I think I’m going to need some help to drive this thing.
New Centrum Shows
The past couple months have been interesting in Centrum. It started in September. We added the Birthday Bash Party. I’m not actually sure why this was started, but it seemed official since they had a giant inflatable cake and special rubber ducks made for the occasion. For those unfamiliar with the rubber ducks on cruise ships, I don’t know who started it, but you may occasionally find rubber ducks hidden around. Normally, these are placed by other passengers as a fun scavenger hunt for the kids and the young at heart. I’ve seen some very clever placements of ducks. You may find groups of kids looking for these ducks, though they aren’t necessarily common to find. I’m going to guess that this activity will end up being an annual one if it comes back as the items made did not specify a year on them. They could be rolled out next year. Or I guess there’s also the possibility that this was a test run and they’ll just add it to the list of shows in Centrum. It wasn’t especially complicated. It’s mostly just a DJ party with a balloon drop. I thought we were only doing it for the month of September, but we kept it going into October.
Once October started, rather than replacing the Birthday Bash, we just added the Halloween party on a different night. This was complete with a costume parade and special show from our dancers. All of this culminated in a dance party with a live band performance. I have to admit, I was somewhat surprised at the number of people with costumes. Of course, I don’t see the marketing material so I don’t know if it was billed as a Halloween cruise or with such events or if people were hopeful when they came onboard. Regardless, it was a lot of fun. In case you’re wondering, no, I did not bring a costume. I don’t get much into the Halloween spirit these days. I think my last costume was putting on a suit and tie and going as a “productive member of society,” but that was years ago when I still worked on land. I also don’t feel like packing something I’m only using for a month in the middle of my contract. I try to limit my bags as much as possible to keep my expenses low and my cabin with more space.
Now that it’s November, we’re going back to the usual schedule for now. I will say, the one thing I’m looking forward to now is not staying up as late for Centrum events. Losing sleep to run the events was quite taxing.
Costume party!
Inclement Weather
We got redirected from our original route due to a tropical storm going past the Bahamas. I’m not sure how our passengers feel, but Mexico is much nicer than not being able to make port due to high seas. Not to mention having smoother sailing with better weather. This would have been the last time going to the Bahamas this season before doing the same ports until I leave. On the bright side, we did get to go to Progreso again. I am curious what we would have done if Mexico was not able to take us as other ships were probably redirected to avoid the storm as well. There are no convenient ports to travel to that are legal for us as the itinerary needs to have an international port if we are docking on the cruise. A lot of Caribbean ports are quite far from us or have limited capacity for cruise ships. It does make me wonder how busy the port of Progreso is an a normal basis as we were the only ship to dock there that day.
It’s not common to change itineraries as drastically as we did, but it isn’t unheard of. We’ve had to extend cruises due to a hurricane passing by the home port. Fortunately, the waters receded quickly, and we didn’t have to spend too much time waiting. Unfortunately, the next cruise was supposed to be short so we didn’t actually get to go anywhere. It became what is known as a cruise to nowhere. Due to US laws about ports and ship builds, our ships cannot only go to US ports. That’s why we couldn’t just go to Key West and back to Tampa. There needed to be at least one port not in the US. Otherwise, the ship will need to be made in America, with American steel, and crewed with American workers. This is why only specific companies will do exclusively American ports. Not all countries have a similar law.
I guess now I just have to get ready to have the same ports until the end of my contract.
It doesn’t look a thing like me!
We’re Always Hiring!
I have given it a bit of thought about if I wasn’t a techie and still wanted to work on ships. We often tell people we’re like a floating Las Vegas casino. Basically everything that would go into running a casino has an equal job on the ship plus a few extras. If something breaks, obviously we can’t call for a repairman like we would on land. That being said, if I were to try to pick a new job knowing what I know now, I would probably try to pick a job that would give me a good amount of time in port. Given I don’t have the technical knowledge to work on the marine side, I’ll be sticking with the hotel division as I don’t know what I don’t know about ships.
The obvious choice for me is cruise staff. My schedule wouldn’t change too much from what it is now, and activities are heavily reduced when we are in port, meaning I wouldn’t have too much trouble getting off the ship. They don’t necessarily need any particular skills except a willingness to dance and talk in front of crowds. Then there is the retail side. I might apply to work the shops on board. These close while in port due to taxation laws while not in international waters. This is also why the casino portion of ships are not usually open while docked. Though I don’t have the skills, being an orchestra member is appealing. You definitely won’t be performing while a majority of the guests are off the ship, and there is no reason to have to stay on the ship in a duty role. Another obvious choice would be being a part of NextCruise sales force. They don’t seem to do a whole lot while we’re in port, though judging by their office hours, they must keep someone on the ship. Then there’s Shore Excursions. One might argue that the morning gets eaten away by dealing with guests, but it still seems pretty solid for seeing what the port has to offer. Given my history of children’s theater, one might assume Adventure Ocean is right up my alley, but I would really rather not deal with kids, especially when kid counts are high.
