Dream On Bjanka
15th February 2012
We’re in St. Thomas today and unlucky for us, it’s almost impossible to get off the ship. As it’s a tender port, Disney are very strict about crew staying off/on the tenders until the guests have got on the ship/tender/pier. Carolee once said that instead of a 30 minute tender and possibly 10 minute wait to get through security, it took her 2 hours to get on board the ship because she had to kept waiting for tenders of guests to pass her. Needless to say she arrived late for work.
I’d love to see St. Thomas as the Caribbean island looks wonderful from the ship. Maybe next week, if I don’t have lab training/set up, I can get up early and get off the ship. Give myself plenty of time to get to and from Disney Magic.
One thing that did have me in my element was Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas was docked in St. Thomas with us. Freedom of the Seas is Sandra’s next ship! I still can’t believe that there’s a high possibility we’ll be able to meet up. Now that would be magic! I’m still made up by it! It’d be absolutely fantastic to see Sandra again! It’s been so long.
Needless to say, I made the most out of my three hours off. Laundry! Laundry is and always will be a slow, drawn out process on ships. It’s a fact of ship life. Luckily enough I only had to wait 20 minutes for a washing machine (which is good considering we have waited hours, before giving up).
While the darks were in, I hit the gym. Boy oh boy! I thought my stubby legs were going to drop off by the time I’d finished my 20 minute run. Determined to give myself a hammering, I upped the speed and incline of the treadmill and ran my little heart out. My face went a tone of red that I didn’t even know existed! The sweat was pouring off me but did I feel great for it! On top of the world with jelly legs!
After another 30 minutes in the gym, I had to get back to the laundry. Words of warning on ships: don’t leave your clothes alone for too long – most of the time at least one item of clothing will go missing, like socks! Don’t let people get them out the washing machine – they won’t always put the washing in the tumble dryer, but dump it on the side where it’ll no doubt get lost or someone will help themselves to your clothing. My cabin mate Cookie told me she had a couple of her bras stolen one. There’s even the following sign on the wall: “theft of any clothing will result in disciplinary action”.
While the darks were in, I hit the gym. Boy oh boy! I thought my stubby legs were going to drop off by the time I’d finished my 20 minute run. Determined to give myself a hammering, I upped the speed and incline of the treadmill and ran my little heart out. My face went a tone of red that I didn’t even know existed! The sweat was pouring off me but did I feel great for it! On top of the world with jelly legs!
After another 30 minutes in the gym, I had to get back to the laundry. Words of warning on ships: don’t leave your clothes alone for too long – most of the time at least one item of clothing will go missing, like socks! Don’t let people get them out the washing machine – they won’t always put the washing in the tumble dryer, but dump it on the side where it’ll no doubt get lost or someone will help themselves to your clothing. My cabin mate Cookie told me she had a couple of her bras stolen one. There’s even the following sign on the wall: “theft of any clothing will result in disciplinary action”.
Washing done and nearly time to work, I gave the parents a quick call. Mom sounds better than she has done in days – always a good sign. She sounded pleased that I had some photos for her. I’ve just got to get them off to Uruguay as soon as possible.
Up at work, we’d all had our dinner breaks removed. We were to go into Ressi and shoot all couples as a post-Valentine’s Day event. What a load of crap, a large chunk didn’t want their pictures taken!
In the studios I had a stint at shooting Cinderella in front of the ship’s Walt Disney Theatre. It was quite difficult compared to the other locations we shoot at. Because of the tiled wall surface, I have to shoot at angle to avoid a flare from the flash appearing in the photo. Also, getting guests to walk behind me was virtually impossible so I was missing shots as they blocked my view. One lady stopped almost dead in front of me to get a photo of her daughter with Cinderella. Erm… don’t think so. Stepping forward and in front of her, I politely excused myself, advised the lady where to stand and let me take the photos first before taking her own. She seemed a bit shocked but if one person does it, they others would follow. Like lambs to the slaughter house. Maybe I'm too Royal Caribbean?
The next two sessions I was shooting Beauty and The Beast’s Belle who looks exactly like the animated character! To top it off, Belle is lovely, she’s a great girl and from what I can make out, has a lot more experience than the characters. In short, she’s a pro and you’ll always get great pictures with her. Her greeter, Dustin ( a greeter walks around with the character, takes pictures with the guest’s cameras, hold their autograph books while they have their photo taken etc.) was incredibly helpful too.
Before one session, I had a Canadian lady and her daughter waiting at the front of the queue. They must have had fifteen minutes to go before Belle arrived. We got talking about odd bits and pieces. Her daughter, Jade, is a huge fan of Disney and Justin Bieber! I had to laugh but cringe - Justin Bieber! Jenn, laughing, pointed out, Justin Bieber to her daughter is exactly how the Backstreet Boys and N Sync were to us at her age! Living Gods... who you can't help but cringe about, 10-15 years down the line!
During the last session it was very quiet after the beginning rush. Of course, we took the opportunity to have our photos taken with Belle. First me, then Dustin. Then some other crew came along and wanted their taken. Not a problem. It’s a nice souvenir to take home with you.
Before one session, I had a Canadian lady and her daughter waiting at the front of the queue. They must have had fifteen minutes to go before Belle arrived. We got talking about odd bits and pieces. Her daughter, Jade, is a huge fan of Disney and Justin Bieber! I had to laugh but cringe - Justin Bieber! Jenn, laughing, pointed out, Justin Bieber to her daughter is exactly how the Backstreet Boys and N Sync were to us at her age! Living Gods... who you can't help but cringe about, 10-15 years down the line!
During the last session it was very quiet after the beginning rush. Of course, we took the opportunity to have our photos taken with Belle. First me, then Dustin. Then some other crew came along and wanted their taken. Not a problem. It’s a nice souvenir to take home with you.
Bjanka was shooting LSP below me. I called her to ask how long she was going to be shooting for. Then she gave me some news that knocked the wind out of me. “I’m leaving”. Had she resigned, been fired or got transferred? Bjanka is getting transferred to Disney Dream this Saturday. She’ll be going to the same ship and working with Hernan. Bjanca in my eyes is lucky if she’s going to have a team mate like Hernan.
Looking back at the Mariner, I knew I had a great team, but now I know just how much “great team” is an understatement. My team, although we were mostly 1st contracts, we were a team, friends and became like a family.
Bjanca is the main person I hang around with on the ship. Like me, she wants to get out and do things: swimming with dolphins, parachuting, paragliding, jet blasting, snorkelling etc. Now she’d be leaving as soon as Saturday. In a way, I was happy. Bjanka is going to a good ship where, according to Hernan, money is very good, so good luck to her. Selfishly I don’t want her to go as the boring life we lead on the ship will become even more dull!
I’ll be losing my adventure junkie friend! Ship life…
Looking back at the Mariner, I knew I had a great team, but now I know just how much “great team” is an understatement. My team, although we were mostly 1st contracts, we were a team, friends and became like a family.
Bjanca is the main person I hang around with on the ship. Like me, she wants to get out and do things: swimming with dolphins, parachuting, paragliding, jet blasting, snorkelling etc. Now she’d be leaving as soon as Saturday. In a way, I was happy. Bjanka is going to a good ship where, according to Hernan, money is very good, so good luck to her. Selfishly I don’t want her to go as the boring life we lead on the ship will become even more dull!
I’ll be losing my adventure junkie friend! Ship life…
Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Jenn and Me at Princess Belle's Studio
Finally got my photo taken with Princess Belle!
Jenn and Me at Princess Belle's Studio
Finally got my photo taken with Princess Belle!
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