Updates

Hi everyone.

I apologize for the lack of blogs over the last week.  I actually have been lazy about writing and we've had a tougher time getting off the ship.  Their are lots of rumors, but in many of the ports, we weren't very close to the town and we didn't have a shuttle for the crew and they (ship's management) was not letting us use the guest shuttles, so not much to report.

Soulac France was very nice however.

Kyle

June 1

June 1

At sea.

WHAT??? June 1???  You’ve got to be kidding me.  In 11 days, I will be back at home in Nashville.  I don’t think I’m ready to go…  I will miss so many of these people that have become friends to me.  Some have become dear friends and will be missed greatly.  Ah, the people that come across our lives.

So, a couple of days ago we were to have a cabin inspection.  It was cancelled, but being that communication around here is VERY poor, we didn’t know about it until later that day.  My room was clean, and for that reason I’m glad I didn’t know it was cancelled.  It was rescheduled for today.  My question is, how does a room that is so small get so cluttered so quickly.  Anyway, I gave it a quick clean and of course our cabins were not chosen for inspection today.  Well, clean cabin for at least today J

I went to go see Verne Lundquist this morning and the theatre was packed.   More so than any of the shows so far this week.  One of the reasons why is that there are about 40-60 mph winds and the ocean is very rough with swells and the wind is pushing us around as well.  I can imagine the doctor on board is fairly busy with seasick patients.  The outdoor activities have been cancelled, so most people don’t have anything to do – can’t lay out, it’s too cold and windy, no golf, ping pong, paddle tennis or mini golf, so…  To the lecture it is.  Anyway, I’m glad there were a lot of folks there as it added energy to the lecture.  He was wonderful and his stories brought back some memories that I had forgotten.

He spoke of his start and the breaks he got to get where he is now as well as some poignant stories about people he has come across in his life.  Went into detail about Terry Bradshaw (his NFL partner for a hand full of years) and Tiger Woods who he has followed as a PGA announcer since the 1980’s (well, Tiger didn’t play in the 80’s, but I hope you know what I mean). 

After the good start to my day, I headed up to the library to do my duty.  This is my first sea day on this ship, but I was warned that the library is always crowded and messy on sea days.  It was messy, but not too bad.  Mia and I finished up in about 20 minutes.  A little lunch followed by Pool side melodies – umm… nope, to windy and cold, but we went up anyway and there were about 7-8 folks braving the cold and wind to get their vitamin D (that is the vitamin right?).  We quickly returned to the warmth on the hallways and back to our cabins – well, I checked the gym first to see if it was busy.  It was not, so back and biceps watch out!!!  It was a good workout, but a bit rushed as I had paddle tennis at 3:20.  I was 10 minutes late, but as I stated earlier, all outdoor activities were cancelled, but just in case someone had shown up, I wanted to explain to them why.  It was extremely windy and walking into it was fine, but after I turned around, it started blowing me to the stairs (I’m on the highest point of the ship at this point).  I guided myself far enough to the side to catch myself on the railing and carefully guided myself down the stairs.  I must have been at a 45 degree angle.  I wish there was a video… J

Now some time to read and record in my diary (blog) until I help with passport distribution.  Then dinner, followed by the rest of my workout (running), then nothing until the night time duties.  You all know what they are now.  Greeting, de-greeting, library and disco.  Hopefully an early night since I am on all day duty tomorrow.

It was not an early night, but it was a good night.  Enjoyed talking with Arthur from Florida via Long Island.  See you tomorrow.

May 31

May 31

Lisbon Portugal.

Yet another country that I can say I have been to.  Today started with me working gangway at 9am and lasted until about 1030.  I sound like to broken record, but the duties we do are basically saying hello, good morning (afternoon, night), have a good day or how was your day?  I’m not saying I don’t like it or it’s pointless, but it does get a bit monotonous after a while.  Went up for some coffee and a muffin, then rehearsal for the singer’s show tonight.  It’s a cabaret style show where we sing songs we like – I think I explained that last time we did this.

The voice is NOT 100% and at this point I’m not sure if it ever will be while on board.  Still the junk in the throat – oh well… Suck it up.

After rehearsal, TJ, Danielle and I took a cab into town (we really should have walked, but oh well) and walked around for a couple of hours.  Saw a tall skinny building with people standing on top, so we decided to check it out.  Turns out it was a national landmark and very nice.  TJ and Danielle (Danni) learned of my fear of heights and exploited it a time or two – all in good fun.  I should get tagged in a couple of photos on Facebook.  In the distance you could see a massive castle, a park area with what we think was their national flag (I’ll have to check that one out) and the Atlantic Ocean in the distance past the “downtown” area with other unique buildings, house and businesses.

We explored some more, then found a little outdoor restaurant to have some snacks.   Our snacks included REALLY fresh fruit and French fries.  Interesting combination, but both were very good.  Some local musicians kept walking by and playing and they were all quite good and of course “asked” for some tip money and I obliged.  Now the beggars, gypsys and salesmen (selling crap), we did not give to and they really started annoying us because it was about every two minutes.  The restaurant staff did their best to keep them away, but to no avail.  Oh well… no biggy.

We started heading back thinking we would need a cab, but discovered that it was really that far.  Of course TJ was convinced that we were heading the wrong way even after we saw the ship.  She makes me laugh.  I had to host afternoon tea and clean up the library.

My plan was to work out after dinner, but I was extremely tired, so I laid down and caught a brief nap.  Right now I am typing this in my dressing room waiting for our show to start – 15 minutes to places.  Break a leg.

Well, the show was fine.  I don’t like the word fine as I think it represents the minimum requirement.  Our rehearsal today was a bit laid back and we didn’t run the run as a show, so a few things were missed.  In the grand scheme of things, nothing that happened was a show killer, but it could have been tighter.  I wasn’t able to really open up vocally because my chords felt heavy (you singers out there know what I am talking about) and I didn’t want to crack.  I did have fun though.  All in all I give the show tonight a B-, or “fine”.

We are in the Atlantic Ocean now and for the first time since I’ve been on board the ship, I actually feel like I am on a ship.  It’s rolling side to side, banging up and down; you can hear creeks and crashes and while I don’t feel sick at all from the movement, I definitely feel different.

