Chapter 2 Begins

Chapter 2 Begins!

1^st February

Montevideo, Uruguay – 01.45 (03.45 GMT)

I guess I spoke too soon!

Approximately 30 minutes after posting my last blog, I received an email from Image. The first was to ask if I’d still be leaving from Montevideo, Uruguay. The second was to inform me that they were working on getting my flight details to me today (it was 9pm in Uruguay). Literally 10 minutes later, a third email popped into my inbox. My flight details for 1^st February, leaving Montevideo at 02.30. That kind of buggered up my plans to go out with the parents to celebrate my 25^th birthday on the 31^ST January. As my Dad keeps reminding me “the sooner you get started, the sooner you finish.”

My birthday was great though. Splendour of the Seas was in Punta del Este port and as usual it’s always brilliant to see Leandro, Gabi, Luci and Caio. Unfortunately Caio got lost on the way to or from the ship (tendering) but at least I got to see him once more. The photos are going to bring back some fun memories that’s for sure. I'll try and upload some when I've got some spare time in Orlando (my memory cards and external hard drive are safely packed).

Birthday aside, it’s now time to start the second chapter of my journey as an Image Cruise Ship Photographer. Rather than going back to a Royal Caribbean ship, Image are dispatching me to Disney Magic. Before signing on to Disney Magic I’m due in Orlando, Florida for Disney training, or “Disney Traditions” as they like to call it.

There have been so many horror stories about what to expect from Disney ships. Thousands of children – obviously, it isn’t something I’m glowing with optimism about as I am simply not a fan of kids! Especially not screaming children who have a limited vocabulary of “I want, I want, I want!” Apparently there is ZERO alcohol on board for us crew and no Back Deck or Crew Bar. On top of all that, Disney are about as strict as they come with an endless list of rules. The money though, is good so I’ll be happily quids in. Trying to keep an open mind about it all is proving to be difficult but we’ll see what happens.

Right now, I’m in Carrasco Airport in Montevideo. It’s 01.50 (03.50 GMT) here and it’s just a case of waiting for my first flight to Panama City before jumping on a second towards Orlando.

The popper button of my jeans keeps popping off causing not only a huge amount of embarrassment and amusement for me, but others surrounding me too! It’s safe to say, I am getting some strange looks hiding behind my netbook fiddling with my buttons!

The first flight is 7.5 hours. My fingers are crossed that sleep envelopes me as soon as I board.

Quick note: Becks: HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU, TART!!!!

Mom and Dad: I’ll see you soon! Love you loads.

Gabi, me and Leandro

Gabi and Leandro

Piggy Back Rides

Still Alive... Still in Uruguay!

Still Alive… Still in Uruguay!

 30^th January 2012

As expected the 28^th January has been and gone. My apologises for the lack of blog updates but other than “I’m still alive… still in Uruguay” (that’s got a nice little ring to it, don’t you think?) there’s not really much I can say! There’s been very little news.

My vaccinations are finally out of the way but, boy oh boy! Fourth time lucky and it wasn’t simply one jab in the arm. No, there were 6 vaccinations in two injections – one in each arm. Talk about an overload! Me, being me, I took very little notice when the nurse advised me to “put this freeze pack on your arms as they will swell”. Note to self: Don’t ignore anyone with a medical degree! I had golf ball size lumps on each arm. The inability to lift my arms, particularly the right caused great amusement to the parents, I can assure you. Evidently, I will be guarding those vaccine certificates with my life!

Jabs out the way – it’s now a case of playing the waiting game again. I did get an email commenting that my flight details and LOE (letter of employment) would be sent “shortly” – that was 3 days ago.

Every time I receive an email my stomach knots and heart skips a beat… only to find out that what’s in my inbox is in fact, a Facebook notification. 

The latest email, received twenty minutes ago said that Image are awaiting confirmation from Disney (I hope they still want me after all this palaver) and I can expect to hear from them tomorrow. I’m not holding my breath but is it really a birthday present I want to accept? Flight details to Disney World, at my expense? Well, quite frankly, HELL YES!!!

Welcome to the Quiet Life of Punta del Este, Uruguay

Get Jabbed!

Get Jabbed!

25^th January 2012

By the looks of things I won’t be attending Disney training on the 28^th January. The reason: an MMR vaccination. One week before Disney training I received an email from Image asking if I’d had the vaccination and whether or not I had a certificate for it. Whilst on the Mariner of the Seas I did have the vaccine but didn’t receive any certification. Now we are waiting to hear back from the Mariner of the Seas. My fingers are crossed that the proof is on Crew Office’s computer database. If not, I’ll be getting jabbed again. If you are applying for a job as an Image Photographer, do yourself a favour: Get jabbed! It’s save you all these problems as it is a must for Disney Cruise Line ships.

In the last email from Image I was told that I would probably be delayed by a week. In all fairness, I can’t make up my mind as to whether it’s a good or bad thing. At least I get to stay home for my Mama’s first batch of treatment and I’ll hopefully be here in Punta del Este to see the guys from Splendour for my 25^th birthday. Flipping the coin, I’m eager to get started. I’m slowing down and getting too into the slow paced world that is Uruguay. I need a kick up the back side.

