VISIT LOMBOK 2012

Sea days are the hardest days on board ships. The passengers are around all day, there are lots of activities and we can’t go to the buffet until after 2pm. At the moment, we are on a run of sea days. We had three sea days, a port (Lombok), and now another three sea days. I guess I would not have had the sea-day blues if I had been off in Lombok- but I was IPM and had to stay on board all day.

IPM is usually pretty cruisy on this ship.. In port manning has become better known as In Port Tanning, but Lombok was different. It was a tender port. Tendering is rare on the pacific princess, as the ship herself is almost life-boat sized. It turns out passengers have been photocopying VIP tender passes and there was a near riot in the stairwells as everyone fought to get on a little boat to go ashore.

After 2 hours of tendering, I had another unusual job to do. It was the Pacific Princess’s first time in Lombok – and as such, local tourism dignitaries were coming on board for a plaque exchange ceremony. The Lombok tourism people were just so sweet. Alongside a fairly makeshift plaque, they brought us lots of Indonesian souvenirs – including lovely little scarves emblazoned with the words “VISIT LOMBOK 2012”. I thought they were just a little early with their dates, but their head of tourism informed me that they were aiming to have 1 million visitors and lots of festivals in 2012.

It was my job to show the dignitaries around the ship. They were so lovely- and it was nice for them to be so excited to have us on their island. They took photos of everything and kept telling everyone we saw to “VISIT LOMBOK 2012”. I may or may not have promised to visit in 2012! But they were so lovely, I would definitely consider it. People say Lombok is like Bali 30 years ago, before it was modernised and the tourists started flooding in.

I wish I had been able to visit- but IPM got in the way. Maybe some time soon? The tourism boss gave me his card and told me to email him when I come and he will get me a good deal.

We had Island night that night – and due to tropical rain – it was moved inside. I was really worried that this would kill the party atmosphere – but it actually went really well. This was my first theme night since I’ve been on board (And I live for theme nights) and I relished the chance to dance crazily and have a good time. It was also nice to do an event with the whole team- Brett, Frankie, Natalie and the 6 dancers. I am lucky to have such a fun and friendly team.

Today has been a fairly busy day – I’ve had line dancing and hosted the ice carving demonstration (Our carver Jeff made a gorgeous fish – and also revealed that he is a certified mechanical engineer – but prefers to carve ice!). I then spent an hour running around getting art and scrapbooking supplies for passengers who are working on their own mysterious projects. Natalie and I then had lunch and folded approximately 3.24 million booklets for the dancer’s show tonight “tribute”. I discovered there is some debacle going on with the ordering of the book club books which stresses me out to the max. I also am getting no further with my locker 9 clean up.. So many things to do that I have not gotten done. I then had to go up to ping pong – which on this ship, strangely, is actually quite enjoyable.

On the Wake Show, Brett and Frankie started a rumour that I am in love with Daniel, one of the Bartenders. I am not. But the passengers now think I am, so we play along. Yesterday I said I was sad that he wouldn’t give me a diet coke at the panorama cafe bar. Apparently today he has been harassed non-stop by passengers and I was delivered a drink of diet coke in the office with a napkin attached scrawled with “love from Daniel”. I am not sure which passenger is responsible for this. Then Daniel came and found me and delivered me a diet coke at the ping pong tournament because passengers won’t leave him alone. This is the nice thing about small ships- the passengers are really great.

Now I am hiding in my cabin with my diet coke. I have trivia at 3:45 and the first captain’s circle cocktail party at 5pm.. So I have to shower and get all my hair and make up done now, before trivia, and then make a quick change afterwards as not to be late for CCP #1.
One more sea day and then we hit land. Sihanoukville, Cambodia. I am going to try and book myself in on a passenger tour and do some sight seeing.

Now, Shower time.

Helicopters & Lights

It seems that I am cursed. Exactly one week into my contract on the Emerald Princess there was a medical emergency on board. A man who had just received eye surgery before the cruise was smacked in the eye by his wife’s elbow (apparently accidentally) and his eyeball literally imploded. Time was of the essence and drama ensued as a coast guard helicopter came and airlifted him to Florida.
Now, exactly one week into my contract on the Pacific Princess- more drama! Yesterday, a passenger went to the medical centre feeling very sick. His blood pressure dropped extremely low. After my trivia in the pacific lounge, Brett came over the loud speaker far more seriously than usual for a cruise director, calling for blood donors with A+ or O- blood.

During ceramics @ sea at 3pm, my ceramics ladies noticed that the ship had stopped dead in the water. I knew what was coming. Sure enough, 20 minutes later, Serious-style Brett came over the loud speaker, this time from the bridge. Medical evacuation time! We had to clear the open decks for the helicopter to arrive and winch the passenger without blowing banana lounges all over the Indian ocean. Passengers were kicked off the decks and everyone was running around dragging tables and chairs at lightning speed. Just as we got the deck cleared, the ship’s doctor arrived with the news that the helicopter was not coming until 8pm, making our extreme sweaty effort slightly unnecessary.

Now, at this point, after his blood transfusion, our sick passenger was stabilised- but no body (including me) knew what was going on . Passengers were being respectful but there were a lot of people wandering the corridors looking for information. On a ship of 700, everyone is acquainted with everyone and so their reason for curiosity was motivated by caring rather than gossip (a la the Emerald Princess situation).

At 7:30 Pm, everyone was deployed to “flying stations”. Frankie, Natalie and I were to guard the doors out onto the deck 9 pool from the panorama buffet. It was extremely exciting as the two helicopters approached – one from the Australian coast guard and one to perform the evacuation. Through our little peep hole in the door, we couldn’t see the helicopter, but we could see as the two medivac personell were winced down onto deck. The passenger was then wheeled out on a stretcher and airlifted up. There were people running about everywhere and all sorts of bright lights and signals. Eventually the personell were lifted up and the helicopters flew away.

So dramatic!

We have since had word that our passenger is in a stable condition in a Perth hospital and undergoing checks to discover what is wrong internally. With some luck he may be able to return to the world cruise in a few weeks. His wife is still on board for another day. She will fly to join him from Indonesia. Thank goodness he is OK!