Shopping

Shopping!

15^th July 2011

Waking up late I knocked on a few cabins to see if anyone was around and if they were, what they’d be doing today. We’re in Ashdod again and for the final time. If you’re not on tour, there’s not a great deal to do like there is in the other ports.

David wanted to get off the ship before he went nuts. That made two of us! 

Grabbing a bite to eat before heading out, we jumped on the shuttle bus and headed to the shopping centre. David was determined to get some new shoes of some sorts. I think his mind was set on a new pair of Converses. 

Arriving at the shopping centre, we had a look around and it wasn’t long until we’d mentally spend a huge sum of money. Looking around for what seemed forever, we finally found someone to exchange our dollars and euros to shekels. 

Heading back to the shopping centre, I bought a new bikini top – I’m hoping for a couple of hours at the beach at some point! Going into another shop, David bought a pair of black trainers which didn’t even make it into the box! He walked out wearing them, telling me his new trainers were so comfortable it felt like he was walking on air!

It wasn’t long until we bumped into Hernan and Eve who were walking about doing a bit of shopping. Eve wanted a hat but couldn’t find anything she liked. She didn’t know which type she wanted and just said, “I’ll know when I see it”! I saw a lovely shirt but $80 was a bit over my budget!! 

Popping into a few more shops, David and I separated from Eve and Hernan. They were going to the beach for a few hours. Eve had the entire day off while Hernan didn’t have to work until the late evening. 

The best place to buy electrical equipment is definitely Israel. I was so tempted to give my credit card a good hammering!! It was just under €60 for a 1TB external hard drive. In the end, I managed to contain myself and walked out with an 8GB SD memory card for €13. Looking back on it, I really wish I’d bought the external hard drive. Mine is only 500GB and it’s rapidly filling up with obscene amounts of photographs!! Oh well, you live and learn.

We spotted Hernan and Eve again. David and I were off to the ship for an hours nap before we started work. Hernan and Eve were still trying to find a way of getting to the beach and didn’t fancy waiting 15 minutes for the free shuttle bus and were contemplating getting a taxi which would cost about $10-15. In the end they went for the cheap and cheerful option and joined us on the bus.

The rest of the evening was spent in the gallery and studios. The night itself was so slow. For sure we aren’t going to make much money this cruise. No one is buying and we’ve got our fingers crossed that somehow, things might just pick up on the last day or towards the end of the cruise.

HOT day in Ashdod, Israel - David, Eve and Hernan

David, Me and Hernan

Mad Rush

Mad Rush

22^nd June 2011

Usually we have a sea day, the second formal night, in between Haifa and Ashdod. However, on this cruise, we are heading straight to Ashdod, arriving tomorrow morning. The distance between Haifa and Ashdod is unbelievably short, more than I'd realized: 45 minute flight or an hour and a half by car. Rather than cruising slowly to make a sea day we steamed on towards our next port of call.

All the photographers were up between 06.00 and 06.30. Those who weren’t on tour were working on gangway. Again, Stu had a private tour lined up with the same family. Zoran therefore took Stu’s place as the Crusader. Jeni was shooting the ring at one gangway and I was on the rail at the opposite end of the ship.

Yesterday's events on the gangway went well, today things were the opposite, especially for me. As usual Ashdod was a royal mad house! People were running here, there and everywhere trying to find their bus or trying to get to their tour bus first to grab a window seat. It's like going back to your school days! It’s crazy, they turn into little kids! Some people had got their tour bus stickers and headed straight out to find the bus rather than waiting for the tour guide to take the group. Some of them even got lost looking for their bus!

Smudging was near impossible. Ritesh came out on the gangway to see what was happening. Picking up the rail he told me to help him carry it to another spot. He plonked the rail in the centre of the gangway rather than on an entrance/exit. It was insane! I had to constantly keep heaving the rail out the way for the tour buses to get passed. So not only did a get a crap image count I’d buggered my back and shoulder again!

Once the tour gangway was closed Jeni came up to join me at the gangway exit. Fabio was shooting Zoran and Jeni and I were shooting pretty much the same thing. Obviously people didn’t want a photo with the ring when they’d had one on the rail and vice versa. It made sense to only use one or the other but we were told to stay outside and keep smudging.

Towards the end of our stint Jorge from Explorations! came out from the ship dragging his suitcases behind him. He was disembarking to be transferred to a smaller ship in the Baltics. It was actually quite sad seeing him go. I’ve always got along well with him, he’s absolutely lovely. 

