From ship to shore

Luganville, Vanuatu

2009-02-28T07:59:00.002-03:00

Oh, a million days at sea it felt like after Honolulu. Funafuti, Tuvalu was taken off the itinerary as they do not have proper docking facilities for our ship and the tendering procedure would be likely have even been to difficult to do given the rougher weather that was expected. We finally arrived in Luganville on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu and it was POURING rain! Just about everyone was frothing at the bit to get off the ship after 7 days at sea, but as they stepped onto the pier most came back after half an hour. BUCKETS of rain. The kind of rain that soaks you as soon as you’re not under an umbrella. Of course, a little bit or even a lot of rain doesn’t scare me in the tropics, so I rented two crew bikes from the ship and made Scott come with me to tour the island. He was resistant to it at first, but I was so excited to get off the ship I didn’t care. As we rode down the gangway with the security team staring in disbelief and every guest and crew member practically gawking at us while they ran back to the ship in droves, it felt wonderful to be on solid land even if we were riding through one giant puddle.
We rode through town, past markets where the townspeople had every type of fruit and vegetable you’ve never heard of, past tiny hardware stores that sold very little and various daytime bars and restaurants. The people were incredibly curious that we were bicycling through and in such wet weather. Every person waved and said hello. I have never encountered such a purely friendly place. We stopped for lunch at one outdoor place that was undercover and tried the local specialty; curried poulet fish. Fish that’s supposed to taste like chicken is a famous dish here, but it wasn’t to my liking so I think next time I’ll try the chicken and perhaps it will taste like fish.

After lunch I decided we needed a goal for the day, so I asked a local what we could do with limited time and that would be feasible on bicycles on such a rainy day. Million Dollar Point was the place recommended to us, so off we went in search of this place that sounded like it would have a gorgeous view and was “the” thing to do around there. After the paved road ended, the map we were given indicated for us to continue in one direction along a potholed, dirt road that cut through the jungle. As we cycled, enjoying the occasional friendly and curious hello from the island folk, we realized that the road had begun to narrow, become more riddled with potholes, and that we hadn’t seen a car or person in at least 20 minutes. Finally, a pickup truck stopped with two men who wanted to help us. We were told to follow them and we would get to our destination. The truck turned off the “main” road into two mudtracks that disappeared into the thicket of jungle and became more and more remote with every turn. At a certain point, I began to feel uncomfortable and concerned that we were being taken and that no one would see us again. Going through puddles as deep as our thighs, we were now completely soaked through with mud and dirt and barely getting through the giant puddles. With one last bump and puddle, the truck turned back to a somewhat paved road and stopped. The two gentlemen got out, told us in broken English that we should ride 50metres to our left and we’d find the entrance to the Point, then if we were to turn right and continue straight down the road we’d find our way back to the ship and town. Still not convinced that we weren’t going to be killed, we thanked the gentlemen and continued to the point. Once there, we saw that it was deserted except for a lone snorkel spout peeking on top of the water 50 feet out. The Point was a beautiful white sand beach with coral pieces and unique shells scattered all along the beach. We realized that it was not really a spectacular view, but if we were to have brought our snorkels and explored underwater – it might’ve been. However, it was a quiet and much enjoyed quiet moment among many busy ports and sea days to come. Later, we learned the reason for the name of Million Dollar point. At the end of WW two, the US military dumped thousands of tonnes of military equipment into the sea at the point, which is now a diver’s paradise.

Hawaii....over a month ago

2009-02-28T07:59:00.001-03:00

Today I’m spending a lovely indoor day in the ships’ Library playing librarian for In Port Manning.
We are finished with our first segment LA-SYD and onto the next! I thoroughly enjoyed the South Pacific portion of the journey. Sure, we didn’t have the best weather (rain, loads of it) but warm rain still beats snow and cold rain in Vancouver. Our first stop, Hilo, turned into a Walmart morning adventure hauling a mini-fridge to the room and sparking many passengers to think that indeed, I was really bringing even the kitchen sink. Once all the necessities were out of the way, Scott – the Orchestra Guitarist and I headed out in search of something to do. We met Teresa, our oddball tour guide for the day who would yawn so loudly she sounded like a whale underwater. She took us to a beautiful black sand beach where the locals fished and relaxed in the surf. Next, we went to the local surf beach and watched as a surfing competition got underway. Gorgeous, tanned surf goddesses and gods lazed on the beach with their surfboards waiting for their friends to return from the waves so they could start their barbeque on the beach. The whole scene made me feel like I missed out on a certain lifestyle and that if I could go back to being 19 again, this is how I would live. Next, we went to the National Park & Waterfalls and explored the trails that led to the falls. Scott climbed over the rocks above the falls so he could look right over the rushing water. I was not so brave as I was picturing being hospitalized and uninsured. It was a great day, and Hilo is a place I would love to see more of and spend more time on.

In Honolulu, I took a surf lesson in Waikiki. I’ve been wanting to go for quite some time, but I’ve been wary. It turns out still enjoy it and have a refreshed enthusiasm for surfing since my last experience included being stung by a jellyfish, almost drowning and swallowing more sea water than a fish would be ok with. It was warm water, a hilarious (Rob Schneider-esque in 50 first dates) surf instructor, and the perfect waves for me. Small and easy. Finished the day off with Avocado rolls and Japenese tea. Perfect.

Back to the big blue

2009-01-31T22:48:00.000-03:00

Well, I’m going to attempt this once again. No promises! Currently, we’re sailing in the South Pacific. Just minutes ago, we crossed the “Golden Line” on the fifth sea day of seven on our way from Honolulu, Hawaii to Luganville, Vanuatu. It is day 12 of the 117 day world cruise, and for me day 26 already on the 131 day voyage that began in Ft. Lauderdale. However, I’ve just received the news that I will be extended until June 24th and will be disembarking in Rotterdam, Holland. The longest contract by far. Many think I’m nuts, but I’m very excited for the Baltic Itineraries and for the chance to sea Eastern Canada, Ireland and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Going back to the “Golden Line” crossing , it’s the simultaneous crossing of both the International Dateline and the Equator. This means that today at 12:00noon, we will set our clocks ahead 24 hours – or basically “skip a day” as we explain it onboard. So I woke up today and it was the 30th of January in the Northern Hemisphere, now that it’s 18 minutes past noon, it’s now the 31st of January and we’re in the Southern Hemisphere.

Jan 4th, began this journey in over a foot of snow in Vancouver and continued to Ft. Lauderdale where I spent a night in the “Inn with no name”. Unlike last year in the Sheraton Suites, the economy has visibly taken a dive and we were put up in the Quality Inn, no – comfort inn – no! It’s actually between names, owners and apparently no one knows it really exists. However, I was met by Steve and we did our annual ship-shopping run then on to drinks at Lulu’s bait shack on the beach. I must thank Steve for introducing me to a long-standing Gayda tradition. We enjoyed the last few moments of “freedom” with a Pina Colada and hot wings, ah how I already miss that last non-stress moment.

The next morning we hit the ground running, taxis to the ship, rushing to get rooms and figure out our lives for the next four months. Happily, we were incredibly lucky to be onboard for the 2 week Panama Canal cruise before the official world cruise was to begin.

Oh the seas they call me

2009-01-07T19:15:00.002-03:00

So, I'm doing world cruise number two which will offically start Jan. 19th. In order to completely circumnavigate the world, we left in Ft. Lauderdale on Jan. 5th for a quick Panama Canal Transit. I will do my utmost to keep a blog on this voyage, however as I know how busy these long voyages are: no promises! I hope this keeps you interested in Travelling.

