another day in the life

Yesterday I met a freshman trombone major, he introduced himself to me after the set. I talked to him for a little bit then, and then we decided to meet today so he could pick my brain about my job here. It was really neat to talk to him, especially because I know what its like to be where he is, wondering what's next and what the cruise ship gig is about, and I was really happy to help and give him some advice.

Tonight we performed with Kenny James, a vocalist who won the old tv show Star Search some 13 times or something. His show was fun to play, and he is really good at what he does. His 17 year old son was on board, and is actually a bass player, so he sat in for the show. He was a great player. Probably my favorite song in the show was a duet between him and his dad, just bass and voice, with a grooving, slap-bass version of Misty. You'd probably have to hear it to understand, but take my word for it, it was pretty cool. Tomorrow we have the day off, except for the shifts of new-years-balloon-inflating that we have to cover. Seriously. Everyone is helping - we need a LOT of balloons. Just another day in the life....

Christmas at Sea

Hello everybody! I know it has been a while since I've updated, and the readon for that is that I got to enjoy Christmas here on the ship, with my parents and my sister Chelsea on board with me. We had a little bit of stress trying to figure out how to get them on the cruise with me this busy time of year, but in the end everything worked out wonderfully. It was definitely a strange experience to be in the warm Caribbean instead of snowy Lake Arrowhead, but having a little family there made the day nice instead of lonely. We toured Jamaica on Christmas Eve, and had our Christmas morning in my parents' guest stateroom with the balcony door wide upen to let in the warm sea air. Other highlights were being able to call room service for breakfast....and singing Christmas carols on the promenade with hundreds of other guests. It was such a neat experience, but of course nothing will ever beat being home for Christmas.

This week is officially the most popular and most expensive cruise of the year - New Year's Cruise!! Our ship is completely packed, and all kinds of events are planned, including a special guest act that Royal Caribbean payed a lot of money for. Seeing as how we are sailing out of Galveston and have mostly Texans on board, we are having the Texas Tenors, a finalist group from America's Got Talent, coming to perform on New Year's Day. I must admit that I am excited to work with them - it will be the first time I have played an act on ships that I had actually heard about before I met them. I saw the Texas Tenors on this show months ago, so I know they actually are a bit famous. How neat to get to rehearse and perform with them! I'm really looking forward to it.

A foggy day

We reached America on Sunday, and officially concluded our transatlantic voyage! Unfortunately being in America means everyone has to go through immigration, including full crew for our first visit after being abroad. Some poor souls were waiting 6 hours in the cold Galveston Fog for the customs agents to get their act together. Luckily my friends and I kept asking before trying to go through, and several times were told not to bother, and come back in an hour. Waiting until things got going saved us a lot of time, we only waited half an hour. After which the customs officer looks at my American passport and says, why did you bother? You're a citizen. Ha ha...but we do all have to go through before crew leave can be granted.

Unfortunately for our new embarking guests, not only was embarkation delayed several hours, but the heavy fog caused the port authorities to close Galveston's harbor to all traffic. Essentially, for safety reasons, the ship was not allowed to leave port. So began the waiting for break in the fog. We were there overnight, all of the following day, overnight again, and finally left this morning, after the fog lifted enough to allow the authorities to open the port. As a result we will miss one of our ports, and right now the ship is rocking quite a bit as the captain is trying to make up for lost time - full speed ahead. Another consequence of not leaving the port is that none of the bars could be open, no alcohol could be sold, the casino and the onboard shops couldn't open, and most tragically, no bingo. Needless to say, the guest had a lot of reasons to be upset. The show must go on, of course, so our schedules didn't change much and entertainment continued as scheduled, but even though the ship is incredible and there is plenty to keep you occupied, whats the fun in being on a ship if it doesn't go anywhere?? Midway through the day yesterday when we still didn't know if/when we would ever be able to sail, the guests were offered the choice to stay, or leave by 11pm in return for credit to exchange this cruise for one on a different date. 800 guests took the offer. So we are now riding a bit lighter than normal this week, though the ship still feels full to me.

I do admit that even though it was a big disaster for the guests and the company financially, I do sometimes like it when mother nature flexes her power and makes things interesting.

Almost to land!

After six days at sea, we are finally approaching land again! Tomorrow we spend the day in Nassau, Bahamas, a port I visited a lot during my time on the Norwegian Majesty. It will be nice to have a stop in a familiar place, and nice just to be docked! Unfortunately we have to have a "boat drill", followed by a rehearsal for a show, so we won't be getting off the ship until around noon, but we'll have a few precious hours ashore. Everyone cannot WAIT to get off the ship after six sea days - we plan to take advantage of it because after tomorrow come 2 more sea days, followed by our first stop in Galveston, Texas, USA, where we won't be able to disembark the ship at all except to go through all-crew immigration (darn U.S. Customs to Hades), followed by two more sea days. So the next chance we'll have to get out will be in Cozumel, Mexico.

But despite our anxiety to step foot on dry land, the crossing has been absolutely beautiful all the way through. It has been nicer weather than any crossing I have ever done before (only 2 prior to this, but still), with sunny days every day and little to no rocking. Better than I could have hoped for. I haven't been bored at all, and have actually liked not feeling the pressure that I should be getting off the ship and sightseeing. My friend Tatiana and I have been making a point to go out on the bow of the ship to watch the sunsets, and I even got up for a few spectacular sunrises. There is so much beauty all around, and I feel so lucky to be here.

Going Trans...atlantic.

Our last port, Tenerife, is already three days behind us, which is hard to believe. We are officially halfway across the Atlantic, which means we are about where that little blue arrow is on the itinerary map that I've posted above. Halfway between Tenerife and the Bahamas. Not a bad place to be, really - so far the weather has been great - already warm enough to sunbathe, which we are all enjoying after a month of being bundled up in coats and scarves.

The crossing has been pretty busy for us so far, and today was the busiest yet. We had a really late night at a rare All-crew party in one of the guest lounges, and today I got up early (9:30....yeah that IS early, seriously, ask any musician) to help my boss do some paperwork since I'm going to be taking over the Assistant Musical Director position when he leaves in Galveston and the current AMD Dave Riddell steps up to MD. We then had an hour and a half rehearsal with tonight's guest ent, Sean O'Shea (vocal impressionist), followed by a sound check in another lounge, followed by the two show showtimes of Sean's act, followed by the "Black and White Ball" which was basically us playing heavy big band tunes for almost 2 hours. Needless to say, after finishing past midnight we were all pretty exhausted, mentally and chop-wise. Luckily for us tomorrow is an easy day, with just one mid-afternoon jazz set. And even more lucky for me, it doesn't involve me. Day off for Andrea!!! I tell you what, after all the playing I did today I really feel like I deserve it.

Cartagena and Funchal, Madeira

Our first port of call this cruise was Cartagena, Spain, a port I have been to only once before, on a previous crossing when I was on the Celebrity Century. Its a beautiful port, and I was excited to visit it again. I succeeded in seeing some new things this time as well. I went out with three of my friends, and we picked something somewhat randomly from the recommended "things to see" list on the tourist map. We walked up to Concepcion Castle, explored a little bit and enjoyed some amazing views from the top of that hill. It was quite a hike, but well worth the view. After we finished, we ended up at the very same cafe I remember eating at almost exactly one year ago, which was pretty surreal.

After one sea day in between, today we arrived in Funchal, Madeira - an island belonging to Portugal. It is gorgeous! I got off as soon as the ship was cleared since I had to be back early for rehearsal. I spent this day on my own, wandering around town and some gardens, doing some shopping and sightseeing. One highlight of the day was buying some fresh-made Madeira style bread, with melted gralic butter on it....wow. One of the best things I've had in a while. (reminded me of the rolls with garlic butter they have at the Cottage in Rim Forest, for those of you who know...:-))

I came back on board in time for rehearsal, for a guest entertainer who goes by Count Dima, and makes much of his Romanian=transylvania=dracula heritage. You think you've seen it all......and you have to play this show..... Here is a link to a video of a bit that he did in the show, that he calls his "Draculaphone" for some unknown reason. Sometimes there are just no words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0sceTkhA7c

Transatlantic Voyage Begins

Today is our final Barcelona Embarkation, where we pick up everyone who'll be along for the ride across the Atlantic Ocean to Galveston Texas, our future home port. We've had some problems with people getting sick (GI) on the ship, so have have to go into a more strict health code. So today everyone had to help sanitize the ship. I was assigned deck seven, port side, and my job was to hit all the doorknobs and handrails with my rag and chlorine bleach, 1000 parts per million (watch your eyes!) Luckily it only took about 20 minutes to do. Everyone has a job like that so that the whole ship can be sanitized in that short window between disembarking and embarking guests.

