5 WEEKS DONE - 5 MONTHS TO GO

I cannot believe that it has been 5 weeks since I packed my bags and headed for a new life adventure. The time has been flying by and if that’s any indication of how the next 5 months will go, this will be over before I know it.

I can honestly say that I am more happy now than I have been in a very long time. Taking this new opportunity has opened my eyes to a whole new way of living, one that doesn’t include constant connection to social networks or the dreaded case of the Mondays every Sunday night. I found myself thinking yesterday as I was laying on the beach in Half Moon Cay, this is my Monday morning!! I thought of all of you at home just beginning your work week and took in an extra ray of sunshine for you. J

I can also honestly say that I am living every moment to the fullest here. Sleep doesn’t really take priority anymore and I am really liking the new “Red Bull Bridie” LOL! She is really fun and super outgoing!

This is just a short post to let you all know that this experience is just what I needed in my life. If there is anyone tossing around the idea of starting a new chapter in your life, my advice…DO IT NOW! There is no time like the present to start living and enjoying your life the best way you know how. Many of you know it was a tough decision for me to leave my family, friends, good job and mostly my baby nephew but this experience has already changed my life for the better.

That’s all for now. I shall post again soon.

Until Next time….breezy b sailing the seas

Xoxo

SHIP LIFE: CREW CABINS

THESE ARE NOT STATEROOMS! LOL Yes it is true, unfortunately I do not get to live in the lap of luxury here on the ship. Now can you believe that some passengers ask “Do the crew live on board?” Our response “No ma’am every day we helicopter in 1000 crew members to come to work when we are in the middle of the ocean!” Passenger response “Oh really, I have never seen a helicopter on the deck.” They obviously still do not pick up on our sarcasm, unbelievable right?!?!? This is ship life.

More about my cabin…I have the pleasure of being on deck 3. No I do not have a port window but maybe if I meet the right people I can share theirs! I am really lucky to have an amazing roommate. She is from the US and the director of our Circle C program for youth ages 12-14 years. Now she will be leaving me in just 9 days as her contract is finished L. This means I will be able to snag the bottom buck (which is a double bed ;)) That make me really happy as I am now on the top bunk and literally fall out of my bed every morning (that’s my wake up call!) Once my roomie leaves I am really hoping fingers crossed that my friend from Canada can be my new roommate. We put a request in so we will see what the next few days bring!!

                  

Crew cabins can be compared to dorm rooms in residence at university (I basically feel like I am back in university, which is 100% okay with me except I have to work instead of study :s). Each room has bunk beds, a desk and stool, a T.V. (with satilite chanels when we are lucky!), one closet for each crew member and of course as “staff” we have our own smallest bathroom in the entire world! Haha The cabins are actually not too bad to live in once you personalize them and get unpacked. Especially with our work schedule the cabin is where we spend the least time in our day (the most time being spent at work and in the crew “lounge”).

Just like university residence all cabins have hallways and your neighbours are generally the people that you work with. There’s nothing like working and living with your colleges, please all of you reading this take a moment to think what that would be like to live with the people you work with…..hummmm…..yes don’t worry I know your answer! Its quite something here on the ship, everyone knows everything about your life….its also very comparable to high school. You would think by this point in life people would not be interested in what other crew members do on their “off” time, well surprise EVERYONE cares! So far, my experience has been really positive and I haven’t made it into any issues of the “Fascination Gossip” magazine.

What is great about my cabin is that it is on the same floor as the crew and staff mess (where food is served), the laundry, and also the gangway, therefore I do not have to travel far for those necessities….mostly the gangway to get off this ship when needed! Haha

Lastly I want to let everyone know that I apologize a million times for not keeping this blog as up to date as I should be. As it turns out I am not the best blogger in the world however most of you are friends on facebook so I am sure you are getting all of my updates or people at home are sharing my news with you. I am having a great time here. I absolutely love my job. The kids here make everything worth it. Last cruise my heart was stolen by one of our passengers, a two year old boy with autism, who really made me think about what life is all about and made me realize how lucky I am to be having such an amazing experience here. And also to my passenger the cruise past, who was 5 years old boy born without his arms. He came up to me on the last day of the cruise and waited beside me as I was cleaning toys. I finally said “love what are you doing?” He replied “Miss B I just wanted to give you a hug before I leave.” The lessoned learned, do not take life for granted and enjoy the simple things, you never know what others are going through and something as simple as a hug can make all the difference in the world. I am so lucky to be here and I remember these moments when I am having a down day.

Much love to all of you back at home. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any questions about ship life please feel free to comment on this blog and I will write back the answers.

