Right………. This one’s been a long time coming…

Ok so I know it’s been forever since I’ve written anything here… and I’m sure some of you weren’t really sure I hadn’t died… but I’m alive. I’ve just been busy… and kinda forgot that I was trying to do a blog thing… which is kinda what happens anytime I have a journal too.

Anyway, I thought about it today and realized it’s probably been like two months since I’ve written a post for this thing, and thought it might be a good idea. So I’ve been on the ship nearly five months now… yet it seems like just yesterday I was sitting down in my sign on meeting and texting Nick that I was off for the adventure of a lifetime… but at the same time it seems like it was ages ago.

I have no clue what was in my last post as I’m not online right now so I only have the first post that I wrote from the first week I was onboard.  (BTW that seems completely wrong now… funny how first impressions are so misleading—I’ve got to remember that for the rest of my life) there are people that I described in that entry with less than stellar reviews and people that I was nicer to than it turns out I should have been… either way I think I’ll just stop trying to describe people beyond the basics. That way the impressions I give of people will just be of the interactions I have with them that happen to make the blog…because that somehow seems more fair. But is probably less fair somehow…whatever.

At this point everybody that was on my team when I got here has signed off for vacation… most will return to other ships, a couple will come back here later. The only one I can say with 100% certainty I will seeagain is David. He comes back in Sept. (PMs have four month contracts, with two months off.) In the mean time I’m working with a lot of vacation fills, and quite a number of women.

It is unheard of the number of girls on this tech team!!! Our PM and sound tech are women. And three out of four stage staffs are women right now, and I’m the strongest of all four of us. Which is cool as a boasting point for me, but not cool for the team when I’ve signed off and a whole bunch of charters come through.  Now there is a point of contention for me… because I would love to work a charter, just to see what it is like. And I would prefer to do it here on the Majesty because I am so comfortable here! But I won’t get to see any charters this contract, and a couple weeks after I sign off there are like five in a seven or eight week span! As much as I miss all of you at home I would love for my contract to extend.

Or even just to know I get to come back to the Majesty would be nice. This ship has been so good for me!

--> I go to the gym. For those of you that know me, you probably think I’m lying right about now, but I assure you I am not. I bought new pants about a month before I signed on; I was measuring at a 38 inch waist and 188lbs. Today my waist measures at 34 inches and I’m 176lbs. I had to buy new pants, and a new belt! I won’t say that it has anything to do with my diet because there isn’t too much to be said for the crew’s food here on board… aside from the fact that you can always find four different types of rice and three different types of curry… ALWAYS. But I do think I’m just more active… even not in relation to my job! Like I said I go to the gym.

--> I am in the theater everyday. There will not be a day that I am on a ship that I am not in the theater. It’s like they 'made' me marry my first love! Even in high school when it was that honeymoon phase of my love of theatre I wasn’t/couldn’t be in a theater every single day… it’s as though my soul has found a haven. I don’t think I can explain it to anyone who doesn’t already know what it is like to have a true love for their job… and it’s not even my job per se… right now I am really just a grunt, but that leads me to my next point: 

--> I have a clearly defined goal: get promoted to Production Manager. Everybody needs something to work toward, a goal or reward to achieve. And I have that lined out right in front of me! I can do my menial day-to-day grunt work, and then I have a reason to be so good at it that they need to give me a harder job; reliable to the point that they need to give me more to do. I have a reason to try. And when I try I succeed damn it! There is nothing like knowing that I can enjoy my job and work at getting the position I’m meant for. It’ll be mine eventually I just have to keep working for it. That makes the sucky days suck less and the days that rock rock that much harder!

--> I enjoy **most** of the people I work with. There’s a really nice feeling when you always know what to expect when it comes to your job, and the right management structure (which the permanent team here has) can draw those lines clearly. I love a strict work environment where you can still play and joke. Follow the rules, get the job done and done right, and pay attention to the details—work isn’t really done if you haven’t done it right. But if you can do all that and do the job right, there’s no reason you can’t have a good time while you’re at it! Go have a few drinks to cap the night off and crack jokes at each other’s expense… all I’m saying is there is a definite difference between a strict work environment that gets things done and is fun, and a relaxed work environment where you have fun and things are done…  and my preference is the strict one. But I’m a workaholic who hates being told to relax… ugh.

