Well the last cruise of the season has started, and we are very much on our way to Dry Dock soon. We finish this cruise and head to Freeport, Bahamas on April 29th. We then arrive back in Florida to pick up Guests on May 6th and head to Europe.
We finally recived our Genie Super Straddle. This is a device used to elevate a Genie Lift over seating. This enabled us to be able to get our new Mac 700 lights installed and move some of them to the missing light positions. So now every light in the theatre is working.
But still so much to do before I can get a good nights sleep without having to think about work, and maybe have time to go out for a beer or two.
In a few days we will take the last 2 lights down for our Centrum upgrade project. We also recieved the rest of the new lights that will be going along the elevators. More new toys!!!!
I am totally finished with the Seconday Lounge [Safari] and every light works, has a scroller, and is addressed correctly. The only thing left is to blow out the dust.
More updates in a couple of days. Now if only the Thin Mints from Mother would arrive!!!!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
So Little Time, So much to Say
Wow, I know I have been very bad at not updating this Blog, but I just looked and I haven't posted anything since I arrived. Just goes to show how busy I have been.
First of all updating from the last blog, yes the lights did come back from Martin, no they did not all work. I wasn't too happy that I had to fix one of the lights myself, all said and done it was about 6 hours of work, but I digress.
Currently I have everything onstage working, all new lamps (well a month ago). Dimmer belts changed in some lights, shutters in others. I have rotated out four of the profile lights with the two units that had gone for repair and then repairs of my own. I still have 2 broken units, but I am not worried about them as I have 2 other units that will be taking there place soon.
Above the orchestra pit in the area we call the Black Zone, my front lights that are used as specials mainly I only have 3 out of 4 units, but soon I will be replacing all 4 of these with newer model lights. Two of the units will then take the place of the missing 2 side specials that have been missing for a very long time. The last unit will then have to be repaired; the poor light needs a tilt motor so bad.
We tried to put up my new lights (I have had them ready to go for so long) but we don't have enough pieces for our scaffolding to reach them, and it is a very dangerous spot to use our Genie Lift at. We have ordered what is called a Super straddle for our genie lift. This allows us to put the genie over the top of the seats. It's going to make our lives so much easier.
I now have both of the lights that are above the sound console fixed and reinstalled. The shows look so much better with them working.
I think that is about it for the theatre, as for the rest of the ship things are looking good, well except for the disco.
The Centrum is in good shape at the moment. All the lights along the elevators are working, except the missing lights on deck 11 that no one notices are missing. I'm not putting those back up because we are getting new lights in Dry Dock anyway. Most of the elevator lights are being replaced, all but 2 decks. Three decks will get new Martin Smart Macs, and 2 decks will get Martin Mac 101 (LED) moving lights.
We are currently replacing all of the lights over the Centrum stairs and above the band will Smart Macs. It's a slow process.
Step 1 - Take down the old non working light and the ceiling mounting plate.
Step 2 - Take the plate to the repairman to have the new Smart Mac mounting system welded on. These are supposed to be bolted to the wall or ceiling but that's impossible, so we are welding them to the old plates. The repairman also has to remove the parts from the pates that held up the old light.
Step 3 - After the welding and grinding we have to take the plates to the Bosun to be painted.
Step 4 - Find time to remount the plate in the Centrum then hang the new light. The new lights hang so much easier.
Step 5 - Power and address the fixtures.
Currently we are done with step 4 for 1 out of 6 lights, 3 lights are done with step 3 and step 4 in a couple of days. The last 2 lights will be done right before Dry Dock as the old lights are still working.
None of the lights can go to step 5 till all 6 are done with the first 4 steps and the programmer comes on.
When all is said and done in Dry Dock and we have 12 new Smart Macs and 4 Mac 101, it's going to look amazing.
The secondary lounge at the back of the ship (Safari Club) has all new LED strip lights over the stage. I finished installing them last week, and programmed them into the lighting computer. They still aren't programmed into any cues so the lounge tech as to manually set them, but that's alright.
I have repaired all the broken lights in the crew bar and also the kids disco.
Some of the things going on in the upcoming dry dock.
The Safari Club and the Theatre are both getting new digital sound consoles, and if they arrive in time, the whole ship is getting new wireless microphones.
For Lighting, in the theatre we are getting all new LED lights to go around the edge of the Proscenium. That will look great. No other new toys other then my new Mac 700's that I have had for a while. I talked about them earlier.
We are going to replace all the gel in the strip and cyc lights, and in all of the side light CXI scrollers. I hope to get the supplies for these tomorrow so I can start before Dry Dock.
The new LED's on the pool deck (installed before I arrived) will be getting wireless DMX control installed.
In the disco, I have many repairs to be done on the Mac 250's and some on the wizards. We used to have a set of Martin 918's around the outside of the disco, but they all needed so much repair, and being that they have been discontinued for so long, it just wasn't cost effective to fix. I have 6 new Mania SCX 700's coming to replace them. The total cost of these units is probrobly less then it would have cost to fix 2 of the old lights.
Well I think the next time I will update this will be after Dry Dock.
I want to say Happy Birthday to my niece Izze, she turned 2 last week, and my nephew Korban turned 3 a few weeks ago.
