Answer for John

Question posed by Okerman;

Will you ever go navy again?

This question has been a reoccurring theme in my last few days aboard this fine vessel I have called my home for 6 months. Just like when you graduate from college, everyone wants to know what the next step is going to be. For almost all of the people who work on the Century, and most cruise ships, they sign contracts that extend over years at a time. Four months on the job, and two months vacation, just to return back to the same ship for another four months on the job…and so on. This sort of pattern is consistent in waiters, cooks, housecleaners, casino dealers, shops staff, spa girls, officers, and even the Captain. The only people who come on the ship for 6 months and leave to make their own choice as to whether we return or not are the production singers and dancers. So when I roam about the ship, and get asked the ‘what’s next’ question, it is usually phrased as ‘so when do you come back?’, or ‘what ship are you going to next?’. Every time I have to explain to someone new that it is a different choice for each of us. Some go back home, some return to ships, and some roam the nation as part of the great-unwashed race of starving artists.

Personally, the only way that I would return to ships would be if there were a position created for me with more money, a shorter contract, and an even better itinerary then this one. I have discovered that over the past 7 months, I have to be close to my family and friends. Whether it’s an hour or 5, the distance can be closed by a drive. And whether it’s next-door or opposite coasts, I can still call when I need to hear someone say ‘hi’.

So no, I don’t plan on returning to the seas for another stint on the wavy stage. I think I’ll keep my future in U.S. and take my chances on land, see where that gets me. But if I remain dry then at least I’ll be close enough to Ashby for a cup of water, and we all know how I feel about Ashby water.

Little Girl Hey

I miss the way your hair smells when I stand behind you waiting for the coffee machine. I can’t explain the smell, but no Jeanne it’s not a greasy smell, it’s the same smell your hair has had since you were little.

I miss your morning face and how long it used to take me to wake you up in the morning for class. You never fail to have some sort of pillow crease right down your cheek.

I miss the sound of you waking up and not trying at all to be quiet as you bang pots and pans around in the kitchen. I used to lie in bed as you woke me up half pissed and half secretly wishing you were making something yummy for me.

I miss the trends you go through with clothes, and how you wear the same sweater and sweat pants for months at a time. You wash them or buy new ones, but you will always wear the same t-shirt or shorts for at least a month before moving on to a new set to over love.

I miss the way you break down so easily when you try to hold the weight of your college world on your shoulders. Your crying face is something that I could paint as easily as my own.

I miss your concentration face. I almost forgot about it until the other day I caught myself making something of the sort while I was typing out an email.

I miss your stupid sense of humor, and the way that you would laugh when I got you goin with your shoulders rounded over and your mouth open, eyes closed and squinting, with a few whole body shakes like you were having a seizure, and maybe a knee slap somewhere in the middle of that. Performed best in the spaghetti aisle of the supermarket.

I miss talking about life and love with you. Sometimes so real, and other times so intensely dramatic that we could write a screenplay that even soap operas would refuse.

I miss the shower alarm.

I miss sitting on the roof with you, and having picnics.

I miss driving with you.

I miss overplaying bad rap or terrible pop songs with you.

I miss the way you sit on the couch with a pillow in your lap.

I miss your face, and the holes you keep punching into it.

I miss your ideas, and hate that I wasn’t there when you got your first tattoo.

I miss telling people that ‘my sister is making me dinner, so maybe we can hang out another night’.

I miss your drama.

I miss your September Sanctions.

I miss your dirty shoes.

I miss you.

Hope this is good enough for you, ya little brat.

Flabula

5 and counting

Yesterday I walked out of my hallway and up to deck 7 fwd to catch some early morning sun before hitting the gym, and I ran into a bucket left out by the house keeping staff. It happened to be the same exact bucket that my mother uses at home to clean the floors. Green bucket with a yellow handle, big, made to hold a mop. This cleaning utensil in the middle of the hall on the Celebrity Century, made me homesick for house work...and yes, I realize what I just said.

So mom, when I get home it would be really great if I could wash the floors. Thanks.

5 more cruises including the one that I am on until I'm home...washing floors.

Tiny Dancer

Tonight I walked into Michael's Club, the preferred Scotch and Whiskey lounge on my ship, to listen to my friend Will play piano. His job is very specific and is limited to this lounge to sing and play for the guests that wish to drink and enjoy the atmosphere of this oaky room. As I walked in for the second time ever- being onboard for 4 months now- he stopped what he was playing, and proceeded to play Tiny Dancer just for the sake of my audience. Not only was I halted in my tracks, but my eyes misted a little as I took a seat to listen to the full song that he played just for me. Tonight, with 71 days left until I am home, I enjoy this place. I think I might make it the last few months...

Beach & Water Park vs. Ashby

Yesterday I spent the day at the beach in Mykonos, Greece at my favorite spot for a little over 6 hours. The sun was hot, the water was cool, and the beer was refreshing.

Today I went to a water park in Kusadasi, Turkey with some of the cast and relived my middle school years while we raced down the water slides.

Days like yesterday and today come along at least once a cruise, and allow me to step back and acknowledge how blessed I am to be able to do this, but then I come back to my cabin and look at the calendar. No amount of beaches or fantastic shore adventures could make me want to go home less. As of today, I will be back in Massachusetts in 79 days...and counting.

Salerno Pizzeria, Spunzillo

It is 1:22 in the afternoon in Salerno, Italy. Currently I am sitting at a cafe called Spunzillo, with free wifi eating really good pizza. So far today I have had a boat drill (which involves every crew member putting on their lifejackets and waiting at their life raft stations to be quizzed on the safety rules and regulations by the deck officers at 10am), an appointment at the salon for a trip to the steam room and tropical shower, and now I am off the ship. After my late lunch and internet practices, I plan on taking an Ab class at the gym, before showering and getting dressed for some dinner and possibly drinks in guest area.

The sun is shining today, and from my seat I can see the Almafi coast as it turns the corner towards Naples. My pizza has mushrooms and basil on top of mozzarella and tomatoes, and the juiciness oozes out every time I cut into it to take a bite. I just ended a video chat with my parents and my little brother, it didn't last long because of a bad connection but it was nice to talk to them at all. A breeze has started to pick up, thankfully as the late-afternoon sun starts to get hotter. There is an Italian radio station playing at the restaurant, and the music volleys from American pop to Italian jams. At this very moment I miss America.