Last night I got a phone call from Hernan. Image sent him his flight details... and it's due to depart in four hours!! Yes, he was sent his flight details a grand six hours before it took off. That completely knotted my stomach and I was terrified to check my emails in case I’d received the same… but all I had was more information about the MMR vaccine.

Hernan has now safely arrived in Orlando, Florida and was good enough to post a photo on Facebook for all to see. I’m thoroughly jealous and wish I was there with him for Disney training. I was in my element that I’d be attending Disney training with my Hermanastro (“step brother”) Hernan. We’ve gone along way together, Miami training, first contract and finishing up together so it’s a shame we couldn’t see each other again before joining our ships.

Oh well, C’est La Vive as the Frogs would say!

Hernan, I hope you have a fantastic time on Disney Dream, take care, earn lots of $$$ and stay out of trouble!! Un beso hermanastro!

Worlds Collide

Worlds Collide

24^th January 2011

My departure date is nearly here and recently a lot has been playing on my mind. It’s 2am here in Uruguay and my head is swimming with thoughts and emotions. First, I should be signing on in 4 days and I still don’t have my flight details. Will I arrive on time? Probably not.

The main thing that is troubling me is whether I am making the right decision. Soon I’ll be leaving the chilled, laid back, almost boring lifestyle that vacation brings. The opposite will be waiting for me on Disney Magic – pure manic and scores of children.

Leaving my parents is going to be much harder than it was in April 2011. During the vacations my Mom has been in and out of hospital after a tumour was spotted on her chest. First was a possibility of leukaemia and things looked bleak – and that’s putting it mildly. 

Once leukaemia was discounted came the possibility of Hodgkin’s or Non-Hodgkin’s – milder cancers than leukaemia but Non-Hodgkin’s is still an aggressive bastard of a cancer from what I’ve researched. 

So far it's been test after x-ray after biopsy after no news after another biopsy. We’ve been going backwards and forwards to the hospital like a tennis ball getting knocked about by Federer and Nadal! Now we finally know that the tumour is a lymphoma. Lymph Node cancer – we are just waiting for the final test results to determine which type of lymphoma it is and start treatment. 

Treatment is scheduled to start on 28^th January – the day I am supposedly going to join ship or attend Disney training in Orlando, Florida.

So I am very much leaving my parents at a difficult time. My Dad will now have to look after my Mom (which is and will be a full time task), look after the house and run a business. Whereas before I’d happily take care of Mama, keep the house in check and cook the meals while Dad carried on overseeing his real estate business. It wasn’t a decision we made, we just slipped into our roles, worked with it and did the best we could.

The guilt I feel about leaving them in the lurch is an overly large, obnoxious weight on my shoulders. The fact I’m burdening them with more to look after/do is a burden to me. Don’t get me wrong, when treatment starts, I probably won’t be able to do anything to improve things, but at least I’ll be there. Not at sea worried out my nut!

More onto the professional side of things, this is my second contract. Although things will work differently on Disney Magic, many aspects will be the same as Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas. Guests know what they can get, what they should be getting and of course, they want it! As Royal Caribbean always says guests know the expectation and standards of the ship. They don’t want us to merely “meet their expectations”, the guests want us to “exceed their expectations”. This may sound very easy and obvious, but when you’ve experienced and lived life as an Image Cruise Ship Photographer, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Ship life and working as an Image Photographer is a mentally taxing job and you have to push your personal thoughts out of the way. What’s going on at home, will very much play on my mind while I’m on the ship, I’ll admit that. Selfishly, I will also have to learn to push my personal issues to one side altogether – not just for work but for ship life as a whole. As much as it pains me to admit this, I know I cannot push my personal life out of my head – family comes first as my Dad always says. 

My fear: knowing that my personal and professional worlds are going to colliding - it is not something I relish. The more my sign on date approaches or I’m felt in the lurch about a possibly sign on date change, the more knots I get in my stomach, the more anxious, worried I become. It’s like watching a horror/suspense film and you’re waiting for the big climax… only this is real life!

It’s not something I will talk to my parents about. I take the approach of “shut up, keep going, make out you’re fine and maybe soon you will actually be fine”. Plus they have enough on their plates without my complaints and worries. Maybe I am just being over emotional?

I just hope this isn’t something I’m going to live to regret. I am seriously wondering whether I’ve made the right decision. Maybe I should stay a bit longer until treatment is well under way? Maybe it is just the agitation of not knowing exactly what’s happening (ships changing, Image rules changing, sign on dates are constantly changing!) that’s making me work myself up into a two and eight. Who knows? 

One thing is for sure, as Hernan once advised, don’t bottle your feelings up as they will only sink you. Hernan is right, bottling it up and not having someone to talk to (unless Becks is online but even then, you feel a burden for unburdening your troubles on someone) is driving me absolutely insane, around the pipe, cuckoo. So I’ll unleash the beast of my problems in an open letter on my blog.

