Home Sweet Home

and my vacation starts now :)

It's actually weird to say I'm on vacation, after traveling the world & visiting 23 (!!!!) different countries in 6 months (see below for the list). But thinking that I worked every single day for the past 6 months reminds me that I wasn't just on vacation. I'm going to use my time off to seriously relax, spend time with friends & family, enjoy the summer and do all the things I miss doing.

Yesterday I took the train to the airport after I checked out of my hostel. It was really difficult to carry my heavy bags with me (even though my hostel was really close to Centraal Station). All I could think about was "how much extra am I going to pay for these heavy bags? Maybe I should have left more things behind." It made me realize that the lighter your luggage, the happier your travels will be. I kept seeing all these people at the airport with such small bags... they looked so happy. And then me, stopping every few minutes because my hands/shoulders/back were hurting so much. I even considered taking a taxi to the airport, but it would have cost more than 10x as much as the train did.

I made it there with just enough time to get to the check-in gate & have them give me a hard time about my ticket being purchased through 'cheapOair.com'... there was some problem with the booking, but they let me on the plane anyways (FYI don't book with cheapoair... the name says it all). Next I went to immigration and had more problems there. When I left the ship I was supposed to get an entrance stamp to show I arrived in Amsterdam by ship. Well I guess the admin forgot about that part when they told me I was free to go and could just walk away from the ship, unlike everyone else getting on a bus to immigration. When then took me aside to their office I thought for sure I wasn't going anywhere. Luckily I had enough proof (landing permit from US immigration, papers from the ship) to show the officers my story is legit. I went straight to the boarding gate with just enough time to go through security & board the plane right away. It was actually really good timing.

The flight was not so bad. It was a big plane and I had a seat in the very last row. I tried to sleep but couldn't, and there was no entertainment onboard, so I just sat there mostly. I was surprised they gave us food, and it was actually quite good food. Because of the time zone difference I left Amsterdam at 2pm and arrive in Toronto around 4pm. My mom was there at the gate waiting for me (even though my flight was early)... it was so good to see her! I got home, had one of the best meals I've had in a long while (chicken, sweet potatoes, salad & lemon meringue pie), I think it tasted so good because it wasn't the same ship food, it was my mom's home cooking... made with love! After dinner I took a bath & went straight to bed (well, after a little unpacking and internet-ing). Went to bed around 8pm (2am Amsterdam time) and now I woke up at 6am (noon Amsterdam time)... I think it will take my body a little while to adjust. Waking up in my own bed is something I've dreamed about doing for a while... it felt good.

List of Places I've been

CARIBBEAN

St.Thomas

Tobago

St.Marten

Antigua

St.Lucia

Grenada

Barbados

Aruba

Curacao

Bonaire

EUROPE

Ponta Delgada, Azores

Lisbon, Portugal

Cherbourg, France

Le Havre, France

Paris, France

Dover, England

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Warnemunde/Rostock, Germany

Stockholm, Sweden

Helsinki, Finland

St.Petersburg, Russia

Tallinn, Estonia

Copenhagen, Denmark

Riga, Latvia

NORWAY

Bergen

Leknes (Lofoten)

Longyearbyne

Honningsvag

Alesund

Stavanger

Flam

Geiranger

Molde

Olden

Oslo

Done. Fineto. The End.

Cruise # 12
Day 12/12
At Sea (heading to Amsterdam)

Just finished my last day of work. I can't believe I made it! I'm happy to be going home, but also kinda sad that this adventure is over. I've had a lot of ups and downs, but overall it's been an amazing experience. I've met so many great and interesting people, that I hope I'll see again one day. Actually, it's kinda sad saying goodbye to everyone knowing you might never see them again.

For the past few days I've been looking forward to this moment, but it didn't feel real until I handed over my bags to security. My little room looks so empty now! all the photos from the walls gone (I'm going to miss these magnetic walls!). I'm pretty amazed that all my stuff fit into the bags I had (2 I originally brought with me and 1 I had to buy in Miami to fit all my uniform in). It's going to be difficult to carry all these to my hostel by myself, but I'm sure I'll manage. I'm staying at the same hostel I went to last time I visited Amsterdam (in 2005!), it's really close to Centraal Station. I'm really going to enjoy my day... a whole day without work!

