Training, World Cup, training, World Cup, sleep, eat, World Cup, training. That's been my life. I take over as manager at the end of this cruise - which is a week away. It's been quite hectic in the BCC. I have been off the ship twice this cruise. It makes me yearn for our picnic in Copenhagen. It will be my last time off the ship for I don't know how long. Luckily, though, this is not the kind of ship you mind being stuck on. It's also not the itinerary you feel like you're missing. I've done all the sightseeing these places have to offer. I don't mind focusing on my job for a while. Barring a trip to Stonehenge, there's not much else I'm dying to do out here in the Baltic.
When I do get free time, though, I take full advantage. Drinks at the choo-choo bar in Germany and lunches in the sun of Stockholm. Talking to Swedish locals and nights spent with good friends and soccer are getting me through. I'm quickly learning about soccer and finding I can really get into a game if I'm invested in one of the teams. For example, last night I was riveted watching the England v Algeria game, but right now I'm monitoring Ghana v Australia and well, I'm blogging. I am completely taken in by the US games. I put aside everything to watch the US v Slovenia game and find myself reading more about it on espn.com. I'm even shouting player names at the screen...
Yep, I've been caught up in the World Cup fever. It's just fun to have a chance to cheer for our own countries when we're all so far from home.
Tune in next time to see how well I handle this manager thing...
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
World Cup Craziness
Just a quick observation. At home I would've noticed the World Cup in passing and probably wondered why it was taking up so much broadcast time. I wouldn't have noticed any of them games and stuck to my "soccer is boring" mind set.
Being on ship with colleagues from every country represented in the cup has changed my perspective. Though I am forced to watch every game, as a part of my job monitoring the channels, I probably would anyway. I watched my very first full soccer game yesterday.
I still don't find it to be the most fascinating sport of all, but I'm getting an aspect of it I would have never I thought I would have experienced.
I watched the kick off as I toasted champagne with two South Africans and two Brits. I spent the second half of the game watching in the crew bar with a giant group of rowdy South Africans speaking in Afrikaans, sat next to a group of Mexicans drinking Corona and speaking Spanish. It was such an energetic feel it made me get in on the action. Now I pick a team at the start of each game. I overheard my friend Jenn say she didn't really care about one of the games as she didn't have any friends from wither country. How strange, that's how I'm picking my teams. I root for the country that I have more friends in. Just another moment to stop and say, yes, while that feels normal on a ship, it's not normal. It's fantastic.
Tonight's the England v US game. I've asked my friends to try and find an America jersey for me - hey I'll need one for the 4th anyway, right? I am a little scared, though. It will probably be one of the most aggressive nights this crew bar will ever see. We have a rather large American population within entertainment, and as we're out of Southampton, Celebrity wants to send all of their British employees to the Eclipse. We also have about half and half guests onboard as well. As Jenn says, "the though of this game will get me through embarkation day." :)
Being on ship with colleagues from every country represented in the cup has changed my perspective. Though I am forced to watch every game, as a part of my job monitoring the channels, I probably would anyway. I watched my very first full soccer game yesterday.
I still don't find it to be the most fascinating sport of all, but I'm getting an aspect of it I would have never I thought I would have experienced.
I watched the kick off as I toasted champagne with two South Africans and two Brits. I spent the second half of the game watching in the crew bar with a giant group of rowdy South Africans speaking in Afrikaans, sat next to a group of Mexicans drinking Corona and speaking Spanish. It was such an energetic feel it made me get in on the action. Now I pick a team at the start of each game. I overheard my friend Jenn say she didn't really care about one of the games as she didn't have any friends from wither country. How strange, that's how I'm picking my teams. I root for the country that I have more friends in. Just another moment to stop and say, yes, while that feels normal on a ship, it's not normal. It's fantastic.
Tonight's the England v US game. I've asked my friends to try and find an America jersey for me - hey I'll need one for the 4th anyway, right? I am a little scared, though. It will probably be one of the most aggressive nights this crew bar will ever see. We have a rather large American population within entertainment, and as we're out of Southampton, Celebrity wants to send all of their British employees to the Eclipse. We also have about half and half guests onboard as well. As Jenn says, "the though of this game will get me through embarkation day." :)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Big Girl Clothes
Yes, yes, yes, I haven't updated...
There is a legitimate reason, I've been busy trying out this grown up thing. More on that momentarily.
The Eclipse is amazing. I did the Baltic run again. Glad to see it's still as lovely as I left it. Warnemunde still makes me smile. Such a charming little German port. I got off the ship thinking we had had to dock in neighboring Rostock as our ship is so enormous. Imagine my surprise to find that I was in fact in Warnemunde! I walked around with my ipod and enjoyed the little street market. I had a beer at the choo-choo bar. Yes, choo-choo bar. It's this little outdoor bar off the ship with a little train that rides around the awning. I'll have to post pictures.
In Tallinn, Estonia I went with two of my best friends from my former ship, Flo and Sara, to have honey beer and lunch at the Beer House. This place was so cheesy German that it was almost like being at Epcot. I loved it. The girls were dressed as wenches and the honey beer was delicious. The mugs were as big as my head, so just one was plenty with our German fried cheese.
Copenhagen was the loveliest day. I have been rather stressed at the job lately (again, more later), but Copenhagen was perfect for relighting my spark. I went with my new buddies Jenn, Franklin, and Scott to Tivoli Gardens. This is the place where Walt Disney got his idea for Disney World. It was adorable. The tulips were blooming, the ducks were quacking, and the wine was amazing. The four of us sat at this little restaurant next to the pond, watching people spin upside down and all over, and we laughed harder than I have in a long time.
The funny thing about returning to the same place as I was last summer is having the memories rush back at me. I couldn't walk along in Warnemunde without slightly missing Val and Marc. If I'm being honest, Most every port in the Baltic had me thinking of Val and Anna. It's just weird to be here without them.