Everyone seems to be leaving or preparing to leave. Saying goodbye seemed strange, almost unreal but he’s happy to be going so good luck to him. Jeni and I got our photo taken with him behind the ring. One last Mariner of the Seas photo which we said we’d email to him. It still didn’t seem real when his taxi drove off. Even now I still expect him to pass by or call out “Hola Chiquita”.

The rest of the day I spent catching up on sleep, searching for cans of Coca-Cola and blogging before going to work in the gallery. I really need to catch up on my blog entries but been too knackered and favouring sleep each time!

There's even a shortage of fizzy drinks on board. Well, for crew anyway. The guests have run out of pretty much everything. As we can't possibly have the guests going without, our crew area got raided. All our vending machines have been emptied and so have the majority of the crew bars! Once we run out, we're dry and caffeine-free until Embarkation Day!

Tomorrow is Stuart's 22nd birthday and we are all at a loose end. We honestly don't know what we can buy him. Well, we did have a few ideas. Originally, we were all going to chip in and buy the Knight's shield he wanted in Rhodes, but that isn't for another three days. Unfortunately, we are going to be at sea for his birthday and as it's a sea day, it's formal night! We also have to get a leaving present for Reuben tomorrow as he disembarks early in Kuasdasi.

Zoran as the Crusader

Jorge Disembarking - Jeni, Jorge and Me

Costume & Shooter
Zoran the Crusader & Fabio

 

Laundry Mayhem

Laundry Mayhem

30^th May 2011

The captain of the ship has switched our days in Israel around. Originally we were in Haifa and then Ashdod. Both Israeli ports are big tour days for us photographers, so we all had to be on top form. 

Last night was formal night and we all went to bed at about 2am so getting up at 6am was a real challenge. Most of the team were on tour. Stu was dressed up as the camel on the gangway with Fabio shooting. Jeni was on the rail while I was working with Zoran on life ring. Rather than both trying to shoot, I let him have a go and just smudged for him. Even though I’m not the greatest myself it gave him an idea of what to say rather than “can I take your photo?” To be honest, Zoran seems pretty cool.

Poor Zoran was supposed to join us in Civitavecchia but Image made a real muck up of his flight. Zoran's flight left him with very little time to get from the airport to the port. I'm told it's about an hour and a half to two hour drive from the port. Just as Zoran arrived at the port, Mariner of the Seas was sailing away to our next port of call. Funnily enough, Zoran wasn't alone. A guest's flight had been delayed. Luckily enough the two weren't completely on their own and ended up sharing a hotel room for the night. Both made the most of being in Rome and did a bit of sightseeing during the evening.

The next day, both Zoran and the guest, who I think is from Ireland, got the train from Rome to Naples to meet the Mariner. What a journey, especially if you are a new hire! At least Zoran didn't have to do it all alone! Likewise for the guest, of course.

Later on Zoran went to training so I was shooting the ring. So many people said they’d had their photo taken on the rail which has a life ring so they didn’t want another of the same taken. Point taken. I started smudging for Jeni on the rail.

At 9.30 there were only 356 passengers left on board. We stayed until 10 before calling it a day and heading in. In total we had about 600 images – mostly from the camel. We were now off until 16.00 when we’d all be heading to the gallery to display the images from gangway, decks, formal night ressi and studios.

There was no point going out as there was nothing to do in Israel unless you are on tour or have plenty of time off. Everything is so spread out, we’d spend a fortune on taxis. The shuttle bus only took you to the beach and shopping centre where the park is located.

We were going to go to the park but David’s been ill for the past couple of days. He was feeling ill for a while and when he went to the medical his blood pressure was going through the roof. The on-shore doctor gave him pills and he’s had about five injections. The injections have actually made his arm cramp and seize up so now he's wearing a sling. He's had more medication inside him than a chemist has to offer!!

Most of the crew had gone on the crew tour to the Dead Sea. We obviously couldn’t go as they left while we were on gangway and returning well after we were due in the gallery. It’s a shame but I took the opportunity to get my washing done. How fun am I? If only it was that easy. I had to wait nearly 2 hours to get my hands on a washing machine!! 

For 1,300 odd crew members there were only 7 washing machines and dryers. Two washing machines and dryers were out of order. Putting the washing in the dryer I had to put it on two cycles to get everything dry. By then I had to leave for work. 

While in the gallery I got a call from a Chilean/Spanish crew member to say he’d taken my laundry out the machine, put it in my bags and told me where I could find it. He was worried some of my clothes might go missing as 3 guys started pulling it out the dryer and chucking it around!! It's a fact of ship life that I hate. So many crew members have little or no respect for other people's things. It's even been known for people's washing, or at least certain items, to go missing!

