1 Year Ago Today

1 Year Ago Today

13^th April 2012

It seems unreal that a year ago today, Hernan and I joined the Mariner of the Seas on the small island of Rhodes. Us, struggling along with our suitcases to the gangway, seems like a distance memory from years ago. I still remember meeting Lee and Stu, working on the gangway.

Looking back, we’ve both come a long way since those days. We’re still here, on second contracts and working on Disney Cruise Line ships.

Disney isn’t exactly the place for me and I’m not the only one to have made that comment. Apparently, my style is "too Royal Caribbean". Having said that, the two Royal Caribbean girls (Carolee and I) are the fastest shooters and have the best quality images. I had a long day ahead but for once, I had a more positive outlook.

This morning, I had morning sale plus embarkation. The BM wanted an extra pair of hands during morning sale. The good thing about occasionally doing both Morning Sale and Embarkation is that you’re given the evening off. While working I was slowly thinking up a list of things that I wanted to do in my precious time off. Laundry, blog, watch a film and sleep were all there, but I didn’t think I’d have enough time to do everything. No harm trying to do it all though.

Coming back to the cabin after work, I got online and called the parents. During our conversation I noticed water running down one of the cabin’s wall. Looking up, there was a leak from the ceiling and dripping by the electrical goods and plugs. Getting off the phone, I found one of Ani’s many empty water bottles lying about and lodge it into place in between the wardrobe and ceiling.  Hanging up, I reported the leak. Glancing at my watch, it was 6pm.

It wasn’t long until there was a knocking at the door. Someone was here to inspect the leak. Gathering up my computer, I went to Deck 5 forward to call the parents again.

Thirty minutes past and I was due to meet Ani for dinner in the mess. Back in the cabin, I got a royal shock. All the ceiling panels had been removed and there were now four people in my cabin. Let’s face it, it’s not every day that you open your door to find four Filipinos inside!

Meeting Ani, I told her what had happened. She couldn’t believe it but started laughing. It’s just typical that this would happen on my night off! Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to resolve the problem. Apparently, it’s the hot water pipe that’s leaking which is a big problem and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. 

Before heading back to work, Ani was kind enough to remind me that today is Friday 13^th. Bad luck, there.

At about 7.15pm I slowly strolled up to my cabin, opened the door and found someone still working on the leak. He seemed irritated that I should come back to my cabin. Asking why I wasn’t working, I replied that it was my night off. Asking how long he was likely to be, he became even more irritated and ended my hopes of having my cabin back soon with an abrupt “I don’t know.”

Next stop, the lab. Was there anything I could do in the lab? No. Mike told me to go away and find something to do, or go to sleep. I’d been up since 5am and hadn’t had a nap. He had a point, I was dog tired but where could I sleep? Kate’s cabin! Calling Kate, I met her in Shutter to collect the room key.

Slumping into her bed, my tiredness was exaggerating my crabbiness. I decided to set the alarm for an hour and fifteen minutes time. Before the meeting at 11.10pm, I wanted to check on my cabin, surely it couldn’t take that long to fix a leak, could it? We’d soon find out.

Sleep got the best of me until Kate’s cabin mate Claire walked in and woke me up. To be fair, she jumped out of her skin to find me laying in Kate’s bed. Giving the shortest explanation possible as to why I was sleeping in Kate’s bed, I rolled over and dozed off again.

Walking up the stairs from Kate’cabin, I bumped into the two Filipinos who had been fixing my leaking ceiling. Both all smiles, they told me the problem was fixed before adding that the carpenter would be along shortly to put the ceiling panels back on. I couldn’t believe it. At 9.30pm and the problem still wasn’t sorted.

Slinking off to my cabin in a sulk, I slumped into bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Turns out, I’d only been sleeping for twenty minutes, when I was woken up by a thudding knock on the door. Opening up, it was the carpenter to put the ceiling panels on.

Grabbing my things I headed down to the lab again. This time for the meeting. A bad mood was an understatement! I was ready to lose the plot at the drop of a hat. The whole episode was to everyone’s amusement though, especially Csaba’s who constantly brought it up during the meeting.

One good thing did happen. Once we finished the meeting and got back to the cabin, there were no Filipinos in sight, all ceiling panels were attached to the roof and there wasn’t a single drip coming from above. Needless to say, my bed was calling me. It’s just a shame that we’d have to clean up the masses of soaked foam and attempt to dry/clean the carpet tomorrow.

The day definitely wasn’t in my favour today… oh, how I love Friday 13ths!

Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow is another day… let’s hope things start off on a different foot...

Royal Caribbean - Mariner of the Seas (1st contract)

Disney Cruise Line - Disney Magic (2nd contract)

What a Mug!

What a Mug

30^th March 2012

Today was a little bit different to normal. First off, I was standing in for Rama as the gallery manager. Before setting up for embarkation, we all said goodbye to Rama.

