Here we go again….off on another adventure that I can't believe that I'm doing. I'm a little bit behind but I'm trying to catch up.
Here's where we left off…
We embarked all the guests for the upcoming charter in Civitavecchia, Italy in the hottest terminal…EVER!! I don't think that I have ever sweat so much in my life. They had an AC working but they knew we were singers (or someone had told them) but they had turn the AC off because of our voices. I really appreciate that and I'm glad they were understanding but seriously…I wanted to jump in the ocean I was so hot. What made it worse was the fact that we had shifts of 50 guests coming at one time in 15 min intervals…for 2 hours!!! Holy crap, talk about sweating and rushing for a little while and then stopping and then rushing to get people boarded….whoosh. Later that night, we had to wait in the harsh heat (later finding out it was more than 100 degrees out this day) to just walk out on the pool deck and say our names and what we did. Sometimes I don't think people quite understand us because we are entertainers…they don't quite get who we are and what we are doing….just something silly that I notice but alas.
Our next day, we were in Portovenere, Italy where Zach, Bri, Laura, Jemma and I all got off to enjoy the city. I didn't quite remember this place when I was here the last time until we got to the island and I realized where I was. This was the place at the end of my last contract where Lesley, Jodie and myself played Tag by the old church. Ah memories. The 5 of us walked around the city for a while but were all a little hungry so we sat down at a restaurant, had a good meal and some great laughs. Love this group of people…a lot of fun. Eventually, we headed to the old church thats on the hill in this old port town. Last time I was here, we couldn't go into the church, it was closed but today they had a wedding there and the church was open. It was so small but so beautiful. What a crazy place to get married at but really really stunning. We then walked through a walled area of the city to the cliffs / place where people swim. You could totally tell we were not from there and just complete tourists as everyone walking around was half naked in their swim suits and there we are…in shorts and t-shirts with our cameras….tourists, ehh. If you look to your left….haha. Later on, Laura, Zach and myself climbed to the top of the hill to try and get into the castle that was there…to no avail. So we walked down another way to the bottom of the city where they got gelato and I got a coke icee. All in all, it was a very good day.
Next we were in the port of Portofino, Italy…one of my favorite ports but one of the most expensive. I was on tour in the morning with a great group of people, going over to a part of the bay thats only accessible by boat. Also, we saw the statue of Christ that is in the ocean. The story is that the statue is there to remember and protect those people that have died at sea. The entire time, we were on the boat watching our guide scuba dive, looking at the marine life in the area. It was all very interesting except the fact that it was so rocky on the boat, half of the people on the ship got sea sick. Luckily, I didn't get sick but I can definitely understand how people would get ill. We then spent an hour on the remote beach that housed a church / convent and watch tower…very interesting. We then headed back on the boat and made it back to Portofino where I headed back to the ship and enjoyed the rest of the day.
We were in Nice, France the next day where Jemma, Bri, Laura, Michael and I went off to enjoy the city. We left the port to walk around a little bit and eventually found a restaurant that we all wanted to eat at. The only problem, I have found with France, is that they don't like the speak English in a lot of the ports. The entire time at the restaurant, the waiter was having the worst time trying to understand us and I could tell he was getting frustrated. Eventually, I just ordered at caesar salad with chicken…thought that it would safe and it was…actually it was very good. After lunch, we wanted to find a beach to lay out at but first stopped at a pharmacy so everyone could pick up their suntan lotion…which I don't need, I tan really easily and don't burn…I'm very lucky I know. Afterwards, we were having the hardest time trying to figure out where the beach was and just walked around the city until we eventually found a Irish pub. Yes, thats right…an Irish pub in the middle of this french town. Random? Anyway, we had a nice drink (for Bri's birthday) and used the wifi…which is always nice. Afterwards, we found the beach which was gorgeous. The water was very interesting though because it was a combination of fresh water and salt water. When the two mix together, there is a clear separation that you see…its kinda interesting. We didn't stay long at all because we had to be back for the sound check for the BBQ. We walked back and had a great night, dancing and singing with the guests…they really enjoy the BBQ.