The Parental Visit

July 21st my parents signed onto the Century as guests in room 8214. After waiting in Barcelona for a little over 2 hours, due to the strike in France, my parents arrived at the terminal late but alive. We boarded the ship separately and my parents proceeded to their room while I headed to mine to get ready for boat drill. After such a drill, I sat with my parents in their room for a few moments before they went to dinner and I went backstage to get ready for the Welcome Aboard Show. Our first port was Villefranche, France, a beautiful little town just outside of Nice. My parents woke up and took a look out of their balcony window at the coast of the French Riviera and became instantly aware of their presence in Europe for the first time. After eating a breakfast out of the back deck of the ship, we hopped on a tender boat and headed to shore. Villefranche is made up of little shops and buildings that climb up the side of the hills. My parents and I spent the day wandering around the area doing some shopping and having a lovely lunch of Crepes and French wine and beer. That night we performed our first show, Liverpool Knights, which my parents attended after their early seating for dinner with Kyle’s parents. After the show, we headed to the Hemisphere Lounge on the 12th deck for a themed party with the cast as guests, and hung out there for a little bit with some passengers and our parents. On the second day we docked in Livorno, which is outside of Pisa and Florence, Italy. We decided to take a trip to Florence with Kyle’s parents, and after plenty of travel stress and a very long shuttle, to bus, to train trip, we arrived in Florence after close to 3 hours of traveling. Thought we had every intention of seeing the David, the line would have left us with nothing else to do once we reached the statue, so we headed on and ventured through the beautiful streets of Florence. We took a moment to take photos by the Dormo, and then split up as Kyle and his family went one way, and the Brown’s to another. We visited a certain leather store, and after making some smart purchases, we headed back to the train station. The cab that we took was driven by a very friendly Italian 28 year old who spoke of his love for American rock and roll as he sped through the streets to get us to our train on time. That night we ate dinner at the Grand restaurant with some cast members and both sets of parents, and then wandered around the ship for a bit before heading to bed. On the third day we docked in Civitavecchia, the port closest to Rome. We took both parents and boarded the train once again to head into Rome. When we first arrived, we headed into the Basilica, to see the Vatican. Once inside we saw the Pieta, and many paintings and sculptures that surround the Popes that have come on gone. From there we headed into the Vatican Museum, where we journeyed through 8 different museums of maps, tapestries, and figurines before finally making it into the Sistine Chapel. After gathering the group and grabbing some food for rejuvenation, we caught a few cabs outside of the Vatican City, and paid them to take us to the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and then back to the train station. At each of these places, our cab driver allowed us 5 minutes to get out, take pictures and look around. Once back to the train station and then back to the ship, we called it an early day, and went our separate ways to hit the hay hard. On the fourth day, we docked in Messina, Sicily. Unfortunately there wasn’t much to do there due to our arriving there in a Sunday, so we got off the ship around noon and made our way to a restaurant for some lunch. Eating a sit down meal in Italy for the first time was a big deal for my parents, so we indulged. Mom and I ordered Gnocchi and Dad ordered Ravioli in a meat sauce. We filled ourselves to the brim, and then walked around the middle of Messina for a while before heading back to the ship. That night we had our first interactive themed party, Groove in the Crystal lounge at the back of the ship. Groove is an event set in the 60’s, with songs from the Beatles, dancing from Fosse, and other hits that are meant to take you back to that time. After Groove ended around 11, my parents and I met up back in their room for a little snack and chat before calling it a night. The fifth day was a day at sea that would take us from the bottom of Italy, to Greece. On this day at sea, Diego and I taught a Cha-Cha class in the late morning, of which my parents took. They then went to the pool deck for some sun while I had a tech run and did some laundry. That night we had our second show, A Touch of Broadway of which my parents enjoyed the first show so much, they came to the second. Afterwards I went back to their room to order some room service before heading to bed. In the morning we docked in Mykonos, Greece, my personal favorite port. We got off early in the morning and boarded the shuttle into town. From there we hung out at a café with free wifi for an hour or so, before grabbing some gyros for the road and renting ATV’s. We drove across the island to Paradise beach, where we parked it for the day. We spent the next 4 or 5 hours ordering margaritas and sandwiches, and drinking beers in the ocean with various members of the cast and crew as the made their way to the beach to join us. At around 5pm, we headed back into town to drop off the ATV’s and have some dinner at the Opa café. After ordering a dinner that was so rich in flavor, it made all of our eyes water, we moseyed back to the ship, but not before stopping for three glasses of Ouzo to finish the day of in the right Greek mindset. That night we had our second interactive themed party called Sizzle on the pool deck. Sizzle is a Latin based even, with salsa dancing, the Macarena, and more all revolving around a fiesta. Once this party ended, we reconvened in my parent’s room once again for a chat before bed. On the Seventh day we docked in Kusadasi, Turkey right outside of Ephesus and on this particular day, my father and I made plans to go skydiving with a group of two more people. We met right off the gangway around 2, and caught a cab to the skydiving location. After watching a video and learning the proper body movements for being dropped from the sky, we suited up and met our tandem partners. My father, a party band member Dave, and myself climbed into the airplane and took off for 10,000 feet. After free falling for close to 30 seconds, the parachute opened, and my tandem partner pointed out to me what we were falling over, including the ruins of Ephesus, Turkish beaches, and the ship. Once we landed I had a minor spell of nausea, but it passed as the excitement of what we had just done finally set in. We got back to the ship and got ready for dinner. That night I took them to the specialty restaurant onboard called Murano. We had a lovely 4-course meal with wine and 5-star service. After dinner we walked around the ship, took in the sunset, and listened to the A Cappella group sing in the Cova Café. My parents bought some watches at the shops and we headed to the Rendezvous to listen to the Stingrays play. We didn’t last long because the after affects of jumping out of a plane include serious fatigue, so we went to bed fairly early that night. On the eighth day we docked in Piraeus, Greece outside of Athens, where a large group of us took the two sets of parents to the Acropolis. The hike all the way up was well worth it once we got up to the marble steps and the Parthenon. When we had our fill of the Greek history, we made the hike back down into Athens, and enjoyed a traditional Greek meal with the crew. From there we did some shopping on our way back to the train station before heading back on the ship for an early dinner and an early bedtime. On the ninth day we were at sea again, headed back to Italy. Unfortunately something about the day before got my father’s stomach all in knots, so he spent most of the day in bed. My mother took the dance class that Diego and I taught that morning, and then she watched part of our teach rehearsal. She and I sat in the Cova Café and had a coffee for a while, and then we separated as she got ready for dinner and I got ready for the shows. That night we had our last show, Dance Around the World, and my mother and father both made it out for the first show. Dad got a little queasy again so he headed back, while mom stayed for the second show. After the show I journeyed back to their room for some room service and to check on my father before leaving them for the night. On the tenth day we docked in Salerno, Italy. Kyle with his parents and me with mine jumped on a ferry to Almafi for the day. We wandered around the town before finding a restaurant to stop at for our last Italian meal. After gorging ourselves we made our way back to the street for some more shopping and exploring. We headed back to the ferry dock a few hours later to get back to the ship. Once we got back we showered, had some food and took in our cruise director’s one-woman show. Afterwards my parents went to bed and I joined to celebrate our cruise director’s last night on the stage for a few months before her vacation. On the eleventh day we were at sea again, headed back to Barcelona. My parents and I would soon be saying goodbye, so we decided to spend as much of the day together as we could. I joined them in their room for some room service breakfast, and then remained in there while they packed and I watched a movie. They then joined Diego and I for our farewell dance class, and from there we went back to the room for some lunch. After lunch, we showered, and I gathered the troops for one last dinner in the Grand restaurant with my parents. After dinner, we visited the shops, listened to the A Cappella group, had a martini in the martini bar, and finally made our way back to the Stingrays for one final set. The next morning I woke up at 6:30am so I could meet my parents before they caught their 7:00am shuttle to the airport. After a 2 second goodbye the rushed off the ship and headed home.
It was wonderful to have my parents onboard, and in a way it was like I was taking a vacation for 12 days instead of having my parents visit me at work. They made me remember why this gig ain’t so bad, and that there are definite perks to what I get to do everyday. When they left, they marked the exact halfway point in my contract.
I will be home in 7 cruises after this one ends in 4 days. At this point I have gotten used to the ports that we visit, and I have deciphered where it is worth venturing out to and where it isn’t. I plan on visiting Florence, Almafi, Nice, Athens, and Naples at least one more time and I will see Pompei, Capri, and Monte Carlo once before I leave the Med. I can’t wait to go home, but there is still more for me to accomplish, and by the time that is all done my contract will be over and I will be back on my couch in Ashby, Ma.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

On cruise ships everyone starts their contract at different times. The production cast is the only group onboard that comes as a unit and leaves as a unit. None of is can be transferred or extend our contracts individually because we were hired as a collective group out of Vegas and through Mike Moloney Productions. This is not the case for everyone else. Anyone that works on this ship comes alone and leaves alone. They have a contract that has an expiration date unique to anyone else’s, and to keep too many new people coming at the same time, people are constantly coming in to replace each other. Transfers and promotions also happen, so if there is a position that needs to be filled on another ship and someone here is extremely good at their job, they will be pulled from their spot on the Century and upgraded to one of the higher-class ships.

Understandably, this makes sense on the business end, but for the people here it can be really difficult. We are starting to get to the point in my contract where people we have made friends with are leaving the ship for one of the reasons above. Waiters who have gotten used to seeing our faces in the dinning area, Broadcasters who have been filming everything we do, Audio Visual Technicians who help is with set changes and costume changes backstage, and even our Cruise Director who organizes our schedule and introduces every show. Were loosing them all to vacations and promotions.

One the one side we are happy for them, that they get to go home and see their families or that they get to make more money on a better ship with better conditions, but on the other side it means that we have to start from square one with a new guy or girl. We loose the people who we have started to call family in this house that moves on water, and it isn’t so easy to get along with everyone when your trapped on the same ship everyday. After this next cruise (of which mom and dad will join me), we loose more people then I care to think about, and though this may be part of the cruise ship life that one must learn to accept, it really sucks.

Becoming Old Hat

Today I drove an ATV around the island of Mykonos, Greece to get to the beach. It was amazing, and kind of scary at first, but altogether awesome. The roads winded up and down the hills so that the view consisted of deep valleys and vast countryside, freckled with white houses and apartments.