Big hugs and kisses to both of them, and also to there new little brother's and sister's, Beetze, and Sha Sha. Uncle David misses all of you very much.
First of all updating from the last blog, yes the lights did come back from Martin, no they did not all work. I wasn't too happy that I had to fix one of the lights myself, all said and done it was about 6 hours of work, but I digress.
Currently I have everything onstage working, all new lamps (well a month ago). Dimmer belts changed in some lights, shutters in others. I have rotated out four of the profile lights with the two units that had gone for repair and then repairs of my own. I still have 2 broken units, but I am not worried about them as I have 2 other units that will be taking there place soon.
Above the orchestra pit in the area we call the Black Zone, my front lights that are used as specials mainly I only have 3 out of 4 units, but soon I will be replacing all 4 of these with newer model lights. Two of the units will then take the place of the missing 2 side specials that have been missing for a very long time. The last unit will then have to be repaired; the poor light needs a tilt motor so bad.
We tried to put up my new lights (I have had them ready to go for so long) but we don't have enough pieces for our scaffolding to reach them, and it is a very dangerous spot to use our Genie Lift at. We have ordered what is called a Super straddle for our genie lift. This allows us to put the genie over the top of the seats. It's going to make our lives so much easier.
I now have both of the lights that are above the sound console fixed and reinstalled. The shows look so much better with them working.
I think that is about it for the theatre, as for the rest of the ship things are looking good, well except for the disco.
The Centrum is in good shape at the moment. All the lights along the elevators are working, except the missing lights on deck 11 that no one notices are missing. I'm not putting those back up because we are getting new lights in Dry Dock anyway. Most of the elevator lights are being replaced, all but 2 decks. Three decks will get new Martin Smart Macs, and 2 decks will get Martin Mac 101 (LED) moving lights.
We are currently replacing all of the lights over the Centrum stairs and above the band will Smart Macs. It's a slow process.
Step 1 - Take down the old non working light and the ceiling mounting plate.
Step 2 - Take the plate to the repairman to have the new Smart Mac mounting system welded on. These are supposed to be bolted to the wall or ceiling but that's impossible, so we are welding them to the old plates. The repairman also has to remove the parts from the pates that held up the old light.
Step 3 - After the welding and grinding we have to take the plates to the Bosun to be painted.
Step 4 - Find time to remount the plate in the Centrum then hang the new light. The new lights hang so much easier.
Step 5 - Power and address the fixtures.
Currently we are done with step 4 for 1 out of 6 lights, 3 lights are done with step 3 and step 4 in a couple of days. The last 2 lights will be done right before Dry Dock as the old lights are still working.
None of the lights can go to step 5 till all 6 are done with the first 4 steps and the programmer comes on.
When all is said and done in Dry Dock and we have 12 new Smart Macs and 4 Mac 101, it's going to look amazing.
The secondary lounge at the back of the ship (Safari Club) has all new LED strip lights over the stage. I finished installing them last week, and programmed them into the lighting computer. They still aren't programmed into any cues so the lounge tech as to manually set them, but that's alright.
I have repaired all the broken lights in the crew bar and also the kids disco.
Some of the things going on in the upcoming dry dock.
The Safari Club and the Theatre are both getting new digital sound consoles, and if they arrive in time, the whole ship is getting new wireless microphones.
For Lighting, in the theatre we are getting all new LED lights to go around the edge of the Proscenium. That will look great. No other new toys other then my new Mac 700's that I have had for a while. I talked about them earlier.
We are going to replace all the gel in the strip and cyc lights, and in all of the side light CXI scrollers. I hope to get the supplies for these tomorrow so I can start before Dry Dock.
The new LED's on the pool deck (installed before I arrived) will be getting wireless DMX control installed.
In the disco, I have many repairs to be done on the Mac 250's and some on the wizards. We used to have a set of Martin 918's around the outside of the disco, but they all needed so much repair, and being that they have been discontinued for so long, it just wasn't cost effective to fix. I have 6 new Mania SCX 700's coming to replace them. The total cost of these units is probrobly less then it would have cost to fix 2 of the old lights.
Well I think the next time I will update this will be after Dry Dock.
I want to say Happy Birthday to my niece Izze, she turned 2 last week, and my nephew Korban turned 3 a few weeks ago.
Big hugs and kisses to both of them, and also to there new little brother's and sister's, Beetze, and Sha Sha. Uncle David misses all of you very much.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Like Riding a Bike
Well I am now back on my old ship the Jewel of the Seas. It's like riding a bike, not very much has changed. The main thing is so many lights are having problems. The lights have not been taken very good care of in the last two years. I have already fixed so many things I am starting to loose track, and we are in cast change and handover. It means we have been working very long days. It will be great next cruise when I can have the stage a lot to just work on things, and not have to work such long hours.
The ship has four lights out for repair at Martin and I hope those come next week, it will make the shows look so much better.
I still have to check the rest of the ship, I have been so busy that I haven't even been out of the theater yet.
I have so much to do to get ready for Dry Dock in April. Then we cross to England.
Well we might be having a blackout test soon so I have to cut this short in case I have to turn the computer off.
More later.
