My life is pretty sweet

November 28, 2011

Life is pretty much getting into a rhythm now so that’s why I’m inclined to blog less, I think! We are on the tail-end of our first of many trips to the same ports here in New Zealand and it’s been nice to be able to get off, see what the towns are like, and then know for the next time we’re there where to go and what to do. Today we were in Tauranga which is on the northern end of the top island of New Zealand and tomorrow we will be in Auckland again—we were there when we made the first crossing down here. Either the next time we are in Tauranga (Dec. 13) or the time after that (Dec. 28) we are going to go White Water Rafting and I’m excited for that but I am also scared out of my mind! There are allegedly 7m waterfalls and such that you go over and if you sit in the back you’re more likely to get tossed out so…I told the guys that I call dibs on a front seat!

It’s been a relaxing time off for me, normally when I’m not on Assist or Duty I have Rockwall shifts and also Spotlight shifts for the shows each night. Well, since we’ve been in ports we don’t have Rockwall every day so that’s been one less thing for me to deal with, and we’ve had production shows and some easy headliner shows so doing spots hasn’t been too bad, either! Lucky me!

We are coming up on our awesome 2 night overnight in Sydney that everyone is pretty excited about. We will arrive in Sydney on December 3^rd at 9:00am and then we leave on December 5^th at 6:30pm. I’m not sure what we’re all going to try to do but we have nothing scheduled in the theatre on the night of the 3^rd, which is great because normally we’d have our farewell show that night and then the guests leave on December 4^th but since it’s an overnight they just put a movie in the theatre. That means we can all go out to dinner and pretty much do whatever we want…except for the person who is on duty, poor guy.  I’ve been there twice already, it’s not too awesome knowing that everyone is going out and you have to be stuck on the ship with nothing to do that night!

So I think a few of you appreciated the itinerary that I posted on here so that you all know where I am in the world each day, ergo, here is my itinerary for December and the first part of January:

Dec 1- Sea Day

Dec 2- Sea Day

Dec 3- Sydney

Dec 4- Sydney (Turnaround Day)

Dec 5- Sydney

Dec 6- Sea Day

Dec 7- Sea Day

Dec 8- Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, New Zealand

Dec 9- Dunedin, New Zealand

Dec 10- Akaroa, New Zealand

Dec 11- Wellington, New Zealand

Dec 12- Napier, New Zealand

Dec 13- Tauranga, New Zealand

Dec 14- Auckland, New Zealand

Dec 15- Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Dec 16- Sea Day

Dec 17- Sea Day

Dec 18- Sydney (Turnaround Day)

Dec 19- Sea Day

Dec 20- Sea Day

Dec 21- Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, New Zealand

Dec 22- Dunedin, New Zealand

Dec 23- Akaroa, New Zealand

Dec 24- Wellington, New Zealand

Dec 25- Sea Day (Merry Christmas!)

Dec 26- Napier, New Zealand

Dec 27- Volcanic White Island, New Zealand

Dec 28- Tauranga, New Zealand

Dec 29- Auckland, New Zealand

Dec 30- Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Dec 31- Sea Day (Happy 2012!)

Jan 1- Sea Day

Jan 2- Sydney

Jan 3- Sydney (Turnaround Day)

Jan 4- Sea Day

Jan 5- Sea Day

Jan 6- Noumea, New Caledonia

Jan 7- Lifou, Loyalty Island

Jan 8- Vila, Vanuatu

Jan 9- Champagne Bay, Vanuatu

Jan 10- Luganville, Vanuatu

Jan 11- Mystery Island, Vanuatu

Jan 12- Isle of Pines, New Caledonia

Jan 13- Sea Day

Jan 14- Sea Day

Jan 15- Sydney (Turnaround Day)

So, unless anything changes that’s where I’ll be and when! Nothing should change because the company already knows the New Zealand ports now and so the only weird thing could end up being the ports in Vanuatu and New Caledonia (islands in the Pacific), so, we’ll see!