We were finally granted shore leave at about 12pm, and I managed to make a quick Metro trip out to the Sagrada Familia, and actually go inside this time (no lines in late November!). It was neat to see, even though it is still heavily under construction. After a couple of photos, back on the Metro to my favorite café for the last time, where I'm writing this post. I am pretty excited for the crossing, and can't wait to see these two islands I've never been too in the next couple of days. Well, I've got to run back to the ship since we have an earlier call time before the transatlantic, but I have some good news re:my last post - due to excessive complaining by people like me, the ship is going to pull together a Thanksgiving dinner for us in the mess hall in a couple of days. It'll be December, but better late than never, right? :-)

Thanksgiving

I just had my third Thanksgiving in a row on a ship instead of at home. Usually ships pull together a nice Thanksgiving dinner in the buffet area or in the crew mess halls, but unfortunately the Voyager dropped the ball this time. Their Thanksgiving dinner selection included someone's idea of "American food" instead. So instead of Turkey with stuffing and cranberries, we had hot dogs and barbecue ribs. But I guess they tried.... Thanksgiving isn't widely understood by the rest of the world since it is a pretty distinctly American holiday. On the other hand, the cruise staff did walk around all night with Turkey hats on their heads, so we can't say they didn't make an effort. I'm told there was even a themed crossword puzzle. One thing I will say, the next time I am lucky enough to be home for Thanksgiving, I will be doubly thankful for it.

Tonight the new cast will open the Broadway production show for the first time since they came on board, so it is a big night for them. After tonight they will be able to relax a bit, especially once the production company bosses leave the ship in a couple of days. But its been hard work up til now. We had to do an extra run of the show yesterday with them, plus another dress run this morning. WE even had to dress up as if it were the show - who wants to put on a tux or formal dress before 10 am?? Not any of the musicians, thats for sure. But its only this week we'll have to do these extra rehearsals.

I've seen the schedule for the 14 day crossing staring this Sunday, and it looks very full and exciting. I was especially happy to see a familiar name among the guest entertainer acts - Mark Donoghue, whom I count as a friend. I know I posted about him before, back in the day....if you dug through the archives I know he's mentioned a few times. Anyway it will be so nice to have someone I consider a kind of old friend on board for the crossing. I thought about Facebook-ing him (we're friends on facebook) to tell him he'll be coming on my ship, but I'm thinking that it might be more fun not to tell him. I think I'll find out what room he's in and what day he boards, and then just knock on his door and surprise him. :-) That prospect has put me in a pretty good mood, I'm really looking forward to seeing him. Hooray for it being a small world! You never know when you're going to run into someone again.

Last time around the Med!

Today we are in Naples, on our last loop around the Mediterranean before beginning our transatlantic crossing. So everything is "last": today was last Naples, last pizza, tomorrow will be last Civi, last chance to go to Rome, etc. I am very excited for the crossing - we'll go to two islands I've never visited before just prior to our sea days. More about those once I've been there!

I've started working a couple of side jobs on board, to help pass the time, and to make a little bit of extra spending cash. One is helping with the art auction, something I did on my last contract, and the other is helping in one of the offices on board, doing some mindless envelope stuffing and labelling. I really don't mind the work at all, its actually really nice to have something to take up time on my sea days, and to be keeping busy. Hopefully the jobs will keep coming. I'm also thinking about taking over as Assistant Musical Director when my boss goes on vacation and his current assistant takes over for 6 weeks (after the crossing). Its good to be busy sometimes!

Last night we had a major snafu in the production show with the cast. At the end of the first big number all of our stage equipment shorted out, so we lost the click track and our stand lights. The dancers had struck their final pose and were waiting for the playoff music to kick in, but it never did, so finally they had to awkwardly break pose and run offstage. Since our click wasn't working there was no way we could play and line up with the dancers, so finally someone put an old track recording on (the one the cast practices with) and we just sat there not playing, until they fixed the problem 10 minutes later. How embarrassing! To hear a trombone solo being played while I just sit there twiddling my thumbs...horrible. But the funny thing is, talking to some of my friends who came to the show, they didn't even notice we weren't the ones playing! I don't know how to feel about that....I like to think we make a big difference. :-) But I guess its better if nobody notices something is wrong. Anyway, after 10 minutes of panicked tech guys running around the orchestra pit they finally fixed the problem and we were back in. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before on a ship, and I must admit it was kindof fun....you start to crave excitement in any form when you play the same show 3 times through every week. :-)

Now what?

Photos are up!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098243&id=56903845&l=73441f4ec7

My best friend on the ship, Daniel, went home a couple of days ago, along with the cast. Its been a bit sad for me....its always hard to lose a great friend and then try to redefine your ship life without them. So thats what I'm trying to do now. Time to work on those other friendships and make some new ones. Life goes on, but he will be missed so much!! It is strange not having him around.

Today I did some Christmas shopping - well, Christmas decoration shopping. I've been making a bit of a collection....I now have an 18 inch tree, silver ball ornaments, red pinecone ornaments, an angel for the top, a couple of magnetic snowmen ornaments for my wall, a wreath for my cabin door, a little glass christmas tree that lights up, and two strings of Christmas lights, plus an extension cord. I have been busy!! I am anxious to put everything up, but I will try to restrain myself until the fist of December...I think that's fair. It is going to look fantastic in my cabin!! I can't wait to decorate....my roommate might kill me (she's not the Christmas type) but it must be done. :-)

I had a fantastic lunch this afternoon - I met up with my friend Yukari who works on the Celebrity Century. We did two contracts together, and our ships were luckily in port together today, so we had a date. We went to a fantastic seaside restaurant a friend of hers had recommended. The best part of the meal was the dessert recommended by our really friendly waiter. It was a plate of whole fruits that had each been sliced in half, scooped partially out and refilled with gelato of the same fruit, then put back together. So inside each whole fruit was frozen goodness of the same flavor. There was a mandarin orange, a big date, a fig, a pear, a prickly pear cactus fruit, and a hazelnut. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever had to eat...each of the ice cream flavors were so unique and natural, not filled with artificial flavorings or anything fake. Just pure fruit and each so distinct and interesting. Wow....I might go back next week just for that. And the company was fantastic as well - Yukari is one of the most calm and positive people I know, and I love hanging out with her. I hope we meet up again somewhere in the world!

Rome in 45 minutes (Espresso Rome?)

Making the trip into Rome from where the Voyager docks in Civitavecchia is a bit of an ordeal....as a result of that, busy schedules, and the fact that I've visited the big city many times on past contracts, I hadn't made the trip yet this season. But, yesterday being Daniel's last chance to go to Rome, we decided to make it happen against all odds. We couldn't leave the ship until after the weekly crew boat drill, so we got off the ship around 11am, had to wait half an hour for the shuttle from the pier into Civi, then walk 10 minutes to the train station to catch the train to Rome, which is an hour and 15 minute ride. After that, 10 minute walk to the Metro station, two stops into central Rome, another 10 minute walk to where we ate lunch. One of the dancers had a spaghetti place he highly recommended, near the Trevi fountain. It was amazing....they had over 50 different kinds of spaghetti. Mine was incredible. After that we began our sightseeing. Since Daniel hadn't seen anything other than the Vatican, we wanted to fit in as much as possible. So began our 45 minute special, power-walking through Rome and taking pictures without pausing to stand still. We saw the Trevi fountain, (I threw another coin in...guess I'll have to go back) the Pantheon, and the Colloseum in less that 45 minutes. From the Colloseum we jumped straight on the Metro back to the train station, and caught the 4:09 train back to Civi, made the walk back to town, took the shuttle back to the ship, and made it on board about half an hour before our deadline. Woohoo!! Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted. But happy! Daniel got to see the Colloseum, that's the most important thing. You can't go to Rome and not see it. So an incredible, rushed day, but totally worth it.

In other news, we have a new bass player as of yesterday, who goes by Big Ed. He has done about 40 ships in his time, and is a really solid player. It has been a big improvement in our sound. Tonight we have a guest entertainer act - a motown group called Soul Satisfaction. I'm off to rehearsal now, looking forward to doing a guest act since we haven't done one in several weeks. Off I go!!

Halloween

Yesterday we finally docked in Marseille - one of my favorite ports. We've been unable to dock there since I arrived because of high winds, so for 3 weeks we had sea days instead. But this week the seas have been extraordinarily calm, and we were finally able to make it to Marseille. We only had a few free hours after crew boat drill (which I swear gets longer and longer every week), but Dan, Mike and I managed to make it out for lunch. I had some incredible eggplant parmesan....it really defies description so I'll just say it was really good. Mmm....still dreaming about it. And, of course, when in France.....I had creme brulee for dessert. Not for the first time this week....I must admit I had another one just the day before when Dan and I made a trip to Cannes for the day. I love eating out in France, there is such great food! Its isn't helping me save money, though. Everyone says it'll be much easier to save money in the Caribbean in a month or so, and I believe them. I plan on spending a lot of days on the beach and spending no money. But for now I can enjoy the food, right??

So Thriller was a big success. I did get a little nervous and mess up a bit in the heat of battle...but hopefully nobody noticed. It was a lot of fun, and that's what's important. Dan and I spent 2 hours getting ready, with our costumes and face paint and fake blood to look like the undead - the end result was pretty horrific, much to our satisfaction. We were both pretty unrecognizable. Some good photos will follow eventually, I promise. Probably one of the best moments was when all 2 dozen of us met just before the performance and took pictures, admiring each other's scary appearances. Everyone went all out and looked really fantastic. Afterwards we hung out a bit at the Halloween party, I stayed out until I couldn't stand wearing all that make-up and looking horrific any longer. I've showered and scrubbed several times, but I think I still have some blotches of paint here and there. I guess they are my souvenirs. The crew have a Halloween party later on this week (belated, of course), and I'm just going to wear a witch's hat and black nails and call it even. I feel I've already done way more than my share for Halloween this year.