The great stairs of china

2007-11-03T00:56:00.000-03:00

I was lucky enough to get onto a crew tour to the great wall. As we were docked a good distance from Beijing and still further from the main entrances of the wall, the Shore Excursion Dept. Organized a tour to the wall for the crew that was a bit closer. Still, a three hour bus ride each way was not my idea of close. We had an overnight in Xingang (Beijing) so enough time for a long day tour. The day was perfect. We left Xingang and it was smoggy so I couldn’t be sure if the weather was good or not. It seemed overcast because of the smog. Upon arrival at the Great Wall, the weather/smog had cleared up and it was now a perfectly gorgeous and no longer humid day! I took the crew tour even though I could have done a free tour with the guests, I find I need time to myself for the “big” tours. I did not want people fighting on the bus and complaining to taint my experience. (Argentina was the last time I will escort a tour after a fight broke out between an unrelated man and woman).

As it turned out, I had thought a few of my friends would be on the bus with me but they had all landed guest tours and a few were on the overnight tours. I thought it might be not as much fun since I wasn’t close to anyone on the tour, but I met some of the Indonesian guys from the Pinnacle Grill on the way up and we fell into step. We had a great time and I also enjoyed having a peaceful day to myself to do whatever I pleased!
Seeing something so vast, something that still stands the test of time (parts of it are rebuilt, but we saw some original parts too) and has been the subject of so much history, war and wonderment was miraculous. I had a cold, but was inspired to climb as far as I could go and further than most (well, except for the springy cast members who dance for a living). We came back down the steps of the wall and had a typical Vancouver lunch, er Chinese lunch. There were some fried things on a turntable, mystery meat and mystery goo. I certainly enjoyed the broccoli and some sort of vegetable stew.

Usually on an overnight, the crew does anything to get off the ship and go out. I was so tired from the tour and being an hour or more out of Beijing and close to nothing in Xingang meant that we drank in the OB (Officers' Bar) and went to bed. That was our big night in Xingang!

Dalian, China. $135 Visa well spent

2007-11-03T00:51:00.000-03:00

Our first stop in China was met with excitement. Unfortunately for much of the American crew, it was not the same. Many of our department and crew including Lucy, Bruce and Rosanna were not able to get a Chinese Visa in time for their departure from the states. Even though it would be more expensive, they were counting on the consulate in Japan to receive their visa’s. The day we left Tokyo it was a national holiday and they were not able to process their visas. I shall now take this time to thank the bazillions of Chinese people in Vancouver for living there and having our very own consulate that I could go to and have my visa the next day.

So, for Steve and I who gave up Kagoshima and Kobe so the others could get off in Japan and we could get off in China, it was our first port in (what felt like) a while. We didn’t know what to expect, but often there’s not enough time to do any research so we didn’t really care as long as we were on land. We took the shuttle from the ship to Dalian’s “Friendship Store” which is basically an overpriced mall for the passengers to spend their money, get back on the shuttle and go back to the ship. From the store, we found a cab driver and I had just been joking about how I’d like to see a Panda Bear when a man came out of nowhere with a map and a picture of a Panda. We negotiated a price for our new friend to take us around. He took us to the seaside where they had various monuments and every where you looked, modern buildings and ramshackle homes butted heads like bighorn sheep.
Our driver took us to the Panda Park which was much larger than I expected. We spent 3 hours in the park, realizing it was more of a downtrodden zoo than a park. We did see the panda, asleep in the corner of his cell. We also saw monkeys, bizarre-looking toucans, lions, tigers and elephants. We saw kangaroos, seals, tiny panda-raccoon animals with vicious looking teeth. I have a love-hate relationship with zoos: I’m excited to see the animals so closely, but sad that they are kept in captivity and especially in that particular park, the facilities being so stark and dirty. It was still nice to be outdoors walking around. However the “fresh” air we were getting was really mostly smog and I had a sinus infection for the next 5 days.

Oh, the tiny people

2007-10-26T07:03:00.000-03:00

Ah, Japan. Land of cleanliness and very odd cartoon characters. Even Japanese pornography (as we learned at a gas station corner store) is in cartoons. However, enough about that. In Aomori, Japan – our first stop in the country – Lucy, Rosanna (Administrative Assistant), and Rodin (Internet Manager) took a taxi to the big Buddha and saw many a beautiful pagoda along the way. It was much warmer than I had expected Japan to be. When my mum took us to Tokyo and Kyoto 15 years ago, we arrived in March and were met with chilly spring weather and even snow. This led me to believe it would be the same climate as Vancouver. Cool and perhaps rainy, just like Vancouver! Instead I was met with uncomfortable humidity and warm, summer weather. After visiting with my old friend, Budda, (apparently the largest outdoor Buddha in Japan) we took a taxi to a weird triangular building near our ship. It turned out to be part office building, restaurant and shopping mall. There is some strange architecture going on in Asia so far. There are bridges which seem to serve no function whatsoever, except maybe to be aesthetically pleasing. The do not go over water and they do not pass over highways or busy intersections. They are just there.

Clearly, the Japanese are overachievers and the bridges prove it. If you really have nothing better to do than build a bridge that doesn’t do anything, then you should really consider baking me a chocolate cake. I don’t know why a cake, but it certainly sounds good.

Back to Japan….we found out they have apple everything and also that anything IN THE WORLD can and will be bought via a vending machine: Apple crackers, apple candy, apple vinegar (which, we thought was a bottle of juice because it looked like apple juice and had a picture of an apple on it, PLUS it was from what looked like a beverage vending machine). Who sells vinegar out of a vending machine and why??
Confusing as it was, utterly immaculate and beautiful is Japan, also I found the people incredibly hospitable and friendly. Expensive, but was nice to see again after 15 years.

All in a days' work

2007-10-12T21:25:00.000-04:00

I wake up around 7:30-8:00am…not too early, not too late. I get ready to face the public, walk the 3 minute commute from my A-Deck crew area room (below Deck 1, passenger area) to the Explorers’ Lounge. I then pour myself a cup of tea, have a freshly-baked-that-morning Chocolate chip cookie (my favorite, so how can I resist!) and chat with guests for a few minutes. I pick up the microphone to start the day and have a chat with about 100 of my closest friends. I’m my own floating talk show. I’ve interviewed Pianists, Russian opera stars, Oldtime Vegas show people, Broadway stars and various people working onboard that have behind-the-scenes stories that might be of interest. We have a good laugh for about 40 minutes and then I finish with my final question and pack it up. Onto the demos! At 11:15am, I’m either hosting a cooking show with the chef, teaching people to fold Origami cranes with the Bar Staff (and my friend Kat), or how to arrange Flowers with the florist. We might have wine and cheese for the suites at noon, greeting and socializing. Perhaps Sake tasting at 1:00pm, I’m to introduce our Sake Expert, drink Sake and eat shrimp chips. Funny, I’ve found I actually LIKE Sake. Apparently the stuff we have in Canada is made in the States and it’s no good! Lunch at 2:00 in the Lido, 3:30pm Tea socializing. 5:00pm Travel Group cocktail party mingling. (P.S. I haven’t had a chance, but usually 1200 others are keeping track of the cruise via cruisecritic.com) 7:15pm meet guests in the Atrium for cocktails before the Captains’ Pinnacle Grill dinner. Dinner is 7 courses and 2 ¾ hours long. Dance the first dance with the Captain to open the Black & White ball, forced to enjoy the open bar for officers! (I’m of officer status). Dance the night away, pull down the decorations at midnight and finally get some sleep. Yes, it’s a ridiculously amazing “job”. Above all, I get PAID to do it ;)

Russia, Shmussia

2007-10-12T21:14:00.000-04:00

Who needs Russia anyhow? It’s cold and wet and unfriendly and I didn’t want to drink vodka or wear a furry hat anyway. I didn’t want to see people swearing Russian swears at each other or the Russian mafia shooting each other (Lucy tells me it’s the thing to see in Russia), and Russian women wearing stiletto’s at -10 degrees celcius. Thank goodness the Russian Immigration officials stepped in and didn’t allow any crew to get off the ship in Petropavlosk. I’m so glad we didn’t get to go to Siberia, it certainly wouldn’t have been cool to say I’d been there. Good thing they made Steve (SACD) and I freeze for 7 hours on the gangway trying to organize and keep people from flying off the handle while they checked every single person’s passports and documents getting on and off the ship. I didn’t want to go anyway.