Tomorrow is sea day, so LOTS of activities are scheduled for the guests.  My day is spread out and not that bad.  I’ll start the day by attending a lecture by hall of fame sports broadcaster Verne Lundquist.

Goodnight.

May 30

May 30

Cadiz Spain

Cabin inspection this morning.  It’s not a big deal and it makes me clean my cabin, so I kind of like it.  I enjoyed a peaceful morning in my cabin watching Sportscenter (would somebody please explain why the Cubs have so much trouble with the Pirates?), catching up on this blog, and recording my hours from the past week. 

Keely, Mia and I headed out into Cadiz.  YES!!!! We are docked in town, so no shuttle bus is needed!  YIPPIE!!!  Mia and I as you have learned are explorers, so we just explored.  BEAUTIFUL statues were located and kind of lead us on our way.  Lush and vibrant parks with happy smiling faces, lots of dogs and the laughter of children filling the air!  Our walk led us to a garden of great magnitude.  I felt like I had left the city of Cadiz and was walking in a place all on its own.  Unique and interesting shrubs, trees, bird sanctuaries and right in the middle an amphitheater.  It looked like it hadn’t been used in quite some time, but I could imagine the music and theatre adding to the brilliance of this magnificent place.

Our walk led us to a beach (topless), so we didn’t stay there long – Europe is very different than the US.  Anyway, it was nice to have my feet on the sand again.  It was rather hot, so we really wanted to take a dip, but we were not prepared – next time J.  We continued our journey to in search of the center of the city where we had heard there was great shopping and restaurants.  After a few wrong turns, we found it and sat down for a coffee.  Just in time because the sky opened up like it was south Florida in the summer.  It rains for about 5 minutes every afternoon in Florida – or at least it feels like it did.  It was very refreshing and was over quickly. 

Continued our journey in search of free Wi-Fi (internet).  Keely decided to stay and shop, but Mia and I found a coffee shop in an alley with a distant view of the Atlantic.  The service was outstanding and after Mia went inside to pay and as we were leaving the server ran out and tried to give the tip back to us.  It’s not customary to tip, but they were so nice we thought it was appropriate.

We headed back to the ship, I worked out before a function that we help host for repeat guests once or twice a cruise.  After this was over I finished my workout and then most of headed to the terrace café for dinner.  Terra Jo (TJ from Omaha) had a lot of pesto and want to share.  I enjoyed a few bites, then had my customary sushi – YUMMY!!!!

It was my team’s night to work, so that entailed greeting and de-greeting at the show, cleaning up the library and socializing at horizons.  The new band was playing, so no disco tonight.   They are all Ukrainians and speak little to no English, but are singing all the popular American English hits from today and all the way back to the big band era.  We like them!

A few of us hung out for a while after horizons in the crew mess, then Danielle and I watched some TV – well really didn’t watch much TV and mostly talked.  Then of course bedtime as tomorrow is another day.  Good night.

May 29

May 29

Casablanca Morocco

Ummm… I’m in Africa – WHAT???  I’ve now been in 4 continents.  Pretty cool. 

I decided to take a tour today as I wasn’t supposed to have any duties today.  I did mention this to our ACD and he assured me that I wouldn’t.  I was scheduled for a couple of things, but thankfully, they would not interfere with the tour I was going on. 

The tour was called highlights of Casablanca.  I think it should have been called highlight and not highlights.  Overall, Casablanca was very dirty and run down, but the Mosque we visited on the tour was simply breathtaking.  The area around the Mosque was vast, wide open and awe-inspiring.  We were not allowed in the Mosque as you must be Muslim to enter, but we didn’t really have the time to visit inside anyway.  The other “highlight” of the tour was the olive market.  Literally thousands of olives sitting out on plates, trays, bins and bowls.  The smell was very strong, but quite lovely at the same time.  I did learn that Morocco is the 4^th largest exporter of olives.

After I returned to the ship in the early afternoon I had to get ready for my “duty” which consisted of standing at the gangway asking each guest returning to sanitize their hands.  The ship does offer free sanitizer throughout the ship.  Apparently the last time the ship went to Casablanca a ship wide sickness spread, so they wanted to make sure not to have that happen again.  I decided to try to make it fun for the guests, so as they would come close to the gangway, I said “Be Wise, Sanitize”.  The phrase is now copyrighted - J Hee hee

I had dinner, watched a movie and went to bed.  Nighty night…

May 28

May 28

Malaga Spain

Show day today, so we had a tech run early on.  We were “allowed” to go into town today, but not on the free shuttle.  It was 3,50 Euro round trip and a few of us went into town for lunch.  I had to be back early for paddle tennis, so it was a short trip for me.   Very busy city on this Saturday.  Marble walkways and gorgeous buildings (I feel like I say that a lot, but it’s true – GORGEOUS.  Many street performers including a person costumed in all newspaper, including the bench he was sitting on.   While eating lunch several solo instrumentalists traded of playing in the background and created a nice ambience.  However, they all came to the foreground after each song they played to “ask” for money.  This was commonplace at each restaurant we passed and even in the street as there were many performers (including mines – yikes ;-)).  I will say that even though it was a bit overwhelming, at least they weren’t simply begging for it.

Paddle tennis was… well… boring.  I had 2 people show up.  We played 3 games (2 out of 3) and the gentleman barely snuck by the lady.  After that, I had nothing until the show, so a long run and dinner ensued.

This was the first of the last performances of all the shows.  Also to mention, this will be only the 4^th show of each of the shows for me as well (except Groovin since I was sick for that one).  The voice feels almost 100%, but I do still have just a bit of drainage and a cough (still – ugh).  I can say this was the best CON MOLTO (name of the show) I’ve done so far.  Keely’s mic didn’t work, so she ended up on a hand held mic while the rest of us were on our headsets.  It was a bit odd visually, but I’m sure it sounded good.

After the show, the entire cast went to the crew mess to play games.  We played until about 2am – so much fun!!!  Zzzzzzzz

May 27

May 27

Valencia Spain

I would say that I am still not 100%.  I STILL have a bit of a cough and runny nose.  It’s been two weeks and I really want this to go away. 

