Time To Chill

Time to Chill

19th July 2011

Today Camila and I have the day off for our good comments. We gathered our stuff and headed to 4 Seasons – our favourite place to go for food, internet and drinks in Rhodes. The people are so friendly, it’s a place Rueben took us to when he was working on the Mariner. We’d be meeting Luci there later on to get a photograph with the owners. 

There was a message from Stu. He’s been out in the wilderness for 10 days and seems to be having a great time.

After having a bit to eat and a quick drink we grabbed our stuff and headed to the beach. 

Rather than going to the beach where the other members of the crew were, we headed in the opposite direction. There’s a quite bay just by the port, with a great view of the ship. The water is crystal clear, Luci said it reminds her of the Caribbean Sea.

Stripping down to our bikinis it was so refreshing running into the sea. The water was pretty chilly but lovely! After taking some photos, having a swim and splashing round a bit we laid in the sun for 20 minutes before we had to go back to 4 Seasons to meet Luci.

We didn’t stay long as we were running out of time. Today we were acting more like guests running around trying to cram everything into a couple of hours. Sometimes we really do take being in the same port countless times for granted and do very little other than sitting around using the internet, grocery shopping and/or sleeping. We took our photo with the owners of 4 Seasons, he gave us our card and his name so we could add him on Facebook.

Heading out into the heat of Rhodes we walked up the main shopping strip. Luci needed to get some presents for her family as she’s leaving in a bit more than two weeks. The way things are going at work, she can’t wait to go home either!  

As time was ticking, we decided to head to the shops where we knew there was something we wanted. After an hour of walking around Luci had a traditional Greek style silver ring and a dress for her niece. Camila and I bought the same stripped blue and green bags (I found a bag to match my scarf in completely different countries). I nearly walked into the armour shop to buy another one of the scroll painting but held myself back. We had a quick look in our favourite dress shop in Rhodes. There was one dress I really wanted… but it was longer than 5’1, my height!

Back on the ship, we all jumped into the shower (the same shower… just kidding) and changed into our evening uniform. It was straight down to the lab to collect the prints for display. 

One and a half hours of display (followed by an evening of condensing in the gallery) is enough to make anyone fall to sleep! Let’s hope there are some funny pictures within the pile to keep us entertained!! We’ve decided to rip down Jomar’s wedding montage from the office door and have our own little Wall (or door) of Shame. We’ve already got about 6 gangway photos to put up… most are accidently provided by Zoran!! 

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

Me & Camila at the Beach in Rhodes

This is the Life!

On the Beach in Rhodes with the Mariner of the Seas :-)

Gangway... OWNED!!

Gangway… OWNED!

3^rd July 2011

Today we are in Rhodes again and it’d be the first gangway without Stu which means no more pouting knight! Zoran who does a fantastic job as the Greek God was dressed up in the Knight costume and it swamped him!!

At the last minute Fede wanted to shoot Zoran because David (Centurion) wasn’t ready. Sod off was my reply. Zoran and I were already on the gangway. Zoran was still a little worse for wear from last night but we got to work on the tour exit. Every so often we’d dart into the middle of the gangway and work both sides as much as we could. Within the first hour we had nearly 300 images. Our target was 400 each.

Fede came to join us a little later on gangway. David had locked himself out of his cabin and Fabio, who was free shooting, had forgotten his key inside too. Great stuff! 

Just as Fede came back over my Quantum battery died. It’d been on charge all night and hadn’t lasted two hours! My Quantum has been giving me so much grief recently. My flash doesn’t always fire, the light consistency is terrible and the battery simply isn’t lasting half as much time as it should.

Running to the lab I picked up another SD card for Fede, my spare wasn’t anywhere to be found. Grabbing another Quantum battery I locked up and headed back outside. 

David had finally made an appearance. Teaming back up again we continued shooting and smudging. People were lining up and the ones who refused were literally chased down until they gave in and had their photo taken. 

Fede and David reached 400 before Zoran and I did. There were however 400 images of the knight (Fede took over shooting while I went inside for another battery). They said they’d stay out on gangway shooting and help us get 800 in total. Before we knew it, we had 800 images in total. It wasn’t even 10am and we’d smashed the target, owned the gangway! 

Jomar told us to keep going even though we’d reached the target. We were due out until 11.30.

Smudging like hell and soon Fede and my right arm were aching like hell from holding the camera up to our faces. I must have spent about 10 minutes with my camera to my eye without lowering it once. It was a continuous aim, focus, shoot. It was fantastic!

By the time Zoran and I had reached 500 Fede and David were just passing 700!! This was a record for Europe. David and Fede said this was Caribbean style shooting. Zoran and I were in our element when we reached 600 images!! Every time we got to another 100 mark we’d be laughing in amazement with high fives all around!!

At 615 my 2GB memory card was full and I didn’t have another. God knows where my 4GB was but it wasn’t in the lab. It was 10.40 so Fede just said to go inside as there wasn’t much we could do. Fede was already on his second memory card and his flash batteries were running low (he was already on his replacement batteries). So Zoran and I had whacked up 615 images. We knocked on a few cabin doors to see if anyone else had a spare memory card so we could continue shooting. We were buzzing! No one had another memory card though.

David and Fede wanted to see if they could get 1,000 shots. They weren’t far off!! They’d done a fantastic job between them. Not long after we’d come in they joined us. Fede had to stop shooting, his arm was cramping and his flash batteries were dead. They had just over 900. Fabio, last time we checked had 150 and we had 615. That’s 1,665 images in total! 

We’d smashed our targets and had an image count to rival the Caribbean’s! It was an amazing image count for Europe when it’s sometimes a struggle to get over 600! The guys in costume were fantastic and not taking "no" for an answer. The Knight and Centurion were acting up, playing the part perfectly! They were absolutely fantastic! Fede was the ultimate shooter. All together we’d done a brilliant job and not only smashed the target but all expectations too!!