The day I lost it. Or rather, the day I lost.

2007-10-12T21:12:00.000-04:00

I went to bed on Tuesday, Sept 25th 2007 and woke up on Thursday, Sept 27th. I know, you’re all pretty impressed. It’s not because I can sleep for longer than most humans (though, I most certainly can…). We instead, crossed the International Date Line and just lost an entire day. Later, I will be lucky enough to re-live the same day twice. I sure hope it’s an excellent day to re-live. We had terrible storms and rough days at sea for 6 days, and then, since we couldn’t get off in Russia, another 2.

Too many days at sea for me

2007-10-03T02:13:00.000-04:00

I am 5 days out to sea from Seattle, WA; somewhere in the Bering Sea, just along the coasts of a few of the Aleutian Islands. I left Vancouver on Friday, Sept. 21st with excitement and a nervous stomach. Oh, and far too much luggage. I have traveled around Europe and Brazil & Argentina with just a backpack and now I venture forth for 2 months and I must bring 17 formal-wear dresses, business attire galore and casual clothes suited for various climes and temps. The Air Canada Check-In Employee was very kind. He saved me 50 dollars (as both my bags were overweight) and then gave me a free Starbucks coffee (take that, airports around the world – perhaps they could learn a few things from Vancouver).

Enough about the little things. Actually, no – if you were expecting an exciting entry about fame, adventure and exotic ports, you’ve come to the wrong place today my friends. Alas I have literally spent the last 6 and a half days sailing into the great blue. We have sailed from Seattle, past Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands and North to follow the Aleutian Islands and in one more day, we will finally drop anchor just outside of Petropavlovsk, Russia. I really have done nothing exciting. The events of the last few days have included doing more paperwork than I ever care to see again, setting up Culinary Schedules, hosting coffee chats (though, I do like that new addition to my job), socializing at cocktail parties. Many of the guests and also staff from the Prinsendam voyages are here as well, which makes it feel like I’ve already been here for months! It seems I’ve worked with a LOT of the crew on the Statendam and the Ryndam too. It was great to see Lucy, Kat and Adam again. A tonne of other people I’ve worked with before were added to the cruise at the last minute and was a great bonus. Also, lucky me – the hotel manager is wonderful! Starting out the voyage in a fabulous way ;)

I really am home this time

2007-05-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

I keep this blog as much for folks who are curious to look into what I'm doing, as I do for a personal journal for myself. While I'm on vacation here at home, I'll be updating this with my entries about the Mediterranean & North Africa Voyage which actually started March 12 and ended on May 7th.

It's been a mostly fantastic contract (with a few bumps which were mentioned in that last post). It was made great not only because of the itinerary, but by the most fabulous folks to work with (and play with).

I'm not sure when I'm next shipping out, but we'll find out soon enough. Famous last words: I'll keep you posted.

Cape Verde after the Transatlantic

2007-03-23T18:45:00.000-04:00

After such an exciting voyage in S.A. & A., the crew seemed to fall into a quiet rhythm as the feel for this cruise was much slower than the first. The 7 sea days across the Atlantic were nicely broken up after 5 by the Cape Verde Islands. Cape Verde brought to mind images of lush green jungles and rainforest, we were excited to see what this place no one had been to (from the crew or passengers) would hold. Cape Verde is it's own country, of the West Coast of Africa. The official language is portuguese, but it had the stronger flavour of Africa running through it's dusty hills.

When we arrived we saw what looked like a large rock with plenty of sand and dirt. Not green at all. I got off the ship fairly early and as windy as it was, it was very hot. I neglected to wear a hat or sunscreen, so I decided to lay low and take in a meal with Rob & Mike and then just poked around the town a bit. While walking we had various people honk at us and look at us strangely. We got used to it and as we were about to head back to the ship we were honked at, shouted at, and almost run over. It turned out it was just Jonnie & Todd (musicians from the ship) in a van with a driver. We were invited to join them and spent the afternoon galavanting through the hills in a rickety van on an even more rickety road. We drove to a beach area on the other side of Cape Verde that looks back towards the Atlantic and strolled along until I coaxed the boys to go for a swim. I had only pants & one shirt and I knew I would be the only one not able to get away with coming back to the ship looking like a drowned rat. We had a funny moment when the driver continued to ask me which of the 4 boys was my husband. When he finally understood that I was not married, nor dating any of them he tried to ask for my hand in marriage. It was a lovely day in Cape Verde, about the loveliest I could think of to have in such a desolate place.

Bring me back to the Boatyard

2007-03-17T08:52:00.000-04:00

It’s nice to be back to the familiar ports of the Caribbean. It’s nice to be in places you don’t have to rush out and see because you’ve been there before, it’s also nice to be in Dominica and Barbados, because they’re two of my favorite Caribbean ports. Dominica for the lush, tropical jungles, rainforest and Trafalgar Falls and the Sulphur Pools are lovely. (I didn’t even go into port this time). Barbados is one of my favorites for the beaches. The crew always heads to the Boatyard which is a fun spot to relax, have a few drinks and unwind. There is a giant iceberg to climb, water trampolines, and a rope swing off the dock. This time, I went jet-skiing in the gradually choppier and choppier waves, but I didn’t die so it must have been a good day. I was pleasantly surprised in the morning when I found out we were in port with the Windsurf, one of the WindStar ships. A quick crash course in company structure: Carnival Corporation owns Holland America Line (HAL), WindStar Cruises, Cunard Lines, Costa Cruises, Seabourn Yachts and Princess. A good friend of mine from my first contract on the Statendam works a 2nd officer on the Windsurf, so when I called to tell his best friend (who was just transferred from the Veendam to here) about Rogier being in port, Anton and Rogier appeared at my door. I haven’t worked in ships for very long, but being in such a close environment, it’s nice to run into friends along the way. We got a tour of the WindSurf which is a much smaller sailing ship, but very nice indeed. Also, being St. Patricks day it was a nice day to be on the beach celebrating in the way the Irish would be proud: by drinking. The St. Patrick’s day bash in the Ocean Bar was a hit with the guests and crew, but after such a long day, I retired early.

66 days and I didn't have to throw one guest overboard

2007-03-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

Things to remember from the interesting cruise: Shrimp clogging the filter which postponed the sailaway at Puerto Chacabuco, Chile. 2 Earthquakes the same day in Chacabuco. Thought the ship was breaking down. At least one medical debark per port. Poisonous gases that killed 4 people and injured 17 in an explosion on the ship next to us, the captain, made us stay inside the ship or leave the port area. Steve’s broken knee, the 75 ft. rogue wave and its cousin, the man who I watched almost die has, to this day not woken from his coma. Found out later: Smitty died Wednesday, April 18th.
However, you spend 66 days with these people and suddenly lovely ones (and there were actually many) are hard to say goodbye to. We had quite a few guests that we became quite attached to. The cruise staff and I were invited to their Birthday parties and Anniversary parties and we had a lot of fun with them. The farewell (Love in Any Language) included MOST of the crew and the entire dining room staff dressed up in various costumes, the nautical department even dressed up as maps and joined in. It was the most packed I’ve ever seen the Queen’s Lounge. People were sitting in the aisles and on the floor, so we'd like to think they had a good time over the past 66 days.

