Smooth Sailing

Hi Everyone!!

I know I haven’t written in awhile. I’ve been Busy, Busy, Busy! I don’t even know where I should start right now. I guess a month has gone by since I have last posted and lots has happened. We have gotten a new Cruise Director and Ass. Cruise Director (CD & ACD). Their names are Danny and Pete and they are both really cool guys. Both have been with the company for a long time so there is a lot that I can from them. Danny has a background in radio, so he is planning on teaching me how to properly use my voice so that I don’t keep damaging my vocal cords. I think they want me to go far with Carnival. I have just completed my Tier 3 paperwork, which means I am well on my way to becoming a more senior social host.

A couple of the guys who I already work with are leaving in November, so Danny and Pete have asked me to take over the Punchliner Comedy Club management. This is a huge responsibility with making sure the fly-on comedians are all on board, and all information/communications are put out around the ship, and of course hosting the comedy shows. This is really exciting for me and shows that the CD and ACD think I am capable of handling more responsibilities and a whole different audience. Can’t wait to start this project, but of course the nerves are right along with my excitement.

Our spot light guy (for the main stage production shows) has been going through different trainings lately, so the rest of the social hosts and I have been asked to take over spot lighting the shows when he is not able to attend. I was the first host chosen to spot and I was soooooooooo nervous. But, it was awesome! You get such a rush knowing that you had a small hand in running a large stage performance. Also wearing the headset was a joke. Not only did I look ridiculous, but myself, the Light Technician, and the Backstage Manager were singing completely inappropriate ‘remixes’ of the songs in the show together. It was so hard to keep from bursting out laughing. Thank god no one could hear us with our headsets on.

A few cruises ago in Nassua, the Carnival Sensation was docked beside the largest ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s ‘Oasis of the Seas’. This ship was MASSIVE and so beautiful. It made our ship look like a small tugboat. I tried to take a picture with my iPad, but I couldn’t get the entire ship in the shot… and of course my iPad died at that very moment.

Last night we had our crew Halloween party. What a blast! My roommate Dalyice and I went with a couples costume. She was a Firefighter and I was a Dalmatian LOL. We looked awesome. There were some costume contests, cheap drinks, nice decorations and of course it was a ton of fun. After the party a couple of us decided to get off the ship and walk to Junkanoo Beach in Nassua… They went swimming, while I felt like getting sand in my ass at 3 a.m. wasn’t for me. Also, Jelly Fish come out at night so I did not feel like being stung and then having some one pee on me. No Thanks! I just watched from the side.

On November 3^rd there is a shopping trip to Orlando. We are taking a bus to this crazy huge mall…. On the poster it says one of the stores is LULULEMON!!!! This poses as a major problem for me…. Bye-bye pay cheque! There are also a lot of stores like Chanel, BCBG, Forever 21 and so on. It is supposed to be for Christmas shopping, but I have a bad feeling this is going to be bad for my bank statement.

Anyway, I’m super sleepy and need a nap before my next activity. Happy reading, and talk soon!

Love and miss you all,

Amanda xoxoxoxoxo

It's a big blue watery road!!!

Sorry I haven’t written in a long time. It is hard to get the chance to write when you are so busy working. Never a day off, only a couple hours here and there. It’s not as bad as it sounds though. But whenever I have free time I am either napping or trying to get to the gym... or drinking :S. It’s a funny lifestyle to get used to because you are busy and on the go all the time. I’m sure I’ve said this before. Its a crazy life but i love it! 

I have finally settled into my new ship, the Sensation. I have made some great friends and have an amazing roommate. We hang out all the time and just laugh. I really lucked out J.

I have even started to work by myself without shadowing the other social hosts, which is awesome! I was really nervous to host on my own, but it has actually gone really well. The guests love me. My brother Mike says he always knew I’d be happy behind a microphone. So far I’ve hosted Karaoke (which I used to love, but now its just longggg, boring and hard to set up lol), many different trivias (such as Ultimate Mind Games, Genius Tests, Random Trivia, Sports Trivia, and my personal favourite…. Guess that Mo-Town song). But that won’t be everything. I am being put on more events every cruise. Next cruise I am host on duty (HOD) which entails most of the shipboard duties such as making sure there is background music playing, reading the itinerary for the day on an audio recording, hosting pretty much everything… and soooo much more. We are HOD for two cruises and cannot get off the ship (as there needs to be a certain amount of people on board from each department at all times incase of emergency… this is called Port Manning). More to come about the job later, as I get more involved.

