or start laundry. But, it does mean we don’t have to sit up in Club HAL from 8-4, just put up the sign at 8, and make sure to take it down after 4.

Anyway, yesterday was just a long day. Today I got to get off the ship. I met up with Mollie at breakfast and we made plans to get off with Emily to do some shopping. So, I killed some time until lunch, had some fruit as an early lunch, then the three of us set out. We had fun, I found a few things I liked but of course they didn’t have my size. Oh well, at least I didn’t end up spending much money. Once we tired of shopping, we went to a restaurant where Mollie got something to eat while Emily and I just rested and had something to drink since we still weren’t hungry after lunch. By that point, I had a really bad headache, but when I got back to the ship and tried to nap, my body just wouldn’t let me sleep.

James and I had dinner together, I still wasn’t feeling well so when we finished I attempted to take a nap again until I had to work. Yet again, none of the teens showed up, so I sat on the air hockey table and tried to make progress on my puzzle (Ryan and I both have a puzzle we started this cruise in an attempt to keep from being bored on port days and nights when no one shows up. I couldn’t even focus on the puzzle, or reading, so when 11 came around and no teens had come by (Ryan told me if no one shows up by 11, they’re not going to come, so I can leave then), I left and came straight to the room to go to sleep.

sorry for delay and Rome in a day

September 1, 2013: Marseille
I apologize for the lack of blogs this past cruise, it was a very difficult cruise for many reason, and I was really busy and really tired most of the time. Definitely not the best week to work, especially since I was with the little ones.

I did take a crew tour to Rome last cruise though (one of the few good memories from last cruise)! It was fun, a nice change from the week. There were I think around 30 of us. Emily went, as did quite a few of the HAL Cats. We met the bus at 9, much to our happiness; most of the Rome tours start before 7am. The hour and a half long bus ride got me talking to Chris (HAL Cats drummer), and Kaven and Lianna (sax and vocalist couple, I met them first on the Veendam and am slowly getting to know them better here).

When we actually entered Rome, I started recognizing things and relating them to the map I have in my head from when I was there with Cindy for a week over 2 years ago. It was kind of weird being back, seeing how much I’ve changed since then, all the stuff that has happened in my life, all the people I’ve now met. Anyway, we went by the Circus Maximus and I knew we were by the Coloseum before our guide told us. We had about 30 minutes to hang out and take pictures there before we had to move on, so Emily, Jay (HAL Cats singer), Chris, and I set off together and took pictures. Jay and Emily had never been to Rome before, so they were really excited, and we all took lots of pictures, together and apart, of course always trying to get that angle that didn’t include all the other tourists. We laughed, and chatted, took jumping pictures, and other funny ones before we realized it was time to get back to the bus.

We took the bus to the Trevi, where we had an hour to hang out, take pictures and eat lunch. There were so many people there, it was difficult to get close and take pictures. Once we finally got pictures, Emily and got some food and sat by the fountain to eat. Then we walked as a group to Piazza Navona where we had about 10 minutes to wander around and take a few pictures before meeting the bus so it could take us to the Vatican. We kept having to wait on people, so we only had about 20 minutes outside the Vatican, not a whole lot of time to do anything. The line was really long to, so no one had any chance of getting to go in.
Everyone was really tired so the ride back was quiet as everyone either slept or looked through their pictures.


Meghna, Leah, Betty and Miranda all left in Barcelona (well, Miranda stopped working, she’s on as a passenger now). That was kind of sad. Meghna and I both had to pack at the same time because I changed rooms. I’m now on Main Deck, aft, near the cadets and cruise director. It’s a much bigger room, with lots of space, but a small shower. Overkill for me, I don’t need this much space, it’d be a lot better and less space-wasting for two people to be in this cabin. I’ll be moving again at the end of this cruise, moving in with Emily (I would’ve moved in with her this cruise, but her roommate got an extension). It’s definitely a different atmosphere on the ship now that we’re down to 18 kids and only two youth staff, I’d nearly forgotten that it’s often this way for my contracts.

Today, I went out with Emily, Julia, and the beverage manager (who hangs out with Julia a lot). Emily and I helped Julia shop for some uniform pieces, then we decided to go by the market before heading back to the ship (there’s always markets on Sundays in France, it was right next to the marina where the shuttle dropped us off and picked us up). The rest of the afternoon I spent napping, and of course typing.