A Week of Firsts, and a Week of Lasts.

Last week was full of some successful sightseeing, and doing some of the things I've meant to do since we arrived in the Caribbean. In Costa Maya, my friend Mike and I went out to see the Mayan ruins of Chacchoben, which consist of several temples. We were pretty much the only ones there, it was a bit drizzly, so we had the place to ourselves. Since no-one was watching, we got to jump the ropes and get an adrenaline rush illegally climbing to the tops of all the pyramids. Don't tell the Mexican government, please. It was awesome.

Then in Roatan, Honduras, a group of 7 of us went on a zip-line course through the jungle. That was a blast....the first jump was the hardest as we had to get a running start off the platform and launch ourselves into the air 328 feet above the ground. I definitely got some butterflies and let out a little scream as I went, but wow what an amazing feeling. It was great to be with a group of my friends as well, away from the ship having fun. The jungle canopy was beautiful, and there were some amazing views to be had from the tops of the hills. On our way back, we were shocked enough by the sight of an Applebees in Honduras that we stopped there for lunch. Well, my friends did....I will admit that I instead ran down the block for a chocolate frosty and meal at Wendy's, and brought it back to sit with my friends in the restaurant. Give me a break, I haven't had a frosty in 6 months! I couldn't resist.

In Cozumel, I got to meet up with an old friend of mine, Danny Silver, who I grew up with in Lake Arrowhead. He and his wife of thee years Nickole were sailing on the Freedom of the Seas, which docks next to us on Fridays. I haven't seen him for about 5 years, so it was great to catch up. And once again recognize what a small world we live in.

One final highlight of last week: Waffles on the bridge with Captain Patrik. The Captain likes to have a little party every week on the bridge for every crew member celebrating a birthday, and for any 2 stripe officers who would like to attend (officially all staff have 2 stripes). I haven't been to the bridge since my first week, and this being Captain Patrik's last week I really wanted to attend. Patrik has been on the Voyager for 2 years, and he will be transferred to the Navigator next week. He has been a great Captain, and really seems to care about the crew. Whenever I happen to be in an elevator with him, he always chats to everyone who is there, asking the cleaners and waiters about their work and their day. I like him a lot. Anyway, they make fresh waffles right there on the bridge, and have a table with all the fixings. I got my waffle, and a picture with the Captain on the bridge. Afterwards I wandered around a little and met Nick, a Bulgarian officer who was on watch, and he showed me around the controls and explained the readouts to me, which was really neat. I sat in the Captain's chair and everything. :-) He also demonstrated how to turn on the spinning radar machine in the front of the ship which you can see from the bridge, and then let me turn it off. I got a kick out of that....nothing beats pushing buttons on the bridge. I loved it.

Today I begin my last week on the Voyager. My "last" everything begins today. Last boat drill, last welcome aboard show, last Captain's Reception, etc. I plan to have a great time with my friends this week, hopefully enjoy doing some new things in the ports as well. I sent another box home today as promised....along with my jacket. Its a nice day today in Galveston, and here's hoping its another warm one when I sign off next week!

The Extended Smith Family

Hello world! I can't believe I only have 2 weeks left on board! I haven't started properly packing yet, but I did mail home a box of stuff today, which felt really good. A pile of clothes, shoes, and books that can wait for me at home, as I really don't need them anymore. I had meant to send home my jacket as well, but this morning Galveston greeted me with a freezing cold front, and I changed my mind. Maybe I'll send it home next week.

I promised I would tell you how the show went with Bold and the Beautiful's Jeff Trachta - and the honest truth (hope he never reads this) is that he is one of those acts that is simply riding on his celebrity status, with no real quality at all. There is plenty of razzle-dazzle, enough to put stars in the eyes of most of the audience members. Only a few people had the decency and dignity to walk out. I certainly wish I could have been one of them. Instead I was stuck with the rest of the band, unseen behind a screen, doubling a horrible clickless backing track for three tunes, and twiddling my thumbs for the remaining 40 minutes of the show. I'm sure there have been times when I have felt just as, if not more, useless - but none of them come to mind.

Lucky for me this week had a redeeming quality - I met an amazing family from Houston on my first day this week, and had the good luck to keep seeing them throughout the week and getting to know them a bit. They are also a Smith family, so I was right at home with this young couple and their two girls, and their grandparents. Towards the end of the week they invited me to come out for a drink with them, and we chatted for a couple of hours. They were really wonderful, and so great to talk to all week. I felt adopted! I only have that kind of experience with guests once in a contract, if ever. So this week was my week!! I had so much fun with them, and hope they come on another cruise with me sometime.

Goodbyes, expected and otherwise.