The next time I will be visiting this island, I will be accompanied by Ken and Karen Brown. Needles to say I am very excited. I have already started to write down the things we will be doing and seeing at each port.

While in the Mediterranean we switch between two different itinerary. The first includes Sicily,Italy; Mykonos, Greece; Kusadasi, Turkey; Athens, Greece; Naples, Italy; Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy; and Nice, France. The second includes Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy; and Nice, France; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Venice, Italy; Split, Croatia; and Naples, Italy. The ports are becoming more and more familiar. When we get off at each place we now know the right spots to eat where they won’t charge you an extra 5 Euros because you’re a tourist, the places with free Wifi, and the restaurant owners or bartenders that remember who we are and give us specials on dinners and drinks. The languages are getting easier to separate, although every once in a while I have moments where I say Gracias in Croatia, or Merci in Italy, but I usually realize my mistake and laugh enough so that the people I am trying to communicate with laugh with me.

This cruise life can get tedious, especially because of our 12-day cruises, we only have shows every 3 days or so. Diego and I teach a dance class every sea day but that is only about 4 times a cruise. On other mornings we have duties such as Debark (helping the passengers get off the ship), Shore Excursions (helping the guests get to the busses for their guided tours), and Tendering (handing tickets and managing the crowds as the tender boats take groups of guests to the ports we don’t dock in). With all of this there is still a decent amount of time to kill during the day. I used to take long naps, but these would lead to minor comas, and leave me super lethargic for a little less then a week. As of today I have not allowed myself to take any naps anymore, and I have been going to the gym instead. Having this time opened up for me, thanks to my lack of napping, I have been able to get a lot done that I normally wouldn’t. I can do my laundry when it is a manageable amount rather then a load so heavy I can barely carry it down the stairs. I can iron the dress shirts and other things that desperately need it, and that I was ignoring but still wearing, hoping that no one noticed. I have repaired a few pieces of clothing that needed minor adjustments, and I hand washed my dresses, because the dry cleaning hasn’t been repaired yet. I have also been able to enjoy more time on deck 7 (our crew deck, at the bow of the ship) while we sail. Whether it’s a half hour here and 2 hours there, the Vitamin D gives me more then any 3 hour nap could. All in all, not taking naps is helping me make the most out of my experience here, and allowing me to take advantage of everything this hotel on water has to offer.

There are only 11 more cruises left in my contract until I fly home from Miami. In 2, my parents will be here and they will mark the halfway point of this journey of mine.

The first thing I will do when I get home is stand in front of the open fridge. Then I will grab some fruit and plop myself down on the spot in the middle of the couch in front of the TV. 11 more cruises and 111 more days to go.

A Sunday in Napoli

Sunday the 13^th we docked in Salerno. The Celebrity Eclipse docked in Naples, and among the staff of said ship are the Voicemales (the a cappella group that previously worked on our ship). My roommate, a friend Sarah from activities staff, and myself decided to make the journey over to Naples to see our friends, so we left our ship around 8:30 to make sure we would get there early knowing very well that none of us speaks a lick of Italian. We arrived at the train station at 9ish and proceeded to the automatic ticket ATM, but to our dismay it would stop working at a certain point in the process every time and cancelled our order. We then decided to try the line of 25 or so people while Sarah ticked at the ATM machine again. After being informed by a friendly Italian that we can purchase tickets for a regional train at the news and magazine shop, so Sarah did so and we ran up to the tracks to catch our train. Once we reached the top, we unfortunately realized that we had missed the regional train by 3 minutes, so we then consulted the posted schedule to see when then next train leaves. When we realized that we would have to wait until 11:30 to catch a train and 12:45 to arrive in Naples, we decided to seek assistance. The guest relations man informed us that most of the regional trains weren’t running, it being a Sunday, and that the only way for us to get to Naples within the hour would be if we caught the express train at 10:30. This seemed like an excellent plan, so we asked if our tickets were enough for this change. He then let us know that we would have to pay more for the express rate, and when we asked if we could just pay the difference on the train, he let us know that this was ‘not possible’. So we headed back down to the ticket line where we waited for around half an hour just to have the man behind the window close his line. This created a mad dash to the next window, and from there we waited 10 more minutes before getting our extra tickets for the express train. Having achieved step one, we then realized that we had informed our friends that we would be arriving there around 9:30 and the time was 10:20. Kate then used her unlimited world texting to search for someone who was awake on the West coast, since it would be 4am on the East. After trying 5 or so numbers, she finally reached one of the girls that taught us choreography in Vegas. After she texted her the whole story Nikki agreed to help us out and send a message to the boys on facebook that we would be rather late. Just as the lines of communication were solidified, our train arrived and we took our seats. 20-30 minutes later we arrived in Naples, and grabbed a cab to the port. Once we finally got on the ship and reunited with the boys we proceeded to take a tour of the most amazing vessel I have ever stepped foot in. The Equinox is larger than any hotel I have ever been in, and has more amenities then any hotel I have ever heard of. After the completion of our tour we headed into the heart of Napoli for some pizza and bonding with our friends. A very large pizza, 2 beers, and the most amazing bruscetta I have ever had in my entire life later we wandered around the city for a bit just to end up back on the ship for the last hour of our visit. After watching the boys do their sound check for that evenings show we said our goodbyes and parted ways. Literally running off the Equinox, we attempted two busses, wasted 20 minutes, and ran up and down the same street about 4 times before settling on hailing a cab at the last minute to get back to the train station. We bolted from the cab and ran full force into the station to find out where and when the next train back to Salerno was. Consulted with an information assistant, and found out that we could catch a train in 2 minutes that headed to Capri, but would stop at Salerno first. Stepping onto this train we felt lucky for a few minutes as we thought we had planned out the day almost perfectly. 5 minutes later the lights shut off and the trains engine stopped. Thinking that maybe they were just cooling it off or something we remained in our seats until we spotted the rest of the passengers starting to file out of the front of the train. Joining the crowd, we ran from one train to the next praying that it would still leave in time to get back to the ship. Keep in mind, the last shuttle back to the ship from the center of Salerno was going to leave at 6, and all-aboard for crew was at 6:15. It was rapidly approaching 5:30, and we were just sitting down on the substitute train that should have left half an hour before. After another 5 minutes, we were informed that we would be leaving soon, and that we would get to Salerno in about 40 minutes. This news settled on all of us, as we understood that this would mean serious disciplinary action upon arriving late, and we prepared ourselves for the worst as we took off back to Salerno. The train sped back into Salerno, and arrived at 6. We ran off the ramp and jumped into the first cab we could find, crying out ‘pronto seniore pronto!’. The cab dropped us off 100 yards from the gangway at exactly 6:15. We paid the man, and sprinted as fast as we could to get back on the ship. Such an adventure, racing against time was well worth it to be able to see our friends again.

Monday, we found ourselves at sea headed back to Barcelona. Tuesday in Barcelona I stocked up on toiletries and some clothing that I needed for the next cruise, and took advantage of the free wifi to chat with my family. Yesterday we were in Villefranche, and today Livorno, but unfortunately it has rained both days, so we haven’t gotten off the ship.

Tomorrow we go to Civitavecchia, and some of us will take a crew tour to Rome to see all of the things you think of when anyone mentions the city; from the Vatican to the Coliseum.

Currently we have 12 more cruises until our contract is over, and every other day I find myself checking to see how much more time is left until I can go home. I feel like it is the end of the fall semester in college, when the time drags on and you just want it to be over, but you know the spring semester will go much faster.

On the bright side, mail seems to get here fairly easy, so if anyone is bored with just reading about my adventures and wishes to send me anything from a letter to a picture of yourself waving I welcome the sentiment.

Megan Brown

Production Dancer

Celebrity Century

P.O. Box 019030

Miami, FL 33101 9030

A La Familia

Yesterday I set foot in Italy. We were in Civitavecchia, which is a bout a 75 min ride to Rome. I spent the day in a small internet café right off the pier trying to figure out new modes of communication between here and my homeland. I had a latte and a salami sandwich for an early lunch while I listened to Italian café music. Though I wish I had gone and explored Rome, we will visit the port at least 6 more times so I will have the opportunity when we don’t have a show and a tech run that evening. Today we stopped in Messina, Sicily, but due to teaching a dance class this morning and more tech runs this afternoon, I was unable to get off and visit the nice Italian people. Natalie’s show ran tonight twice, and then we had ‘Groove’ in the Crystal room at 10:30. After both we learned a new section of ‘Dance Around the World’ to replace the adagio couple that left the ship for a cruise to get a visa.

