Days 114 - 140 Excursions, Mom and Dad, and my Birthday

February 25, 2012 @ 2:21am

Soooo it's been over a month since I last wrote. That thing about time going fast? Greatly underestimated. Also all this free time I though I was going to have at night? Overestimated.  I've been keeping very busy at nights but still loving it.

In the past month I've had Mom and Dad onboard for a cruise, seen my birthday come and go, and gone on a few excursions.  In short that past month has provided me with some of my best days onboard.

Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad came onboard on Feb 11th for our Key West, Cozumel, Isla de Roatan, and Montego Bay cruise.  On the first day I went out and met them at the terminal just after they arrived. After being away from any semblance of home for such a long time it was almost surreal to have them walking around Fort Lauderdale and then on my ship and in the ports that have come to be my home for the past few months.

Our best days were in Cozumel and Isla de Roatan.  In Cozumel we went on a reef snorkelling excursion then to a beach club that lasted most of the day.  The scenery for the snorkelling was beautiful and we were in the water for a little over an hour as we swam along with the reef until the point it hit a drop off.  The sea life wasn't overly spectacular but I think that's also in part because I've become spoiled with all the snorkelling I've done since coming down here.  The highlights were a good sized sting ray and then a 2-3 foot long parrot fish. 

The real hero of the cruise tho was Isla de Roatan.  Firstly it was nice for me because since we've been tendering there for most of the season I've hardly been able to get ashore.  But because I had my parents onboard I was able to take the tender off early with them instead of having to wait around until all the passengers had cleared.  We  hadn't booked a excursion and just planned on finding something fun to do locally.  After talking to one of the tour operators we found out about a private island will full services that was 30mins away.  We paired up with a couple from England and taxied out to "French Key".  Once we arrived we had to take a short ferry over to the island where we were welcomed by the owner and brought on a tour of his private zoo.

The zoo included a few varieties of monkeys and all different kinds of parrots and birds.  We actually got to go into one of the monkey cages and one of them ended up taking a real liking to dad before he climbed up me and took a seat on the back of my neck.  This was the closet I've ever been to our banana eating relatives and I was blown away.  His hands were so soft and he even had little fingernails just like us.  When he walked over to me I put my hand down and he grabbed onto my pointer finger.  I lifted his incredibly lightweight body up with ease and then he climbed up to his perch on the back of my neck.  He was so light I hardly would have known he was there if it wasn't from his surprisingly strong body heat.

After this we simply spent the day laying out in the sun, snorkelling, and jumping into the crystal clear water off of their 2nd story bar.  The most incredible thing in all this was that there was hardly a soul there.  Here we had a paradise to ourselves for $25 a head while the rest of the 4 ships that were there that day all crammed into the tourist central that is West Bay.  It was a killer find and I'm hoping to be able to get back when we return again on my last cruise before heading home.

Having mom and dad onboard was great but it was also nice to see them go.  By spending so much time with them I lost a lot of sleep that cruise and as a result was pretty groggy for most of it and am still feeling the effects.  That said it was great to see them and  even better to get to share my experience with them.

Excursions

In addition to the excision in Cozumel I did with my parents I've been on two excursions in the US Virgin Islands.

The first took me to Megan's Bay on the north side of St Thomas.  Megan's Bay is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and it was easy to see why.  Before heading down to the beach we stopped off at a look off above it and got to take it all in.  I put a picture up on my Facebook already but I'll try to add one here as well because words just don't do it justice. 

The water was warm and sandy all the way out.  There wasn't much in the way of snorkelling however the water was loaded with thousands of small fish which brought in the birds.  As people were swimming there were pelicans and other birds circling above before diving full speed into the water after the fish.  It was a regular occurrence to have the birds some within a few feet of you.  After a light lunch I spent the rest of the day laying on the beach reading until it was time to return to the ship.

The real star of the my time onboard however was the 2nd excursion I took in the USVI.  We boarded a catamaran and headed for the island of St John.  It's just a short distance from St Thomas and has a population of only 5,000 people.  The trip over was beautiful as the sun was out in full force.  The guides were great and oddly enough one of them even lived in Halifax for a few months; small world.

While we were getting our safety talk after we arrived at St John a sea turtle popped up right next to the boat.  I was pretty pumped about this because a sea turtle is one of the things I really wanted to see but hadn't been fortunate enough to do so yet.

When the talk was over I hopped in and headed to the area where we had seen the turtle.  I didn't see the turtle but what I did see was nothing to scoff at.  I came across what's called a spotted eagle ray.  This thing looks like a manta ray and moves through the water so gracefully.  When I found it, it was moving along the bottom looking for food but after it realized I was there it moved up and swam off.  It was so graceful the way it flew through the water. I've seen a lot animals in the wild but this one was one of the most beautiful.