Today the ice cast that have been here since I signed on are heading home. My 6 month contract began and will end only 3 weeks off from theirs, we came almost together so it is strange to see them leave. A few are staying on another month or so, including my friend Arthur, so that is one nice thing. The new cast has already been here (along with company people and choreographers), rehearsing, for the past 2 weeks, getting to know the small ice rink and the props and costumes for the show. They had a dress rehearsal last night, performing the show for the departing cast and some of us. I have met a few of them and made a couple of friends already, although I won't be around for much of their contract. I look forward to seeing them in the show this week.

Some other goodbyes today: one expected - a youth staff guy I signed on with finished his contract, while I still have weeks left. Grrr. :-) The unexpected goodbyes?? Last week we had a few incidents with people in our division, and a couple of people were sent home today. Two dancers were sent home for being caught over the alcohol limit, and a sports staff girl, one of my best friends on board, was sent home for bringing her visiting guest friend to the crew bar. (Yes, they can actually fire you for something like that, silly as it is). I really did not expect them to fire her and was pretty shocked to find out this morning and have to say goodbye. Another reminder that this is a ship, and nothing and no one is permanent. It was a bit of a hard morning all around for our division.

This week we have more Celebrities for our headliner entertainment. The Scintas are a Las Vegas family act, and are actually pretty cool people. They were very patient with sound issues, of which we still have more than our share. I enjoyed myself during their show, and look forward to doing it again tomorrow. Then later this week we back up the actor Jeff Trachta, former star of the Bold and the Beautiful, in his solo act, which should be interesting. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes. I think its either Thursday or Friday night. Thus begins week 3 in the countdown!!

More technical difficulties

Starting week 4 in my countdown!! This week is the beginning of the spring break season, which if you work in a resort like a cruise ship lasts for a good month and a half, instead of a decent week as it should be. This week we have 300 kids, doubled from last week, and around 200 college age kids. Next week that number will be more like 1000 kids and 500 college aged kids. So here we go!!

Last week we had a brand new sound engineer, again. The company must really be hurting for good sound engineers. This one is a very nice girl from England, but has been making so many obvious mistakes over and over again that we are all a bit frustrated, especially when it means even more extra rehearsal time as it will again this week. Things like forgetting to turn on the track, forgetting to play recording, forgetting to turn the singers' mics on again and again in time for their entrances, and forgetting to turn them off when they've left the stage again. Maybe I have been spoiled with sound techs in the past, but it seems like these are pretty easy things to correct, and it just gets me when the same mistakes are made at a tech run, then again in the first show, and a third time in the second show. Everyone makes mistakes, but professionalism means you don't make the same ones three times in a row. Anyway, enough of my rant - I'm really just bitter about the extra rehearsals her lack of experience is causing the band. For example, tomorrow we have a full tech run of the production show, followed by another half hour of sound work just with the orchestra and singers, followed by an hour Captain's Welcome Big Band set, followed by the two shows. It will be a really long night for us, playing-wise, and I know the shows will probably suffer due to tired chops. Oh well. Such is life, and new sound techs.

As for our new/old sax player who was supposed to return today - whoops! Too much snow in Poland for him to leave Gdansk, so not only will I need to continue doing the Assistant Musical Director job another week (I really don't mind), but we'll also have no alto sax player this week. Which means I get moved up to the fron row on the bandstand! Woohoo! Just kidding....I like hanging out with the trumpets in the back, I feel more like I'm part of a brass section. So anyway should make for an interesting week in the Voyager of the Seas 9 pie- uhhh...8 piece Orchestra.

News!

Hello faithful readers!!! Its the unfaithful author here... :-)

I have been waiting for news on my next contract, and it finally came last week. I was asked where I wanted to go, and there was really only one RCCL ship that really interested me. If I couldn't have it I wasn't going to sign up to return to RCCL, I was going to stay at home and pursue other options, and maybe other cruise lines. I figured I would ask for it, not really expecting to get it. I was told it was nearly impossible because that itinerary is the talk of the crew, and there is quite a waiting list to get the ship, but I requested it anyway, figuring it couldn't hurt. And, unbelievably, I got the ship!!! It happened to open up right after my brother Tyler's wedding, giving me a solid two and a half months at home and fitting perfectly with my schedule. The odds of that happening are pretty astronomical - I can't believe it worked out.

The ship? RCCL's Rhapsody of the Seas. The itinerary? Alaska out of Seattle, a trans-Pacific crossing, Hawaii, Fiji, the South Pacific, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. Um, wow!!!!! I am so excited!! I was also so happy to learn that one of my two favorite people from this contract, my friend Daniel, will be on the same ship for the first 4 months of my contract. Hooray! And while I do feel the weight of having committed to "ships" for basically another year of my life, I honestly can't think of anyplace I'd rather be. (besides home with you, Mom, of course) :-)

In other news, 4 more weeks to go!! I'll be home soon!! I only have to survive the next month of crazy Texan spring-breakers I know are coming our way starting Sunday. Yikes.