The rest of the evening was a bit of a boring blur. Display took about two hours and there were five of us in the gallery with no guests. The guests were still on tour so we had a laugh at some of the gangway images and mucked about a bit. You'd be surprised by some of the images we take. Or should that be: the memories we capture?

Talking to Stu he said he wanted to wear his armour tomorrow as Rhodes would be next tour. I suggested dressing up as a Crusader as they occupied Haifa at one point. 

Later during the evening he called me to his cabin to tell the about the costume he’d thought up. He was reluctant to show me but put the armour on and cape over his clothes. I’d have to wait to see the entire costume tomorrow in all its glory.

Using our name badges we fastened a bed sheet to his shirt to act as a cape for the meantime. The entire costume did look good so tomorrow should be great! It’d give us a glimpse of what we have in store for Rhodes. 

As most people are on tours they are less likely to have their photo taken as they are rushing towards their buses. Hopefully, with this costume being that little extra special, we'll get people willing to stop and get their photo taken with our Crusader. I’m on tour tomorrow and will be leading the guests towards our tour bus. I'll conveniently lead them over towards Stuart, act like I'm waiting for people to catch up while the others get their photos taken.

Big Boy's Slide!!

Big Boy's Slide

4^th May 2011

Another day, another new port. 

This time Mariner of the Seas is docked in Ashdod, Israel. Half of the photographers have gone on tours to Jerusalem. Stu, Fede, Luci, David and I were given an easy day compared to yesterday. We were all up at 6am for Gangway at 7. Stuart was dressed up as the camel and paired up with Fede who’d be shooting him. David and I were on the rail. I was shooting while David smudged. Normally we work in twos but David could only stay until 8 because he had three hours of training. So, I was left to smudge and photograph on my own. Watching David smudge gave me some extra tips on how to improve. Even though I didn’t do as well as the others, I shot more than usual. Slowly but surely I’m getting better.

Everyone was working in different places today. At 15.00 David came back from training and we both wanted to go out for a bit. We desperately needed to get off the ship for a couple of hours. Sometimes, being on the ship feels like you're sitting around the house all day doing nothing.

Jumping on the shuttle bus David and I headed into Ashdod centre where the Captain of the Mariner said there was a huge shopping centre or “mall” as everyone calls it.

While walking towards the shopping centre we spotted this massive playground with an enormous climbing frame and slide. There were two kamikaze like slides. Running over to the climbing frame, like children, we started climbing up the ladders. 

After bashing our heads a few times on the frames we finally reached the top. Four ladders to climb before we got to the top - that'd never be allowed in the health and safety crazed country of England! Could you imagine Gordon Brown or Tony Blair allowing anything like that to be built let alone used by kids?? 

David was in his element. He’d found a “real big boy’s slide”. This had to filmed for future reference!!! I went down the slide first with David filming on my camera. 

Next he came flying down while filming… the prat managed to head butt my compact camera leaving him with a nice little bump!! 

After rolling around on the floor crying with laughter we ran back up again for another go. The joins in the slide really hurt your backside… wear some extra padding, unless you have a chubby arse like mine. Going down the second time was even better than the first, I flew down the chute but got ever so slightly worried when I saw the sparks flying off my trousers. Now I have a small patch of “slide burn” on my ankle. That’ll teach me for wearing three quarter lengths...

Heading towards the mall again David spotted the “Cookie Monster” and had to have his photo taken. It was one of the characters from McDonald’s, the purple hairy one. Well, it’d been made with flowers with great big eyes and even holding a metal umbrella. 

The shopping centre wasn’t so great but let’s face it, how could it be after finding something as grand as the big boy’s slide? We were trying to look for a birthday present for Luci but couldn’t find anything she’d like. Plus, Ashdod is so outrageously expensive! In the end I walked away with a small multiple card reader (I was stupid enough to put my card reader into storage) and batteries for my compact camera (I also forgot my battery charger – as you can tell, I’m smart like that).

At 17h we had to head back to the shuttle bus as I had work at 18h. Next time we are in Ashdod we are going to show a couple of the others where the park is. Both me and David we commenting how much Stu would love the park. At the end of the day, he may be 6’7 but he’s a big kid! I’ll upload the photos and videos as soon as possible.

From the Top!

Going Down...

Climbing Back Up For Round Two

Little Boy's Toy

David and The Cookie Monster!!