End of the World Cruise

I can’t believe the world cruise has finally drawn to a close. This morning we said goodbye to all but 42 of our passengers – a large percentage of which had been on board for the full 107 days. It’s been an emotional few days, with many tears spilled from not only the eyes of the passengers, but of the crew as well. We’ve really come to know these passengers, and the majority of them I genuinely like. I think the real difference is that we’ve become comfortable with each other – the line that normally exists between passengers and crew has become blurred a bit – we’re friends with many of them.

Sending them down the gangway this morning was a strange feeling. But it was nice that in my final disembarking group in the cabaret lounge were Merle & Eddie, Zi Zi and a few other passengers who I really know well- and really like. We just sat and hung out. On which other cruise does one get to “hang out” during disembarks.

I have delivered 40 trivias (it would have been 43 had I not gotten sick), done 3 instalments of my music game show, hosted 12 games of deck quoits, had a water balloon fight on deck with Greg Brady and his adorable son Brandon, Painted myself purple for Indian theme night, been to dinner 8 times with passengers in the dining room, given out several hundred luggage tags, survived margarita madness 3 times(with the same passengers in attendance each time), saw 5 boats made of rubbish successfully traverse the pool in the rockiest, most insanely dangerous boat building competition ever, received 31 photos from passengers, thrown-up during the judging of the scavenger hunt- only to be joined by two of the passengers 2 seconds later, greeted 72 shows in the cabaret lounge, survived 6 Frankie-style karaokes, came third in the crew pop-idol, received 8 huge bags of shampoo and sundries from disembarking passengers (it’s like Christmas in our cabin right now- we have 10 bottles of sunscreen!), witnessed the likes of Oman, Mozambique, Namibia, Togo, Ghana & Senegal, worn my stupid horse hat for 11 horse racing sessions AND collected more random arts and crafts stuff for passenger’s random projects than I’d care to remember. It’s been an amazing experience- I just completed the world cruise. Hells yea!

50's and 60's night - me, frankie and nat

Merle (an aussie passenger) and I at the random NYE party

Tim's Mum & Grandma with Me and Nat

The team in the pacific lounge saying bye to brett

 

New passengers are here. And there are young people! I have been virtually mobbing them and inviting them to hang out with me. All the new passengers seem really friendly – and they can’t understand how people could cruise for 107 days. They think the world cruisers are crazy... and I guess they are- but, my gosh we had a good time together!

Brett has gone on holidays and I have a new boss today, Susan. Brett was a wonderful cruise director and I am so glad I got a chance to work with him. Susan seems really nice though, so I’m also looking forward to getting to work with her. I am just so stoked to be in the Med. This is why I signed up in the first place- and I’m finally here.

Tomorrow, we’re in Sorrento- where we are planning to rent bikes and take them all over the island. Coming soon, Egypt and Greece. I just have to pinch myself constantly to believe I’m here.

Portofino - the most beautiful place in the world (well, i think)

I was lucky enough to score a tour in Portofino, which is a place I knew very little about before arriving. Actually, the extent of my knowledge prior to the visit was that there was a clothes shop called Portofino in Brisbane that sold brightly coloured Italian style clothes near the old 411 bus stop on Adelaide St.

For the third day in a row, the sky was crystal clear as we boarded our little tender boat to go ashore in the tiny port. Even the ride in was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. We glided across the glassy Mediterranean waters towards what can only be described as a postcard scene. A wall of Mediterranean vegetation rose in front of us, umbrella pines and palm trees spotting the picture, and nestled in between two headlands was a pastel village that looked like something from the 1600s. There were stately villas perched the high lands, some complete with bell towers and look outs, all bathed in the early morning light. Jasmine and I (both on the same tour), could not believe our eyes.

Once ashore, we boarded a small ferry for our trip to the next town along, Santa Margarita. Normally, a tour bus would have sufficed, but the roads connecting the towns along the coast are so narrow and winding, a large bus can simply not negotiate them. We motored past more and more breathtaking scenes along our route to Santa margarita. This town was also stunning, although much larger with a population of 30,000, all living in the most gorgeously decorated pastel buildings. The influence of the Genoese was extremely strong in this area, and you can tell that it has been wealthy throughout the ages.   WE visited a magnificent church and soaked up the atmosphere. We were to have free time in this little place on the way back, where I ate gelato in the square, bought fresh foccacia and Genoese style Pesto and sat on the grass on the promenade.

We also visited a third town, this time by bus. This place (I forget the name) had a castle in the harbour and a cafe where we were treated to free foccacias and real Italian coffee... ah they know how to do coffee.