During gangway David raised his hands into the air and declared we owned gangway! And he was right… Gangway Owned!

Zoran the Knight

Knight on Trial

Knight on Trial

9^th June 2011

Here we are again in Rhodes.

Stu was on the gangway first thing in the morning dressed as a knight in shining armour. This was the first time he’d dressed up as a knight (Crusader in Israel, with a different outfit) so it’d be interesting to see the image count he got.

I was free shooting the ring which along with the rail (which Jeni was shooting) didn’t get a huge count. To add fuel to the fire, I had completely lost my voice so smudging was almost impossible!! Everyone’s been joking I sound like El Padrino (the Godfather) and that soon got changed to La Madrina (the Godmother). To be honest, I don’t blame them… if I had a voice, I’d be taking the piss too!

After gangway Fede and Stu headed up to the mess for something to eat while I jumped in the shower. It was sunny out so I could finally give my new dress a whirl… I’m turning into a girly girl! Once they were back we headed out into Rhodes. Stu went into a bar to use the internet. I’d promised Fede I’d help him find presents for his numerous female family members and friends. He had no idea what to buy and he knows them! What chance did I have of being any help? We got some bits and of course I found another magnet. This magnet had nothing to do with Rhodes. It was a cow with dangly legs – I loved it!

Alright, so I know I promised myself that I wouldn’t but the picture I wanted from the armour shop until I was Photog2. Walking past the shop, my competencies and checklist completed, the urge got the better of me. After spending 20 minutes talking to the lady in the store, I walked out with the picture for 6euros less and a message for Stu: pop in next time you’re in Rhodes to say hi. The girl is lovely, it’s a real pleasure talking to her. There’s another picture that I want… that one will either have to wait until I’m promoted to Photog2… or maybe even Photog 3!

With just over an hour and a half to go before we had to board the ship, Fede and I went to join Stu. Fede hated my picture! As soon as I walked into the bar where Stu was, and he saw the carrier bag I was carrying, he smiled. Jokingly, I slipped the bag behind my back and put on a sheepish face. He knew I’d bought the picture and laughed when he pulled it out the bag. Like me, Stu thinks the picture is awesome. It’s two against one… therefore, the picture is awesome! I’ll get a photo and post it on here as soon as I can.

Heading back to the ship it was time for a quick snooze before set up. During set up we had LSP set up training from Stu. He’s fed up of people not setting the studio up properly so Ritesh the AMP gave him permission to show us how it’s done properly. Originally my studio was supposed to be set up on Deck 3 along with LSP. Halfway through set up Ritesh decided he wanted it up on Deck 5. So Zoran and Hernan (I was helping the new girl Sandra) set up her studio.

Tonight I was shooting on the black backdrop. It wasn’t the usual poses, Reuben wanted close ups which wasn’t a problem. Rather than having people simply standing I was swapping between a dining room chair and a prestigious looking, purple arm chair. Following Stu’s previous advice and training I was tipping the arm chair in all directions. Some turned out brilliant where others didn’t work so well. It wasn’t really a problem, it would give me more of an insight as to what to avoid for next time or a night where it’s busy such as formal night.

The biggest challenge was trying to pose guests with a fading voice or none whatsoever. Some people were quite easy going and understood the hand gestures while others didn’t. Just as I was closing down the studio, a Scottish guest I’d previously photographed popped in. He handed me four Strepsils for my throat and wished me well. Grateful wasn’t even the word. It wasn’t long before my pain in my throat ebbed a way a little. My voice didn’t quite return though but I could live with being silent for a few days. No doubt the others could do with a break from me talking too.

After my break I asked David if he could swap with me. He’d shoot in my studio and I’d take his place in the gallery. I’d need my voice far less in the gallery and could quite easily busy myself condensing or displaying prints.

Although the head cold has faded a bit since Athens, it seems to have passed down to my chest. I’m starting to worry in case it turns into a chest infection. Not what I want or need so I’ll have to play it safe for a while and keep wrapped up.

On a brighter note, from what I displayed in the gallery, the knight in armour was a success on the gangway! Unfortunately for Stu, his gauntlet investments are “falling apart” and he’s having to super glue the metal onto the glove... maybe they are more for show than gangway!

Stuart as the Knight in Rhodes, Greece

Knight in Shining Armour

Knight in Shining Armour

28^th May 2011

Today was one of the best days so far and we did relatively little. Rhodes is growing on me more and more. It’s moving up the list and becoming one of my favourite places to go along with Naples. 

Stu, Fede and I headed out for our free time. Fede went off to use the internet while Stu and I were on a mission to improve the knight gangway costume. Stu had an idea in mind, it was just a case of finding the necessary goods to pull it off.

The sun was shining and the place was a busy as ever. We walked down the main strip heading to one of the few shops which sell armour, knives and unique ornaments. Stu spotted a gauntlet which he loved and had to have. 

Stu's usual knight gangway pose is balling his fist up and either pointing it towards the camera or holding it up to his chest (as if protecting himself from a punch). He normally wears a black glove but it doesn’t really look very effective. Putting the gauntlet on, he did his two usual poses and even though he was dressed in his usual clothes, you could imagine how it would look on gangway. The guests would love it!! Instead of getting one gauntlet he decided to get both! The Australian-Greek lady working in the shop gave him a good discount too. 

While looking around the tiny shop we spotted a shield. Stu could have used the shield with one hand while wearing the gauntlet on the other, pointing towards the camera. It must have been quite funny for people walking passed, seeing us imitating gangway poses! We were deciding on what the hell to buy when Stu remembered a chained head piece (he told me the name and I’ve completely forgotten). The piece goes over and covers the head, leaving a small area of the face exposed. The knight’s helmet then goes over the top. One thing is for sure, Stu certainly knows his stuff when it comes down to armour! Again, Stu loved it and decided he wanted it straight away. 