When I almost came home…

2007-03-08T07:03:00.000-03:00

Three days before coming back to Ft. Lauderdale to drop off this lot and pick up the next world wanderers for the 56 day cruise I was told I would be going home in Ft. Lauderdale, March 12th. I was called for a midnight meeting and it was said to me that the "certain people" wanted to send me home, he didn’t like the way I do my job and wanted me gone. This is a surprise to me, when I hear from the guests on a daily basis that they enjoy my demonstrations, get-togethers, greetings and so on. I was hoping his sobriety might help my case the next morning and I guess it did because I’m still here. We had a meeting about my job and I voiced the fact that I have had to wing everything I do because no one has worked with a Hostess and it’s been a job that they’ve only brought back for this cruise and the World Cruise on the Amsterdam. For me to know exactly what they want, they would have to show me and I would have to be trained by someone who knows what the job is and has seen it. As far as I can tell they were just making things up as we went along and adding commentary on what they didn’t like about me. Unfortunately for them, I had so many comment cards from the guests, it would be hard for them to let me go now without a proper explanation other than they don’t get my “Canadian” sense of humour, which is what I’ve chalked up their Dutch ways to. It seems funny that curmudgeonly Dutch men have an opinion when they’ve never seen any of the demos. Ah, the beauty of living on a small ship. It just gets smaller. However, I venture forth and still this is my favorite ship so far.

Devils' Island

2007-03-06T08:46:00.000-03:00

Devils’ Island, French Guiana: 10:50am. Hottest temperatures we’ve experienced so far. As they say: it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. And humidity it was. Well, humid it was.

We wandered around the Island Paradise that is devils’ island and spent some time looking around the place that was a large penal colony for many years and I’m sure was hell for the people who lived it. For us, the monkeys in the trees and wild peacocks and other birds, beautiful tropical palms over looking the ocean made it feel like paradise. As beautiful as it was it was also a very small island, one you can walk the perimeter in under an hour, so I’m sure island fever would set in quickly.

Shakin’ it in Parintins

2007-03-04T14:31:00.000-03:00

Two days later, we were in Parintins, home of the Boi Bumba. Parintins is a really nice, clean town on the Amazon. One of the friendlier ports I’ve been to. One thing I’ve noticed since traveling on cruiseships which doesn’t surprise me at all. People are not happy to see you. Many folks are happy to sell you everything from knickknacks and handy crafts to their used shoes off their feet, but they are not happy to see you traipsing through their town. I understand why; one of the reasons being the way the world views America right now. Not only does “Holland America Line” have it in the name, but much of our passenger population is that of either American or Canadian origin. Though our passengers are well traveled (which they are), they are not travelers. Many of them want to see the world, exotic ports and different cultures, but they do not realize that in order to do that they have to leave the ship and experience it. I’ll give you an example. Mary-Jean-Barbara-Sue-Betty-Smith* and her husband Bill-Joe-George-John-Bob-Smith* set off to enjoy their excursion to see the various jungle tribes of the amazon. They return and spend their time telling me the bathroom facilities were either: scarce, dirty, or not organized in a way (read: hole in the ground) they would be inclined to use. They are planning to complain to the shore excursions department and get their money back. Also, they should have been told in advance that it was going to rain and they would be getting their shoes dirty with the ½ mile walk from the air conditioned bus with washroom facilities (which, by the way is MUCH too far to walk), so they are very unhappy with their day. The lunch they were served in the middle of the jungle was fixed for them by the locals, and was too bland and not enough so they are happy to get back to HAL’s famous food. (As if they haven’t had enough, because by the looks of it, they’ve definitely been getting enough food in their lifetime).

Pardon my topic-jumping. Back to Parintins. This town was different, they received us with open arms, they wanted to show us their home with pride. Most of the passengers and crew went to the Boi Bumba show. Shuttles took us to an outdoor venue where we watched a cast of over 2000 singers, musicians and dancers put on a magnificent show. The colours within the intricate set design and costuming was amazing. The many exotic birds sacrificed for the costumes, I figure were worth it for the beauty of the hundreds of thousands of feathers adorning each dancer. It was a very hot day, and as free alcohol and the blistering heat soaked into the passengers throughout the day, the shuttle ride back to the ship was more like a pub crawl with various passengers singing, shouting and just plain slurring, “I’m DRUNK!” It was a definite first for myself and the rest of the entirely sober crew to see the passengers getting back to the ship at 1:30 pm in the afternoon in this condition. It may have been a first with Holland America perhaps. Well, perhaps not as I’m sure it happens every time in Parintins. It was a great time had by all, however - even the Captain went to the show.

*Names and ports have been changed to protect the identities of our ridiculous passengers. This does not apply to the many wonderful guests we do have.

Manaus

2007-03-02T14:25:00.000-03:00

Our last overnight for the cruise and really, for the rest of the contract, was in Manaus. Manaus is the city in the heart of Amazonia and the largest city along the river. I was surprised at the infrastructure and at how modern(ish) the city was. It’s still the Amazon, however, and I was able to go on a tour with about 30 other crew members to see the alligators at night. Before the tour, we were taken "out" (well, out for the ship that is) for dinner at the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant onboard. The Pinnacle is our fine dining restaurant which serves the most delectable things. Our entire entertainment team: Cruise Director, Senior Asst. Cruise Director, Snr. Admin. Asst. Cruise Director, myself (the Hostess) and the four Asst. Cruise Directors stuffed ourselves with chocolate volcano cake among other things, and wine.

An hour later, with our bellies full, we took a paddlewheel boat to one of the tributaries where we met the guides for our river tour and took small, shallow boats to hunt for alligators. The guide stopped the boat near the grass and lilypads at the edge of the water, leaned over the side and wrestled around in the water for a few seconds. I was in the front seat and when he stood up and turned around there was an alligator in my face: a very small, sharp-toothed looking alligator. It was actually a Cayman and they are not big. Still, they are scary looking and I did not enjoy it being within biting distance.
The alligator tour ended at 10:00pm, so it allowed for plenty of time to go out on our last overnight. It was decided we’d go to a rock club that our Port Agent recommended. Somehow I ended up in a cab with the new cast and went to a bar about 2 blocks from our ship. Being it so near a port, you might guess what type of a place it was. Ok, I’ve given you enough time to guess. I will now tell those of you who have yet to figure it out. It was the type of place sailors go. The type of place men who have forgotten they are married and men who have been on board a ship for 11 months where the ratio of men to women is 9:1 might go to have some fun. So, I went back to the ship and had an early night.

Just a little river in Brazil

2007-02-28T17:15:00.000-03:00

Further into the Amazon, we began to see why it’s the largest river basin in the world. It is so large you can be on one side of the river and the other side of the river is past the horizon. It is a murky brown colour, except in spots where two of the rivers meet and then you see a clear definition of blue to brown. It is as hot and sweaty as everyone claims it to be. Every night on deck, you can go on a nature walk. Very large and weird-looking bugs end up all over the decks and the deck hands have to hose it off every few hours to rid us of the crunchy critters. Each night there would be a different type of bug or giant moth. It was quite a sight. My least favorite were the cockroach-like ones with pincers. Don’t know what they pince, but I didn’t stay around long enough to find out.

I went for a walk around Santarem, but it was such a hot day and you’d be burnt in minutes. Boca da Valeria was very different. In my opinion, it’s a spot set up for tourists, but there are 15 families that actually live there. It’s a tiny village alongside the river and would be the typical thing you might picture an amazon village to be like. The houses are on stilts for when the water is higher during the wet season and the “dock” (or what passed for a dock) looked like it might collapse at any moment. The ship donated a large globe to the schoolhouse, in return for some “look how giving our company is and how we contribute” pictures with Amazonian children. I, as the Hostess must be included in this sort of thing. So, here are a couple photos with the kids and the school. The kids (as much as I don’t like them usually) are pretty cute and I wouldn’t mind keeping one or two. Of course they would stay in a soundproof room and someone else would have to look after them.