When worlds collide and you wonder if you’re making the right decision, there are two things that I am drumming into my head, focusing on: Make the most out of what I’ve got – have fun on the ship, learn, travel and experience. Personally: Look on the bright side, you’re not too far away (from home) in the Caribbean. If anything does happen, God forbid, I’ll be on the first plane back to Uruguay... Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck can kiss my ghostly white ass! As Dad says "family first, without family, nothing else matters."

It's All Magic

It’s All Magic

14^th January 2012

Late last night I got an email from Image. To say the least, I was very surprised to hear back from them so soon. Would I be able to join Disney Magic on 28^th January 2012? My reply… hell yes!

Disney Magic

Unfortunately the itinerary isn’t as great as Disney Wonder’s, which of course, I’m a little disappointed about. I was in my element about going to New York City, Seattle and Alaska. Having said that, Disney Magic is still offering a good itinerary, the cruises are short but most importantly it’s a money making ship, so I’m not complaining.

First thing I did upon hearing the news was call Hernan in Argentina. He too is due to be in Orlando, Florida, at the same time, for Disney training. If everything went ahead as planned, I’d be seeing Hernan again soon for training at Disney World. Apparently the training is only for one day. We got the next day off and then join our ships, probably in Port Canaveral.

Here’s a bit of information about Disney Magic:

Disney Magic is a sister ship to Disney Wonder. The ship has 11 expansive decks with a total length of 964 feet and width of 106 feet. The gross tonnage is a whopping 83,000. On Disney Cruise Line’s official website, it states that the ship accommodates 2,400 passengers, yet a little further down the page “Aboard the ship, 2,700 passengers can fit comfortably”. In total there are 950 crew members.

Like Disney Wonder, the ship has three swimming pools –

Goofy’s Pool which is designed for families comes with a state of the art, jumbo 24x14ft LED screen dubbed Funnel Vision. Why? Because the screen’s located on the Forward funnel on Deck 9. Throughout the day will be screenings of classic Disney animation films and newer releases like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Goofy's Pool

Mickey’s Pool – another large swimming pool aimed at children between 3months and 3 years old. The 2ft deep pool is built in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s and even has his smiling face tiled into the bottom. By the pool are two Quick Service restaurants – Goofy’s Galley and Pluto’s Dog house. Cast Member will host games and other activities for the kids throughout the day.

Mickey's Pool

Just off from Mickey’s Pool is the Splash Zone which is for…. Wait for it…. Children who are not toilet trained. “This special play area has been designed exclusively for the enjoyment of children wearing swim diapers”. Enough said!

And finally, you have the Quiet Cove. A place designed for adults only where they are free from their children’s screaming and shouting. In addition to the centre pool there are two whirlpool spas. Perfect for relaxing, recharging your batteries and patience for the next time you’re with your kids and they see Mickey Mouse (or one of the many Disney characters) walking towards them! 

Quiet Cove

 Nearby is a quick snack and drinks bar called Signals which sells alcoholic beverages, cocktails, juices, coffee, teas and so on.

Apparently, at the forward end of the ship there is even a crew swimming pool. Get in there!!!! It is, however, surrounded by a rather high, iron wall so guests cannot see us!

Now down to the best part, the itinerary:

2 Night New York Weekend Getaway

Day 1: New York

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: New York

Yes, that is it. It’s a loop in the Ocean before returning to New York!

5 Night Canada & New England Coast Cruise

Day 1: New York

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Day 4: Saint John, New Brunswich

Day 5: Sea Day

Day 6: New York

6 Night Western Caribbean Cruise – Itinerary A

Day 1: Port Canaveral, Florida

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day 4: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 5: Sea Day

Day 6: Castaway Cay

Day 7: Port Canaveral, Florida

Itinerary B

Day 1: Galveston, Texas

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 6: Sea Day

Day 7: Galveston, Texas

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Itinerary A

Day 1: Port Canaveral, Florida

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: St. Maarten

Day 5: St. Thomas/St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Day 6: Sea Day

Day 7: Castaway Cay

Day 8: Port Canaveral, Florida

Itinerary B

Day 1: Port Canaveral, Florida

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: St. Maarten

Day 5: Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Day 6: Sea Day

Day 7: Castaway Cay

Day 8: Port Canaveral, Florida

7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise – Itinerary A

 Day 1: Port Canaveral, Florida

Day 2: Key West, Florida

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Castaway Cay

Day 8: Port Canaveral, Florida

Itinerary B

Day 1: Galveston, Texas

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day 5: Costa Maya, Mexico

Day 6: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 7: Sea Day

Day 8: Galveston, Texas

8 Night Bahamian Cruises

Day 1: New York

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Sea Day

Day 4: Nassau

Day 5: Castaway Cay

Day 6: Port Canaveral, Florida

Day 7: Sea Day

Day 8: Sea Day

Day 9: New York