So I am finally off the night shift. But the day coming off of the night shift was something in itself. Since it is winter, and there are a lot of storms in the Mediterranean right now, we had to miss a port this cruise. There was a really big storm as we were supposed to come into Civitavecchia (the port for Rome), so we had to delay coming into port until around 6:00 pm, when we were supposed to arrive at 7:00 am. We have a new captain onboard this cruise however, so at least he came up with some solutions instead of just missing the port altogether.
We ended up having an overnight in Civitavecchia which ran into the next day. This also meant that we would have to miss Mykonos, Greece, but given the weather, we probably would have missed it anyway.
The night before we arrived to Rome was supposed to be my last night shift, so I was excited when I found out that we would have the overnight, since I would be able to get off the ship then. No such luck. They changed the schedule, so I had to work an extra night. So everyone else got to enjoy the night out but me. We always have a boat drill for the crew in Civitavecchia because all the guests get off the ship early, and we won't disturb them too much. Of course, this happens around 9:30am, so I hadn't slept yet. There are two parts to the drill. The first part we have emergency duties, and an emergency station. I have to go and check off that a bunch of crew are at their spots. Then the second part we have to go to our muster stations, where we would abandon ship if we had to. While we were at the second part, the Safety Officer comes over to my station, and says, "above you, in those two boxes, take out the lifejackets, and put them on" then we were instructed to go down to deck number 2, where we had the pleasure of filling a lifeboat.
I'm not sure what the exact purpose of filling the lifeboat was, other than to annoy crew by having them all squished together for a half an hour while they get things organzied. Hopefully it wouldn't take that long during a real emergency.
When our drill was finally over, we had a team meeting, after which I decided that I should go out for lunch to enjoy Italian pizza for one of the last times, so I didn't get to have too much of a nap before I had to be in to work for 8:00 pm, since they decided for some reason that the 8 hours you already worked that day was not enough.
Anyway, I am thankfully happily off of the night shift, and back on days. Of course, my sleeping schedule isn't fully adjusted, but hopefully soon everything will be good, and my body will stop hating me for making so many changes to my internal clock. Today I was able to go out for lunch in Santorini, Greece, which was very nice, despite a very needy cat that kept jumping in everyone's laps. Tomorrow we will be in Turkey.
Starting on my birthday, we have our new winter itinerary, which includes the Canary Islands, Sicily, Morocco, Egypt, Malta, and some others... although I'm sure having boarding day on my birthday is one of the least ways I would like to spend it, it will be nice to be able to see some new ports.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Worst. Cruise. Ever.
Or at least that's what the guests have been saying lately. My supervisor seems to think this is the worst European cruise that he's been on, and he's been on the ship for 6 years. Here's a bit about why...
First off, we were supposed to go into Cannes, France as our first port. We were tendering there, but the wind was too strong, so we had to miss our first port. Which always sort of sucks, but it really doesn't start things off on a good note.
The guests seem to be a bit "cheap" this cruise too. Which I sort of don't like to say, because I hate grouping people in like that, but they don't seem to want to pay to book tours, but of course, none of them have done any research on the ports themselves, and have no idea on how to get around on their own. Nevermind the fact that none of them seem to understand the concept of a line, and just seem to gather on the sides of the desk because they can't seem to decide where they want to go. And then get mad at us when we tell them that the excursions desk or the foreign exchange is closed, but if they join our line we can help them out. (For those that don't know our ship setup, our desk is in the middle, and the other two are on each side of us, but there's no real separation of the desks, only a big column on each side, which I admit is sort of confusing).
Then of course we dock in Rome on a Sunday. Which means a lot of things are closed, like the Vatican Museum, where the Sistine Chapel is. Of course, travel agents should inform their guests of this at booking... but now it's our problem when they get onboard.
Then for a few days, things seemed to be going alright. We went to Venice, had our overnight (I ended up buying a nice paperweight that was sort of expensive, but it is Murano glass, and I got it for 10 euros off, I'll post a picture if I ever get my computer working with the internet).
Today, or I guess last night however, was the icing on the cake. The captain announced that we would again be missing a port, this time, Valetta, Malta. We of course had a sea day yesterday, and tomorrow is a sea day as well, before we return to Barcelona the day after that. Three sea days in a row. So now, the guests are cranky, they don't understand why we're doing this, and they seem to think that we're trying to get the guests to stay onboard so they'll spend money. Like our idea of a good time is to keep people onboard who clearly don't want to be there, so they can come and make our lives miserable? Like none of us wanted to get off this ship, because we are stuck in the crew areas, and a lot of people haven't even breathed fresh air in days?
Anyway, the captain is giving his "Captain's Corner" talk at 11:00 am today, and I'm VERY glad that I'm not him. We may have a possible mutiny on our hands. I have never been more happy to be on night shift than I am right now. I only had 3 or 4 guests coming to me, not the huge lines before. I think my favourite line though, was Tina told me that a guest was rather upset with her, and said, "well who should we talk to about this weather?" to which Tina replied, "I think God, ma'am." Tina is leaving soon, and really doesn't enjoy guest services. She's got a lot more nerve when it comes to talking back to guests that the rest of us.
So, that's pretty much been the fun that has been this cruise. Aside from the lady who always comes to see me at 7:00 am to talk about how dissapointed she is that there's no bibles in the staterooms. Apparently I should start reading it, but I should start with the new testament because the old one would just confuse me. She was a real joy to talk to early in the morning...
First off, we were supposed to go into Cannes, France as our first port. We were tendering there, but the wind was too strong, so we had to miss our first port. Which always sort of sucks, but it really doesn't start things off on a good note.
The guests seem to be a bit "cheap" this cruise too. Which I sort of don't like to say, because I hate grouping people in like that, but they don't seem to want to pay to book tours, but of course, none of them have done any research on the ports themselves, and have no idea on how to get around on their own. Nevermind the fact that none of them seem to understand the concept of a line, and just seem to gather on the sides of the desk because they can't seem to decide where they want to go. And then get mad at us when we tell them that the excursions desk or the foreign exchange is closed, but if they join our line we can help them out. (For those that don't know our ship setup, our desk is in the middle, and the other two are on each side of us, but there's no real separation of the desks, only a big column on each side, which I admit is sort of confusing).
Then of course we dock in Rome on a Sunday. Which means a lot of things are closed, like the Vatican Museum, where the Sistine Chapel is. Of course, travel agents should inform their guests of this at booking... but now it's our problem when they get onboard.
Then for a few days, things seemed to be going alright. We went to Venice, had our overnight (I ended up buying a nice paperweight that was sort of expensive, but it is Murano glass, and I got it for 10 euros off, I'll post a picture if I ever get my computer working with the internet).
Today, or I guess last night however, was the icing on the cake. The captain announced that we would again be missing a port, this time, Valetta, Malta. We of course had a sea day yesterday, and tomorrow is a sea day as well, before we return to Barcelona the day after that. Three sea days in a row. So now, the guests are cranky, they don't understand why we're doing this, and they seem to think that we're trying to get the guests to stay onboard so they'll spend money. Like our idea of a good time is to keep people onboard who clearly don't want to be there, so they can come and make our lives miserable? Like none of us wanted to get off this ship, because we are stuck in the crew areas, and a lot of people haven't even breathed fresh air in days?