--> I am happier here on the ship than I have been in a very long time. Being on *this* ship I know where I am going in life and can let go and enjoy the ride. And ride the joy too! Without saying too much about my private life: everything I want out of life has been covered/taken care of in some way while I’m on the ship. The only exception to that statement is my beautiful baby dog Shadow! I still have the time and chance to talk to people back home, but I also have had the chance to cuddle up and watch a movie with friends here. 

In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason I have finally found the drive to go to the gym is that I’m finally psychologically satisfied with my life and can redirect that effort to becoming physically satisfied with my life too.

Anyway that rant aside… there are plenty of things I miss about life on land… the top three being my dog, people, and having a kitchen… I think I’m gonna cook a lot when I get home and then be fat again by the time I get back on a ship… but we’ll see. I should find out in the next few weeks when and where my next contract is.

Man I really hope it’s the Majesty again. That would truly be a blessing, and for more than the reasons listed above…

All my Love

~Elle~

PS: So I'm guessing that I typed this one up sometime in... mid-late August. and then totally failed to publish it! lol. I'll type up another to fill in life since - signing off, vacation, and whatnot... lol

So I know it's been nearly a month since I've posted...

and it's been a really busy month at that.

We had a group come onboard and had to move a bunch of shit around for them which kept us pretty busy, and then we just spent the last couple weeks installing our new cast.

There were a lot of photos I posted to Facebook... and I think they all made it except the ones from Joe's going away party... currently re-trying to upload those... 

Joe resigned, which is why I'm still on the Majesty instead of the Enchantment. Joe's replacement is Romy, who was going to be my replacement... Romy is such a sweetheart. Not long after Joe left we traded out sax players; totally gonna miss kicking it with Blair (we'll toast you when we go to Chili's after the next movie we see @CoCoWalk... lol) but Ryan seems cool. Don't have any pics of Ryan up yet, but he kinda reminds me of Scott Pursley in the face, and in his expressions, but he's way shorter than Scott.

Really going to miss my first cast! Nothing like finding a little piece of home at sea knowing that I shared RCP background Michael Seager. I still think of Andy laughing at me every time I grab my headset. And all the love from my perpetual costume changes Kyle and Brianna... though I have to apologize to Michael Woodard: no one will take me seriously about the Fro Handover...

Loving my new cast too! Don't know the girls too well just yet, but the guys are awesome and should make the rest of this contract bearable since it seems like everybody else is leaving me.

Danny signed off today. :'-( He signs back on to this same ship three days after I sign off. Utter shame cause he's one of my favorite people and the only one who'll understand when I say: I will NEVER look at Bengay the same way EVER EVER again. *le sigh* Danny's replacement Mike seems cool enough. Another SoCal boy like Corona... he'll be here until Danny comes back, so we'll sign off in the same week unless the universe decides differently...

Adam leaves next monday. *le sigh* And he won't quit talking about all the travel in Europe he's got planned. I don't think he spends more than 36 hours at home before flying off to Estonia, or Amsterdam, or Iceland... I've stopped paying attention because I know I'll just be stuck here in the Bahamas on the Majesty with no guarantee that I'll ever see these guys again. It's not that I expected to get to work with the same crew for my entire contract... but I didn't expect to change out EVERYBODY one right after the other... Adam's replacement Nandi seems all right though quiet. She's always in the booth which tells me that's where she's comfortable, and I can respect that.

The week after Adam is gone Tapia leaves. His replacement is apparently a friend of our fill in Cruise Director... we'll see how that goes... 

The next week sees our PM David going home... which I'm terrified of. He works very much the way I do as far as stage managing... And I've been shadowing him for about a month & a half now too. Kinda on the job training in hopes of a promotion... So I don't know how much of that will continue when his replacement arrives. But David will be back in September, so that will be okay.

My biggest complaint about the whole thing is how well this group works together! They just shouldn't be split up at all... lol. That and I feel comfortable around them which makes it an easy environment to work and live in... I've put some thought to extending my contract so I can still be around when Danny and Raf sign back on (which is seriously three days after I'm scheduled to sign off.) That and if I did extend I'd get to work on at least one if not like four charters, and it would be nice to learn what a charter is like in a comfortable environment... Not to mention extending would mean my vacation would start just before blackout dates which would mean I'd be home for Christmas and New Years... 