Well, that’s all I can think of for now. I’m not sure how I would handle being a sports staff, and I am no where fit enough to be a singer in the production shows. If this peaked your interest on working on cruise ships, remember: we’re always hiring!
He seems familiar.
Back Deck
My new ship is nice. Granted, it’s one of the oldest in the fleet and comes with its fair share of troubles, but it’s still nice to be on a ship of a different class than Radiance. The one thing I missed the most while working on a Radiance class ship was the back deck. This is a crew only area in the back of the ship where you could relax and enjoy some fresh air without having to worry about guests. Another reason to have these areas is for the smokers. Letting the fresh air take care of smoke is so much easier than what the Radiance class does. They have a smoking area at the back end of the crew bar and they try to filter out smoke. This doesn’t work perfectly, and there is always the scent of tobacco smoke lingering in the surrounding area. It even leaks to part of the mess since they share a wall and an emergency exit. The closest thing we had on my last couple of ships was an open deck in the front, but the guests could peer into the area from the helicopter pad. It’s mostly used for smoking and sunbathing. It’s also not the best place to socialize at night. Due to its location, it needs to be basically unlit at night to give the bridge officers the best view possible. The glow of a light could ruin their night vision or obscure an object without lights such as land or an unpowered ship. It’s kind of like when a driver doesn’t want a passenger to have the overhead light on while driving at night. It’s distracting and dangerous. Now, not all ships have a “back deck” in the back. Some ships have it in front but have them covered and out of the public eye.
Royal Caribbean is known for coming out with the biggest cruise ships in the world. A few years ago, I checked and saw that of the ten largest cruise ships in the world, Royal Caribbean had the 7 of those spots. That’s certainly impressive, but that’s not what I want. While I haven’t been on the larger ships, I do know that the Radiance class of ships makes basically as much as the largest ships in the fleet. What I really want is a ship about the size of Radiance class but just new. These ships are getting old and sometimes a refresh isn’t enough to cover the age of the systems. It would be great to have the latest bells and whistles and all the research that has gone into the larger ships in a smaller package that can fit more docks. As much as I gripe about working on Majesty of the Seas, it was one of two ships in the fleet at the time that could go to Cuba. Now, all the ships in the fleet are too big to squeeze into the bay and fit on the dock. Sometimes, the only dock able to accommodate us is the one for shipping. In these cases, most of the dock area is off limits due to safety and we get bussed to town. The farther we are from a facility, the more likely it is we get bussed. A neat thing I learned while working for American Cruise Lines, their ships can tie up in the heart of a city. I enjoyed walking to various parks and attractions because we were right there. Oh, and a back deck of some kind would be great on this new ship design.
In case anyone is wondering, I’m doing the exact same route as last contract, now on a smaller ship.
Well, the icons look familiar…
Round Trip Ticket
It’s funny. This contract, I joined in Los Angeles. This was great. The only annoying thing was my flight was at 7 in the morning. I did not sleep too well due to the excitement of starting a new assignment and the fear of sleeping through my alarm. My flight lasted the normal hour or so from SFO to LAX so that was great. I’ve been so used to longer flights places like Europe and Australia. Even Florida can feel like an incredibly long flight when I get in late and then have to wait to for the shuttle to the hotel. After I got to my hotel, I looked at my watch and thought, I’ve got enough time. So, I spent the day at Disneyland. That was nice. Of course, I made sure to leave before the fireworks as the next morning was an early one to get to the ship. It was a great way to start a contract. Now that my contract is winding down, I’m set to leave in Los Angeles as the ship continues to Alaska. In a sense, this my whole contract was just one long cruise and now I’m headed back to my original port.
I’d be lying if I said I was disappointed that my contract wasn’t extended to Alaska. It is on my bucket list of places to go. My Production Manager on the ship has told me that he marked in my company file that I would like to go to there at some point. I did the math. After my next contract, I’ll be lined up to go to Alaska during the following contract. My next ship is Grandeur of the Seas, and I’ll be doing the exact same itinerary I’ve been doing. Apparently, Grandeur is taking over Radiance’s old route. Once the summer is over, Radiance is going to be doing 3 and 4 day cruises to the Bahamas. I’m glad I’m not going to be doing that, but we’ll have to see what I can write about since it’s going to be more of the same ports.
Shore Leave 