Anyway, the captain is giving his "Captain's Corner" talk at 11:00 am today, and I'm VERY glad that I'm not him. We may have a possible mutiny on our hands. I have never been more happy to be on night shift than I am right now. I only had 3 or 4 guests coming to me, not the huge lines before. I think my favourite line though, was Tina told me that a guest was rather upset with her, and said, "well who should we talk to about this weather?" to which Tina replied, "I think God, ma'am." Tina is leaving soon, and really doesn't enjoy guest services. She's got a lot more nerve when it comes to talking back to guests that the rest of us.
So, that's pretty much been the fun that has been this cruise. Aside from the lady who always comes to see me at 7:00 am to talk about how dissapointed she is that there's no bibles in the staterooms. Apparently I should start reading it, but I should start with the new testament because the old one would just confuse me. She was a real joy to talk to early in the morning...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Finally Back on the Ship
So, after an already long vacation, and then a nice 2 week bought with a bad flu, I am finally back on the ship. My trip was fairly uneventful, aside from being pulled aside in the Toronto airport after customs. They took me to a room on the right hand side, and the customs officer asked me about four times if I really had nothing to declare. I of course answered no, that I was just in transit through the US. He then opened my bags and verified this.... very exciting.
My flights were good, we left a bit late from the JFK airport, someone needed some medical attention onboard, but they never fully let us know why. So then I got to Barcelona. More about Barcelona another time, when I'll post some pictures too.
Life on the boat has been fairly easy to return to. Everything is mostly the same, it is just taking some time to remember everything, and learn the new processes for things. We also have a mostly new team. There are I think four new hires since I left. I am now one of the more senior people on the team, which feels a bit weird since I was the newbie for so long. Right now we have 3 Mexicans, an Argentinian, a Britt, one other Canadian, an Italian, a Brazilian, and an Indian on the team. We're still very international.
Today was an interesting day. I'm not sure on the exact details, whether the immigration authorities changed their policies, or whether it was partly our fault, but they decided today that the Greek officials wanted to see all the non-EU passports before we were cleared to leave port today. This essentially meant that we needed to collect 1700 passports from guests.
I got called into work an hour and a half early, and got to stand in the Pier Terminal informing guests of this. There were two of us there stopping all our guests as they came in (there were I think 3 other ships there too, one was the QE2). I'm pretty sure that I will hear "are you a guest on the Brilliance? What country is your passport from? The local authorities are requiring us to collect all non-EU passports so that they can look at them before we are cleared to set sail this evening. If you have a passport with you now, we can collect it here, or if it is still on the ship, then you need to take it to Guest Services on deck number 4 as soon as possible..."
Of course lots of people didn't want to hand over passports. Especially Americans. "we've always been told never to surrender our passports to anyone when travelling". And a surprisingly large number of them seemed to think it was because of the election. But of course we were collecting all non-EU, not just American, but that seems to be how they think.
Anyway, I'm tired out now from standing on the pier for 5 hours telling everyone this constantly, and trying to relieve their fears that we will lose their passports. Times like these I sort of wonder what I'm doing here....
My flights were good, we left a bit late from the JFK airport, someone needed some medical attention onboard, but they never fully let us know why. So then I got to Barcelona. More about Barcelona another time, when I'll post some pictures too.
Life on the boat has been fairly easy to return to. Everything is mostly the same, it is just taking some time to remember everything, and learn the new processes for things. We also have a mostly new team. There are I think four new hires since I left. I am now one of the more senior people on the team, which feels a bit weird since I was the newbie for so long. Right now we have 3 Mexicans, an Argentinian, a Britt, one other Canadian, an Italian, a Brazilian, and an Indian on the team. We're still very international.
Today was an interesting day. I'm not sure on the exact details, whether the immigration authorities changed their policies, or whether it was partly our fault, but they decided today that the Greek officials wanted to see all the non-EU passports before we were cleared to leave port today. This essentially meant that we needed to collect 1700 passports from guests.
I got called into work an hour and a half early, and got to stand in the Pier Terminal informing guests of this. There were two of us there stopping all our guests as they came in (there were I think 3 other ships there too, one was the QE2). I'm pretty sure that I will hear "are you a guest on the Brilliance? What country is your passport from? The local authorities are requiring us to collect all non-EU passports so that they can look at them before we are cleared to set sail this evening. If you have a passport with you now, we can collect it here, or if it is still on the ship, then you need to take it to Guest Services on deck number 4 as soon as possible..."
Of course lots of people didn't want to hand over passports. Especially Americans. "we've always been told never to surrender our passports to anyone when travelling". And a surprisingly large number of them seemed to think it was because of the election. But of course we were collecting all non-EU, not just American, but that seems to be how they think.
Anyway, I'm tired out now from standing on the pier for 5 hours telling everyone this constantly, and trying to relieve their fears that we will lose their passports. Times like these I sort of wonder what I'm doing here....
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Cookout & Picture Updates
Alright, so I have made it home, and I've been here for almost a month, so I decided that it was about time that I posted some pictures. I figured it would be easiest to go back and put the pictures sort of where they belonged, so I have done some editing of previous posts. If I'm feeling ambitious, I might do a large post with miscellaneous pictures that I didn't write about. But I'm on vacation and feeling pretty lazy, so don't hold your breath...
Also, on my last cruise, since a couple of other staff were leaving the ship for good (our Guest Services Manager, and the Group Coordinator, both of whom had been with the ship for a number of years), we decided to have a cookout.
For the cookout, everyone that wants to makes a dish from their home country, and we take over one of the kitchens for a few hours, and then later at night we get to sample all the dishes. Of course, it's also a time to just listen to music, dance, and hang out with your coworkers as well.
The food.
Everyone chowing down.
The ladies from guest services, financial, and explorations.
Most of the Guest Services Team
Also, on my last cruise, since a couple of other staff were leaving the ship for good (our Guest Services Manager, and the Group Coordinator, both of whom had been with the ship for a number of years), we decided to have a cookout.
For the cookout, everyone that wants to makes a dish from their home country, and we take over one of the kitchens for a few hours, and then later at night we get to sample all the dishes. Of course, it's also a time to just listen to music, dance, and hang out with your coworkers as well.
The food.
Everyone chowing down.
The ladies from guest services, financial, and explorations.
Most of the Guest Services TeamMonday, July 21, 2008
Almost back home...
So, I am in the middle of my last cruise on the ship before I'll be home. It's hard to believe that I've been here for over 5 months now...
The visit with my parents went well. I didn't acutally get to see a whole lot of them, I was on night shift for the first few days that they were here, so I was sleeping a lot of the time during the evenings, and then I managed to get a pretty horrible cold, so I was trying to sleep that off the best I could. But I still managed to pass it along to them in the end. But even if they weren't visiting with me all the time, they were doing a lot of sightseeing on their own, with tours every day, so they weren't too lonely. We did manage to get out for a dinner at one of the specialty restaurants one night, Portofino, which is our Italian one. It was very good, but of course a lot of food, and I think we all ate too much. We decided to go to the show afterwards with the singers and dancers, but I'm pretty sure that all three of us slept through it.
So, now I think I have about a week or so left, and I have to pack and get everything together, and try to manage to fit everything into my suitcases. I'm very excited to be coming home, but at the same time, I am definitely going to miss it here and all the people that I've met so far. It will be different to be able to sleep in, and not have to listen to guest complaints all day. But of course, they have me scheduled to come back here in October, so I'm sure that before long I'll be back on the ship, and it will seem like I never left.