I got to see a Toucan up close; it was their town pet. The toucan did keep me fairly happy though, because it had been weeks since I’ve seen penguins! On our way back, we took the last tender and as we pulled away from the Boca da Valeria’s Maritime Terminal, we lost the Starboard engine in the tender and it sent us spiraling out of control. The tender smashed into the dock, crushing their tiny tire-and-plank floating facility. The children and a couple of drunks from the town seemed to think it was all quite hilarious. We finally stopped spinning and an engineer fixed the engine. Nothing was fixed or offered as far as the dock went though, so I wonder how hilarious that really was in the end.

Quarantine yourself

2007-02-22T06:16:00.000-03:00

Well, I missed Salvador because I was in quarantine in my 5 by 6 foot room. Apparently Salvador was great! It was the last day of Carnival and the town was hopping. I don’t think I really had GIS (I think now it must have been some not well-cooked chicken I’d eaten the evening before) from what people tell me of GIS, you think you’re dying. Anyhow, so I was quarantined for 24 hours. It was the most rest I’ve had and will have for the next few months. The next two ports, Fortaleza and Belem were not meant to be either. I ended up getting roped into going to lunch with my boss in a hotel in Fortaleza. In Belem, the gateway from the Ocean to the Amazon, there was yet another medical debark and so I spent my day with the two guests who had to leave. I did ride the tender into Belem with them to have them meet the Port Agent, so I got to have a quick look and then get right back on the tender. It might have been a fun place but I guess I will have to find out for myself another time.

Sometimes we have to celebrate

2007-02-21T08:41:00.000-03:00

We will be in port with the Amsterdam in Dubrovnik, Croatia and as the Prinsendam and the Amsterdam are the two most popular ships in the fleet, we’re having a big party on the Amsterdam. If there’s an excuse to throw a party, there will be one the very next day. We had an Ice Party on our way to Antarctica, we had a Carnival themed party during Carnival on our way up the coast of Brazil. We had a Ms. Prinsendam (aka. Men dressing up as women) competition where one “woman” was crowned Ms. Prinsendam and many of my male friends shaved their legs and wore heels and wigs in 95 degree temperatures. I was on the judging panel and got quite a show. If it is someone’s birthday, or if they are leaving, there is always a celebration involving many drinks and perhaps, some darts.

Rio at Carnival, take 2

2007-02-19T06:07:00.000-03:00

Since the itinerary has been changed, our ship is in Rio for Carnival 2007. Let’s compare and contrast with the Carnival of 2006.

2006: 8 drunken boys ogling girls on the beach and eating fried cheese.
2007: Dozens of beer-drinking crew members ogling girls on the beach, eating Pao de Queijo.
2006: Sunshine, uncomfortably warm temperatures and mostly naked people on the beach. Also, Jason in a speedo.
2007: Same. Everyone else in a speedo.
2006: Getting mugged on Copacabana beach.
2007: Not yet! Bring it on punks!
2006: Consistent later and later nights full of merriment and street parties.
2007: One very late night full of merry-making and then up 1.5 hours later to work!
2006: Didn’t get to Sugarloaf because of time constraints.
2007: Didn’t get to Sugarloaf because of time constraints. However, we did sail right past it this time!

Steak lovers paradise

2007-02-15T06:06:00.000-03:00

I had lunch in Montevideo. Steak is their “big deal” in Argentina and Uruguay. I had chicken.

Buenos Aires, muchas tardes!

2007-02-14T16:18:00.000-03:00

I say that because we are four days late to pick up our guests who are embarking and late to disembark the guests that were supposed to get off on the 9th of February. Buenos Aires, from what I can tell is a great city. The guests who spent the four days there should be happy and the guests who got to stay an extra four days on board our ship are also lucky. When we arrived and I picked up the guests in the terminal, you wouldn’t think so. I was immediately shouted at by an irate man, and in my usual calm way just stared at him until he would stop. Instead, another passenger defended me which ended in a screaming match and came close to a fist fight.

The day previous, was a very busy one. I was volunteered for a Panoramic Buenos Aires bus tour. This is one which doesn’t stop and is for the guests who have little or no mobility. I think, perhaps it’s also in the Shore Excursions’ form as only suitable for the crabbiest guests on our ship. Oh well, they paid $100 dollars and I slept through half of it for free! One of the shoppies*, Carolina was at the end of her contract and is from Buenos Aires, so after she disembarked a few of us went to her house for Empanadas, Argentinian wine and a beautiful setting. We enjoyed a great afternoon in broken Spanish and English with Carolina’s family and friends.

That evening I was volunteered for a much better tour, one that made up completely for the morning one. We went to El Viejo Almacen for the most beautiful tango show. The performers included: professional tango dancers, two full Argentine tango bands and a folkloric band (pan-flute and all). Free drinks topped off the tour and perhaps made the two OTHER disabled guests hitting each other in the line-up before the show fade away from memory. For those friends who know how I feel about children, know that I do indeed work with them all day long. I think that it’s a little more ridiculous to tell a grown man to stop smacking the lady in front of him and her to stop shouting and budging.

I came back from the tango show around 10:00pm and headed out with the crew for a night on the town. After starting the evening in yet another Irish pub, we ended in the Ricoleta area and danced the night away. Many of the crew members who never get to work with one another, or even see each other, finally had a chance to mingle. All in all, I think I could live in Argentina. It’s a gorgeous city: European architecture, a tonne of green space, clean and diverse.

The Falkland Islands

2007-02-09T16:13:00.000-03:00

(Or, if you ask an Argentinian; Islas Malvinas)

Rocks and brush, penguins, wind, hail, rusted military paraphernalia, bad English pub curry, and ugly houses. Guess which was the highlight?

We just keep coming back to the end of the world

2007-02-05T16:33:00.000-03:00

We spent another day on rocky seas before docking in Ushuaia for the night. This brings us to the subject of overnights. Overnights are like sunshine and lollipops with penguins sliding down rivers of chocolate while singing. Ok, well they’re pretty great for the most part. After quite the last few days, the crew really needed to have some extra time on land, so having an overnight was just the ticket. We had a nice dinner and evening out at Che Guevara’s restaurante. I was tuckered out so after a drink at the Irish Pub, (for some reason the crew do not seem to branch out as much as they should) I went back to the ship for some much needed z’s. I missed the spectacle of one of the Romanian Casino guys getting drunk and deciding he wanted to swim at the end of the world. He didn’t make a wise choice to jump off the pier between the Carnival Infinity tender and ours, and was promptly fired and sent home.