The funniest bit that made my day was when Stu got the head piece stuck on his head. It slipped on easy enough – getting it off was another story. There was a technique to it – slip your chin out first before sliding it off your head! It took us a good 15 minutes of trying, fits and giggles to work out that technique. 

Now it was case of deciding what else to buy. For some reason my opinion was highly valid… and so was my debit card! We could have quite easily bought the shop. Stu had only bought a certain amount of money with him as he only intended on buying one or two gauntlets so I was lending the difference (which wasn’t a huge amount). Finally, after much deliberation, we waltzed out the shop with two gauntlets and the chain head piece. The lady working in the shop took a large chunk off the price when we said we worked on the cruise ships. Crew member discounts - another bonus to ship life.

She was interested in the idea we had for the costume but worried we wouldn’t get the money back. We knew we wouldn’t but Stu wasn’t fazed – he saw it more as an investment and he had a valid point. If everyone dressed in a costume, looked the part and different from the others featured on cruise ships the more people would have their photo taken and buy more. In the long run, the more photos the guests bought, the more money we’d earn and to be honest, Stu would get his money back, plus extra on top, very quickly. Both Stu and I were like kids at Christmas – we couldn’t wait to come back to Rhodes to try out the entire costume and see the results. Without a doubt it’s going to go down a storm!

One question that was playing on our minds was whether we’d be able to get the armour through security. If push came to shove, it’d be taken off Stu and he’d have to collect everything each morning we docked in Rhodes. After gangway he'd have to hand it back into security. Either way he wasn’t too fussed. In the end he managed to get the armour through without a problem.

In the armour shop were gothic paintings wrapped onto black scrolls. It may sound odd but they were stunning! One in particular, featuring a girl-cum-dark angel. She reminded me a lot of Amy Lee from Evanescence. It was 26 euros which I didn’t think was a bad price, especially as I loved it. I was thinking of where I could hang it on the ship. I was too tempted to buy it and Stu was constantly telling me to get it. Instead, I decided I’d buy it for myself when I finally made it to P2. It's my incentive.

Leaving the shop we headed to our new local internet place, Four Seasons. Reuben took Luci and I there after the team lunch. The people are friendly, decent prices and fast internet. For some reason I can’t get on Skype to talk to my parents but Stu could. Luci and Fede were already there surfing the net. 

Before anything I logged onto ImageU to start my competencies. I had two left to go. Again I failed one buy one question so I had another crack. I was determined to own that painting!! On my second attempt of the day I passed it with 8 out of 9. The final competencies was much harder so I needed a little help from Fede who explained a few things to me. Having another go, I passed it! My competencies were sent off to Image. I did my little jig while Luci, Fede and Stu cheered that I was soon to be P2. All that's left to do is wait for Image to send a checklist to for Reuben and the other managers to sign. Once Photog 2, more money will start rolling in and I can make a start on up the ladder to Photog 3.

To be fair, I wouldn’t have been able to do my competencies as quickly as I did without the help of Stu and Fede explaining things and helping out in general. Stu is more like my trainer and was almost literally kicking my arse to get my competencies done. Thanking Stu for helping me out he said if I was P2 by the next time we come to Rhodes he’d buy me the painting as it was a fair deal for helping him out with money for the armour. Result!

I was absolutely over the moon – you cannot imagine it! The day couldn’t have got any better!! I’d finished my competencies which was a huge weight off my shoulders, Stu and I had a great laugh shopping, the sun was out and everyone was in a fantastic mood. We were enjoying the day and spending time together as friends rather than colleagues. What more could we ask for?

Talking to Stu I commented that I was nervous about shooting LSP (Lifestyle Portraits). You can do what you want on the white background. It sounds easy but you can’t take forever thinking of how to position guests and some are wooden at posing. LSP is Stu’s studio, it’s where he’s normally working, especially on formal nights. He gets the best results and his advice: “think outside the box that the box is in”. To give me a hand or train me up a bit, he suggested I popped around to his cabin later and he’d help me with a few simple but effective poses.

Later on at Stu’s he was showing me a few poses using the white stool. He made it look so simple. It was funny watching him posing as a lady doing dainty hand positions. 6'7 and dainty don't go together too well! 

There was a question I’d been meaning to ask Stu for a while but hadn’t wanted to. As everyone was in such a grand mood and we were having a laugh posing I didn't want to spoil anything. Having said that, the "why are you so hard on me?" question was niggling away in my head.

To be honest, Stu doesn’t have to train me the way he does anymore. Zoran, our Croatian new hire has finally arrived. Shouldn’t Stu be concentrating on him? Still, after nearly two months, if I do something wrong, Stu tells me about it, sometimes coming down quite hard on me. Other times, before I even do something he’ll make sure I know how to do it or tell me a way to improve. Although I’m grateful (and I’ve said it a hundred times) he seems to come down harder on me and get on my case more than he does Hernan. Sometimes you can't help but feel that you’ve done a really shit job. 

In the end, the question popped out my mouth. Stu simply looked at me and smiled before shaking his head. Stu said the reason why he was on my case so much was for a number of reasons, one being because I could take his criticism and that he means it constructively. He also said that he can see the images I produce and how I go about it.  Apparently, Stu thinks, along with the others and BM (business manager) that I have real potential to be a great photographer. All I needed was more time, experience and training. Because of that he is taking it upon himself to train me. The others help out too, don’t get me wrong but Stu will spend as much time as he thinks necessary to go through things until it’s engraved in my brain. In all honestly, I was amazed people thought I had potential to do well at what I love doing. It was a massive confidence booster to say the least!