Throughout the I-95 were signs advertising the maiden voyage of the Disney Fantasy. There’d be free shuttle buses transporting Disney Magic and Fantasy crew members to and from the ships. Crew members were given the chance to explore both ships, meet up with friends etc. Unfortunately for us, on embarkation, it wasn’t possible due to work. Kate was more put out than anyone, as she had friends on board Disney Fantasy.

Set up didn’t go as smoothly as usual and it caused a few problems between a couple of people. It’s incredibly difficult working with team members who don’t pull their weight, knowing that if they go slowly, someone else will soon come along and finish the job. They don’t see the urgency of the job. If you finish quickly, you get a break, chill.

Looking at my schedule, just as I was finishing embarkation, I saw I was originally due back at work at 18.30. As I was covering Rama’s schedule, I had to be on display at 16.00. 1.5 hour break instead of four. Oh well. Mentioning it to Kate, she told me “Look, I don’t wanna burst your bubble, but Rama’s staying another week. Sorry” she looked uneasy and my face must have been a picture of shock.

Using Rama’s deck phone that I was given, I rang Csaba. “Am I following my schedule?” I asked. “Why?” Csaba sounded surprised. “Because Rama’s here for another week isn’t he?” The sound of Csaba's booming laugh came down the line before he sarcastically mentioned “I hope you’re not too upset” followed by more laughing. Getting off the phone as quickly as I could, I felt like a royal idiot, a mug. So Csaba had known Rama’s contract was extended by a week yet still asked me to stand in as AMS.

Hurrying off as quickly as possible, I bumped into Ani and told her what had happened. Her opinion was the same as mine. It was a cruel move to make and possibly, Csaba trying to make a point. Running up to my cabin I hid myself away from the rest of the world and didn’t bother picking up the phone to whoever was calling.

A little while later, I picked up the phone and called my parents. Telling them made me feel even more ridiculous, for believing Csaba would give me a chance like that. I started crying, making me feel even more idiotic.

Dragging myself through the rest of the day, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Unfortunately, we had a meeting after work. My avoiding Csaba was soon going to come to an end and I knew that something was going to be said. A joke was going to be cracked. Preparing myself, or attempting to look as if I wasn't bothered by the day’s events, I stuck a small smile on my face and sat at the back of the lab, almost completely hidden by Carolee. It didn’t take Csaba long to spot me.

During the meeting, I was informed that I had a bad name comment. Csaba told me the cabin number and I knew who the people were. Well, there are two sets of guests I had a problem with last night. I’m pretty sure it was the guy who wanted half of his photos printing at 5x7s, which is something that we cannot do. The guest has a package for free photos from his travel agent. It allowed him two 10x8s and three 6x8s. After explaining that I could count one large photo as two smalls, he still wasn’t happy, as he’d have to remove one photo from the selected batch and/or pay for it. There was nothing I could have done but either way, I was “very unhelpful” apparently.

Another family were from three staterooms and wanted all their photos on a CD for one price. When I explained how the CD worked (the CD goes by stateroom), they weren’t interested and kept butting in. Finally, I called Rama over as the American guests reckoned they couldn't understand my English. What a shock when Indonesian Rama came over! Anyway, he said the exact same thing as me.

After the were guests arguing and demanding they wanted the package their way, saying we were making things up as we went along. I tried to explain, with Rama, that the details are clearly displayed on the advertisements. “SHUT UP! SHUSH… For God Sakes, just shut up!” Rama and I simply looked at each other. Never did I expect to be told to shut up.

In the end, Rama caved in and gave them the CD for $300, so yeah, it makes me look really unhelpful for not budging, but I was only following the rules that Rama enforces... to bends and break.

At the end of the meeting, Csaba went to everyone, asking if there was something they’d like to add or mention. I was dreading my turn but Csaba skipped me. The last person made their comment and I actually felt lucky that I’d been skipped.

Turning to me, Csaba gave a great big smile and boomed “Nearly AMS! Don’t worry, you’ll get your turn… one day” before laughing. Rolling my eyes, I did the best I could to not act upset, but my anger was more apparent and harder to mask. “Don’t worry Csaba, I see you have no intentions of promoting me.” Once again he repeated that I’d get my chance – one day. The emphasis on “one day” was only too obvious.

Once the meeting was concluded, I hurried off to my cabin. Walking down the empty guest’s corridor to my cabin, I could feel that I was going to burst into tears at any minute. As soon as I walked through the door, the water gates opened and a tidal wave of tears began. As someone suggested, if Csaba wanted to “put me in my place” then he’d done a bloody good job.

Climbing into bed, I felt humiliated and a strong urge to go home. I was disappointed in myself for believing his crap. I should have known better, but even that wasn’t enough to console myself. I felt like a royal failure and ended up crying myself to sleep, hoping tomorrow wouldn’t come… unfortunately, I knew it would!

