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(**DISCLAIMER**: The viewpoints expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!)
11/18
Today we are at sea on the way to Cabo San Lucas. The ship set its clocks an hour ahead last night to match the time zone shift.
I got up to have breakfast and practice in my stairwell on the deck. The sea was calm and had a silvery look to it.
Every once in a while a flying fish would jump near the prow, but I was never quick enough to catch one on camera.
I played through a ii-V-I progression in order to help with my jazz improv. Then I played the music for our jazz set tonight, and then some Motown charts for our guest entertainer. Then I spent a little time relaxing before lunch and the gym. The gym was surprisingly crowded…there’s a younger demographic on board this cruise, and it shows.
We had a Welcome Back event sound check, then the event itself, which went smoothly as it usually does. After that I killed an hour reading and going through some new music before dinner. Around 9pm we had a dance set in the piazza that was well received.
Tomorrow we are in Cabo San Lucas. I will have IPM duty and will remain on board, but we’ll have sound checks and rehearsals anyway.
11/19
A pretty straightforward day in Cabo San Lucas. Breakfast, practice, gym, reading. A sound check for the Disco Deck Party. A jazz set up in Adagio lounge, which went pretty horribly for me personally but was probably fine for the actual jazz musicians in the band. I don’t want to talk about it haha.
Later at night, the Disco Deck Party. I like it better at night (it’s been an early evening show for a few weeks) because the lighting is much more pronounced. It just feels more “disco”!
Tomorrow we’re all supposed to get flu shots and I think everyone is trying to find a way out of it. I haven’t had a flu shot since I was a child, to my knowledge, and I’ve had the flu once in the past ten years. But whatever, if it’s required I guess it’s time to get a flu shot. We’ll be in Mazatlan, but I will not have time to go ashore.
11/20
Here we are in Mazatlan! Looks nice.
The Carnival Splendor is docked across from us, facing us.
I suppose I could have gone ashore for about 2-3 hours. But with a time frame like that and nothing near the port, honestly it’s not worth it to me. Instead I had a relaxing morning and enjoyed reading out on the sunny deck. We had mandatory flu vaccines around lunchtime…I had my little private freakout about getting a shot, then sucked it up and went and got it.
My afternoon was pretty free, just lunch and practicing and rationing my precious paid satellite wifi. Using the ship wifi on your phone takes a lot less data than using your computer. I sent a few texts to friends and family, and tracked a tea order I’d placed earlier in the week.
Beginning around 4pm we had rehearsals with our guest entertainer for a Motown show, followed by three shows, the last one ending around 11:30pm. All went well, the audiences were great! These three show days can be tiring, but nothing like a circus three shows.
Tomorrow we are in Vallarta, with the Walmart and shopping mall very close to the port. I’ll have about three hours during which I could run to the mall, but honestly I don’t need anything and I can wait until LA to use wifi. We’ll see.
Oh, today Jane gave us a promo clip from our gig with Stephanie Hodgdon last week! I don’t think I’m allowed to post the whole clip, but here are some screenshots and video snippets of the horn section (because I’m biased :P If I am allowed to post the whole thing at a later date, I will.)
11/21
Wow, is it really the day before Thanksgiving? October seemed like a slow month, but November has flown.
I didn’t really feel like going ashore in Vallarta because I hadn’t slept well, but forced myself to go. For one thing, we have two sea days coming up and we’ll all be trapped on the ship. And for another, time is flying by and I’m going to need to begin the job hunt again, and the only ports where I can reliably get wifi are Vallarta and San Pedro. So, off I went.
I went straight to the mall, plopped down in the food court, and got to work. There are no outlets there, so my time was limited by my laptop battery (which is not great). I updated my blog, looked for Mariachi charts, updated my social media, and began looking for jobs.
After about two hours my battery was running out. I texted back and forth with Jameson for a bit; he just landed in Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his parents and the pups. I said hello to everyone and wished as many people as possible a happy Thanksgiving. On sea days the internet can be sketchy, so may as well do it early!
I walked back to the ship and had a nice lunch, then tried to relax for an hour before rehearsal with another guest entertainer who is doing an Andrew Lloyd Webber show. He has two different shows, and we rehearsed both of them even though we’re only doing one today. The rehearsals went…ok…and the first show was ok, and the second show was better. It was challenging material for our rhythm section especially. With a few extra days to rehearse the second show, hopefully it’ll go well!
Tomorrow we are at sea for Thanksgiving! I’m not sure if there is any special meal prep for the holiday, especially since this is an American holiday and the majority of crew are not American. The passengers may see some changes to their dining options though…
11/22
Happy Thanksgiving!
My day was pretty easy. After breakfast I had a short interview with HR, a standard thing for new hires just to check and see how we’re doing. Then there was a rehearsal for Voice of the Ocean. Then I did laundry, went to the gym, spent some time watching the choppy sea, and went to “tea time” at the buffet to enjoy a mini-scone and some fruit.
At night we had a jazz set in Adagio lounge. There were a lot of people there, and we got a lot of compliments on our playing both for the set and for our previous performances throughout the ship. It’s good to know that people enjoy our playing!