Otherwise I guess I don’t have much to add! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and I’m looking forward to receiving Christmas packages and cards (**hint hint**)! Just in case you don’t have these addresses anymore or at all, here is some VERY VITAL INFORMATION for you :D

Send valuable things and packages bigger than shoeboxes to:

(My first and last name go here)

Technical Stage Staff

Radiance of the Seas

2935 West Corporate Lakes Blvd

Weston, FL 33331

And send letters or cards and tiny packages to:

(My first and last name go here)

Technical Stage Staff

Radiance of the Seas

P.O Box 019081

Miami, FL 33101-9081

Maybe it’s weird for me not to put my full name on here since there’s enough information on this blog for someone to find my identity if they really want to, but, I will make it a little bit harder for them at least, haha! Also make sure to always put a return address on anything because if you don’t they will look at it suspiciously and it may not make it to me. Keep in mind also that things will take anywhere from 2-6 weeks to get out here from Miami, so, don’t send anything time-sensitive or perishable! Chocolate is ok, I can still eat a melted blob of chocolate, teehee.

Okay, I think this post is sufficiently long enough!

Love you all so much!

B

Rocky seas

November 21, 2011

It’s been a crazy week since I posted!

The last cruise ended well, we had a lot of guests at the backstage tour on the second to last day and they all seemed really interested in what goes on in the theatre and were pretty engaged. The only bad thing was when they asked about the one comedian we had who did the same jokes in two different shows (not good) and we didn’t really know what to tell them. I also had several ladies asking me to tell them how our Illusionist does his show—I was like sorry! We sign a contract saying we won’t tell you anything, so, unless you have the money to cover me in the event that I am sued, my lips are sealed!

Then we had a two day cruise—lovingly referred to as the Booze Cruise—and boy was that name accurate! 2,000 people got on board in Sydney on the 18^th and they immediately started drinking and I don’t think they stopped until they left the ship in Sydney on the 20^th. The place was an absolute crazy mess! One of the assistant bar managers told me that the bars made around $180,000 in two days—WOW. That’s real good news for the bar staff though, they’ve all certainly been a little happier since then! I’m sure their lives sucked during the cruise itself but they’ll be reaping the benefits on the next payday.

Now I’m back to being on duty so my life is a bit more hectic, but tonight is formal night and I don’t have anything to do from 6:30pm until midnight or so, so I think I am going to finally put my formal dress to good use (haven’t worn it since I got here) and go and just watch one of the shows for a change.  We’ll see how I’m feeling later, but, that’s my plan for now anyways.

The guests this cruise are proving to be pretty…interesting. I’ve had three pretty dumb questions so far:

#1—How do I get to deck 10 from these lifts (elevators) here?

#2—Guest: Are there cards here in the library?

         Me: No sir, but if you go the card room on deck 10 you’ll find some there.

         Guest: **scoffs** There won’t be cards there.

#3—Pardon me, is there a sushi place on board?

That last one is dumb because Izumi, our Japanese Sushi Place, is advertised all over the ship…fail. I also had to try really really hard not to laugh when the guy asked me how to get to deck 10 from the elevators…I was like “Get in one that’s going up and push 10 and you’ll be there!” and he was dead serious and I just couldn’t believe it.

Anywho, I guess that’s all for now.  Hope you’re all going well! Yes, going, not doing—it’s an Aussie thing, accept it :P

Love

B

November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone…although I don’t think it’s Thursday there yet? But for me it’s Thursday, so, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I am hoping tonight they have some good food in the mess, maybe even some Pumpkin Pie! That would really make my life.

In other news, our guest entertainer for last night (Weds night) is this big New Zealander who came to rehearsal wearing a Troy Polamalu jersey…and I was like…waitwhat?! So I asked him about it and he says, in all seriousness, “Troy is my cousin”…………..now I don’t know if that’s true but if it is….WOAH. I mean, you all know I couldn’t care less about football…but it is really cool knowing that I met someone who is related to one of the most well-known players in the NFL. Not to mention the people I talked about before who say they’re in-laws with Big Ben! Crazy life. They weren’t kidding when they said you could find Steeler’s fans everywhere.

On another random note, the seas between New Zealand and Australia are ROCKY and I feel sometimes like I am going to be tossed out of my bunk. Lucky for me I have a safety rail!