The visit with my parents went well. I didn't acutally get to see a whole lot of them, I was on night shift for the first few days that they were here, so I was sleeping a lot of the time during the evenings, and then I managed to get a pretty horrible cold, so I was trying to sleep that off the best I could. But I still managed to pass it along to them in the end. But even if they weren't visiting with me all the time, they were doing a lot of sightseeing on their own, with tours every day, so they weren't too lonely. We did manage to get out for a dinner at one of the specialty restaurants one night, Portofino, which is our Italian one. It was very good, but of course a lot of food, and I think we all ate too much. We decided to go to the show afterwards with the singers and dancers, but I'm pretty sure that all three of us slept through it.
So, now I think I have about a week or so left, and I have to pack and get everything together, and try to manage to fit everything into my suitcases. I'm very excited to be coming home, but at the same time, I am definitely going to miss it here and all the people that I've met so far. It will be different to be able to sleep in, and not have to listen to guest complaints all day. But of course, they have me scheduled to come back here in October, so I'm sure that before long I'll be back on the ship, and it will seem like I never left.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Malta & Night Shifts
Our tour in Malta ended up being pretty cool. They had a minibus rented for us, and then drove us all over the island showing us all the important sights. They had some really pretty churches, and the scenery was very nice. We went to see where they have a blue lagoon, it was such a nice colour, but I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice. It's pretty hilly in some spots, and they have really straight streets (not like at home) so some of the streets look like San Francisco.
It was nice to be on tour with all crew and not have to worry about guests, I must admit. It was a very relaxing day. We even had lunch too, I had a pasta with octopus, but it wasn't all that good unfortunately. The day was very hot, and I managed to get a little bit of sun. But I have definitely lost any hopes I had of a tan, we'll see if I manage to get back to anything in the next couple of weeks.
Night shifts were mostly okay, in the beginning at night it's usually busy, and the same with early in the morning. Aside from that I didn't mind it too much. Except for the fact that it really did tire me out. I even did have a missing person, and I seemed to do everything fine... actually it was two girls, who really just stayed out too late, and their mom's couldn't find them, but of course you have to take everything seriously just in case.
Mom and Dad made it onto the boat okay, but I haven't really seen them aside from the first day after the boat drill for a bit. They arrived taking pictures of me in my nice flourescent green vest, so you've got those pictures to look forward to of me. They've moslty gone out on tours, and when they came back I've been asleep before my shift. They do stop by the desk to say hi though, so I've seen a little bit of them.
Tonight I'm trying to stay awake to get back on a regular schedule, so we've booked dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, Portofino, which is Italian, so that should be a nice meal. They're off to Rome today on a long tour, so they'll have some time to rest once they get back. I guess they'll have pictures to show everyone once they get back, before me. But of course, I've only got one cruise left before I'm home after that, so not too much longer now.
Colourful boats
A Blue Lagoon
The inside of a church.
Scenic view of the island.
The outside of the church we were in.
The outside of a church that we didn't go in. If I remember correctly, they have tonnes of churches in Malta. I think our guide said that they commonly say that they have at least one church for every day of the year, which is a lot for a fairly small island.
A statue outside of the church that I thought looked pretty.
One of the streets in Malta. They said that people often think of the streets as being similar to those in San Francisco. Very long, straight streets that are very steep.
It was nice to be on tour with all crew and not have to worry about guests, I must admit. It was a very relaxing day. We even had lunch too, I had a pasta with octopus, but it wasn't all that good unfortunately. The day was very hot, and I managed to get a little bit of sun. But I have definitely lost any hopes I had of a tan, we'll see if I manage to get back to anything in the next couple of weeks.
Night shifts were mostly okay, in the beginning at night it's usually busy, and the same with early in the morning. Aside from that I didn't mind it too much. Except for the fact that it really did tire me out. I even did have a missing person, and I seemed to do everything fine... actually it was two girls, who really just stayed out too late, and their mom's couldn't find them, but of course you have to take everything seriously just in case.
Mom and Dad made it onto the boat okay, but I haven't really seen them aside from the first day after the boat drill for a bit. They arrived taking pictures of me in my nice flourescent green vest, so you've got those pictures to look forward to of me. They've moslty gone out on tours, and when they came back I've been asleep before my shift. They do stop by the desk to say hi though, so I've seen a little bit of them.
Tonight I'm trying to stay awake to get back on a regular schedule, so we've booked dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, Portofino, which is Italian, so that should be a nice meal. They're off to Rome today on a long tour, so they'll have some time to rest once they get back. I guess they'll have pictures to show everyone once they get back, before me. But of course, I've only got one cruise left before I'm home after that, so not too much longer now.
Colourful boats
A Blue Lagoon
The inside of a church.
Scenic view of the island.
The outside of the church we were in.
The outside of a church that we didn't go in. If I remember correctly, they have tonnes of churches in Malta. I think our guide said that they commonly say that they have at least one church for every day of the year, which is a lot for a fairly small island.
A statue outside of the church that I thought looked pretty.
One of the streets in Malta. They said that people often think of the streets as being similar to those in San Francisco. Very long, straight streets that are very steep.Wednesday, July 2, 2008
An update since it's been awhile...
Happy Canada Day! (Only slightly late...)
Lately things have been going fairly smoothly. Guests have been alright, pretty much their usual annoying selves. I have finally been put onto the night shift which I was definitely resisting at first. But so far no major issues, it's usually pretty quiet at night, so I've got some time to relax and not have to worry about dealing with too many guest problems.
Last cruise I had a chance to go out into some new ports. I went out in Mykonos as well as Santorini in Greece. Both were very beautiful. I took some nice pictures. Unfortunately I have given up all hope of putting up pictures before I come home, so you'll just have to wait. Santorini is on top of this big cliff, and you have to take a cable car in order to get to the top. I had lunch with Marcelo who works with me. It's actually his last cruise here, in 3 days he gets to go home!
A couple of days ago I also went out for a short bit in Croatia. The city we were in, Split, was very pretty. Lots of palm trees, and very old buildings around the shopping areas, with narrow streets that are pedestrian only. I had lunch (pizza!) with my new roommate Sandie, who is from Denmark. So far we are getting along very well.
I'll actually be coming home soon too, it's hard to believe that I have been here for almost 5 months now. I should fly back on the 28th, but I don't know my flight details yet. So once this cruise is over in 3 days, I only have 2 cruises left. Of course, my parents are coming to visit next cruise, so that will make the time pass even faster I'm sure.
So, while I am definitely sad to leave here and all the great people I've met, I am excited to come home and see everyone, and finally get to post and show my pictures. And of course there's also Carolyn's wedding to look forward to as well. But I have decided that I am going to come back for another contract, which will bring me back to this ship in October if everything goes as planned.
Right now I should go and get ready, we are in Malta today, and I'm actually going to go on a bit of a private "familiarization tour" with the people that sell the tours as well as some other staff. It should be exciting!
The view of Mykonos, Greece from where the tenders docked.
Me in the streets of Mykonos.
An old windmill (I think...) at the top of the hill in Mykonos.
The streets in Mykonos
The cliffs in Santorini, Greece
The cable cars we took to get to the top of the cliffs.
The view of the ship from the restaurant where we had lunch.
The town of Santorini.
Along the shoreline in Split, Croatia.
Pedestrian area of Split.
Our pizzas cooking in the oven (you can sort of see them on the right side).
Statue in the park in Split
Lately things have been going fairly smoothly. Guests have been alright, pretty much their usual annoying selves. I have finally been put onto the night shift which I was definitely resisting at first. But so far no major issues, it's usually pretty quiet at night, so I've got some time to relax and not have to worry about dealing with too many guest problems.