The more that I talk to the others from my training session in Miami, I'm beginning to realize that I had it really good on my ship. The itinerary, schedule, team... I feel quite grateful (even though at times I complained a whole lot). I hope that my next contract will be even better, but I doubt it.

I'm about to go for a farewell drink with my team in the crew bar. The crew admin took away my card/account, so I can't buy anything (or go on the internet) so if I can convince someone to let me use their account then I'll post this tonight, if not then what you're reading is old news, hah. I'll update again when I get to the hostel (free wifi, ohh yeah!).

Most of all, I can't wait to get home and be in my own bed, spending time with my family and friends, relaxing and doing anything I want to do (which for the first few days might just be sleeping & eating & doing nothing at all :)

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Aug 2nd, at the cruise terminal, 9:30am

I didn't sleep much last night so I'm really tired. I had to meet at 7:30am and then waited an hour and a hlaf to actually leave the ship cause the buses didn't arrive on time. Once I got to the bus the admin people were all like, "you booked your own hotel, you can just leave." so I pretty much waited for nothing. I thought I had to go to immigration with everyone else, but apparently not, because I don't need a visa. I feel kinda weird, just walking away with all my stuff to do my own thing. Freedom at last. If only I had someone to help me with my luggage... why do I have so much stuff?!?! I'm going to take a taxi to the hostel, even though it's only a 10-15 minutes walk. Then I will probably take a nap after I check in.

Photos from Norway

OLDEN

HONNINGSVAG

Whale Meat (!)

Reindeer Stew (!)

GEIRANGER

Muddy Hike


View from the top
After my camera got dropped in the mud :(

"this must be the toilet"
"a freaking llama!!!"
Petro vs the llama
the beautiful lookout point (covered in fog)


grass on roofs for insulation

tender port
one of many waterfalls
the Seven Sisters waterfall
shooting sailaway on the open deck
FLAM




BERGEN




ALESUND

Hiking the Geiranger Fjords

Cruise #12
Day 6/12
Geiranger, Norway

Every port so far has been really nice, today especially. Although the gangway was just awful. It rained non stop and the only shelter was far from where all the guests were going, so we only managed to get 2 photos (of the same guests) and only because they went out of their way to stop for a photo (because they have a package that gets them all the photos from the cruise for one price). It was a tender port too, so we couldn't just walk back in the ship and shoot inside. Luckily the ship was close enough that the cell phone I was given had signal to call my manager, but he wouldn't let us go in. An hour later (and only 3 tender boats passing), he called and told us to come in. It was so cold and at this point rain had leaked into my new (but cheap) shoes.

Hopefully it will stop raining this afternoon, because I'm going on a tour as an escort to hike a mountain to see a waterfall (from in front and behind it! so cool!) my friend Petro is also going on this tour, so it'll be nice to have some company. After the hike we'll have coffee and homemade waffles... mmmmm!

Yesterday in Alesund me and Petro went to a nice little cafe and had some really nice cake & coffee. We split a piece of mocha cake, carrot cake AND a brownie! A bit much, but it was so nice. I also got a chai latte. In total I spent nearly 100 kroner (about $20 US!). Norway is expensive. The shop on the gangway this morning was selling bags of potato chips for 65 kroner! an most magnets/keychains cost 50 kroner ($10 US). In Honningsvag we went to a restaurant to try reindeer stew & smoked whale meat and it came to 480 kroner (with 2 beers and a coffee as well)! But I might never come back here so I might as well make the most of it. Though, I'm trying really hard not to spend my money.

Probably the nicest weather we had this cruise was in Flam. Which is really surprising because we were told it's only sunny 20 days out of the year on average (mostly it rains). We were very lucky to get sun! It did rain for a bit, but then let up. Flam is a really small town, but it's known for having one of the very few railroads/trains that has a steep incline (it goes up into the mountains!) I wanted to go on it, but it cost 350 kroner ($70) and it was mostly sold out because all the guests went on it. So instead I visited the train museum (because it was the only thing other than souvenir shops to see/do in town). We were supposed to have a team activity in this port. My manager said there was a nice beach next to the port and we could kayak or swim.... Turns out it really isn't much of a beach, and 2 guys from the team were on tours that afternoon. So I'm not sure we'll even have a team activity this month, which is a real bummer because we missed last months (if you don't use the money in that month then you lose it completely). $20 per person won't get you much in Norway, but most people don't want to do anything onboard (like dinner) because we did that last time.