The General Manager has decided that the crew is not allowed to use shuttles into the ports.  Just to let you know, most (or it feels like it) ports are not just off the ship.  You need to walk a bit (or a lot) or take a shuttle into the city center.  That being said, we were not allowed on the shuttle in Valencia AND it was not walkable, so another day on the ship.  I took advantage of the sun and the gym.  Night time duty included greeting at the show which was Vadim Brodsky (look him up!!!), cleaning the library and socializing at the disco.  All in all, not a bad day.

May 26

May 26

Barcelona Spain.

This is the wonderful place that I started my journey from.  It’s a good thing that I was able to spend a day there before I departed because I was not able to get off the ship today.  I drew the short straw and had to work smack dab in the middle of the day.  So, getting off in the morning was doable, but not logical and there wasn’t any time after my shift, so I took it easy and enjoyed some down time.

I will say that after a month and a half, I have been worn down a bit as I have been pushing myself at work (and at play).  The days are long but go by quickly and even though I would have loved to get into Barcelona, I am fine recharging a bit.

May 25

May 25

Toulon France.

Anyone ever hear of this place?  Not me and the passengers I spoke with also did not have knowledge.  AND… Toulon is really about 40-45 minutes away.  We are docked in what looks to be a Naval ship yard.  We can see a small city across the bay, but nothing spectacular.  I’ll say it again – it’s nothing spectacular in France J

Duty day today and I started with Gangway duty at 8am and wishing everyone a wonderful day ashore.  It was a short gangway today (in length), so I had a while before my next thing.  I met Mia and a couple of guests for coffee, then headed to mini golf.  A fierce competition of 4 people, 2 of which were a married couple from South Carolina.  I think I mentioned them before, they are the parents of a baseball player and the made trips to Omaha (my hometown) for the College World Series.  Well, the world continues to get smaller and smaller.  Barb Hocking is the sister of Sally Albrect who choreographed the show choir I was in at college.  “It’s a small world afterall”… Sing along everyone.

After the scintillating round of golf, I headed to rehearsal for our show tonight.  It’s the Swing bumper and I have only done it one other time.  Bumper means short show and this runs just under 15 minutes and is designed to be an opener for another act, but tonight, it’s just us.  I think (as does the rest of the cast) that this is odd.  Oh well, we’re happy to do it.

I enjoyed unch at the Terrace Café followed by some golf, shuffleboard, paddle tennis, teatime a workout, then the short show.  There were less than 50 people at the show.  I don’t blame them as the guests depart early the next morning.  The show did go well.

May 24

May 24

Monte Carlo.

Today started with Croquet, followed by a tech rehearsal for Groovin’, some sunbathing, a long run, then a trek into Monte Carlo.  We normally dock here, but the Grand Prix is in a couple of days and the port is basically closed, so we had to tender.  YUCK… It creates more work for us (the entertainers) and it takes longer to get ashore, but it is all good – no worries.  Really had no plans today except to have a little food and get on line.  I accomplished both at Le Bilig Café with Reine pizza (Ham, olives and mushroom) and it’s just so good.  Very thin and light, NOTHING like American pizza.

Hey, Mia and Keely just showed up.  We all kind of gravitate to internet places since the ship charges WAY too much for it.  $20 for 200 minutes and the guests pay SOOOO much more than that.  Anyway…

It was VERY hot today.  Hottest day of the cruise so far.  Not sure why I shared that, but now you know.

Saw a Race car driver today being interviewed.  Have NO idea who it was, but the setting was very cool.  The marina (not the ship, but an actual marina) was the back drop with the million dollar yachts.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be in the interview because the camera swung around as I was walking by and I almost ran into the interviewer.

Headed back on the ship to meet up with Erin prior to dinner.  Erin is hosting an Alma Mater group from Miami University of Ohio.  So she is around them ALL day and like me, would like to be around younger people, so we decided to hang out for the next couple of days when we can.  

After a pre dinner meeting with Erin, I decided to roam around the ship.  Listened to the piano player (Mario from Poland) at the Martini bar and then just walked around.  The cabin can get a bit isolated at times.  I did finally head back to the cabin for a minute of rest before the show. 

Tonight’s show was the best so far.  My voice is about 95%, so I was able to let loose a little bit and the high belt really came out – YEAH for health.  After the show I met with Karla and Larry Rusco from Maryville, MO.  For those of you that don’t know, Maryville is where I went to college (Northwest Missouri State University).  Larry is a graduate and we took a few photos to send to the alumni association.  Maybe we’ll make the Alumni magazine J  This was followed by a sail away from Monte Carlo at 11pm.  So gorgeous.  Then the disco for a bit and a few dances, then bed.  Duty day tomorrow – BOO!!!

May 21

May 21

Amalfi, Italy

What a day.  Mia and I got off the ship early (10am is early for us) with the intent of hiking up a “staired” pathway to nearly the top of the mountain.  We went sure exactly where it was and the people we were asking didn’t either, so we decided to just go a find it.

We walked passed a familiar area (we were here on Easter), took a few turns and found ourselves heading upward and thinking we might be heading the right direction.  Well, long story short, it wasn’t.  We found ourselves in neighborhoods.  Not any neighborhood I have ever seen.  People homes are built on the mountain and to get to these houses you have climb, climb and climb some more.  Well, we did and it was just amazing.  Some of the views were breathtaking including the cemetery we ran across.  This peaceful and respectful place was located in a place you would never imagine.  On one of the highest points in this location.  We decided we wanted to see it and we found that families are “buried” together.  We believe that the custom is to be cremated, as space is a premium.  One person that was buried there had passed away in 1871.

After the serene moments we spent at the cemetery, we treaded forward and actually started back down the steps, continuing to find this path.  One the way down we ran into a white lab puppy that must have been about 7-8 weeks old.  She was having trouble getting up the steps as her hind legs missed the steps as they were taller than her.  Mia fell in love and had to pet her and the pup stopped when she got to me, laid down and showed her belly, so I proceeded to give her a rub.  We were now rejuvenated to continue!