Last cruise I had a chance to go out into some new ports. I went out in Mykonos as well as Santorini in Greece. Both were very beautiful. I took some nice pictures. Unfortunately I have given up all hope of putting up pictures before I come home, so you'll just have to wait. Santorini is on top of this big cliff, and you have to take a cable car in order to get to the top. I had lunch with Marcelo who works with me. It's actually his last cruise here, in 3 days he gets to go home!
A couple of days ago I also went out for a short bit in Croatia. The city we were in, Split, was very pretty. Lots of palm trees, and very old buildings around the shopping areas, with narrow streets that are pedestrian only. I had lunch (pizza!) with my new roommate Sandie, who is from Denmark. So far we are getting along very well.
I'll actually be coming home soon too, it's hard to believe that I have been here for almost 5 months now. I should fly back on the 28th, but I don't know my flight details yet. So once this cruise is over in 3 days, I only have 2 cruises left. Of course, my parents are coming to visit next cruise, so that will make the time pass even faster I'm sure.
So, while I am definitely sad to leave here and all the great people I've met, I am excited to come home and see everyone, and finally get to post and show my pictures. And of course there's also Carolyn's wedding to look forward to as well. But I have decided that I am going to come back for another contract, which will bring me back to this ship in October if everything goes as planned.
Right now I should go and get ready, we are in Malta today, and I'm actually going to go on a bit of a private "familiarization tour" with the people that sell the tours as well as some other staff. It should be exciting!
The view of Mykonos, Greece from where the tenders docked.
Me in the streets of Mykonos.
An old windmill (I think...) at the top of the hill in Mykonos.
The streets in Mykonos
The cliffs in Santorini, Greece
The cable cars we took to get to the top of the cliffs.
The view of the ship from the restaurant where we had lunch.
The town of Santorini.
Along the shoreline in Split, Croatia.
Pedestrian area of Split.
Our pizzas cooking in the oven (you can sort of see them on the right side).
Statue in the park in SplitSunday, June 1, 2008
(Sort of) Employee of the Month
So, every month or so we have a general staff meeting after our drill for the crew. The captain and some of the managers talk about stuff around the boat, what's going on with the company, what's going on with the ship, and things like that.
They also do the employee of the month. Everyone that's nominated has to go onstage, and then out of everyone you get an employee of the month for the whole ship. So, I was watching, not suspecting anything, when all of a sudden on the screen I see my picture. Was definitely not expecting that. I made my way up to the stage with the other people, and stood in front of all 800 or so staff, and waited. The girl next to me turns to me and said, "this is where we hold hands and cry..." like we were in a pagent, it was funny at the time... I wasn't the one picked, but I did get to shake hands with the captain... I feel special. Kinda wish I'd won, because then you at least get $500 bucks for standing up there.
So, anyway, I guess technically I got employee of the month for our division, which is definitely nice, and makes me feel like I'm doing a good job, even though I do feel lost a lot of the time. Awww, they do like me after all!!
They also do the employee of the month. Everyone that's nominated has to go onstage, and then out of everyone you get an employee of the month for the whole ship. So, I was watching, not suspecting anything, when all of a sudden on the screen I see my picture. Was definitely not expecting that. I made my way up to the stage with the other people, and stood in front of all 800 or so staff, and waited. The girl next to me turns to me and said, "this is where we hold hands and cry..." like we were in a pagent, it was funny at the time... I wasn't the one picked, but I did get to shake hands with the captain... I feel special. Kinda wish I'd won, because then you at least get $500 bucks for standing up there.
So, anyway, I guess technically I got employee of the month for our division, which is definitely nice, and makes me feel like I'm doing a good job, even though I do feel lost a lot of the time. Awww, they do like me after all!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Update
Okay, so it has definitely been a long time since I posted, so I'll try and do this quick and get as much down as I can...
We survived dry dock. We definitely had a good time, but they also had us work lots, or at least sit at the desk. Even though there wasn't really a whole lot to do, their reasoning is that we get paid more, and don't rely on tips, so we should be working. We did all get one day off. Unfortunately mine was early on in dry dock, so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I could have.
In Hamburg we were docked right on the main river, and in order to get into town, we had to walk down this loooong tunnel under the river. That slowed us down for getting into town since it took about 15 minutes just to get across from the ship.
While we were there the city had a celebration for the harbour's birthday. So all along the river on the pier they had booths set up like at a fair back home. Except it was German style. They were set up for 3 days, and it was nice to go walking all along, and look at what they were selling, and of course to get a German sausage. I think I had too many of those, but they were very good.
Now we're back to guests, and dealing with all of the fun that comes with that. We're working our way over to Barcelona, which will be our home port for the next couple of years while we do our Mediterranean cruises. I was able to get off the ship for a little bit in Portugal and in Morocco. Definitely very different places and very beautiful as well. I would really like to go back sometime and have a better look around.
We're getting two new girls next cruise, which should be interesting since they're both new hires. So I will no longer be the new one at the desk. Apparently one of them gets to sort of shadow me for a bit too, which should be interesting, because I still don't feel like I really know a lot yet. But I guess we'll see how it goes...
Okay, I'm adding in some pictures later, and there are a lot of them, bear with me...
The tunnel we took under the river to get to the main part of Hamburg.
Birthday of the Harbour celebrations. They had all sorts of big ships and sailboats docked along the harbour, I'm sure dad and grampa would have really enjoyed seeing them.
Lisbon, Portugal
Pedestrian walkway in Portugal
Purple flowering tree in Lisbon
Bottom part of a fountain.
The view of Morocco going over in the tender.
Small park in the town.
Hotel on a cliff in Morocco, with the ship in the background
We survived dry dock. We definitely had a good time, but they also had us work lots, or at least sit at the desk. Even though there wasn't really a whole lot to do, their reasoning is that we get paid more, and don't rely on tips, so we should be working. We did all get one day off. Unfortunately mine was early on in dry dock, so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I could have.
In Hamburg we were docked right on the main river, and in order to get into town, we had to walk down this loooong tunnel under the river. That slowed us down for getting into town since it took about 15 minutes just to get across from the ship.
While we were there the city had a celebration for the harbour's birthday. So all along the river on the pier they had booths set up like at a fair back home. Except it was German style. They were set up for 3 days, and it was nice to go walking all along, and look at what they were selling, and of course to get a German sausage. I think I had too many of those, but they were very good.
Now we're back to guests, and dealing with all of the fun that comes with that. We're working our way over to Barcelona, which will be our home port for the next couple of years while we do our Mediterranean cruises. I was able to get off the ship for a little bit in Portugal and in Morocco. Definitely very different places and very beautiful as well. I would really like to go back sometime and have a better look around.
We're getting two new girls next cruise, which should be interesting since they're both new hires. So I will no longer be the new one at the desk. Apparently one of them gets to sort of shadow me for a bit too, which should be interesting, because I still don't feel like I really know a lot yet. But I guess we'll see how it goes...
Okay, I'm adding in some pictures later, and there are a lot of them, bear with me...
The tunnel we took under the river to get to the main part of Hamburg.
Birthday of the Harbour celebrations. They had all sorts of big ships and sailboats docked along the harbour, I'm sure dad and grampa would have really enjoyed seeing them.
Lisbon, Portugal
Pedestrian walkway in Portugal
Purple flowering tree in Lisbon
Bottom part of a fountain.