The ship has four lights out for repair at Martin and I hope those come next week, it will make the shows look so much better.
I still have to check the rest of the ship, I have been so busy that I haven't even been out of the theater yet.
I have so much to do to get ready for Dry Dock in April. Then we cross to England.
Well we might be having a blackout test soon so I have to cut this short in case I have to turn the computer off.
More later.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Once again the End is in Sight
Well the time is finally coming to an end. Less then three weeks remain till I head back to the states again. This contract has been very long, and vacation can't come soon enough.
I still have a quick trip to Florence this week. This is one of the last places on this run that I have not been too. Then next week I have my return trip to Rome with my Italian Masonic Brother.
Then a week handover and that will be then end.
I will be heading back to the Jewel at the end of January. A few months in the Carribean then a few months in the Baltic again.
I still have a quick trip to Florence this week. This is one of the last places on this run that I have not been too. Then next week I have my return trip to Rome with my Italian Masonic Brother.
Then a week handover and that will be then end.
I will be heading back to the Jewel at the end of January. A few months in the Carribean then a few months in the Baltic again.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Fantastic Day in Rome
Well I just got back from a fantastic day in Rome, so I am going to try and write this all down before I forget anything.
The day started off without being able to sleep much last night. This usually happens when all I can think about is having to get up early the next morning. So at 6 am I was wide awake, an hour before I wanted to be. It was nice to be able to be out on deck and watch us pull into port, I don't get to see that too often. We arrived about 15 minutes late.
As soon as I saw that the gangways were out, I grabbed my stuff and headed to the gangway, my friend Seth arrived at the same time to go with me.
We got off without any problems, it was boat drill day so we were both excused. The main reason for the trip was to try and get my computer fixed.
We headed out of the port on the shuttle and my masonic connection was waiting for us outside McDonald's. That is right next to the shuttle drop off point. We headed straight to Rome after a few introductions. The weather in Civi wasn't all that good and it looked like it was going to be a rainy day. It turned out not to be, the bad weather was just on the coast and Rome was bright and sunny.
It only took about an hour to get to Rome, were we went straight to the brand new Masonic Home. This is where my driver works, he is retired Italian Military and lives in Civi. He is also the Secretary for the district of Rome. The brand new part of an office building is where all of the Lodges (or Orients as they call them) meet in Rome. Its about 15-20 of them. They are still under construction, and will have their first meetings at the end of the month. I am going back to see it in October when it is finished. They have 7 Lodge rooms, most are very small, to me they looked like closets. Their large lodge room is about the size of the small lodges in Spokane.
Once I have my computer back I will send him some of my photos and he can see what some American Lodges are like.
So after the Masonic Home visit we headed to the Mall that has the Apple store. He wasn't very familiar with this side of Rome, he said it was like the Bronkes in NY. I guess he meant the slums. The Mall was very nice, and the Apple Store was just like in America, just in Italian and Euros. I checked in, my friend had called ahead and made my appointment. I was first in line, but still had to wait 40 minutes till they saw me. They were activating iPhone 4's all over the place. The place was packed. Did I mention this is one of only two Apple stores in all of Italy (I got lucky).
When they finally looked at my computer, they tried everything that I did to turn in on. Looked up my serial number to check my Apple Care. They told me the Logic board and left I/O board need replaced, it will take about a week, so it should be done on Monday. I love Apple Care, if you ever buy a Mac laptop, spend the extra money on the apple care, it will pay for itself someday (I have already got a new hard drive out of it).
So My friend will pick up my computer hopefully on Monday when it is done, and I will meet him again on Wednesday when the ship comes into Civi again.
After we left the Mall, we headed back toward downtown. We stopped at this little hole in the wall on the Appian Way. Its a set menu with only a few choices, lets say what ever Mama wants to cook that day, that's what your choice is. It was a great meal.
Seth hadn't been to Rome much before, so we drove around the Colosseum and St. Peters and a few other stops. Then he surprised me and drove to the Grand Orient of Italy (aka Grand Lodge for the Country). It just a small house with administrative offices and a huge library, but it was special. I was given a special Calender (I haven't opened it yet).
After this we drove back to Civi and stopped to see the Lodge in town. It is very small but nice.
Well that was my day in short form as we call it. I will update on my computer when I know more
The day started off without being able to sleep much last night. This usually happens when all I can think about is having to get up early the next morning. So at 6 am I was wide awake, an hour before I wanted to be. It was nice to be able to be out on deck and watch us pull into port, I don't get to see that too often. We arrived about 15 minutes late.
As soon as I saw that the gangways were out, I grabbed my stuff and headed to the gangway, my friend Seth arrived at the same time to go with me.
We got off without any problems, it was boat drill day so we were both excused. The main reason for the trip was to try and get my computer fixed.
We headed out of the port on the shuttle and my masonic connection was waiting for us outside McDonald's. That is right next to the shuttle drop off point. We headed straight to Rome after a few introductions. The weather in Civi wasn't all that good and it looked like it was going to be a rainy day. It turned out not to be, the bad weather was just on the coast and Rome was bright and sunny.