Our goal now was to get back down to sea level and get some nourishment.  After passing a sweet old lady who I’m sure was resting before she continued to her home high up, we saw the way down.  After working our way back to town we made it to the restaurant where we ate Easter dinner.  Some Aumm Aumm (basically bruschetta) and a wonderful salad gave us more energy, so we took off the other direction.  So many steps and our legs are burning and we are literally dripping sweat, we FINALLY found what we had set out to find.  Neither of us felt like we had the strength to continue, BUT… we decided to go up at least a part of the way.  We could see the crest and internally, we both knew it wasn’t going ot happen, but neither of us said anything.  I’m guessing we made it about 1/3 of the way up and while we were there, you could see that within this mountain city was a jungle, thick and rich of trees, vines and other lush greeneries.  I feel so fortunate to be here!

We were EXHAUSTED!!!  We weren’t sure if we had the strength to get back to the tendering point.  We took it slow down the steps and we finally made it back to sea level, the tender and finally the ship.  WOW… all in all we hiked nearly 2 hours.  I can’t guess how many steps we climbed or how many miles we walked, but it was a lot!

A crazy exhausted as we were, I immediately went to the gym when we got back on the ship and did weights and actually ran a little bit as well.  Took it easy after that, got some dinner and then I had night time duty again.

What a day!!!

May 20

May 20

Taormina

I did not get off the ship today.  We had rehearsal for the show (River Rhapsody) and I had a duty right in the middle of the day.  By the way, on show days, we all do one or two duties so none of us are too tired for the show that night.  Unfortunately, my duty was early (after late night disco), so I was tired anyway.  Oh well, what can you do?

Had a haircut as it was getting bushy.  I now look like a human again!  The show went well, but the voice is not at 100%, maybe 65-70%, so I don’t feel like it was the best vocally.  What can I do really?  Keep trying to get better.

May 19

May 19

Zakynthos (Zatie)

This was a very laid back day as Zatie is not a “lot’s to see” port.  We met a restaurant owner the last time we were there, so we headed back for some more great grub.  Grilled Feta, Gyros = YUM!  Found some internet, then headed back to the ship. 

Had late night duty, so I was up late at the disco.  Was a fun night.

May 23

Livorno Italy

This port is the gateway to Pisa and Florence.  Livorno, while I am sure it is a nice place to live, is not a tourist destination.  Since I had been to Florence and Pisa the last time we were there, I decided to have a chill kind of day.  Slept in a bit, then went into Livorno for the sole purpose to get Gelato.  It's a creamier version of ice cream and it is AWESOME.  Before I go on, I have been working out just about every day and I don't have Gelato every day, but it is a wonderful treat!

We docked in a different place than the last two times and it took about 20 minutes for the shuttle to get us to the city center.  And yes, Mia was with me.  She didn't want to go, but I made her!  We have very similar likes and we happen to be work partners, so it makes it easy to get ashore, determine where we want to go and just go.  No banter back and forth about doing this or that, we just do it.  LOVE IT.  Anyway, we knew where we were going and got our treat and some free internet to boot.  After an hour there, we wandered around for a while in search for a flea market type of place found it but it was siesta time, so not many stores were open.  We had some coffee and headed back to the ship.  I worked out and headed to dinner at the Terrace Cafe only to be asked to leave because it was busy.  It wasn't, but I didn't feel like disrespecting the General Manager - not worth it.  Fortunately, I made it to the crew mess jut before they closed - whew... I was HUNGRY!!  It was duty night for me, which consists of greeting guests as they come to the show (and when they leave), help tidy up the library and then socialize at the disco.  I was the DJ!!!  I like that, it's fun except the system we have doesn't have the greatest of music - oh well.

It's day 7 of the cruise and I met Erin from Ohio last night.  She's young and we get so few of those on the cruise, so we hung out most of the evening and will again tomorrow.  I wish we would had met earlier, but that's the way it goes.

I still need to catch up on a few days and they are coming I promise!

Only 18 days to go.  Where did the time go?

May 18

May 18 –

Santorini (duty day).  Today began at 7:40am, although for some strange reason I woke up at 5:30am after falling asleep at around 1:00am.  Tried falling back to sleep, but that didn’t work, so I flipped on the tv to ESPN and watched (live) the 4^th quarter of the Mavs/Thunder game (NBA). 

Duty day was full of mini-golf, shuffleboard, greeting guests.  Santorini was beautiful from the ship however. 

Had a good workout that evening and a wonderful dinner in the Terrace café on board the ship.  Lobster, crab legs, shrimp, tuna, swordfish.  YUM.

updates

Hello.  I'm a few days behind and will catch up soon.  Not much to report.  I was on board for a couple of the days, so those will be short, but Amalfi was full of fun!

Congrats to Ethan and Amanda on being married this past weekend.  Was so very sad to have missed it.  Have fun in Hawaii!

Photos

Hello.  I was able to upload some photos today to my Facebook account.  Enjoy.

Kyle

May 17

May 17

Kusadasi, Turkey

Like I said last time, Turkey will not be my favorite place.  We have a show tonight, so I am unable to take a tour.  After rehearsal, Danielle (dancer), Dallas (guitar player) and I went out to shop.  I wanted a watch and this port is famous for good deals and “fake genuine” articles.  Meaning the Rolex watch I bought isn’t really a Rolex – shh don’t tell anyone.  The first price they asked for was 180 Euro, we settled on 60.  Danielle wanted a bag, but couldn’t find one she liked and after the 10^th or so store, she got tired of looking, as did I.  Stopped for a snack and then back to the ship after a quick trip to Starbucks.

My voice is back enough to sing tonight.  It’s about an hour prior to show and I’m sure it will hold on.  It will definitely be tired tonight after the show.  It’s just really hard to keep the phlegm off of my chords.  I’ll let you know at the end of this blog.

Met some really nice passengers this evening at the captain’s cocktail party.  Ed and Elizabeth from Austin, TX.  The ship has a complimentary cocktail party every cruise for all the passengers.  It’s quite lovely as it happens in each location.  At the Martini’s Bar there is a piano player at the Grand Bar a string quartet bows away as the guests relax and in Horizons a cover band gingerly plays recognizable tunes (except that you can’t understand the singer :-0)

One of my favorite parts of the day on the ship is right at dinner time for the guests as the sun is slowly setting.  The outer decks are virtually empty and peaceful.  I take a slowly walk the decks.  The weather today was very warm, so it was even more exquisite than normal.

