Feb 26

9:28am

Today is the last day of my first cruise (also the first day of my next cruise). It feels like I have been here for so long already! There are a lot of changes happening to the photo team. Jan & Ivan have signed off today. We had a big farewell party the other night in the crew bar, it was a good time, I'm going to miss them (even though I only knew them for 2 weeks, it felt longer). Today we will get 2 new people, both are from South Africa (a guy & a girl) and both new hires. That makes 4 new hires to the team in the last 3 cruises (Alex joined the cruise before me, then I joined, and now these 2). The other big change is that the Manager (Mark) is signing off today as well (they gave him really short notice)! He is being transfered to another ship that needs more help, so we will get a new manager in a few days (joining us in St.Martin). My 'roommate' Alena was staying with him if you recall, so now that means I will have a roommate after all. The other night she was talking about quitting, but it's a 4 week process so it's not like it will happen right away, but there's a chance Mark will come back after 6 weeks, and she will most likely stay then.

I've been having such vivid and strange (but very relevant) dreams ever since joining the ship. Like the other day, I downloaded the new Radiohead album, The King of Limbs, and listened to it while falling asleep. In my dream I was at a concert/festival where the crowd was in a giant pool in front of the stage. The band playing was TV on the Radio, and they were playing songs from a new album and I was so happy that I had listened to the album first so I knew all the songs (weird because they don't have a new album as far as I know). Weirdness 1) Earlier that day I was talking to Alena about how I really wanted to go in a pool (there's no crew pool & we're not allowed in the guest pool) 2) I was also mentioning how I am going to miss going to concerts since I won't be able to for 6 months & 3) Radiohead, TV on the Radio? I don't know why I didn't dream I was at a Radiohead concert, but you can see the connection, also the new album, having just heard the songs.

Last night I had a dream I was being transfered to another ship, and then transfered again. The first time I was transfered I had a huge room (but still had to share with another person). The weird thing is that it was connected to the gallery, and there was a big window looking in, so there was no privacy. When I was transfered again I was given more responsibilities than the people who were already there, and I had to show them around, but I didn't know where anything was. It's strange because now that we have 2 new people on the ship, I will have more responsibilities and I'll have to show them around. Also in the dream I was wondering about whether we can eat stir-fry at the guest buffet (up until recently we were allowed to, but too many crew took advantage of that so they said we can't anymore!)

Another weird thing about last night is that I kept waking up (almost every hour) but then I would return to my dream. In real life, I was afraid of sleeping in and missing the US immigration process that all the crew members had to go through this morning at 7am. I don't know why but I felt like my alarm was not going to work so I guess I instinctually woke myself up. The funny thing is that they made an announcement over the PA system, which woke me up, and then less than a minute later my alarm went off.

Feb 27

1:17pm

Yesterday we got our 2 new team members, and surprise! they are both girls. One is Monique and the other is Petro (that's where the confusion came from, assuming it was a guys name). But apparently it's a popular girls name in South Africa. They are both really nice and very South Afrikaan, but their English is good. Now the photo team has 5 girl photographers and only 1 guy.

Tonight is formal night and I hope it goes smoothly with the new girls. They will be shooting Ressi and portraits right away. There is some kind of Oscar party tonight on the top deck, and I'm going to shoot that with some kind of Hollywood back drop. The only problem is that we normally shop shooting at 11pm on formal nights, but this party will probably go until 1am! But they assistant managers said that I will have the next gangway off (St.Martin) so I'm fine with that.

Picture Time!

My cabin

Room all to myself :)

Cabin washroom (so tiny)

Some shelves, security deposit box, DVD player, phone, tv, mini fridge

Crew card

Formal uniform - tuxedo!

Evening uniform

Crew game room (pinball, pool table, foosball, PS3, Wii, computer games)

1-95 the main corridor/hallway on deck 1

The Celebrity Theatre (beside the Photo Gallery)

The 'word man' outside the Seaside Cafe (deck 10)

This ship has so many beautiful areas

Deck 10 pool lounge

The Constellation at it's first port of call: St.Thomas

Beautiful St.Thomas

Little Mermaid!

Hooters in St.Thomas! (can you see the Toronto sign?)