I had a dream last night that my mom and sister were on board, and it was wonderful. I feel like my life here isn’t real life, and that the world I left behind has just stopped temporarily until I get back. In my dream both worlds were joined and I was around the people that make me so thankful for the life that I was blessed with. So, today I miss my family.

Arriving in Europe

On the 28^th of May we arrives at Ponta Delgada, Azores, where we took a crew tour of a few of the islands features. First we visited the botanical gardens, with huge trees that were shipped in from all over the world, and hand made stone towers and tunnels that added a very pleasing aesthetic affect to the garden. Then we headed to the pineapple plantation, complete with 12 or so green houses full of pineapple plants. These varied in size from smaller then my fist to the actual size you get in a grocery store. After sampling some pineapple liquor and authentic juice we headed to the top of the island to see if the clouds would clear from a view of the fire lakes. As we rode up to the top we drove through streets so tiny, our bus barely made it through without taking down a few shudders. The island has been updated with very modernized apartment buildings and structures, but these are then surrounded by miles and miles of farmland and cows. Unfortunately for us the clouds and fog did not dissipate, and so we were unable to see the lakes, but it was still nice to get out of the bus and off the ship for a while.

On the 31^st we stopped in Cadiz, Spain, and adorable town and our first stop in Europe. After being left a map from a few members of our cast, my roommate and I proceeded to navigate our way to the beach in a town speaking no English at all. After a decent amount of time we made it to the beach by following street signs and butchering the little Spanish we knew to ask for directions. Upon heading back to the ship we both realized that before the next time we left the ship we needed Euros, and someone who had been to wherever we were.

Yesterday we visited Malaga, Spain, where most of our time was spent in a McDonalds with free wifi. Normally I would object to visiting an American food chain in a foreign country, but it was important that I accessed the world outside of cruise ship internet for at least a day. I was able to video chat with my mother, father and little brother, which was wonderful. It was good to see their faces and to see my house, but it made the difference in worlds a little more real then it has felt so far. It is gradually becoming stranger and stranger to me that I am across the world from what I call home. Here the sun doesn’t go down until sometime around 9:30, and that’s with the time change. I am some 6 hours ahead of the East coast, so every time I wonder what my family or friends are doing back home I have to consider the time and remember that they are probably not even awake yet as I eat my lunch.

Tomorrow we port in Barcelona, our homeport for the next 5 months. I am very excited to see what will become the spot in which we change over every 12 days. I am also very eager to get into the flow of our 12-day cruises, as we have been doing 5, 7, or even 14-day cruises at this point and have yet to experience the type that we will be doing to longest. From here until my last cruise on this contract, we will be doing 12-day cruises, with another transatlantic 14-day crossing before I sign off in Miami.

This whole thing is very surreal to me, stepping on the ship and having to remind myself that I am in Europe and walking on foreign soil that some people may never see in their lifetime. Most of the time I feel like I am in a movie or walking on a movie set, it all almost doesn’t feel real.

In terms of dancing, the shows have all become second nature and so have the costumes and makeup. Along with the dance classes, Diego and I have put together a Tango that we perform I various shows throughout the cruise. It is authentic to Argentina, about 3 minutes or so, and when performed full out it’s pretty hard. Ballroom dancing is something I have never really gotten the chance to explore so I welcome the challenge and relish in the opportunity at the same time. We have also started to perform with Natalie in her variety show, and back up dancing is also very fun. I have been fortunate enough to be able to find ‘background’ work very fulfilling, as I am able to recognize that I am part of a picture of something rather then in the middle of it, or even the only thing in the frame. As long as I am dancing, it’s pretty hard to make me unhappy.

My sea legs have finally set in, I got off the bike this evening in the gym and didn’t even flinch when the ship swayed and I took a step to the side to stabilize myself. As annoying as it is, I am getting the hang of dressing up in the morning to be able to go into passenger areas, and dressing down has become something that I look forward to each day. Last night before our shows I went up to deck 7 (the crew deck, which is located at the very front of the ship), and the sun was just about to set over the empty horizon as we sailed away from one part of Spain to the next. The ocean was completely still, and the orangy pink sunset reflected on it like a perfect glass mirror. I closed my eyes and thought of my friends and my family that I miss, and then opened them again to the postcard that lay in front of me. This gig ain’t bad for now.

Transatlantic Cruising

Natalie Brown is a singer in our Production Cast from Australia with a powerhouse voice and a super spunky personality. She has her own show on the longer cruises, and has asked Merrick and I to be her backup dancers. Even though we are only dancing for her in two of her songs, it adds variety and something different to the show to keep the energy up for the audience. Two days ago we learned to first dance to ‘Stuff Like That There’, a Bette Midler song that I have personal attachment to from way back. The moves that we do behind her are very simple, in the style of pin-up girls, but very cute. It is the first time that I have gotten the chance to do something like this, and combined with the costumes and getting the chance to perform an extra night, I’m loving it.

Due to our 7 days at sea and the increased volume of older passengers, we are no longer allowed to eat in the passenger areas for breakfast or lunch. This would normally be fine, but the dance classes I have been teaching with Diego are occurring everyday at 12:15, smack in the middle of lunch at the staff mess. I could get up early to grab breakfast at the mess from 6-8am, but if you know me then you know how important those sleeping hours are in affecting my conduct throughout the day. After class I have to run downstairs to grab something before they close it down, otherwise I can’t eat until 6. As is my body has gotten used to eating something around 5ish so its taking some getting used to.

Last night we ate at the Murano, the ships specialty restaurant for a belated birthday celebratory dinner for Merrick and myself. I have never had such a fancy eating experience before. The waiter pulled my chair out and placed the napkin on my lap for me, and as I ordered my wine he brought the bottle out and described it as I approved the selection before he poured the whole glass. This restaurant serves in 5 courses, so I had the Escargot Torellini, the Goat Cheese Soufle, the Mozzarella salad, and the Venison…followed by the Crepe Ballon Rouge for dessert. The food comma that I slipped into was mind and body numbing, and reminded me of Christmas back home. We were all so full that by the end of the meal we started getting slightly delusional and giggly, and to any stranger you might have thought we were well on our way to drunk, but alas, it was the fullness setting into our stomachs.

We still have 3 more days out of a total of 7 until we reach any land, and these days at sea have been so uneventful, that we all get excited when we have a show to do so that it gives us something to actually look forward to at the end of the day. Our first stop is Ponta Del Gada, in the Azores, and a few of us have signed up for a crew excursion throughout the island to take a tour of pineapple groves, the ribiera grande, and a fire lake. I’m told that it doesn’t really matter where you go or what you do after those 7 days at sea, just that you get off the ship and touch land.

For those of you back home in the northeast, please enjoy this time of the season for me as spring turns into summer. It is my favorite part of the year so bask in the May sun and think of me in the middle of the Atlantic.

Rest=Happy Cast

This particular charter has been an interesting contrast to the age demographic that we are used to performing for. At the Welcome Aboard show, we had a whopping crowd of 15 people and at ‘Dance Around the World’ we had 17. Last night the comedian performed and the theater was full, all 700 seats were filled. Tonight will be our last show, ‘A Touch of Broadway’ at 10pm, and judging by the turn out for the previous shows we are not expecting much. Not to mention the pool party that will be going on from 9-12, which is where most of the guests have been spending their time enjoying the party band and the free wine and beer purchased by Best Buy.

Though slightly annoying and discouraging, this cruise has been a blessing in disguise. On the last 5-day cruise, the seas were particularly rocky, and even though it only took me a day to get used to the feeling my legs had to work overtime while we were performing to stabilize my standings let alone jumps and turns. Because people haven’t found it necessary to leave their pool chairs and free beer, we have been able to treat each show like a dress rehearsal and save ourselves that extra 20% which makes a huge difference in energy reserves when your performing as much as we do.

With each cruise, our cast gets a little closer, and it gets easier to accept our circumstances. Ship life takes some getting used to, but I think I got the next 5 months under control.

