hello exotic Perth! how are you? Today I'm going to go and eat hot chips for the last time this contract... I will miss you, chippies.
Bunbury was nice yesterday.. felt like the ship had pulled up at kawana waters.. but it was pleasant. I went to coles and bought Australian groceries. MMMMM triple wafer!
Ok. just a quick update.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Stinkytimes
Yesterday, all the toilets on deck 3 zone 2 (where I live) overflowed and raw sewage was in them. The stench was unbelievable. I left the cabin and did not return for 7 hours. When I returned, the corridor was flooded (not with sewage, thank god) and the carpet in our room was completely saturated. My cream shoes were also this way inclined.
I hope today will involve fewer plumbing disasters.
I hope today will involve fewer plumbing disasters.
finally, internet on the pacific princess!
Greetings from the Pacific Princess. I’ve been on board a week and I havn’t written because it has taken me this long to get my hands on a US $20 note to buy an internet card.
Today, we will be in Bunbury, Western Australia. Hardly an exotic location, but I am excited to see what is there! Tomorrow we will be in Fremantle/Perth and then our next stop will be in Indonesia- which is a place I can get excited about.
As my opening statement about this ship, I would like to say that this ship is the EXACT OPPOSITE of the Emerald Princess. I come from the biggest ship doing the shortest and most intense itinerary – 7 day Caribbean. I am now on the very smallest ship doing the very longest itinerary of all, the world cruise.
Almost everything here is different. On the EP, I averaged 9.4 hours of activities a day. Here, my average has been 7 hours a day- but this has been factoring in all the office work I am now doing- and the time I have spent going around to all the lockers and inventorising the stuff/crap we have in there.
There aren’t many activities on the ship , especially at night as most people go to bed between 9pm and 11pm. After 11- the ship is a ghost ship. But, the people here are SO FRIENDLY. They are on for the long haul, so you really get to know them. I spend a lot of my day just hanging out with the passengers. They love to talk and really appreciate it when you sit down with them, or join them in what they were doing. On the EP, sometimes you got the vibe they wanted you to go away.
Another great thing about this ship are the crew on board. My team is just lovely. Brett, my cruise director, is a very cool young Canadian guy – one of the newest cruise directors on princess. He is great – he knows what he’s doing and he is funny as hell. Frankie, my deputy, has been with Princess 19 years. He is from Hershey, Pensylvania and is amazing with the passengers. I have never seen a cruise staff like him- the passengers just adore his irreverent jokes and soft demeanor. My room mate and fellow JACD, Natalie, is a lovely girl from England. It is her first contract- she was originally sent as a librarian – and we get along really well. Coming to the Pacific Princess for a first contract… well, it shouldn’t happen. It’s not like a “real ship”. It’s tiny and normal rules don’t apply- we keen talking about life on the normal sized ships and I think it must frustrate her a bit. She is with me until the end of the world cruise. Hopefully we can teach her all she needs to know and at the end they will tranship her to the Ruby or Emerald and she can see what life as a cruise staff is really like.
On the small ships, the dancers double as cruise staff – and we have 6 lovely dancers, 5 of which are from Australia. They are so cute and so non-bitchy for dancers! Just a lovely bunch of kids.
The rest of the crew are also super friendly – when I first got on board they would go out of their way to come over and introduce themselves. Everyone, from bar stewards to shop staff to electrotechnical engineers. There are only 200 of us, so it is like a real family on board. This is probably the thing I like best about the small ship.
The crew bar is tiny. You would not believe how small it is. My cabin is MINISCULE. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the door for the first time. It is less than half the size of my cabin on the Emerald Princess. We have a gym locker for a wardrobe. This is possibly the WORST thing about the small ship.
Today, we will be in Bunbury, Western Australia. Hardly an exotic location, but I am excited to see what is there! Tomorrow we will be in Fremantle/Perth and then our next stop will be in Indonesia- which is a place I can get excited about.
As my opening statement about this ship, I would like to say that this ship is the EXACT OPPOSITE of the Emerald Princess. I come from the biggest ship doing the shortest and most intense itinerary – 7 day Caribbean. I am now on the very smallest ship doing the very longest itinerary of all, the world cruise.
Almost everything here is different. On the EP, I averaged 9.4 hours of activities a day. Here, my average has been 7 hours a day- but this has been factoring in all the office work I am now doing- and the time I have spent going around to all the lockers and inventorising the stuff/crap we have in there.
There aren’t many activities on the ship , especially at night as most people go to bed between 9pm and 11pm. After 11- the ship is a ghost ship. But, the people here are SO FRIENDLY. They are on for the long haul, so you really get to know them. I spend a lot of my day just hanging out with the passengers. They love to talk and really appreciate it when you sit down with them, or join them in what they were doing. On the EP, sometimes you got the vibe they wanted you to go away.