After this I moved over to the area where the reef was which was loaded with fish urchins and coral as far as you could see.  Some of the colours in the fish were so bright they seemed almost fake.  I had seen a lot of these fish before but while swimming along I looked over to my left and saw a barracuda floating a bit below the surface just watching me.  I took a picture and moved on.  The last thing I wanted to do is upset anything that has teeth.

Time was almost up so I figured I'd go check the deep area again and see if the turtle had returned.  When I got there the turtle was still nowhere to be found but I did come across a good sized sting ray and managed to get some great pictures.  I was able to swing along side of it for a while too which was pretty cool. 

Having resigned to the fact that I had missed out on the turtles I started to swim back to the ship.  I was about 50' from the ship when I saw them. Sitting on the bottom about 25' down were 4 sea turtles.  I swam down to see them and as I did on of them left the bottom and headed for the surface.  I saw with it and as it went up for a breath so did I.  I swam with it a little longer before having to return to the ship.

I got out of the water all smiles and knowing that I could safely return home feeling officially fulfilled with my time down south.

Birthday / Disembark

My birthday onboard was pretty lame. We weren't in port and I work nights so there wasn't much to do.  I slept for most of the day then went out today in Nassau for beers and beach with Nombuso and the girls.  I'll make up for the lake of celebration when I get home. ;)

Speaking of which I will be officially disembarking on March 17.  It's been updated in the system and they've asked where I want my plane ticket to.  

Getting home is going to be amazing.  As I'm sure you're aware March 17th is St Patrick's day so I'll come home to a big party.  After a few days rest Hey Rosetta! is playing on the 22nd and then on the 27th I leave for Cuba for a week with Squinty, Anthony and Dolan.  Simply put, March is going to be an awesome month.

All I have left onboard are two short rock charters then we do Eastern and Western Caribbean one more time each.  I'm going to try to get on as many excursions as possible and really just enjoy the time I have left here. 

I can't believe I'll be home in 20 days…. Look out Halifax, here I come. 

Days 104-113: Jamaica, Sea, Florida, Sea, Sea, St Thomas, San Juan, Sea, Florida, Key West

January 31, 2012 at 02:13

I've managed to survive the last two weeks of working regular shifts and since Saturday I've been working the nights and will be for the remainder of my contract.  I've been looking forward to this ever since I got my first taste two weeks ago. Excursions, getting to go out in every port, sleeping for 8 hours at a time… It's going to be amazing.

Working nights now is a godsend because it gives me time to be at work yet in a quiet place at the same time.  When I started this job I was overwhelmed at the tediousness of everything that we do with little to no training and the unrealistic expectations that went with it. All the extensive record keeping, messaging, meetings, everything!  But as I've come around and learned what's necessary to excel in this position I've realized that it's no different than any other desk job. Be approachable, confident, kind, decisive, concise, diplomatic, efficient, flexible and adaptable.  That's the essence of what I do. 

Before Christmas I wrote a out how quickly time was going to go by with all these little mile stones and I was right on the money.  It feels like it was only yesterday that it was Christmas eve and now I'm only two cruises away from mom and dad coming on board and less than two months from being home.

For the rest of my contract we continually two an Eastern and a Western cruise of the Caribbean so there isn't going to be much more variety aside from any excursions I go on.  With the excitement of the locations out of the way it's really starting to set in that real life is creeping back up on me and the big questing looms; What's next?

Since getting into hospitality I've had more life direction than I've ever felt before but now there's so many options in front of me and I really have no idea which route to take.  A few things that I know for sure after doing my stint onboard are that I want to work in North America or the Caribbean, I can't settle for working a line job any more, I have to get back into a position where I can make a difference, and I have to work with people who are as passionate about what they do as I am.  Where am I going to find all of that? Who knows, but the hunt is on.

Days 93-103: Florida, Sea, Labadee, Falmouth, Sea, Florida, Key West, Cozumel, Roatan, Sea

January 18, 2012 at 19:37

Jeeze another 10 days gone, and an interesting 10 days at that.

As you all know at this point we had a little incident off the coast of the Bahamas. Well because of this I now know what it feels like when the ship hits something.  While sleeping after going out in Falmouth I was sleeping when I felt the same feeling.  I was half asleep at the time and just thought to myself that there was no way, right? I mean there's no way we could hit something again right? Wrong.  

