Ports and In Port Manning

On the Queen Elizabeth, there is a rule that a certain amount of crew must be on board at any one time, in case of an emergency. This translates to "In Port Manning" or IPM for us - there is a set rotation so that one in every seven ports you must stay on board and be assigned a specific IPM emergency duty, possibly different to your usual one, in order to make sure every important position is covered in case something were to happen while we're docked requiring action on our parts. Yesterday I was assigned IPM, but my boss Tim was staying on board and offered to cover it for me. It is quite easy to switch your IPM or even pay someone to do it if you really want to get off in a particular port in which you happen to have IPM. Some companies don't require IPM at all, some only require it from key personnel, and some require it as often as every 3 ports. So one in 7 really isn't bad, especially with it being so easy to switch to get out of it. Some random info for you there.

So anyway, my boss was nice enough to cover my IPM, so I went ashore on my own in Messina. I've been there before so I felt comfortable on my own. I did some shopping and then sat in an outside café with some espresso and read a book on my kindle (a lifesaver!! really loving it!) for a while. On my way back I passed by a café where lo and behold, two friends from past contracts were sitting. At first I didn't believe my eyes, but this really is the only job in the world where you can expect something like running into your buddy Tony the Swedish guitarist from the Rhapsody, and Jordan the English shoppie from the Voyager, while walking around in Sicily. It was great to see them both, such a nice surprise to catch up with them! They are both working on the Navigator of the Seas, a Royal ship that was docked with us that day. Love this life….

Today we were in Cephalonia, a Greek Island. It is a really beautiful sunny place, and man, was it hot. Despite the heat, I walked and explored a lot with Christy and Adrian, even climbing up a big hill so we could see a view of the other side of the island. We did a bit of essential (and some arguably non-essential) shopping, sat for a while at a café to cool off (I had fresh squeezed orange juice….yum) then headed back to the ship.

Oh, the other night for one of the guest acts I got to play Michael Buble's version of Cry Me a River - which has been one of my favorites for a while now! So exciting to be able to actually play the arrangement and rock out!!

Oh also - I am now famous (or infamous) on board because for some reason my crew pass didn't scan properly when I returned to the ship yesterday. They thought I wasn't on board, announced my name over the P.A. (which I didn't hear since I was already in rehearsal), thought they were going to have to leave me behind, and finally called my supervisor (Tim) who turned around to look at me with a funny look on his face, then replied in an amused tone that I was sitting right behind him. :-)

First few days on the QE

Last night we played a show called "Sing!", featuring as you might guess, the 4 singers on board. No dancers are involved in the show, it is strictly a vocal showcase. The neat thing about it is that Cunard has taken advantage of all the musicians on board and combined them into one group for this one show only. So the Royal Court Theatre Orchestra, plus the horns and keys from the Queen's Room band, plus the string quartet and harpist combine to form a 19-piece orchestra. It is really a brilliant idea - its a shame more ships don't take advantage of their musicians this way. The show itself is rather simple, but it is so nice to play in a big band, and especially to have an actual trombone section! Or, at least 2 of us, if that counts as a section. The other trombonist from the Queen's Room band is Jeremy, a guy from San Francisco, who plays well. The Queen's Room band is basically the same make-up as our group, but play dance music every night in the Queen's Room, which is a big ballroom with a beautiful high ceiling. There are several formal balls every voyage, and on this cruiseline the people really come to dance. There are even four gentleman dance hosts every voyage who get a free cruise in exchange for asking ladies to dance all night. Not a bad job, if you know your ballroom styles.

I checked out the guest gym finally, and boy is it high-tech and well equipped. All of the treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes have 17" touch screens, an iPod jack, USB plugin, headphone jack, tray for personal belongings, cup holder, and the treadmills even have little adjustable vents that cool your face with air as you run, should you so desire. Wow. Besides those, the gym really has anything you can imagine to help a workout, like those balancing balls, bosu balls, mats, punching bag and gloves, weights, rowing machines, and who knows what else. It is very nice to be on a brand new ship, I must say.

My first port of call was Cadiz, Spain. I went out with Adrian (trumpet) and Christy to walk around town. We sat at a café in the main square for a coffee, right next to the big central cathedral. I tried a vegetable paella, which was fantastic. After that we walked to the other side of town and out to a fortress and back, visited a local market, and logged over 8 kilometers according to Christy's GPS. It was a great day to be off the ship and in the sun of Southern Spain!