The Canary Islands are lovely. They have the fun and sun of the Caribbean, yet the beauty of Spain. In Funchal, Madeira I went out with Franklin and Jenn again. We found some delicious sangria with a great Portuguese steak for lunch. Then the best part. We took the cable car to the top of the mountain, which was just a stunning view. Our ship looked so small! Now in Madeira there is a little tradition that has turned into a tourist must. Apparently back in the day (yes, I just said back in the day) the royals and rich of the island found that the quickest way to get down to the bottom of the island from their mansions above, was to have two servants pull them down and they would speed along in a toboggan down the mountain. So of course the three of us simply had to try this out! It was crazy! We did speed along down the mountain with the wind whipping us all around. We threw our hands up like we were on a roller coaster and laughed the whole way down.
In Vigo, Spain my friend Tim was celebrating his 30th birthday. So a big group of us planned to spend the day showing him how much he means to us. So we began the day with some morning orange juice in the staff bar and led him out to port with an itinerary Jenn wrote out on construction paper. We had lunch at a hotel where they were actually boiling octopus behind us, and then found a nice sidewalk cafe with a grassy area perfect for Tim to write in his journal and Nate and Galen to play frisbee. We had more sangria, felt the sun and I captured some great action shots of frisbee (to be posted to facebook asap). That evening we went to the Italian steakhouse onboard, Tuscan, for dinner. We capped off the night with a special corner of the crew bar decorated for Tim. It was such a great day.
Ok, now for the growing up thing. I am being promoted to Broadcast Manager of the Eclipse on June 26. This does mean I'll be here until September 4, but what an honor, right? I'll be the first female manager in ten years. Not only will I be the only female BCCM in the fleet, but I'll also be the youngest as of right now. Exciting stuff right? Pay raise, solo cabin, etc. Along with that has been lots of training and lots of pressure. My first contract as a manager will be with the most demanding Cruise Director - Hotel Director duo in the fleet. It will be a challenge, but I'm slowly putting on the big girl clothes. I know I can do it. I'll be fine and it's only a couple months, but what pressure! Manager of the flag ship!
That's not the only thing forcing me to evaluate things in my life. It's strange, right now the majority of my friends are older than I am. They're mostly 27, 30, 33, etc. I find myself relating to them more easily than those closer to my age. It's having me evaluate my maturity. I do get along better with them, but being a part of a group of older people who have such rich life experiences points out my own immature moments. Not just points them out, magnifies them. I catch when I'm being 23 almost instantaneously. I can't assess whether or not this is a good or bad thing. I'm thankful for the chance to grow and mature from those around me, but am I skipping something in not letting myself have those moments of early twenties immaturity? There are sometimes I do feel that I am in my right to have a 23 year old girl moment. I'm just alone in them, being the youngest of my friends. There, now I'm over-analyzing - there's my 23 year old immaturity. Putting on the big girl clothes and heading back to work. :)
There is a legitimate reason, I've been busy trying out this grown up thing. More on that momentarily.
The Eclipse is amazing. I did the Baltic run again. Glad to see it's still as lovely as I left it. Warnemunde still makes me smile. Such a charming little German port. I got off the ship thinking we had had to dock in neighboring Rostock as our ship is so enormous. Imagine my surprise to find that I was in fact in Warnemunde! I walked around with my ipod and enjoyed the little street market. I had a beer at the choo-choo bar. Yes, choo-choo bar. It's this little outdoor bar off the ship with a little train that rides around the awning. I'll have to post pictures.
In Tallinn, Estonia I went with two of my best friends from my former ship, Flo and Sara, to have honey beer and lunch at the Beer House. This place was so cheesy German that it was almost like being at Epcot. I loved it. The girls were dressed as wenches and the honey beer was delicious. The mugs were as big as my head, so just one was plenty with our German fried cheese.
Copenhagen was the loveliest day. I have been rather stressed at the job lately (again, more later), but Copenhagen was perfect for relighting my spark. I went with my new buddies Jenn, Franklin, and Scott to Tivoli Gardens. This is the place where Walt Disney got his idea for Disney World. It was adorable. The tulips were blooming, the ducks were quacking, and the wine was amazing. The four of us sat at this little restaurant next to the pond, watching people spin upside down and all over, and we laughed harder than I have in a long time.
The funny thing about returning to the same place as I was last summer is having the memories rush back at me. I couldn't walk along in Warnemunde without slightly missing Val and Marc. If I'm being honest, Most every port in the Baltic had me thinking of Val and Anna. It's just weird to be here without them.
The Canary Islands are lovely. They have the fun and sun of the Caribbean, yet the beauty of Spain. In Funchal, Madeira I went out with Franklin and Jenn again. We found some delicious sangria with a great Portuguese steak for lunch. Then the best part. We took the cable car to the top of the mountain, which was just a stunning view. Our ship looked so small! Now in Madeira there is a little tradition that has turned into a tourist must. Apparently back in the day (yes, I just said back in the day) the royals and rich of the island found that the quickest way to get down to the bottom of the island from their mansions above, was to have two servants pull them down and they would speed along in a toboggan down the mountain. So of course the three of us simply had to try this out! It was crazy! We did speed along down the mountain with the wind whipping us all around. We threw our hands up like we were on a roller coaster and laughed the whole way down.
In Vigo, Spain my friend Tim was celebrating his 30th birthday. So a big group of us planned to spend the day showing him how much he means to us. So we began the day with some morning orange juice in the staff bar and led him out to port with an itinerary Jenn wrote out on construction paper. We had lunch at a hotel where they were actually boiling octopus behind us, and then found a nice sidewalk cafe with a grassy area perfect for Tim to write in his journal and Nate and Galen to play frisbee. We had more sangria, felt the sun and I captured some great action shots of frisbee (to be posted to facebook asap). That evening we went to the Italian steakhouse onboard, Tuscan, for dinner. We capped off the night with a special corner of the crew bar decorated for Tim. It was such a great day.