Tomorrow is duty day in Santorini L I hope I can find time to get off for just a few minutes to catch the views.

Show recap – Although I know that I was not is the best vocal shape, everything went well.  The opening number is the highest song I sing (and it’s not high for me) and minus one “garglely” sound, it went fine.  I knew the rest of the show would be okay and by the end of the show, I felt pretty normal.  And while I don’t sing for the compliments, it was nice hearing the kind words from the passengers.

Next show is 3 night’s away, so I look forward to being 100% - YEAH!!!

May 16

May 16

Piraeus Greece.

I was hoping to get into Athens today, but I had to work in the middle of the day, so I slept in, worked and rested.  Of course, worked some more, and some more.  The sail away was very beautiful, but I missed the beginning, so I missed the best picture opportunities. 

Today begins a new cruise and the new guests were greeted with some bad news.  We port in Civitavecchia, on Sunday and everything worth seeing will be closed.  We are in Livorno, Italy on Monday.  This port is accessible to Pisa and Florence (ah, memories).  The unfortunate thing is that on Mondays they shut many of the museums – including the museum housing the real statue of David.  AND… we port in Monte Carlo again this cruise, but the Grand Prix will be raced 2 days after we port, so we can’t dock and have to tender in and will be a ways from the city center.  Nothing to major, but some of the passengers have already expressed their displeasure to me.  Sorry L

Voice is coming back, but not all there.  Still worried about tomorrow’s show.

May 15

May 15 –

Very interesting day today.  The ship actually had 2 ports today and both were tender ports.  To remind you, a tender port means we anchor at sea and take a small boat to shore.  So, it was a busy day on board for the crew including the cruise staff/singers.  Thankfully, the ACD did not schedule me for anything that required a lot of talking – THANK YOU ROY!  The voice is definitely better, but I will not be able to take part in the show to night.  Tonight’s show is a cabaret featuring the singers and was supposed to included me singing “All of Me”, “Blessed the Broken Road” and parts of “Rock This Town” and “Celebration”.  I guess, we’ll do that next cruise.  Again – boo!!! 

May 14

May 14 –

Kusadasi Turkey.  Well… Today was interesting… I thought I was losing my voice a couple of days ago, so I shut it down, but… today I woke up with “junk” on my throat and struggling to make sound with my voice.  We have a show tonight and I’m not certain I’ll be able to do it.  I let our manager know immediately and his response was (and is for everything) “it (or you) will be fine”.  Well, I told him to start thinking about the show if I wasn’t able.  He again reiterated, “you’ll be fine”.  After the technical rehearsal, I went ashore for lunch with a few folks and by the time I sat down, I had NO voice – NOTHING, NADA, ZAERO, NIL, ZILCH.  I immediately walked back to the ship to tell our manager that I could not do the show.  BOOOOOOOO, I felt horrible doing this.  By the way, I never felt sick, just a runny nose and drainage.  As you singers know, drainage is NOT good for the voice.  And in this case, it is keeping me from doing my job.  ALTHOUGH… My job is more as a cruise staff person rather than a performer.  This is not a complaint, I like most of it, but it can be draining and this is why I think I got “sick”.  The doctor on board confirmed that I am NOT sick – no fever, lungs clear, everything else checks out good as well, just some major congestion – YUCK.

To elaborate.  Some days start at 7:30am and end at midnight or later and then could start again as early as 7:30am again.  We NEVER work solidly though the day, but you can’t really get solid rest either.  I haven’t had enough time to adjust to this life again, so by the time I leave I’m sure I’ll be ready J

Okay, back to Turkey.  After I came back to the ship and told the manager, I went out in search for some bargains as I heard there were many to be had.  I headed out and met a couple of passengers that asked me if I was feeling better – how did they know?  Who knows, but it was nice of them to ask.  Okay, on to shopping.  I was in the market for a watch.  This port has “fake” genuine items.  Meaning they sell Gucci, Ray ban and other name brand items, EXCEPT, they are fake.  So, I wanted Rolex or something similar.  There is a market that they call a bazar and it is BRUTAL.  You truly cannot walk 5 steps without being harassed.  Think flea market setting – which I like, but this place.  Well…  let me finish the story…

I was 3 steps in and all I heard was “mister mister”, “cheap prices”, “I give you good deal”, etc.  I found a watch stand and the “salesman” immediately started trying to sell me sunglasses – which I did need and found a pair I liked and he wanted 30 Euro for.  Um… NO… I offered 10 and we settled on 15.  Then he offered me a free glass of tee (which was wonderful) and took me into his leather store.  There were some fantastic jackets and I like leather, BUT... as I told them; I was NOT in the market for a jacket.  WOW… I wanted out, but I wasn’t done with my tea.  The jacket I liked had a price of 950 Euro and they offered it to me for 450.  Well, I don’t carry that much cash, nor was I going to buy anything.  By the way 450 Euro is about $675 and, umm, uhh… NOOOOO thank you.  I told him that was needed to meet my friends and had to go.  He proceeded to ask for a credit card – told him I didn’t have one.  Then, he offered to GIVE me the jacket and I could come back to pay him later.  WHAT???  Oh my goodness.  As tempting as it was, I was not going to take a bite of that apple.  Nope.  I say no and goodbye and thank you for the tea.

Turkey is the “worst” port so far.  I’m sure there are good things about it and I think I am going to try to go to Ephesus on the next cruise.  I need to find out what exactly what that is, but I hear it is a “too see”.  We are there on Tuesday (I think).

Oh yeah, I was NOT in the show tonight and I feel embarrassed that I could do what I was hired to do – oh wait.  Reference back to what my real job is – “cruise staff”.  Again, not against doing it and I kind of like most of it, but I was really hired to be a singer and I feel bad that I can’t fulfill that obligation.  L  There is only 1 other male singer in the cast and he sang all the songs I was supposed to except “Yesterday” which Mia sang beautifully.