The ship’s itinerary at this point had to be changed, and Antarctica was taken out. Then it was put back in. Then taken out along with St. Lucia and Grand Turk and our own island which everyone and there dog had already been to; Half Moon Caye was added. Then we lost our overnights in Rio de Janeiro and Manaus. Then the overnights were in again and Recife taken out! The guests thought we were lying to them when we said we didn’t know where we were going. So, the new 2007 Antarctica & South America Grand Voyage Revised, 3rd edition itinerary now looks like:

2/10 Stanley, Falkland Islands (U.K.) or Islas Malvinas (Argentina) depending on who you speak to
2/11 At Sea
2/12 Buenos Aires, Argentina (Overnight
2/13 Buenos Aires, Argentina
2/14 Montevideo, Uruguay
2/15 At Sea
2/16 At Sea
2/17 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Overnight)
2/18 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2/19 At Sea
2/20 Salvador, Brazil
2/21 At Sea
2/22 At Sea
2/23 Fortaleza, Brazil
2/24 At Sea
2/25 Belem, Brazil
2/26 Scenic Cruising the Amazon River & Crossing the Equator
2/27 Santarem, Brazil
2/28 Boca da Valeria, Brazil
3/1 Manaus, Brazil (Overnight)
3/2 Manaus, Brazil
3/3 Parintins, Brazil
3/4 Cruising the Amazon River & Crossing the Equator
3/5 At Sea
3/6 Devil’s Island, French Guiana
3/7 At Sea
3/8 Castries, Saint Lucia
3/9 At Sea
3/10 Grand Turk
3/11 At Sea
3/12 Ft. Lauderdale

Cape Horn Conquers the Prinsendam (we got rocked)

2007-02-03T16:29:00.000-03:00

After the initial er, excitement?, Stephen was taken to the infirmary and told it was likely his knee was shattered. I had to collect myself and get back to work as we still had a Cooking Demonstration to do. Everything on the ship had been cancelled in terms of events: the shops were closed due to every bottle of liquor falling off the shelves and smashing all over the store, shelving units completely turned over etc., and yet the room with hot pans and oven tops that can burn you was to stay open? These people don’t mess around when it comes to food. We know the guests won’t miss a meal, or a chance to sample something cooked in front of them. Our guest Chef, Dean Corbett was quite seasick and I hoped just the psychological reasons for giving him a dose of sea-calm would be enough to get him through the demo. I hoped it wouldn’t kick in until afterward, thus making him sleepy. Other than everything on the ship sliding back and forth and a few broken dishes – no-one was harmed during the demo and people even showed up! Dean retired to his cabin (as had most sea-sick pax) and Peter, Mike, Lisa, Dave and Chris went up to the Lido for lunch. The lido, on most ships is at the top of the ship, deck 11 for our ship and so that means you feel the motion of the ocean a little more than if you happened to be on deck 4 or 5 amidships.
We were really being thrown around and our trays and drinks were sliding from one side of our large table to the other, I kept sliding away from our table and back. It was sort of fun. I was looking outside at the massive waves when I realized that a wave was about eye-level to us on deck 11. We were pushed one way, our trays and chairs suddenly sliding as well as all the guests and food preparations on the counters. Then, violently we were rocked the other way. Mike, Chris and I were thrown backward off our chairs and slid all the way through the doors of the lido, through the elevator bank and to the other side. Meanwhile, people and chairs were falling (we had listed so badly, there was no gravity but to hold onto a railing) rapid-fire from the lido and we had to find a safe spot to dodge them. Given the average age of the passengers of the ship (70) we knew we were in trouble. Sander, the dining room manager was shouting at everyone to sit down and hold on. Stupid people trying to make it back to their partners/friends did not listen and therefore slipped easily and further injured themselves. There was broken glass, porcelain, food, chairs and various people strewn about. Medical Triage was setup where the four-piece strings orchestra usually plays, and the crew began a long day of reclaiming the ship. However, because of the many injuries – further medical care was needed for many passengers and crew members. The captain made the decision to turn the ship around, (back through the storm) and return to Ushuaia.

The worst day since the power outtage on the Ryndam

2007-02-01T18:06:00.000-03:00

It is well known that the water where the Pacific and Atlantic meet at the tip of South America is a rough patch of the great seas on a good day. That being said, the 2007 Grand South America and Antarctica Voyage on the ms Prinsendam did not meet Cape Horn on a good day. We were told during the evening, after leaving the end of the world (Tierra del Fuego or Ushuaia as it were) that we would have rough seas just before reaching Cape Horn, beginning around 5:00am. There were rumours of a possible 30 foot swell. I spent my time reassuring guests it would be fine and 30 foot swell is very normal. Cape Horn is just notorious for bad weather and waves.

That night (last night, really….it all seems so long ago now) the Steiners (Spa girls) put on an “Ice” party as Ushuaia is the last stop before 6 days in Antarctica. People dressed in white, silver, white and silver, and some in black for “Black Ice” strutted into the beautifully decorated Officers Bar. The girls had really done a great job decorating using silver foil to cover all the walls and surfaces and the engineers showed up as the Prinsendam Bobsled team in their jumpsuits. We all had a great time, and then realized we were to wake up at 6:00am for on-deck socializing around Cape Horn.

Team breakfast at our entertainment staff table took place and we commenced “socializing” indoors near windows as the guests were to chicken to go outside. It turned out they were right to be so. Lisa, Doug, Steve and I decided we’d like some good photos of the huge waves and swell crashing into the ship. We went out on the Deck 7 Promenade (walk-around) and immediately were almost taken down by the high wind. After a few cold and wet moments outside, we thought we’d head back in, but much to the chagrin of the doors, we were not to come inside. The next option was to walk around the bow and go in the door at the front of the ship. As we hurried along the deck (the weather had taken a turn for the worse) and made it to the front, the ship suddenly turned and listed. The list of the ship, combined with the wind direction changing threw us all to the deck and suddenly I was sliding full speed ahead down the deck toward the railing on the other side. Lisa managed to catch a handrail as well as Doug. Stephen was not so lucky however. He had already made his way to the stairs by the time the turn occurred. He was knocked onto the stairs and had smashed his knee into the railing. I couldn’t let go of the railing as we were all about to be blown off the deck, so I let the wind push me toward him and after a close look at his knee, we realized this was very serious. Steve went into shock and the others went for help (they had to form a human chain to get from one side to the door) as I bundled him in clothes because he was freezing and his body had completely gone into shock by now. 20 minutes later we had to dragged him indoors so we could safely put him into a stretcher because it was so dangerous on deck that it blew Silver the doctor over.

Long story, but it is still very vivid in my mind. Steve is the lead male singer in the Prinsendam Cast. All HAL ships have a production cast of 7-11 people (depending on the size of the ship) who all dance and usually there are 2 male and 2 female singers. The lead male and female are the M1 and F1, the second are M2 and F2. The Prinsendam is special as they all sing (6 out of 7 people) except one. They put on Broadway/Las Vegas style musicals with dance numbers. This means that with Steven’s broken knee, it may have a huge effect on his career. This was only 7:45am and the day got much worse.

(To be continued…)

Penguins! Penguins!

2007-01-30T18:00:00.000-03:00

Basically I think my entry will go like this: Penguins! I saw them! Penguins! I love them! Penguins! I petted one! Peeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnngggggggguiiiiiiiiinnnnnns!! I tried to coax one into my backpack (I purposefully brought an empty one), but it would not go. It’s ok, I still have 7 more days to get at least one little floppy creature to come live with me. That is all.

Peru, but where are the llamas?

2007-01-19T17:53:00.000-03:00

Peru was much more exciting. It was our second overnight this cruise, with many more to come! The first day was very long for me as I had to get up (as usual) for gangway de-greeting duty and then was informed that I must stay from 8:30am until 3:00pm because we had passengers embarking/disembarking. It had been a late night the evening before, and usually I take a nap from 10-11am, but instead I had to wait around for 5 hours for 19 guests to arrive. Yippee. As soon as I was finished, I collapsed for a 3 hour nap. It was a good thing too as big plans for a night on the town (of Lima!) were in the works. Jen, Mike and I survived the taxi of death on our way into Mira Flores for some food, and drink. We were to meet up with the rest of the cast and musicians (etcetera) later that evening. We weren’t sure how it would happen since no-one had been there before and didn’t know where we were meeting, but it worked out. It was one of the cast member’s birthdays and the night was full of merriment and ended in a gay bar.