And, I'm back

I have neglected you for the past few days and I apologize. The current cruise I am on is a five-day cruise, and these ones are a lot more packed with work then the other ones will be. In addition to the shows and rehearsals, the new cast members still have a list full of training that we need to complete, so our schedules have been pretty tight. My days have been as follows; wake up at 8 or 9 for training (safety or first aid or security), then to the theater for a tech run of the show we will do that night, then I may or may not have time to shower and/or nap before the show. Food is sometimes worked in there, but I have gotten very good at holding off my morning hunger pains until 11ish, mainly because I have no choice in the matter. When we do get the chance to eat, we have to get dressed up to go into guest areas; otherwise we can eat in the staff mess during certain hours. For dancers this food layout isn’t very conducive, because we perform at night from 6-11ish depending on the times of our two shows. By the time we get our costumes off and put them away, everything is closed. The restaurants only offer nuts, and the crew bar sells Pringles, so my timetable of food has become very erratic.

The cruise that I am starting now is a chartered cruise for Best Buy, a younger crowd you can imagine. We have been warned multiple times that the ages are going to be closer to ours, and to remember the boundaries between guests and crew. We docked in Miami for an overnight before we head out tonight for CoCo Cay, Nassau, and Key West.

Last week when we were in Miami I met up with my grandparents and my Aunt Sue, and I was able to take them on the ship and show them the areas that I frequent on a daily basis. After we wandered around the Century for a bit, we met up with my cousin Tiffany for some lunch. It was nice to be able to see my family, because up till now it feels like I am living in an alternate fantasy universe where I get paid to be on a dance vacation. Yesterday a few of us took a bus to South Beach to catch some rays before coming back to the ship for ‘Sizzle’, and the Welcome Aboard show. This is the second to last time we will be porting out of Miami before heading to Europe.

I am starting to get the hang of all this; throwing nautical terms into my everyday vocabulary, telling time military style and rolling with the changes of time zones every few days, and getting to know the people. The dress code rules are still taking some getting used to, and I even went out in Miami today to make some purchases so that my attire will be more suitable for guest areas.

As for my lack of blogging, I will try to not let it happen again. As a first timer of a 5-day cruise I had to devote most of my time dealing with the lack of sleep and food, but things will all turn around after this cruise is over. 5 more days and were off.

Cozumel...No Names

Last night we did groove in the crystal room, which is a lounge with a dance floor in the back of the ship. After we did the dance on the stage, we dispersed into the audience and posed among the people like statues. We aren’t allowed to talk to them, or smile, so it was a little difficult to keep a straight face as people are coming up and posing with you for pictures. I sat down in a both next to a couple and just stared at them, and luckily the big white sunglasses I was wearing allowed me to look just above their heads so I didn’t have to see them laugh at my black short bobbed wig and my tight white dress with holes in the hips. It was really fun to interact with the guests like that, and after teaching a couple dance classes to them with Diego, it was funny when they tried to figure out which one was me.

Diego and I have taught two dance classes so far on this cruise, one two days ago and one this morning. We’ve taught the waltz and the cha-cha. The guests on this ship average to an age of about 60, so it is absolutely adorable to teach them all in class. Most of the older couples know more about the dances then we do, but the class always picks my day up a little, even more so when they say hello to me in the buffet line or after my shows. Most of them want to know my story; where I come from, how long I’ve trained, and so on. Yesterday I chatted with a couple who lived in Marlboro, Ma, so they knew exactly where I have been and where I live.

We also had a boat drill for the crew this morning around noon, which included the announcement and the alarm letting us know that we needed to report to the correct life raft stations. Out on the deck, we stood in our life vests in groups around the outside of the ship for about 15 minutes while they called our numbers for attendance check.

After boat drill and a quick safety training session on how the life rafts open up and get lowered, we changed into our bathing suits and ran as fast as we could off the ship and onto the sandy beach of Cozumel. There is a bar right off the deck called The No Name Bar, and it is a designated spot for crewmembers of ships that dock there. The drinks and items on the menu are named after cruise ship positions, for example; the vegetarian section is called ‘the dancers’, with a garden salad called ‘the dance captain’. We spent a lovely 4 hours or so swimming and drinking frozen rum drinks in the pool with a swim up bar, or out in the ocean on the raft loving the sun and the heat.

Tonight we have a run through of ‘Liverpool Knights’ and then we do Sizzle on the pool deck at 9:15 before we leave Cozumel at 10pm. The small amount of time we spent off the ship today helped me solidify the reasons why I am doing this. I wasn’t having doubts about the job, because the opportunity to dance is really all I ever need, but being able to enjoy Mexico for a little bit was wonderful and we will be doing just that on the beaches of Greece and Croatia about a month. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am dancing on the Celebrity Century.

Cruise #1, Day 2

Yesterday we woke up at 7:45 to get in line for immigration back to the states. There was a pool party for the crew and staff on the pool deck the night before, so getting less then 5 hours sleep was not the best way to start off the day. After waiting in the cinema for 2 hours. We finally got our passports and joined to line for immigration. Another hour later, we were dressed and getting on a shuttle towards a shopping area in Miami, where we bought some bedding, toiletries, and other things that we would only be able to get in port. Upon arriving back on the ship, we donned our uniforms (navy blazer, tan skirt, blouse, and black flats…yes, super sexy) and headed out for boat drill. My station is the theater, so I assumed my position on stage and like the flight attendant I thought about wanting to be when I grew up, I demonstrated for our passengers the correct way to put on a life jacket. After the boat drill we had an immediate tech run for that evenings performance, which was followed by the show. We did the Bumper last night twice for an audience, and as my first show on this ship I can honestly say that it went very well. After both shows, we had a full tech run of ‘Dance Around the World’. The costumes changes in that dance are so fast, that a few of them needed to be done again to prove that we would be ready for the actual show tonight. We finished rehearsing at 12:45am. This morning we woke up at 7am for some breakfast before getting dressed up to meet the captain and his officers in the bridge for a toast to the new crew. The bridge is the ‘command center’; it looks over the bow of the ship and has a panoramic view of the ocean that we are sailing on. The view was gorgeous, and after we toasted with orange juice we headed down to the staff mess hall for an environmental training session.

Currently we have a break of an hour before I teach my first ballroom dance class with Diego in the theater. We will teach the waltz today, and unfortunately we will only have time for a short half an hour class due to our crammed theater schedule. Following the class we will run ‘Dance Around the World’ again before showing it to the audience twice this evening.

I am tired, and my body is cranky. We are at sea again today, so it is getting a little easier to handle to motion of the ship. I am used to the way that a sail boat feels on the ocean, so the motion of this huge vessel is so much more subtle it is going to take me a while to get some sea legs, though dancing with it isn’t so bad, I don’t really notice it. It’s when I stop dancing that I can feel the motion, and it’s like a very mild hangover all the time. I am also told that things won’t get easier until we get into Europe in June. We have this 7-day cruise, two 5-day cruises, and the 14-day cross over until that happens. Mediterranean, Mediterranean, Mediterranean, Mediterranean.

Day 2

Today is much better than yesterday. I woke up drenched in sweat at 7 so that I could shower and be ready for breakfast by 8. We went to breakfast and then headed to the pursar’s office to get our ID cards. These cards are the way we pay for things on the ship; drinks, coffee, things from the gift shop, internet. They are also how we get on and off the ship. Unfortunately for us the office wasn’t open when we arrived, so we went up to the dressing room to try on some more costumes. We sized the rest of the ‘Dance Around the World’ costumes and got an overhead announcement that we will be assigned guest cabins while the air conditioning if off. With that news we headed to Guest Relations to get a cabin. After eating some lunch, we headed to our guest cabins for an air conditioned nap. Kate and I woke up around 3, in time to change and stretch before running all the shows.

First ‘Dance Around the World’, then ‘Liverpool Knights’, small dinner break, and then ‘A Touch of Broadway’. With some staging notes and a few blocking adjustments, we ran the Bumper one more time and then headed to our cabins. With the air conditioning back on in all the rooms, we went back to our cabins, showered, and threw some better looking clothes on to meet in the crew bar. There we met up with Mike and some others for a few drinks. 12pm rolled around a lot faster then we thought, and so we headed bacl to our rooms for some early sleep.

Today made me feel better about it all. The living situations are going to take some getting used to, but each day gets a little better. To be able to see Europe, and dance while getting paid is more then worth it. I feel better today. Much better. 6 months here I come.