After the jazz set a bunch of us went to the guest buffet in the hopes of getting some Thanksgiving grub. They did have traditional foods including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Rebeca (guitar) tried her first-ever pumpkin pie and liked it! All of us were thinking of our friends and family of course, but it was nice to spend Thanksgiving together with these ladies :)
Tomorrow we have one more sea day.
11/23
The sea is quite choppy today! I don’t remember it ever being this rough since I’ve been on board.
I wanted to hit the gym, but there was so much motion even halfway up the ship on deck 7 that I couldn’t really picture operating an elliptical way up on deck 16. Even practicing in my stairwell didn’t seem like a good idea today.
I decided to treat it kind of like a “train run” day. Movies, snacks, rest. And I spent a little time on deck, although it was really windy and slippery. The sea is a bit rough but it’s also beautiful. The waves shine like obsidian, and there’s something magical about the silver line where sea meets sky on the horizon.
Anyway. It was kind of a boring day! We had Voice of the Ocean rehearsal and performance, then another Broadway-style show with our guest entertainer, Josh Paul Young. Both went fine, but I had a close call with seasickness during that first rehearsal. I didn't barf but did have to run offstage to pop some Dramamine and eat a green apple. So much for having a pirate in my ancestry -_-
Ah well. I was happy to make it through the shows.
Tomorrow we are back in port at San Pedro/Los Angeles! Yay! Phone signal! Wifi! And hopefully some tasty tea from Hojas!
11/24
I woke up early, feeling very fuzzy in the head thanks to the Dramamine. I was ready to get off the ship right away, but shore leave was not granted until nearly 9am. I had breakfast and waited. Finally we were allowed off, but for some reason some of us were tagged as non-US citizens, so it was a trip down to the crew office to clear that up.
Once that was done I was allowed the "privilege" of setting foot in my home country. Aaaanyway, annoyances aside, I got an Uber to Target to get Stacey a birthday card and small present. I also picked up a few necessities, including some more Dramamine and some Biscoff cookies to help with any future motion sickness.
Next, to Hojas for their Lemongrass Bouquet tea. Oh my goodness. It was delicious, creamy, herbal, soothing...just what I needed the day after rough seas.
It was a nice week. I was missing my friends and family and especially my boyfriend this week. But November is almost over, and I will see everyone again soon. I am spending the rest of my time here at the teahouse planning flights and looking for jobs! In a few hours I need to be back on the ship for the passenger drill, and then we'll have a dance set in the piazza.
11/18
Today we are at sea on the way to Cabo San Lucas. The ship set its clocks an hour ahead last night to match the time zone shift.
I got up to have breakfast and practice in my stairwell on the deck. The sea was calm and had a silvery look to it.
Every once in a while a flying fish would jump near the prow, but I was never quick enough to catch one on camera.
I played through a ii-V-I progression in order to help with my jazz improv. Then I played the music for our jazz set tonight, and then some Motown charts for our guest entertainer. Then I spent a little time relaxing before lunch and the gym. The gym was surprisingly crowded…there’s a younger demographic on board this cruise, and it shows.
We had a Welcome Back event sound check, then the event itself, which went smoothly as it usually does. After that I killed an hour reading and going through some new music before dinner. Around 9pm we had a dance set in the piazza that was well received.
Tomorrow we are in Cabo San Lucas. I will have IPM duty and will remain on board, but we’ll have sound checks and rehearsals anyway.
11/19
A pretty straightforward day in Cabo San Lucas. Breakfast, practice, gym, reading. A sound check for the Disco Deck Party. A jazz set up in Adagio lounge, which went pretty horribly for me personally but was probably fine for the actual jazz musicians in the band. I don’t want to talk about it haha.
Later at night, the Disco Deck Party. I like it better at night (it’s been an early evening show for a few weeks) because the lighting is much more pronounced. It just feels more “disco”!
Tomorrow we’re all supposed to get flu shots and I think everyone is trying to find a way out of it. I haven’t had a flu shot since I was a child, to my knowledge, and I’ve had the flu once in the past ten years. But whatever, if it’s required I guess it’s time to get a flu shot. We’ll be in Mazatlan, but I will not have time to go ashore.
11/20
Here we are in Mazatlan! Looks nice.
The Carnival Splendor is docked across from us, facing us.
I suppose I could have gone ashore for about 2-3 hours. But with a time frame like that and nothing near the port, honestly it’s not worth it to me. Instead I had a relaxing morning and enjoyed reading out on the sunny deck. We had mandatory flu vaccines around lunchtime…I had my little private freakout about getting a shot, then sucked it up and went and got it.
My afternoon was pretty free, just lunch and practicing and rationing my precious paid satellite wifi. Using the ship wifi on your phone takes a lot less data than using your computer. I sent a few texts to friends and family, and tracked a tea order I’d placed earlier in the week.
Beginning around 4pm we had rehearsals with our guest entertainer for a Motown show, followed by three shows, the last one ending around 11:30pm. All went well, the audiences were great! These three show days can be tiring, but nothing like a circus three shows.