It only took about an hour to get to Rome, were we went straight to the brand new Masonic Home. This is where my driver works, he is retired Italian Military and lives in Civi. He is also the Secretary for the district of Rome. The brand new part of an office building is where all of the Lodges (or Orients as they call them) meet in Rome. Its about 15-20 of them. They are still under construction, and will have their first meetings at the end of the month. I am going back to see it in October when it is finished. They have 7 Lodge rooms, most are very small, to me they looked like closets. Their large lodge room is about the size of the small lodges in Spokane.
Once I have my computer back I will send him some of my photos and he can see what some American Lodges are like.
So after the Masonic Home visit we headed to the Mall that has the Apple store. He wasn't very familiar with this side of Rome, he said it was like the Bronkes in NY. I guess he meant the slums. The Mall was very nice, and the Apple Store was just like in America, just in Italian and Euros. I checked in, my friend had called ahead and made my appointment. I was first in line, but still had to wait 40 minutes till they saw me. They were activating iPhone 4's all over the place. The place was packed. Did I mention this is one of only two Apple stores in all of Italy (I got lucky).
When they finally looked at my computer, they tried everything that I did to turn in on. Looked up my serial number to check my Apple Care. They told me the Logic board and left I/O board need replaced, it will take about a week, so it should be done on Monday. I love Apple Care, if you ever buy a Mac laptop, spend the extra money on the apple care, it will pay for itself someday (I have already got a new hard drive out of it).
So My friend will pick up my computer hopefully on Monday when it is done, and I will meet him again on Wednesday when the ship comes into Civi again.
After we left the Mall, we headed back toward downtown. We stopped at this little hole in the wall on the Appian Way. Its a set menu with only a few choices, lets say what ever Mama wants to cook that day, that's what your choice is. It was a great meal.
Seth hadn't been to Rome much before, so we drove around the Colosseum and St. Peters and a few other stops. Then he surprised me and drove to the Grand Orient of Italy (aka Grand Lodge for the Country). It just a small house with administrative offices and a huge library, but it was special. I was given a special Calender (I haven't opened it yet).
After this we drove back to Civi and stopped to see the Lodge in town. It is very small but nice.
Well that was my day in short form as we call it. I will update on my computer when I know more
Monday, September 06, 2010
Computer don't like ship power
Well my Mac died the other day. This is the second time it has died, the first time the hard drive needed to be replaced. I think it is the logic board this time. Thanks to a fellow Mason in Italy I have a ride to Rome on Wednesday to go to the closest Apple Store (only 2 in all of Italy). He has been great, and I haven't even meet him face to face yet. He called the Apple store for me and got me a Genius Appointment. They say it will be 14 days to fix it. I have so much to do on it before I leave the ship it will be good to get it fixed. The last thing I wanted to have to do was land in America and go straight to the store to get it fixed. Thank goodness I still have Applecare on it. I think it might be time to get a smaller laptop, so I can have one in my room, and leave my big one at work. Less ware and tare.
Sorry for not posting anything for the past 2 months. Things are very busy around here. The cast is past the halfway point, and we get a new ice cast in 2 weeks.
After many months of waiting for new lamps to arrive, I finally got them a few weeks ago, so my rig is looking very bright and clean. I have gotten many broken lights working. I have one more to try and get working before I leave, but if I don't its not that big a deal.
I have never started to count down to when I am leaving so eary. I started at 10 weeks. I guess it's because I have so many exciting things to do at home. I can't wait to see my niece, she is growing up so much. I will have not seen her in 7 months. She is talking and walking now. I have heard she loves to use the video camera. Future Tech I think.
Anyway I will let you know later in the week how my adventure to the Apple store in Rome goes.
Sorry for not posting anything for the past 2 months. Things are very busy around here. The cast is past the halfway point, and we get a new ice cast in 2 weeks.
After many months of waiting for new lamps to arrive, I finally got them a few weeks ago, so my rig is looking very bright and clean. I have gotten many broken lights working. I have one more to try and get working before I leave, but if I don't its not that big a deal.
I have never started to count down to when I am leaving so eary. I started at 10 weeks. I guess it's because I have so many exciting things to do at home. I can't wait to see my niece, she is growing up so much. I will have not seen her in 7 months. She is talking and walking now. I have heard she loves to use the video camera. Future Tech I think.
Anyway I will let you know later in the week how my adventure to the Apple store in Rome goes.
Monday, June 14, 2010
5 years
Well I can't believe it's actually been five years with RCCL. I just found out I'm getting my five year service award. Not too much details yet, I will let you know if a few days.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Cast change over
Well it's been a while I know. We have been in Cast change for the past couple of weeks and it is finally over. Time to get back to normal where I have time to fix things. This ship is definaly showing more then it's age. The new cast are doing great, and install went very well. It has been nice having an extra sound tech around during this time. At the end of the week our Main room sound guy leaves, the studio B tech moves into the theater and the new guy takes over Studio B.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Crossing
Well the last cruise of the Caribbean Season is over. My handover has gone back to the Independence (he was only here as a vacation fill). During the last few weeks of the US season, we had our Traveling SR Head Sound and Light Tech onboard for a few things, so we did a lot of work.
Now we are crossing to Europe and as I write this we are in the middle of the Atlantic. So far the weather has been great, none of the high winds that were predicted. Although I haven't been outside today, I think it is starting to get windier.