I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 9am – YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 13

May 13 –

Santorini Greece. 

One word – WOW!  This is really hard to describe.   I think this is what I thought all of Greece would look like.  I can’t wait to share pictures of this breathtaking place.

Mia and I took the 8-minute tender ashore.  The tender was very rough today, but so worth the ride in.  We decided to walk up the 589 steps to the top of the mountain – did I mention that Santorini is built on a mountain.  Like I said, hard to describe.  Anyway, the weather was perfect with just the right about of breeze.  The climb was gorgeous and quite a workout and we were both sweaty and in need of a break by the time we reached the top.  There were donkeys available to climb the mountain, but we were happy we decided to walk.  We did have to watch our step if you know what I mean.

We found a restaurant and had some lunch.  Oh, the restaurant had an ocean front view where we could see our ship and other villages from afar.  The island directly across from us has an active volcano.  You can only get to that island by boat and the boats cannot dock, so you have to swim in.  I’d like to go back just to so that J

After a delightful lunch, we walked around the city for a while (again, on top of the mountain).  Lovely shops with mostly touristy stuff.  The locals were very friendly and not pushy which is a nice change.  I accidently left my camera in a store and didn’t realize it for about an hour.  I went back with the thought that it (the camera) would be gone.  Eureka!!! It was there.  YEAH!!!  So many pictures I haven’t uploaded yet.  

We stopped at a café for coffee (and internet) and our waiter was a US Navy Seal with dual citizenship.  We visited the bell tower and rode the cable car down the mountain.  About a 2-½ minute ride down.  I videoed the ride and some time in the future, I will share it with you.

Do you know that feeling you get when you feel content and a smile just comes to your face?  Well, today was that day for me.  We visit again next cruise, but I will have to work and won’t be able to take advantage of Santorini again – bummer.  But, I will always have the feeling!

May 12

May 12 –

Monemvasia, Greece.  A very small island with not much to see.  Mia and I went ashore from some lunch.  It began to rain as we got to shore and we found a restaurant just before it started to pour.  We enjoyed some grilled feta and some real Greek Gyro’s!!!  Yum yum yum and so cheap (relatively speaking).

It was just a simple laid backed day.  Enjoyable 

May 11

May 11 –

Hello again.  Today is Wednesday and to tell you the truth I have to look at my watch everyday to remind me what day it really is.  My previous cruise experiences have ALL been 7 day cruises that repeated, so I ALWAYS knew where I was because of the port we were in.   Well, today we were in Zakynthos, Greece.  It is pronounced Zah-keen-tohs and it is commonly referred to as Zante (Zahn-tee).  This Greek Island is rather small and doesn’t offer a plethora of things to do.  Especially if you only have 4 hours.  BUT… after my gangway duty greeting guests and wishing them well, I made it ashore with Danielle (Danny).  We were anchored, so we had to tender (refer back to the earlier blogs if you forgot what that is) and on the tender we saw Ryan (the other male singer in the cast) and we explored a bit.  We walked along the shore line and I saw a building in the distance worth visiting.  It was a church and I think it was Greek Orthodox.  It had a very unique public area outside with MANY rectangle flower pots with many different types of flowers.  Yes Mom, I took photos J  The inside was so amazing with hand painted depictions of many stories.  I am a bit ashamed that I didn’t take more notice of the stories.  I did take pictures, but on the way out a saw the sign that no photography is allowed.  Sorry…  The bottom line is that every church I have seen so far is simply breathtaking and truly a place to visit.  Much like the Downtown Presbyterian Church I attend in Nashville, but for different reasons

After the church we walked around to see what else might be in the area and didn’t see much, so we found a nice restaurant for some lunch.  Well, I didn’t eat as I ate on the ship, but I did enjoy my first Greek coffee (non-filtered) and really enjoyed it.  VERY unique!  Danny had an “English breakfast” (she is from Kent England).  This breakfast includes 2 eggs, sausage (not the small link sausage, but more like Kielbasa , bacon (Canadian style), mushrooms (sautéed), baked beans (yup, just like the baked beans Americans eat ate cookouts), toast and juice – she cleaned it up!  AFTER eating with me on the ship – the girl can eat!  Ryan had some Slouvakie (sorry, still don’t know what this is except to say that is is the style they make the meat – he had chicken).  He also ordered Grilled feta cheese – um……. 2 words  YUMMMMMM…. MYYYYYYY.  I had some with the bread they brought, so I guess I did eat a little.

We decided to take a train tour and that was a mistake.  It was more of a taxi from the central part of the town to the resort area of the island and then back.  We met some Brits staying on the island and enjoyed their company during the ride.  Apparently, this island is VERY popular with the English folk.  They said that there are some nice beaches. 

After we were dropped off, we toured the other side of the port and the streets were all stone and incredibly well maintained with many shops (coffee, restaurant, eateries).  We decided to stop at a place that had free wi-fi (that’s the internet) and was joined by Yanna (remember her from Venice?).  We had juice, ice cream, milkshake and beer (we all didn’t have that by the way, we all had one – you all choose who had what).  I tried calling a few people, but it was early (in America), so I didn’t get through to anyone EXCEPT my sister!  Yeah!!!  It was so nice to talk to her briefly.  It was 7am in Nebraska, so the first thing she said was “is everything okay” – hee hee.  The connection wasn’t great, so we only spent a few brief moments talking and I had to “work” at 4:30, so I left before everyone else and did my duties, followed by dinner, then a GREAT workout!!!  After some time on the internet doing some bill paying and posting my new blogs, I took a long hot shower and right now, I am writing this blog and then to bed early!!!