It was an absolutely stunning day. After the tour returned, I wandered the streets of Portofino trying to imagine what it would be like to live in such a picturesque place. I can’t believe I am in the Mediterranean for the rest of my contract. I can’t believe how lucky I am.

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is famous for two things – casinos and formula 1 racing. Arriving in town when we did, we were fortunate enough to see both. The whole mega-dense city was in the throes of preparation for the Grand Prix, to be held at the end of May. I can’t imagine the chaos this event must cause for this tiny place. Every year, the whole track has to be re-assembled- from the grand stands, to the kilometres of barriers to the road re-surfacing. As we walked from the dock into the city, we passed by the finish line. Everything was almost ready to go, and we could imagine the cars roaring through in just a few weeks. The whole place is stuck between a mountain and the sea, with hairpin turns and crazy hills- and you can see the skill the drivers would need to not fly off cliffs or crash into one of the beautiful buildings.

Tim, his mum, his grandma and I made our way up one of these hills towards the famous casino. The famous central square in front of the town was absolutely gorgeous – and the casino was absolutely splendid. We didn’t go in- the 10 euro charge to go inside seemed a bit steep, but we did sit down for coffee, croissants and people-watching. So many rich bitch types strolling by with their tiny dogs and bouffant hairstyles thinking they were the bees knees. Sam, Natalie, Leyla, Nathaniel and Curt (a passenger) all joined us as we sat there in the sun enjoying the atmosphere and the free internet. It was odd to be sitting in a restaurant that served a 214 euro dish, but the coffees were 4.50 euro and that was enough for me.

the yachts in the harbour, and the P&O ventura (PP in bg)

Natalie, Sam and I then walked back towards the old town to visit the palace. As we walked we stopped to take photos of the harbour from the highest point on the hill. You would not believe the fortune sitting in the marina. The yachts that lined every pontoon were out-of-control posh. They made the nicest yacht I have ever seen in Australia look like a wooden dinghy. There seems to be a trend towards black, evil style yachts- making a section of the harbor look like some kind of villain’s lair. There were also huge crewed personal yachts, perhaps half the size of our cruise ship. The most extreme wealthy one had its name “Lady Maura” written along the side in huge solid letters. We later discovered that these letters were 100% pure gold. It kind of made me feel sick to think that people could spend millions on GOLD LETTERS when I could barely afford a coffee in Monte Carlo… or when the people in Senegal and Togo, where I had been just two weeks prior, are living in total poverty.

We hopped a local bus up the cliffs to the old town, otherwise known as Monaco-Ville. I can’t tell you how beautiful this place was; tiny cobbled lanes led us between gorgeous pastel coloured French buildings, complete with window boxes overflowing with blossoming flowers. The lanes were lined with cafes selling coffee and baguettes.

The Palace itself was not that impressive, as it stood covered in scaffolding. The view from the forecourt however, was absolutely stunning. Looking out, you got a panorama of the city, spread across the mountain. High rise buildings of a... old style stand on every available piece of land, with the casino taking pride of place in the centre of things. It truly is a beautiful place.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped for toasted foccacias at a roadside stand and sat around a cute fountain, chowing down. We also swung by a supermarket, where I bought fresh breadsticks (hot from the oven), a big wedge of camembert, a bear, some nice bananas, a 2 euro bottle of rose and an orange juicer (for delicious breakfast times).

Freshly squeezed orange juice is dominating my life right now!

I must say, Monte Carlo was nice.. but i wouldnt' liek to live there.. despite the oppulence it just doesn't feel like much "fun" to live there.. it doesn't have that"alive " feeling barcelona had

Beautiful Barcelona

It’s official – I have a new favourite port. Barcelona is possibly the most wonderful city in the world. After a rainy and rocky day at sea, things were not looking good for our day in the port. A day in sunny Spain is just not the same without the sun. The night before, as we celebrated New Year’s Eve in our final sea day bash in the Pacific Lounge (random I know), all conversation revolved around the word “I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.. Please let it be sunny tomorrow”. These words were punctuated by the sound of passengers blowing novelty whistles and spinning noise maker ratchets, but they were echoed by all. Let there be sun.

Imagine our collective joy when the day dawned clear, bright and bursting with Spanish sunshine. Toby, Jasmine, Tim and Tim’s mum and grandma left the ship with spirits high. I could barely believe what a fantastic place this was – the city was spotless and spacious yet bursting with a cosmopolitan old world charm. It has such a feeling of life about it, everywhere you turn something is happening. It was agreed, quite unexpectedly, that it had the same feel as Melbourne in spring; the buildings, the light, the cafes, the trees and gardens.