The view of Morocco going over in the tender.
Small park in the town.
Hotel on a cliff in Morocco, with the ship in the backgroundSaturday, April 26, 2008
Dry Dock in Hamburg
And the boat is out of the water....
We are now in dry dock. They essentially had us drive into this tank, I guess you would call it, and then drained out all the water. We are apparently resting on concrete blocks with cushioning. I'll try to take some pictures later to show. And now that we're staying in one place for awhile, I think I'll try to find an internet cafe, and finally post some pictures.
So far dry dock has been pretty nice. The guest services crew all decided to buy coveralls so that we don't have to get our clothes dirty while we're here since we don't have to wear our uniforms. The first day we went around and covered all the floors in our areas with plastic so that it won't get dirty. This was actually quite a long process, and we were pretty creative with it...
Since then, we've been doing a lot of cleaning. And we deal with all the contractors on board, so that means that we're still doing a lot of checking in, and checking out as well. This is sometimes difficult since they mostly only speak Polish or German, or some other language than English. But we've been managing.
I haven't managed to get out yet since I've been doing the night shift and am pretty tired during the day. But tonight is my last night, so I guess we'll see. The others went into the red light district the other night, and I heard some iteresting stories from there...
The weather here is much colder too, I wasn't quite prepared for this, it's been as cold as 10 degrees, and it's been pretty rainy. Hopefully the weather is much nicer back home.
The dock in Cork, Ireland, when we arrived in Europe.
We actually arrived earlier than scheduled, due to a guest having a medical emergency (he had a heart attack, I think he ended up being okay though). So instead of arriving in the morning, we arrived at midnight, and all the crew of course decided to get off the ship.
Of course, during the week in a small town, there isn't really too much open... actually, nothing at all was open, much to our dismay.
Luckily one pub owner near the pier realized the profit he could make off the crew, so he opened up, and we all piled in for ridiculously expensive beer in an Irish Pub. From left to right, these are some of the people I worked with: Sara (my roommate) from Italy, Humberto from Mexico, Natasha from Puerto Rico, Karoly from Hungary, me, and Marcelo from Brazil. We're a pretty international department.
Showing our creative side with the plastic that covers the floors. I don't have pictures of us putting the actual plastic down, unfortunately, maybe I'll steal some from people later to post. Let's just say that it involved some rolling on the floor, as well as a process we called "the tiger" to make sure that it stuck...
We are now in dry dock. They essentially had us drive into this tank, I guess you would call it, and then drained out all the water. We are apparently resting on concrete blocks with cushioning. I'll try to take some pictures later to show. And now that we're staying in one place for awhile, I think I'll try to find an internet cafe, and finally post some pictures.
So far dry dock has been pretty nice. The guest services crew all decided to buy coveralls so that we don't have to get our clothes dirty while we're here since we don't have to wear our uniforms. The first day we went around and covered all the floors in our areas with plastic so that it won't get dirty. This was actually quite a long process, and we were pretty creative with it...
Since then, we've been doing a lot of cleaning. And we deal with all the contractors on board, so that means that we're still doing a lot of checking in, and checking out as well. This is sometimes difficult since they mostly only speak Polish or German, or some other language than English. But we've been managing.
I haven't managed to get out yet since I've been doing the night shift and am pretty tired during the day. But tonight is my last night, so I guess we'll see. The others went into the red light district the other night, and I heard some iteresting stories from there...
The weather here is much colder too, I wasn't quite prepared for this, it's been as cold as 10 degrees, and it's been pretty rainy. Hopefully the weather is much nicer back home.
The dock in Cork, Ireland, when we arrived in Europe.We actually arrived earlier than scheduled, due to a guest having a medical emergency (he had a heart attack, I think he ended up being okay though). So instead of arriving in the morning, we arrived at midnight, and all the crew of course decided to get off the ship.
Of course, during the week in a small town, there isn't really too much open... actually, nothing at all was open, much to our dismay.
Luckily one pub owner near the pier realized the profit he could make off the crew, so he opened up, and we all piled in for ridiculously expensive beer in an Irish Pub. From left to right, these are some of the people I worked with: Sara (my roommate) from Italy, Humberto from Mexico, Natasha from Puerto Rico, Karoly from Hungary, me, and Marcelo from Brazil. We're a pretty international department.
Showing our creative side with the plastic that covers the floors. I don't have pictures of us putting the actual plastic down, unfortunately, maybe I'll steal some from people later to post. Let's just say that it involved some rolling on the floor, as well as a process we called "the tiger" to make sure that it stuck...Thursday, April 17, 2008
Atlantic Crossing
Alright, I think I'll make this a quick one. We are now officially on our way to Europe. We left Bermuda today, and we have the next 5 days at sea. We even passed through the Bermuda Triangle, but nothing interesting happened, and we made it out okay.
The guests are definitely demanding this cruise, which we keep hearing is a good warm-up for Europe. Tomorrow I move back to the desk from being the telephone operator for a couple of cruises. Hopefully I still remember how to do things. At least we'll have a bit of a break while we're in dry dock in Hamburg, Germany for a couple of weeks. But of course that also means a really messy/dirty ship while they fix everything up. And lots of training. But of course it also means no guests....
The guests are definitely demanding this cruise, which we keep hearing is a good warm-up for Europe. Tomorrow I move back to the desk from being the telephone operator for a couple of cruises. Hopefully I still remember how to do things. At least we'll have a bit of a break while we're in dry dock in Hamburg, Germany for a couple of weeks. But of course that also means a really messy/dirty ship while they fix everything up. And lots of training. But of course it also means no guests....
Friday, April 11, 2008
Lifeboats
I was trying to decide just what I should write about since it's been awhile since I've been online. Then I remembered that I had mentioned my new emergency number awhile ago...
Anyway, so with my new emergency number I am at one of the passenger lifeboat station, and I have to participate in the passenger drill (which somehow seems to always be on my break on the first day which makes my day seem even longer, but that's another story...) So, this week, as a part of the crew drill, they had to lower the lifeboats on the starboard side to make sure that everything was working properly. So that meant a lifeboat ride for me!
Not quite as exciting as it sounds really, but still kind of cool. After we had our drill, which for me consisted of pretty much just standing at my station, everyone from our crew had to get into the lifeboat while it was being lowered. I sincerely hope that we don't have any emergencies and actually have to use those things, because they can fit 150 people, but that's only if you get very close to your neighbours.
I was on shift during this time, so it was sort of nice to be able to sit in the lifeboat as they drove it around for 40 minutes. We did have one small incident where we decided to play bumper-boats with another lifeboat, but they are both okay, and survived the incident.
Other than that, things are still going well, I got off the ship the other day and went to lunch in Costa Rica with my coworkers from Mexico. Definitley nice to have some real food for once.
I've been getting a few requests for pictures - the computers on the ship, which are the ones I mostly use, don't have usb ports available because they're very worried about viruses. So, maybe once we're in Europe I'll have a chance to go to an internet cafe to post some of the pictures I've taken. Speaking of Europe, next cruise is our transatlantic cruise, Europe here we come!
Anyway, so with my new emergency number I am at one of the passenger lifeboat station, and I have to participate in the passenger drill (which somehow seems to always be on my break on the first day which makes my day seem even longer, but that's another story...) So, this week, as a part of the crew drill, they had to lower the lifeboats on the starboard side to make sure that everything was working properly. So that meant a lifeboat ride for me!