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Back from the tour. What a beautiful place I am in, but such miserable weather. We took a coach bus half way up a mountain and then began our hike. The original trail we were supposed to take had a landslide a few days ago so we had to take an alternative path. Within the first 5 minutes my feet were completely soaked through my shoes. Later on I would come to realize that was nothing, as the path became like a little waterfall with lots and lots of mud. Speaking of waterfalls, we saw many of them. At first it was like 'wow, look at this waterfall' and towards the end it was like 'oh look, another waterfall, nothing special.' But the best waterfall that I saw today was 15 minutes after the ship began to sail, the so-called "Seven Sisters" waterfall (7 smaller waterfalls side by side), and across from that was another beautiful waterfall (I gave it the nickname the adopted sister, not sure if it has a name though).

The hike was pretty strenuous, very steep at times. After an hour and a half of walking, we reached a small restaurant for coffee and waffles, but since the tour left 30 minutes early (which I didn't know about and almost missed it, but joined the tender at the very last second!) the waffles weren't ready yet. So we hiked some more to a few lookout points. The only problem is that it was so foggy, we couldn't see anything! It was like being in a cloud. At one of the look out points we could see the ship below, so that was kind of cool. Many people fell in the mud trying to get to this look out. At one point I dropped my camera from my jacket pocket and didn't notice, so I went back looking for it and luckily a guest had seen it and picked it up. It still works! I've very surprised because of the conditions of the path, so many rocks, water, mud, etc.

The highlight of this hike was passing through an old farm and seeing a bunch of sheep and goats! They were semi-wild, only semi because they had tags and bells on them, but they grazed freely on the mountain side. We even saw a llama! A LLAMA! That got me so excited I screamed when I saw it, haha. It was so cute, but also kind of scary looking.

I'll post photos when I'm in Bergen (July 29) because I know a place that has fast internet. We're still not sure if we are going to visit Oslo as planned on July 31. I'll keep you posted.

the end is near :)

The first sunset I've seen in days... so beautiful!

Cruise #12 (my last one!)
Day 1/12 (Norwegian Fjords Cruise)
Amsterdam

I finally made it to my last cruise. I never thought this day would come! Unfortunately I had to shoot embarkation today for the third time in a row, but at least I'll have the evening off. I think I will use the crew jacuzzi and then go to Bistro for some crepes with the other 2 girls who are off :)

There are lots of ports this cruise (7 in a row!) & only 3 sea days.

Day 1 - Amsterdam
Day 2 - Sea Day
Day 3 - Stavenger, Norway
Day 4 - Flam, Norway
Day 5 - Alesund, Norway
Day 6 - Geiranger, Norway
Day 7 - Molde, Norway
Day 8 - Olden, Norway
Day 9 - Bergen, Norway
Day 10 - Sea Day
Day 11 - Oslo, Norway
Day 12 - Sea Day
Then back to Amsterdam

I'm really looking forward to this cruise and seeing the beautiful Norwegian Fjords. Hopefully it won't be as cold as last cruise. I think got a cold from standing outside on the gangways. But this cruise I will be lab senior (no gangways!), and hopefully finish my photog 3 checklist (even though I'll be leaving... at least next contract I will start getting paid more). I put in a request for the Century (cruises New Zealand, Australia & Hawaii) and the Infinity (Panama Canal, South America & Antarctica!), but it will all depend on if there is space available/people leaving those ships around the time I end my vacation. I might not find out until I get back home, so I'm not holding my breath.

Now to a completely different topic....

For some reason, I always enjoy my lunch so much more on embarkation days. The food just tastes better somehow. I don't know if it's the food, or just me. But today I had my favourite food for the first time.... Sweet Potatoes! mmmmMMMMmmmm. I had a whole plate of them, just the way I like them, roasted and extra soft. I only had them on the ship once before in the main dining room, but they were candied and too sweet. I don't know why but this made me very happy today.

I'm going to make the most of this cruise, sign up for tours, take lots of photos and spend time with my co-workers (the ones I still like, anyways... haha). Hopefully my cold will end soon (I got lots of medicine from the nurse & I'm drinking lots of water & tea and taking my echinacea... so don't worry mom!) plus I'll get to sleep in since I won't be out on the gangways (my roommate Claudia was lab senior last cruise & I was super jealous of the amount of sleep she got).

