First Cruise

First cruise…complete… 

Well, what a crazy two weeks it has been. Here's what's happened our first week….

For the first cruise, we traveled from Venice, Italy to Civitavecchia, Italy and had rehearsals for most of that time. Which means for us that we don't get to get off the ship that much, but we did a little. Our first port that we all got off on was Zadar, Croatia on July 20th. It was so nice to start this adventure again, with exploring a new city and seeing the sites of that port. When we got off the ship, we were greeted by a lot of people swimming right there off the port. Sometimes I find it odd that people of certain cities swim right there in the port, instead of having a specific area to swim but oh well. When we were walking to lunch, we kept hearing these random noises from the ocean. Jemma had told us that they had drilled holes into the concrete to make different noises…which when the sea comes in and out would sound like instruments playing…which I thought was really cool. We all headed to a cafe and tried to get some wifi. Here we go again haha. I got to FaceTime with my mom which was nice…its nice that we both have IPhones and that you can use them with wifi. After lunch we all headed back to the ship and had some more rehearsal. 

Next we had our first show of Abba. The hardest part of this show is the costumes, which are so much fun but the shoes are very hard for me to walk in. When we were in rehearsal and did our dress run for our family and friends, I was the one that almost killed myself with the shoes and costumes combine. Every time I walk in those shoes (which have to have a 4 inch heel) I feel like Bambi walking for the first time. I'm sure you are all laughing right now..imagining me walking like that…ehhh. I'm going to hurt myself one day…I just know it. After our show, we met the passengers in the bar and they praised us and the shows so much. They LOVED our cast and said it was some of the best entertainment that they've seen on Silver Sea in a long time. That made us all feel very good and a little relieved since it was our opening night!!!

Our next port of call was Dubrovnik, Croatia on July 21st which was a lot of fun since we got a few hours off to explore the city. This is the port the last time we met Stanley the goat on the mountain. When I got off the ship, I told Zach all about the story with Stanley, which made him and myself laugh…hope to see him again, when we make it back to Dubrovnik. Zach and I walked around the city for a while and just explored. Its great that I'm getting to experience these places that meant so much to me last time with him…its going to be a great contract. We sat in the main square of Dubrovnik and had a great meal..just enjoying each others company and talking about how crazy it was that we were doing this. 

Our next show was the BBQ, which was something that the artist put together once we boarded the ship. It's something that we are trying as a new concept with Choozi Entertainment. We all didn't know how the show was going to run because it needed to have a spontaneous feel to it. We socialized with the guests for a little while and Zach and I had dinner with 3 awesome guys that we had meet during the cruise. Everyone kept asking us if we were going to perform and we said..maybe, you'll have to find out and they were like OH ITS A SECRET!! By the end of the show (which my song is almost at the end) we had the audience on the dance floor and singing the song with us, having a great time!!! I told my mom when I talked to her, that I felt like a rockstar when I was singing my song. People were dancing like crazy and had a GREAT time. Mission accomplished. 

Kotor, Montenegro was our next port of call and what a beautiful port this is. I was so excited to get off the ship for a little bit to see the city again. Its a really interesting port, hidden within the most southern most fiords…its a beautiful sail away and Zach and I stood up on the top deck for a good hour just enjoying the view. Zach kept saying how he couldn't believe that this was happening, that he was finally working on a ship and traveling the world. Its funny to see someone experience the same things that I experienced 3 years ago. Its really a beautiful sight to watch the sun set on the ocean while you're sailing through the fiords….how lucky are we :-)

Our next show was High C's, which is our Opera show and boy, did everyone LOVE that show. We had the loudest applauses for that show and people were so impressed that we sang in those languages so well. THANKS CESAR!!! The High C's show is my busiest show…I do a lot in it and I really enjoy singing these songs. I'm so happy that the guests love the show.

Our next port of call was in Sorrento, Italy which is by far my FAVORITE port. I don't know why I enjoy it so much. Maybe its because it really reminds me of what Italy is. In my head, Sorrento is Italy :-) I was so excited that Zach nor myself were on IPM so we could go explore this city and I could show him my favorite port. We had lunch at the same restaurant that I would always go to in the middle of the main square. Its a great place for food, people watching and WIFI. After our great lunch, we headed down the cliff to the beach area, where they have these platforms on rocks with lounge chairs on them. Its really clever and wasn't that expensive to get into. Zach and I laid out for a little while and then we decided to go into the ocean. It was such a cool experience and one that I never got to do when I was here the last time 3 years ago. This just made me love Sorrento even more and I can't WAIT to go back :-)

We ended our first voyage with our embarkation in Civitavecchia, Italy (which is the port of Rome) and received a 9.42 out of 10 in our ratings. FOR OUR FIRST CRUISE!!!  Can you believe it!!! We then gathered up the new guests, which was part of a charter and off we went for another 7 day cruise :-) 

New blog coming soon. More about the charter and the interesting ending to that cruise.  Stay tuned!!

Until Next Time,

Jason