Portuguese Teacher to Fatties

Portuguese Teacher To Fatties

3^rd August 2011

Not only is it turn around day but today is the day Luci leaves the ship. My Portuguese teacher and cabin mate is finally going on vacation. She’s been counting down the days for ages and now she can’t wait to sign off. Things have been hard on her recently and she was dog tired. It was good seeing her go on vacation but sad at the same time. She showed me around the ports when I first arrived on the ship, trained me, taught me a bit of Portuguese and so on. The list is endless.

While setting up for embarkation, I ran up to where the signing off crew members were gathered in preperation to leave the Mariner of the Seas. Thierry from Shops was also signing off. Giving them each a big hug, it was soon time for me to quickly run back to work. I'd miss Luci and Thierry. Even though you're happy they are finally going home, it's sad seeing your friends and team mates leave.

While working on embarkation, a couple of hours after Luci left, a familiar face popped their head into the terminal. It was our original AMS Paco returning back from vacation.

Today was the first time I’d gone beyond the terminal in Civitavecchia. I only had an hour and a half to spare before crew all on board. Jumping on the shuttle bus, Sandra and I headed into a small fisherman’s port. There wasn’t much going on, but the place was packed with guests heading towards one of the three ships in the main port. Sandra and I had a walk around the market before it was time to head back to the ship again.

Sandra has moved into my cabin and I’ve shifted to the bottom bunk. By the evening she was fully moved in and the suitcases hidden away under our bunk beds. Sharing a cabin with Sandra is going to be fantastic as she’s laid back and we get on like a house on fire! Camila has moved in with Sanela which she’s far from happy about so now there’s non stop complaining.

Originally, Camila wanted to move in with me, but due to the way things have been going, it's best if we don't live together. It's chalk and cheese. Sandra had wanted to move into the Photographer's Corridor for a while now, so first come, first serve. Either way, Camila is now in the Photographer's Corridor, which is what she wanted, but she's not happy.

Going into the gallery, Paco who called me over. Saying hi and giving him a hug, Paco told me “Lou, you were so sexy when I left. Where has all this weight come from? You’re not sexy anymore”. I rolled up laughing and had to comment and poke fun at his weight gain. Mine is down to eating crap and the lack of healthy food on board. Paco’s excuse was that he’d done nothing but eat on vacation. The rest of the evening was spent making jokes and poking fun at each other’s weight. At least I haven’t got a turkey neck forming like Paco does…

Leaving Drink for Luci - Luci & Fabio

Luci's Leaving Drink - Luci Getting her Present from the Photographers

New Cabin Mates - Lou & Sandra

Luci at Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

Luci in Rhodes, Greece

The Sexy Bunch: Lou, David, Hernan and Luci, Genoa, Italy

Nos Vemos Pronto Fede!

Nos Vemos Pronto Fede!

29^th July 2011

It’s turnaround day today and 50% of the guests will be leaving. Within a couple of hours those who have disembarked will be replaced by embarking guests. 

Today is slightly different from most. Fede automatically takes charge of embarkation. Today, it was Hernan, Zoran and I working together to get things set up. Sanela was dragging her heels like usual and late again.

Hernan and Zoran went to get the backdrops, caution signs and auto poles while I nipped down to the lab to gather the camera equipment. While in the lab, Sanela came down to ask for the store room keys. I told her they were in the door. After standing around watching me for five minutes she asked if she should take the keys up to Hernan and Zoran. Obviously! How else were they supposed to get what we needed out of the store room? 

She returned 15 minutes later asking me where I get my shore pass from. I told her I had a British passport and therefore didn’t need a shore pass anywhere in Europe. She then asked where does she get her shore pass from. The girl has been on the ship for well over a month and should know where to get her shore pass from by now. The only place that I could think of was in the envelop that Luci hangs in the corridor. Sanela disappeared telling me she was going to look for it. It rankled that she was going to look for her shore pass 30 minutes after starting work. Why not get it before you start work? We are already Fede down and we needed all the help we could get!

In the terminal, the lads were asking where Sanela was. When I told them, Zoran said she didn’t need a shore pass at this port if she was working. When she finally returned Ritesh got her to help him put up a backdrop. Hernan and Zoran were setting up the second. I busied myself setting up the cameras and pentabs. Within no time we were set up and ready to go. All we had to do is wait for the embarking guests to come… which wasn’t due for another 30 minutes.

Deciding who was doing what was easy. There were four of us, two shooters and two smudgers. Zoran and Hernan wanted to shoot as they’d be smudging later in the dining room. Sanela didn’t say a word so I told her she’d be smudging the quite studio while I’d take the busier one. That way, she can get a bit more practise smudging.