Later on LSP, I was so nervous and it showed in my cropping. The poses weren’t too bad but the cropping needed to improve. I needed to calm down. I asked Luci to come over and have a look at my work. She said the images were great and not to worry so much. Taking the camera she got me to go onto the scene and started posing me. Stu had shown me how to pose using the stool. Luci showed me a few floor poses for singles and couples. 

A lady and her son came over so she stood with me while I posed them and even added a few poses to give me a hand. I'm so lucky to have people like Luci and Stu around to help me. The gallery was dead so Stu came over to see how I was getting on. Trying to pose on LSP with both Luci and Stu watching was making me more and more nervous. At one point Stu saw I was bricking it. Luckily he jumped in and positioned the last shot for me. I was about to lose the ability of speech!

Afterwards I had a 30 minute stint in the gallery with Stu and Luci. Both were telling me to calm down. Stu's advice was to relax and have fun. 

A couple came over who wanted their photo taken on LSP. They thought Stu would be in his studio so he turned around and introduced me to them. They were all joking that the pressure was on and not to cock up the shots as they had high expectations. My face must have been a picture as Stu took one look at me, burst out laughing and gave me a hug!

Back in the studio the couple came over, the guy said he wanted something original. His wife laughed and told him to lay off a bit. When he asked why I looked so worried I explained it was the second time I’d been on LSP and the first I could work freely, without doing the usual formal poses. I was nervous I was going to bugger it up and everyone is so used to Stu being there I’d automatically be compared. 

Stu’s work would win hands down without a doubt. Like the few couples that I love, they were patient, let me experiment, gave me their ideas and on a shot or two posed themselves to give more ideas. Some of the shots were absolutely fantastic. I loved it! They were pleased with the photos too - bonus!

Luci came over later and wanted Stu to pose with me so I could get some extra poses for couples and see the photos. Unfortunately although the gallery was quiet the guests were trickling in so he couldn’t leave and there wasn’t anyone else to pose on the backdrop.

All in all it’d been an absolutely fantastic day! My BM was pleased I’d finally finished my competencies and said he’d let me know once Image sent through my check list. Hernan saw on my Facebook profile that I’d finished my competencies and came over to give me a huge bear hug and congratulate me… he’s becoming more and more like a big brother brother. An Argentinian step brother. 

Today really couldn’t have been any better and it’s all thanks to the team I have around me!

The Knight in Shining Armour of Rhodes, Greece

ET Phone Home!!

ET Phone Home

15^th May 2011

The more I come to Rhodes, the more I like it here. My first impressions of the place weren’t exactly great but we are on the opposite side of the island. One of the best things about Rhodes however is the internet connection. Rhodes wins the gold medal for the fastest internet connection by a long shot.

We had another team lunch today. The idea is that the team do an activity together but for the sake of arguments we always end up going out for a meal. We all tried typical Greek food, except Newman, Jeni’s boyfriend who had spag bol. I just picked the most abnormal sounding thing on the menu which turned out to be chicken kebab on a skewer! Bloody munch! Absolutely amazing! Once again Fede bought his camera with him and it was Ritesh’s turn to go trigger happy. He was snapping anything and everything. I think it’s safe to say the Canon 5D Mark II has another new fan. Canon really does rain on Nikon’s parade!

After lunch our BM, Rueben, took us to a lovely ice cream place called Four Seasons with speedy internet. Sometimes when the places with free wifi get crowded the speed slows right down. This place was empty! The people were so friendly too. It’s a place we’ll be going back to in a hurry! 

Today I finally got to talk to my parents. Even though it wasn’t for as long as I’d have liked it was great to hear from them again. I’ve been slightly down for the last couple of days so being able to speak to them made me feel a hundred times better. For some reason there were a few tears when my Dad answered my call so I was desperately trying to make sure he didn’t find out. Later on, back on the ship, I had to drop a set of keys off at Rueben’s cabin and he commented that I looked a lot more cheerful – and I certainly felt it too!!

During the evening it was crew rock climbing. A couple of us had a bit of a giggle at Stu. His Image beach shorts are very Daisy Duke! Stu walked into Hernan’s cabin and ordering “Don’t judge me! I have very long legs”. Well, when we looked around and saw just what he meant we rolled around on the floor laughing. More because he felt the need to announce that he was wearing short-shorts! 

Although I was tempted to go rock climbing, I’d been gearing myself up all day to go for a run. When you’re parents call you tubby, chubby or fatty, you know it’s time to do something about it! Plus not being able to do my jeans up spurs you on a little. While the others were climbing I went for a run on the running track (top deck). Towards the end my ankle decided enough was enough. I managed five laps and then another two walking to cool down a little. It wasn’t great but little by little I’ll run further and longer. 

Quickly making my way around to the rock wall I wanted to see some of the photographers going up. The wall is a lot higher than I originally thought. They’d all climbed and abseiled down by the time I’d got there and were playing basketball. Everyone was heading to SOB afterwards. I was a sweaty betty and had a face as red as a Coke can!! A shower was more than needed before hitting the pub!

A little later everyone was up SOB for a few beers. Felipe is still teaching me Portuguese. Well, he speaks to me mostly in Portuguese while I reply in Spanish. I can understand most of it but knowing the vocabulary to be able to answer back is something I really need to work on. I’d love to be able to speak Brazilian Portuguese and add another flag onto my name badge (the flags on your name badge indicate the languages you speak). Regina said she’s going to help me learn Portuguese. They had a good laugh when I said the few things I could say in Portuguese: a kiss, bye, go with God (God bless) – all of which I’ve picked up from listening to Luci speak to her family in Brazil. Usually we raise our drinks we salute “Arriba, abajo, al centro, a dentro” which is Spanish for “Up, down, to the centre and inside (drink!)” now I can say it in Portuguese. I was pretty impressed with my little self when I perfected that one! Other than that, the only other thing I can do is count to 10. I have a loooong way to go!