Thrills, expensive and cheap.

Yesterday the band had the day off, so a few of us decided to have an adventure on our own and make the trek out to the island of Capri. I've been there once before years ago but it was on a tour with very limited time there and I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do. So off we went - me, Daniel, Mike, and Dave, all from the band. So I picked up more British turns of phrase and got picked on for being the only American, as usual. Daniel invested 15 minutes of his life that he will ever get back trying to get me to say 'water' and sound properly English (I'm proud to say I've finally mastered it). I got to play tour guide, so I had fun showing them where everything was and making suggestions for what to do there.

Capri is a 45-50 minute ride by hydrofoil ferry from where we dock on the pier in Naples. We got an early start (especially for musicians!) and were off the ship around 8:30am, caught the 9:10 ferry, and were in Capri by 10am. Because of hearing great things about seeing something called the Blue Grotto, I was really hoping to get to do that at some point during the day (Thanks, Chris!!). The guys were agreeable, so we signed up right away for a 2 hour boat tour that stopped at the Blue Grotto and also circled the entire island. That definitely turned out to be the best thing we did, although none of us really knew what we were in for. The Blue Grotto is accessible only by tiny little paddle boats run by local guides, that pick you up from your boat a few at a time to take you into the Grotto. The entrance is a tiny hole barely big enough for the boats to slide through, and the clearance is so low that everyone has to duck their heads basically underneath the waterline inside the boat. The guide pulls his boat in by grabbing hold of a chain that leads inside, giving a heave and then bending backwards almost horizontally to avoid having his head taken off by the rocky cavern ceiling. He also has to time the entrance perfectly - just in between waves - otherwise the entrance is submerged in water and it is impossible to enter. Actually many times of day and days of the year its just too dangerous to enter at all. Talk about an adventure!! I can see why they don't arrange to do this little bit of sightseeing with the guests from the ship. It definitely wouldn't stand up to insurance policies.

But once inside the cavern, the ceiling opens up and you can see why the Blue Grotto is famous. Sunlight from outside reflects from underwater to make the water a glowing blue color that is really incredible to behold. The guides also started to sing something in Italian as soon as we were inside, which echoed in the room and added a neat atmosphere to the whole experience. 5 minutes later, we had survived our tour of the Blue Grotto, and after some doing managed to pry ourselves out of the little rowboat (I had been crunched up sideways in the back, horribly uncomfortable but apparently making a comfy backrest for my friends who were squished up against me) and back onto our big boat for the rest of the island tour. We saw a few more caves, inlets, and cliffs, and all came away with amazing photos. We even got to sail through a tunnel through one of the huge cliff/rocks that are the symbol of Capri. The boat tour was really worth all the money we spent on it... actually I spent more yesterday than I care to admit. The trip to Capri and back alone (on the ferry) cast 32 Euros. Yikes! But so worth it. After the island tour we took the Funicular up to the top of Capri for some more stunning views and for some very expensive coffee and ice cream.

We stayed out as long as possible, maybe even pushed it more than we should have, and got back to the ship just before the deadline (whew!). It was truly an incredible day, and we all felt a big sense of accomplishment as we trudged back onto the ship completely exhausted. Once back on board I was ready for bed, unfortunately I had to stay awake for a very important rehearsal at midnight last night. A rehearsal at midnight? Whatever for, you might ask.....well, two weeks ago, Daniel signed both of us up (I guess we are a bit inseparable already, but this??) to volunteer to perform the dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller for the guests on Halloween, along with a group of cruise staff and cast members. We've had several rehearsals to learn the dance, and last night was our night to set the staging/blocking in the actual room we're going to perform in, and to have a couple of run-throughs. So the rehearsal had to be after midnight after the room was closed to guests. Yes, you read that right, I am performing the Thriller dance on Halloween. Crazy. But I have to admit, it has been really fun to learn. Daniel and I have gone all out and had our own separate little practice sessions to make sure we have it down. We can't wait for our big debut in a couple days!!! Life is so strange....but I must admit I thrive on life bringing the unexpected.

Old Friends, New Languages

Today, as every time we are in Civitavecchia, we docked nose to nose with a ghost from my past, the Celebrity Century. I spent 5 months on board the ship, my sister Chelsea managed to stay with me on board for a month, I explored the Baltics, Norway, Ireland and the Arctic Circle, saw the midnight sun for the first time from her decks. Today I looked across to the bow of the ship, Deck 7, where I spent countless hours reading and sitting in the sun, watching sunsets and passing part of every day as we crossed the Atlantic in the most beautiful weather. It was strange to look across at the benches Chelsea, Marie and I sat on a year ago. On board right now is one of my good friends Yuki, with whom I've done 2 contracts and have actually been able to visit once on land in L.A. I went to the ship today looking for her - security all remembered me and let me on board right away, which was flattering. I found Yuki and we talked a bit - we plan to spend our day together next week when we are here again and she is off work. Also this Sunday we'll be in port with a Norwegian ship, which my friend Erin is on. I knew her from the Majesty - she and I experienced swimming with dolphins for the first time together. We plan to meet and catch up this Sunday. I can't help marvelling at how small the world is, and how today I met a friend from Japan in Civitavecchia, and Sunday I will meet a friend from Australia in Barcelona. What a strange life...but I really love it.

And what do I mean by new languages? Well, I am noticing my English changing to match that of my friends. Spending most of my time with British friends is influencing my word choice and pronunciation, slowly but surely. For example, eight-thirty becomes "half eight". Elevator becomes "lift". Pants become "trousers", and so on. We have had several arguments about whether "disoriented" or "disorientated" is correct (Turns out they both are). Fortunately, I can also say that conversation with them is improving my vocabulary, grammar, wit, and dry sarcasm. My American-isms have started to affect them as well, and they always cringe when they catch themselves saying something stereotypically American (eg: "I know, right?") When they attempt to imitate an American accent it either comes out very Valley-girl or intense New Yorker, they can't imitate mine at all, beyond one word at a time. Its quite a lot of fun, actually - accents and differences in language have always fascinated me, and being made fun of for my accent is worth being able to spend time with them.

Lattes and Parades

Today I forgot that in many places in Europe, asking for a "latte" will get you a glass of milk. You must specify that you want coffee. So this morning I enjoyed a tall glass of steamed milk with my donut as I used the internet. I have found my café of choice here in Barcelona. There is an old gentleman who works here who remembered me from last week and takes care of me. He brings my drinks to the table for me, and helps me move my things when the table next to an outlet becomes available. And steamed whole milk with a bit of sugar really isn't a disagreeable drink in the morning chill. I quite enjoyed it. But I did order a cappuccino when I had finished it.

And now for some shocking news which I have withheld until now. My job on board the Voyager involves more than simply playing trombone. Once a week all musicians are forced to participate in the "Island Frenzy" parade. This short 5 or 10 minute parade is very like a Disney happening, and takes place on the Royal Promenade, a huge central area that feels like an outdoor street lined with shops. The singers, dancers, and hosts play the main performance roles, and we lowly musicians usually do things like carrying poles with animals atop them, while wearing ridiculous outfits. I have the distinguished role of a box pusher. Which means that I, yes, push a box. Atop it is a dancer in costume. I push her out into the middle of the Promenade, then I dance around the box looking happy until they get down, at which point I pull a lever to open the box and inflate a giant palm tree that was hidden inside it. After that important duty I join a line of performers who follow each other in a circle around the Promenade, smiling at everyone and clapping along to the music. We musicians have discovered that this humiliation is more bearable if we have a drink first, which has become tradition. Don't tell anyone, but I actually do have fun doing it, when I can forget that I am supposedly being paid to be a professional trombonist. :-)

Meet the band

Alto Sax: David Birks, Bandmaster, 45 from Seattle, Washington, USA

Tenor Sax: Voycheck, late 40's from Poland.

Trumpet 1: Dave, 27 from Scotland.

Trumpet 2: Jason, 28 from Georgia, USA.

Trombone: umm...you should know this one.

Drums: Victor Manecchia, in his 60's from Florida, once NY, USA.

Piano/Keys: Daniel Griffin, 22 from England.

Bass: Ziggy, in his 40's from Poland.

Guitar: Mike, twenty something, from England.