I fell back to sleep and thought nothing of it until I woke up and went to work at 11 that night.  It was then that I found out that while leaving the port we hit the pier and then proceeded to take out a channel marker. Who's driving this thing anyway?!

Our ship has been cleared to still be seaworthy but supposedly has 8-9 holes in the outer layer of the hull. So because our hull is like swiss cheese we haven't been able to go top speed so things like medical emergency air lifts and such put us WAY back time wise.

Oh yea, on top of the whole, grounding, pier hitting thing we had a guy at the end of Jam Cruise who thought it would be a good idea to climb the big screen we have on the top deck and then fall off.  For his efforts he was rewarded with a broken pelvis. Way to go bud.  Because he was in such rough shape though he had to be air lifted off the ship and to US authorities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hidden in all of this was a very successful and fun Jam Cruise.  Jam Cruise is similar to Holy Ship! except instead of DJs it's loads of jam musicians and bands onboard for a 5 day cruise.  The music was great and the passengers very was to get along with.  Because of this nights were much more chill.  I'd say this was primarily because on Holy Ship! everyone was taking uppers, young, and constantly loosing their keys.  On Jam everyone was bit older, taking downers, and more responsible when it came to things like their keys.  On top of all that they were smoking so much weed that the whole ship smelled like it.  Overall Jam was a great experience but still I was ready for it to end and to go back to normal passengers and issues.  No one climbs the screen on a normal cruise. :)

Just as Jam was ending we found out about the disaster with the Costa Concordia.  I can safely say that this story would have interested me regardless but part of the industry and on top of that on a ship that had "technical difficulties" only days before the Costa incident really made it hit home.  Everyone on board has been talking about it and glued to the TV or newspapers whenever new news comes out.

I got to spend the day at the Royal Caribbean owned Labadee in Haiti.  Visually the landscape was incredible however where we were wasn't exactly an authentic experience but it was a great day regardless.  Spent the whole day on the beach sipping beer, and soaking up the sun.  I also went for a few nice long snorkels to check out the local reefs.  Nothing really extraordinary but the usual abundance of small colourful fish and sea urchins.  I've also officially decided that it's time to get a proper camera and the order has been placed. My new waterproof camera should be showing up in time for our next trip to Fort Lauderdale. Bring on the good photos!

I was about to start this last paragraph by saying that "not much else happened" until I thought about it again and realized just how much has happened. I guess that's why it's so easy to miss writing for so many days.  I go back to nights on the 28th and it can't come soon enough.  Being able to go out in every port was something that I very quickly got used to and can't wait to have again.

That's all for now. Maybe it'll be less than 10 days before my next post. Only time will tell.. 

Holy Ship! Days 88-92: Montego Bay, Sea, Florida, Bahamas, Halfmoon Cay

January 7, 2011 at 19:48

Wow, it's been a very interesting few days so let's get right into in. In this post I need to cover three loose ends from my last post, my first night shift, and a VERY interesting incident in the Bahamas.

Ok, so first that odd make a phrase out of these letters thing I found out wasn't requested for me specifically so that makes it less bizarre. Still weird but at least it wasn't something they wanted me specifically to do for some reason.

Second, I left a little bit of a cliff hanger and the end of the last post regarding news I found out that would change the remanded of my contract.  That news is that my Guest Relations Manager, Hotel Manager, and Cruise Director are all disembarking on the 28th and new people are coming on. That means all the rules and regulations we've gotten used to and the people we're used to working with are about to be thrown into the blender. None of us really know what to expect but loosing our GRM sucks.  When she told us she was on the verge of tears because this wasn't something she wanted but something head office decided needed to be done so she could have her time off before they want to put her on a different ship in the near future. It blows.

Third, I went on my first excursion in Montego Bay!  We went to Dunn's River falls after a two hour bus ride across Jamaica passing through the home towns of Bob Marley and Housain (sp?) Bolt along the way.  The falls were incredible. Coming in at the bottom of the falls the water was pretty well freezing and it was overcast on top of that so it wasn't the warmest experience but the rush of climbing up the falls kept us going.  I did the climb with one of the officers who works in our office and his girlfriend which turned out to be a great time especially seeing as before I bumped into them I was going to be doing it by myself.  Most amazing I think was the fact of just not slippery the rocks were. I did it in my sneakers and never once felt like I was loosing grip.  We got to the top, met up with our group then headed to the beach.  The beach we went to was a private beach we had to drive through the woods to get to where we had access to drinks and food for an hour before we had to head back to the ship.  All in all a great day. :)

OK, no onto Holy Ship!.  Holy Ship! was a full charter that brought on 30ish of some of the best dub step DJs for a 3 day music festival on the water.  The passengers paid roughly $2,500 for the 3 days each and were pretty well drunk or high for all of it.  

