Ripped Off In Italy
30th July 2011
I suppose I shouldn’t tar Italy with the same brush but there are a few of us feeling ripped off by Italy, mainly Genoa! We all love Naples and wish we could be back there. The more we visit Genoa the less we think of it. The place is a real dump unless you’re on the sea front.
In the morning I was shooting David on the gangway. Sanela was shooting Hernan. Both the lads were decked out as Gladiators. Last night I’d told David that Sanela was shooting him. He literally begged me to shoot him and I used this to my advantage for the entire night! It had me and Regina rolling up laughing when I impersonated Sanela’s slow shooting and taking regular breaks to fix her hair rather than taking photos. At the end of the night I refused to shoot David. He chased me around the Crew Mess poking and tickling me - wouldn’t stop until I agreed to shoot him. Finally getting around him, I ran out the Mess and down the corridor with David in hot pursuit. He grabbed me and almost floored me, poking and tickling. Okay, enough was enough, I’d shoot David as long as he stopped tickling me!!
David and I took the tour gangway as Sanela wasn’t ready for work. When Sanela and Hernan came out they complained that no one was coming out of the other gangway. They disappeared for about 30 minutes, we later found out they’d gone for breakfast!! David and I got over 200 images from the tours.
Hernan and Sanela were back on gangway, but the crew gangway. They were supposed to be outside the terminal taking photos by the fountain. When we told Hernan, he said he didn’t care and Jomar could kiss his arse. Fair enough.
David and I situated ourselves outside the terminal but as predicted the space was too open. If anything, we needed two people in costume here. The fountain acts almost as a roundabout so guests were going in every direction. No one knew we were from the Mariner of the Seas so getting people to take their photo was ridiculously hard.
After about 10 minutes of trying to smudge people in, the police came over. The police wanted to know what we were doing and who we worked for. Someone from the tour buses came over and translated - a massive help when neither of us spoke Italian. Once the police found out we were from the ship, she thankfully, left us alone.
Within 30 minutes of being by the fountain we’d managed to take an abysmal 11 photos. You compare over 200 photos in just over an hour to eleven in 30 minutes. It was disgraceful! It was completely useless being there so we headed back down to the ship to join Hernan and Sanela.
Hernan and Sanela were back on gangway, but the crew gangway. They were supposed to be outside the terminal taking photos by the fountain. When we told Hernan, he said he didn’t care and Jomar could kiss his arse. Fair enough.
David and I situated ourselves outside the terminal but as predicted the space was too open. If anything, we needed two people in costume here. The fountain acts almost as a roundabout so guests were going in every direction. No one knew we were from the Mariner of the Seas so getting people to take their photo was ridiculously hard.
After about 10 minutes of trying to smudge people in, the police came over. The police wanted to know what we were doing and who we worked for. Someone from the tour buses came over and translated - a massive help when neither of us spoke Italian. Once the police found out we were from the ship, she thankfully, left us alone.
Within 30 minutes of being by the fountain we’d managed to take an abysmal 11 photos. You compare over 200 photos in just over an hour to eleven in 30 minutes. It was disgraceful! It was completely useless being there so we headed back down to the ship to join Hernan and Sanela.
We had to take it in turns to take breaks as having two of the exact same costumes standing side by side on the gangway was useless and Jomar hadn’t taken notice of what we’d previously said.
With gangway finally over David and I had managed to rack a fair amount of images and nearly 150 more than Sanela and Hernan. With 365 images we were far from our 600 target.
With gangway finally over David and I had managed to rack a fair amount of images and nearly 150 more than Sanela and Hernan. With 365 images we were far from our 600 target.
Dropping the memory cards into the lab we all meet up in the corridor, ready to go out. This was Luci’s last cruise so we had to make the most of it. We found a place where the exchange rate was better than that of the ship which was a bonus.
We went to the place I’d found with a good internet connection. The prices were the most reasonable we’d found. Ordering something to eat, we all sat using the internet.
When the food came out we were all completely shocked! In front of us was a small plate containing about 6 pieces of ravioli. Hernan complained to the waiter that we were paying 8 euros for nothing. We were still starving after we’d eaten. So much for wanting to get some nice food off the ship.
We went to the place I’d found with a good internet connection. The prices were the most reasonable we’d found. Ordering something to eat, we all sat using the internet.
When the food came out we were all completely shocked! In front of us was a small plate containing about 6 pieces of ravioli. Hernan complained to the waiter that we were paying 8 euros for nothing. We were still starving after we’d eaten. So much for wanting to get some nice food off the ship.
We had a wander around before heading back to the ship for a snooze. All of us were disappointed with Genoa and it was only our second visit. Unless you were going on tour, there wasn’t much to do.
Later on, I was up on the deck outside the mess having a coffee with Hernan as the Mariner of the Seas sailed out of the port. He was right, the city was a dump. Next time we wanted to go in the opposite direction to see what else the city had to offer. Thinking about how things had been recently, we hadn’t been doing much.
The team had drifted apart and we needed to come back in together and do something as a team. Football and dodge ball after work were one of the options. There’s not much to do after work other than have a few beers on back deck. Although that’s fine, we wanted to do something else. Hernan reckons we needed to go out more as a team and do something rather than just using the internet and he had a valid point.
When Cannes finally comes up a few of us were talking about going to the beach with some of the photogs. Also, when we have a bit more money scuba diving and parasailing. Parasailing was at the top of my list! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and as it’s a one-time occasion, I didn’t really mind how we’d have to pay! We just needed to find out how much and then save.
Another thing we wanted to do was get on a bus or train from the port and go to Monaco. Can you imagine the pictures we’d get in Monaco? I’d finally get to run around the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix circuit. It was a must… the only problem would be working it in around our work and sleep schedules.
The team had drifted apart and we needed to come back in together and do something as a team. Football and dodge ball after work were one of the options. There’s not much to do after work other than have a few beers on back deck. Although that’s fine, we wanted to do something else. Hernan reckons we needed to go out more as a team and do something rather than just using the internet and he had a valid point.
When Cannes finally comes up a few of us were talking about going to the beach with some of the photogs. Also, when we have a bit more money scuba diving and parasailing. Parasailing was at the top of my list! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and as it’s a one-time occasion, I didn’t really mind how we’d have to pay! We just needed to find out how much and then save.
Another thing we wanted to do was get on a bus or train from the port and go to Monaco. Can you imagine the pictures we’d get in Monaco? I’d finally get to run around the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix circuit. It was a must… the only problem would be working it in around our work and sleep schedules.
At the end of the day, we are only here together for six months or less and needed to make the most of it all. People from the team would come and go so we also needed to make the most of very second we spend with each other. Although you’ll be in contact with these people for years to come, you don’t know where or when you’ll see each other again.
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| Genova/Genoa, Italy |
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| Sandra Outside the Port, Genoa, Italy |
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| The Nice Part of Genova, Italy |
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| Genoa, Italy |
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| The City of Genova |
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