Ok, now for the growing up thing. I am being promoted to Broadcast Manager of the Eclipse on June 26. This does mean I'll be here until September 4, but what an honor, right? I'll be the first female manager in ten years. Not only will I be the only female BCCM in the fleet, but I'll also be the youngest as of right now. Exciting stuff right? Pay raise, solo cabin, etc. Along with that has been lots of training and lots of pressure. My first contract as a manager will be with the most demanding Cruise Director - Hotel Director duo in the fleet. It will be a challenge, but I'm slowly putting on the big girl clothes. I know I can do it. I'll be fine and it's only a couple months, but what pressure! Manager of the flag ship!
That's not the only thing forcing me to evaluate things in my life. It's strange, right now the majority of my friends are older than I am. They're mostly 27, 30, 33, etc. I find myself relating to them more easily than those closer to my age. It's having me evaluate my maturity. I do get along better with them, but being a part of a group of older people who have such rich life experiences points out my own immature moments. Not just points them out, magnifies them. I catch when I'm being 23 almost instantaneously. I can't assess whether or not this is a good or bad thing. I'm thankful for the chance to grow and mature from those around me, but am I skipping something in not letting myself have those moments of early twenties immaturity? There are sometimes I do feel that I am in my right to have a 23 year old girl moment. I'm just alone in them, being the youngest of my friends. There, now I'm over-analyzing - there's my 23 year old immaturity. Putting on the big girl clothes and heading back to work. :)
Monday, April 26, 2010
4! 4! 4 Blogs in One!
The following are four blogs I've written over the course of the last month!
Movin' On Up
3/27/10
Alright, after 6 hours layover in London we finally arrived in Amsterdam where three of us were bused out to a nearby hotel. Here we were served dinner while awaiting the rest of the crew arriving that night. So after another 4 and a half hours of hanging out in a hotel conference room, we finally boarded the bus for the 2 and a half hour ride to the ship in Eemshaven, Holland.
During dinner, ironically, I sat across from the other broadcast assistant, Laura. She will be my colleague and roommate for the next three months, at least. She's nice and we seem to get along well. She's a real go-getter. She stands out more than I do since she's just come from a Solstice class ship so she knows all the equipment and layout of the ship. I'm trying. Jetlag and trying to catch up is slowly taking its toll.
So the Eclipse: 14 decks (no deck 13 as it's unlucky), 1200 crew, shared bunk bed room, top bunk again, porthole this time (YES!), amazing broadcast adjacent to the theater, sweet ass manager, etc. I like it so far. It's my first day onboard and Sandy - my manager - said the real work starts very soon. So as of right now I'm just trying to get through my morning safety trainings and learn where stuff is all the while dealing with the crazy land guys around the broadcast. I saw one friendly face who I will be seeing everyday for the duration of my contract - Danny the French Canadian ITV Manager.
Oh and for those of you who were wondering, yes I did cry when I left the Summit. Obviously. I held it together really well for a while there. I had breakfast with some of the acapella, Anna and ITV Dan (different ITV Dans). I had coffee with Susan the art associate from North Carolina and then Brian, Dan and Anna kept me company before I had to wheel my way down to the gangway. It wasn't until Anna hugged me and told me she didn't know what she was going to do without "her midget." Then I had to scrunch up my face to refuse the tears. She walked out of the room and I let a few fall, still doing good. Then Brian and Dan each wheeled one of my suitcases to security and waited with me until the Crew Administrator called for me to leave. Hugging my two favorite guys on the ship was too much for me. I made them leave right after the hugs cause I didn't want them to see me lose it. I saved that for the cab. There was a good 5 or 10 minutes of crying. Seriously, is anyone surprised?
So yea, I'm here. Everything's new so it's nice to be the first to use the cameras, sleep in my bed, walk these halls, etc. After this weekend the cast and more of the entertainment department will be here. I anticipate more expected and unxpected friendly faces. My girl Sara from the Summit gets here Monday. I can't wait. We're going to tear this place up. Get ready Eclipse!
4/14/10
Not even a month has gone by and I can't believe the things that have gone on here.
Eemshaven, Holland is basically a shipyard. Nothing else. There is absolutely nothing else here except the windmills. Not the cute Dutch windmills, though. These are the white, pointy, industrial windmills. There is one place in walking distance here, and that is the Seafarer's Mission. This place has internet and a bar, along with being a mission. So of course you see the crew travel out in high numbers once the working day is through to partake in a Grolsch (local brew) at what we call "the church." Yes, this has spawned terms like, "let's go and wash away our sins," "we need to go pray tonight," and "who wants to worship later?" Do I feel like a sinner? Yea, but I work on a ship, so I felt like that before.
On a side note, the best phrase uttered at the church so far is, "I need to control, alt, delete my thoughts." Yea, said by a fellow Spruce Creek Alum who's helping install the broadcast. Small, small, world.
Close towns? Deilfsil, at least I think that's how it's spelled. Great place for quick shopping. We had one night out there when I first got onboard. Me, Laura, ITV Danny, and Isaac the Production Manager. We had Heineken's at the Anker. Great little pub with a sweet dutch bartender. The old men there kept telling me how glad they were to have an American in the bar. I still maintain it's not hard to be an American abroad. Maybe it's just that I'm an American braud. Who knows? Anyway, my favorite part of the town is that there's a place called The Slagery Cramer. Yea, I know...
There's also Gronigen. I went in one night... that's all that needs to be said...
So let me tell you all more about this ship.