Until next time, this is breezy b sailing the high seas (literally, tonight this ship is moving back and forth more than I like)

Much love

B

Boat Drills, Sea Days and Half Moon Cay

 12 days in and I am now starting to feel accustom to ship life. As I mentioned in the last post, ship life is not even close to the reality of life on land. I must admit, I am really enjoying life on sea. It is pretty simple, work, eat, drink, and sleep is the philosophy here with sleep being the last priority for many!

I made it through my first 7 day cruise with flying colours. I passed my safety tests and managed to navigate my way around the ship alone. In the first week there are numerous training sessions new crewmembers must complete. I was on information overload during the entire cruise but somehow I remembered to lock in all the important information so that I could pass the tests at the end of the week and continue my life on board.

Now I have two cruises under my belt, a 7-day and Fascinations regular 5 day cruise. I am in Jacksonville today but rather than getting off the ship to see the sights of Jacksonville I decided to take this opportunity to SLEEP! Sleeping has not been a priority with my work schedule and social life here on board. Good thing they sell red bull for $1.50 in the crew lounge on the ship!

As for the title of this post, I experienced my first Boat Drill in Nassau this past cruise. Basically a boat drill is exactly what it sounds like, all crewmembers must don their life jackets and report to their assigned assembly areas to practice their duties in the event there was a real emergency. In this case it was only a drill however there were many passengers in a tizzy seeing all the crew members on the lido and veranda deck with life jackets on. (Note: there were numerous announcements over the load speaker informing the guests this was just a drill but you know passengers, they are on vacation so they have tuned out announcements and only care about eating and drinking, among many other things on board). I remember my sister Brandi telling me about “Boat Drills”, I can now say I have experienced this and do not look forward to the monthly boat drills I will participate in over the next few months!

Sea days…oh dreaded Sea days! As a passenger in the past I really enjoyed Sea Days, the opportunity to tan on top deck or explore the ship and shops on board. Now Sea Days mean WORK and lots of it! Camp is open from 7:30 am to 3:00 am on sea days! And yes for all those wondering, our team will work the entire day with short breaks in between. I am excited for this upcoming 4 day cruise to the Bahamas because we only have 1 sea day compared to the first 7 day when we had 2 sea days back to back!

Half Moon Cay…I know the last post was about this place but I must say it again…it is paradise. I was able to get off again last cruise to sun bathe on this pristine beach and enjoy a couple of hours of complete and utter relaxation. For those of you wondering, yes I am getting quite the tan and your allowed to be jealous! LOL I hear it has been raining back home for quite some time now, I am really sorry to hear that.

My favourite thing so far is working with the children especially since they come on a rotating basis every 5 and 4 days! It really makes a huge difference and it never gets boring. I love the welcome aboard party we have with the kids. We all meet in the Diamonds are Forever Disco and have a huge dance party, playing games, laughing and getting the parents acting like children too! Also I LOVE that I have guest privileges. This means that on my time off I am able to go into guest areas and feel as though I am a passenger too! The other night I went out with a co-worker, we dressed in our formal dresses, took pictures on the Promenade deck, had a drink at the Piano bar, proceeded to the crew bar for some cheaper beverages (rum and coke = $1.50), then we back to the disco for a night of dancing fun.

My least favourite thing so far if I had to pick one would be the food in the staff mess. Already I am over the menu! Crew definitely do NOT get to eat the same delicious food as the passengers and there are only certain times the mess is open therefore if you work during those times, you can count on eating maybe some fruit or cereal (if you were smart enough to bring extra to your cabin).

Ship life is something that cannot be explained to those who have never done it. I can try and try to tell you all about it but it’s a different experience per every crewmember here. I have been struggling with maintaining my life at home and broadening my social life here on the ship. Thank god I have my sister to talk to, she really gets what I mean when I rant and rave about certain ship life realities or when I have nothing to say at all. I am doing my best to keep everyone up to date when I have the time to get online or post to my blog. Thanks to everyone for all the sweet emails and facebook posts! Please keep them coming, as I love to sign on and get a dose of my home life. I miss you all like crazy but please know I am having a blast here and I really believe I made the right choice to take on this new adventure.

Until next time…breezy b getting ready to sail the sea….again!!! LOL

I have been rejuvenated in PARADISE A.K.A Half Moon Cay

 After only 4 days at sea, I found myself thinking: “What the heck am I doing here?” Life at sea is a complete 180 from life at home. My job is amazing but the hours and information overload was taking a major toll on me (not to mention the mandatory after work visits to the crew bar! LOL) I am sure those who have worked on ships know exactly what I mean when I say that. However I am glad to report that with a change in my work schedule (in my favour thank goodness), I was able to get off the ship again today and enjoy a little piece of heaven they call HALF MOON CAY BAHAMAS! Since most of my mates were working I decided to get off alone and see what this private island had to offer!