Some were asking if the Icelandic Volcano affected us. Yes it did. We had about 300 people cancel the cruise because of the canceled flights. We sailed with about 90 or so staterooms empty. We had about 50 of the fill when we got to our first port of call, Nassau. Side note, we also had a medical debark via helicopter the day before Nassau when we were near Key West.
Our Traveling Production Manager was supposed to go home to England on Vacation but his flights got canceled, so we have him onboard as a "hitchhiker" of sorts. It's nice to seem him again, and we are getting a lot of things fixed.
Well Catholic Mass should be finishing soon, and I need Coffee.
Now we are crossing to Europe and as I write this we are in the middle of the Atlantic. So far the weather has been great, none of the high winds that were predicted. Although I haven't been outside today, I think it is starting to get windier.
Some were asking if the Icelandic Volcano affected us. Yes it did. We had about 300 people cancel the cruise because of the canceled flights. We sailed with about 90 or so staterooms empty. We had about 50 of the fill when we got to our first port of call, Nassau. Side note, we also had a medical debark via helicopter the day before Nassau when we were near Key West.
Our Traveling Production Manager was supposed to go home to England on Vacation but his flights got canceled, so we have him onboard as a "hitchhiker" of sorts. It's nice to seem him again, and we are getting a lot of things fixed.
Well Catholic Mass should be finishing soon, and I need Coffee.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Homecoming
Well it's been almost a week back onboard, and it has gone very fast. It's wird knowing where almost everything is onboard. It's almost like I was on here before, oh wait I was! So many new faces, and yet so many that I know. A few things have changed around the ship, but something never change. It is going to take a lot of work to get this ship back to 100%. So many lights to fix, so little time.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Back to the Grindstone
Well my long vacation is finally coming to an end. This has got to be the longest vacation I have ever had, I have been off of ships since last September.
Why so long you might ask, well if I had only taken my scheduled vacation I would have missed out on my nieces first Christmas, and I wasn't going to miss that. I also had some other plans that needed some time to complete.
I had a good time, spending most of my time in Spokane. I did a lot of Masonic things with my father, had a good Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Well now it's back to the grindstone, and this time I will be heading to the Voyager of the Seas.
I will do two cruises out of Texas (never done that before), then head to Spain, and the Med for the summer.
I have my flights, my medical was done today, now I just have to finish packing, yuck!
Why so long you might ask, well if I had only taken my scheduled vacation I would have missed out on my nieces first Christmas, and I wasn't going to miss that. I also had some other plans that needed some time to complete.
I had a good time, spending most of my time in Spokane. I did a lot of Masonic things with my father, had a good Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Well now it's back to the grindstone, and this time I will be heading to the Voyager of the Seas.
I will do two cruises out of Texas (never done that before), then head to Spain, and the Med for the summer.
I have my flights, my medical was done today, now I just have to finish packing, yuck!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
End end is in sight
Well my last cruise for this contract has started. My replacement is
onboard, and the handover has begun. It should be an easy 12 days. I
still don't have flights yet, hopefully tomorrow.
onboard, and the handover has begun. It should be an easy 12 days. I
still don't have flights yet, hopefully tomorrow.
Friday, September 04, 2009
What a cruise
Well it's been an interesting cruise. I had a visit for a few days
from some of our Miami Office staff and some contractors. They were
inspecting the ship to find out what needs to be done at Dry Dock in
January. Overall they were very pleased, and things were better then
they expected.
from some of our Miami Office staff and some contractors. They were
inspecting the ship to find out what needs to be done at Dry Dock in
January. Overall they were very pleased, and things were better then
they expected.
Then we had our drummer get sick and had to have a fill in for a few
days. He is back now, and feeling much better.
We also had one of our singers resign, but that's a story I won't go into.
I have two more cruises left, then it's back to the states. I can not
wait to meet Izze my niece. See my cousin's wedding. Spend a few
days in Vegas, and be home for the holidays.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Very Busy
Well first of all I apologize to all of my family for having not
posted in almost 2 months. I noticed a few changes to where I post my
blogs, I can now update my blog by just sending an email. Not that
this will get me to post things more often, but it is nice. Also I
have added my family to a new feature that will automatically send you
an email when the blog is updated, no more emails from me.
posted in almost 2 months. I noticed a few changes to where I post my
blogs, I can now update my blog by just sending an email. Not that
this will get me to post things more often, but it is nice. Also I
have added my family to a new feature that will automatically send you
an email when the blog is updated, no more emails from me.
Well when I last wrote I was at then end of the cast change. A lot
has changed since that time. The cast are settling in.
Soon after the cast change finished we finally got our new sound
console installed. It was a lot of work for about 3 days. The
installers weren't expecting so much help from me, but they loved it.
I did a lot of the wiring and soldering of new cables, things I love
to do.
About 2 weeks ago our lounge tech left, so that means that I was now
the senior tech and with that comes the responsibilities of all the
techs. Currently I am Head sound and light tech as we call it.
Last cruise we also changed sound techs. the new guys is American and
is doing a great job and has been around ships for a couple of years.
I can't believe it I only have 4 more cruises after the one I am on.