Anyways, not much else to blog about tonight, dear ones. I will report back on the status of my Thanksgiving dinner, but, it won’t be the same without all of you.

Miss you all more than words can say

Xoxoxo

B

Sitting at the Production Manager's desk

Hey all

I am writing from my Production Manager's desk--whoohoo! I love it when he lets me use his computer to check my email...and to blog, though he doesn't know I'm blogging...though I don't think he'd care.

Yesterday we were in Wellington, New Zealand! It's pretty much a city like any other city, but, it was still pretty! Lots of rolling hills and mountains everywhere. Because it's just a city I don't have much to report except that I had a delicious lunch, read a newspaper that told me that someone stole a sword from Lincoln's tomb or something? And then bought a pair of shoes that were too expensive but SO CUTE. You all know me...I love shoes...I couldn't help myself.

I also talked to some guests while we were waiting for the shuttle back to the pier and they are from New Castle, PA! I was like oh hey, I went to school in Meadville (FYI New Castle is between Meadville and Pittsburgh, for those not in the know) and they were impressed! They said "we're practically family!" and then told me to stop by their house next time I went to visit my pals in Pittsburgh, haha. They also claim that someone in their family married Ben Rothelisbergerhoweveryouspellhisname (the Steelers player)...I don't remember how this girl is related to them but they were allegedly at the wedding...I haven't had time to look into this but, if they're not lying I can now say that I met someone who is related to someone who is married to one of the biggest US NFL stars. Cool beans, right?

Sorry for the short little blip, but, I've gotta go to work now!

Much love

B

Aussies, Kiwis and Yanks--oh my!

11/13/11

Greetings from the land of the Kiwis!

Sorry it’s been awhile since my last post! I think because a lot has happened, and I know you all have lives of your own, I will try to be short and sweet with the interesting bits since the last post.

Melbourne was a lovely, lovely city! I got off the ship and went off on my own and did some shopping, had lunch at a beautiful little café, and just strolled about the city. Everyone was really friendly and I met a girl from New York at one of the stores and we chatted about life for a few minutes, that was a refreshing change!

After Melbourne we had a day at sea which was like any other day at sea, then we were in Hobart, Tasmania. I again decided to go off on my own, mostly in search of some WiFi and a good hearty lunch. I found both! Mission success. I also managed to get some supplies from a local pharmacy that should help me with the minor pains/soreness I’ve been having in my hip as of late.

Then we had two days at sea which were again pretty usual, but rather chilly! Coming from the northern USA you think “south” and you think warm! But no! Here, since southern Australia and New Zealand are pretty far from the Equator…and closer to Antarctica than you’d think…it gets a wee bit chilly!

The night of the 12^th we had a party up in a bar called the “Starquest” which is a space for guests to have late night dance parties, but the Executive Officers decided to close that space to guests for a night so that the crew could have a party there! The theme was “OPP Level 1” which was celebrating the fact that we’ve been able to stay at OPP Level 1 (meaning we haven’t had any cases of the gastrointestinal virus on board in a long time) and everyone had a blast!

Today we were in Dunedin, New Zealand, which is a little town that was “colonized” by Scottish people. There were bagpipes playing, lots of little cafés, and it was a really nice little area. Even though it was Sunday there was just enough open that nobody was disappointed. I had a mighty delicious sandwich at a little Irish pub with Jason, his wife Lauren, Dave (the Musical Director) and Cori (one of the dancers)—it was chicken, brie, cranberry sauce, aurugla and tomatoes on a multigrain bread. DELICIOUS.  I will certainly be eating that again when we’re back here next time! I was also able to find some good, fast WiFi and I instant messaged with some dear friends who happened to be online (you know who you are) !

Tomorrow we will be in Akaroa, New Zealand and then we head to Wellington (New Zealand) and after that we’ve got two days at sea then we are back in Sydney!