I hope everyone that is following my blog is enjoying my travels.  I certainly am.  I was asked recently what my favorite port is and I have to say that it is not what you would think.  Yes, Florence was (is) an amazing place with so much history and Pisa does have the Tower.  Spent 3 days in Venice and I will re-iterate that is absolutely the most unique city I have ever been to, but… My favorite port thus far is Kotor, Montenegro.  There really isn’t much to this port, but where we docked is literally 100 meters from the city center.  We literally are “parked” downtown with mountains framing us on either side.  Where else in the world can you find that?  If it exists, PLEASE let me know, I want to go there.  The topper to this story, is that it was rainy both times we went there and when I climbed to the top of the fort this first time we were there I got SOAKED!!!  Maybe that is where I got my cold… BUT… the view of the fog on the mountains and the sound of the REAL mountain goats is something unforgettable.  I did it in Montenegro.  This is truly a dream come true and I can’t wait for the next chapter.  Tomorrow Monemvasia, Greece

May 10

May 10 –

We are in Corfu Greece today.  I was there about a week ago and walked most of the city, so today I found the grocery and bought a few snacks for the cabin and rested as I can’t seem to kick this runny nose and drainage.  Yucky…

We did have a re-block rehearsal for a dancer who had to go home for a funeral.  Her Grandmother passed away unexpectantly.   SO a little bit longer of a rehearsal, but needed as this will only be the third time performing RIVER RHAPSODY and with so much time in between each show, little things get forgotten – even by the folks who have been here 5 months.

Had a good workout with the crystal clear Mediterranean glistening in my foreground.  Followed that with a riveting paddle tennis competition (it’s one of the sports games I host).  We had enough for doubles and the mixed team beat the boys.  There was one controversial call (by me), and I thought there might be a McEnroe explosion J.   Then I had the pleasure (sarcasm intended) of standing outside the horizons lounge welcoming the guests to afternoon tea – BORING!!! Then off to the library again to straighten up.

I did meet a gentleman today who said he wrote a book about Nebraska.  I believe his name is John Wall and the book is titled “Going to Nebraska”.  He grew up in Davenport Iowa and apparently went to Nebraska a lot.  So, if any of you Huskers reading this are interested give it a shot.

We have had some famous people on board since I’ve been on.  Former Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox (who I did not meet) was on last cruise.  On this cruise we have the owners of Manchester United (Mr. Glazer – sorry no first name) and I met his parents.  They also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Milwaukee Bucks.  AND… finally, one of the contestants from season one of Survivor is on board.  Sorry, haven’t met her or remember her name.  I’m not a star struck kind of guy, but some one you may be.  This tells you a little about the cliental on these ships.  Some of the staterooms go for $40,000 a cruise – CRAZY…

I mentioned that I met a couple of gals from Nashville.  One is a songwriter and 6’1” (Susan), the other was a software developer (Libby).  They are both around my age and that is so nice!!!  Most of our cruisers are much more mature (p.c.) and the questions they ask and the conversations we have become very monotonous. 

May 9

May 9 –

We were in Kotor Montenegro.  From the previous Kotor blog, you would have learned that this is former Yugoslavia.  Also the place where I climbed 1369 steps to the top of the fort.  Today was much less eventful.  It was another rainy day, so the 2 times I visited Kotor, it was raining.  Hey, it was still beautiful.

Didn’t do much today.  Went to lunch with the two young ladies I met from Nashville.  After we walked around for a while, we headed back to the ship.  I planned on working out, but decided I wanted to just relax, so I did.

Mia (singer) and I hosted a table for dinner.  It’s one of our perks on the ship.  We can invite a couple of people (or several) to dinner and just talk to them.  The ship even picks up the tab for the wine.  Socializing is VERY important to this company.  I don’t mind it and with the perk of dinner it’s even better.  What did I have you ask?  Well… I had a seared tuna lion, ceaser salad, beef oxtail consommé, followed by a New York strip made perfectly medium rare.  We all shared lemon crepes and some amazing chocolate mousse cake with crème brule as a topping and creamy filling.  Oh my, how many calories did we eat?  Not sure, but I definitely feel it tomorrow for sure. 

After dinner was spent greeting for the show that evening, cleaning the library, and socializing at the “disco”.  It can be a late night if the crowd really wants to talk you up.  Which, they did, so it was a late night.  Zzzzzzzzz….  Good day.

May 8

May 8 –

Today is Sunday and to be quite honest, I had no idea.  So after some early morning prayers, I headed off to work.  Today is my duty day, which means I’ll be hosting some events.  Today I will host coffee chat, miniature golf, paddle tennis, afternoon tea and the captain’s cocktail party.  I snuck in a work out between a couple of activities.  After the cocktail party I’ll go to shore in Dubrovnik – where is that you ask?  Croatia.

Back after dinner.  It was just that and I didn’t bring my camera… ugh… It was really gorgeous. Oh well.  I had funghi pizza (Mushrooms) and a couple of bites of lasagna – pretty good. 

Goodnight!

May 7

May 7 –

Show day and still in Venice.  I decided not to go into Venice today as I think I saw about as much as I could and I needed to get some laundry done and work out, so that’s what I did. 

I felt like the show was my best so far.  I was MUCH more comfortable and wasn’t “thinking” so much and performing more.  During the opening number my right heel fell off.  It was a very odd feeling as I felt like I stepped into a hole on stage.  Luckily there was a pair of dance sneakers in the dressing room.  They were about a size too small, but better than limping around stage all night.

If I haven’t mentioned it yet, we use in ear monitors.  For those of you who don’t know what those are, they are basically fancy ear buds that you would use on your Ipod or mp3 player.  We had a sound check earlier in the day and everything was fine.  We normally would do a spot check again about an hour before the show, but due to a scheduling mix up, we did not have the opportunity and what I was hearing was much different.  It was painfully loud and I have no control over it once the show starts, except to ask a stage hand to relay a message to the audio technician.  Our stage hands don’t speak English very well, so there was some difficulty relaying the message.  By the end of the show it was almost bearable.  All that being said, we received glowing remarks from the guests.

After the show the singers met to discuss a variety show that we will be putting on this cruise.  I have chosen All of Me (ala Frank S.) and Bless the Broken Road by Rascall Flatts.  I’m hoping to get good dvd copies!!!

May 6

May 6 –

Greetings from Venice, day #2.  To begin the day, I had to work embarkation.  Basically welcoming our guests on board.  This was from 12:30-2:30.  After that, Yanna (Russian dancer) and I headed out a walked most of the city.  Some not on purpose as we got turned around a bit.  No worries.  Our goal was to make it to market square and we accomplished it.  It was so gorgeous and we walked through the chapel and words really can not describe how beautiful this sacred place was (is).   I could have spent hours there just admiring the detail, but there just isn’t enough time.  A catholic service was happening in Italian – again pretty cool!  The Pope would have been there tomorrow.