I'm closest with Daniel, though also good buddies with the trumpet guys. Hearing Dave quote Anchorman in a Scottish accent is already one of my best memories. My first day I was under the impression that Jason's name was Anthony (I still have NO idea why), and called him that for 2 days before I realized my error. As punishment he still calls me Angela, an interpretation of the pronunciation of my name that Daniel made for the first couple of days. Victor is a really great drummer, killer at jazz. He lived in Puerto Rico for 10 years jamming with all the latin drummers there and playing hotels, and has all kinds of interesting stories. He has also made it his goal to tell me a joke of the day every day. I found out yesterday that he tells everyone jokes of the day, but apparently when I'm out of earshot the ones he tells Daniel and Jason are always dirty. His jokes for me are always clean and usually pun-based. What a gentleman. :-)

Ship Specs and Second Show

Maiden Voyage: November 21, 1999 Passenger Capacity: 3,114 (But somehow we have over 3,200 this cruise...hmmmm) Godmother: Katarina Witt Gross Tonnage: 138,000 Length: 1020' Max Beam: 156' Draft: 29' Cruising Speed: 23.7 knots Tonight marks a very special occasion for me. I will perform for the first time in a real orchestra pit. It seems funny that I've never actually had the opportunity to do so before. The show is called Music in Motion, and during our tech run this morning I concealed my excitement from my more experienced fellow musicians as I opened the door to the pit, a story below the theater floor. It is exactly like the one that I remember at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, which I used to lean over and look in admiration at the musicians below. I almost got a little emotional today. Much to my shock a few minutes into the opening number the pit began to rise....we are alternately rasied and lowered during the show, so we are at times in view of the audience right on center stage. There is a strip of stage a few feet wide at the very front of the stage, making a half circle, so the performers are there in front of us, and also a strip of stage that comes up when we do so that the singers actually walk right in between the two halves of the band, when just our heads peek above ground level. At times there are performers all around and above us. It is something to see, I'm sure. The show is probably the most professional looking (set and choreo-wise) that I've done on ships - I guess bigger can be better. I can hardly wait for tonight. I know this will probably get old, but tonight I will be savoring the moment.

First couple of days

Hello everyone - just letting you know that I've arrived in one piece to the ship, and have made it through my first couple of days here.

The Voyager is HUGE and beautiful. I have hardly even seen any of it yet, but I've been impressed by what I have seen. The band is 9 piece - two trumpets, 2 saxes, piano, bass, drums, guitar, and me of course. Its already been fun to play with such a big band. I won't go into detail about the players yet, because I haven't really gotten to know them yet. I did get to go out for pizza today in Naples with a few of the guys, though, my first real social interaction since I've arrived. I've been a bit busy with training and settling in, but I know I'll know everyone well enough very soon. I am the only girl in the band again. Apparently I just missed a girl drummer, but her replacement signed on when I did. So I'm roomed with a girl named Sandra, from Colombia, who is the Spanish Hostess on board. She'll be here until we stop sailing from Barcelona, which means I get the bottom bunk in December - Yes!!

Other fun things about this ship and the band in particular - we get personal Aviom systems (expenisive equipment which means we each have control of a personal mix in our own headphones, no need for moniters), and I have a little mic that clips on the bell of my trombone, so I don't have to worry about playing into a mic or arranging a mic stand so it isn't in my way. Working in a real theater is nice as well, the theater was make-shift on the Majesty. Its also a nice change from Continental tour to be able to show up to the gig and have everything already be set up for you, music stands, mics, avioms, stand lights, etc...even a spit rag is there waiting for me (aren't the techs thoughtful?). :-)

So far I've played a welcome aboard show, a big band set, a broadway show, and tonight a vocal impressionist. Since we have week long cruises, things will soon settle into a routine, so I'll explain more about all that later. I've also been told that we almost always have a night off every week. Hooray!

Well, thats all for now. Myfingers are tired from pushing the keyboard letters so hard on this ship's computer. :-)

Surprises and Blessings

Here I am finally posting again! Let me fill you in on what has happened in the past few days - hang on tight 'cause its quite a ride. On Wednesday afternoon I was enjoying a day visiting my best friend Hannah when the phone rang. I got a call from my agency, asking me if I would be willing to take a contract that began on Sunday, but which would require me to fly out early Friday morning. After some salary haggling (I got a raise!) I decided to take the contract, which is 6 months on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, a huge 3,100 passenger ship - the biggest I've ever been on. So less than 48 hours later I was on a plane to Barcelona, where I'm now in a hotel, joining the ship tomorrow. This has all happened so quickly I've hardly had time to process it, and my head is still spinning. But having a steady job for the next 6 months is a very exciting process, as is working for a new company.

I promise to fill you in with more about the ship and job itself soon, but I wanted to share a little bit about the blessings God has given to me today. The first and biggest was a surprise last minute meeting with my old and dear friend James Middleworth. As I sat in Texas for 4 hours waiting for my next connection, I looked ahead at my itinerary and noticed I had about a 6 or 7 hour layover in Heathrow airport, London. My dad suggested I try to get ahold of someone I knew to pass the time, and I remembered that James lives not too far from London. A phone call later and we figured out we could actually see each other! James has been in the London area for months now, and it was so unexpected and wonderful to get a chance to see him. In the time I had, he took me on the Underground (aka the tube) into central London, to Hyde Park, where we walked around for an hour or so. I got to see the famous Peter Pan statue erected because of J.M. Barrie's time writing bits of the story there in the park, as well as monuments to Princes Diana and Prince Albert. It was a beautiful crisp fall day, and the park is lovely. After that we made a quick stop in front of Buckingham Palace, basically so I can now say I've been there. James was a fantastic tour guide, and he even sportingly dragged my wheeled backpack for about 5 miles around London. (I was carrying my trombone) What an amazing day! A totally unexpected chance to see and catch up with a great friend, plus seeing some of London for the first time. I kept feeling like I needed to pinch myself and wake up - there was no way I could have been home yesterday and strolling through Hyde park with James today. Did that really just happen?? I can hardly believe it. God gave me that layover for a reason, and I'm so glad he did!!

A couple of other blessings came my way today - a technician named Charles Digg did me a great service by helping me print a document I absolutely needed in order to join the ship, which was emailed to me only after I had departed. Without him things would have been so difficult for me. And ontop of that, after he rescued me we had a great talk about all sorts of things, for about 40 minutes, and he was such an encouraging and lively man. I loved meeting him. Tonight I got to my scheduled hotel only to find out there was no room at the inn (literally), so I had to take a cab to this hotel. It is much nicer, though, and I was brave enough to eat my dinner with two ladies from South America, neither of whom spoke more than 3 words in English. I did pretty well holding a conversation with them, and was pretty proud of myself. And now, utterly exhausted, but happy and grateful for the day's blessings, I'm going to sleep. Wish me luck on this new adventure!!

R&R (and berrypicking)

This week I'm up in Eagle River, Alaska (near Anchorage), visiting my good friend Kathryn for ten days as she prepares for her upcoming wedding. I wanted to come to the wedding in any case, and we decided that if I had the time it would be great to extend my visit so that the two of us could really spend some time together and catch up. So I've been relaxing and hanging out with her here, accompanying her on all the random tasks that precede a wedding and ensuing move to Washington D.C., as well as just being a general help around the house as her family prepares for out of town guests and the Big Day. I've gotten to do a lot of cooking and bread-baking, which I really like, and tons of berry picking and jam-making. Gooseberries, currants, red and yellow raspberries....I love it. I get to bring some of my own homemade jam back with me.

As far as my *cough* professional life is concerned, I am still looking for my next cruise job. i would really like to work for a few months this fall, from mid September until Christmas, and am still waiting for that call. The good news is that I re-auditioned last week for my agency and have sent in the audition dvd - now is just a waiting game. Re-auditioning has put me in the race for some jobs on higher-end cruise lines, something I am really interested in and very excited about. So once my audition is received and viewed I will be hopefully considered for those jobs, possibly more full-time and better paid. Now I do my best not to obsessively check my email several times a day hoping for an email offering me a job. :-) But I feel very good about the audition, and am hopeful I will be hearing from them soon. So for now, I'm just relaxing and enjoying Alaska. :-)

In other news, I am now 25 years old. Also known as my mid-twenties, also known as downhill to 30, also known as halfway to 50.

Back home

Tour ended about a week ago after having our final concert in Hemet, CA.  My exhausted mind and body were so thankful. :-)  It was a great time of being stretched and learning what it takes to be a leader.  After surviving this experience I find myself more willing to consider other leadership opportunities, as well as teaching opportunities, which never appealed to me before.  "God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called," as I read on one particular music minister's office wall this summer.  Am I being called to music ministry leadership? Am I being called to teaching? Only time and prayer will tell, but now I know that in those situations I can rely on Him for strength, and through Him I can accomplish all things, if I am in His will.  

Nearing the end

We finally had a couple of nights off this week, which all of us really needed. Last night we performed in Chandler, Arizona, and we are working our way back to California with only a couple of concerts left. We spent a couple of days in Seminole, Texas, which is a town made up almost exclusively of German Amish who emmigrated from settlements in Mexico. Over the generations the Amish influence has decreased a lot, but many families still hold onto some traditions. It was a really interesting place to perform, stay, and be welcomed by.