Another great thing about this ship are the crew on board. My team is just lovely. Brett, my cruise director, is a very cool young Canadian guy – one of the newest cruise directors on princess. He is great – he knows what he’s doing and he is funny as hell. Frankie, my deputy, has been with Princess 19 years. He is from Hershey, Pensylvania and is amazing with the passengers. I have never seen a cruise staff like him- the passengers just adore his irreverent jokes and soft demeanor. My room mate and fellow JACD, Natalie, is a lovely girl from England. It is her first contract- she was originally sent as a librarian – and we get along really well. Coming to the Pacific Princess for a first contract… well, it shouldn’t happen. It’s not like a “real ship”. It’s tiny and normal rules don’t apply- we keen talking about life on the normal sized ships and I think it must frustrate her a bit. She is with me until the end of the world cruise. Hopefully we can teach her all she needs to know and at the end they will tranship her to the Ruby or Emerald and she can see what life as a cruise staff is really like.
On the small ships, the dancers double as cruise staff – and we have 6 lovely dancers, 5 of which are from Australia. They are so cute and so non-bitchy for dancers! Just a lovely bunch of kids.
The rest of the crew are also super friendly – when I first got on board they would go out of their way to come over and introduce themselves. Everyone, from bar stewards to shop staff to electrotechnical engineers. There are only 200 of us, so it is like a real family on board. This is probably the thing I like best about the small ship.
The crew bar is tiny. You would not believe how small it is. My cabin is MINISCULE. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the door for the first time. It is less than half the size of my cabin on the Emerald Princess. We have a gym locker for a wardrobe. This is possibly the WORST thing about the small ship.
Sydney taxi adventures
OH GOD SPEWWW eating blue cheese then a sweet piece of pineapple is the WORST thing a person could do. I just did it whilst my blogger window was loading and I now wish i was dead from the nightmarish taste sensation that is lingering at the back of my tongue. A word of advice for the future to you all.
So i'm sitting in the restaurant of the Airport Mercure hotel in Sydney. People are dotted around the room - the majority with the photocopied set menu in their hands. These people, along with me, will be joining the Pacific Princess tomorrow. They are going to be my ship mates for the next 6 months.
I feel should go and say hi.. but.. yeah.. awkward.
My journey to sydney was not uneventful- largely consisting of a shit fight with Qantas and almost missing my plane due to afforementioned shit fight. I think the people who work for airlines must be the most burocratically minded people known to man. THey refused to extend me the 40kg seaman's luggage alowance and wanted to charge me $170 excess bagage before they allowed me to fly. Catch is, after a 4 month vacation- I didn't have the money. I spent 1.5 hours on the phone with the port agent trying to get a credit card number whilst the Qantas guy continually explained me the rules blah blah blah.
Eventually the port agent rang through with the number and I ran to the gate, christmas-movie style to arrive as the last person in the line handed over their tickets.
Upon arrival, time passed as the carousel continued to trundle out other's luggage and not my own. I started to sweat. where were my bags? was the credit card declined? what would I do without my hair straightener and ukulele? Just as I was giving up hope and resigning myself to a contract of frazzly hair, my two super size bags popped out from behind the rubber flaps. Salvation!
I dropped my stuff at the hotel and set out via taxi to do some simple grocery shopping. My taxi driver, a large greek man, had different plans however and turned what should have been a routine trip into some kind of madcap adventure.
He didn't knwo where a shopping centre was... he said the one i mentioned was too far away and then narrated the guess work journey through the backstreets of semi-idustrial city in hilarious con-the-fruiterer style tones. He stopped the cab twice to hop out and assail passers-by with please for directions as the meter ticked. It was potentially the most out of control cab experience of my life - and the most enjoyable. He got me there in the end and insisted on taking $10 off the fare because of the random directions we had travelled. Such a cool guy!
I went to woolies and purchased a whole lot of aussie things. I got all my normal choices of washing powder, bleach, body wash and toiletries etc and picked up some special things as well. I bought 100s and 1000s to make fairy bread on my birthday -and some cheezles and pizza shapes to share on that day as well. I bought myself a big red tulip bunny for easter. ALso I got some freckles, caramello koalas and mint slice biscuits to ration across the first few months of my contract. willpower here i come!
My cab driver on the way home was a lovely Chinese guy, who was very excited to hear about working on a cruise ship and appologetic for the sydney traffic. I had outstanding cab experiences today.
It's interesting - you pay hundreds of dollars to fly with Qantas and they treat you like shit, then you pay $15-$20 bucks to travel with a cabbie and get excellent service.
I hear it stormed in brisbane this afternoon- and that it was a good 'un. So unfair to have missed it!
Can't wait for tomorrow! a whole new ship with completely different people and a crazy-cool itinerary! So excited- don't know how i'll sleep tonigh!