Before I go, I have a quick social observation to make: in case you missed History class in high school, Australia was originally colonized by England, and they used it as a place to send their criminals and convicts because prisons on the mainland were getting too full. When they arrived, just like in the USA, there were already natives living on the land…but they took over anyways. The more time I spend with Australians, the more I realize how much they joke about their heritage. Now, I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing; I’m simply observing that they seem almost proud of it. Last night, for example, we had a musical quartet of sorts as our entertainment and they were going through talking about the heritage of each member and they got to one of the women and the singer said “And this one, she’s of strong convict stock!” and everyone cheered. Maybe they just sarcastically joke about it…I don’t know….it’s hard to tell sometimes because Australians have a way of saying something in a positive yet sarcastic tone, therefore meaning it in a negative way.  Anyways, I don’t really know what I’m trying to say here…I’m not saying I don’t like Australians because I do, and I’m not saying that people who come from “convict stock” should feel ashamed or anything silly like that…I just think it’s interesting!

I promise I’ll try to update more and upload more pictures to the blog and to Facebook soon!

Much love to all of you!

B

It's November already?!

11/01/2011

Here’s a random cultural observation for you: American music has also made its way out to Oz, which isn’t all that surprising, but at the café I was in today in Perth, they played “Hot In Here” by Nelly and some old school Mariah Carey and such things along that nature. Now, perhaps it was 90s station or something, because otherwise I’m like “Hey guys, you’re a little behind!”  I found that to be the way of things in France, too. It’s interesting that we don’t get European or Australian music but they get ours ….can my musician friends enlighten me on this topic, please?

Also (this one is especially for Cathryn) today I told Jason that if I could take a red marker around the ship and correct all of the signs that are missing punctuations or have spelling errors, it would look like people were sporadically murdered all over the ship. I realize that not everyone who works on the ship has English as a native language and therefore things are bound to have mistakes…but that doesn’t make me want to fix them any less! Our Cruise Director has an error in a slide of his during the Farewell show, it uses “it’s” when it should say “its” and I told Jason that and he was like…I don’t know the difference, to be honest. I *facepalmed* a little, not gonna lie! But yes, if I could, I absolutely would. Nick, our Light Tech, said the other day that  on some ships they have a box where you can drop observations like that, but that there isn’t one on this ship.

Random thoughts for the day, carry on!

 B

11/03/2011

Circumnavigating Australia has been so-so as of now, but the worst part has been the time changes! Last cruise since we went North then West we gained several hours over the course of the cruise, now, logically, since we went South and now East, we are losing several hours and we are all going to turn into zombies! Last night we jumped forward 1.5 hours, tonight we jump another hour, then later in the cruise we lose two more hours…then at the very end when we go back to Sydney from New Zealand we gain two hours back. SO CONFUSING! Nobody is going to know what time it is, ever!

We were at sea today and we’re still at sea tomorrow then on the 5^th of November we will be in Adelaide. I am hoping that it’s as pretty as the name suggests, that is if we have time to get off. I was supposed to go on a wine tour with some cast members but we have to set up 100 chairs for a group at 10am and then strike them immediately after they’re done so we may not have time to go ashore. UGH!

The good news is that tomorrow is my last day on duty, yay! Then I have 15 days of doing Spotlights, Rockwall, and the occasional miscellaneous task or band set but generally having two weeks to relax. I am looking forward to that very, very much.  I also get to do the Mystery Dinner Theatre night for the cast and that means I get free dinner and wine in one of the specialty dinning rooms--#winning!

In other news, I am glad you are all reading my blog! I got a couple emails and some Facebook messages from you lovely ones telling me that you enjoy reading it so that makes me happy! Nothing worse than thinking you are writing something that’s interesting and then having nobody say anything about it ergo leaving you to believe that it must not be that interesting after all! So, I’m glad you all think my life is interesting J It is pretty interesting, and I’m a very lucky, lucky girl!

Hugs and Kisses from off the Southern Coast of Australia…where 3 days ago we were experiencing 85 degrees and HUMID and now it’s 68 and half as humid….I NEVER KNOW WHAT TO WEAR! And if you know me (as you probably do since you’re reading this) then you know that I do love me some clothing and I love knowing what I need to put on!

Anywho, thanks for sticking with me, boys and girls. I miss you all very much.

a + (That one’s for Erica, thanks for reminding me about that!)

Xoxo

B