It's absolutely beautiful. I mean I walked onboard and it was half done, covered in plastic and dust, and now, well, now we start sailing tomorrow and with all the Maimi big-wigs onboard the place is sparkling. The coffee shop is like something you'd see in a chic place like London or Cannes. There's a restuarant in the center of the ship called "Bistro on 5" that's devoted to making soups, crepes, and paninis. I had the best chicken caesar salad there. It's a very market square feel. The theater is beautiful, the balconies are incredible, the night clubs are dowtown Miami posh, and since there have been no guests onboard, every part of the ship is using the crew as test subjects. For example, we've been eating in the main dining room these past few nights, the bartenders are trying out their skills on us, it's been amazing to feel like a guest.
Knowing the right people has its perks, too. Ken Rust is the man in charge of giving us every piece of audio equipment onboard - from the stage set up, to broadcast, to the music in the elevators and the speakers blasting the ipods in the Teen Lounge. He and his right-hand man, Mark, are the greatest set of characters I've come across in a while. Anyway, Ken has a way of getting things for us. It always sounds like a mob scheme, too, what with his New Jersey accent and all. The broadcast team has had dinner in each specialty restaurant this week. Our first night was in "Qsine." Ken, Mark, Laura, Sandy (my manager), Mike (my head boss from Miami) and I shared a great tapas style meal at this funky and hip restaurant. The place is completely designed by Jacques Van Staden - the head of culinary arts for Celebrity Cruises. We did a commercial with him a couple weeks ago and he's a very creative man. Those who know him say this restuarant is like walking itno Jacque's mind. The ceilingiis decorated with upside down table lamps and none of the chairs at any one table match. They serve spring rolls in springs, popcorn shrimp comes in popcorn boxes, disco shrimp comes in a light up glass and the cheesecake comes in a stemless wine glass with crust cookes on the side for dipping. Everything is all you can eat and we definitely did! That night was also the Yard Party. The whole ship went into full working gear to offer a night onboard for all the contractors who built the ship and their families. There was a show and free booze everywhere! I spent most of the night bonding with my broadcast team in the small night club, Quasar. A night that will not be forgotten.
The next night Ken got us into the French dining specialty restaurant, Murano. There was a Murano on the Century that I tried, but to be honest, this one was not as good. I enjoyed it, but I had high hopes for it to match the Century's taste and it didn't. The company was great, though. Same as the previous night. I was starting to feel like we were a family since we were eating practically every meal with one another. Ken tells great stories from being a roadie, and beating up Beastie Boys in Daytona during Spring Break. Mark makes jokes about Ken being old. Mike has dry and sarcastic comments like asking if anyone wants to share the "escargots" (pronouncing every letter, of course). While many people onboard are in fear of their head office bosses, I'm dreading for when mine leave.
Last night we went to Tuscan Grille - the Italian steakhouse onboard. Mike was absent, but instead we had two technicians from the theatre, and the head of entertainment in Miami - Brian join us. The food was excellent. I had the best crab meat casserole and a giant NY strip steak. Ken continued to tell stories about working with George Martin and Paul McCartney and I nearly died. I had to take a look around the table at one point. I was sitting at a table, lady in red, back straight, figuring out which fork to use, sipping my wine pinky up, speaking Hungarian with our assistant waiter, eating with business men who run my department, and I wasn't at all intimidated. I carried on conversations about growing up in Daytona (since most of them have worked there) and asked about the "good ole days" of ships - ignoring as they tried to figure out how I old I was at that time. I had a moment where I realized - whoa, I'm a grown up.
Now that can't be completely true, because this is all in the ship world. You're never really a grown up when you live with the people you work with, and you still sleep in a bunk bed, but I'm getting awfully close.
This ship is great. Like any other ship there are nights of wanting to quit, there are overwhleming 12 hour days, and there are moments on cloud nine. My boss is set on teaching me everything there is to know about our broadcast inculding the ins and outs of the wires. It's intimidating, overwhelming, but I don't absolutely hate it. I kind of miss the simplicity of just cutting a daily and a few commercials every day like on the Century, but this is the perfect time to learn all I can. Head office is here, Eemshaven isn't exactly calling to me, and no guests means free reign to screw up.
Tomorrow the ship is signed over to Celebrity. The big ceremony will take place early and anyone who's anyone will be there. My manager and I will be on roving cameras with the captain and cruise director. There will be ceremonies, shows and moments that will all need to be shot and edited before the day is through. It will be full of stress and anxiety, but it will feel so good to get it done. After that we set sail for Hamburg, and begin our press and travel agent cruises. In a little over two weeks we'll start revenue cruises out of Southampton and hopefully by then things will feel a little easier. The cruise director will want to begin shooting with us soon, along with activity staff and absolutely every revenue partner onboard. Things are about to get even more nuts.
So three weeks in, no sailing yet, and it all starts rolling tomorrow. Three weeks of nights at the church, making more friends from all over the world, bonding with broadcast big wigs, life boat drills on the bridge, conversations with the captain (not knowing he's the captain), walking through guest areas in jeans, dodging giant German contractors, building racks for the broadcast with power drills, lugging heavy boxes, editing videos, creating channel schedules, designing graphic templates, four onboard restaurants, three hangovers, one yard party, two heartshakes (not exactly heartbreak, but still shakes ya up, nonetheless), one season of Rome, late night talks with Sara, e-mails to the Summit, climbing up to antennas, testing patch panels, g-chatting with Mikey, and up before 9 am every day. I'm ready to see something besides pointy white windmills. Eclipse, let's get going!