I don't know exactly what I'm up to after tour, but I am waiting to see if there are any cruise ship jobs just for short term or fill-in. I actually just got an offer to join a ship in Stockholm and stay on board for three weeks, but unfortunately they need me Friday, and I'll still be on tour. Hopefully something else comes up in September! After tour it looks like one of my friends from tour will be staying with me for a couple days, and then I'm planning to spend a week and a half in Alaska with my friend Kathryn as she is getting married. So that's the plan! If anyone would like to hear my group perform you can get details by calling the continentals - we are performing Sunday morning in services in Chino, then a full, final concert Sunday night in Hemet. I'd love to see you!

A quick update...

I apologize for my serious lack of posting! Life on the road has been absolutely ridiculous as far as our schedule is concerned - we have been performing every single night since we finished rehearsal camp, with barely even time to do extra rehearsals that we could use. Tour has been such a different experience since I am acting as Assistant Director and Band leader, but has stretched me already in so many ways. I love the kids on this tour so much, and they still seem to like me even though it is basically my job to get on their cases all the time about everything. :-) Tonight we're in Richmond, VA - but we've been already to so many states (CA, AZ, OK, NM, KS, NB, MO, IL, OH, PA, WV, NJ, NY, MA). We have only two weeks left of tour, which really blows my mind. Just a quick highlight - we visited a Spanish speaking home church of one of the girls on tour, and had the most amazing worshipful, passionate concert yet. People were singing, standing, clapping and dancing the whole time, and just really gave us such a great response. And of course, I got to practice my Spanish! It was an awesome night of worship that we are still reeling from, in a good way. God is good!!

Home again....for a limited time only.

I arrived home safe and sound at 10pm Wednesday night!  Flying out of Bermuda was really neat - we circled around and flew over the whole island, which was a great view to see.  The first thing I did was go get some In N' Out Burger, followed by copious amounts of sleeping and recovering that night and through most of Thursday.  Today I was a bit busier, starting to reorganize myself and run all the errands I need to finish before taking off again.  

I got a call from the Continentals asking me to come early to rehearsal camp in order to do some director training, so now my next adventure begins in less than a week from today.  We are still waiting to see if we will be able to fill all the band positions, so we may have to make some tough decisions last minute, but there is still time and we are all praying for a full band!!  

The next few days will be very very busy for me trying to cram everything in, but I'd love to hear from anyone if you want to call!  I'll try to keep up with the posts during my tour this summer, although my internet usage will be limited to what is available in my host homes.  Take care, everyone!!

Slight change of plans

Hello Everyone!  I know I said I'd be home today, but there's been a slight change.  Last night right before my last show Andy received word that my replacement had some kind of emergency and was going to miss his flight into Baltimore.  Instead he will be flown to Bermuda and join the ship a few days into the cruise.  Andy would have been down a trombonist for those two show nights, so he asked me if it was possible to stay a couple extra days and fly home from Bermuda on Tuesday.  I agreed to help him out, so I will be home sometime late on Tuesday the 16th. Hooray for a couple extra days of pay!  Also I've really enjoyed what was meant to be my last week here, and made some great friends in the new cast that I will be sorry to leave.  So two extra days of me on board was good news for everyone here.  I'm also actually really excited that I get to fly out of Bermuda and see it from the air.  So I'll see you all in a couple days!

Highlights of the week were checking out some new beaches with my friend Fran, going to Harbor nights in Hamilton since we had a night off (WOW!!), seeing and exploring on board the Tall Ships that are in Bermuda this week for the Atlantic Challenge (http://tallshipsbermuda.com/), as well as meeting and chatting with a few of their sailors (read: handsome Uruguayan military guys who were impressed with my Spanish), hanging out at Karaoke with my friend Blake, getting caught in the rain on the way to the beach with a few friends and hiding under someone's balcony, and climbing up to the top of St. Gibbs Lighthouse for a fantastic view of the island.  

Last Week on the Majesty!

Last week was another whirlwind for me, spending as much time as possible with Holly as well as with my good friends who left today.  I said goodbye to the cast this morning, which was definitely bittersweet.  It has been a great contract with them, and they are all my dear friends.  I'll miss them a lot, especially my friend Matt, who became my best friend on the ship over the last month or so.  You will all be missed!!!

Highlights of the week were renting motorbikes and riding all over the island, relaxing at different beaches, collecting sea glass and pink sand, eating breakfast at Angeline's again, and performing the shows with the cast for the last time.  

I apologize again for not posting more often!  I will be posting pictures when I get home next week, so look for a link to the albums in the next week and a half.  Now that I've said goodbye to Holly and to a lot of my friends, I'm ready to relax during my last week on board, wind down and catch up on sleep I've been missing.  I'm also starting to get very excited about my next adventure - Assistant Directing for the Continental Voices and Brass, starting June 27th.  

Too busy to blog....having too much fun!

The repo was really cool - it was awesome to have the run of the ship in our street clothes, with no curfews.  About half a dozen of us spent one night singing karaoke in a lounge for about 4 hours...long enough to get bored of the normal stuff and start doing Christmas songs.  There was a big party out on deck one night, and the whole pool deck was absolutely packed with crew.  It was a really neat sight to see.  The party was hosted by my department (entertainment), and so I ended up helping out by playing bartender for about 20 minutes.  The definition of bartender being: grabbing beers and sodas out of trash can ice buckets as fast as humanly possible and handing them to a never-ending line of crew.  It was actually really fun.  We also had a "Majesty Idol" competition among the crew members, with a panel of three judges and everything, (my boss Andy representing Simon Cowell if you know the show).  

After the repo, Holly arrived safe and sound in Baltimore and joined me on the ship!  Since she got here its been a pretty busy week of maximizing our time together, mostly spending as much time on the beach as we could.  We checked out Horseshoe Bay, one of the most popular beaches, and were blown away by how gorgeous it is.  Tons of photos will follow....eventually. :-)  There really isn't much opportunity to use the internet in Bermuda.  Holly has been having a great time and has enjoyed getting to know the cast and my other friends, sitting in on some of the cast rehearsals and coming to both shows every night they'd perform.  

Today we are in Baltimore again, downtown seeing the sights a bit, and then it will be off to Bermuda again! I am so glad that Holly gets to stay an extra week.  This week will be the last week for this cast (new cast signs on and begins the handover today), as well as the last week for my roommate and several other friends of mine.  I can't believe this contract is almost over already!  I sign off just two short weeks from today.  Wow.  

Here comes the Repo!

This cruise was only a 6 day cruise, which meant only one full day in Bermuda, with 2 overnights instead of three. So during those short couple of days I spent a lot of time just at some different beaches.  About half a dozen of my friends and I have snorkel gear and have been going on our own snorkeling excursions......I snorkeled and swam enough to make my arms sore.  I know, I have such a tough life.  :-)  And my nightlife this week consisted of making beach campfires and roasting marshmallows with a few of my friends.  

Tomorrow something very new and exciting is in the works for us: no more guests!!  Yep, the crew of the Majesty will have the whole ship to ourselves for a full 2 days as we reposition (REPO) up to Baltimore, Maryland.  A plethora of events are planned, including a "Majesty Idol" competition, open casino nights, and a deck pool party.  So tomorrow morning, when we arrive in Charleston for the last time, after all the guests disembark, we will be sailing right away for Baltimore.  Unfortunately this means no crew are allowed off the ship in Charleston, so I will be waving goodbye to one of my favorite ports from the back deck, as I use its cell phone signal for as long as I possibly can.  

Other news....this week I lose two friends.  Two nights ago we played Brett Cave's show for the last time, he signs off tomorrow to go to Crystal.  I have played his show every week, sometimes 3 days a week, ever since I arrived, and it will be quite a change not to be doing that anymore.  He has been a fun member of our entertainment team and group of friends, and will be missed.  In the last show we added a lot of surprises to make it special, mostly inside jokes that would be too hard to explain, but one that isn't: we held up a big sign that said "We love you, Brett!" at the very end.  I'm also losing my good friend Teal, with whom I've enjoyed afternoons at Caviar and Bananas, exploring Bermuda, going on jogs, and good conversations.  Goodbye and best of luck to both my friends!!

And finally.....Holly is coming to the ship in 3 days!!!!!  I can't express how excited I am to have her here with me!!  Pray that all goes smoothly getting her on board for 2 glorious weeks.  Hooray!!!

Hamilton and beach bonfires

We're on our way back to Charleston, after our second week in Bermuda, all recovering from another several days of being out and about as much as possible.  On Tuesday a group of us went to Hamilton, taking the local bus for about four dollars each way, all the way along the narrow and curvy roads and across a few bridges connecting bits of island to each other.  Once there we wandered around the town on foot.  We ate at a "proper English pub" (Brett's words) called the Hog Penny, which was really good.  I had fish and chips, since it seemed appropriate.  We visited Fort Hamilton, and explored all along the outer walls and the underground tunnels and passageways.  Those dark tunnels were very stereotypically creepy, and probably my favorite moment of the day was when I made a loud noise from a dark corner and sent my friend John (our pianist) running for the exit with a high-pitched scream, taking a few of my other friends with him in a panic.  On the very top of the fort was a big grassy area that we relaxed in for a while, which afforded a great bird's-eye view of Hamilton.  On our way back down through the city we stopped at the main Cathedral to look inside, since it really dominates the townscape. It was beautiful inside, with a big organ as usual.  John asked one of the groundskeepers if he could play the organ, and they were nice enough to unlock it for him.  He has been a full time church organist before, and impressed everyone with a little mini-concert, which was so cool!