The Sensation is one of the only ships in the fleet that does an overnight. We overnight in Nassua, BAH., which is unreal! I’ve checked out Paradise (or Cabbage beach), and got to go jetskiing for super cheap after flashing my pearly whites at a couple Bahamians Jetskiing on the ocean was waaaaay different than on Sturgeon Lake in Bobcaygeon let me tell ya!. Next I’m going to try to get a discount on Parasailing. I heard its $70.00 a person… but I’m going to try and work on that LOL.

There is one club called Bambu that the crew likes to go to which isn’t too bad at all. They play my kind of music, so the break-dancer and I love it! Also in Atlantis, there is this club called Aura. It is unbelievable. As it is in one of the most posh hotels I have ever seen so everyone is really dressed up, yet, it is really expensive. There is a $20.00 cover… and it was a good thing I pre-drank in the crew bar because I didn’t even want to know how much drinks were in there. But the night and the club were so amazing it was all worth it. I didn’t have enough time to get ready and such so I had forgotten my camera BUT I’m positive there will be a next time. Hopefully I can organize something so that we go for my birthday or something. I’m trying to talk my ACD and CD into letting us have dinner in the formal dinning room for my birthday. I think that would be soooo nice!!!

Anyway… that’s all far now.

Happy reading, and ciao for now oxoxoxoxoxoxo

I miss you home.

Amanda 

Come Sail Away.. Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away with Me - Styx

So today is the first sea day of Cruise no. 2 for me. The first week was full of orientations and safety trainings, which were quite interesting. Also my mind was full of thoughts about my friends and family. I was still wondering if I was going to be able to make it through the full six months. However, I am not into my second of three weeks in Carnival College on the Inspiration, and doing great! I have made some really great friends in different departments…. And the Italian officers aren’t bad to look at LOL! I have made a few dancer friends. Being able to watch them perform on the stage and view them as friends and not just performers now is really cool! You can see your friends in their element, and now you are not only cheering for the amazing show, but the amazing things your new friends can do, and the passion they display. It’s really neat! The saying on the ship when walking around the crew areas is “Hey Babes!” It’s so cute. Everyone says it. Now that I have made friends, they are saying it to me too. J.

Beers in the crew bar cost $1.25 American. So not going to lie… I’ve had a couple beers before bed every night. Probably should stop that, but after a long day of working in the heat… I really look forward to that 16oz  $1.25 bottle of Bud Light or Stella. LOL. Drinking that beer, I like to sit out on the crew deck and watch the shooting stars. I’m averaging about 3 or more shooting stars a night. I have never in my life seen stars like this. It’s almost like a big screen T.V. that you never want to turn off. I always miss the sunset. But soon enough I will catch one and snap a picture for you!

We are starting to “shadow/help out” with the events that the Social Hosts are running, so that when we get on our own ships in 8 days, we will hit the ground running. Apparently our trainer/ACD already knows what ship he is placing us on. I’ve heard a rumour about where I might be going, but I don’t believe anything until I hear it straight from the source. Should be finding out my full-time ship within the next 2 ports (Grand Cayman/Cozumel)

Last week, we did not get the chance to go into Grand Cayman. However the very next day after training we should get off in Cozumel. Talk about sensory over load!!!!! The water was the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. The drinks were cheap, cold and DELICIOUS! I even got to jump off the pier. All my dancer friends were doing flips… where I just cannon balled and dove… and got pushed hehehe. It was one of the best days of my life. We spent the day at a bar called “No Name Bar” at Hotel Barracuda. Cruise crew, for crew, made this bar. It was really neat seeing all of my fellow crewmembers seeing crew that they haven’t seen for many contracts. Many carnival ships docked in Cozumel this day so it was a crazy amount of Carnival staff. Really cool to meet people from all over the world. I have gained such a huge appreciation for different cultures now. It’s incredible!

Yesterday morning sucked. Woke up at 7 am to my iPhone falling off my bed and into a puddle of water… not only was this a puddle of water, it was a whole pond! There was about 3” of water throughout my entire cabin. Our shoes were floating around the room. I was pretty pissed! But I put my phone in a cup of rice for the day and its back to normal now. Yay!

Today we went into Grand Cayman… pretty expensive there so I didn’t stay long. Tomorrow is Cozumel again which is awesome cause I LOVE IT there!