Working nights for a cruise like this was never dull and in fact the only down time we were got was between 4-6am but then only for 20-30mins at a time.  Highlights included a full grown man in the lobby wearing only batman underwear, two topless girls making out under the waterfall, and a large man that fell down the stairs. I've also never had to replace so many keys in such a short period of time.  My favourite was when someone would come to see us for something and then come back later having no memory of having been to see us earlier. Kids and their drugs.

The music wasn't exactly my scene but I did get to see Fatboy Slim play a set up on the pool deck which was more than enough to keep me happy.  Brought back lots of great memories from high school. Right about now, the fuck soul brother…

OK, so here's the real excitement not only of the cruise but of the contract.  Early Saturday morning at around 7am there was a loud thud and the whole ship shook.  After you've been onboard for a while you start to recognize certain sounds and movements as being normal. This was not.  We didn't' really think anything of it and just looked at it as if it's important we'll find out soon enough.  Well it wasn't  long before we found out.

Mandy came out and while I was halfway through recoding a guest's keys she said "we hit something and we're stuck". Pardon me, what?! She said it again except this time clarifying it to that it was the bottom we had hit and we were firmly lodged into the sea floor.  Now I'm sure you can understand that hearing news like that is pretty well the last thing I expected to hear when I went to work but still I couldn't help but enjoy the excitement.  While eating breakfast the ship was trying so hard to dislodge itself that everything was shaking. Even the help of 3 tug boats couldn't get us free.  It wasn't long before they gave up trying and decided to tender the guests ashore and wait for high tide to give it another shot.

6:30 rolled around and next thing we knew there were 5 tug's attached to our back while the ship gave all she had while they tried to pull us free.  For a while nothing moved. The tugs tugged and the ship shook but we didn't budge. Eventually the tugs were able to wiggle us side to side and we started to move loose. After much wiggling we finally got free and were able to keep sailing.  Everyone has been pretty tight lipped over exactly what kind of damage has been done but it can't be that bad because we're still sailing.  Still I can't believe that there wasn't some time of significant damage done.. I mean we bottomed out, it's bad when that happens in a little boat, I can only imagine what it does to a large ship like this one.

If you want to see a bit more of what actually happened check out these two YouTube videos a local already put up online… Pretty crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZQKpFHbZ04&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM_JYVlyqtc

Day 87: Sea Day (Strange day)

January 3, 2011 at 21:42

Look at me go, two days in a row and on a sea day on top of that.  Mind you today was a slightly odd sea day…

As far as the guests go it was business as usual mind you whenever we go from Roatan to Jamaica the seas are typically pretty rough as we're cutting straight across the Caribbean Sea.  Today it was even rougher still and even down here on deck 4 standing in one place some times was an issue.  Because of this we were giving out dramamine non stop at the desk as the queazy passengers lined up for salvation.  As usual I had a blast. :)

This morning just as my shift was ending was when things got a little strange.  First I got a call from Mandy saying I needed to go to the Staff Captain's office.  First of all Staff Captain is only one down from the Captain as far as ranking goes. Second, I've never spoken to the guy. Third you typically on see him when you're in some type of trouble.  Understandably I was confused and slightly concerned.  I asked Mandy about it but she didn't have any more info about it other than that I was supposed to head up then and there.  

I found my way to deck 12 (where it was REALLY rocking) and into his office where he was waiting and welcomed me with a smile and by name.  He then presented me with a page that had random letters on it and told me that the Captain had asked him to make a short English sentence containing the 8 or 9 letters.  The letters didn't have to be in any particular order or even the first letter of the words, they jus had to be included. Odd…  At this point it almost felt like a psych evaluation of some sort. Even more so when I saw the phrase I came up with "I went sailing far from you".  OK, now it really felt like a psych evaluation.

Staff Captain thanked me for my help and I formally introduced myself and shook his hand before leaving and that was it.  I told Mandy about it when I got back down and she was still just as confused as I was.  Mandy said that he had called Teresa and then Teresa asked Mandy to get me. I'm still fairly curious about the whole thing and plan to ask Teresa tomorrow if he asked for me specifically or if she volunteered me. Either way it was all very strange.  

On top of this I found out some news that I can't yet discuss incase anyone onboard reads this but it will impact all of us in the next month or so…

It was an odd Tuesday to say the least...