Not quite as exciting as it sounds really, but still kind of cool. After we had our drill, which for me consisted of pretty much just standing at my station, everyone from our crew had to get into the lifeboat while it was being lowered. I sincerely hope that we don't have any emergencies and actually have to use those things, because they can fit 150 people, but that's only if you get very close to your neighbours.
I was on shift during this time, so it was sort of nice to be able to sit in the lifeboat as they drove it around for 40 minutes. We did have one small incident where we decided to play bumper-boats with another lifeboat, but they are both okay, and survived the incident.
Other than that, things are still going well, I got off the ship the other day and went to lunch in Costa Rica with my coworkers from Mexico. Definitley nice to have some real food for once.
I've been getting a few requests for pictures - the computers on the ship, which are the ones I mostly use, don't have usb ports available because they're very worried about viruses. So, maybe once we're in Europe I'll have a chance to go to an internet cafe to post some of the pictures I've taken. Speaking of Europe, next cruise is our transatlantic cruise, Europe here we come!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Another new voyage
So, we're about 4 days into the new voyage. I'm glad to get all the kids off the ship, and all the problems that they create. There are still a few this trip, but not as many as last time.
This Miami none of the crew were allowed off the ship. They're usually pretty strict, and before they had "windows" for when we were allowed off. I'm not 100% sure how it worked, because I never had time to get off on the switchover day. But anyway, they finally did away with this system for two trips back there. And then 3 chinese people had to go and wreck it for everyone. Apparently three of them decided to jump ship the last time that we were in Miami, and so now everyone else has to suffer. It doesn't really affect me, but lots of the crew are not so happy now, they figure that we might not be allowed out for the few Miamis that we have left.
Guests are starting to get very annoying to me. Especially this one that keeps coming to the desk. This lady stops by, and she says, has anyone asked about a lost watch today? So I said that I would check our lost and found book, but not everyone wants to leave details, sometimes they just come back and check later. Anyway, she had found a watch, but wants to keep it if no one comes to the desk to ask for it. At the same time that she was telling me this, another lady was looking for a lost watch (not the same one) which we had had turned in. And so the one who would like to keep the watch said "at least some people are still honest".
Anyway, she wouldn't give us a description of the watch, I guess she's afraid that we'd try to keep it on her. So if any guest is missing a watch, we have to call her to get it identified. If that wasn't enough, she comes to the desk today to say that she's found a bracelet in one of the restaurants, but doesn't want to tell us what it looks like because she wants to keep it if no one claims it. I don't know why she's even going through the motions of pretending to let us know that she's found stuff. I suppose it helps her sleep better at night to know that she's "tried" to give this stuff back that doesn't belong to her. Grrr, she just annoys me.
Oh well, I'm being moved to Telecom in a few days, which is essentially the telephone operator. Maybe it's a good thing, since I seem to be getting pretty annoyed with the guests.
Only a few more voyages until we move to Europe!
This Miami none of the crew were allowed off the ship. They're usually pretty strict, and before they had "windows" for when we were allowed off. I'm not 100% sure how it worked, because I never had time to get off on the switchover day. But anyway, they finally did away with this system for two trips back there. And then 3 chinese people had to go and wreck it for everyone. Apparently three of them decided to jump ship the last time that we were in Miami, and so now everyone else has to suffer. It doesn't really affect me, but lots of the crew are not so happy now, they figure that we might not be allowed out for the few Miamis that we have left.
Guests are starting to get very annoying to me. Especially this one that keeps coming to the desk. This lady stops by, and she says, has anyone asked about a lost watch today? So I said that I would check our lost and found book, but not everyone wants to leave details, sometimes they just come back and check later. Anyway, she had found a watch, but wants to keep it if no one comes to the desk to ask for it. At the same time that she was telling me this, another lady was looking for a lost watch (not the same one) which we had had turned in. And so the one who would like to keep the watch said "at least some people are still honest".
Anyway, she wouldn't give us a description of the watch, I guess she's afraid that we'd try to keep it on her. So if any guest is missing a watch, we have to call her to get it identified. If that wasn't enough, she comes to the desk today to say that she's found a bracelet in one of the restaurants, but doesn't want to tell us what it looks like because she wants to keep it if no one claims it. I don't know why she's even going through the motions of pretending to let us know that she's found stuff. I suppose it helps her sleep better at night to know that she's "tried" to give this stuff back that doesn't belong to her. Grrr, she just annoys me.
Oh well, I'm being moved to Telecom in a few days, which is essentially the telephone operator. Maybe it's a good thing, since I seem to be getting pretty annoyed with the guests.
Only a few more voyages until we move to Europe!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Just a Bit of Everything
Well, I had my 30 day review yesterday. It's an informal review done just by our department, mostly good, a few things to work on. But that's to be expected anyway... I guess they'll keep me for now.
The last day of every cruise we give out customer satisfaction surveys, and they're actually pretty serious about them. We're not supposed to touch them, and they're kept locked until someone from the Miami office collects them when we're in port on switchover day. Then they have a company that types up everyone's comments, and they send us files for the different departments so that we know what everyone says. This all happens usually within 24-48 hours. Anyway, I got my first comment this cruise, which was very nice (it was a good one). Good things happen for the Guest Service Officer with the most comments (not me this time, but something to work towards).
We're also starting to get geared up for going back to Europe. Our ship is actually the only one in the fleet that's owned by Royal Caribbean UK, so this ship is actually going to stay over there for at least a couple of years.
While I'm looking forward to being in Europe, I'm not looking forward to the work there. Everyone keeps telling me how much busier we'll be, how we'll always have lines, and there's a lot more lost luggage too, which creates a lot more work. Hopefully being able to go out in the ports will make up for it.
Last week I got to go out in Aruba. We ended up going back to this pool where we'd been the week before. Unfortunately I wasn't so good with the reapplying of sunscreen, so my legs got sunburned, which was not helped by the heavy pants I have to wear. I also ended up with some pretty funny tan lines, so my roommate was calling me dalmation. I'll be more careful next time. I guess I have to remember to try to get the tan slowly...
I also had this weird thing for a few days where my ankle swelled up, which made me a bit worried since I hadn't done anything to injure it. This was the same ankle I'd hurt a couple of summers ago at Windermere House, so I didn't know if that was connected. So, I went to the medical, and the doctor told me that I was just retaining fluid, and it was from standing too long, and I just needed to elevate my feet more. So, it's mostly gotten better (I think it was made worse from the sunburn).
Anyway, I guess that's enough random ramblings from me, I'm sure a lot of the time I don't make any sense at all, but that's what you get I guess...
PS - if anyone wants postcards, send me your mailing addresses, and I'll do my best to get some out.
The last day of every cruise we give out customer satisfaction surveys, and they're actually pretty serious about them. We're not supposed to touch them, and they're kept locked until someone from the Miami office collects them when we're in port on switchover day. Then they have a company that types up everyone's comments, and they send us files for the different departments so that we know what everyone says. This all happens usually within 24-48 hours. Anyway, I got my first comment this cruise, which was very nice (it was a good one). Good things happen for the Guest Service Officer with the most comments (not me this time, but something to work towards).
We're also starting to get geared up for going back to Europe. Our ship is actually the only one in the fleet that's owned by Royal Caribbean UK, so this ship is actually going to stay over there for at least a couple of years.
While I'm looking forward to being in Europe, I'm not looking forward to the work there. Everyone keeps telling me how much busier we'll be, how we'll always have lines, and there's a lot more lost luggage too, which creates a lot more work. Hopefully being able to go out in the ports will make up for it.