Regina, Stu and I were the last ones standing! We dropped Regina off at Hernan’s cabin and Stu picked up the Turkish Prince’s costume for tomorrow’s gangway. I spoke to him for a while and finally everything seems to be sorted. Next time he’s going to point out what I’m doing wrong, show me where I need to improve for P2 but try not to be so overly critical. Let’s see how long that one holds for… until then, I can’t complain as he is trying to help me. For someone willing to go out of their way to help me improve and get to P2, I’m incredibly grateful!!

Team Photo. Bottom: Fabio, Hernan, Paco and David. Top: Reuben, Lou, Luci, Jeni, Fede, Ritesh and Stuart

Mariner of the Seas Photog Team - Rhodes (Greece)

Jeni

Luci

Stu

David

Blur

Blur

24th April 2011

These past couple of days have been a bit of a blur. I can’t even tell you what day it is. The days turn into countries and sea days. Today is Rhodes, tomorrow is a sea day (another dreaded formal night) and the day after, Istanbul, Turkey.

Last time I posted the Mariner of the Seas was docked in Athens, Greece. Later on that night there was a toga party on back deck thrown by the girls in spa. Loads of people used their bed sheets for make shift togas. The girls from spa looked brilliant! Not everyone was dressed in their bed sheets. Some were in normal clothes, others in clubbing outfits. Originally I was going to wear my bed sheets with a little help from Lou Lou from spa. In the end I thought, sod trying to make my bed at silly o’clock so I wore a Greek-ish kind of dress. Gommy Bear – Thank you for making me buy that coral dress, it came in handy!!

While the toga party was going on we were sailing through a bit of a storm. The sea was pretty rough and the ship was rocking from side to side badly. Watching people on the dance floor was hilarious. Everyone was dancing but rocking side to side with the ship. You’d just see a sea of heads bouncing about then drifting to the left then right.

Of course someone from our department took their camera which was passed around the other photographers to get shots of everyone. Stuart, Hernan and Fede were the main photographers for the night. I think I headed back to the cabin at about 04.30 but I’m not 100% sure. It’s easy to lose track of time while working on the cruise ships. Over all, it was a great night and we all had a real laugh. I’ll try and get some of the photos from Hernan’s camera. Fingers crossed I can find a place with a fast enough internet connection to upload the images.

I’ve got so many images to upload but I either forget the camera or my phone when I’m going out to use the internet. Another favourite is meaning to download the images from my camera/phone and opting to sleep for an hour or so. When the alarm goes off it’s a case of hitting Snooze a couple of times haha. Oops!

Yesterday we were in Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey. Being a lazy cow, I slept in until late. I was supposed to get up early, use the computers on the ship to do some of the work I need to do on ImageU for P2. I really need to give myself a kick up the arse to get it down and dusted!!!

I didn’t think I’d get the chance to have a look around Kusadasi either. With just under 2 hours before work Hernan and I headed out with our cameras. It’s the first time I’ve used my baby (Canon) since Miami. Getting to grips with a Nikon is sometimes complicated as it’s pretty much the opposite to a Canon. 

Anyway, we went for a walk along the sea front taking photographs of pretty much anything and everything. I got a couple of the ship as I still can’t believe the size of it. When you see a photo of the ship at sea you can tell it’s big but you haven’t got anything to compare the size to. So I’ve been trying to get a shot of the ship while it’s in the port or near another ship or building. That way, you can see the size of the beast!!

Later, Hernan and I had training. This time it was what we are to do if the ship should sink. The life rafts hold 150 people and you are literally packed in like sardines. We were taken through equipment and rations: 1 knife, tin opener, 3 litres of water in small plastic pouches, foil overall etc. The reason why we are equipped with a tin opener is because there are tonnes of cans and tins on board the ship. If the ship were to sink the tins would (hopefully) float to the surface. The cans would then be gathered and rationed along with everything else. Having said that, no one would be allowed food or water within the first 24hours. Just sea sickness pills as we’ll all be chucking our guts up.

Another item each lift raft would have is a finish line. Yes, we are to fish if the ship sinks. Someone asked “what are the chances we’d catch a shark?”. If a guest is panicking and stressed we are to give them a fishing line and get them to fish. This apparently will take their mind off the drama and they’ll calm down. I didn’t know a piece of wire and hook could do such wonders….. I suppose fishing is a better option than cannibalism.

The guy doing the training showed us how long we could roughly be in the water before we lose consciousness, dehydrate and die. If you’re in water that’s 0ºC you’re likely to live for about 30 minutes. On the other hand if you are in the Caribbean you’d survive roughly 2-3 hours as the water is warmer… unless the sharks get you first. At the moment, here in Europe, we’d only survive about 30 minutes before we pop our clogs. So, if the ship sinks and you are in the sea, get out as soon as possible. If not, your future won’t be looking so bright! Optermistic, isn't he?

Hernan, Richard and I were setting up the studios yesterday. I felt sorry for Richard as me and Hernan take so long setting up. We’re still getting used to things and the way Image want the studios set up. Richard had to wait around and help us out when he could have had an extra break. Hernan’s better at set ups than I am. I’ve only set up once since being on ship. The main problem I have is that I’m too short to reach the lights or the back drop is too heavy for me to lift. Not only is it a pain in the arse but I feel bad for the person who  has to come and give me a hand. It makes you feel useless needing help all the time.

Shooting didn’t go so badly, I took a bit more time to make sure my cropping was right. If it wasn't, I'd re-shot. I don’t care if the lab get doubles – I’ve have to start getting the cropping spot on, time and time again.

