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