4/15/10
So I'm going to try and do a moment by moment, day blog with this one. Today's the day the Eclipse is signed over to Celebrity and we sail away from Eemshaven. It all started last night when the four broadcast team members met with our cruise director, Nick Weir. I hear scarey and wonderful thinga bout this man. After a half hour with him I know I'm going to work my ass off, but I know I'm going to love it. He's crazy. He has this desire to do all of his videos off the shoulder, MTV, rock-n-roll style. Fine by me. He's got an energy that gives me the enthusiasm to want to do his videos without a thought to how it might interrupt my port or social time (which is, honestly, some feat!). He's more realistic about things than I thought he would be.
This morning, bright and early, at 7 am Laura and I went to the broadcast to begin preparing and setting up for the signing ceremony. Set up in the Cellar Master's bar, every CEO and department head was crowded into this room to watch the owner of the shipyard sign the contracts to give the Celebrity Eclipse to the CEO of RCL and Celebrity Int'l, Richard Fein. A rather anti-climactic scene of pen to paper and champagne bottles popping, it's still needed for archival purposes.
An hour later we headed to poolside where the same big-wigs lined up on the stage to tell the crew of the Eclipse - all lined around the balcony - that the Eclipse wa officially ours. It was rather funny for me, Laura, Sandy and the two fellows from the photo department. We were center stage in a Coliseum like setting with all of our fellow crew members looking down on us from the upper deck. I did my best to ignore them, but couldn't help smiling up at Sara as the President of Celebrity talked about what a great crew we are. We filmed the German flag being lowered and a small tear came to my eye as they raised the American flag and played my country's anthem. It's always tougher to hear that in a foreign country.
Next Laura and I trailed the captain from Meyer Werft (the German shipyard), and our Captain Skyglianous (probably not the way to spell it) up to the bridge to watch them sign their papers to one another and each make announcements to the crew.
Now I've just come in from filming the bridge during our first sail away. What a thrill! I got to stand right next to the captain and staff captain as they directed and navigated this massivesship out of port. They each smiled and winked at me occasionally, making me feel like the little sister of the bridge. I couldn't believe my luck.
So here I sit now, on my second short break of the day, trying to decipher what to wear tonight and wondering how many days it will take to re-acquire my sea legs. I can feel the waves beneath me, much like on the Century. I'm again at the front of the ship and the first thing I did on my break? Climb to my top bunk, rip open the curtains to my port hole and just smile at the brown shipyard water rushing past my little window. I don't care how brown it is, I can lay in bed and watch the waves roll past. What more do I need?
The Crew Party - that's what I need. Casino was open, Miami big shots serving us drinks, the owner of Royal Caribbean flair bartending! The party band was awesome, the ship was filled with crew having a great time. It was so once-in-a-ship's-lifetime. To look around the Grand foyer and see all the crew, having a great time, in our own clothes, hanging out and enjoying the ship the way we watch others enjoy it all year long. It was remarkable. The ship was signed over to Celebrity that morning, and for the rest of the day it truly belonged to us.
4/26/10
Two nights ago the Celebrity Eclipse had her official naming ceremony. I was in the lighting booth running the switcher watching them name the Godmother of the ship and cut the ribbon to release the massive bottle of champagne. It hit the smoke stack right on our giant Celebrity X with a splash. Just another event to add to the list of off-the-wall things I've been a part of. That night was our first real formal night. I wore a dress, sipped martinis with Miami folk, and was told how confident I looked. Quite an accomplishment considering there were many factors around me to have my knees shaking.
Today is it. We're sitting in the historical harbor of Southampton, England and loading 2,500 guests to sail on our three night Paris cruise. I know what you're all thinking, and shockingly I will not be going to Paris this time. My counterpart, Laura, has never been so I insisted she jump on the crew tour and spend the day in one of my favorite cities in the world. I will be on duty. Oh well. Our next cruise takes me to back to Ireland and she has agreed to help me have time off there. Oh Ireland. I can't wait to be back.
So around 5 o'clock tonight the Celebrity Eclipse wil begin her inaugural cruise. Rather exciting, yea? To be perfectly honest, I'm ready for the fanfare and ceremony to be over and to just be cruising. Here we go!
Movin' On Up
3/27/10
Alright, after 6 hours layover in London we finally arrived in Amsterdam where three of us were bused out to a nearby hotel. Here we were served dinner while awaiting the rest of the crew arriving that night. So after another 4 and a half hours of hanging out in a hotel conference room, we finally boarded the bus for the 2 and a half hour ride to the ship in Eemshaven, Holland.
During dinner, ironically, I sat across from the other broadcast assistant, Laura. She will be my colleague and roommate for the next three months, at least. She's nice and we seem to get along well. She's a real go-getter. She stands out more than I do since she's just come from a Solstice class ship so she knows all the equipment and layout of the ship. I'm trying. Jetlag and trying to catch up is slowly taking its toll.
So the Eclipse: 14 decks (no deck 13 as it's unlucky), 1200 crew, shared bunk bed room, top bunk again, porthole this time (YES!), amazing broadcast adjacent to the theater, sweet ass manager, etc. I like it so far. It's my first day onboard and Sandy - my manager - said the real work starts very soon. So as of right now I'm just trying to get through my morning safety trainings and learn where stuff is all the while dealing with the crazy land guys around the broadcast. I saw one friendly face who I will be seeing everyday for the duration of my contract - Danny the French Canadian ITV Manager.
Oh and for those of you who were wondering, yes I did cry when I left the Summit. Obviously. I held it together really well for a while there. I had breakfast with some of the acapella, Anna and ITV Dan (different ITV Dans). I had coffee with Susan the art associate from North Carolina and then Brian, Dan and Anna kept me company before I had to wheel my way down to the gangway. It wasn't until Anna hugged me and told me she didn't know what she was going to do without "her midget." Then I had to scrunch up my face to refuse the tears. She walked out of the room and I let a few fall, still doing good. Then Brian and Dan each wheeled one of my suitcases to security and waited with me until the Crew Administrator called for me to leave. Hugging my two favorite guys on the ship was too much for me. I made them leave right after the hugs cause I didn't want them to see me lose it. I saved that for the cab. There was a good 5 or 10 minutes of crying. Seriously, is anyone surprised?