Today we are in Rhodes where Hernan and I signed on. My opinion of Rhodes has changed slightly. The area that we went to today was a lot nicer, more historical and therefore a real tourist zone.

There are two security cards on ship; red and green. The greens had a drill today so we all had to head to our stations. We had to call out our emergency number, answer questions etc. Even though it’s necessary it’s terribly tedious.

Afterwards Luci and I headed into Rhodes. Honestly, Luciana is like a sniffer dog… she’ll always find the best place for the internet. No matter what country you’re in, she’ll know the place with the best internet speed. Stuart and Rich joined us a little later on.

I finally got to speak to my Mom and Dad today. They are currently in England and will be flying back to Uruguay soon. When they are back at home in Uruguay it’ll be easier to stay in contact with them. Mama’s not well and has a bad chest infection/cold. Apart from that, they are all good.

There’s a new addition to the photog team. David, another South African has just arrived. He’s a photog 2. I’m not sure how many contracts he’s done but we’ll find out in due course. No doubt there’ll be drinks in SOB (crew bar) tonight to celebrate. We look for any reason to have a few drinks. Stuart is moving into the Photographer’s corridor and sharing a cabin with David. Having Stu in our little area should be a laugh as we (photogs) are pretty much separated from everyone else. 

Hernan, Me & David

At the moment there are 4 South Africans, 2 Argentinians, 1 Brazilian, 2 English (yep, I’m down as English) and 1 Chilean. Lee and Richard are signing off in 5 days. Lee’s told me a bloke called Fabio is coming to replace him and that he’s a bloody great laugh. He’s as sarcastic as Lee and apparently I’ll love him! We’ll see. Not sure if anyone can take Lee’s places, especially in the sarcasm department.

Tonight I’m on the Coral backdrop so no doubt the night’s going to go slowly. Everyone from our department is mainly looking forward to Istanbul. The ship will be docked there for the night and we have no work. It’s going to be a messy night!! It’s a bit of a leaving party for Lee and Richard. Training at 09.30 the next morning should be interesting. Everyone else gets to sleep in. Hernan and I are getting dumped into the swimming pool for life raft training. It’ll certainly wake us up, that’s for sure!

Hernan - Kusadasi, Turkey

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

Our Home for 6 Months - Mariner of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas

13th April 2011

Hernan and I had a walk around Rhodes before getting breakfast. There wasn’t much open, we later found out that the other side of the island is the complete opposite to where we are. There’s plenty of life and everywhere is open.

We got a taxi to the ship, Mariner of the Seas. As we came around the corner towards the port we saw this massive cruise ship! We couldn’t believe it. Neither of us have ever seen anyting like it before.

The poor taxi driver must have thought we were nuts, jumping up and down in the back “ooooh my god, would you look at that! It’s huge!” etc. As we went around another corner we realized that the ship we had been so excited about wasn’t our ship. The Mariner of the Seas was docked behind and was three times bigger! Again, imagine what the taxi driver must have been thinking when we started whooping and hollering all over again!

To cut a long story short, we had loads of paper work to fill in. We couldn’t leave the ship as we didn’t have a Seaman’s Card/ID. It’s an ID card which allows us access to and from the ship.

I met my roommate. She’s a Brazilian girl called Luciana but everyone calls her Luci. There are only 9 photographers (there are supposed to be 10): Stuart (South Africa), Lee (Birmingham, UK), Federico (Argentina), Natasha (South Africa), Richard (South Africa), Jenni (Chile), Elvis (India) he’s the lab manager, Hernan (Argentina) and me. Richard and Lee are signing off after the next cruise. Stuart’s the one who has to teach me the ropes but to be fair, everyone’s been doing so.

The cabins here are so small it’s unreal. I remember from the hire session, Stephanie said you could easily fit 10 people inside a cabin. Fitting 10 people into a cabin this size would resemble Japanese squeezing themselves on trains during rush hour! I'd say, maximum four people can fit in here.

Later on we got changed into our evening uniform (grey trousers, white shirt, black shoes and blue blazer). I was in the gallery for a bit putting the photographs onto the display boards. Not only is it boring but it’s incredibly time consuming! We are talking about thousands of prints! A bit later I was shown how to use the register and served a couple of customers without any problems.

After dinner I was shown how to pose people in LSP (Lifestyle Portraits). LSP is basically a studio with no rules, although there are poses to allow us to get through a queue of guests quickly. 

I was later working on the free style portraits for a couple of hours before helping in the gallery again. The time really dragged. I guess it’s because I’m not even 50% sure of what I’m doing at the moment.

Someone told me it’d take roughly 3 weeks to get the hang of everything, from finding your way around to shooting. Until then, I was warned by South African Natasha that I’d be nagged, moaned at etc because we are slow new hires and the other photographers will lose patience with us. There’s nothing like a nice warm welcome!!!

Speaking to Lee later on, he told me Natasha was talking bullshit like usual. Good to know.

We finished work just after midnight. As Hernan and I are new, Lee took us up to the crew bar to celebrate. Most the of the photographers came up and bought us a few drinks. It's an Image tradition apparently. New hires/sign ons, will be bought a few drinks to welcome them into the team. Plus, we couldn't put money on to our crew ID cards as we need to change Euros to US Dollars.

Hernan and I were introduced to other crew members from different departments. Everyone was really friendly. A couple were surprised by my Spanish because I sound like a Spaniard. I’ll take that as a compliment although they didn’t quite mean it like that. Oh well, I guess that’s South Americans for you haha.

One thing that I can’t get my head around is how “gentlemen” like the men are around here. I noticed it in Miami but didn’t think it’d carry on while on the cruise ships. In Miami it was mainly the Eastern Europeans, but they’d hold open the doors for you or if they met you in a narrow hall, they’d stand aside and usher you through first. Last night, every time I got a cigarette out, a Chilean guy rushed to get a lighter out for me. It’s something Little Miss Independent here isn't used to. Don't think I'll be getting used to it any time soon either.

