New Vs. Classic

New Vs. Classic.

16^th June 2011

Mariner of the Seas itinerary has changed slightly. Same ports of call, different order. Today we are in Naples and you know what that means – pizza!

Pizza chef was amongst the new costumes that were sent in from Image. So we had two pizza chefs on the gangway. Stu, the classic pizza chef, was dressed up in his "chef" pyjama pants and Italian flag chef’s hat again. Hernan was dolled up in the new costume. He didn’t have a pizza platter like Stu did but Hernan did have a moustache penned to his face!

Each pizza chef was working a gangway exit. Fabio and Stu were teamed up again while David was shooting Hernan. I was in between the pairs shooting the rail.  David was having a field day asking how many photos I’d taken “15 or 20?” he was shocked when I’d only been shooting an hour and got 30 images. The rail and ring are always recieved poorly, especially when there are costumes about.

I tried to smudge off the guests the costumes pulled in for a photo. Sometimes it worked and others it didn’t. Most were happy to have their photo taken as it was all new to them. Some looked at the rail with the Italian flag as if it was one of the most ridiculous things they’d ever seen. Who can blame them though? After having your photo taken with a pizza chef acting a prat, who would want their photo taken with a rail featuring a life ring and Italian flag?

We all finished work at different times. Stu and Fabio left at 10.30, Hernan and David at 11.00 and I was there until 11.30. Running onboard I jumped into the shower and got ready to go out. 

Meeting on the gangway a couple of us had decided to go out for pizza. Fabio knows a great place for pizza around the corner from the port. Antonio, the owner, used to work on cruise ships before opening a pizzeria in Naples. The prices are slightly more expensive than other places but the food and ambiance is great. Fabio left the ship earlier as he was dying of hunger and said he’d meet us there.

Stu and David had some fun getting their shore passes – South Africans need shore passes for pretty much every country. It’s just a piece of paper with a stamp on it but without it they can’t get off the ship. Finally sorted, shore passes in hand, Regina, David, Hernan, Stu and I headed out into the city of Naples.

While in Naples I managed to get two new sets of head phones – one with a microphone and the other to listen to music in my cabin.

The new girl has finally arrived. She seems sweet and friendly enough. Of course, in true style we took her up to SOB for a drink to welcome her to the team. Zoran already knows her from their training session in Croatia. At the moment Sanela is in the same boat as Sandra and Zoran -no pun intended. Sandra doesn't have all her uniform, while Zoran and Sanela have none whatsoever. Their uniform, apparently, got lost in the post – great excuse when they are paying $200 for it. There was a whip around within the team to get some form of uniform sorted out for her.

Heading back to the ship I managed to get 45 minutes sleep before going up to deck 3 for set up. Throughout the rest of the night we were rotating between studios and gallery work. To be honest, it was a bit of a blur. Sense was knocked into me when I found out we weren’t in Athens tomorrow… instead it was the night I love to hate… formal night!

Hernan (New Pizza Chef) and David (Shooter) on the Rail, Naples (Italy)

Classic Pizza Chef Stu, Naples (Italy)

New Pizza Chef Not Looking Too Impressed!

Pirates in Naples?

Pirate in Naples?

 16th June 2011

By the time I closed my eyes last night, it was time to get up. We had to be on gangway for 07.00. I’d completely forgotten I was shooting the rail and had to run down to the lab with ten minutes to spare, change the flag on the ring and lug it upstairs.

We are in Naples today, so Stu was decked out in his chef pyjama pants (although he swears they aren’t pyjama pants), Italian flag chef’s hat, and a silver platter with a photograph of a pizza selotaped to his hand. While on the gangway, Stu told me to go with him as Fede was helping Luci sort out the cruise DVDs. For the next twenty minutes or so, I was shooting the Pizza Chef, until Fede took over.

On the other exit of the ship Fabio was shooting Sandra, who was dressed up as a pirate. A pirate in Naples? We’ve used all our relevant costumes this cruise so they had to pull something out the bag to get the image count. It’s especially hard on the last day of the cruise. By the end of the cruise, people are sick to death of seeing us and our cameras, so in a way, we are trying to go out with a bang in a final chance to get as many photos as possible.

Zoran replaced me on the rail at 09.00h. I was scheduled to have 3.5 hours off but that went down the drain when Reuben told us last night that there was a red drill. Until a few weeks ago I held a green card (emergency cards) and we literally had a drill every cruise. Now that I’d been changed to red, there’d been a drill scheduled… just my luck!

The drill was at 09.30. There’s a new strategy for the drills; a group of crew members go around asking crew security and drill/evacuation questions. If you get some wrong, you’ll be sent for extra training. Luckily I didn’t get asked any questions… I was simply told to take my hands out my pockets.

Due to the questionnaires it was nearly an hour and a half before we second alarm went off to summon us to our muster station. In total the drill took two hours – much longer than normally.

Running back to my cabin afterwards I threw on some jogging bottoms before heading out with Fabio. David and Regina were going to meet us a little later.

Fabio and I headed to Antonio’s pizza place. It’s a place that Fabio goes to every time he’s in Naples and the owner, Antonio, is so friendly it’s untrue. It’s a bit more expensive than most places but the food is excellent!! I only had an hour and a quarter before having to return to work. David and Regina soon came along and we finally ordered. Regina and I were being “good girls” and sharing a pizza.

Running back to the ship with 15 minutes to spare I ran past Katie, one of the guests, who called me back. She wanted a photo with me and a cuddle. Not a problem! It’s guests like her that make you smile and the shit worthwhile.

Shooting off again and rushing through security, I dragged my uniform on and leaped up the stairs to deck 3. As soon as I got into the gallery Luci told me I needed to rearrange the photos from the second formal night, especially Ressi. Urgh!