Happy New Year! Days 78-86: Sea, Charlotte Amalie, San Jan, Sea, Nassau, Florida, Key West, Cozumel, Roatan

January 2, 2012 22:27

Christmas and New Year's Eve have come and gone and if it wasn't for the stocking still hanging in my cabin you'd never know it happened at all.  I've had holidays come and go quickly in the past but this took it to a whole new level.  

Christmas eve was a blast.  I had a great FaceTime with all my family in Indiana before meeting up with all my friends for fun and drinks up in our disco before eventually calling it a night.  Everyone was in a great mood and most of us overdid it as was demonstrated by the massive hangover my colleagues and I had.  I've had plenty of hangovers but typically avoid going out on nights when I work the next day.  Not only did I have to work at 11 on Christmas day but we were at sea and the ship was rocking just enough to make everything that much worse.  What really worked out in our favour though was that for the whole of our shift there were hardly any calls or guests at the desk. It was a Christmas miracle!

New Year's most of all didn't feel like New Year's eve.  I doubt there's anyone reading this who isn't aware that my friend Craig MacDonald and I have been putting on the biggest New Year's party in Halifax for the past 5 years or so but in case there was, now you know.  That being said not ringing in the New Year in that fashion just doesn't seem normal at this point.  I miss the challenge of pulling off the big event and all the perks that come with it. Just being someone in the crowd isn't nearly as fun as being on stage in front of 2000 people shooting confetti as everyone celebrates the New Year.  Add that to the fact that I had to work at 7am on January 1st and you've got a pretty lame NYE for ol' Drewski.  I went up to the pool deck for the festivities including performances by our artists, the big countdown (we did it better), then one of our bands took over.  I made my round of "Happy New Year's" then without so much of a sip I headed to bed around 12:30 to rest up for what I was really looking forward to; New Year's day in Cozumel. :D

In Cozumel we went to "No Name Bar" which is a great little spot right on the water actually next door to Margaritaville where we went last time we were here.  This place has a pool with a swim up bar, sand for a floor with tables and palm trees and then you can go straight into the ocean off the end of their pier.  Not unlike last time here I had a few things on my mind, all of which were answered by No Name Bar. Drinks? Check. Food? Check. Close to the ship? Check Swimming and snorkelling? Check. Internet? Check.  When you work on a cruise ship these are the 5 most important things when you go ashore and finding them all in one spot it's like winning the lottery.

I went out snorkelling again in pretty much the same location as before kept this time when I got to the underwater planes I was in for a real treat.  As the far side of the plane came into view I saw a fish I hadn't seen out here before.  At first it looked like a sphere before it was instantly recognizable.  When I realized what it was I actually swore through my snorkel.  It was a lion fish.  Now for those of you who don't know it by name I'm certain you know one to see one as any aquarium I've ever been too has them and you've likely seen pictures of them (I'll try to find a pic to include).  It was about a foot long and striped brown and white all the way down. What makes it truly impressive is that it has large fin like spines that come out like a lion's mane all around it's body near the head that then have pieces that look like flags blowing in the wind coming off of them.  At the end of each of these spines is poison so needless to say I kept my distance.   Still I couldn't resist swimming to the bottom over and over again to get a better look at this amazing fish in the wild.  To make it all the better, Tina had gotten me ear plugs for diving as my secret santa present so I was able to head the 20ft or so down necessary without feeling like my head was imploding. Def one of the highlights of the cruise so far for me.

Today it was back to business as usual with one tiny wrinkle.  Our next cruise is a 3 day DJ cruise and the cruise after that the 5 day Jam Cruise.  These are full charter's where we essentially have people that come on board to do nothing but party and check out the bands and DJs that have been brought along for the trip.  Because of this we're extra busy at the desk late at night so for the next two cruises I've been tasked with working the night shift with Roby from 11pm til 8am.  Oh and I'll also be the next person to work nights after her so it will act as my training at the same time.

At first read that seems like a shitty deal but when you understand a bit more it actually isn't so bad.  Firstly I'll be working 9 hours straight instead of two broken up shifts which will give me more time off in-between. Secondly I'll be able to go out longer and in more ports. Third and probably the most exciting is that I'll be able to go on a excursions on a fairly regular basis! Drew win's all around! Oh and the cherry on top is that I'll still be working nights when Mom and Dad come so I'll be able to spend even more time when time while they're here!  Who knew working nights could be such a good deal?

Tonight the artists onboard are putting on a show for the crew to showcase their talents and entertain us for an hour or so before I go to bed, set my clock ahead one hour and then work at 6:30 tomorrow. Party time.  

Oh, and working nights should give me a bit more time to blog so hopefully I'll go back to more regular posts and not be so tired and lame all the time. :)  I'll be in touch...