Monte Carlo, Monaco was our next port on July 30th. I know this port really well because we came here a lot when I was on the spirit. That morning, Zach and I went off with Eleonora, one of our International Hostesses. We went to the restaurant that we always ate at…Stars and Bars. I had a great meal and so did everyone else. They have really changed the port since the last time I was there, it looks a lot better. After a VERY filling meal, Zach and I went to the pool that is in the center of the port. The last few times that we came to the city on my last contract, we wanted to go to this place SO bad but it wasn't warm enough. Well, it was definitely warm enough this time. Walking into the pool was very interesting because we didn't understand any of the signs or how much it would be. It was only 7 euros, which is not that bad for Monte Carlo. We then were given this little blue hangers with a little box attached and then they pointed at the changing rooms. I figured that we were suppose to leave all our stuff on these things and I thought that it was really clever…since we wouldn't have to worry about our stuff while in the pool. We walked all around the pool until we eventually found a little area to lay our towels down. After a little while, we got into the pool to come to find out that it was SO cold…a little too cold for my taste. Also, the pool was sea water which I wasn't expecting but I guess it makes sense, since we are so close to the ocean. The pool was very nice, an olympic size with tall diving boards and a slide. After 2 hours, Zach and I decided to leave and get some Gelato. We sat in a little cafe for a while, had great gelato and got some wifi. After we sat there and people watched for a while, we headed back to the ship because I wasn't feeling very well. After I took a nap for a little while, Zach and I climbed to the top of the city to where the castle for the monarch was…which was so nice. We sat there for a while because there were so many cars and a lot of people outside the castle…we thought that we were going to see the Prince…but we didn't…oh well. We made our way back down the mountain and headed back to the ship for a relaxing night off.
The next day was St. Tropez, France, Zach and I relaxed throughout the morning and only got off around noon to get some lunch…we were getting sick of the food on the ship, it's not as bad as the last time but sometimes you just want a variety of options and the ship doesn't give that to you. We had rehearsals this day for Motown so we didn't get to go out and explore. Also, I wasn't feeling that great so we just stayed on the ship and just relaxed. I will say that for the past few days the humidity has been very bad…the moment you think about going out on the ship, you sweat…gross. I hope that the weather cools down here soon.
Our last port of this cruise was Sete, France. Zach did his first tour for this contract and did kayaking throughout the canals of the city. He said that he walked throughout the old fishing town until they got to the kayak base. They then picked up the kayaks and then took a 2 hour tour throughout the old canals. Zach was so excited for his first tour to escort but was SO tired after his tour because they were actually in kayaks, in the middle of the ocean, going against the current. I'm sure that it was very exhausting and it was the first time that I've ever seen him take a nap during the day. He must have been pretty tired because he normally doesn't nap. I wasn't feeling very well this day…I don't know whats been going on with me. I was very thankful that I was on IPM this day because it gave me the excuse to lay around and relax…hopefully I'm not getting sick.
We ended our cruise in Barcelona on a very interesting day. All of us had to work embarkation all day except Brianne and Laura because they were headed to the doctors off the ship. Laura had been feeling crappy lately, went to the ship doctor the night before and they just wanted to get a second opinion. Laura thought nothing of it and told me not to worry…so I didn't. After the LONG day of embarkation, Laura then arrived back on the ship and told us the news. It was worse than she thought and they wanted to do more tests on her. We then had to go up for the muster drill, so I told Laura to stay downstairs and rest…she had been through a long day. When we got done with the drill, we came back downstairs to see Laura standing outside of her room, with her luggage and the Human Resources manager. I had a freak out moment in my head and then she told us that she was being medically disembarked and is leaving right now. Oh….my…..gosh!!!! We started the day with 6 singers and when we left Barcelona that night, we had 5. This next cruise is going to be a LONG one. Lots of rehearsals to make a 6 person show into a 5 person show and as dance captain, I have to work with the director and music director from on shore to make the shows work.
Well, here we go…haha.
Until Next Time,
Jason
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