Hola from Curacao! (and it’s my last time here, sad day!) Again, it’s been another relapse of time between entries… I guess I sort of forgot this even existed L But anyways, time has definitely flown by and it’s been pretty decent since I last posted. There’s not a whole lot of monumental things to comment on; I’m still doing tours here and there and I’ve been doing some things on my own with people from the ship. I have a few favorites, and one of them was in Dominica when a bunch of us hiked up a TON of gigantic rocks to go see a waterfall… it was epic! The rocks made it challenging, especially since it was all trial and error to figure out which way was the best to get us up there, and then some of them were covered with algae and they were slick. It was such a beautiful sight when we finally made it to the top =) (Pictures can be seen on my Facebook album titled Roseau, Dominica).
After he leaves, I have FOUR 7 DAY CRUISES LEFT!! The first one we go to St. Maarten, Half Moon Cay, San Juan, and Grand Turk and the last three we go to St. Thomas instead of San Juan. AND, the last three are State Farm Charters, which means the ship will be half full than normal, and our show schedule might be changed a bit (such as doing only one show a night at 9pm instead of doing two at 8pm and 10pm). We’ll see how all of that turns out; all I know is that it’s going to FLY by… and excited as I am to be coming home and seeing everyone, I truly am going to miss the people I’ve met onboard. I don’t think too much about it at the moment because I want to enjoy the time here and now instead of dwelling about the ‘see you laters’ down the road… but I know that those that are meant to stay in my life will =)
Another fun day was the last time I was in Curacao. A former employee on our ship, Justin, is from Curacao and he has a friend that owns a boat here and a ton of us went on it for the day… SO FUN! I forgot how much I love being on the water (being on a cruise ship doesn’t count in this respect! Haha) I liked being on a smaller boat, it reminded me of the summers back in Michigan J It was a pretty chill day; we docked at a small beach and hung out all day, and some of us jumped off the top of the boat into the water; I did and I felt crazy! Haha After all of that, we rode around in the sea for a bit and then I came back to port to meet up with Sarah and her friend Melissa (who came on for a ten day cruise on Feb 24) so we could go to dinner. Speaking of Melissa, she was such a blast to have onboard for a cruise! She’s one of Sarah’s best friends from college, and we all got along really well and had lots of fun at all the ports. YAY for new friendships!!!
Hmm… OH! Another favorite day lately was my last time in Barbados. I went with some cast members to a beach bar called The Boatyard and I got to play sand volleyball and ride a jetski! I WAS IN HEAVEN! (I also got to play beach volleyball in Grand Turk on the 25 of Feb, which was my first time playing this contract!) As soon as I got on that jetski, I took off and was racing with myself and doing donuts and loved every minute of it. I was skeptic at first also because it was a three seater, and I kept asking the guy for a two seater (because I thought the smaller the watercraft, the more speed I could get, Thank you Dad for the need for speed!)… well I was wrong! The one I got to ride was a 2012 and she has some jump to her! I was riding so fast and jumping so many waves haha I even got to back out for a few more minutes after my 40 minute stretch, and Dan rode with me that time and I actually threw him off by accident while turning around! He was a trooper though J
Let’s see, what else… the shows have been fine. I think I’m finally reaching the point where I’m getting over it… I don’t want to because I still have 5 cruises left… but I’m not as excited about them as I used to be. It’s been awhile and I’m ready for a change. Interesting things do still occur each and every show though! Last time we did our ballroom one, the turn table onstage stopped working, so we had to do the entire second half of the show with no lifts, and some numbers use the lifts a whole lot, so having 8 of us improve on stage was a bit funny… lol but we managed it.
We got to have a crew party on deck 10 in the crow’s nest recently, and a crew party means free alcohol (while supplies last). It was a good time just hanging out and being crazy with all the different employees onboard, and of course, some of us ventured off to the officer’s bar (aka the crew bar) afterward. I’ve posted those pictures as well, which I’m sure those of you who keep up with this have seen them already.
As for what’s coming up with last 5 cruises… my dad will be here the next cruise! He’ll board Mar 26 and stay until April 4! I CANNOT WAIT! I hope he has a good time; I’m just really excited to see him! I haven’t seen anyone since July 15th… and that feels like forever ago! I’m pretty stoked though, I think he’ll enjoy the cruise. We’ve got excursions planned and beach days planned and there’s always stuff to do onboard. I’m going to be busy but it’s definitely going to be worth it!
After he leaves, I have FOUR 7 DAY CRUISES LEFT!! The first one we go to St. Maarten, Half Moon Cay, San Juan, and Grand Turk and the last three we go to St. Thomas instead of San Juan. AND, the last three are State Farm Charters, which means the ship will be half full than normal, and our show schedule might be changed a bit (such as doing only one show a night at 9pm instead of doing two at 8pm and 10pm). We’ll see how all of that turns out; all I know is that it’s going to FLY by… and excited as I am to be coming home and seeing everyone, I truly am going to miss the people I’ve met onboard. I don’t think too much about it at the moment because I want to enjoy the time here and now instead of dwelling about the ‘see you laters’ down the road… but I know that those that are meant to stay in my life will =)
As for post contract… the day I disembark the Noordam (May 2), I’ll be flying straight to NYC to audition for the Rockettes and the ensemble on May 3 and May 7. I then plan on flying back to MI May 9 so I can see my dad and grandpa and everyone else from my hometown for a week or two, and then I’ll be making my way back down south to see the other part of my world and the people in it. On my way down, however, I will be stopping in Chicago to see Sarah and her family and then Springfield to visit Dave! I can’t wait to catch up with everyone!! Beyond that, I’ll be staying with my family in Texas and probably going back and forth between there and Michigan, and then I think by the end of the summer I’ll be moving to NYC to see what I can establish there. It all depends on how the audition goes in May, and I’ve already made some contacts with people and have meetings set up and we’ll see if any job opportunities spring up from that. I’m excited to see what the future holds J
I’ve definitely learned a lot from this contract, and I’m so happy that I got to travel the world and see some amazing things, and that I’ve gotten to meet such a diverse amount of people (as well as create long lasting friendships in the process!) I do want to do at least one more contract, and that would be the ms Oosterdam. The rehearsals start in December 2012 and then the contract starts in January 2013 and goes until about September… and the best part is the itinerary: it goes to New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico. Come on, I can’t beat that! I’ve seen Europe, now my next goal is to see Australia J I would also like to see the Baltic region, but that requires another contract. Who knows, maybe I’ll do another one after the Oosterdam! So that’s the plan…. It’s just an idea of what I have in mind; I have no idea what’s actually going to happen, but I definitely can’t wait to find out =)
As for the rest of my day today in Curacao, I plan on using up some wifi for a little bit longer, and then Sarah and I are going to go out and shop and see if there’s anything worth buying, and then we’re meeting up with Simon and Dan later for dinner. And then I have to be back onboard by 8:45pmish in order to attend Lido Pool Party… not my favorite of duties, but it only lasts an hour anyways.
So thanks for taking the time to read this little random postJ Can’t wait to enjoy the rest of my time here in the Caribbean, and I can’t wait to see all of you when I come home!!!! J
<3 xoxo
One Final thing I forgot to mention: I will be an aunt again VERY soon! My sister is going to have a baby boy within the next couple of days, his name is Nathan Luke and I cannot wait to meet the little guy when I get home! (Nor can I wait to see all my munchkins, I miss those little bundles of joy!)