You say Ecuador I say Equator. Sometimes I say Equador...even

2007-01-15T17:52:00.000-03:00

You might even say that I say spelling counts. Finally, here’s your chance to be the spelling inquisition. Mum, you’ll be pleased (or displeased. Or maybe a little from column a and b) to know that I’ve added Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Peru to my list of places I’ve been. This itinerary is nice because we have overnights in many ports and they give us a chance to have more time actually seeing the place, as well as those of us who might miss the port due to IPM* (please see Captain Jacq’s Dictionary of Nautical terms). Docked in Manta, Ecuador and had some lunch with a few of the crew. The program admin. Assistant, Mike and I have a similar schedule, so we decided we had enough time to have a wee adventure. All I have to say is never go to Manta, Ecuador if you are looking for adventure. First, the cab driver took us to a beach when we said we’d like to see the town central and points of interest in Manta. We then specified to a cab driver that we’d like to see the history and culture, and the more scenic areas of Manta. He said he knew of a place where the people were friendly and they had horses. “Cool!”, we thought. The taxi driver then took us to an expensive resort, where they actually DIDN’T have horses anywhere, there was a pool but we weren’t allowed to go in it, and the people were definitely not friendly. We quickly left and explained to the driver that we were not looking for a restaurant or hotel, but to experience Ecuador in all it’s splendor. (Whatever that might mean). The driver then took us to another beach with a more picturesque setting, but really not much else to see or do. Thus, I love Manta.

Crossing the Equator and King Neptune’s Ceremony

2007-01-13T19:23:00.000-03:00

There is a seagoing tradition (well, there are many seagoing traditions really) that occurs when one crosses the equator on a ship for the first time. I thought it was just a Holland America Line tradition, but found out it’s actually all ships including cargo ships and other cruise lines. We get off easy, in fact. We are told to wear our grubbiest clothing and then to meet in the crow’s Nest at 2:00pm, after which various strange characters show up and tie us all together with very strong rope. We are marched down to the lido, by pirates, put into a cage in the pool and then, with 700+ passengers and crew watching – we are tormented one by one. The “judge”; more commonly known as our cruise director, Peter, introduces King Neptune and our Queen of the Mermaids. They take their seats at the throne and the judge proceeds to read off the offences/ of each of the persons in our prison. Each department has newbies that must go through this ceremony, an email is sent and we all persons who have never crossed the equator have to participate. The judge asks for King Neptune and the Mermaid Queen’s opinion and you are then sent to the doctors, nurses and pirates to be covered with the utmost disgusting slop you can imagine. Green slime, orange beanlike muck, anchovies and eggs consist of much of the artillery. Lisa of the cruise staff and I, were saved until the very end and got the worst of it, because we are the most public figures. Also, they had to use everything that was left over and I had egg yolk in my ear for two days even after 8 showers. The jury decides your fate after you’ve been to the tables. The jury is made up of the captain, the officers and the hotel manager. Thumbs up means you must stay poolside, thumbs down means you are thrown into the pool. I was thrown in, (thankfully, the smell was disgusting). Next time we cross the Equator, I plan to be a doctor or nurse.

New year, new ship

2007-01-11T16:58:00.000-03:00

New Year, New Ship

After 20 hours of traveling from Vancouver to Aruba, I found myself tired and not so ready to join the Prinsendam for my new position as Hostess. I was lucky to be put into a guest cabin, but it was right into work for me and after my whirlwind tour with Cruise Staff, Doug, I was ready to hit the hay. It would not be so. After well-meaning people badgered me with “welcome aboard” shots, I had to get gussied up for New Years’ Eve Black and Gold Ball. It was strange indeed to be joining a ship and meeting the entire crew during probably the biggest party of the year, and all in one fell swoop. It was also a good thing, because the people are very kind and friendly it seems on this ship, and I had a good evening. I did miss celebrating with everyone at home, but it is my first New Years abroad and why not do it in style?

Since we weren’t starting the Grand South America Voyage until January 5th, I spent the next five days getting to know the ship, the crew and my job responsibilities. The position does not have a detailed job description, so it’s partially up to me to figure out what those responsibilities are and partially up to a bunch of written notes from the girl who did it on the World Cruise years ago. So far it’s going well.

I was lucky enough to meet with the gang from the Ryndam while in Grand Cayman a few days ago. It’s funny when you work so closely with people, a day without seeing them seems like a week. One week at home and one week on the Prinsendam, made it feel like forever since I last saw everyone from the Ryndam. We were to meet in the San Blas Islands, Panama just yesterday again, but the Ryndam didn’t go into open tender until too late and from what I understand, there was no crew shore leave. So, it will be some time before I see those fancy folks again.

Today, we are cruising down the Panama Canal from the Northwest side to the Southeast. Confused? Take a look at the map of Panama and you’ll understand that coming from the Atlantic to the Pacific is actually Northwest-Southeast and vice-versa from Pacific to Atlantic. Yes, people I did have “Jacky’s Panama Canal Trivia” last time we were here…. Tonight we anchor in Amador, Panama and we have an overnight here then leave tomorrow evening for Equador. During the sea day, we will cross the equator and as many may know, this means the Neptune Ceremony. As it is my first time crossing the equator on a ship, I am a pollywog. It’s an initiation of sorts. Let’s just say I’m not exactly looking forward to “kissing the fish” and having various foods poured on me, after which, I’ll be thrown into the pool in front of 700 people. I’m also (oddly) kind of excited about the whole thing. So, I hope things are well at home and there is not too much snow on the ground so that everyone can make it to work safely. Just a note of interest: I don’t have to drive to work, I walk. Oh, and it’s 30 degrees outside with a nice breeze, just enough so as not to blow off my new Panama hat.

The most rushed 7 days ever

2006-12-25T02:49:00.000-03:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! Around the world I send my greetings of un-bughummery.
So here I am at home writing this. I will try to go back in time to fill in some of the blanks such as my Carribean run for a month and a half and add some more photos.

I will be sending my blog out (finally) to those who'd like to see pics and hear a little of what's going on. Also I will be soon posting my new Itinerary, so you can find out what the heck part of the world I'm in today. (Well, today it's really just Vancouver because I'm home, but in five days that won't be the same!)

New news and Dominica

2006-12-02T03:06:00.000-03:00

Plans have changed in the last two days folks! I’ve been offered (out-of-the-blue) an opportunity which I cannot refuse. I will be cutting my contract on the Ryndam short and will be transferred to the position of Hostess on the Prinsendam Grand World Voyage. As much as I am just settling in to Ryndam life and will miss the people I’ve met, the juicy carrot that is a single cabin and about double the pay with a lot more responsibility and one of the two most coveted ships, is quite an offer. Also, I will be coming home for a week for Christmas. I leave on the world cruises Jan 5th, but will be starting early (Dec. 31st) for training.

The last week few days have been much nicer than the last few weeks. We’ve been missing a staff member which makes a huge difference in our jobs since they have to stretch our responsibilities as it is. We now have a new EC manager onboard (from Vancouver) and also a new cruise director, Steven (also from Vancouver). In St. Thomas I bought a new digital camera and wandered around, but as much as everyone talks about it being such a great port – it’s not at all my favorite. I suppose people have different rating scales than I do in order to make it into their top ports. I, for one look for somewhere that is beautiful, not too touristy and friendly. It seems that once you’ve worked on ships for a few years you get jaded and those people’s favorite ports are the ones that are most like American cities and that have good places to shop.

For this reason I was frothing at the bit to get off the ship in Dominica (pronounced Dom-en-eek-ah) because when we were in port two weeks ago it looked so lush and interesting from the ship. As it was, Lucy, Rob and Eric had met a local, Fitzroy, that week and he took them all over the island for a very cheap rate. We happened to run into him on our way to visit some friends’ of Rob and Eric’s on the Volendam. We had lunch with the Cruise Director, Scotty and his senior, Jason. A cruise staffer from their ship and also our Cruise Director completed the bunch. We found Fitzroy waiting outside the restaurant and he took us to Trafalgar Falls. We hiked a short ways up to the falls, quickly realizing how wet we were getting due to the fact that we were in a rainforest. I was the only person with foresight to bring a swimsuit, but it didn’t really matter as the spray from the falls and the rain itself was enough to completely soak everything we had on. A cool swim under the waterfall, followed by a dip in the Sulfur Springs to warm us up topped off a great day. We got back to the ship only to find out that our soccer game against the Volendam had ended with huge disappointment and our engine wouldn’t start so we were late in sailing to Barbados.