Before setting up we’d all gone for breakfast with Fede and again it was like a count down. Hernan had told Fede he just wanted him to go, now. Hernan didn’t want to say bye and felt like the time was dragging too much. He had a point and Fede knew where he was coming from. 10.00 came and Fede came back into the corridor to say Image had messed up his hotel reservation and he’d now be leaving at 13.45. All he could do was sit in the cabin and watch TV. His Sea Pass Card had been taken off him as he was disembarking so he couldn’t even get off the ship for a wander around.

Finally the guests started to trickle through the studios and we were getting everyone to have their photo taken. We were doing well and the counts were going up and up. 

Just as things went quite Fede came running into the terminal, bear hugging Hernan and Zoran. This was it… Fede was finally going on vacation. Running over to me, he gave me an enormous cuddle (where that skinny guy gets his strength from, I’ll never know) and kiss on the head. Seeing Fede say bye to Sandra was so sad! It’s a good job we’d both brought our sunglasses with us because they were needed! Both Sandra and I disappeared behind the backdrop to control water works. Once again, as we did when Stu and Jeni left, we pulled together as a “family”. This time we were all making sure Sandra was okay.

Sandra has really grown on me within these past couple of weeks. Originally, I wasn't too keen on her, but she's proved me wrong. Sandra's, in fact, a lovely girl and a big part to the Mariner of the Seas photog family!

Hopefully sometime in the near future I’ll see Fede again. I’d love it if Hernan, Fede, Jeni and Sandra came to Punta del Este (Uruguay) for a few weeks. Let’s hope things turn out the way they are planned. Until then, nos vemos Fede!!! We are really going to miss you!!!

David, Newman and Fede - Last Formal Night

Hernan and The Dave

Typical!

Fede and David on Fede's Last Formal Night

The BEST Formal Night Photo EVER!

Toga Party when I first joined the Mariner - Stu, Luci, Fede & Me

Mariner of the Seas Photog Team
Bottom: Camila, Sandra and Sanela
Middle: David, Fede and Hernan
Top: Ritesh, Luci, Zoran, Jomar, Fabio and Me

Mariner of the Seas Photog Team - Group Photo - July 2011

Classic Mariner of the Seas Team Photo - Fede's Leaving Team Photo

Fede's Last Formal Night

Fede & Sandra

 

Bright Light

Bright Light

11^th July 2011

That’s a wrap! The Istanbul cruise has come to a close and we are preparing for the final Holy Tour route to Israel. It’s out with the old (guests) and in with the new. It’s very much like that on the cruise ship, in a way, it can be seen almost as a bus route. A very luxurious, expensive bus route but a bus route all the same.

We are back in Civitavecchia, Italy. Things on this embarkation are a bit different from the last. In fact the entire cruise was different from the previous. We are no longer allowed to set up studios in the terminal as we were “holding people up and causing queues” because people were waiting in line to have their photo taken. This time we had two backdrops set up outside and once again there was no shade. We had to wear our black Get The Picture shirts… lovely! The smell of cat’s pee was rife and making a few stomachs turn. 

As soon as we were finished setting up, the guests started coming through. We were all on time for once and things were running as smooth as possible until my pentab took a leave of absence and then a guest knocked it over!! R.I.P. pentab is all I can say. 

Another bonus was that we weren’t under staffed. Okay, so it was Camila’s first embarkation but she did a good job. She just needed to stop chatting to the huge amount of Brazilian guests she saw. She did give it a good go though, and that’s what matters the most. 

Sanela still needs to speed up and stop standing around, maybe that’ll come with time. Somehow I doubt it. It’s almost as if she doesn’t want to be here so refuses to put the effort in. You don’t have the be the greatest as a new hire, no one expects it. All you have to do is show an interest and try. That’s all anyone asks for.

So, it’s been two weeks since Stu made his abrupt exit from the team. Although I sometimes miss having Stu around to talk to and have a joke with, things are easier going. I’m still appreciative of his training and everything he's done for me, but now I’m far more relaxed about things and not constantly worried about being scrutinized. In fact, I’m settling in nicely, feeling more and more confident about what I do as the days tick on. In a way, I’m glad.

The atmosphere is a lot more chilled and I’m not the only one to notice it. Certain other things have been said about Stu’s departure and what went on, so it’s not just me. This isn’t a case of “out of sight, out of mind” but if you’re on the team or know one of us personally to know the full story, you’d know what we’re on about. 

It’s safe to say there is light at the tunnel and it just so happen to be a very bright light. I’m enjoying my time on the ship more than ever. In the end, the day Stu and Jeni left, everyone grew that little bit closer. Everyone was there for one another and it was like we became a stronger “family” unit. We became a stronger and better team. Naples proved that we are a fantastic team. I think the Mariner of the Seas photog team is brilliant and now we're like an on board family. We are all very different but in a way, so very similar and just click.