Funnily enough, I thought I’d get really bad sea sickness, but didn’t. Most of the time you only feel a slight movement. Having said that, there were times when I could see everything rocking side to side. That does makes you feel a little uneasy. 

At one point last night I thought I was going to sway off the bar stall…. And it had nothing to do with the amount of beer I’d consumed! 

When I got back to my cabin at 3am and laid in bed (I got the dreaded top bunk – I’m scared I’ll fall out haha) that’s when I noticed the movement of the ship. I guess it doesn’t help that we are on the ground/sea-line level. 

In short, did I enjoy my first day at work? No, not at all. It all seemed incredibly tedious. At one point I felt like I had “retard” tattooed across my forehead when Natasha showed me how to push a studio equipment bag on wheels. 

Tomorrow’s another day and I’m hoping things are better than yesterday! I need to get into the swing of things as soon as possible, if not, doing a 6 month contract is going to be ludicrously difficult.

Only three hours to sleep before heading out for my very first gangway in Kusadasi, Turkey... Welcome to ship life?

First Day on the Job - Evening Uniform

My Name Badge

Day "On Ship" Uniform

Our Cabin - Tiny!

Such a Spacious Bathroom!

 

Morning Rhodes!

Morning Rhodes!

13th April 2011

Morning all! 

It’s 08.45 here in Greece. My suitcase has been rammed shut (again) and we're ready to join the Mariner of the Sea, docked just down the road. Happy days!

This morning, I was standing out on the balcony of my hotel room (two guesses as to what I was doing) when it clicked that I’m in Greece. Maybe soon the penny will drop that I will be joining Mariner of the Seas, a massive cruise ship in a couple of hours?

From what I’ve seen of Greece so far, I’m not overly impressed with the place. Rhodes seems like a very poor island which is set up purely for tourists. The taxi driver told us the island was dead until another 2 weeks, which is when vast amounts of tourists visit. Then the place is be heaving!

Hernan has just called from the hotel lobby. He’s forgotten my room number - again. We’re heading out for breakfast before boarding the ship. I’d better run!

I’ll update again as soon as possible!

**UPDATE**

It’s now 10.05 here in Rhodes. We’re back at the hotel and just packing the last of our stuff before checking out of the hotel and getting a taxi to Rhode's port.

Now we are incredibly nervous yet excited, more than ever! No doubt Hernan will be taking photos as soon as we get to the ship. I’ll get some photos of our ship for you all and upload them as soon as I can.

I might not have an internet connection for a couple of days, but I’ll keep blogging and upload whenever I can. To everyone who hasn’t boarded their ship yet, good luck and have a safe journey.

Photos!

Can you see why we weren't glowing with confidence? This was taken at Sofia (Bulgaria) Airport.

The propeller powered jet that would get us from Sofia to Athens.

The planes flying low over our hotel in Miami - something none of us would ever get bored of!!

Better Late Than Never!

Better Late Than Never!

Alright my Lemon Squeezers!!

Hernan and I have finally made it to our hotel in Rhodes, Greece and to put it politely, it is the pits! It’s 00.35 here and we’re up at 8 to get ready and join Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. 

Being here in Greece is making me miss the Image training group and Miami. The whole Miami experience was fantastic, we had a great laugh, the people in the hotel were lovely, especially Juan and Rene for lending us our pool fridge. It’s a shame it ended so quickly but hopefully we can all meet up again soon, or we’ll bump into each other while cruising the Seven Seas. I’m starting to get anxious and excited about joining our new ship, Mariner of the Seas.

I finally heard from Sarah today. She’s cruising the Caribbean. It sounds like she is having a real blast too! Good luck to her! Sarah also told me she saw Pavlo today… well, he spotted her, grabbed and spun her around. Typical Pavlo! I’m really missing his jokes and crazy ways. The bugger’s still going to get a slap for not letting any of us know that he arrived at his ship okay. Pavlo, if you are reading this: YOU ARE IN TROUBLE YOU LITTLE PIZDA!!!! Hahahahahahaha

Pavlo 2.0 can you let us know when you FINALLY get to your cruise ship? Enjoy Miami while you still can.

Most of all I’m missing my partner in crime, Becks! She’s gone to Constellation (Celebrity) and got a bloody good route/itinerary. Hopefully we’ll be able to meet up soon. No doubt she’ll have the time of her life, but it’s a shame she’s not around. I’m missing her like I’d miss my right arm! Have a great time Becks! Love you sausage haha

There’s not much more to say. Guys from Miami training, in the previous blog there’s a list of everyone’s ship.

Night night all! x

Adios Miami!!

Adios Miami!!

11th April 2011

This will probably be my last blog in Miami. Hernan and I are getting the shuttle bus to the airport at midday. Our first leg of the journey is an overnight flight to Munich which will take about 9 hours and 30 minutes. 

The second flight is 2 hours and 15 minutes to Athens.  Finally we’ll be flying to Rhodes airport which will only take an hour. From there we’ll be in a hotel for the night and joining ship tomorrow morning. 

Fingers crossed all goes to plan and we don’t have any delays. The time slots between the flights are only small, for instance we have 1 hour and 30 minutes to get from our Miami to Munich flight to the plan going from Munich to Athens. For the last flight I think we’ll have to collect our suitcases and check in again as we’ll be flying with another airliner. The gap is only 3 hours. I’m so nervous as I don’t know what to expect! I hope I’m sitting with Hernan on the plane too. He’s great company and will be used as a pillow too haha!

Chet left this morning at silly o’clock. Chet, if you are reading, let us know when you get to your ship and have a safe journey!! 