11:07 EST

We landed in Freeport, Bahamas this afternoon a little before noon. We went through immigration and waited by the curb for a few shuttle busses to drive us to the marina. Poor Diego’s bags didn’t arrive with us, but besides his missing luggage, we got to the shipyard without any major glitches. In order to get to the stairs for boarding the ship, we had to drag our super heavy bags through about 2 tenths of a mile of gravel. My bags had enough trouble getting through the dirt and rocks, let alone staying upright. Once I arrived to the group we were informed that our bags would be taken up via elevator, so all that we had to do was climb the remaining 40 stairs to the ship. Once we got to the dock we boarded the ship and went through one last security screening. After meeting our cruise director and the hotel manager we gathered in the cinema to go over our medical forms, our passports, and our proof of employment papers. Once all of these were cleared, we received our room keys and dropped off our bags and headed for some lunch. The rooms are smaller then the smallest dorm room you have ever seen. The small door opens to a narrow hallway about 2 yards long with a door on the left opening to the bathroom. At the end of the hall there is about a 6 by 9 foot area with bunk beds, a wadrobe, a desk with drawers and a night table. It is extremely small for two people. The food at lunch was the food that would typically be served in the crew mess hall, a lot like dining common food served at college.

After lunch, we went back to the cinema where we watched a small safety video about the major emergency protocols. I fell asleep. From there we went to the theater where we ran the bumper 5 times before trying on all of the costumes for ‘Dance Around the World’ up to the Irish dance.

Gross and tired, we went back to our rooms to change before a drink in the crew bar courtesy of our cruise director, and dinner. For dinner it was the same things that we had for lunch, and after we ate as much as we could without repeating lunch, we headed back to our rooms to finish unpacking.

After suffocating from the lack of air conditioning in our cabins we decided to roam around the boat in search of cooler areas. We met up with some dancers from the previous contract and chatted with some of the crewmembers as we asked for directions. Before returning to our cabins for bed we went down to the 1^st floor for our uniforms. The ladies wear white dress shirts, a blue blazer, and a tan skirt at night and a blue polo with the celebrity logo and tan shorts during the day.

Right now I am laying on my top bunk, typing this into apple Word because the internet isn’t established yet. I’m tired, and cranky, and have been going for more then 24 hours with only an hour and a half of sleep. I have spent the entire day with an allergy attack the won’t quite, and tissues stuffed in my face for all of the introductions I am making on the ship. I miss home, and my bed, and honestly….Ashby weather. I just keep reminding myself that I’m going to the Mediterranean. I’m going to the Mediterranean, I’m going to the Mediterranean.

Tomorrow we don’t have to rehearse until 4. We have the rest of the day off, but for tonight I will go to bed and dream of that unruly Ashby breeze.

8:45 EST

Dinner in Vegas seems like it was two days ago as I wake up on the hard basement floor of the Miami American Eagle terminal. We got on the shuttle at 8pm, Las Vegas time last night, fighting some serious winds as we loaded our baggage. My roommate Kate was literally pulled away from the hotel and the shuttle bus by these winds as the garbage can outside the hotel was demolished along side her. The van dropped us off at baggage check, where all of us managed to check two bags under the weight of 50 lbs each. It was an airport miracle. With two hours before boarding, we sat at a sports bar for a drink before getting ourselves together to board our 5-hour flight. On the plane I sat in the aisle seat of row 24 with my roommate in the window seat and no one in between. As lucky as we were to have this middle seat vacant, it did nothing for my need to snooze. The in-flight movie was ‘Up In the Air’, which I watched about a third of before attempting to sleep with no success. Shifting positions every 6 seconds, I slept for a total of about 5 minutes. A woman a few rows up from us apparently didn’t wake up when nudged by her husband, so there was a period of about 15 minutes where ‘anyone with medical training’ was asked to assist in trying to revive her. She did eventually wake up after causing the whole plane to flutter with curiosity. There was a substantial amount of turbulance throughout the flight, and as we made our decent, the pressure in my head increased to a pain I have never felt before. It felt like someone was trying to pull my temples further and further away from the brain. Popping my ears didn’t help much, and chewing gum was a struggle as we finally touched down. We landed in Miami at 6:10am Eastern Standard Time, and only as I stood to leave did my headache subside. Stumbling off the plane like zombies we made our way down to the basement of the airport to drop our luggage off at our next terminal.

American Eagle Airlines is made up of only the smallest planes left at the airport, and the announcements over the intercom boom in at an unhealthy volume with a very heavy Spanish accent. A few of us shuffled around the terminal in search of food more promising then a news stands, just to settle on the Starbucks that is located in front of our gate. A quarter of a cup of coffee and a croissant later, I stretched out on the floor of the airport for sleep attempt number two. This time I achieved some success with a snooze of around an hour and a half on rock solid airport ground, with a neck pillow as head support. Currently my fellow cast members are littering the floor of our terminal with their own bodies, aiming to also catch some rest before we start the workday.

After we arrive in the Bahamas, we will have to go through customs. Then in order to board the ship with our luggage (since the elevators are not running during dry dock), we will have to haul our baggage up 40 flights or so to get them to our rooms. From there we will start some costume fittings, and blocking for our shows.

So far, I feel like I stayed up all night at a bonfire or sleepover, and now I am ready to go back home and sleep in my bed. Lucky for me, instead of a bed calling to me, it’s 8 hours of rehearsal and drill training in the morning. All in a days work.

Beginning of the Never-Ending-Travel Day

It is 3:54 in Las Vegas and I have officially packed my life into the two suitcases and one carry on that I arrived with. After weighing both bags with Kyle's handy dandy scale (nothing about it is handy, because you have to pick up the bags by the scale in order to weigh them...oye), my bags have both clocked in at a good 48 lbs. According to Kyle, the scale can be 2 lbs off so I think I will be safely within the 50 lb limit. My carry on has 4 pairs of shoes, a few scarves and a pair of jeans packed into the bottom, all in order to preserve the weight of my two checked bags. I have showered, gotten myself together for travel, and now have 9 or so hours to kill before the shuttle picks us up from the hotel for our flight. We leave Vegas at 10:30, and arrive just before 7am east coast time with a 4 hour layover before our second flight. I am going to try to defy the previous behavior of my body and force myself to sleep on the first flight, for if I do not, the following posts of my travel day will progressively get nastier and nastier. I am fully prepared to experience that wonderful state of exhaustion that comes around every so often, and allows your mind to completely loose control of your emotional function by exuding a sort of laughing and crying effect simultaneously. Due to the short amount of time that we have to install the shows of this cast while dry docked, we will start rehearsal runs upon arriving in Freeport. This, I can't wait to see. After almost 11 hours of travel, jet lag, and minimal sleep, they want to see a 'few' runs. Picture 13 drunk dancers with no control of their body parts. It should definitely make for a few good laughs. I will be taking pictures, and posting more as this endless travel continues. And were off...

In the Final Stretch

It is our last Saturday in Las Vegas, and we are on our second day of just running the shows beginning to end. Yesterday was the first time we have had a rehearsal that didn't involve learning something new, and although it was refreshing, our memories were a little rusty on some of the show pieces that we hadn't danced out in over a week. After being forgiven for making somewhat of a mess out of our second show's run ('Dance Around the World'), we redeemed ourselves with a solid run of our final show ('A Touch of Broadway'). This morning we will have some costume fittings before we start running things again, and Merrick's husband Marc is bringing the party band to watch our performance of 'Liverpool Knights' so they can see how they are supposed to play it for us.

As of the last time we saw Mike, we have tomorrow off. Rehearsals resume on Monday, with a half day on Tuesday and all of Wednesday off to get ourselves together before our flight that evening. 4 days till Miami.

Le Reve

Last night after rehearsal we headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out and see a show called Le Reve. We hurried back to shower and get all dolled up by 6:30 so we could meet up with Merrick for a drink and some food beforehand. We met her at this restaurant called the Yard House. A few of us ordered some beers, and when asked if we would like the 'big ones' we agreed, thinking we would receive a 23 ounce or a even a mug. Our waiter brought out glasses full of beer the size of my femur. Needless to say it was the largest Stella Artois I have ever drank. After some appetizers and dinner, we headed to the Wynn for the show.