I'm starting to think about packing my bags and I hope it will all fit! I've acquired a lot of new stuff (clothes, gifts for people, uniform, pictures.... loads of pictures!) but I'll also be leaving behind a lot of things. I thought about mailing a box of things back home, but I think it will end up being so expensive to do that (especially from Norway... I sent 4 post cards in Honningsvag and it cost me 2 Euros each in postage!).

I just got back from the nightly embarkation meeting (pay day!)... I made the most this cruise (well, since coming to Europe anyways). I sold 43 DVDs! A record for me (but Alex sold 50 so he beat me). Last cruise I sold 34 & the cruise before that 28... so hopefully this cruise I will sell even more!

It was nice having the evening off. Me, Petro & Claudia went to Bistro for sandwiches and crepes. The jacuzzi was not on & freezing cold so we skipped that. After dinner we went to the shops where I bought some Clinique stuff. It's super cheap on board, plus I get 20% discount - $32 for a pressed powder, lotion, face wash & toner.. I think I should stock up before coming home. They have an eye shadow trio called 'Come Heather', nice purple shades. After shopping we went to the theatre to watch the variety show of 'things to come'... a sample of the different shows onboard. Then it was time for the meeting. Now we're going out for drinks, complements of the videographer Daniel, for selling so many DVDs this cruise (I think 190 total).

Oh and we also found out in the meeting that after this cruise the AMS Charlston is leaving and Alena (my old roommate!) is coming back to replace him. We're also getting 2 guys next cruise to replace me & Becks, and the cruise after that Alex & Daniel are leaving and 2 more guys will be replacing them.

Midnight Sun

Cruise #11

Day 7/12

Longyearbyen, island of Svalbard (sovereign state of Norway) 78°N (1338km from North Pole)

It's been a cold & foggy cruise so far, but today we experienced a bit of sunshine, which made such a difference in this climate. I'm from Canada so I should be use to this kind of temperatures (5°C) but it felt so much colder than that! It's funny how I left the cold in February to be in the warm Caribbean, and now that it's warm back home I'm in cold Norway.

This port is very pretty, surrounded with lots of mountains. I walked around a bit, went into "town" (not much to see or do) and bought a postcard (because everything else is so expensive). This town has a population roughly the same as the guests onboard my ship! And it's the worlds most northernly town with a population greater than 1000, pretty cool.

The gallery is a bit slow this cruise, and there's been lots of sea days (every other day we are at port). At the begining of this cruise (the night of Bergen) we found out that Becks, one of my favourite collegues, had been terminated for underperformance within her probation period. We are all very sad to see her go because she brought so much energy to the team and always had me laughing. We got along quite well and bonded these past 3 months she was onboard, so it was very hard news to take. I'm not going to go into much details about her termination, although I do want to vent about the circumstances around it... but I don't think writing it here is a good idea.

I'm glad I didn't book my flight for Aug 14 because I just found out that I will be leaving Aug 2, so next cruise will be my last! I can't believe it's coming to an end. I'm sad to go (especially since I wanted to cruise the Baltic one more time).... but I am so excited to be back home!! It's hard to believe now that I've been on board since February. I talked to security and they told me that I am in fact allowed to stay in Amsterdam for up to 90 days (since I'm Canadian). What was told to me by my manager was false. Security says that once I sign off from the ship and visit immigration, I'm a free bird and I can do whatever I please, the cruise line cannot make me go home right away (he even laughed that I thought this was true). I will most likely stay only one night just so I am able to get a cheaper flight home ($500 vs $800!).

We're supposed to be doing a team activity this cruise. My manager booked us for some excursion in Honningsvag to catch some crabs and eat them, but I'm really not too keen on that idea. But he says we must all go. Maybe there will be something more to the tour than just crabs, so I'm trying to stay positive about it. I'll let you know how that goes.

Tonight there is crew bingo with a jackpot of $1000! Even though I lost last time they had bingo, I'm still going to play.

(the internet is down right now, I think because of the ships position, the satellite isn't working... hope it comes back soon!)

2am update: A) I lost crew bingo. B) These photos are taken at 1:30am! C) We're not doing the crab tour (yay!)

More photos of Norway

I'm really looking forward to this cruise! Norway looks so beautiful.