Time is going to fly and I will be home seeing my new niece. I can't
wait.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Welcome back to Europe
Well we arrived safe and sound in Europe once again. Sorry to say the Pirates didn't get us this time. Legend 2- Pirates 0.
We arrived back in Rome on June 1st. That same day our cast of the past 9 months finally went home, and a new group of kids signed on. We have been in Cast change ever since. The first cruise was our 12 day Greece, turkey, and Egypt cruise, and we opened our first 2 production shows. They are a very young cast, but are doing very well. We are almost to the halfway point of the second cruise of cast change. The cast has done a repeat performace of the first show last night, and will do the second show tomorrow. Then towards the end of the cruise we will open the last of the three shows.
It will be nice when the install is over and we aren't stuck in rehersals all day. I have been to almost all of the ports we go to before, but it nice to find new things, and having a new camera always helps.
Well that's about all, not much is going on right now, but at least you have had something new to read, even if it was short.
We arrived back in Rome on June 1st. That same day our cast of the past 9 months finally went home, and a new group of kids signed on. We have been in Cast change ever since. The first cruise was our 12 day Greece, turkey, and Egypt cruise, and we opened our first 2 production shows. They are a very young cast, but are doing very well. We are almost to the halfway point of the second cruise of cast change. The cast has done a repeat performace of the first show last night, and will do the second show tomorrow. Then towards the end of the cruise we will open the last of the three shows.
It will be nice when the install is over and we aren't stuck in rehersals all day. I have been to almost all of the ports we go to before, but it nice to find new things, and having a new camera always helps.
Well that's about all, not much is going on right now, but at least you have had something new to read, even if it was short.
Monday, May 18, 2009
“Somewhat” Incredible India!
Well as I finished the Beatles show tonight, and made my way to the bar I wondered what I should do with my extra hour and a half of time. We are heading toward Dubai from India, and it’s time for yet another time change, I figured I should write down a few thoughts before I forget them.
So as some of you know I have a friend that lives in Mumbai, India that I used to work with on Carnival about 9 years ago. We lost touch over the years as our emails changed, but thanks to Facebook we have found each other again. I was supposed to see him last November when the ship was going to India, but a few terrorists put a stop to that plan. I arranged via email when we would meet.
When I finally could get off the ship, we had boat drill, captains meeting, and liferaft training, I made a quick call to see if he was on his way and with in minutes we were talking like the years were nothing.
As I waited for him to arrive I started to notice all of the taxis and the poor people begging for money. The taxis are black and yellow just like you see in the movies.
We headed off toward his place to catch up for a few hours before I had to be back on board for a rehearsal.
On the way to his place he asked if I wanted to go out to eat or have something at his place. I didn’t care, so he called a place he knows and had delivery waiting for us when we arrived. His place is a good 45-minute drive from the ship depending on traffic.
I also meet his new girlfriend on the drive. She was a very nice Indian girl (as opposed to someone from outside India, like his ex-wife) I don’t recall her name [sorry] but I do know that she works for Chase bank.
After showing him some photos of the past few years, we had a very nice lunch. I don’t know what it was called but it was a favorite of theirs. A very mild curry, kind of sweet with a little spice, rice, chicken and a bit of potato.
After we finished lunch we headed out into the neighborhood for the main goal of the day, besides seeing each other, to get a baby blanket for my niece’s baptism. We went to a few baby stores and finally found what I liked. Then I changed money at a western union, and got the blanket. I think my sister will be very happy.
He didn’t want to drive back to the ship so he ordered me a air-conditioned taxi (they are blue not black and yellow, and have digital meters). We then took a tok tok or rickshaw, don’t remember what they called it back to his place to wait for the taxi.
I had to be back on the ship to get ready for an Indian Folkloric show. I won’t go into much about the show.
I had wanted to get back together with my friend but for some reason he couldn’t do anything, I didn’t really want to know. I did ask him if he could get together the next day, he would see what was going on and email me.
The next morning I had another rehearsal, for our production show this time, and then was able to get off the ship (we were in port for two days). Anyway after some convincing by his girlfriend that we hadn’t seen each other in years, and it would years before we see each other again, he drove across town to see me.
He took me to a very nice Chinese buffet type place that he used to work at. Kind of like a Mongolian Grill that we have in the USA, but more like a stir fry. It was very nice. We then walked around and saw the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. This is the hotel that got attacked.
We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the ship. Good By India.
So as some of you know I have a friend that lives in Mumbai, India that I used to work with on Carnival about 9 years ago. We lost touch over the years as our emails changed, but thanks to Facebook we have found each other again. I was supposed to see him last November when the ship was going to India, but a few terrorists put a stop to that plan. I arranged via email when we would meet.
When I finally could get off the ship, we had boat drill, captains meeting, and liferaft training, I made a quick call to see if he was on his way and with in minutes we were talking like the years were nothing.
As I waited for him to arrive I started to notice all of the taxis and the poor people begging for money. The taxis are black and yellow just like you see in the movies.
We headed off toward his place to catch up for a few hours before I had to be back on board for a rehearsal.
On the way to his place he asked if I wanted to go out to eat or have something at his place. I didn’t care, so he called a place he knows and had delivery waiting for us when we arrived. His place is a good 45-minute drive from the ship depending on traffic.