Guatemala and the Panama Canal

2006-12-02T02:49:00.000-03:00

When we docked in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala we realized there is literally nothing there. It’s not a real dock, it’s in the middle of nowhere we wanted an adventure. So Lucy, Eric, Sarah and I set off to find one. We started by meeting four older folks, guests from our ship and decided to split a van cab 8 ways. It was a fun start since the one older gentleman who had to sit in the back with us couldn’t hear, so he talked (or rather, yelled) the whole way whilst asking questions to our taxi guide. The guide quickly tired of this gentleman and stopped talking altogether. We headed into Antigua, Guatemala through gorgeous countryside. It was dotted with Coffee plantations and active volcanoes. Upon our arrival in Antigua, we were circled by children selling their handcrafted goods and trying to rip us off. Poor Eric who is usually so kind to everyone ended up telling a 15 year old girl off. We walked the old city which is beautiful and went through a jade factory, to a former nunnery and botanical garden then ended up in the Central Parque to people watch. We barely made it back to the ship in time for work. The rain and an accident on the road ahead of us on a busy Friday afternoon made it a 1 ¾ hour trip instead of 45 minutes.

Panama Canal morning was to be a busy day for the cruise staff. We woke up at five a.m. to start our day of socializing and viewing the Bridge of the Americas. Unfortunately, we didn’t actually get there until 7 a.m. and by then we were incoherent. The day was a long at hot one, but I can’t say it wasn’t an experience of a lifetime. The fact that the canal which took so many lives and lifetimes to achieve, was still doing it’s job with the technology of 1914 is mind-boggling. The fact that our ship and most ships in the world are built just within the limits to fit through the Canal and you can literally reach your arm and touch the wall because it is less than two feet on either side for leeway. We saw one alligator (or croc?) and some wild boar as the Canal is cut through a tropical jungle.

The contract that nearly wasn’t…

2006-12-01T20:51:00.000-03:00

I arrived from Vancouver, in LA around 10:30 am after collecting my luggage. Contrary to what all the airplane passengers might have thought (she needs THAT much stuff to come to LA for a week or two?) it’s not easy to pack for 4-5 months. Backpacking is much simpler. A few t-shirts, pair of shorts, one pair of pants, pj’s – you’re done. No problem before. Now I’ve got 5 theme nights to pack for, 7 formal nights per cruise (the long cruises you can’t wear the same formal!) and then the uniform add-ons – plus of course all the regular stuff you might need for everyday life at home. Anyhow, it was a lot to haul around. The cab driver from the airport to the ship had no idea where the cruiseship port was even after I gave him the address. I was so tired from no sleep the night before I left that I fell asleep in the cab and woke up to the guy driving around in circles. I think he thought I was still asleep and hoped I wouldn’t notice we were completely lost. I made him turn off the meter as it was already at $70. He still couldn’t find it and refused to ask for directions or call someone and we ended up driving around for an hour and a half. He then took me to where the Queen Mary is docked and tried to unload my things from the cab and leave me there. I wouldn’t have it because it was certainly not the right place. For those of you who may not know, the Queen Mary is a stationary hotel, which was the Queen of Englands’ ship until they turned it into a tourist trap and it’s been docked there for decades…I know because my mum made us stay there when I was a kid. I ended up getting another cab driver to take me to my ship and within 5 minutes I was looking up at my new home for the next few months.

Puerto Vallarta, ay, ay, ay!

2006-10-31T03:00:00.000-03:00

After having to skip Cabo San Lucas as Hurricane Paul had stirred up the waters around the cape, we added an extra sea day onto our itinerary. The passengers weren’t too happy, but they understood we could not tender (take a tiny boat from the ship, to the shore) without putting them in peril. We instead did “scenic cruising” which basically taunted them with the beaches in Cabo that they COULDN’T go to that day.

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta at 4:00am, Friday morning, two hours earlier than planned since we had to medically disembark someone straight away. I went to Walmart (yes, there is one in Puerto Vallarta) with some of the staff to find them some Halloween costumes. I had a brainstorm while watching some of our passengers bungle through Walmart in their full-on tourist armour. I’ll wait to explain that one with a picture of Lucy on Halloween. I can’t wait.
From there we did a bit of poking around the downtown flea-market area and haggled and got hassled but I was strong and did not buy a thing. Lucy got taken for some weird piece of Mexican art however. Eric, Lucy and I picked out a not-too-skeezy place to eat on a side street near the beach, enjoyed a Mexican meal and then walked to the beach. Lucy had to work, so Eric convinced me to go to the gay beach with him and there we ran into our Cruise Director, Bobby. The beach was a very nice area and a couple of cold pina coladas and a corona later, we were set. The total lack of beautiful, skinny women was great and there were gorgeous (albeit very shiny and speedo’d) men everywhere so all in all not such a bad idea. Spent the day swimming, drinking, and sunning; then back to the ship for dinner and a nap before starting work.

Shorely in the sun

2006-10-27T23:33:00.002-03:00

I finally broke down and ventured into the world of technology. That’s right folks, she who hath always hated computers now currently owns a laptop. Gasp, it cannot be true! The reason being, I really prefer not to lose friends over the course of my cruiseship time. So, I decided to spend $1200 dollars on this little machine to keep in touch. Now you all know what you’re all worth to me. About 60 dollars each. Yep, no one ever said friendship is cheap….but apparently I am quite cheap.

October 23, 2006 I embarked on my second contract as an Assistant Cruise Director aboard Holland America Line’s ms Ryndam, leaving from Los Angeles, California. Perhaps one day I shall post a bit about my previous contract in Alaska, but for now this is just an attempt to keep updated (and for myself, since I’m not good at keeping a journal).

Our first cruise is a 19-day jaunt down the pacific coast of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and on through the Panama Canal. I am no doubt a very fortunate person to have this opportunity. Many of our passengers have been saving for years to do this trip through the Panama and it is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, from what I hear. (However, I’m cheating as I will be doing it at least twice in four months as I will be going back through the canal in January, but they don’t need to know that). We will then proceed to Columbia, Belize and then the Yucatan portion of Mexico on our way to Tampa, Florida. Tampa will be my home port for the next two months.

I’ve decided to put up my itinerary, so if anyone is interested or even just bored- sitting in their cubicle- they can cheer themselves up by looking up the itinerary and picturing me in whichever exotic port of call I may be in that day. Perhaps I might be basking in the sun or maybe sipping a Rum Punch or snorkeling through crystal-clear water. Of course if it is a sea day that means I’m working very, very hard. I could possibly be playing volleyball, pictionary, bingo, teaching line-dancing or maybe just lying on deck drinking a pina colada since, well it’s all part of my job! I’m sure that would cheer ME right up if I were in rainy, gray and dismal Vancouver. Wow, I never knew I had this evil streak in me. This is what all of you get for not quitting your jobs and coming to work with me here. If you didn’t get what I really mean to say from that last sentiment, I mean that of course, I miss you all and wish you could be here with me. That, is the part about ship life that is not any fun. So, hopefully the requests for pictures will be met and perhaps my small blurbs will let you all know I haven’t been thrown overboard just yet.
Here’s to good ships, here’s to wood ships, here’s to ships that sail the seven seas....but the best ships are relationships and may they always be.