There is only one word to describe it PARADISE. After exploring the luscious flowers and beautiful palm trees, I found myself a nice row of lounge chairs, rubbed in that good ol’ tanning oil and it was off to the tanning races for me! After only about a half an hour of basking in the sun, I decided I could not take it any longer, to the water I set out! It was so refreshing and gave me the dose of energy I had been so desperately needing. I was at the beach for a couple of hours, met up with some friends and then headed back to the ship! Its moments like these that really make me realize why I wanted to embark on this adventure in the first place.

Other than the two stops at Grand Turk and Half Moon, life is continuing on in a positive way and I am beginning to venture out of my cabin and around the ship. The camp Carnival is an amazing program and I am looking forward to learning more and working with the different age groups.

Until next time….breezy b signing out

Grand Turk

Day Three (3)

I have made it three days as crew here on the Carnival Fascination. I cannot really remember the past three days and sometimes I am not able to find my way back to my cabin through the crew quarters. Living on ships and sailing on ships are two COMPLETELY different experiences.

So far I am loving the camp carnival program. For the next few weeks I am working with the 2-5 year old program. I am happy to be back in my element with my favorite age group. All of the staff members I work worth are very loving and kind. They are taking me under their wing to make sure I am relaxed and having a good time.

I have been working about 11 hours a day with breaks in between. The lack of sleep and amount of information I need to know is keeping me as exhausted as possible!! I am going to miss weekends off so much!!

Sunday night I joined the crew at the crew bar and as it was formal night last night so all the girls dressed up in our finest attire and headed to the disco! It was a great night and added some “normalcy” back into my life.

Today I have the pleasure of getting the heck off this boat for a couple of hours to venture out around Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos). I am really excited to see the beaches and actually feel the sun shinning down on me rather than watching it from our playroom window!

This is short and sweet but I wanted to at least let everyone know that I am adjusting well in my new position and I am taking it one day at a time adjusting to my new life as a crew member. I really miss my friends and family a lot, and its only been three days since I talked to them. I don’t know how often I will have access to the Internet but I promise to blog as much as possible. I am hoping to get my US phone set up this Saturday in Jacksonville but it will depend if I am able to get off the ship. Saturday may actually end up being a busy day since I hear I am already switching cabins and there is a new crew member signing on (She’s a Canadian! That means she\s my pizzano (sp?), in crew lingo a person from my country!)

Until Next time!!! I am headed to the beach to soak up some rays for all you Canadians!!!

Breezy

Safe and Sound in Miami!

Hi Everyone!

This is a quick update to let you know I arrived safe and sound here in Miami! I am at nice hotel and have already met two new friends that are going to be joining me on the Carnival Fascination. We are headed for dinner now and a few drinks a suppose!! :)

Tomorrow I am actually going to be flying from Miami to Jacksonville (phew I thought we were going to have to bus it, that would be a long ride). Tomorrow will be the true test, my sign-on day and first day of work! I am feeling tired from the travelling today but surprisingly I am not as nervous as I thought I would be.

Time for dinner!

I am not sure when I will get to post again but I will try to post some pictures of the beaches in Turks and Caicos by the end of this week!

Until next time.....this is breezy b signing out! xoxo

Its GO time...last night at home

Well the night has finally come…here I am all packed and ready to go, only a few hours to wait until I am at Pearson International Airport about to board a one way flight to the USA.

All of the goodbyes have been said except for one…the last one and the hardest one, my life my love and my biggest fan....MY SISTER BRANDI.

I remember long ago when she said to me as she boarded her plane for Cuernavaca Mexico, “Is it harder to be the leaving or the one staying behind?” For me, I have always been the one staying behind and she has been the one leaving on exciting adventures that have taken her all over the world. Now the tables have turned, its my time to leave and her time to stay here with her beautiful family. She has taught me well and I know I will be just fine on my own (of course we will video skype every chance we get and probably talk everyday! lol).

Of course I am nervous, excited, and afraid of the unknown however another wise person once said to me, the things you are most scared of are often the things that make life worth living (well I think it was actually Mandy Moore who said that in Chasing Liberty...lol).

Tomorrow I board my flight knowing that I am headed to Miami to overnight in a hotel and be transferred to Jacksonville Saturday morning. I have been told there are going to be numerous other new crew at the same hotel as me, so I am hoping to meeting some new friends, hang out by the pool, catch a bite to eat and allow this new chapter in my life to begin J

Update: I did find out today that the Fascination will actually be doing a one off cruise this week…a 7 day to Turks and Caicos then half moon cay (carnivals private island in the Bahamas) then Nassau Bahamas. I am excited but a 7 day cruise is going to be quite the initiation into crew life!

By the way, I don’t mean to rub it in but I did just check the weather forecast for tomorrow: Miami 26 but feels like 33!!!

Until next time, here’s palm trees and a warm sea breeze