Tomorrow we are in Vallarta, with the Walmart and shopping mall very close to the port. I’ll have about three hours during which I could run to the mall, but honestly I don’t need anything and I can wait until LA to use wifi. We’ll see.
Oh, today Jane gave us a promo clip from our gig with Stephanie Hodgdon last week! I don’t think I’m allowed to post the whole clip, but here are some screenshots and video snippets of the horn section (because I’m biased :P If I am allowed to post the whole thing at a later date, I will.)
11/21
Wow, is it really the day before Thanksgiving? October seemed like a slow month, but November has flown.
I didn’t really feel like going ashore in Vallarta because I hadn’t slept well, but forced myself to go. For one thing, we have two sea days coming up and we’ll all be trapped on the ship. And for another, time is flying by and I’m going to need to begin the job hunt again, and the only ports where I can reliably get wifi are Vallarta and San Pedro. So, off I went.
I went straight to the mall, plopped down in the food court, and got to work. There are no outlets there, so my time was limited by my laptop battery (which is not great). I updated my blog, looked for Mariachi charts, updated my social media, and began looking for jobs.
After about two hours my battery was running out. I texted back and forth with Jameson for a bit; he just landed in Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his parents and the pups. I said hello to everyone and wished as many people as possible a happy Thanksgiving. On sea days the internet can be sketchy, so may as well do it early!
I walked back to the ship and had a nice lunch, then tried to relax for an hour before rehearsal with another guest entertainer who is doing an Andrew Lloyd Webber show. He has two different shows, and we rehearsed both of them even though we’re only doing one today. The rehearsals went…ok…and the first show was ok, and the second show was better. It was challenging material for our rhythm section especially. With a few extra days to rehearse the second show, hopefully it’ll go well!
Tomorrow we are at sea for Thanksgiving! I’m not sure if there is any special meal prep for the holiday, especially since this is an American holiday and the majority of crew are not American. The passengers may see some changes to their dining options though…
11/22
Happy Thanksgiving!
My day was pretty easy. After breakfast I had a short interview with HR, a standard thing for new hires just to check and see how we’re doing. Then there was a rehearsal for Voice of the Ocean. Then I did laundry, went to the gym, spent some time watching the choppy sea, and went to “tea time” at the buffet to enjoy a mini-scone and some fruit.
At night we had a jazz set in Adagio lounge. There were a lot of people there, and we got a lot of compliments on our playing both for the set and for our previous performances throughout the ship. It’s good to know that people enjoy our playing!
After the jazz set a bunch of us went to the guest buffet in the hopes of getting some Thanksgiving grub. They did have traditional foods including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Rebeca (guitar) tried her first-ever pumpkin pie and liked it! All of us were thinking of our friends and family of course, but it was nice to spend Thanksgiving together with these ladies :)
Tomorrow we have one more sea day.
11/23
The sea is quite choppy today! I don’t remember it ever being this rough since I’ve been on board.
https://instagram.com/p/BqkeFaZAfQc
https://instagram.com/p/BqiTbpJAopJ
I wanted to hit the gym, but there was so much motion even halfway up the ship on deck 7 that I couldn’t really picture operating an elliptical way up on deck 16. Even practicing in my stairwell didn’t seem like a good idea today.
I decided to treat it kind of like a “train run” day. Movies, snacks, rest. And I spent a little time on deck, although it was really windy and slippery. The sea is a bit rough but it’s also beautiful. The waves shine like obsidian, and there’s something magical about the silver line where sea meets sky on the horizon.
Anyway. It was kind of a boring day! We had Voice of the Ocean rehearsal and performance, then another Broadway-style show with our guest entertainer, Josh Paul Young. Both went fine, but I had a close call with seasickness during that first rehearsal. I didn't barf but did have to run offstage to pop some Dramamine and eat a green apple. So much for having a pirate in my ancestry -_-
Ah well. I was happy to make it through the shows.
Tomorrow we are back in port at San Pedro/Los Angeles! Yay! Phone signal! Wifi! And hopefully some tasty tea from Hojas!
11/24
I woke up early, feeling very fuzzy in the head thanks to the Dramamine. I was ready to get off the ship right away, but shore leave was not granted until nearly 9am. I had breakfast and waited. Finally we were allowed off, but for some reason some of us were tagged as non-US citizens, so it was a trip down to the crew office to clear that up.
Once that was done I was allowed the "privilege" of setting foot in my home country. Aaaanyway, annoyances aside, I got an Uber to Target to get Stacey a birthday card and small present. I also picked up a few necessities, including some more Dramamine and some Biscoff cookies to help with any future motion sickness.
Next, to Hojas for their Lemongrass Bouquet tea. Oh my goodness. It was delicious, creamy, herbal, soothing...just what I needed the day after rough seas.
It was a nice week. I was missing my friends and family and especially my boyfriend this week. But November is almost over, and I will see everyone again soon. I am spending the rest of my time here at the teahouse planning flights and looking for jobs! In a few hours I need to be back on the ship for the passenger drill, and then we'll have a dance set in the piazza.
