The First 2 Weeks: Back to ShipLife

So I'm finally settled in enough to write my first blog while being back on board. These past couple weeks have been filled with staff training, costume re-fitting, name learning, and of course – rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing! And now that those undesirable tasks are (mostly) behind me, I can finally start to enjoy being here!

I should begin by saying how absolutely incredible my cast is. They've been on board 9 months already (the longest of long contracts), and still have 6 weeks till they're all home again. However, they haven't lost their energy, enthusiasm, or minds!! Even though they've been doing these shows for what may seem like forever I'm sure, each one of them made it a point to be sure I was comfortable - calling extra rehearsal time, working individually through the numbers, and helping me acclimate back to ship life in general. Simply, I couldn't have had a better 'new' cast!!

Since I spent my last 6-month contract doing the same shows this new cast has been doing, I came in knowing most of everything. But of course, each cast has their own idiosyncrasies, so more than a few times I had to get what I did before out of my head/body, and re-learn a new step. Again, everyone's patience was endless! And I must say, the majority of all the shows went off without a hitch! A couple step touches there, or the wrong arm here were the only minor problems I encountered – and done without the knowledge of the audience. All the shows were really well received. I was constantly stopped by guests who had to express their sheer delight in the past night's entertainment! I forgot how wonderful it is to hear how amazing you are everyday! Hahaha...

Speaking of, two of my favorite cruisers actually surprised me by joining the ship the same day I did, and not telling me! They knew I'd be starting my contract, but they kept that they were coming a secret, so when I saw them the first day I thought I had just hallucinated from severe jet lag!! It's just wonderful to have two familiar faces in the crowd every night, almost like having a set of parents out there cheering you on! Today started a new cruise - I've still got my 2 favs here till Dubai, but they've been joined by a whole slew of guests that I've cruised with before and whom I love love love!! It was an exciting day indeed, to see so many people that I've gotten to know and had good times with! If it were even possible, I'm looking forward to this next cruise now more than ever!

The cruise we started today begins what they call 'The Discovery Selection.' It's fully booked, and if you read all the ports we'll be hitting you'd know why. Basically a major reason for why I'm here happens in 2 days... EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS (I've been dreaming of this moment since I wrote an 8th grade paper on Giza)!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!! I am BESIDE myself with excitement! I can't friggin' wait! And the next day I'm taking a tour to Bethlehem stopping at other biblical hot spots along the way. Am I really this lucky!? The rest of the ports are guiding us down to Dubai (our next embarkation day – and final cruise of the contract). I can say it's definitely felt like I've been here two weeks but I have a sneaky suspicion that the next few weeks will FLY by! (I'll be back in Kevin's arms tomorrow practically!)

Last night was my first overnight since being on board. Overnights among the crew are highly desirable since we never really get a night off if we leave port every day at 5 or 6pm. So needless to say, it was an epic night in Istanbul that started with an incredible Thai meal (yes... Thai in Turkey...) with 7 or so of us. Having been to Thailand, it's my favorite type of food, so I sat there salivating (as I am now) over the menu and narrowing down which 2 (or 3) things I wanted. As soon as the last plate was cleared from our table, the power of the restaurant went out so we finished digesting over candlelit drinks. Then the rowdy bunch of us went to an amazing dive bar right off Taxim Square (a major shopping/eating district). All night long this AWESOME jazz/rock/bluesy band with horns played Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, disco, etc etc etc... After a few rounds, some guys in our group thought it would be fun to practically throw Ellery (the other female singer on the ship – and a complete JOY to be around) and I onstage with these guys to get us to sing Proud Mary!! I've seen the video and I'm not sure I'll ever make it public, but it was such a COOL experience! Hahhaa... Then after a few kebabs at 5 in the morning, we made it back to the ship.... Ahhh.... Istanbul.

I've settled quite nicely back into my napping routine, and I've already converted myself back to being a night owl (I never fully convinced myself I was a morning person anyhow). I forgot how dark my room gets (really a cave... since I have no window BUT it's private), which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Bad thing is that you could literally sleep half the day away – Good thing is that you could literally sleep half the day away!! I've already had the pleasure (twice) of dining with passengers in the 6-star 'fancy-schmancy' restaurants, and I'm back to enjoying fine wine and extra dirty vodka martinis for free! And it just plum feels good to be back onstage again! More than once during the shows as I was milking that last note, I had an overwhelming feeling of pure joy and thankfulness. I'll never take for granted what I have.

Sorrento, Italy was my first time off the ship since joining. There's a pizza place that we always went to when I first started visiting Sorrento, so that was a must stop for the day. My oh my how amazing is their pizza, let me count the ways. It's always crowded with locals, making it a good indication of its caliber on the Italian scale. This place is located right across the street from a lemon and lime grove/garden. So we frolicked through there and had a free limoncello tasting (I always think I'm going to like it, but I never do...). Gelato was next on the list, of course (hello limone flavor!). And we enjoyed that while walking around and eventually settling into this cute cafe that overlooked the bay. All in all a perfect day, and a great reunion with a fabulous city. Santorini was the next fun day I had. We went on a 'Gyro-Crawl' hitting up a couple stands and washing them down with cold Efes beer. I did a little shopping here and there, and then took some pictures (as if I don't have enough pictures of Santorini from the countless times I've been there – but it's just soooo beautiful you can't help yourself!). Love love love Santorini – it's defintely my favorite Greek port...

Internet has been a frustrating slap back to reality, however. If we even get a connection, more often than not it's at an irritatingly slow speed. It's made for some tough communication between my love and I. But we make it work, and he couldn't be any more supportive and proud of me right now. Since we don't have internet at our cabin in Montana, he'll drive to McDonald's everyday before work to talk for a few minutes. A few times, he's been left there alone for 45 minutes before (correctly) assuming I'm having connection problems. When he's in NC he'll have free WiFi at any time, so hopefully the seas in this part of the world will cooperate better!

Have to share a cute Kevin story… We were in Kusadasi, Turkey for my birthday. Unless you're there to see Ephesus, which is amazing, or to shop for a rug or cheap knickknacks that you're generally overcharged for, the only real redeeming thing about Kusadasi is that the port terminal has a Starbucks with free internet! So of course, that's where I headed to get online for a few hours. Kevin and I Skyped (thank God for Skype and video chat). There in the McDonald's parking lot in his truck, he had brought a large muffin (the store was out of cupcakes apparently), stuck a candle in it, sang Happy Birthday to me, then told me to 'blow out the candle' while he discreetly did the deed. How adorable is he!?!? Oh my goodness... I know everyone's rolling their eyes, but these are the little things in life that support just how lucky I am! It made my day since I had been bumming a little that I wouldn't get to spend the day with him in person. I also finally got to call my mom after what felt like forever since I'd last spoken with her! We mostly talked wedding stuff, which I love. I've been collecting Bridal Magazines from some the countries I've visited so far – Italy and Turkey – with plans to hit the shops to look for more in Egypt, India, and South Africa.

Well, I must bid adieu for now. With as many sea days as there are coming up, I should get plenty of downtime to continue to write of my adventures. Egypt here I come!! WOO HOO!