The itinerary hasn’t changed but the order has. Setting sail at 17.00, we were in for two days at sea. That seemed like hell, after all, we’d only just stepped onto dry land after two sea days.  Afterwards we are set to arrive in Haifa followed by Ashdod, Israel. 

Formal night is tomorrow and there is a massive group of Brazilians on board. Jomar is telling us to shoot the Brazilians as much as possible as they will buy absolutely everything. He’s certain this cruise will be a good earner, simply because of the Brazilians on board. Whoever would have thought that one nationality would have made such an impact?

As it’s the start of a new cruise, it’s also payday! My wages were pretty good. I sold quite a lot last cruise even though it didn’t seem like it. While in the gallery, I’ve been choosing an item or two to sell which gets offered to every single person. It makes a difference. 

The best news of all, was that there were no deductions made to my salary. When I asked why, I was told that I’d finally paid off my debt to Image. The deposit, camera and uniform ($1,300) were paid. Finally! Now anything that came my way was for me and my savings… or so I thought.

During the meeting Jomar told us that Ocean Pay would soon be coming our way. Ocean Pay is a debit card where our future salaries will get paid on to. It means we won’t have wads of cash stashed in our safes. That’s the main advantage to Ocean Pay.

If you have family at home whom you want to send money to, the transaction fee is a lot less than what the banks would charge. However, with every pro there’s a con. We are allowed one free withdrawal every 2 weeks, after that there is a charge and I have no idea how much it is. No one does.

The main kick in the teeth that comes with Ocean Pay is that three weeks of our wages will be held, almost as a deposit. What the deposit is for I don’t know. When we questioned it, our BM told us “I don’t know. It’s just the way it is.” 

From what Jomar was telling us, new hires will not get paid at all until they have paid off their debt to Image. Personally, this seems extremely unfair, considering new hires have to spend a considerable amount of money getting their medical, visas and uniform sorted. For me, if I was joining Image today, with the new system, I’d think twice and probably by pass working on cruise ships. The main reason for this is because I simply wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for it all and have enough for two months plus of ships. It’s madness.

Now that we are finally sailing towards Haifa, Israel, it’s time to get some sleep before working in the gallery. Two days at sea, and I’m planning to catch up on my sleep as much as possible.

Early Departures

Early Departures

28^th June 2011

It’s only 10.15 and the tears are in full flow!! 

Jeni has just signed off but we were kind of prepared for her leaving. It’s still so hard to say goodbye to someone you might not see again, or won’t see for a long time. She’s been a great friend to have and it’s a shame she’s resigning from Image but Jeni’s going home and she’ll be getting to see her nephew for the first time. Jeni, if you ever read this: que tengas muchisma suerte y te queremos mucho. Cuidate guapa. Te quiero.

The biggest shock came this morning. I don’t even know what time it was. Stuart woke me up to tell me he’d been fired. He asked if I could help him pack his suitcase. I knew it was coming. Someone higher up the ladder had whispered something to me the night before informing me that Stu was a goner. It still didn’t soften the blow anymore. It still felt like getting walloped by a sledgehammer!!

The person who took it upon himself to train me has been fired. He was stupid for allowing a guest into the crew area to help him with the American family’s presentation but still, we were all clutching straws, hoping he wouldn’t go. All our hopes were officially dashed when Stu came in to confirm what we all knew deep down.

Helping Stu pack his suitcase seemed almost unreal. Knocking on David’s door, we asked for some more help. Jomar, the BM (replacing Reuben) was supervising Stuart. It was ludicrous that Stu had to be supervised by a manager at all times like a freaking criminal. What for? We're on a ship!

As the news began to sink in, so did the anger. Half upset and half angry, I couldn’t believe Stu could be so bloody stupid and let some guest into the crew area, our photographer's corridor. Ever since I got to the ship Stu has been training me, pointing out what you can and can’t do. If I did get something wrong, I’d have him on my case like a rash. Now he was the one who had not only done something wrong but gone against one of Royal Caribbean’s zero tolerance policies, allowing one of the Honeymoon guests in to our area, and got the sack.

I think the one thing that annoyed and upset me the most was that he put the guests first. Since those superficial, surgerically enhanced American, "Honeymooners"arrived on the ship, Stu has been putting them first. Now, because of them, he's packing his case and leaving us, leaving our photog team.

Stu popped into my cabin. I didn’t really know what to say. I did have plenty of questions though. The main question being “Why? Why be so stupid for guests?" When I asked he didn’t seem to have much to say which left me more confused than before. Guests are just that, guests. They come and go, they aren't your friends. Why put guests first when your team and friends are warning you against it?

Stu told me to finish my contract, save some money, get a flight to South Africa and stay with him. See South Africa and what the country has to offer. Although Stu was upset he was about being fired and leaving us, he wasn’t too bothered about leaving to a certain extent. He was going home, he could fly to Saudi to see his Dad and things on the ship hadn’t been going as he’d planned.