So yea, I'm here. Everything's new so it's nice to be the first to use the cameras, sleep in my bed, walk these halls, etc. After this weekend the cast and more of the entertainment department will be here. I anticipate more expected and unxpected friendly faces. My girl Sara from the Summit gets here Monday. I can't wait. We're going to tear this place up. Get ready Eclipse!
4/14/10
Not even a month has gone by and I can't believe the things that have gone on here.
Eemshaven, Holland is basically a shipyard. Nothing else. There is absolutely nothing else here except the windmills. Not the cute Dutch windmills, though. These are the white, pointy, industrial windmills. There is one place in walking distance here, and that is the Seafarer's Mission. This place has internet and a bar, along with being a mission. So of course you see the crew travel out in high numbers once the working day is through to partake in a Grolsch (local brew) at what we call "the church." Yes, this has spawned terms like, "let's go and wash away our sins," "we need to go pray tonight," and "who wants to worship later?" Do I feel like a sinner? Yea, but I work on a ship, so I felt like that before.
On a side note, the best phrase uttered at the church so far is, "I need to control, alt, delete my thoughts." Yea, said by a fellow Spruce Creek Alum who's helping install the broadcast. Small, small, world.
Close towns? Deilfsil, at least I think that's how it's spelled. Great place for quick shopping. We had one night out there when I first got onboard. Me, Laura, ITV Danny, and Isaac the Production Manager. We had Heineken's at the Anker. Great little pub with a sweet dutch bartender. The old men there kept telling me how glad they were to have an American in the bar. I still maintain it's not hard to be an American abroad. Maybe it's just that I'm an American braud. Who knows? Anyway, my favorite part of the town is that there's a place called The Slagery Cramer. Yea, I know...
There's also Gronigen. I went in one night... that's all that needs to be said...
So let me tell you all more about this ship.
It's absolutely beautiful. I mean I walked onboard and it was half done, covered in plastic and dust, and now, well, now we start sailing tomorrow and with all the Maimi big-wigs onboard the place is sparkling. The coffee shop is like something you'd see in a chic place like London or Cannes. There's a restuarant in the center of the ship called "Bistro on 5" that's devoted to making soups, crepes, and paninis. I had the best chicken caesar salad there. It's a very market square feel. The theater is beautiful, the balconies are incredible, the night clubs are dowtown Miami posh, and since there have been no guests onboard, every part of the ship is using the crew as test subjects. For example, we've been eating in the main dining room these past few nights, the bartenders are trying out their skills on us, it's been amazing to feel like a guest.
Knowing the right people has its perks, too. Ken Rust is the man in charge of giving us every piece of audio equipment onboard - from the stage set up, to broadcast, to the music in the elevators and the speakers blasting the ipods in the Teen Lounge. He and his right-hand man, Mark, are the greatest set of characters I've come across in a while. Anyway, Ken has a way of getting things for us. It always sounds like a mob scheme, too, what with his New Jersey accent and all. The broadcast team has had dinner in each specialty restaurant this week. Our first night was in "Qsine." Ken, Mark, Laura, Sandy (my manager), Mike (my head boss from Miami) and I shared a great tapas style meal at this funky and hip restaurant. The place is completely designed by Jacques Van Staden - the head of culinary arts for Celebrity Cruises. We did a commercial with him a couple weeks ago and he's a very creative man. Those who know him say this restuarant is like walking itno Jacque's mind. The ceilingiis decorated with upside down table lamps and none of the chairs at any one table match. They serve spring rolls in springs, popcorn shrimp comes in popcorn boxes, disco shrimp comes in a light up glass and the cheesecake comes in a stemless wine glass with crust cookes on the side for dipping. Everything is all you can eat and we definitely did! That night was also the Yard Party. The whole ship went into full working gear to offer a night onboard for all the contractors who built the ship and their families. There was a show and free booze everywhere! I spent most of the night bonding with my broadcast team in the small night club, Quasar. A night that will not be forgotten.
The next night Ken got us into the French dining specialty restaurant, Murano. There was a Murano on the Century that I tried, but to be honest, this one was not as good. I enjoyed it, but I had high hopes for it to match the Century's taste and it didn't. The company was great, though. Same as the previous night. I was starting to feel like we were a family since we were eating practically every meal with one another. Ken tells great stories from being a roadie, and beating up Beastie Boys in Daytona during Spring Break. Mark makes jokes about Ken being old. Mike has dry and sarcastic comments like asking if anyone wants to share the "escargots" (pronouncing every letter, of course). While many people onboard are in fear of their head office bosses, I'm dreading for when mine leave.
Last night we went to Tuscan Grille - the Italian steakhouse onboard. Mike was absent, but instead we had two technicians from the theatre, and the head of entertainment in Miami - Brian join us. The food was excellent. I had the best crab meat casserole and a giant NY strip steak. Ken continued to tell stories about working with George Martin and Paul McCartney and I nearly died. I had to take a look around the table at one point. I was sitting at a table, lady in red, back straight, figuring out which fork to use, sipping my wine pinky up, speaking Hungarian with our assistant waiter, eating with business men who run my department, and I wasn't at all intimidated. I carried on conversations about growing up in Daytona (since most of them have worked there) and asked about the "good ole days" of ships - ignoring as they tried to figure out how I old I was at that time. I had a moment where I realized - whoa, I'm a grown up.
Now that can't be completely true, because this is all in the ship world. You're never really a grown up when you live with the people you work with, and you still sleep in a bunk bed, but I'm getting awfully close.