I also meet his new girlfriend on the drive. She was a very nice Indian girl (as opposed to someone from outside India, like his ex-wife) I don’t recall her name [sorry] but I do know that she works for Chase bank.
After showing him some photos of the past few years, we had a very nice lunch. I don’t know what it was called but it was a favorite of theirs. A very mild curry, kind of sweet with a little spice, rice, chicken and a bit of potato.
After we finished lunch we headed out into the neighborhood for the main goal of the day, besides seeing each other, to get a baby blanket for my niece’s baptism. We went to a few baby stores and finally found what I liked. Then I changed money at a western union, and got the blanket. I think my sister will be very happy.
He didn’t want to drive back to the ship so he ordered me a air-conditioned taxi (they are blue not black and yellow, and have digital meters). We then took a tok tok or rickshaw, don’t remember what they called it back to his place to wait for the taxi.
I had to be back on the ship to get ready for an Indian Folkloric show. I won’t go into much about the show.
I had wanted to get back together with my friend but for some reason he couldn’t do anything, I didn’t really want to know. I did ask him if he could get together the next day, he would see what was going on and email me.
The next morning I had another rehearsal, for our production show this time, and then was able to get off the ship (we were in port for two days). Anyway after some convincing by his girlfriend that we hadn’t seen each other in years, and it would years before we see each other again, he drove across town to see me.
He took me to a very nice Chinese buffet type place that he used to work at. Kind of like a Mongolian Grill that we have in the USA, but more like a stir fry. It was very nice. We then walked around and saw the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. This is the hotel that got attacked.
We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the ship. Good By India.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Bye Bye China
Well sorry to everyone that has been waiting for an update, now that we are back to normal cruises finding time isn’t as easy. Sitting here waiting for Love and Marriage to start I couldn’t think of much to do so here I am writing.
Well I know I said in my last post about Japan that we would have boat drill, well sometimes things go the right way, they postponed it to the next day.
Now that we have been to Japan I want to correct what I said last time. What actually happened with the port was this. All of the passengers had to take a shuttle from the ship to immigration in the terminal, about 200 yards. I don’t know exactly what went on at immigration (we didn’t have to do it) but what friends told me was it was a long line and yes they did fingerprint all of the passengers. Once all of the guests were off the ship, they finally let the crew off. We walked right by the buses to the gate, and meet in front of the terminal. I don’t see what the big deal was in making us wait.
We didn’t have much time in port, but we did get to walk around for a bit. Japan seems nice, but I really can’t give a good answer.
The next day we were in Busan, South Korea. Now let me start by saying I wasn’t expecting much. Once boat drill was done, we headed off. The shuttle buses that we had to take us into town have got to be some of the nicest buses I have ever seen. Once downtown, a quick fill up at Starbucks (yes they are everywhere), and then it was off to find the Red City bus tour. Oh let me interject and say that when you change dollars into Korean Won, you feel rich! 1 – 1,300. Starbucks was about 8,000. Anyway back to the bus, it was a very nice hoop on hoop off type of tour. We stayed on the bus most of the time. The only stop we did make was to see the APEC conference center. It was very interesting. Busan was a very pleasant day.
After Busan we headed back to Singapore for the last time. I can’t hold it in any longer, yes I have been getting things to spoil my niece. Mary when you read this, hopefully I will get a box off to you in a couple of months. Things should still fit her. I might send you some photos to peak your curiosity. I expect videos and photos.
The next real port to talk about was Hong Kong. Before you ask, yes I did get my new camera. Hong Kong is great, it’s like China but western. The only bad part is they don’t bargain as much, they do bargain but you can’t get the prices as low on some items.
I guess that basically brings things up to date.
Well I know I said in my last post about Japan that we would have boat drill, well sometimes things go the right way, they postponed it to the next day.
Now that we have been to Japan I want to correct what I said last time. What actually happened with the port was this. All of the passengers had to take a shuttle from the ship to immigration in the terminal, about 200 yards. I don’t know exactly what went on at immigration (we didn’t have to do it) but what friends told me was it was a long line and yes they did fingerprint all of the passengers. Once all of the guests were off the ship, they finally let the crew off. We walked right by the buses to the gate, and meet in front of the terminal. I don’t see what the big deal was in making us wait.
We didn’t have much time in port, but we did get to walk around for a bit. Japan seems nice, but I really can’t give a good answer.
The next day we were in Busan, South Korea. Now let me start by saying I wasn’t expecting much. Once boat drill was done, we headed off. The shuttle buses that we had to take us into town have got to be some of the nicest buses I have ever seen. Once downtown, a quick fill up at Starbucks (yes they are everywhere), and then it was off to find the Red City bus tour. Oh let me interject and say that when you change dollars into Korean Won, you feel rich! 1 – 1,300. Starbucks was about 8,000. Anyway back to the bus, it was a very nice hoop on hoop off type of tour. We stayed on the bus most of the time. The only stop we did make was to see the APEC conference center. It was very interesting. Busan was a very pleasant day.
