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