Voyage 180 (Steph's First Cruise)

Heyo!

I have completed my first week (First Cruise) aboard what we lovingly call Allureville. The first week, i'm not going to lie was pretty rough. Being that I am a new hire I have to go through a gauntlet of ship safety training. Yes, this place is a fabulously beautiful floating hotel...but it is still a ship - and danger lurks around every turn (not really).

My days start early around 8am and end around 1:30a-2:00a. The first week, training took up much of my mornings into the afternoon and then I had my regularly scheduled duties after, which took me into the morning of the next day.

My main location onboard is Studio B - it is the onboard Ice Rink/Theatre/Party Space. I also work all over the ship. As you can imagine, this ship being the biggest in the world, it is a bit challenging and overwhelming to get from place to place. There is a main 'highway' called the I95 that runs the length of the ship (akin to the tunnels under the Magic Kingdom) and there are endless stairways and elevators to get to locations on each deck. BUT! One must be careful and observe the posted signs that look like a bunch of random letter/numbers because - those signs tell you that these stairs/elevators only go as high as *insert deck # here*. Then you have to think - should I be on the Starboard or Port side, Forward or Aft - yeah. The struggle was real the first week. I had to leave 20-30 minutes before my appointed time just so I could find my way. The crew is pretty friendly and if they see that you have that wandering look about you they will ask if you need help.

I was unfortunately unable to get off the ship the first week : ( They held my passport hostage until I could go through immigration when we got back to Ft. Lauderdale (yesterday). But now everything is good and I can go out to port if I wish to wake up early enough ; p

The job training itself is a little challenging as well. I am the only female in the group - though these guys don't hold it against me - they only mind how 'tiny' I am. I am also the only American. The other guys are either from the UK, Phillipines, Barbados, Trinidad & Tabago.

Out of the several shows that Studio B produces I was expected to run the backstage tracks for them all unaided (after only shadowing the guy I was going to replace, once!!!) - and I have not even seen the show. I was given a track sheet for only one show (which was written in 2012 by a man from the Phillipines whose English is a bit choppy - You should see my scibble revisons all over those papers!!), "Ice Games" some skating show based on Monopoly and paralleling it to places around the ship. That one is the most complicated. There is a lot of heavy lifting involved - and some of it while being on the ice. Luckily we get to wear spikes on our shoes, but they only help moderatley.

Another show in the venue is "How to Train your Dragon - On Ice!" I've never seen the film, but it is pretty well attended. The track for this show is not very complicated....except I am in charge of this double headed rippleback dragon...thing. Yeah, this dragon is rather huge and likes to attack skaters as they exit.

Studio B also hosts other events like comedy shows, Battle of the Sexes Games, Glow Parties. For those events there is a metal floor that slides out from beneath the seats, which is kind of cool!

There is also a dive show onboard at the Aqua Theatre called "Ocean Aria" - this show...i'm not going to lie is 45 minutes long for no reason. The story: Obviously the show translates as Ocean...expressive melody yadda yadda. It has divers (from 3 & 10 meters/1 high dive), strength artists, dancers, and acrobats. It is supposed to portray some underwater world....or something. Yeah. Currently I am running spot for that show, which is fun since that is something I have not done for about 4 years. Brings back some Shamu Rocks Texas memories : ) Good times.

Anywho! The Broadway show on the ship is 'Chicago'. That show happens in the Amber Theatre, though I have not had much to do with that one just yet, I just occasionally help with strike (putting away lighting equipment, moving set pieces for storage, etc).

We start the Eastern Caribbean Cruise this week. We just left Nassau and are now on our way to St. Maarten and St. Thomas. The water this trip is a bit choppy. Up until now I have never been able to feel the sway on the ship, but it is pretty constant now. When I am in the theatres I can see the curtains and decorations sway with the ship, then it brings me back and I remember...I'm on a cruise ship. It is easy to forget.

Alright, that is all I've got for now. Hopefully this upcoming Sunday (when i'm back in Ft. Lauderdale) I will be able to post pictures of things/places from around the ship! I'll try to squat at a Starbucks or something : ) Cheers!