No Training Wheels

Hello!
Its voyage 183 for the Allure of the Seas and it is my third cruise. I've only 26 left to go! Best to look at it in forms of weeks instead of days.

It is official. The training wheels are being removed! As a result I will be given more responsibilities. For instance, I learned how to scrape and make ice (resurface) the ice rink using a Zamboni! Yeah...could totally drive that. Also, I will be placed into the venue duty rotation. Each week a single crew member from each major venue is placed on duty which pretty much means that A)Duty Crew Member is not allowed to leave the ship - for the week B)Duty Crew Member is in charge of early morning and late night ice upkeep and venue open/close C) Is anyone needs anything...anytime...call the Duty Crew Member. In a nutshell, its kind of grunt work. Lamesauce.

Ship Safety wise it means that my position in any emergency has changed. I am no longer the little green card that assists only if necessary...but a RED card. Woo, Crew with Red cards are a part of the Guest Assembly Station Groups and in the event that we would have to abandon the ship I am there scanning guest SeaPasses as they get into the life boat (so they are accounted for)and in I go as well. So mom, i'll be perfectly fine. Crappy thing is that we all have to rotate doing the life vest demonstration every Sunday. I do believe my turn is coming up next week -_-

The ship has left Ft. Lauderdale and we are on our Eastern Caribbean Route so our first stop will be Nassau, Bahamas. I have not had a chance to get off ship there yet, but it will have to wait two weeks since..well i'm on duty..and next week we will be on our Western Caribbean Route.
I have pictures from around the ship of some of the 'neighborhoods' like Central Park, the Boardwalk and the Club Level, but they are trapped on my iPad and it is difficult to get them on the internet via the ships network. I'm afraid i'll have to wait until I go onshore and find a wifi spot.

As for being social i'm getting along well with the other hands and technicians from the different venues. Its the other crew members outside my division that one must worry about. Not going to lie - there are some...interesting characters around here. Just do my best to not be wandering the ship late at night and stay away from Deck 3 after hours...apparently we have a Fillipino Mafia on board and that is where they hang out.
I finally made it up to one of the Crew Bars to watch the Spurs Game and I decided to treat myself to a beer. I was shocked when I only paid $1.30 for it, a Dos XX too by the way. Alright so I had two. But the game was super exciting and I was the only one in there rooting for the Spurs. The Scottish ladies behind me were all about OKC - whateves. Then of course after the game finished my Taco Cabana craving resurfaced : (

Running backstage tracks for the shows has become far less complicated now that I figured out how to adjust what was done previously - to fit me. My coworkers have been very accomodating and willing to help, which is always nice. Makes things easier. I only almost knocked over a skater once, I moved a prop too early and when she came rushing off the ice she crashed into it - she was fine....
So Royal Caribbean has a contract with DreamWorks - you know the Shrek/How to Train your Dragon/Kung Fu Panda/Madagascar people - and the characters are all over the ship especially twice a week when we have the 'Move it, Move it" Parade on the Royale Promenade. My duty for all of this is to set up three rather large inflatables, ensure the DJ has everything he needs, and help with Parade Performer Control ("Can I get the Penguins behind the Three Little Pigs Please!!"). The inflatables alone make me break a sweat - one of them is a HUGE Dragon that requires three rather large sandbags to weigh it down. Thats a trip up and down the stairs. I swear my biceps are going to be amazing.

Thats all I've got time for, for now. Ive got to go resurface the ice rink pretty soon - ha, that will be nice to add to the special skill section of my resume.

Chao!