Pavlo 2.0, Maksim and Gaz have left too. They’ve taken the shuttle down to the port – no flying for them the lucky sods! 

Becks (yes, you get another mention haha) has gone to the Image Group office to find out which ship she’ll be working on. Originally I thought saying bye to everyone was getting easier, well, they do say practise makes perfect! Saying bye to Becks was really hard, not long after I had to say bye to the other three. The tears were threatening to spring again! In a strange way it makes you want to stay away from people and keep a guard up. It’s part of the "cruise ship photographer job" so it’s something my overly emotional self will have to get used to… sooner rather than later!

My suitcase is packed – finally! I’ve just got to put my laptop cables in and lock up. 1hour and 45 minutes until the shuttle bus comes. Travelling to Miami my suitcase was 19.5 kilos. With all the uniform we’ve been given I’m sure it’s going to be overweight and I’ll have to pay a fee, or should I say "fine"? The first two flights allow 23 kilos plus hand luggage. Hopefully it’ll be okay. I know for sure that the suitcase will be too heavy for the final (domestic) flight.

At the moment I’m just sitting by the swimming pool with Chris and Anastasiia drinking Early Grey tea… God, I miss PG Tips already!!! I’m really going to miss my cups of English builder's tea! Right, I’d better upload this and put my laptop on charge. A full battery is needed for the plane - just in case. 

My nerves are really starting to kick in now!!! 

So, bye bye Miami… Hello Greece!!

Back To Europe!

Friday 8^th April 2011

Today we all did our final test. If we failed it was a “chicken or beef?” situation. If we passed
we’d be off to join a cruise liner somewhere in the world.

Out of the group 5 people didn’t pass and are going home tomorrow! The rest of us…. WE PASSED!!!! Now it was just a case of seeing where in the world we’d be going to join ship and if we were going with anyone from the group.

So, instead of going to the Caribbean like it said on my original letter of employment (which is basically just to get you into America for training) I’m heading back to Europe. On Monday I’ll be flying with Hernan from Argentina to Rhodes, Greece!!

The cruise liner we’ll be joining is the Mariner of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). Here’s a little bit of history:

Mariner of the Seas made her maiden voyage on 16^th November 2003 and has a maximum passenger capacity of 3,807. The ship’s length is 1020 feet weighing in at 138,279 tonnes. Finally she has a cruising speed of 27 knots.

Some of the features the cruise liner has are absolutely amazing! Rather than listing them all, here are some of the best ones:

Ice skating rink

Rock climbing wall

In-line skating

Themed bars and lounges

Casino Royale

Golf Simulators

9 hole mini golf

Full size basketball court

Day spa and fitness centre

Herne and I  will be joining ship on 13^th April in Rhodes (Greece). The Mariner of the Seas will be nearing the end of its cruise but while we are on board we’ll be travelling to:

13^th April: Rhodes, Greece

14^th April: Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

15^th April: Chania, Crete, Greece

17^th April: Naples, Italy

18^th April: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

Next cruise is 11 nights and we’ll be heading on another, but similar route:

18^th April: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
20^th April: Athens (Piraeus), Greece

24^th April:  Istanbul, Turkey

28^th April: Naples, Italy

29^th April: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 

Next is a 12 night Mediterranean Holy Land cruise:

29^th April: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

30^th April: Naples, Italy

2^nd May: Athens (Piraeus), Greece

4^th May: Hafia, Israel

5^th May: Ashdod, Israel

7^th May: Rhodes, Greece

8^th May: Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

9^th May: Chania, Crete, Greece

11^th May: Naples, Italy

Originally we were supposed to be going to Alexandra, Egypt but with the way things are going there the cruise liner has been diverted to where there is more money to be earned! Shame, I’d love to have seen Egypt but maybe another time!

On a few occasions we will be docking in the same ports as other Image photographers working on other cruise ships. I’m not 100% sure where everyone is going but hopefully I’ll get to see some of the people from training, even if it’s just for 5 minutes! It’d be great to see them again!!

Unfortunately Becks won’t be on the same cruise ship as me, which was inevitable. She’s not 100% sure where she is going yet, she has to wait until Monday to find out. We think rather than the Disney Cruises (like we originally thought) she’ll be heading to the Caribbean. If I don’t get to see her, which I probably won’t, we’ll have to meet up while we’re back in England. I’m really going to miss her, we were the dog’s wotsits at smudging together on gangway!

When we finally got back to the hotel I tried on my uniform… it makes Asda’s look snazzy! Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration but, honestly, the uniforms might look good in theory but in reality they are absolutely awful! Some of my clothes are too big even though I sent my measurements to Image a few days before leaving England. For some reason, I have two men’s “Large” polo shirts and they look like nighties on me! They nearly reach my knees and the short sleeves come passed my elbows! The best outfit is the tux!!! I look like a hard-core butch lesbian!! They jacket is a size too big and with me being so short, it makes me look fat and shorter. Lovely! The dickey-bow tie isn’t anything to scream about either haha. I ran around the other rooms telling people to try on their uniform as some of the sizes weren’t right on me. They have the same problem too! Becks has been given a size 16 dinner jacket (I got a 6). She tried mine on and all she needed was one size bigger. Pavlo tried on his tuxedo jacket and it’d be a better fit on Pavarotti!!! We spoke to one of our training mangers at dinner and he said there was definitely nothing he could do about the uniforms, especially if people are leaving tomorrow. As Herne, Becks and I are leaving Monday afternoon there’s no chance of getting any changes to our uniform! Looks like I’m going to be wearing a polo shirt that’ll no doubt be sticking out the legs of my shorts!! I’m really not looking forward to wearing the uniform, especially as it’s so uncomfortable. Wearing it in the summer heat is going to be close to unbearable! In the words of Andy, one of the guys from Image who trained us: Ship Happens!!