Basically I'm loving being on the ship and the people I've been working with, which makes it hard now that quite a few of them will be gone at least for a while. Its crazy how quickly you become close to people here and how difficult it is to let them go when they sign off. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if I knew I would see them again, but the world makes no promises... and what an utter shame that is...

ALL MY LOVE, 

I'll try to be cheerier the next time I post,

~Elle~

so....

trying to get all these pics i've taken uploaded... taking a while. sorry.

here's some direct links to the albums on facebook.

NASSAU W? BEEJ: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3395303448422.2135878.1444770033&type=3&l=8a2cb320b4

NASSAU: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3381238896817.2135470.1444770033&type=1&l=759ac0ed1d

ON THE SHIP: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3381309698587.2135474.1444770033&type=1&l=b562ce3ad9

KEY WEST: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3381322258901.2135476.1444770033&type=1&l=a3759de184

will try to make this blog more interesting in the future... lol

So I promised I would update...

But this is pretty half assed guys and I'm sorry.

The last few weeks have been fun and busy just the way my life should be. In fact I was UNDER the stage earlier this week cleaning... Lol.

But here's the thing... For as busy as I've been: I can't really think of any stories to tell at the moment... Most of my days are spent doing general upkeep kinda stuff around the theatre, evenings have one show or another, and nights are spent drinking... (side note, I think while living on the ship I may be considered a drunk: I don't recall the last full day that I consumed no alcohol whatsoever... But I can't be an alcoholic because I don't go to meetings. However! I can proudly say that I am a beer drinker now!)

Anyway, since I can't seem to come up with stories my next few entries will be reviews of our ports of call (CoCoCay, Nassau, and Key West) from my point of view so far. My next blog post will probably be Monday. No promises, but probably. And I'll post a bunch of pictures on Facebook tomorrow.

In the mean time, thanks for caring enough to read my blog guys...
~Elle~

Just a quickie...

On duty this week so don't have time to do a real post... But two quick things for you:

One: there's rumor I may be transferred in the middle of next month to the Enchantment of the Seas. Little bit bigger ship, does a southern Caribbean cruise, a couple different runs to Bermuda (can you say lost in a triangle?) and it also does a run up to Nova Scotia. Did I mention it's home port is Baltimore? Yeah...

The other thing is that sat. In Nassau we were berthed next to the Liberty of the Seas (which was the biggest cruise ship in the world in 2007, but then the Majesty which I'm on was the biggest in 1992, and now the biggest is the Oasis of the Seas) anyway our whole production crew (except Danny the head light & sound cause somebody had to stay...) and the full cast went to watch the tech run of one of the Liberty's shows. "Up In the Air". It's a flying show. They have riggers. Silks, hoops, a hydraulic pit... It was awesome. Very good show, can't wait to get on a bigger ship.

Well that's all for now folks...
~Elle~

A week and a half in and I can finally post a real blog entry!!!

(but I started writing this on day two… so I’ve gone back and edited it. Sorry if some of it reads wonky…) (yeah I cheated and created it like a journal entry in word then copy and pasted... what?)

So for those of you following along on facebook: the flights went smoothly though I didn’t get to have lunch with Ross like I wanted to because the first flight was running about 20 minutes behind schedule. Grabbed a quick bite at Panda express before the flight to Miami and mostly ate it on the plane. Landed with no troubles, got to the hotel and all that stuff went just fine…

Got to the Majesty the next morning after a random tour of Miami hotels per the tour bus shuttling us to the port… lol. One of the two smallest ships in the fleet, but still a real force to be reckoned with!!! The Majesty of the Seas has twelve decks. And a labyrinth of hallways and stairwells that I’m just starting to get straight and I have a really good sense of direction… (got it figured out by the end of week one though. I’m still learning new routes, but I can get just about anywhere on the ship in less than ten minutes!!)