After Busan we headed back to Singapore for the last time. I can’t hold it in any longer, yes I have been getting things to spoil my niece. Mary when you read this, hopefully I will get a box off to you in a couple of months. Things should still fit her. I might send you some photos to peak your curiosity. I expect videos and photos.
The next real port to talk about was Hong Kong. Before you ask, yes I did get my new camera. Hong Kong is great, it’s like China but western. The only bad part is they don’t bargain as much, they do bargain but you can’t get the prices as low on some items.
I guess that basically brings things up to date.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Off to Japan, Sort of!
Well the start to our only cruise to Japan isn’t off to a very good start. Come to find out we didn’t leave China till 5am, we should have left about midnight. Not sure why yet, but I bet it has something to do with the tides again. That being said we aren’t going to arrive in Japan until around noon, when we should have gotten in at 6am. Also from what I am hearing the port only has 3 shuttles to take people the 1.5 miles out of the port, and too boot the passengers all have to go through a lot of immigration and have to be fingerprinted (so I have heard). Also we have a boat drill scheduled, and due to a DNV inspection we are having, they won’t change it. So once we are done with drill hopefully most of the passengers will be off and we can have a few hours to see Japan. Wish me luck.
Also due to the weather we are rocking too much, so we canceled the show tonight.
Also due to the weather we are rocking too much, so we canceled the show tonight.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Amway is over!!!
Well once the road cases were finally off the ship today, I finally felt like the charters were finally over. We got in a bit late today, but not for any delays, it was just when the tides were right. It really wasn’t that bad, not like last time when we arrived at 6pm, this was only 11am.
Because of the offload and the fact that we had rehearsal at 5:30 I wasn’t able to get off. It’s all good though because it rained all day, and it would have been a crappy day anyway.
It felt a bit weird doing a welcome show and still being in port, but the show was well attended. It’s also a bit strange to be seeing kids again, we haven’t had any for the past 6 weeks.
So I guess things are getting back to normal.
Because of the offload and the fact that we had rehearsal at 5:30 I wasn’t able to get off. It’s all good though because it rained all day, and it would have been a crappy day anyway.
It felt a bit weird doing a welcome show and still being in port, but the show was well attended. It’s also a bit strange to be seeing kids again, we haven’t had any for the past 6 weeks.
So I guess things are getting back to normal.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
As the Tide Turns
Well although a bit late we have started our final Amway Charter cruise. You might be a bit puzzled by how a cruise could start late, well let me see if I can explain. The weather on the last day of last cruise wasn’t the best, we had a lot of fog. When the ship goes though Fog it can’t go as fast as normal for safety. I am not sure of the particulars, but the speed of the ship and the timing to get into port is very important in Shanghai.
If you are unfamiliar with the geography of Shanghai, China, the port is actually up a river. I don’t know of the name of this river, but I will look it up on Google Earth when I remember. To get up the river to the terminal that we dock at we have to go under a few bridges, and if the tides are not correct we will not fit. I have also heard that the river was closed to traffic because of the fog, about this I know very little. So needless to say due to speed we did not make it to the river in time for the correct tide. We should have arrived around 7am but instead we docked around 5pm. I think the new passengers were allowed on by around 7:30pm. We were still able to leave port on time at around midnight to make the tide again, but it was a frantic few hours for many departments. I certainly glad I don’t have passenger boat drill, as it took place at 11pm.
On a different subject, my niece has a very nice first Easter from what my sister tells me. I will add the photos to facebook soon. She was so cute in her 1st Easter outfit (it actually said Baby’s First Easter), she had bunny ears on her feet, and was able to hold a big pink plastic egg. They went to the in-laws house for dinner, and she sent me great photos of her with her grandparents. It looks like her grandpa really like to give her, her bottle. I look forward to seeing photos of Izze with my Father and Step mother. They live about 2 hours away, so it is harder for them to see her as often. I know my mother will be visiting soon, so that is good. I really can’t wait to see her for her first Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t know what my job plans are for that time but fingers are crossed.
If you are unfamiliar with the geography of Shanghai, China, the port is actually up a river. I don’t know of the name of this river, but I will look it up on Google Earth when I remember. To get up the river to the terminal that we dock at we have to go under a few bridges, and if the tides are not correct we will not fit. I have also heard that the river was closed to traffic because of the fog, about this I know very little. So needless to say due to speed we did not make it to the river in time for the correct tide. We should have arrived around 7am but instead we docked around 5pm. I think the new passengers were allowed on by around 7:30pm. We were still able to leave port on time at around midnight to make the tide again, but it was a frantic few hours for many departments. I certainly glad I don’t have passenger boat drill, as it took place at 11pm.
On a different subject, my niece has a very nice first Easter from what my sister tells me. I will add the photos to facebook soon. She was so cute in her 1st Easter outfit (it actually said Baby’s First Easter), she had bunny ears on her feet, and was able to hold a big pink plastic egg. They went to the in-laws house for dinner, and she sent me great photos of her with her grandparents. It looks like her grandpa really like to give her, her bottle. I look forward to seeing photos of Izze with my Father and Step mother. They live about 2 hours away, so it is harder for them to see her as often. I know my mother will be visiting soon, so that is good. I really can’t wait to see her for her first Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t know what my job plans are for that time but fingers are crossed.
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