Sitting around in the photographer’s corridor waiting for 12.00 when Stu would disembark from the ship was painful. I was constantly checking my watch. The time was going slowly, which should’ve been a good thing, but this felt like Stu was on Death Row and we were waiting for him to get strapped in the chair!!

Luci, now supervising Stuart, was sitting on the photographer's corridor crying her eyes out. She can't believe how stupid he's been. He ran after the rich American, plastic family as if they were God's gift to Earth... now he was leaving with nothing, except an earful of false promises from them. Was Stu just following the scent of money and a better way of life?

The time came for Stu to leave. Picking up his bags, Luci and I walked Stu to the taxi. Saying goodbye was so hard it was untrue. None of us wanted Stu to go. He seemed fine with it though, he didn’t see going home as a bad thing. Luci and I were left hugging each other, crying our eyes out as we watched taxi drove off. Turning a corner and Stu was gone. He'd left us. Gone.

Getting back onto the ship, I had to gather my things and start shooting embarkation straight away. Walking into the photographer’s corridor knowing that Stu wouldn’t come back made us feel more and more like hell.   

All of a sudden we saw someone in Stu’s cabin. An Indian guy had moved in for the night. This was taking the biscuit… in fact, it took the whole packet! Stu had only disembarked 10 minutes ago and already someone had moved into his cabin. His bed probably wasn’t even cold and someone new was going to be sleeping there. It seemed unfair, even if that is the way the cookie crumbles.

Shooting embarkation was tedious. We had a different set up to the usual and it wasn’t working. Our backdrops were irrelevant to the ship and it seemed almost pointless. The guests this cruise are going to be difficult. Two guests had a go at me for not wanting their photo taken. “Why should we have our photo taken for facial recognition? We won’t buy any photos” “We’ll do it later” “We don’t need facial recognition”… I lost my temper, so holding back the urge to tell the lady where the hell to go, I smiled as much as I could and using as much sarcasm as I could muster told her “ok then, gooood luck finding your photos then” before turning my back to her. Fede seemed shocked and told me to calm down and not to take things so personally.

While smudging and shooting an Argentinian lady started shouting at me that she didn’t want her photo taken. I told her, if she doesn’t want a photo then go. Still she stood their shouting at me so I asked her to move out of my studio (yes, she was standing in front of my backdrop). The lady told me what I was doing was a farce as never before has she had a security photo taken on a backdrop. I explained it wasn’t for security but for our facial recognition programme but still she carried on running her mouth. Through gritted teeth I snarled “look, I’m only doing my job. If you don’t want a photo then get out of my studio. The ship is that way” and pointed to the ship’s gangway. She said she was going to complain about me… which she probably will.

Jomar came out to tell me he was changing my emergency card again. This is the third time I’ve changed card in one cruise! I was taking over Jeni’s place which means I now have to attend pax drills. 

Pax drills are emergency drills at the start of every cruise to show guests how to put on their life jackets, where the assemble and we also have to launch a life board. So Jeni, if you are reading… THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENT!!!!

Later on, I was working in the gallery. I spent an hour talking to a lady who had lost two Sony cameras in a day. One she left in the hotel’s safe and the second in a taxi, yet it was our fault that we didn’t sell Sony cameras or a camera like hers, or with the price tag that took her fancy. There’s no satisfying some people. In the end her husband called to say he had found one of the lost Sony cameras. Her reply, directed at me, was infuriating “Thank God I’ve had some good news for today because you’re selection of cameras is terrible”. My reply: you should’ve seen the camera selection we had two cruises a go (we had two cameras)!

In the end I sold another lady a Canon 100HS compact camera. It was quite tricky trying to sell someone something when you have another guests trying to influence her about our cameras… even though she admitted to being an amateur. She was however an expert on prices though! All our cameras are apparently overpriced etc. When I tried to explain that we don’t guarantee the price but do guarantee the quality as all our cameras come direct from the manufacturer, they both told me they didn’t care where the camera came from. All they cared about was the price! Fair point.

Once the owner of the Sony camera had finally gone I got on with what I was supposed to do. Gallery wipe down. Along with the new girl, Camila from Brazil, we had to remove all the photos from the previous cruise. 

Starting at opposite ends of the gallery, I opened a panel only to find photos of Stu and I, working on the gangway in Rhodes. Clearing away the photos is normally a straight forward job, mainly because you know they’ll be taken again on another cruise. Taking down Stu’s knight in shining amour was so upsetting. The photos were the last gangway he’ do with us and in many ways it seemed wrong taking them down. 

Taking a few of the best photos, I went into the office where Luci was working. She told me I had to bin the photos as she couldn’t look at “this big bubaloo”, I could however take a couple of the best for our cabin’s photo wall. If I said I managed to rip all the photos off the panels with dry eyes, I’d be lying through my teeth! 