We’ve been learning lots of dances, how to run karaoke, host production shows, and make sure everyone on board is having fun. It’s a really cool job, but never getting a full day off is suuuuper exhausting. But whatever, I’ll sleep when I’m dead! LOL Also, spending lots of time in the crew bar at night doesn’t help.

ALL ABOARD!!!!!!

Hi Everyone!!!

Glad to hear that so many people are interested in reading my blog and following me along on my journey. It makes me feel like you are all along for the ride with me. Thanks!

Last night (Saturday Aug 20) I had a fabulous send off from my mother/father/big brother/sis-in-law and 5mo old niece. We spent the night at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel. Had a few drinks, went out for dinner, and crashed around 11p.m. Woke up at about 3 a.m. (Est. Time) to head to YYZ (Toronto Pearson International) for my 6 a.m. flight which connected me from Chicago to Tampa. Saying goodbye to my family at YYZ was quite the tear jerker. Coming from an extremely close and loving family... it was gut wrenching and bittersweet to say the least :(. Thank god for Facebook, e-mail and Skype!!! I have already skyped my other brother, Steve, who is in Greece at the moment. So cool!

I arrived at the Sharaton Tampa Riverwalk around 1p.m., and immediately started freaking out in my hotel room all by self... thoughts like "What am I doing?", "I miss them already!", "Will I be able to do this for so long?" and "Is this the right decision?" flooded my mind. To get my mind off leaving my family and friends I walked around the local area. JUST BEAUTIFUL!!! I met some other carnival crew members and with in a short while, I was convinced by hotel guests and Carnival crew around the bar that I will fit right in. Turned my frown right up side down!... I thought I was a tough cookie, but who would have thought it would take NO TIME AT ALL to start missing those closest to me... My AMAZING family. But a few drinks, phone calls, and skype video calls quickly set me back onto that positive mind set I am keeping.

Tomorrow (Mon., Aug 22) I will be heading to the pier to board my very first ship (Carnival Inspiration/Carnival College) as a new crew member. Very excited.... Check back for photos and stories on how orientation went. Going to find out about how to purchase wi-fi for on the ship. Once I get that, I will post more.

LOVE YOU. MISS YOU ALREADY... Don't forget about you're favourite sea-man!!!

Ciao and stay tuned!

Amanda xoxoxox



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This is Only Just the Beginning

This is the very first post on my brand spankin' new blog!
I plan to use this blog for my family and friends (new and old!) to follow along on my journey hitting the high seas. Also, for those who are interested in working on a cruise ship, please feel free to use this as a source of first hand "life onboard" information. Through my posts, opinions and stories are that of my own and will not reflect my employer or those mentioned in any posts.

I feel like I should start at the very beginning....
In December 2010, my parents and I vacationed on the Carnival Fascination from Jacksonville, FL., to Nassau, Bahamas. Our trip was intended to find out if this was what I wanted to do. I had an unreal time (even though the weather was COLD!) and had an opportunity to meet with the Cruise Director (CD), and Assistant Cruise Director (ACD). They gave me a fabulous contact at head office in Miami, and I landed myself an interview downtown Toronto the following February. Less than two weeks later I found out I was a successful Entertainment Crew Member candidate and was to start lining up a unbelievably extensive medical and criminal record check. If you are planning on working on a cruise ship, expect this process to take FOREVER! Here it is July, and I juuuuust found out my start date. However, I'm sure this journey of a lifetime will be WELL worth the wait!

I recently heard that I will be training in Tampa Bay, FL., for three weeks starting Aug 22, 2011. Flying out of Toronto.... They are paying... BONUS!! After I complete my training I will be off to the ship I am best suited for based on my personality (which I am going to put on display so I land a SWEET ship.. fingers crossed:) ). Once I am on a ship I will be hitting the high seas for a 6 month contract. I can't describe how excited.. and nervous I am to make this HUGE step (in the right direction). My biggest fear is how homesick I am going to be and... not going to lie... Tsunami's. I'm a tough girl, and have been away from home before, so I'm sure I will be fine. But for right now, that is where my head's at. I've been looking online for different blogs, or youtube videos on what life onboard is like.... I have found nothing. Hopefully this blog will be what I was looking for, for other successful cruise line candidates.

All for now!.... Stay tuned!

Ciao xo
Amanda

Mom & Dad and I, on the Fascination 

Port of Nassau, Bahamas.... It was COLD!