Our group piled in two of the most modern cabs you’d ever see (ours had a glass roof), and sped towards St Gratia Familia, Gaudi’s famous neo-gothic/melting-chocolate-style church. I have seen pictures and drawings of this place all my life, and it’s something I’ve always dreamed of seeing. And seeing it for real was… unbelievable. The turrets rise precipitously into the blue skies, and the building seems like it’s either melting or being slowly built by termites.

It went through three stages of design, with Gaudi’s original plans in simple-ish neo-gothic style. But as time went by and the building was continuously damaged or knocked down or burned, and Gaudi’s aesthetic tastes morphed through the modernity of the early 20th century, the building went feral. It is truly a marvel to see inside- the way the light plays through the mosaic-like rainbow of abstract stained glass and drapes down the columns. I am in love with this building.

After a brief jaunt through the gift shop, which was far briefer than the time spent in the line outside the same shop, we meandered down through a leafy park into the city streets. We stopped at a tapas cafe for lunch and coffee, eaten alfresco in the sunshine. Tim’s mum and grandma then left us to catch the hop-on hop-off bus to see the rest of the sights, whilst the four of us hopped a taxi to the main street of town. Streets of gorgeous wide open malls awaited us, filled with all our favourite shops. I bought myself two basic black tops from H & M, and a totally cute zipper skirt. Total = $21 Euro... not too shabby. Having lost Jasmine and Toby in the shopping frenzy, Tim (who is now the proud owner of a white jump suit!!!) and I wandered into the oldest segment of the town. Here, around the castle and old cathedral, were gorgeous cobbled lanes bordered by gorgeous pastel buildings. Tourist shops dominated the area, but it was just so charming. We then wandered back towards the pier, down a street lined with performers and people eating tapas and drinking sangria in the afternoon sun.

There is so much to see in that city, and I saw so little in my half-day there. But I will be back! I have fallen in love with Spain – I love the feel of the place. I would live in Barcelona... and I had the same feeling with Cape Town. Two absolutely remarkable cities-And I’m so glad I had the chance to visit them- FOR FREE!

Rainy Gibraltar and Fun in Funchal

Currently I'm sitting in an English pub, drining English cider waiting for my English sunday roast to arrive on a rainy afternoon in Gibraltar. We had wild plans of cycling and visiting the rabid monkeys, but the rock is shrouded in cloud and the cable car has, for the second port in the last three, ground to a halt.

The rock is a magnificent thing to see, but it is cold and miserable (hello england) and inside a pub with free internet is definitely the place to be.

There are only 6 days left of the world cruise - and we are all pinching ourselves. 6 days left in a 107 day cruise...

I was IPM yesterday in Casablanca- all the tours to Marakesch were of course cancelled due to the terrorist bombing.. and it rained.. but apaprelty the markets were great and ricks cafe was the place to be (albeit expensive).

The day before that we were at sea.. which is fairly unexciting.. but BEFORE that we were in Funchal, Madeira. What a place! What a contrast to Senegal! Funchal was simply stuning, a deep green, verdant mountaintowering out of the sea. A portugse wonderland! The city was immaculate- the foot paths were tiled entirely in patterns of black and white stone and every street and wrought iron lamp post was swathed in pink and purple flowers. There were gardens littered throughout the city and cafe serving REAL coffee and portugese egg tarts lined the streets. There was a ZARA wheer we spent exorbitant amoutns of money- everything was 15-25 Euros which is unheard of given the UK prices I was accustomed to.

Toby, Jasmine and I wandered down towards the cable car when the rain stated. And the cable car closed. We were devastated becase we really wanted to ride down the MOnte in wicker baskets piloted by portugese men in funny hats, which is THE thing to do i Madeira. We hid out in the cable car cafe eating vegetable soup and contemplating our great cultural loss in missing this experience. We cheered ourselves up with a return to zara and continued purchasing. On the way back to the ship, we wandered around the botanical gardens, taking close-up photos of raindrop-covered flowers with the MACRO function on our cameras.

I can't recommend this jewel of an island any more highly - what a classy and gorgeous place to visit!

As an update - I am still sick. I became mortally ill after my last blog post and was off work for two days. David and Karen have also been suffering from this horrible cold, and several of the passengers as well, so i'm not alone in my affliction. I am on the mend, however. Yesterday I went back to the gym and made it through an attack class.. the next step will be when i wake up in the morning and don't feel physical pain from how tired I am. I really want to be better for the end of the world cruise. 50's and 60's night tonight! then the finals of crew pop idol. THere are cash prizes to be given away tonight. I feel I won't win (Alex will win, I think) but i might get a place.