Luci came out to see how I was getting on with wipe down. I came across America’s superficial, real life Barbie and Ken (the parents of the American family). Making a comment to Luci about them (which I won’t repeat) she had tears in her eyes and told me to tear up the photo as she couldn’t look at the manipulating plastic people who she felt were mainly responsible for Stu leaving. 

Ripping up their photos into tiny shreds actually gave me some sort of sick satisfaction. If only there was some kind of voodoo involved… could you imagine all the collagen, hair extensions and silicone flying all over the place!!??

Luci asked me to come up to SOB after work. We had to welcome the new girl but also have a drink for Stu and ourselves. “Come on Lou, we deserve a drink”. Deal! 

Finishing up, most of the photogs went up to SOB for a drink for Stu and Jeni. To make a joke out of Stu’s untimely exit, I cut up one of the Pizza Chef photos from Naples and taped it to a wooden stirrer I’d got from the staff mess. Stu was coming up to SOB for a drink!! 

Showing it to the rest of the team, they all started laughing along with a few cheers! A couple of the guys gave me a hug and kiss on the head before shaking their heads and laughing at me. At least it was getting a laugh! Getting the camera out and taking a few photos with Stu had people smiling and in some cases holding back tears. 

Knowing how close I was to Stu, the other photographers rallied around making sure both Luci and I were alright. They were all saying “you’ve still got us”. It makes you realize that even minus a huge part of the team, I’m lucky to have these guys as friends and team mates!!

When I got back to the photographer’s corridor I automatically checked Stu and Zoran’s door to see if it was unlocked. I nearly went in to say goodnight to someone who wasn’t even on the ship. It was just something I automatically did. 

Climbing into bed, it seemed unreal Stu wasn’t around. Some of the things Stu had said were floating through my mind. Thinking about the invite to go to South Africa at the end of my contract, it would be great… but I’ll see if they offer is still in place still stands in three months’ time. After all, time does change things.

At one point Stu had told me getting fired was just another part of his life story and a new experience was about to begin. Stu, maybe you’re right. Maybe this is a new experience, the start of something new and a continuation of your life story… in a way we are happy that you are going home, if it’s what you wanted. In a way we are being selfish as we didn’t want you to make an untimely departure, we wanted you to stick around for longer. So, yeah, maybe you are right… but you can’t expect us to like how this chapter of your life story ended…

Photographer's Corridor Party - 7th June - Jeni Getting a Hair Cut! Sandra, Jeni, Stu & Luci

Photographer's Corridor Party - Jeni

Stu Chopping Away at Jeni's Hair

Leaving the Mariner of the Seas Photog Team: Jeni & Stuart

"WHY? WHY DID YOU DO IT? WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!" (Zoran)

Photog 2

Photog2

15^th June 2011

Yep… that’s right, I’ve finally been promoted to Photog2! 

David pointed out that I was Photog2 on the schedule and I thought it was a mistake – it wouldn’t have been the first time. During the evening meeting after a day of working our backsides off, Reuben announced I was P2. I wasn’t the only one to be promoted either. Fede, the lab bitch (lab assistant) was also promoted from P2 to P3! He bloody deserves it too, more than anyone!

Let’s rewind to the start of the day. It’s Civitavecchia again and another embarkation has arrived.

This time Reuben is trying to come up with new ideas and improvements to get more photos, sell more and ultimately earn more revenue. Usually we get the new arrivals to stand next to “Welcome Aboard” signs. The only problem is that most of the European ports aren’t exactly the most picturesque. In fact, some are pretty darn ugly! So this embarkation we were going to take a leaf out of someone else’s (or should that be ship?) book: we were using backdrops. We’ve never used backdrops before but Reuben believed it’d be a better way of getting people to stop and have their photo taken. 

Civitavecchia is usually very windy and embarkation is obviously very busy so a few of us were sceptical as to whether using backdrops would actually work and how safe the set up would be. The last thing anyone wants is someone to trip over the autopoles holding the backdrop up or the whole thing blowing over! It could cost us our jobs, ruin someone’s holiday, cost the company money in lawsuits etc. It would be a nightmare from start to finish. While setthing up we were all dubious and extremely worried. The wind was  blowing the backdrops around and there was no chance of moving into the tent/terminal – security weren’t going to allow it.

Set up took a lot longer than normal as we were busy trying to get backdrops to stop blowing about and make sure there was no way anyone could trip over. 11.00 soon rolled around and the guests started arriving. We ran around like headless chickens connecting the cameras and pentabs. People just seemed to drop into position, shooters had their cameras around their necks, smudgers were in place and getting people to the studios.

I took a go in both smudging and shooting. Fede told me to speak up and if needs be, shout. A few people were getting past so we took the security approach. We stopped trying to persuade people to have their photo taken and just started shouting “okay guys, everyone have your sea pass out please”. It wasn’t long until we had a queue of people with their sea pass cards in their hands. It was then like sending lambs to the slaughter house.