Last week I got to go out in Aruba. We ended up going back to this pool where we'd been the week before. Unfortunately I wasn't so good with the reapplying of sunscreen, so my legs got sunburned, which was not helped by the heavy pants I have to wear. I also ended up with some pretty funny tan lines, so my roommate was calling me dalmation. I'll be more careful next time. I guess I have to remember to try to get the tan slowly...
I also had this weird thing for a few days where my ankle swelled up, which made me a bit worried since I hadn't done anything to injure it. This was the same ankle I'd hurt a couple of summers ago at Windermere House, so I didn't know if that was connected. So, I went to the medical, and the doctor told me that I was just retaining fluid, and it was from standing too long, and I just needed to elevate my feet more. So, it's mostly gotten better (I think it was made worse from the sunburn).
Anyway, I guess that's enough random ramblings from me, I'm sure a lot of the time I don't make any sense at all, but that's what you get I guess...
PS - if anyone wants postcards, send me your mailing addresses, and I'll do my best to get some out.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Another New Cruise
Yesterday marked the beginning of my fourth cruise so far. With it came a few different things. The first is that I realized yesterday that Easter is this weekend, which I completely forgot about. It's easy to do when I hardly even know what day it is anymore. This also means that it's March break, so we have a lot more kids on board this cruise. We always have a few, but now it seems like they're running around all over the place. Should make for lots of new and interesting problems.
Another difference is that I have a new Emergency Number. This is my third number so far. All crew on the ship have an emergency card, which they must carry with them at all times. On the card, it tells you the emergency number you've been assigned, and your emergency station. All emergency numbers have specific instructions for what they have to do given certain types of emergencies.
It also tells you which drills you have participate in. With my new number and instructions, I get to participate in the passenger drill. I've been assigned to a muster station, which means that at the beginning of every cruise I have to stand outside in my suit, and direct people to their muster stations. This week this happened to be over my break, which did not make me too happy. At least I only have to wear a florescent vest, and not the lifejacket, which would be much worse.
Anyway, I'm sure this will be an interesting cruise, already everyone seems to be a bit wired, and the guests are coming up with all sorts of problems that they want us to solve.
Another difference is that I have a new Emergency Number. This is my third number so far. All crew on the ship have an emergency card, which they must carry with them at all times. On the card, it tells you the emergency number you've been assigned, and your emergency station. All emergency numbers have specific instructions for what they have to do given certain types of emergencies.
It also tells you which drills you have participate in. With my new number and instructions, I get to participate in the passenger drill. I've been assigned to a muster station, which means that at the beginning of every cruise I have to stand outside in my suit, and direct people to their muster stations. This week this happened to be over my break, which did not make me too happy. At least I only have to wear a florescent vest, and not the lifejacket, which would be much worse.
Anyway, I'm sure this will be an interesting cruise, already everyone seems to be a bit wired, and the guests are coming up with all sorts of problems that they want us to solve.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Panama Canal
One of the things that I had been most looking forward to once I found out my ship's itinerary was going to the Panama Canal. Today makes it the third time now that I have been down the first section of the Panama Canal.
When I first read about what happens on the company's website, I was a bit confused, as are most guests when they come onboard. So, for all of you who are interested, I will now explain.
We arrive at the Canal early in the morning, usually sometime around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, and then we wait. Depending on the traffic and when the local authorities tell us we can go through, we then start to go through the first set of locks. This is usually between 6:00am to 6:30am, but it can be later. The first set of locks has 3 locks to it, and it usually takes us around an hour and a half to pass through that set. They pretty much built this ship right to the limit, because when we pass through, and we're being raised or lowered, I can see out the sides through the windows at Guest Services, and we are literally about a foot from the wall.
Anyway, I don't get to see too much, because I'm working, but I can still look out the window and see things from the side. I had my first chance to get out in Panama too, but since we have to be back on board before our guests, I pretty much just had a chance to get a smoothie and have a look around at the crafts in the terminal building at the pier. I'm hoping that next time I'll be able to do some more shopping.
When I first read about what happens on the company's website, I was a bit confused, as are most guests when they come onboard. So, for all of you who are interested, I will now explain.
We arrive at the Canal early in the morning, usually sometime around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, and then we wait. Depending on the traffic and when the local authorities tell us we can go through, we then start to go through the first set of locks. This is usually between 6:00am to 6:30am, but it can be later. The first set of locks has 3 locks to it, and it usually takes us around an hour and a half to pass through that set. They pretty much built this ship right to the limit, because when we pass through, and we're being raised or lowered, I can see out the sides through the windows at Guest Services, and we are literally about a foot from the wall.
Anyway, I don't get to see too much, because I'm working, but I can still look out the window and see things from the side. I had my first chance to get out in Panama too, but since we have to be back on board before our guests, I pretty much just had a chance to get a smoothie and have a look around at the crafts in the terminal building at the pier. I'm hoping that next time I'll be able to do some more shopping.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Crazy Guests
So, I'm starting to wonder where people's brains are when they go on vacation, or whether maybe people just go a little crazy once they step on the boat.
Yesterday morning, I had just gotten to work, when this lady shows up at the desk. She asks if the other girl who was working earlier was still at the desk. I said that I was sorry, but she had already left for the day. So then, she holds up this bag, and says, well, I would like to know what I'm supposed to do with this. My friend threw up, and I called, and she told me to put it down the toilet, you can't put a plastic bag down the toilet. I said I was sorry, and she pretty much just left this bag of vomit sitting on the desk. NOT exactly what I needed first thing in the morning.
So, after throwing out the vomit, I thouroughly washed my hands, and then thoroughly sanitized the desk, thinking, who would actually bring a bag of vomit to the front desk? I don't know... but this lady seemed pretty crazy to me.
For the rest of the day, everyone was joking how I'd had my first "incident". I mean, who does that anyway? Unfortunately we see too many guests like that...
I spoke with my roommate later, who had dealt with this woman. It turns out that she had tried to get someone to go and dispose of it from the lady's room, but people just weren't listening to her. And apparently this morning again, she was running around the 3rd floor, trying to get people to take another bag from her... I wonder what she does when she's at home?
Yesterday morning, I had just gotten to work, when this lady shows up at the desk. She asks if the other girl who was working earlier was still at the desk. I said that I was sorry, but she had already left for the day. So then, she holds up this bag, and says, well, I would like to know what I'm supposed to do with this. My friend threw up, and I called, and she told me to put it down the toilet, you can't put a plastic bag down the toilet. I said I was sorry, and she pretty much just left this bag of vomit sitting on the desk. NOT exactly what I needed first thing in the morning.
So, after throwing out the vomit, I thouroughly washed my hands, and then thoroughly sanitized the desk, thinking, who would actually bring a bag of vomit to the front desk? I don't know... but this lady seemed pretty crazy to me.
For the rest of the day, everyone was joking how I'd had my first "incident". I mean, who does that anyway? Unfortunately we see too many guests like that...
I spoke with my roommate later, who had dealt with this woman. It turns out that she had tried to get someone to go and dispose of it from the lady's room, but people just weren't listening to her. And apparently this morning again, she was running around the 3rd floor, trying to get people to take another bag from her... I wonder what she does when she's at home?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Free Time off the Ship
So, I've managed to get off the ship twice so far. Once last cruise in Cartagena, Colombia, and once during the current cruise in Aruba.