Still haven’t left the ship since I signed on, but it is only day two. These first two weeks are gonna be my longest as I have a TON of training sessions to do… fire safety, business ethics, lifeboat demos, save the waves, cultural diversity… and these are just the ones that I’ve done (or will have done by the time I post this…) and that’s not even a complete list either!!! It’s like being back in college a little bit. Wake up at like 7:00am. Spend the morning in classes. Lunch. Go work in the theater. Learn what has to be done when I have the duty pager. Dinner. Maybe a little bit of free time. (yesterday’s was used to unpack and today’s is obviously spent journaling for the blog…) Then off to the theater for Call and the evening’s show(s). After the show we strike and set the next thing. When we’re done with work what do we do? CREW BAR!!! (Also, prices on drinks are ridiculously AWESOME! Like $0.75 bottle beers… all the time. Shots? $2, maybe $3/3.50)

(since day two I have managed to get off ship a couple times… in Miami to get some necessities such as shampoo & body wash and then for just a little bit today in Nassau just to look around and go for a walk where there are trees… palm trees, but still trees.)

So, the crew I’m working with? All guys. Of course.

--> There’s David our PM (production manager) Before I met him he was described to me as ‘looks like Papa Smurf except not blue, flamboyantly gay, and sometimes too much to handle’ I don’t see the Papa Smurf thing… He’s definitely a bit flamboyant, and so far I’m a fan. He’s one of those people that you just have to get used to… kinda like me, so it’s no surprise I like him. Even though his first question to me was if I was a dyke… He made some comment about me being the only girl and I said that wasn’t unusual and I’m just one of the guys anyway… He asked and said he was hoping for a dyke after I basically said no, not a dyke – penis for me, thanks.  

            David reminds me of myself as a PM. His biggest challenge with me is that I think I’m superwoman and he’s doing pretty well with it. lol

Then there’s Daniel (Danny), Jose (Rafael), and Adam, the light, lounge, and sound techs respectively.

-->Danny is Irish, stupidly rich b/c he designed power for THE royal wedding and got a six figure paycheck for it (pounds not US dollars- so not a small 6 figures either) and then bought a house in Westminster London. All that aside, he’s pretty cool to work with. And he knows what’s he’s doing, which is more than can be said for most people. (did I mention he’s worked for Cirque? And a bunch of different bands including U2 and Metallica?) He’s 22 which makes him the youngest out of us all, but he’s also the head sound and light… I think he has done more so far than I will in my life and he’s two years younger than me… the more I think about that the more it pisses me off… lol

--> Rafael is American (San Diego), used to work at Sea World, and seems pretty cool as well. This guy has got “work smarter not harder” down to an art… I’ve known plenty of people that live, and abide by, and even exemplify that phrase – but not a one of them has accomplished as much as Rafael by doing so very little. I’m impressed. Also he has a good sense of humor. And did I mention his last name is Corona? Like the beer? As in his family owns it and he’ll probably inherit it? Well it’s true…

--> And then there’s Adam. Adam is pretty cool. He’s Asian and German of descent but actually Canadian. But b/c he’s been living/working in the US for years he doesn’t have an accent. Also, I intend to learn as much sound as I can from him and he is perfectly okay with that. He’s worked on Broadway stuff like Phantom.  He’s really laid back and easy to be around. I approve.

Then there are the three other Stage Staff. Rodrigo (Tapia), Albert (Al) and Joseph (Joe).

--> Albert is from Trindad and Tobago. His accent can be thick sometimes, but it’s mostly not a problem. He knows what he’s doing backstage though he doesn’t have a background in theatre aside from on ships. He’s been doing ships for years and seems to be the one person on stage staff that can see I am completely capable.

--> Tapia is Brazilian and his accent and the way he phrases things can sometimes cause confusion, but I’ve been following him around all week learning the On Duty duties…  he is frustratingly by the book. If it is listed for him to do he does it. If it’s not something he’s supposed to be doing he’s against it. Even tried to warn me not to fold dancers’ costumes before the end of the show b/c if they get damaged in any way I could be blamed. Between that and the way he ‘teaches’ I have a very short fuse with Tapia anymore. He seriously  had me watching him sweep and mop the stage (come on like I haven’t done this before!?!) and vacuum the dressing rooms… beyond that, He’s not theatre either. He was a DJ.

