Day 18: Newport (sucks), RI

Oct 29, 2011 1:03
I've never been to Newport but it sucks.

Well actually I'm sure it's a wonderful town but both times we've been there were awful days for us due to the tendering. Last week it was a mess due to poor sea conditions. Today it was a mess just because it was a mess. Tendering in Bar Harbour isn't that big of a deal because for one we're closer to the pier and for two we arrive around 9 and leave at 6. In Newport we don't start until 11:30 and then leave at 6. In the end we're stuck with crazy pissed off passengers in the lobby for most of the day and then crazy pissed off passengers coming to tell us how much we suck when they get back. The crappy thing is that we run tender service non stop the whole time we're there. We actually go as fast as possible and are actually quite efficient it's really just poor planning to only be there for such a short time.

Today I got "lucky" though. Instead of having to stay at the desk and get bitched out I went down to where the tenders leave to help with the process. I put lucky in quotes because it was about 5C and the wind was whipping and all I really had for warm clothes was a down vest I wore over my suit. The vest worked wonders but my fingers and toes were icicles. Regardless I was pleased with not having to deal with a lot of issues that really had no resolution.

Tomorrow is disembarkation and with that comes craziness at the desk with thousands of requests for bill statements, explanation of disembarkation procedures and last minute complaints. My shift was on til 12 tonight and it didn't stop until 11:45. It was so busy that I just unplugged the phone because on top of the never ending line of people the phone was ringing off the hook. No thank you.

I won't get to get off the ship in NYC tomorrow as I start my 11 hour day at 10am and get to lead it off with a "ship visit". A ship visit is when a group of travel agents come on board for a tour so that they can better sell our vessel. Have I done one of these before? No. Is there a set schedule or order to show things in? No. Specifics on points I should make or things I should highlight? No. It's going to be an interesting morning, lol. That being said I'll probably love it.

That's all for now. Must rest, tomorrow's going to be a long ass day...