One night after all the shows were over a big group of us walked over to the beach to hang out.  We somehow managed to make a little fire on the beach using mostly old palm fronds and a lighter, though it took us the better part of the night to succeed.  At one point my friend Matt (singer) and I walked down to the other side of the beach where a group of Filipinos from the ship were cooking fish and squid.  Going fishing in Bermuda and cooking it up is a favorite pastime of a lot of the Filipinos on the ship.  Matt is half Filipino, and can understand (if not really speak) Tagalog, so he translated for me, and they invited us to eat with them.  I liked their style of eating - everyone puts a plastic glove on one hand and just eats with that hand, no utensils needed.  Afterward, you just slip the glove off, and you don't need a napkin either.  I even liked the squid.  The night ended up being a wonderfully unexpected cultural experience.  

Yesterday, on our last morning here (we have to be back on board by 10:30am since we sail around 11:30) I went out with Beth and Mark from the cast to get breakfast ashore.  I had asked around about options for a really good breakfast diner that would have the necessary pancakes, and several locals recommended Angeline's to me.  It is a tiny, divey, hole-in-the-wall diner owned and run by a woman and her son, which you would easily walk right past if you didn't know it was there.  So the three of us got up bright and early to check it out, and we weren't disappointed.  The food was really home-cooked right in front of you, and the prices were decent.  We will definitely be frequenting it more often.  After eating, I stayed out on deck to watch us sailaway and leave Bermuda behind.  But I really like knowing I'll be back next week.  

The changes in our musical schedule this week ended up being pretty reasonable and worked out well.   Our dixieland set got a great response when we did it out under the stars on the top deck, a bit later at night.  Thankfully it wasn't windy up there, so it wasn't as difficult as it potentially could have been.  Last night's variety show was also much better for us, since instead of all three guest entertainers squished into "one hour" which always went an extra half an hour, we had only two of them, making for the perfect length of show.  Brett's section was also first, which allowed us to escape after the first half an hour, instead of spending half the show sitting behind the curtain waiting our turn.  After everything, I think Candi's choices as cruise director have been pretty practical.  Next week will be her second and last week in charge, but there will be some more changes since the cruise is only six days instead of seven.  Only two overnights in Bermuda instead of three, but I think I'll manage. :-)  

Second Bermuda week

The Majesty docks right in a little town called St. George, which is a little ways away from the capital of Hamilton.  Despite not being in the main town, there is plenty to do right here in St. George.  There are a few local bars and restaurants that are right next to the ship, that stay open late enough for any crew member to have a chance to go there.  In particular, a tavern called the White Horse is a popular hangout since it is literally just next to the ship.  So far I've only been once, its not really my kind of place.  

There are at least two nice beaches that are just about a 15 minute walk from the ship, and both are really beautiful.  Today I went to "Tobacco Bay" beach with all my friends, and we swam a bit and even did some amateur cliff diving.  Maybe it would be more accurately described as rock jumping, since we only jumped from about 8 or 10 feet up.  But the water is absolutely gorgeous, and there are some really neat rock formations that I plan to take about a million pictures of, on a sunnier day (today it was overcast and even a bit rainy).  

Starting from the ship, heading out along the coastline, is what is referred to by crew as "the loop", a 2.5 or 3 mile loop road that follows the coast out around a peninsula, around a few of the popular beaches, and back into town and the ship.  Walking or jogging it on a daily basis is a popular activity among my friends, and it is such lovely scenery that it makes for a really pleasant experience.  I jogged it once last week with friends, and then gave my shins time to recover from the hills they weren't used to.  Today I jogged it again at my own pace (slow), and was able to make it quite a bit further around before walking.  A few of my friends have the goal to run it every day we're in port here, so we'll see if I'm that motivated. 

This week we have a lot of changes on board.  First, our trumpet player John was replaced by the original trumpet player Alexi, who had left after my first week on board.  It is really nice to have him back - he is a great lead trumpet player and a lot of fun to perform with.  The second big change is that we have a new cruise director for a couple of weeks.  Denny, our previous one, is on vacation, and his assistant Candi is filling in.  She is very opinionated and has already made quite a few changes that affect us.  For example, our welcome aboard show is entirely different.  Instead of centering around the guest entertainers, it features the musicians that perform in the lounges, giving them a chance to be introduced to the guests and encourage them to come out to hear them in the lounges.   So whereas up until now the welcome aboard show would be the cast "bumper" followed by a showband feature, followed by 20 minutes of each of the three guest entertainer acts (including Brett);  Now, after the bumper we no longer do the band feature, instead we do just 3 songs back to back, each featuring a different lounge act.  After that we are basically done for the rest of the show, which I must admit is nice.  Brett doesn't mind not being involved in the welcome aboard show - one bonus for him is a few days of peace and quiet since the guests don't know him yet, so don't all pay him lots of attention anytime he's in public.  I'm not so lucky - after the welcome aboard show everyone recognizes me since I'm the only girl in the band and its such a small theater, AND because the show is recorded and played on one of the ship television channels for the next three days straight.  And so I get to experience something I never thought I would - people telling me,  "I saw you on T.V!!"  I get to be famous here in my little cruise ship world.  :-)

Transition to Bermuda!

Apologies for not posting sooner!  It has been a pretty exciting but busy transition into the Bermuda run.  Before I start talking about Bermuda, let me fill you in on a few highlights of last week, our final week in the Bahamas.  Because winds were too high for the pilots to operate our tender boats, we unfortunately had to skip Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's island.  Instead we were left with an extra day at sea, which went by very slowly, especially since our one and only set of the night wasn't until 10:45pm.  We played later sets this week in order to cover more of the main lounges, since we were down a lounge act as I mentioned in my last post.  But, the late night set was very well received and really fun to do.  We performed in a different venue as well, and a change of scenery is always nice, especially when the sound is much better in that new location.  (I wish we always played there!)  Unfortunately this week we are back to our old haunts.

The biggest highlight of the week was the following day in Nassau.  I finally got over to visit the famous Atlantis resort, and wow....I was impressed.  It really is a gorgeous place.  Not only did I walk around and take pictures, visit the in-lobby aquarium, and lounge at the beaches and pools (where they were filming some kind of movie or maybe bowling competition??), but I sprung for a dolphin swim though the shore excursions team.  It was expensive, but so worth it!!  I went with my friend Erin, an Australian girl who works on the youth staff. We had an absolute blast!  We swam with the dolphins in deep water, touched, hugged and kissed them, saw them do tricks, got a high five, and to top it all off got a "foot push".   This is where you lay on a boogie board, a dolphin swims up behind you, puts his nose on your foot and pushes you at full speed through the water, just like riding a wave!  It was an incredible experience.  

In our last Freeport the next day I finally got off the ship, for the first and last time on Grand Bahama Island.  Usually our schedule doesn't allow us enough time to go anywhere since it is a half hour cab ride into town, but because of our rearranged schedule I was finally able to get off and have a look around.  10 of us went to the main little town and to the beach.  A highlight of the day was watching locals prepare "conch salad" by removing the mussels from the big conch shells.  I also tried "conch fritters" out of the same stuff, which were definitely an interesting treat, although there was enough greasy fried breading on them to make anything taste good.  

In our last Port Canaveral I went out with friends for a lunch of chinese food, followed by an afternoon of Wal-Mart shopping to prepare for the coming weeks in Bermuda.  I was keenly aware of the fact that I won't be seeing another Wal-Mart until we reposition to Baltimore at the end of the month, and made the most of my last opportunity. 

So! On to Bermuda!!  After leaving Charleston at 4pm on Saturday, we don't get into Bermuda until Monday at 2pm.  That's almost 48 hours of travel at sea.  When we were finally arriving, a lot of my friends and I (along with basically every single guest...) went up onto the top deck to watch our first arrival into Bermuda.   In order to dock, the Majesty must pass through a very narrow channel to enter into the harbor, known as "the cut".  There are only a few feet of space on either side, and it is a really interesting moment in the arrival.  

Bermuda is absolutely gorgeous.  The weather is warm and perfect, the beaches are breathtaking, and the town is right next to the ship.  I love it!  I'll write more about it in a couple of days!!!  (I've already typed so much about last week....) 

Countdown to Bermuda

Today we begin our last cruise through the Bahamas, and I will have to say my goodbyes to Nassau, Freeport, Great Stirrup Cay (the private island) and Port Canaveral.  I'm a little bit sad - I especially liked being in Florida, but we are all getting really excited for Bermuda.  Three overnights in a row - we will have so many chances to get off the ship and organize outings.  

But we're not there yet!  I plan to wear myself out this week, doing as much as I possibly can in all the ports and taking all the pictures I've been meaning to take for a while.   