Also, Queen Mary II and QUeen Elizabeth are coming in to sydney tomorrow. Watch the news and you might catch a glimpse of the tiny pacific princess nestled beside these monsters. Should be a sight to see!
So i'm sitting in the restaurant of the Airport Mercure hotel in Sydney. People are dotted around the room - the majority with the photocopied set menu in their hands. These people, along with me, will be joining the Pacific Princess tomorrow. They are going to be my ship mates for the next 6 months.
I feel should go and say hi.. but.. yeah.. awkward.
My journey to sydney was not uneventful- largely consisting of a shit fight with Qantas and almost missing my plane due to afforementioned shit fight. I think the people who work for airlines must be the most burocratically minded people known to man. THey refused to extend me the 40kg seaman's luggage alowance and wanted to charge me $170 excess bagage before they allowed me to fly. Catch is, after a 4 month vacation- I didn't have the money. I spent 1.5 hours on the phone with the port agent trying to get a credit card number whilst the Qantas guy continually explained me the rules blah blah blah.
Eventually the port agent rang through with the number and I ran to the gate, christmas-movie style to arrive as the last person in the line handed over their tickets.
Upon arrival, time passed as the carousel continued to trundle out other's luggage and not my own. I started to sweat. where were my bags? was the credit card declined? what would I do without my hair straightener and ukulele? Just as I was giving up hope and resigning myself to a contract of frazzly hair, my two super size bags popped out from behind the rubber flaps. Salvation!
I dropped my stuff at the hotel and set out via taxi to do some simple grocery shopping. My taxi driver, a large greek man, had different plans however and turned what should have been a routine trip into some kind of madcap adventure.
He didn't knwo where a shopping centre was... he said the one i mentioned was too far away and then narrated the guess work journey through the backstreets of semi-idustrial city in hilarious con-the-fruiterer style tones. He stopped the cab twice to hop out and assail passers-by with please for directions as the meter ticked. It was potentially the most out of control cab experience of my life - and the most enjoyable. He got me there in the end and insisted on taking $10 off the fare because of the random directions we had travelled. Such a cool guy!
I went to woolies and purchased a whole lot of aussie things. I got all my normal choices of washing powder, bleach, body wash and toiletries etc and picked up some special things as well. I bought 100s and 1000s to make fairy bread on my birthday -and some cheezles and pizza shapes to share on that day as well. I bought myself a big red tulip bunny for easter. ALso I got some freckles, caramello koalas and mint slice biscuits to ration across the first few months of my contract. willpower here i come!
My cab driver on the way home was a lovely Chinese guy, who was very excited to hear about working on a cruise ship and appologetic for the sydney traffic. I had outstanding cab experiences today.
It's interesting - you pay hundreds of dollars to fly with Qantas and they treat you like shit, then you pay $15-$20 bucks to travel with a cabbie and get excellent service.
I hear it stormed in brisbane this afternoon- and that it was a good 'un. So unfair to have missed it!
Can't wait for tomorrow! a whole new ship with completely different people and a crazy-cool itinerary! So excited- don't know how i'll sleep tonigh!
Also, Queen Mary II and QUeen Elizabeth are coming in to sydney tomorrow. Watch the news and you might catch a glimpse of the tiny pacific princess nestled beside these monsters. Should be a sight to see!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
3 days until I blow this joint!
hello.
So I havn't made any blog entries lately... But this time, it's not due to laziness - I SWEAR! It's all to do with inactivity and having nothing to report.
I have literally been sitting in front of the tv with my little netbook attached to my lap writing trivias/making powerpoints/typing up line dances/doing random work related stuff. I wake up, I go to the gym, I sit, I go to the gym. Of course, i have been a little LESS boring than that - catching up with friends and hitting the shops or beach from time to time. But there HAS been a lot of lounging of late.
However, all that is about to change as in just three days, I am heading back to sea.
I still have so much to do in that time. Today I went and bought new underwear. You know when you buy new underwear, it's time to go back to sea.
Ok, I'm going back to trivia writing at this point. This is just a quick note to let you know that the blog will soon be kicking back in to life.. as my life kicks back into 5th gear.
peace.
So I havn't made any blog entries lately... But this time, it's not due to laziness - I SWEAR! It's all to do with inactivity and having nothing to report.
I have literally been sitting in front of the tv with my little netbook attached to my lap writing trivias/making powerpoints/typing up line dances/doing random work related stuff. I wake up, I go to the gym, I sit, I go to the gym. Of course, i have been a little LESS boring than that - catching up with friends and hitting the shops or beach from time to time. But there HAS been a lot of lounging of late.
However, all that is about to change as in just three days, I am heading back to sea.
I still have so much to do in that time. Today I went and bought new underwear. You know when you buy new underwear, it's time to go back to sea.
Ok, I'm going back to trivia writing at this point. This is just a quick note to let you know that the blog will soon be kicking back in to life.. as my life kicks back into 5th gear.
peace.
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