Absolutely insane, and more than once I wondered what the hell I am
doing. I don’t think I have had a day like this since the first day of
boot camp in 1990. The hotel was fairly nice, it was Miami after all,
and after Mom and Dad left I suddenly felt a bit bereft. Mom started to
cry. I just wanted all the good byes done so I could concentrate on
the next step…which of course I could not prepare for since I did not
know what to expect, or for what to prepare.Spent the night facebooking and trying to get hold of you. I really wanted to hear your voice again. I am pretty much intent on getting a cell phone as quickly as I can. I will only be able to talk, or to upload blog entries on Saturdays as well. Too expensive otherwise. Back to the first night…
Couldn’t sleep, so just facebooked on my ipad until about 1:30 AM. I had called the front desk to give me a wakeup call at 0530. I had a roommate as well for the night, a gentleman from Mumbai who was coming on as security.
So many bags…had to really improvise to get a system that I could carry them all. Let me just say at the outset I am sending the majority of it back to you. The list they gave me to bring, and all the money I spent trying to get my stuff together was wasted. I got on ship and they made me buy everything anyway! What they should say is just bring some underwear and a couple changes of clothes (civvies), forget the costumes, they provide those too…and as for as country western night…they cancelled it, so no need for the cowboy hats so laboriously carried, or the boots and jeans.
The bus came in the morning and all hundred of us new hires packed our stuff into the trailer being carried behind the bus, and off we went. I sat next to a very interesting Colombian man who is on only for a month. This is his, what, fourth contract I think? At any rate, he is a teacher in Medellin and after six months away from the ships he had a month break and decided to get back on RC. So apparently, once you are in, you are in.
The processing went fairly quickly, which was nice, and no problems there. Was still fairly stressed with all the ‘not knowing’, but now that I was actually in the process it was a bit easier.
Luis is Puerto Rican, very nice young man. He is on his third year between Norwegian, and a little over a year and a half with RC.
Let me go back…the ship…as I walked up the gangway I could not believe how big it is!
So, I stowed my bags. Actually just piled them in…and the
whirlwind circus began. The sheer amount of information was incredible.
There are 10 of us Cruise Staff, which is supposedly a large team,
most ships have anywhere between 4-6. Amy sped me all over the ship,
took me to the Cruise Staff office, safety brief..and brief is what it
was for the moment, took me around the ship quickly the crew areas, the
public areas, and then she was off to prepare a meeting. I found my way
back, somehow, to my berth and Luis was there. Bless him, he has had
the room to himself for the past month and didn’t know he was going to
have to share, but he stepped up and took me under his wing and began to
guide me around. It’s a labyrinth. I really felt like tying a piece
of string to find my way back, except I had been so many places that
criss crossed it would have been an impossible tangle.No lunch, I couldn’t eat, but I sat and tried to take in the things I was being told about duties, etc. Then off to find the uniform shop and tailoring. Luis took me there and then left me, as he had duties. I was there with about 30 people and Amy gave me a call on the cell phone I had been issued. There was a staff meeting, and I needed to be there.
Only…where was THERE? Somehow I found my way back for the brief meeting, was introduced to the team, and then had to find my way back to the uniform shop.
I tried to retrace my path only to find that since the ship had set sail, there was a watertight door that was closed in my path. Now what? I spent the next 40 minutes criss crossing stairs and hallways trying to find the right stairwell, only to repeatedly find myself, somehow, in the crews mess…over and over again…about 20 times. Finally, I called Luis on his cell phone and he tried to give me directions…tried to follow them…10 more visits to the crews mess and I am about to give up. Found two other lost souls, and together we intrepidly set out once more….opened a door with no name..and success! We found the laundry room…but I knew that the uniform shop was connected…so through the room we went.
Another hour or more was spent in line, waiting. It was odd hearing the sound of the water rush past the bulkheads. The Jamaican gentleman who was in charge of the uniform shop was very nice, and handled the rush and stress with a great deal of calm. I was the last one served and was issued, (well not really, the uniforms come out of my first pay check), my blazer, white shirts, blue and gold polos, etc.
The two people that with whom I had been lost, and found the shop with, were a young couple named Ronnie and Kasie. They were a married couple who were going to spend 7 months on the Haitian island of Labadee. They were both dive captains, and he had worked with RC before. When he wanted to come back he asked if they could find a place for his wife, and they did! Can you imagine, being paid to spend seven months on a tropical island to work 1 day every two weeks when the ship is in port! Talk about a life!
Anyway, by the time I got my uniforms and managed to find my cabin again, with a minimum of being lost, I was completely frazzled. Luis, my cabinmate was not in, and honestly, I just felt like crying. I was thinking I had made a complete mistake and that I had finally met my match as far as being able to handle stress. I honestly don’t remember even feeling this lost and out of sorts even in boot camp’s first days. However, there was no rest. Now that I had the uniform, I had to put it on, and go outand do box office for the shows.
Word of advice for anyone that goes on an Oasis or Allure cruise…BOOK YOUR SHOWS BEFORE HAND! It was the first night of the cruise, and EVERY SHOW was sold out already. All the shows are free, but you have to make reservations. You can do this online now when you book your cruise. Everyone ended getting in, and I believe they usually do, but if you do not have reservations for the show they won’t let you in and they make you stand in the Stand By line.
This lasted two hours, and my feet THROBBED. We have a laptop which is hooked up on the ship’s wireless which allows us to book the shows. Pretty simple computer program. The cool thing is that everyone’s Seapass that they get when they join the cruise has a bar code, this bar code is on the back of the card and is scanned by a hand held device. It pops up green and they are in. Red…and they have to go the Stand By line.
After this duty I had a half hour to get ready for the door duty/scanning reservations for the outdoor extravaganza Oasis of Dreams…the water show in the Aft Pool. After being in the bowels of the ship all day it was wonderful to get out in the air above deck. I finally felt that I was on a cruise ship and using my hosting and people skills. I didn’t get a chance to watch the show however…I had an hour and a half of seating people, then it was off to the Rising Tide.
Rising Tide is the bar that is on hydraulics and goes up and down 5 decks. It is a bar, and the people can ride it as long as they want. Very slow. It takes 8 minutes to rise the five levels, then 15 minutes or so up, or down, and the reverse process takes place. The Cruise Staff person handles the machinery and controls.
By the time this shift was over, it was midnight…I had been up since 0530, had not eaten, was overwhelmed, and pretty much in shock. The staff is incredibly kind though, and several of the girls on the team took me under their wing and helped me survive.
After this was all over, Luis and two of the girls invited me out for drinks in the crew bar. I really thought it was a bad idea, but on the other hand I REALLY needed a beer to take the edge of this incredible day. The crew bar, one of them, is called the Helipad, and indeed is underneath the Helipad. It turns out I was glad I went. I finally got to see Sean Bernardi, who you may remember used to sing at the Keys Piano Bar. He is playing Edna in Hairspray, and he introduced me to several of his cast mates, which my team mates also knew, so we enjoyed a couple beers together and they patted me on the head and said, “Don’t worry, it gets harder”!
1:30 AM, and I finally got home…and would you know it…went right to sleep!
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