Le Reve is directed by Dragone, who used to direct some of the shows for Cirque, but left to pursue his own artistic vision. The show is set in a pool of water, some 30 feet deep at parts with rising and falling platforms, trees, and circles of fire. Performers were also dropping in from the ceiling on wires, benches, and harnesses. The show incorporated swimming, acrobatics, dancing, ballroom, and acting. The story revolved around a girl who wasn't so sure if she should let go and love the new man in her life when the old one was still on her mind. She then disappeared into a dream world to figure out this dilemma. Men were dropped from 80 some odd feet in the air, and every dancer dove into the water after completing their routines. Cameron went to school with one of the clowns, and after the show he met up with us and took us to see some of the backstage area. We took an elevator down a few flights to a hallway lined with the costumes we had all seen minutes before. Turning a corner we saw acrobats and dancers scurrying out of a dressing room in their street clothes to go home for the night. Along this hallway were over 80 head shots of all the performers in the show. We then went to a cafe type room with tables and soda machines where we talked to a few performers about the job and where they had been before. A few of them actually did cruise ships before coming to Vegas. Behind us was a list of who was performing what that night. Each night the performers would have to check with this list to find out what their role would be that night; for example if last night you were acrobat 15 partnering with arealist 20, tomorrow you will be swimming acrobat 7 partnering with dancer 3. We left the show, got our car, and went back to the hotel completely blown away by the whole experience. I can honestly say that it was one of the best things I have ever seen in my entire life.

At rehearsal today we finished 'We Are the Champions'. This being the finale number of 'A Touch of Broadway' it calls for an epic finish. With some lifts I have never done, and some I have, this dance is very fast pace. Complete with lots of chest pumping, back bending, and hair flipping, it definitely pushes the envelope.

After doing a full run through of what we have of this show so far I have trouble holding my water bottle still while I try to drink from it. My feet crave the open air after being crammed into character shoes all day, and my neck goes numb after about 5 seconds of hair flipping in 'Be Italian'. On a good note, we have one more dance to learn tomorrow ('We Will Rock You'), and then we are finished learning choreography.

We leave Vegas one week from today to head for the ship, where we will install all of these shows. 7 days to go.

8 Days and counting

Yesterday we finished the new numbers from Nine; 'Cinema Italiano', and 'Be Italian'. The first is an all male dance, with Armani type suits and sunglasses to make our dancers look like models on the catwalk. Our boys do an amazing job in this one, and everyone melts a little when they break it down with the singer...and they don't even have to suits on yet. 'Be Italian' is all ladies. We are gypsies with tambourines and apparently nothing to loose. It's quick and technical, yet sultry and sloppy. So far this has been the most trying number I have learned. The speed picks up half way through for a very fast paced circle that involves tambourine coordination, and then it breaks into a very powerful ending with lots and lots of kicks and turns. I left rehearsal still shaking from the amount of adrenaline that pumped through all of my limbs. After taking a bath with epson salts and laying down for a lot of the evening, I woke up this morning with an overall feeling of fatigue. I will know the extent of the damage once I start to move around, but I anticipate more pain tomorrow.

We are in our final stretch, with 2 more numbers to learn today. Then we clean, clean, clean, and run everything as much as we can before we get on the ship. I have been told that there is a possibility that we will rehearse through Sunday, and be given Tuesday and Wednesday off before flying to Miami Wednesday night. As productive as this schedule may seem, a full 8 days of rehearsal is a lot to ask with all the the choreography and running that is rolling around in our noggins.

It's a Tuesday morning in Las Vegas, the temperature is going to reach 84, and today I miss Ashby coffee. The best coffee in the world.

Celine Dion, Live from Las Vegas

Merrick is the only other woman in our cast who is taller then me, coming in at a good 5'9''. Her husband Marc is the drummer for our party band, who will play on the pool deck and in one of our shows. Yesterday morning he left for Seattle for the weekend, so a few of us went over to her place for a good home cooked meal and some old fashioned sleep over fun. We went food shopping before going back to her house for the proper supplies, and then made a lovely dinner for 5. We ate a lovely caprice salad, spaghetti with a red pepper meat sauce and some sauteed broccoli. After being completely satisfied with our meal, we proceeded to watch the Celine Dion concert on dvd. Merrick's dvd player wasn't reading the dvd, so we tried switching a few around. This then lead to no sound coming out of the tv, so Cameron and Kyle fiddled with the chords for about half an hour before Merrick, Kate, and finally myself all tried our hands at finding a solution. An hour later we finally got sound to come out of the tv, and after a warranted celebratory dance, we got comfy to watch the concert.

This morning in rehearsal we completed the rest of the old choreography for 'A Touch of Broadway', and now only have the new dances to complete. We will be the first cast to dance the pieces from Nine, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, and Mamma Mia. We have completed two shows; 'Liverpool Knights' and 'Dance Around the World'. We have also finished the Bumper, which is Celine Dion's River Deep, Mountain High. It will be a quick introductory dance and song number that we do for all the passengers when they first get on the ship to entice them to come see our shows. The Bumper is so much fun to do, and the song is incredibly motivational.

Tomorrow we will meet our other choreographer Andrea, and we will learn Jersey Boys, and Mamma Mia. We will also start to learn Groove and Sizzle. Groove is done in the night club, and Sizzle is performed on the pool deck. We have a week and a half of rehearsals left, and were almost done with most of the choreography.

After living in Vegas for over a week, I'm more then ready to get on that ship. Food shopping at Target, and eating lunches that don't need to be refrigerated, take out for dinner every night, and being limited to a ride that only a 25 year old can give us is less then awesome. I am told, however, that the rehearsal process is the worst part and that ship life can be a piece of cake. Well, I have put in my time, and I just about ready for that cake now.

Same old Saturday Night

Last Night we went to see Divas, a drag impersonation show at the Imperial Palace. One of our cast members, Merrick has a friend who dances in the show so he got us in for free. The show was very entertaining, and some of the impressions were spot on. Afterwards we went to Planet Hollywood to see Marc, Merrick's husband, play at the sports bar with a band. There we met up with some other cast members and spent a few hours listening to Marc play. After having my first taste of the night life on the strip I have to say that I'm not that impressed. Yes, there is a lot to do, and yes there are a lot of people dressed to the nines looking to have a good time, but I didn't see or experience anything that blew me away more then college life or the brown family throw downs. It's a good thing I still have the Mediterranean to look forward to, because Vegas is starting to get old.

Red sky at night

In 'Dance Around the World', the Spanish section begins with a tango of just two dancers. Lucky long legs over here gets to be tossed around by my fellow cast member Diego for this pas de duex. After our duet ends, I get passed to the other male dancers in our cast before deciding that I'm too good for all of them and strutting my way off to leave them to dance a matadorish section. I then come back on with Diego for some more impressive lifts and tosses to end the Spanish dance.

I am very grateful to have earned this spot, because I missed partnering so much, and as exciting as this was for me to be able to do this part all by myself, I was also asked today by Mike (our boss man) if I would like to assist Diego in teaching the ballroom dance classes that will be offered to our passengers each cruise. It is a very slight pay increase, and it is only an hour class every cruise, but I will also get to participate in a dancing with the stars type event called Everybody Dance. During our ballroom classes, Diego and I will choose a few passengers to dance with us during a specific themed party and we will perform with them for the other guests.

I called Grandpa Marty after rehearsal today to let him know that all those years of tossing me around the dance floor have finally come to good use, altho I would bet all of my earnings against any passenger that thinks they have more skill then Marty.

Today marks our official first week of rehearsals. We have almost 2 complete shows done, with 4 new dancers and 2 new singers, setting a record for the most dances learned by a cast in 1 week.

My feet are getting used to the torture and pain of character shoes all the time, after developing three spots that need constant bandaging to either protect or prevent blisters. We do full show run-throughs at least once a day, testing every drop of endurance each of us has, and no marathon training could have prepared me for such a stamina test. My stomach is getting used to eating out every night for dinner, and I am falling into something of a pattern during the days here.

As much as I may be getting into the flow of this months adventure, It has still only been a little over a week. On the way home our choreographer Nikki was talking about the show she is dancing in, in Arizona. Apparently she has seen some of the most beautiful red and pink sunsets there, and as she's telling everyone this I can't help but remember the sunsets in Ashby during the summertime. It's just a small town in Massachusetts, but I think Ashby's sunsets beat the desert's any day.

What would you do if I sang out of tune...

I taked to Jordan yesterday during my lunch break, and right before he hung up he told me that he was proud of me for doing what I'm doing. At first when people say that, or used to say that before I left I would just kind of shrug it off, but now when I think about it and take a moment to realize where I am I know that it is because of Jordan and Cassie and my parents and Kristine that I was able to leave. Sitting on my bed in Ashby and agreeing to jump on a plane to Las Vegas, and then to Miami, and then even further to Europe seemed like a no brainer. People told me it was brave of me to do so, but in fact it is not my own bravery that makes this trip easy for me, it's the faith that the people in my life have in me which allows to me believe in myself. I am able to leave and not look back because I know that at home my parents and little brother are excited for me to be able to dance everyday. And I was able to jump into this contract not knowing anyone because I know that Cassie still tells everyone she knows about me. I made friends on the first day because my friends at home are jumping up and down for me and my first professional job. I can look at the mountains surrounding this desert and relish in where I am and the difference in this side of the US because Jordan is in Ashby driving through the potholes that I miss everyday.