--> And then there’s Joe. He’s only been here a month and this is his first cruise too. He’s got some kind of sound degree, but no theatre background, which I think gives me a leg up on him… that and he’s kinda the bitch of the group. But he’s cool and someone I can commiserate with about how stupid the drama between Tapia and Albert is. (Apparently they used to be friends, and then they had to bunk together and things just went to shit. If either of them have extra breath they’re bitching about the other…) Poor guy has been stuck in the middle of all this for a month.

All told it’s not too bad… I mean it could be a whole bunch of catty bitches trying to run each other off…  once I’ve had the chance to prove myself and everyone gets used to me everything will be peachy.

It feels SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good to be working theatre again. It’s as though my soul has been a fish out of water for months that just got dropped back into the ocean, somehow still alive, and can breathe right again. I know that humility has always been my weakness when joining a new theatre/crew. I know what I know and I know that I know it, damn it! But having heard the caliber of stuff these guys have worked on… and the fact that I haven’t worked theatre in nearly a year? Fuck. It makes me look at myself as the underling stage staff that I am even though before I got on the ship I was convinced that I should have been hired in a higher position. That and I have sooooo much more experience than any of the other stage staff... Maybe there is something to the idea of working your way to the top when you join a new crew, eh? At least that’s what I’m telling myself.  But then David himself was apparently stage staff for one cruise before becoming production manager… sounds like the right footsteps to follow.

Right… guess you’re curious about the shows? We do a Welcome aboard show, and farewell show, two different music review shows, and change our headliner every 2-4 weeks. The headliner does like 4 shows a week, 2 per cruise I think… and tends to be like a comedian, juggler, magician, soloist, etc.  and there’s also a guest artist that tends to be a comedian sort too… basically it’s something like a dozen shows a week… but some of them fade into one another…

The cruise is really regular too. Mon-Fri is a four night cruise (boards Mon. afternoon and disembarks Fri morning) that starts in Miami, hits Nassau (where we are today), CoCoCay (RC’s private Island) and then Key West. Then Fri.-Mon. is a three night cruise (embarks Fri. afternoon and disembarks Mon. morning) that again starts in Miami, then we go to CoCoCay and then Nassau again. Monday and Friday are turnover days where we load and unload passengers and all their crap…  those are actually our less busy days for the theater… good times.

So each week I can be found as follows:

MONDAY: Miami, FL, turnover day. (American port so phone & internet will be on)

TUESDAY: Nassau Bahamas

WEDNESDAY: CoCoCay Bahamas (RC private island)

THURSDAY: Key West, FL (American port so phone & internet will be on)

FRIDAY: Miami, FL, turnover day. (American port so phone & internet will be on)

SATURDAY: CoCoCay Bahamas (RC private island)

SUNDAY: Nassau Bahamas

(yup, my exciting cruise life is just as regular and planed out as the rest of my life... lol only this time it's not my fault!)

The food is okay, I get the feeling that the crew mess is often just guest leftovers… and not in the best way possible. I have seen pigs feet and cow’s feet both in the crew mess. And labeled as such. Needless to say I am way less excited about the cultural cuisine….  But there’s usually something worth eating, even if it’s just a salad or sandwich or both. But I do have to say that there is generally a meat and potatoes option and you know I love my meat and potatoes...

The only other thing is that I haven’t really had a chance to take pictures to post… I got some of the house in out theater, those are up on facebook. But my next big goal is to go camera crazy on the ship so you can all see where I’m living and such. Will try to post pics when I can!!! Lol

And with that I am done.

All my Love

~Elle~

No time, and when there is time I sleep...

Sorry for the lack of posts guys!!! Been really busy on ship and feeling a little sick as I get used to the air con and or the hour I spent cleaning mold from my shower...

Don't get much time to myself and when I do it seems that my body sleeps whether I want to or not...

Anyway, For those of you interested in sending me mail...

Crew mail
Royal Caribbean cruises ltd
Danielle Clark 636942
Majesty of the Seas
2935 west corporate lakes blvd
Weston FL 33331
USA

Not at all required and who knows if I'll have the time to write back either... Lol :-) and with that I'm off to start week 2!!!