In Colombia I went on a tour of the mangroves with one of the girls that I work with, Natasha, who's from Puerto Rico. It wasn't too different from other mangroves that I've seen before, but it was still nice all the same. We also had some time at a hotel after we went to the mangroves, so I was happy I'd worn my bathing suit, as we were able to use the pool.
They also gave us a tour of the city on the way back to the ship, which was really nice. I unfortunately had to get ready quickly for the tour after my shift, and so I had forgotten to charge my camera battery. So, I don't have pictures from the city, just of the mangroves. I made sure to charge my batteries after I got home, so I'll be able to take pictures next time.
Yesterday we stopped in Aruba, and I had a long break from 12-7, so I went to the beach with a bunch of people I work with. Or I guess we technically went to the pool. There's a long stretch of beaches on one side, with resorts on the other side of the road, so we opted to go and stay at one of the resorts instead of the beach. I'm working on getting an actual tan, which is not working so well, they were teasing me that I looked like casper. Oh well, I'm hoping that it will come eventually.
So I just spent a relaxing day away from the ship, I was able to go shopping and pick up a few things that I was missing, and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. They encourage us to get off the ship if we can, mostly to preserve our sanity. It can get to be long days in a confined space with the same people all the time. But so far everything is going well!
In Colombia I went on a tour of the mangroves with one of the girls that I work with, Natasha, who's from Puerto Rico. It wasn't too different from other mangroves that I've seen before, but it was still nice all the same. We also had some time at a hotel after we went to the mangroves, so I was happy I'd worn my bathing suit, as we were able to use the pool.
They also gave us a tour of the city on the way back to the ship, which was really nice. I unfortunately had to get ready quickly for the tour after my shift, and so I had forgotten to charge my camera battery. So, I don't have pictures from the city, just of the mangroves. I made sure to charge my batteries after I got home, so I'll be able to take pictures next time.
Yesterday we stopped in Aruba, and I had a long break from 12-7, so I went to the beach with a bunch of people I work with. Or I guess we technically went to the pool. There's a long stretch of beaches on one side, with resorts on the other side of the road, so we opted to go and stay at one of the resorts instead of the beach. I'm working on getting an actual tan, which is not working so well, they were teasing me that I looked like casper. Oh well, I'm hoping that it will come eventually.
So I just spent a relaxing day away from the ship, I was able to go shopping and pick up a few things that I was missing, and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. They encourage us to get off the ship if we can, mostly to preserve our sanity. It can get to be long days in a confined space with the same people all the time. But so far everything is going well!
Canoeing in the mangroves - Cartagena, Colombia
Lizard by the pool in Aruba
Lizard by the pool in ArubaSaturday, February 23, 2008
Starting to Get Settled
Okay, so I figure that I should give this blogging thing an actual try, so that I don't have to send as many emails. Of course, I do still like getting emails! For those of you that don't know, I'm working a six month contract with Royal Caribbean on the Brilliance of the Seas. The ship will be travelling around the Caribbean for the first bit, and then Europe for the last while I'm onboard.
So, getting on the ship was definitely an experience in itself. I found out a week and a half before I was to be on the ship that I actually had a contract. So, that meant lots of running around and renewing my passport, getting a medical done, medical tests, and shopping for things I would need for the next six months.
I finally got everything in, and by three days before I was to get onboard, I finally had everything in and realized that it might actually happen that I would get on the ship. But of course, even getting to the ship had its difficulties. When I arrived in Miami, the hotel that I was told to call for my shuttle told me that I wasn't on their list, so that I would have to contact my recruiting company at home. $40 in phone cards to home and lots of messages with the company, I found an emergency number to call, and figured out that I was put in another hotel.
At the hotel I was put in a room with another girl from Guyana who was supposed to work in the kitchen. Then in the morning we boarded a bus, and had an hour drive as they went to all the hotels to pick up crew for two of the ships. Then when we finally got to the pier, there was lots of waiting and scanning our luggage, then they finally started letting us through to get on board. Of course, I wasn't on their first list, so I had to wait aside even longer to get through.
By 11am I was onboard, and filled out more forms, they looked over my medical tests (for syphilis, hepatitis A,B,&C, as well as tuberculosis, and my cholesterol among others...). Then I was picked up by someone from my team, and it was on to training right away!
So, since then I've gone through lots of trainings, the first cruise I had one pretty much every day, for things like Royal Caribbean standards, lifeboat and safety training, harrassment training, drug and alcohol policy training, and on, and on, and on...
Anyway, I've mostly been working on getting used to life onboard now, while trying to get everything figured out for the job. I'm doing alright, but it's just figuring out who to call when things go wrong, or how things get done here. I feel like I don't know anything, and I'm having to ask a lot of questions, but I guess that's the only way I'll actually learn. Today they let me know that I am picking things up quickly, and they're not used to people doing it so fast, so that made me feel good, and I know I'm doing okay so far.
I don't know if/how often I'll be able to publish photos, because I don't think I can on the ship, but later on I'll see if I'm able to in ports.
So, getting on the ship was definitely an experience in itself. I found out a week and a half before I was to be on the ship that I actually had a contract. So, that meant lots of running around and renewing my passport, getting a medical done, medical tests, and shopping for things I would need for the next six months.
I finally got everything in, and by three days before I was to get onboard, I finally had everything in and realized that it might actually happen that I would get on the ship. But of course, even getting to the ship had its difficulties. When I arrived in Miami, the hotel that I was told to call for my shuttle told me that I wasn't on their list, so that I would have to contact my recruiting company at home. $40 in phone cards to home and lots of messages with the company, I found an emergency number to call, and figured out that I was put in another hotel.
At the hotel I was put in a room with another girl from Guyana who was supposed to work in the kitchen. Then in the morning we boarded a bus, and had an hour drive as they went to all the hotels to pick up crew for two of the ships. Then when we finally got to the pier, there was lots of waiting and scanning our luggage, then they finally started letting us through to get on board. Of course, I wasn't on their first list, so I had to wait aside even longer to get through.
By 11am I was onboard, and filled out more forms, they looked over my medical tests (for syphilis, hepatitis A,B,&C, as well as tuberculosis, and my cholesterol among others...). Then I was picked up by someone from my team, and it was on to training right away!
So, since then I've gone through lots of trainings, the first cruise I had one pretty much every day, for things like Royal Caribbean standards, lifeboat and safety training, harrassment training, drug and alcohol policy training, and on, and on, and on...
Anyway, I've mostly been working on getting used to life onboard now, while trying to get everything figured out for the job. I'm doing alright, but it's just figuring out who to call when things go wrong, or how things get done here. I feel like I don't know anything, and I'm having to ask a lot of questions, but I guess that's the only way I'll actually learn. Today they let me know that I am picking things up quickly, and they're not used to people doing it so fast, so that made me feel good, and I know I'm doing okay so far.
I don't know if/how often I'll be able to publish photos, because I don't think I can on the ship, but later on I'll see if I'm able to in ports.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Last Minute Packing
So, while I am supposed to be packing, I figured I would instead set up this blog so that everyone can hear about my adventures while working on a cruise ship. I leave tomorrow (in about 12 hours actually, better finish my packing soon...).
I guess we will see if I can actually find the time to update a blog in between working and sleeping. But for now, back to packing so that I can actually get on the ship!
I guess we will see if I can actually find the time to update a blog in between working and sleeping. But for now, back to packing so that I can actually get on the ship!
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