This ship is great. Like any other ship there are nights of wanting to quit, there are overwhleming 12 hour days, and there are moments on cloud nine. My boss is set on teaching me everything there is to know about our broadcast inculding the ins and outs of the wires. It's intimidating, overwhelming, but I don't absolutely hate it. I kind of miss the simplicity of just cutting a daily and a few commercials every day like on the Century, but this is the perfect time to learn all I can. Head office is here, Eemshaven isn't exactly calling to me, and no guests means free reign to screw up.
Tomorrow the ship is signed over to Celebrity. The big ceremony will take place early and anyone who's anyone will be there. My manager and I will be on roving cameras with the captain and cruise director. There will be ceremonies, shows and moments that will all need to be shot and edited before the day is through. It will be full of stress and anxiety, but it will feel so good to get it done. After that we set sail for Hamburg, and begin our press and travel agent cruises. In a little over two weeks we'll start revenue cruises out of Southampton and hopefully by then things will feel a little easier. The cruise director will want to begin shooting with us soon, along with activity staff and absolutely every revenue partner onboard. Things are about to get even more nuts.
So three weeks in, no sailing yet, and it all starts rolling tomorrow. Three weeks of nights at the church, making more friends from all over the world, bonding with broadcast big wigs, life boat drills on the bridge, conversations with the captain (not knowing he's the captain), walking through guest areas in jeans, dodging giant German contractors, building racks for the broadcast with power drills, lugging heavy boxes, editing videos, creating channel schedules, designing graphic templates, four onboard restaurants, three hangovers, one yard party, two heartshakes (not exactly heartbreak, but still shakes ya up, nonetheless), one season of Rome, late night talks with Sara, e-mails to the Summit, climbing up to antennas, testing patch panels, g-chatting with Mikey, and up before 9 am every day. I'm ready to see something besides pointy white windmills. Eclipse, let's get going!
4/15/10
So I'm going to try and do a moment by moment, day blog with this one. Today's the day the Eclipse is signed over to Celebrity and we sail away from Eemshaven. It all started last night when the four broadcast team members met with our cruise director, Nick Weir. I hear scarey and wonderful thinga bout this man. After a half hour with him I know I'm going to work my ass off, but I know I'm going to love it. He's crazy. He has this desire to do all of his videos off the shoulder, MTV, rock-n-roll style. Fine by me. He's got an energy that gives me the enthusiasm to want to do his videos without a thought to how it might interrupt my port or social time (which is, honestly, some feat!). He's more realistic about things than I thought he would be.
This morning, bright and early, at 7 am Laura and I went to the broadcast to begin preparing and setting up for the signing ceremony. Set up in the Cellar Master's bar, every CEO and department head was crowded into this room to watch the owner of the shipyard sign the contracts to give the Celebrity Eclipse to the CEO of RCL and Celebrity Int'l, Richard Fein. A rather anti-climactic scene of pen to paper and champagne bottles popping, it's still needed for archival purposes.
An hour later we headed to poolside where the same big-wigs lined up on the stage to tell the crew of the Eclipse - all lined around the balcony - that the Eclipse wa officially ours. It was rather funny for me, Laura, Sandy and the two fellows from the photo department. We were center stage in a Coliseum like setting with all of our fellow crew members looking down on us from the upper deck. I did my best to ignore them, but couldn't help smiling up at Sara as the President of Celebrity talked about what a great crew we are. We filmed the German flag being lowered and a small tear came to my eye as they raised the American flag and played my country's anthem. It's always tougher to hear that in a foreign country.
Next Laura and I trailed the captain from Meyer Werft (the German shipyard), and our Captain Skyglianous (probably not the way to spell it) up to the bridge to watch them sign their papers to one another and each make announcements to the crew.
Now I've just come in from filming the bridge during our first sail away. What a thrill! I got to stand right next to the captain and staff captain as they directed and navigated this massivesship out of port. They each smiled and winked at me occasionally, making me feel like the little sister of the bridge. I couldn't believe my luck.
So here I sit now, on my second short break of the day, trying to decipher what to wear tonight and wondering how many days it will take to re-acquire my sea legs. I can feel the waves beneath me, much like on the Century. I'm again at the front of the ship and the first thing I did on my break? Climb to my top bunk, rip open the curtains to my port hole and just smile at the brown shipyard water rushing past my little window. I don't care how brown it is, I can lay in bed and watch the waves roll past. What more do I need?
The Crew Party - that's what I need. Casino was open, Miami big shots serving us drinks, the owner of Royal Caribbean flair bartending! The party band was awesome, the ship was filled with crew having a great time. It was so once-in-a-ship's-lifetime. To look around the Grand foyer and see all the crew, having a great time, in our own clothes, hanging out and enjoying the ship the way we watch others enjoy it all year long. It was remarkable. The ship was signed over to Celebrity that morning, and for the rest of the day it truly belonged to us.
4/26/10
Two nights ago the Celebrity Eclipse had her official naming ceremony. I was in the lighting booth running the switcher watching them name the Godmother of the ship and cut the ribbon to release the massive bottle of champagne. It hit the smoke stack right on our giant Celebrity X with a splash. Just another event to add to the list of off-the-wall things I've been a part of. That night was our first real formal night. I wore a dress, sipped martinis with Miami folk, and was told how confident I looked. Quite an accomplishment considering there were many factors around me to have my knees shaking.
Today is it. We're sitting in the historical harbor of Southampton, England and loading 2,500 guests to sail on our three night Paris cruise. I know what you're all thinking, and shockingly I will not be going to Paris this time. My counterpart, Laura, has never been so I insisted she jump on the crew tour and spend the day in one of my favorite cities in the world. I will be on duty. Oh well. Our next cruise takes me to back to Ireland and she has agreed to help me have time off there. Oh Ireland. I can't wait to be back.