Yanna and I were to meet some other folks as we had planned a Gondola ride, but the other folks wanted to go to Market Square and Yanna and I couldn’t make the trek again.  Our feet were on fire!  So we decided to find a little café on the main river and sat there until the sun went behind the buildings.

What a unique city – they say its sinking.  From a distance, you can see how much the buildings are leaning.  It’s really remarkable.  All stone and marble.

The rest of the day was rather laid back on the ship and I had to dj that evening.  The rest of the team was supposed to be there, but the ACD decided to give them the night off.  He neglected to tell me, so it was rather odd that they didn’t show up and I was announcing that they would.  No worries and I had fun.  Met two young ladies who live in Nashville – small world!

May 6

May 6 –

Greetings from Venice, day #2.  To begin the day, I had to work embarkation.  Basically welcoming our guests on board.  This was from 12:30-2:30.  After that, Yanna (Russian dancer) and I headed out a walked most of the city.  Some not on purpose as we got turned around a bit.  No worries.  Our goal was to make it to market square and we accomplished it.  It was so gorgeous and we walked through the chapel and words really can not describe how beautiful this sacred place was (is).   I could have spent hours there just admiring the detail, but there just isn’t enough time.  A catholic service was happening in Italian – again pretty cool!  The Pope would have been there tomorrow.

Yanna and I were to meet some other folks as we had planned a Gondola ride, but the other folks wanted to go to Market Square and Yanna and I couldn’t make the trek again.  Our feet were on fire!  So we decided to find a little café on the main river and sat there until the sun went behind the buildings.

What a unique city – they say its sinking.  From a distance, you can see how much the buildings are leaning.  It’s really remarkable.  All stone and marble.

The rest of the day was rather laid back on the ship and I had to dj that evening.  The rest of the team was supposed to be there, but the ACD decided to give them the night off.  He neglected to tell me, so it was rather odd that they didn’t show up and I was announcing that they would.  No worries and I had fun.  Met two young ladies who live in Nashville – small world!

May 5

May 5 –

Happy Cinco De Mayo from VENICE!  Was up early this morning for one of my duties (called sports out – we put out the golf clubs, paddle and table tennis shuffle board and the pins for miniature golf).   I would have been up anyway because we were sailing into Venice.  What a sight!!!  It was a bit brisk, overcast and breezy, but what a sight.  For my Nashville friends imagine a ship about 3-4 times of the General Jackson sailing down the Cumberland – AWEOME!

The views were breathtaking as you could see so many of the waterways and the gondolas (mostly parked) used to navigate them.  Such a unique city.

We rehearsed the show for tonight (RIVER RHAPSODY) and had a couple of meetings after that, so I was able to get off the ship until about 1:45pm and had to be back for a 4:30pm duty, so I only had time to wander around.  So, that’s what I did… wander…  Such a beautiful place to wander and I am looking forward to doing more of that tomorrow.  HOPEFULLY I will have time to do so. 

After the show tonight a few of us are heading to the university district for a night out.  

May 7

Hello everyone.  I will be updating the blog tomorrow.  Sorry I have not been doing so daily.  I've been expiring...  one thing to say.  I'm in Venice today (leaving as well) and the Pope is here.  Good times!

May 1 - THREE

April 29 –

Well… Today might be long.  Our duties are broken up into teams of 4 and 2.  My partner is Mia and we get along great!  She asked off for today and that means I also get today off.  We planned on going on a tour as an escort for destination sales (the group that sells and arranges the tours on board).  They like to have a ship representative to “audit” the tour.  Mia and I signed up for the same tour and got it.  Different buses, but no big deal.

At 11pm I received word that I had a training session the following morning, but I wanted to see Florence and Pisa, so I informed the Training and Development Manager and she said that we would reschedule the training, but to tell the assistant cruise director (ACD).  I could not find him, but left a message stating this and went on the tour!!!

The tour was to leave at 8:15am, but Mia and I were asked to greet guests as they arrived the meeting place and didn’t know where to meet the buses.  We saw people leaving and decided to go outside to see what was going on.  Mia’s bus was gone, but mine was not.  We were both sent on mine – BONUS!

It was about an hour and a half drive to Florence.  Our guide (Paul) spoke about the countryside, traditions and history.  LOTS of information about Olives, World Wars, Romans and much more.  For a portion of the ride, I needed to rehearse the last show – a 15-minute “bumper”.  It’s called the “Swing bumper”, but I would call it Big Band.  Italian countryside and music rehearsal – not bad!!!

We arrived in Florence and proceeded to see soooooo many things.  Look some of these up:

1.     Duomo

2.     Ponte Vecchio

3.     Campanile di Giotto

4.     Battistero

5.     Chiesa di Badia

6.     Fiume Arno

Enjoyed some lunch at a local restaurant and enjoyed some bruschetta and pizza.  By the way, Mia is still with me and can’t find her group.  We may have seen them, but she was in no angst to leave our group and our fantastic guide!!!  After about an hour on our own enjoying a coffee and a bit of time on the Internet, we made our way back to the group.

Now about an hour ride to Pisa.  Some more information about marble, the mountains and of course rehearsing.  Did you know that the marble used to build most of the marble structures in Las Vegas came from the mountains in Italy?  Well, now you do.  Oh, and most of Italy’s marble buildings and structures as well including “David” AND the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  The tower is about 7 stories tall (they didn’t mention if that was at the leaning position or straight up).  Quite honestly, it was not as impressive as I had hoped, but now I can say I saw it.  Still VERY cool!!!

Learned (and forgot) some more “stuff” on the way back to the ship.  It was a wonderful day and again… I’ll post pictures soon.

After I returned, I was called to the ACD’s office and was reprimanded about not being at the training session.  It is all sorted out now… 

Performed the last show I was to learn and it went wonderfully!!!  I wish we did a full-length big band show!!!

Karaoke night in the crew bar – and all the Phillipinos were they’re singing all the hits of American popular music.  What a life I am leading!  LOVE IT!!!