This is easy for me because of them, and I am reminded of it everyday when I look in the mirror at the studio. I dance for me, and I dance for them.

Dance Around the World

At 5:45 this morning the fire alarm went of in the hotel. My roommate apparently thought the world was ending and started yelling "oh my GOD! what's happening?!" and then proceeded into the hallway to wake everyone in our cast up by knocking on their doors. Poor girl just wanted to save our friends. All of us meandered into the hallway to stare at each other for a minute before registering what was going on. My mentality reverted back to my school days of filling out in a single line for the fire drill and meeting out in the parking lot, but luckily for me my fellow cast members weren't about to run outside in the early morning. One of the music advisors who happened to be staying in out hallway a few doors down hopped down to the lobby to see if there was a need for any real concern, besides the fact that we had all just been violently woken up. He then came back upstairs to inform us that it was indeed a false alarm and that we could go to bed, to bad the deafening alarm was still buzzing away. I tried to block out the sound with headphones, but this was unsuccessful. After screaming at the alarm a few times, my roommate tried to call the front desk just and reached no one. Just before she got together enough anger to storm down stairs to end the torture, the alarm stopped. Unfortunate for us we had to be up in a hour by the time this wee fiasco ended, due to our new rehearsal schedule. By the time I fell back asleep, my alarm went off. It's just a good thing everyone went through the same thing, because if you took a look at one of us during breakfast, you would have thought that we stayed up all night, 5 inches away from a television screen.

We started getting into more of the numbers for 'Dance Around the World', which has twice the dancing that our previous show has. We learned the dance for Italy, and the Can-Can for France. The Italy dance is just around 3 minutes so it's fast and fairly simple, with some bouncing and jumping around in character shoes that should prove to be amazing for my calves. The Can-Can however is a different story...It is super fast, with crazy kicks and jump splits. Yes, jump splits, as in jumping into a split from a split in the air. Though it is danced at hyper speed, I'm told we get to wear authentic can-can skirts with ruffles, and we are to dance with the skirts in hand most of the time. Call me crazy, but I have always wanted to do that, so it almost makes the pace worth it. I'll let you know if that is true when I actually get to put on the costume.

We ended today at 4, so we now have more time to ourselves in the evening. This means more boredom, and more time occupying the conference rooms in the hotel lobby for 'after-hours' rehearsals with our dance captain, Marina.

I don't mind running things again in the hotel, or even having more time to sit around and do nothing because our cast is getting closer and closer by the day. We have started to share the more serious stories about previous relationships and possibly emotional times over a drink or two, and the boundaries of personal privacy are swiftly becoming obsolete. I am learning about the drama that has gone down in the past on other contracts, and the areas that are sensitive to talk about and/or bring up in the group.

On the flip side, my cast is getting to know me. My roommate Kate and I have way too much in common in our lives. We are both the oldest of 3 with a younger sister thats 20 and a younger brother that's 15. Our brothers are both following the sport of our fathers, and both our fathers almost went pro in said sport. Both our sisters danced with us for a few years and then realized that it just wasn't for them, and both of our mothers were professional dancers. We have most of the same music, coincidentally put up the same picture as our laptop backgrounds...both white macbooks, and both of us were Wonder Woman for Halloween last year. It gets so bad that occasionally we say the same things. We even have matching water bottles, also by accident.

21 days until we fly to Miami to board the ship, and I am already falling in love with my cast. This gig can be tough at times, but it's perfect for me right now. I love that I have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow, and that I am completely at the mercy of someone else's' plans. I love waking up in the morning to dance, and knowing that I will be performing on a stage for paying costumers for 7 straight months. I love that I have no idea what Europe is going to be like, and that I am going to see more of the world then I would have ever dreamed I would be able to.

This thing gets more and more exciting every day. I'm tired, and I am stuffing choreography in my head like I'm stocking up for winter, but not once have I wished I was somewhere else.

Gimme some Pot Roast

I miss home cooking soo much. Between rehearsals we eat out every night, and lunch break is either a trip to Panera or a compilation of my purchases from Target (a microwavable soup, a granola bar, and a banana with peanut butter). I miss a well balanced meal and seltzer that dad pours every night, even though I don't ever drink it. I miss Cassina's ridiculously amazing concoctions involving potatoes and something french that she picked up at Chez. I miss my funky corn lunches and my tuna mix, or my veggie stir fry. I miss family dinners with Gregory and Jorda. I miss trying new recipes with mom that I've randomly found online, while trying an equally interesting cocktail. It hasn't even been a month and I am already sick of the food situation. It's a good thing that it will change when we get on the ship.

Today we officially finished the first show, and started the intro to the second. We have 3 shows to learn, with two mini shows and a 'bumper'. There is a lot of information and choreography to still be learned. I am enjoying the rehearsals everyday, and the fact that I am dancing hard more then I have since college, but it is still taking time to get used to. This way of life is very different from what I am used to.

Currently the living in a hotel room is getting old fast. We only have one vehicle, and technically one of our female singers- Natalie, is the only one that can drive us around anywhere. We make group trips to restaurants, otherwise you get dropped off on our way back form rehearsals and have to walk back to the hotel.

We also had weigh-ins today, which involved all of us individually getting on a scale and having our current weight written down and recorded. Apparently our boss man Mike has the ability to tell us how much weight we need to loose and so forth. Luckily he hasn't been present recently so we haven't had to go through that ordeal just yet. Mostly it is for the purpose of maintaining costume alterations, which I understand, but some of the girls are getting nuts about it.

On a happier note, it is getting nicer here. The past couple of days have been super windy, and finally the sun is starting to show its face a little more. Friday, I'm told is supposed to be in the 80's, and starting tomorrow we end rehearsals at 4. A second cast will be using the studio as well, and we will share rehearsal time with them, so we will rehearse 9-4, and they will take 4-9.

I wish I could take more pictures and videos of rehearsals, because a lot of it is really fun and I would love to be able to share it, but they are all so busy that a water break is my first priority when we get a second off. I'll try to snag some film here and there, but for now keep up with me as things get more hectic.

From Las Vegas, missing Massachusetts.

Easter Sunday

Today was our day off, being Easter and all, so after sleeping in a little we gathered ourselves and proceeded to make the ten minute drive to the Vegas strip for some shopping and an early dinner. I only purchased one item and kept the bill well under 30$, after playing a slot machine for the first and probably the last in my life. Needless to say, gambling just isn't in the cards for me. Out of the five of us that played the slots one at a time ,just so we could say we had done it, I lost the dollar that was lent to me for the game in the shortest amount of time. I think for today, I'm safe from the temptation of the casinos. We then walked down the strip for about a mile to have lunch at an italian restaurant across from the Wynn, in the fashion show area. After eating our early dinner and toasting to a Happy Easter we proceeded back to the parking garage, which was the longest mile I think I have walked in a long time. Being the second day since we began rehearsals my legs had finally begun to feel the pain of what I was making them do, and so by the time we headed back down the strip again my stems were screaming as I waddled all the way down the Vegas strip. Even as I sit down to type out this post I can just barely feel them relax a bit. So much for a day off to rest!

Thoughts on the infamous strip? It was pretty large and flooded with tourists, which I fully expected, but what I didn't expect was the how non-chelantly the poker tables and slot machines and other gambling venues were just everywhere. I knew that Vegas is all about gambling, but I expected it to be a little more glamourous, or epic, not the guy you just came out of the parking garage with whose wearing a fanny pack sitting at the black jack table. Maybe the scene changes at night to become what I have assumed Vegas is from the movies and TV shows I've seen, but I'll have to wait for another day off to figure that out.

Tomorrow we will finish our first show 'Liverpool Knights', and start on the more technical show 'Dancing Around the World'. There are 7 dance numbers in the first show, and we've been told it's more of a singing show then the second. I can only guess that this means more pain, brainpower, and skill are in my immediate future...oye.

p.s. if you'd like to see just what things look like on my end of things check out my flickr...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meganmb/