Last cruise I kept myself pretty busy as well.  I helped out in the kids center again, and now have my own NCL kids crew T-shirt, which my favorite kid from last week signed.  Besides helping out Stacey up there, I did something else new - helping with the Park West art auctions.  They always need an assistant to register the bidders and then to record the auction as it happens, writing down sales and such.  It was actually really fun to do - I also learned a lot about art as I was working.  And did I mention it pays?  Yep, ten bucks an hour - a great way to help offset the money I spent shopping in Port Canaveral last Thursday (a lot). :-) 

This next cruise, starting today is also going to be really different than anything we've done before.  We are missing a lounge act (solo guitarist had to go home), so all the scheduling is going to be different than before.  Up until now we have done the same thing on each respective day of the week, and I always knew exactly what my day would consist of on any given Tuesday or Friday or whenever.  This week it will be a surprise day to day, playing in new venues and at different times.  Its nice to have a change, really, despite the fact that it will be a bit more work this week.  

Sea World!

Here's a few photos for you!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080335&l=dda8d91b82&id=56903845

On Thursday in Orlando five of us took off early in the morning on the way to Sea World!!  We rented a car and Brett drove...actually I should say "hired" a car since I was with four English people and that's how they say it.   I was with Andy, Brett, Francesca (dancer), and Claire (concierge).  We made it to Sea World by 10:15am, and had a really amazing, full day there.  Highlights for me were the two shows we saw, one with dolphins, tropical birds, and aerial acrobats, and another with Shamu and fellow orcas.  It was so nice to get away and do something so remarkable for the day.  But, we did pay for it....we got back to the ship just before sound check, had barely enough time to change before the show, and had a full night of the high-energy show "On the Radio" before finishing at 11pm.   Believe me by then all I felt like doing was snuggling up in bed and watching a little T.V. before falling asleep.  

There have been a few blessings for me this week which I'd like to mention.  Yesterday was the last sea day of the cruise, and this week Andy organized a guest talent show.  We were involved in a couple of the acts, but the best one by far was the final woman, who sang How Great Thou Art with so much passion that it made almost everyone cry.  Seeing her worship with her incredible, huge voice and her face and smile was so encouraging.  Another blessing I had this week was this past Easter Sunday - a pastor came on the ship and gave an Easter morning service, which I really enjoyed.  He also made a point to find me later on in the cruise and encourage me to stay strong here on the ship.  Thank you, God!!

Fifteen Minutes Before Showtime

Five nights a week the showband lives and performs in the Palace Theatre, a smallish cabaret-like venue on Deck Six aft, which seats about four hundred and fifty people.  I start getting ready about 45 minutes before the show, showering and deciding on my black outfit du jour, sometimes taking the time to put on some makeup to avoid 'glowing in the dark' so to speak, in the spotlights.  

Our call time is at least fifteen minutes before showtime, although sometimes a few of us are there a bit early warming up.   The backstage area isn't connected to the stage where we perform, so when we show up for our call, we are already on stage, behind a curtain.  That space is barely big enough for the entire band, and we live together within that oval created by the back wall and the front curtain for fifteen minutes before every show, twice a night, 5 nights a week.   The horn line always stands for every show, so if the curtain ever closes you can bet we've all put our horns down and are crashed out, sitting or laying on the ground for 5 or 10 minutes, however long the break is.  So here's a picture of our typical night:

Andy arrives about 20 minutes before showtime, but after getting set up backstage he goes out front to do "doors" - welcoming guests as they arrive in the theatre.  Alex arrives first, sitting in his back corner running some bass licks.  John Mason might arrive second, usually with Jon Kratzer, who warms up on trumpet while Mason sits at the piano and accompanies himself while singing random songs in a high voice.  I arrive next, and play through a few warmup exercises, before running through any tricky stuff coming up in that night's show.  About halfway through my noise-making, Alejandro and Tim wander in and sit at the guitar and drums, respectively.  I have to take a break in playing to let them squeeze by me.  I finish warming up and running stuff, and sit down on the floor, back leaning against the bingo machine (covered in a bright blue cloth) that is my constant right-hand man on any night in the theatre.  About the same time I sit down, Alejandro starts strumming a rhythmic groove on guitar, or Alex starts playing a funky bassline.  Tim finds an appropriate drumbeat, and the three of them groove together pretty loudly for about 5 or 10 minutes.  Occasionally the rest of us join in and improv along.  Sometimes its an actual song we all know, sometimes its just a fun groove.  About three minutes to showtime, Andy comes backstage.  The first thing he says is "Oh, shut up" in his British accent, which the trio reluctantly do, followed by, "lets do it, guys." Or, "same crap again, guys" for the second show.  I make sure my music is all ready to go, put my headphones on and adjust the volume, and make sure my spit valve is empty one last time.  There's about a 20 second calm before the storm, then the house lights go down, house music fades out, curtain opens, and we're on.   

Great Stirrup Cay and volunteering

Great Stirrup Cay is Norwegian Cruise Line's own private island in the Bahamas, which we visit every week.  Its right next to Royal Caribbean's island, and several others, but its all ours. Its about half a mile wide, 3 miles long, and has enough facilities to make it comfortable for guests, like bathrooms, beach chairs and umbrella's, hammocks, picnic tables, a buffet, a bar, and any kind of water activity you can imagine, from snorkeling to parasailing.   We can't dock there, so we have to use tender boats to get ashore, which are usually crowded.  The trick is to go on the early morning crew tender that is loaded up with all the supplies needed for the day (food, drinks, ice, etc).  That way you have a guaranteed ride over and you beat all the guests there.  Last time we were there I did some exploring on my own around the island, before settling on the beach for a while.  It really has a lot of vegetation and wildlife, and is a neat little place.  Next week I plan to hike to the old lighthouse, which is about 2 miles away on the far end of the island.  

This week there are a lot of younger kids on board, over 500 under 18.  The youth team, led by my wonderful roommate Stacey, find themselves a bit understaffed, needless to say.  Since I don't work a lot of hours, I offered to help here and there, if Stacey needed an extra pair of hands.  Now, all the youth team have nicknames with the kids, summercamp style, to make things easier.  (To give you an idea, some of their names are: Sunshine, Acorn, Jello, Scooter, Cricket, Spacey) They have only these nicknames even on their official NCL nametags, and often just call each other those names all the time, even when off duty.  I was told I needed to pick a nickname to go by with the kids, and that it should start with the same letter as my name.   I am excited to announce that I now have a nametag that says....Abracadabra!  Ha ha....I really get a kick out of hearing the kids call me that, and I've been having a blast helping out this week.  Last night I went to a kid's dinner with them and sat with a couple tables of kids, and they were absolutely tons of fun and so hilarious.  Every five seconds or so one of them would want my attention, and yell, "Hey Abracadabra! Did you know...."  I was just grinning all night.  And I've convinced them that it is my real name, because my parents are actually both magicians with their own magic show and named me after their magic word.  :-)  Its so much fun...I can see why people become kindergarten teachers, mom! :-) 

Andrea goes to the races.

I had absolutely no idea what I was in for when I got off the ship this morning in Charleston.  Almost immediately after leaving I started to see scattered people in running gear, some with numbers pinned to their shirts.  As I got closer to King Street, things got more and more packed with people, to the point where it was almost impossible to move around on the streets.  Unawares, I was heading toward the finish line of the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10k event that had almost 40,000 people running.  No kidding.  After safely ensconcing myself in Caviar and Bananas (the coffee shop...just to clarify), I looked the race up online. It's here: The 32nd Cooper River Bridge Run and Expo | TheDigitel.com I had no idea it was such a big deal.  Charleston is a bit of an exciting mess today, with so many people everywhere, runners who have finished the race relaxing in every corner and in every café, the streets littered with paper water cups, and more pairs of Nike's than I've ever seen in one place.  I spoke with one middle-aged runner who had just finished the race.  She does it every year since it falls near her birthday, as a celebration of another year of living and good health.  After successfully completing the race today, she plans to go home and drink copious amounts of vodka until she passes out, then sleep the rest of the day.   Hmmm.  

This has been a week of running into the unexpected.  Besides the race today, last Thursday I was walking in Cocoa Beach, Port Canaveral, and turned the corner to find a huge marching band giving an outdoor concert at a Ron Jon surf shop.  I couldn't believe my good luck!! I love marching bands.  They were a high school band from Beaver City, Ohio, on their spring break tour.  This was their last concert after spending the week around Florida at all the Disney Parks and Universal.  What luck to turn the corner and catch them performing!  And I tell you what - they were REALLY good.  Drum corp good.  It gave me warm fuzzies to watch them, made me miss my marching and drum corp daysm and brought back memories of going on that same Disneyworld band trip 6 years ago.  I just loved it....how lucky was that?  

Anyway, today is an absolutely GORGEOUS day in Charleston, and I'm going to head over to a park to sit and soak it in, while making my weekly phone calls.  Today begins another new cruise, with a new pianist I have yet to meet.  Hopefully this will be the last change of band members for the rest of my contract.   His name is John, and I look forward to meeting him later this afternoon.  

Cape Canaveral

Good morning everyone!  Today I decided to spend the day on my own, exploring a bit and running errands.  I had my first payday this week, and today I found a Bank of America that is really easy to get to, which will make depositing my money really easy and safer than it usually is on my contracts. No more mailing money orders or hoarding cash for months at a time.  I'm also hoping to track down a Ross to do a little shopping later today, since we are allowed to wear our own "smart casual" clothes around the ship and I didn't bring very much with me.  

