Written by Greg | 29 July 2008

Well I got to sleep in today - didn't have to work until 10, so that's pretty special. I hosted a wide variety of activities today, from darts to a pillow fight by the pool, to a volleyball game of me and the dance cast versus some guests, which was a ton of fun. We played for almost 2 hours so of course I am now sporting a blinding red face. Unfortunately the game was a bit tarnished by a guest who was acting like a big dick the whole time. He was taking the game a bit too seriously, and throwing some uncalled for comments towards the cast. And then at the end of the game, he came up to me and said "So are we going to have a game sometime where just the paying guests can play? I don't think it's very fucking fair that you guys only had to rotate 3 extra players, while we had to rotate a whole line of us."
I told him that the whole point of the event was to interact with the cast in a different way than just seeing them on stage.
"Well maybe I'll just have to talk to someone about it."
"Yeah, maybe you should."

Then in the evening I watched one of the guest entertainers, who was a pianist. It was an hour of Chopin, and while listening to him, all dressed up in my tux, I couldn't help but reflect on life. As a new chapter begins, I think I can safely say I'm out of that year long "down" and back to where I want/need to be.

And today was payday too, so bonus!

Written by Greg | 27 July 2008

7am, and I found myself reflecting on my experience so far. One of the upsides to getting up so early to do the gangway is that the gangway is right beside the mess, so I can grab some bacon, sausages and orange juice to start my day.

As I walked into the gangway area, licking bacon grease from my lips, I saw the most beautiful thing coming towards me - it was security pulling my suitcase behind him!

I quickly took it back to my cabin, threw it open to find my suits crumpled to hell of course, but more importantly, slid on a fresh pair of boxers and socks. Hurray!

It's been a slow day today, with not many people showing up to activities, as most of them are in Rome. This wasn't a bad thing, as Andrea and I were able to  shoot the shit for a while, which we don't get to do much. And I can't get over just saying "Hmm, let's grab a burger or a taco." or "Fancy a drink?" and just wandering to wherever and picking one up. I hardly ever go to the mess - screw scheduled meals!

And now it's 6:30 and I'm waiting for tonight's Toga Party. I've unpacked, finally did my hair properly and now I'm online typing out this entry. And did I mention I'm doing it from my cabin? Wireless Internet baby!

Written by Greg | 27 July 2008

At 7am, I was up to help the guests off the ship and point them towards taxis and buses. When that was done with, it was time for more training. Have I mentioned how monotonous the training is? It's just a heavily accented guy saying statement/questions like "Don't throw chemicals down the........toilet." and "If there's a fire, you call the.....bridge." as if he expected us to jump in and answer for him.

As with the previous port days, I've been shadowing one of the girls for each of the events. The way the port days work is one person is on duty and runs some events during the day, while the other 3 have the day off until 5pm, then at 5, the person on duty has the rest of the night off. This rotates daily. So I've been stuck working all day every day, and will continue to do so until the end of the cruise - so I can learn how to do each of the activities myself.

Read more...

Written by Greg | 27 July 2008

Up at 6:45 to coordinate the guests onto the tenders (little boats that take them to shore when there's no dock for the ship), which took about an hour and a half. Some more training, hopped a tender and then stepped foot on familiar ground - Villefranche. Since I found out this morning that my luggage was not meeting me here, but in Rome instead (two more fucking days), I decided to try to find some boxers as I was currently going commando while my boxers were drying in the shower.
But more importantly, my first step was to my favorite little multicultural culinary retreat to get some Vietnamese Rare Beef Noodle Soup. With every slurp of it's wondrous spiciness, a bit more of the stresses of the last week faded away. I finished my meal and then watched people scurry in and out of the little streets and shops of this beautiful town nestled on a hill on the shores of France.

Read more...

Written by Greg | 27 July 2008

What?? get up at 7am? Ugh..... My day started with a quick walk around of our areas (card room, sports deck, library) to make sure everything was ready for the upcoming day at sea.

The first activity of the day was basketball.We played two on two against to older guys and got our asses served to us on a platter.

The rest of the day consisted of training and various activities like trivia, darts, ping pong and mini golf. When the evening came, we did a quick game of bingo, then I made my way through the catwalks of the theatre to do the spotlights for the production shows. Through the headset, the stage manager would give me the heads up for each lighting cue and stage direction.
 "Get ready for a half body shot of Fred at full intensity." crackles the stage manager.
"Who the hell is Fred?" came my response.
"The guy with the ugly green thing on his head."
"Gotcha."

After the first show, we went down to the bar for a drink and a chat, then right before the second show I clambered back up to my perch. Once the show was over, I went straight to bed. It was 11:00pm and I was pooped.