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

Best Sheets and Pervs

Bed Sheets and Pervs

20^th April 2011

So today we are in Athens and from what I’ve seen so far, I’m still not impressed by Greece. Give me Italy any day!! Unfortunately I didn’t have time to get off the ship in Civitavecchia and yesterday was a sea day. The men here in Greece are pretty perverted. Just walking out of the terminal I had a 50-odd year old man following me up the road, blowing me kisses, calling me and “good morning lady!” F*** Off!

Yesterday was pretty hard going. For some reason I was just on a downer and missed everyone. Yeah, I will admit it, I was homesick! I haven’t spoken to my parents since Miami and even though I don’t see them that often I always, always talk to them every day or every other day. A week and a half without speaking to them has been hard. Hopefully they’ll be online more when they are back in Uruguay. 

If I was given half the chance I’d have packed my bags and put on my Green Army uniform. I don’t miss the work, not one little bit. I miss the people and the banter: Gommy Bear, Beaumont, Peasant Pudding, Mick, Julie, Granddad etc. Hernan mentioned Miami and I remembered back to our training week and I miss you guys too. I hadn’t heard from Becks or Pavlo. Not hearing from Becks is worrying me.

Last night was formal night and there were a couple of really rude guests. One told me where to shoot from and sneered “you’re supposed to be a photographer!” My shooting angle was fine, but I did as he wanted but I felt so small and useless it was untrue! I spoke to Lee who was just telling me to let it go over my head. Lee's been giving me as much advice as possible but it didn’t do much good. I could quite easily have hidden under the bed covers and cried like a baby! 

Later I was shooting on the Titanic backdrop and I got all my cropping wrong. Most were way too tight. Does anyone else find it worrying that we are in the middle of the Mediterranean and using a scene from a sunken ship as a backdrop? Good job people aren’t superstitious!

After work I dragged myself up to the crew bar for a few drinks. Lee and Stuart were there. Lee told me that as I’m new and it’s only my first week, no one is expecting anything from me. It’s just a period for me to learn as much as possible. Once more experienced then the expectations will start. I know I'm having a bad day, the managers may not have big expectations of me, but I do. Seeing crap images, knowing I can do much better is frustrating!

Both Stuart and Lee cheered me up no end!! It’s going to be sad when Lee goes although he says his replacement is a real laugh. Still, it won’t be the same. Tonight, Lee and Stu introduced me to “toast”. At 04.00 we left the crew bar and headed to the “zoo” (crew mess) to get toast. Toast and loads of butter after a few drinks to soak up any booze. It clears all hangovers. The only thing was, we weren’t pissed but what the hell? Lee went on a rampage around the zoo and found a pepperoni pizza! It was a bloody laugh. Four hours later we have to get up for training! Not nice!

Anyway, back to today. I’m in an Irish pub in Athens – Stuart recommended Murphy's for its free wifi. The music’s pretty good too. Bonus. I logged onto Facebook and Becks has finally left me a post on my wall. Pavlo has gotten in touch. Another message came through from Andy "Pudding" (not Andie from Image). All three messages have little “private” jokes lol. Just hearing from them with the little jokes just makes my day! I was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Honestly, thank you, you’ve all made my day!!!!! Miss you guys!  

We’ve done our training and I have until 17.30 off. Hernan is on gangway dressed up as a Greek God. An Argentinian Greek God… interesting! He looks a bit of a prat wrapped up in a bed sheet.

Tonight, at midnight, there’s a toga party hosted by the Spa Girls. The bed sheets will be coming out. I can imagine a few accidents happening where a few bed sheet/togas slip off! I’m tempted to wear the most outrageous pair of undies I have just in case I expose myself. It’s a shame I don’t have any Bridget Jones’ belly smackers!!

The next time I’ll be online is in Rhodes. Stuart said there’s a good internet place we can go to. Fingers crossed I’m not working all day. In Turkey the internet connection is poor, so I’ll have to wait until Rhodes.

I’d better get on and do some ImageU work before my battery dies. Take care everyone!!! xx

Photos from Spa's Toga Party

Stu, Luci, Fede and Me

Natasha, Luci, Fede, Stu & Lou

Luci's Montage of Spa's Toga Party