Last night was Brett Cave's main show, and I must admit I just really enjoy doing it.  Its now my third week performing his show, and I still love it.  I think I owe my enjoyment to the fact that you honestly never know what's going to happen during his show. There's a lot of spontaneity involved, despite the fact that he has the show planned out word for word.  We always end up departing from that norm at some point or another.  I also genuinely enjoy the music, and last night was another moment where I just smiled to myself onstage all night thinking how lucky I am.  What a wonderful job I have!  

Rain, rain....

Its shaping up to be a rainy week here in paradise.  When we pulled out of Charleston just after my last post, the weather really took a turn for the worst - we sailed right into a thunderstorm. There was a ton of lightening, which you could see from any window on the ship, and sheets of rain all night.  Needless to say the ship was rocking quite a bit, and the following sea day was pretty interesting as well.  The cast really thought about canceling the show, but the seas calmed down enough for us to go ahead with it after all.   By the way, the show is called "Standing Room Only" and is just your basic collage of famous broadway show excerpts.   I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of it before I leave, although I might feel differently after I'm in my second month of playing through it twice a week.  

I've started giving trombone lessons to Brett Cave, the guest entertainer.  He wants to put a multi-instrumental aspect into his show, and trombone is the only instrument he doesn't know.  So having my second trombone around is really coming in handy - its living in his room at the moment.  I haven't taught a trombone lesson since I was in high school, and its been fun for me - especially since he learns quickly, being an accomplished musician already.  

Today we are in Nassau, Bahamas, and the rainy theme continues. On rainy days you can count on a lot of crew just spending the day on their laptops in Starbucks, which is where I am right now.  Almost the whole entertainment department is here, drinking hot coffee and staying out of the rain, fighting for bandwidth.  Earlier this afternoon half a dozen of us went out to lunch at Señor Frog's, a famous mexican food restaurant on the water.  They have some good food, but it got a bit pricey so I think that will be my one time splurging for a meal there.  Cursed social eating!!  It was a lot of fun though - they make you balloon animal hats and have karaoke and games going on all the time.  My friend Mark (dancer, Scottish) won one of the games and got a free drink out of it.  

Tonight we have our swing set again with singers - Sarah who sings in the cast and Mark who is dance captain (mentioned above) but also sings.  They will be trading off doing some traditional big band songs.  Mark covers the rat pack (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.) and Sarah covers everything else.  Its very casual and relaxed - probably our easiest night of the cruise.   We only play one set, for about an hour, and we don't rehearse it anymore.  Just show up and play, then done for the night.  I think its the closest thing we'll have to a night off.  Although, we did just get a ventriloquist on, who I've worked with before, who uses the band basically just for his play-on and play-off music.  So during the show I'll be sitting behind the curtain reading a book.  Technically that will be a lighter night for me, with a lot less playing than the swing set, but because of the setup it will be a much longer time commitment - I'll be working in 20 second spurts all evening, from 7:15pm to 11:00pm.  Such is the life....:-)

Week 3 begins...

Today I'm in Charleston, hanging out with one of the cruise staff, a new friend of mine named Teal.  She and I have really connected and been hanging out and talking a bit.  She took me to her favorite hangout - a place called Caviar and Bananas.  Yep, there's free wifi, you guessed it.  Its a neat place, with everything from coffee to groceries, a bistro and a salad bar, and yes, caviar and bananas.  

Last night was a fun night.  It was our original drummer Jeremy's last night on the ship, so we all went out to the restaurant for a nice dinner between shows.   The new drummer is Tim, a British guy who was here before, and is dating one of the dancers in the cast.  We also got a guitarist today, Alejandro.  I'm excited to play with a guitarist in the band!  He used to be here as well, a few months ago.  We also get a couple of new acts, losing the comedians we've had on board for week and weeks.  

After the shows I was getting ready for bed when the big announcement was made - we were"go" for movie night!  Apparently its a tradition to sneak  up into the kids center (we aren't allowed in guest areas after 2am) where there is a big screen T.V. and all watch a movie.  Last night was Twilight, which just came out on video recently and all the girls on staff were dying to see.  So we watched it up there all together in out p.j.'s sitting on beanbags and the floor (Bring Your Own Pillow), and had a blast.  But as a result I didn't get to bed until after 3am...and I'm pretty tired.  Ready for a new cruise to begin today!!!  Ha ha.

Flying by

I can't believe a week has gone by already!  We are two days into my second cruise.  Playing the broadway show was definitely easier the second time.  Brett Cave still gave me a hard time during his show.  We are officially friends now - he had the band over to his cabin for free room service the other night. :-)  (We don't get room service, ever.  So it was a treat for us!!) But I'm pretty sure not a show of his will go by without him saying something to me during the show.  Because he plays at the welcome aboard show, his show, and the farewell show, we are performing with him three nights a week, and he's on for another month.  Its a good thing I like him, right? 

I discovered that in Port Canaveral you can pay $7 for a daypass on a bus service pretty much designed for crew.  It stops at all the ships, WalMart, the mall, an internet café, and Bank of America, and Ross.  Basically everywhere a crew member would need to go.  Its not a bad deal really - you can ride it all day.  The mall has a movie theatre, so I have already scouted out where and when I will be seeing Star Trek when it comes out!!  Woohoo!  I'm such a nerd, I know.  Brett Cave tells me that being a Trekkie is actually really hip and cool in England (He's from London).  Maybe I should move there.  I'd be cool in England.  

The other night after the welcome aboard show, I went up to the passenger gym, since its normally empty after 10pm and we're allowed there until 2am.  A couple of college guys wandered in, likely lost their way from the disco, which is right next door.  Apparently they were sitting in the seats right near the stage, and recognized me from the show.  They were pretty nice and asked when I was playing next, which was the broadway show.  They did end up coming, and sat over in the same area, which I found out after glancing over that way at one point and seeing a couple of guys waving frantically at me.  I couldn't help but laugh.  So apparently I have some fans. :-) I'm not complaining. Good looking fans are the best kind, in case you're wondering. 

Tonight is a relatively easy night, with just one set of Dixieland (my favorite!!).  We did have a rehearsal though, which we wouldn't normally, on account of the New Guy on trumpet.  His name is John, and he lives in the states, although he's originally from Germany, and speaks with more of a British accent than anything else.  He's in his mid-twenties, I'd guess.  This being his first ship, a lot of things are catching him by surprise, but I think he'll be alright in the long run.  He just needs a couple of weeks to figure things out.  Since we have weeklong cruises we are repeating all the same music, so I'm sure he'll catch on to everything pretty soon.  

Spring Break

Ok, so I've heard the stories about college kids going wild for spring break, but I've never experienced it firsthand until now.   Since we sail out of Charleston, we get a ton of college students on for their spring breaks.  Last week was apparently the craziest - I've been hearing some ridiculous stories about it - there were over 1500 college kids on, out of 1800 guests.  I should have figured it out when I was waiting to get on the ship for the first time, and almost everyone coming off the ship had a shirt with greek letters on it.  Yikes. This week there are only about 1,000 and next week will be even less, but it is still nuts.  Basically they all just drink all day and night until they pass out, they are always on deck partying, crammed in the hot tubs, making TONS of noise, packing out the disco, making out in public, trying to hook up with each other constantly, etc.  

Last night the showband played a pop set for the St. Patrick's Day deck party.  It was packed, everyone was dancing and having a great time and enjoying the band, which made it pretty fun for us to play up there.  But college students + spring break + St. Patrick's Day = general mayhem.  One particularly inebriated kid liked the band and singers so much (they sang on wireless handheld mics, dancing through the crowd) that he bought all of us two rounds of drinks.  There were 15 or 20 of us, so he has to have spent a lot of money....I bet he regrets it today.  :-)

Tonight we was our only guest entertainer show of the cruise.  His name is Brett Cave, and he sings and plays piano.  He's been on the ship for weeks, and knows everyone in the band pretty well except me.  Tonight at the first show he would not stop picking on me!  For example, he has the guests sing, repeating after him, and then he came over to me and said, "Andrea! Let's hear you do it, darlin', all by yourself!" So I did....ha ha.  He kept directing comments at me the whole show and giving me a hard time.  It was pretty funny....but he is definitely getting a punch in the arm next time I see him.  This is what comes of being the new girl...and the only girl.....with goofy guest entertainers.   It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks of doing his show will go.  Maybe he'll pick on the NEW new guy next week, ha ha.  And speaking of spring break - near the end of the second show a very drunk girl came up on stage asking Brett if she could turn pages for him.  Yeah, about that...he doesn't use any music.  He was a good sport and let her sit on the bench next to him for the last song.  She kept randomly waving her arms in the air and shouting "Woo!!!  Spring Break 2009!! Woohoo!!!"  Wow.  I was embarrassed for her.  

   But don't worry everyone!  In a week this craziness will be over, and we'll be back to our usual groups of calm, older people.