Here’s the set up. Two backdrops – both featuring an image of the Mariner of the Seas. Each studio had a photographer (obviously) and a smudger. The smudger’s job was to get the guests sea pass cards and swipe them so the details are logged onto the pentabs. 

There is a main smudger who stands before the studios. They basically stop the crowd, have the guests stand in line and wait for their photo to be taken. The main smudger also gets the guests sea pass cards, passes it on to the studio’s smudger and says something along the lines of “if you’d just like to follow (smudger’s name) down the second back drop”.

It wasn’t long before we were racking up image counts. People were quite happy to have their photo taken on the backdrops. Obviously you do get people who just want to get onto the ship. They are groggy after travelling for endless hours. As annoying as it is, it can’t be helped; slowly but surely I’m learning what to say to them and more importantly feeling less embarrassed/agitated about it. 

Before, I’d feel almost ashamed to keep on at people to have their photo taken when they say "no". You’re effectively hounding people like paparazzi. Now, it’s becoming easier. I’m getting immune to it all. I still get my days where I can’t stand doing it though. I'm too used to working with people who actually want their photo taken.

A new hire was due to arrive today. She’s just finished her training in Croatia and is from Serbia. Having said that, Image normally get arrival times wrong (Hernan and I were supposed to arrive to our ship the day we flew out for Miami training). 

During the day we did, however, get confirmation that Sanela was due to arrive today... but she missed her flight! Only one flight and she missed it! That provided a few laughs and raising of eyebrows in disbelief. How can you miss a flight? If you miss a connection flight because of a delay, it’s understandable, but one direct flight, from your home airport? Come on!

Most of our day was spent on embarkation. Later on some of us were in the gallery displaying the prints from embarkation. Two studios were set up – LSP and a backdrop from embarkation. The backdrop from embarkation was for those who either missed the photo opportunity (mostly through personal choice) or didn’t like the outcome of their original print. 

The ship was almost dead. There'd be spells of 15-20 minutes without seeing a single guest. It's incredibly unusual for a ship with such a large capacity. Everyone was knackered from travelling and having an early night. 

Once the guests came out of the dining room they were either off to the Welcome Aboard show at the Savoy Theatre or to bed. Rather than taking photos I spent most of my time in the studio pointing out to lost guests where the ladies’ toilets and Savoy Theatre are located. I even got people asking me for dining room table reservations. How many waiters/dining room attendants have cameras dangling from their necks?

Looking through the embarkation prints I could see what Reuben meant about using the backdrops. More people would buy these prints, they were far better than the type we were previously shooting.

During the meeting Reuben told us about some of the changes that were going to be made during this cruise. We’d finally had a delivery of cameras. Hernan and I have been here two months and never seen a delivery! This is mainly due to the earthquake in Japan. 

We'd also had a delivery of gangway costumes. Cor blimey… some are bloody ugly! I now have a new Greek Goddess dress - it's a tent! Mine, which I purchased in Rhodes, is far better but Image want sample shots so I’ll have to wear it on gangway. There’s a Crete girl outfit which doesn’t look too bad. Hernan has got his sights on the Matador outfit for when we dock in Barcelona during the 7 day cruises (Italian Season). The Flamenco dress would bring a tear to any Spaniard’s eye – it’s awful and sparkly.

As it was the beginning of a new cruise it was also payday and guess how much I earned? A staggering $1. Reuben sent the remainder of the wages to pay off my Image account: $500 security deposit, $200 uniform and $700 Nikon D90. The way Reuben's been paying into my account I should be almost finished. It’s something I’ll have to check though, see how much needs to be deducted.

High fives to Fede for getting to Photog 3!!! It’s just a shame he’s due to sign off soon.

Gangway Costumes (New and old)

Zoran as the Crusader - Ashdod, Israel

New Greek Goddess Costume & Greek God, Athens (Greece)

Matador David & Fede, Barcelona (Spain)

Matador - Hernan, Barcelona (Spain)

Sailor, Cannes (France)

Crete Girl, Chania, Cete (Greece)

Crete Girl & Sailor Sandra

Lady Corsica & Sandra (Shooter), Corsica (France)

David as The Camel - Haifa (Israel)

Belly Dancer (Sanela) & Camel (Me), Istanbul (Turkey)

Turkish Prince & Luci, Kusadasi (Turkey)

Sandra as Cleopatra, Kusadasi (Turkey)

Pizza Chef David - Naples, Italy

Flamenco Dancer, Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

Sandra - Flamenco Dancer, Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

Pizza Chef Stu, Naples (Italy)

Stuart - Knight, Rhodes (Greece)

Last but not least...

Ring - Fabio, Jeni & Zoran

Rail - Hernan, Italian Translator, David (Camel) & Sandra