So around 5 o'clock tonight the Celebrity Eclipse wil begin her inaugural cruise. Rather exciting, yea? To be perfectly honest, I'm ready for the fanfare and ceremony to be over and to just be cruising. Here we go!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Address
Stories of this fabulously chic new ship will be posted soon, As for right now, I thought this might be important. The address to my latest home-away-from-home:
Mackenzie Ames
Broadcast Operator
Celebrity Eclipse
P.O Box #19318
Miami, FL 33132
Feel free to send checks, money orders or simply from trinkets from the good old U.S.of A. :)
Mackenzie Ames
Broadcast Operator
Celebrity Eclipse
P.O Box #19318
Miami, FL 33132
Feel free to send checks, money orders or simply from trinkets from the good old U.S.of A. :)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Cold, Hard Tile
Sitting in the airport in Grenada. I'm so glad there's free internet here. It's a comfort even though I'm forced to sit next to the only outlet in the room, on the rather uncomfortable ground.
My travel companion is Edra - a Turkish waiter - who is just as sad to leave the Summit as I am.
The Caribbean was amazing and I have no bad feelings about leaving, as with this job I will probably spend the next two winters sailing the islands. Next time I'll just know where the hot spots are, and what the local brews are.
My flight is boarding... more to come soon...
My travel companion is Edra - a Turkish waiter - who is just as sad to leave the Summit as I am.
The Caribbean was amazing and I have no bad feelings about leaving, as with this job I will probably spend the next two winters sailing the islands. Next time I'll just know where the hot spots are, and what the local brews are.
My flight is boarding... more to come soon...
Monday, March 8, 2010
New Social Circle
I leave for the Eclipse in 15 days and it feels fitting. Last Saturday the cast signed off. So in one day I lost my Jersey girl Kimmy, the sweetheart that is Graham, and my Hungarian personal trainer Sandor. Along with them went my Newlyed Game friend Romina and my trombone playing buddy Mike. Anna's on compassionate leave, Sara's extraordinarily busy and this Saturday I lost the acapella boys and Kirsty.
On the bright side, I still have ITV Dan and the new acapella group is full of guys I knew from the Century. I slowly get used to people coming and going, but I don't know if it's something I'll ever be old hat at. Luckily I leave in 15 days. However that makes it a bit worse. now that my social circle is changing I have no desire to make a new one for a few weeks. This is the struggle that is ship life.
We've all been taking advantage of every last minute. I went to the beach every day this week. St Kitts I braved the spot with the goat. I didn't go near the cage even though my friends assured me he was locked up. I didn't dare. I just put up with the constant negh-ing from my oh-so sensitive friends. I even got a neigh during "In the Jungle" from Rob in their last show. Thanks for the shout out, buddy. Anyway, we spent the day laying on the sand, having lunch and playing cornhole. Funny thing about cornhole - harder than it looks. I kind of suck at it.
Antigua found us at Nest Beach wit the world's most amazing cocnut shrimp. I mean it. You all know I'm not a big eater, but this was the kind of food I let sit in my mouth. I just let it sit there so I could taste the coconut and the shrimp. Oh it was amazing. That was followed by play time in the water. We formed a big circle and threw a football around. I always love the reaction I get when the guys finally throw the ball to me and are chocked that this five foot girl can throw a spiral - and pretty far. Thanks Campbell Middle.
We braved the waves again in St. Lucia. I really mean braved, though. Those waves were massive. It was great. It felt like home. A group of friends chasing and punching waves. It was amazing until Rob got thrown into a rock and we had to take him home. He's ok, don't worry.
So now everyone's gone. Like I said, I still have Dan. We spent yesterday in St. Maaretn with broadcast people from the Millenium. I had never met anyone else with my job, so that was interesting. I kind of sitting back now, enjoying the new friendship I'm forming with the art associate Susan. As much as I hate goodbyes seeing how many familiar faces are on the Summit reminds me that meeting up with people in the future is not out of the real of possibilities.
On the bright side, I still have ITV Dan and the new acapella group is full of guys I knew from the Century. I slowly get used to people coming and going, but I don't know if it's something I'll ever be old hat at. Luckily I leave in 15 days. However that makes it a bit worse. now that my social circle is changing I have no desire to make a new one for a few weeks. This is the struggle that is ship life.
We've all been taking advantage of every last minute. I went to the beach every day this week. St Kitts I braved the spot with the goat. I didn't go near the cage even though my friends assured me he was locked up. I didn't dare. I just put up with the constant negh-ing from my oh-so sensitive friends. I even got a neigh during "In the Jungle" from Rob in their last show. Thanks for the shout out, buddy. Anyway, we spent the day laying on the sand, having lunch and playing cornhole. Funny thing about cornhole - harder than it looks. I kind of suck at it.
Antigua found us at Nest Beach wit the world's most amazing cocnut shrimp. I mean it. You all know I'm not a big eater, but this was the kind of food I let sit in my mouth. I just let it sit there so I could taste the coconut and the shrimp. Oh it was amazing. That was followed by play time in the water. We formed a big circle and threw a football around. I always love the reaction I get when the guys finally throw the ball to me and are chocked that this five foot girl can throw a spiral - and pretty far. Thanks Campbell Middle.
We braved the waves again in St. Lucia. I really mean braved, though. Those waves were massive. It was great. It felt like home. A group of friends chasing and punching waves. It was amazing until Rob got thrown into a rock and we had to take him home. He's ok, don't worry.
So now everyone's gone. Like I said, I still have Dan. We spent yesterday in St. Maaretn with broadcast people from the Millenium. I had never met anyone else with my job, so that was interesting. I kind of sitting back now, enjoying the new friendship I'm forming with the art associate Susan. As much as I hate goodbyes seeing how many familiar faces are on the Summit reminds me that meeting up with people in the future is not out of the real of possibilities.
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