Funny sign

Second Port: Colourful Antigua!

Third Port: "Tropical" St.Lucia

Fourth Port: Barbados

Barbados Beach! (The Boatyard)

Rope swing :)

Beach @ the Boatyard

Pier to rope swing

So excited to swim!

Aruba!

Today I'm in Aruba, the port town is called Oranjestad (translation: Orangetown), I'm using the wifi in the Dunkin' Donuts/Little Caesers/Baskin Robbins store, and it's actually fast for a change. I'm getting so fed up with slow internet, which is why I haven't updated for a while. The 'downtown' area is walking distance from the port, which is nice, but it's all so touristy! Lots of shopping, mostly jewelry stores (almost every other store, or sometimes 5 stores in a row) there's also some cool indoor/outdoor malls with high end stores like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Guess, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. There's also a good amount of cheap souvenir type places selling hand made crafty-type things.

This morning I had the unfortunate pleasure of dressing up in a furry head-to-toe turtle costume for 3.5 hours in the sun, posing for pictures with the guests. It was really hot and smelly, I did not enjoy it. It was nice to not have to smile for a change (I swear my mouth hurts so much for constantly smiling!) but I found myself instinctively smiling inside the head from time to time, hah. There was a nice breeze, so when I was able to take the head part of the costume off it was really nice, so I guess it could have been worse.

I shot my first formal night the other day, I took restaurant shots and portraits. I am beginning to get more confident behind the camera and getting the guests to pose. The first time taking pictures in the restaurant was very nerve wracking. But the second time (there's an early & late seating) was much better, mainly because there are less people in the late seating.

My back is feeling better also. I went to see the doctor and they just gave me some muscle relaxing cream and ibuprofen. When I began working I kinda forgot about the pain, but as soon as I stopped and sat for a while (fortunately/unfortunately that didn't happen often) the pain came back really intensely. It's pretty much all better now :)

I've been taking naps in the afternoon lately, rather than going out in the ports. Mainly because I need more sleep, but also because I know they're all going to have the same kinda things. 2 days ago we were in Tobago. I made some jokes to the Canadian guests that we're back in Canada, cause the port town is called Scarborough! I was shooting the gangway photos, and pretty much everybody was coming back after only 10-20 minutes. They all said it was very disappointing, and all the shops were closed because it was a Sunday. I was kinda disappointed too, cause I was excited to see Tobago, but I just slept instead.

I'm nearing the end of my first cruise, but it feel like I've already been here forever. I can't wait to get paid for the first time :) Only 5 or 6 more cruises until the transatlantic crossing (that's still 3 months away though). I like to think about it in number of cruises: 12 cruises in my 6 month contract, so I'm just about 1/12 of the way done! If I wasn't so excited about Europe, I would consider ending my contract early, but I know it will be so exciting to see Northern Europe and it'll be like a whole new experience. The Caribbean is nice and all, but every island is too much the same. Maybe I need to start going on some excursions like dolphin watching, snorkeling and stuff. But I'm also trying to save money, so sleep is always the best option.

I have some postcards to mail, but can't find a mailbox.... I'm on a mission now. If I don't have your address already and you want a postcard just email it to me (heathercooze@homail.com)

Cruise lingo 101: some common words/phrases spoken onboard (or in my team, specifically)
-talka talka: when someone talks too much, or you have to do some BS talking "she was all talka talka" or "when you're done talka talka come see me"
-super: everyone uses the adjective super before anything "that's super cool/super awesome" or "that guy/girl is super hot" or "that's super hard"
-the best ____ ever!: everyone uses this phrase to describe anything from "the best photo ever" or "the best turtle ever" or "the best camera ever" (said super excitedly and occasionally sarcastically)
-eh? or ah?: people say that Canadians use 'eh' but we're not the only ones!! it seems like everyone has some kind of version or way of saying eh?

Barbados (day at the BEACH!)

Yesterday the whole photo team (well, almost the whole team, one guy had to stay behind as part of his emergency duties to "man the port"), went to the Boat Yard (a private beach/bar place in Bridgetown). The port in Barbados is really ugly, you have to take a shuttle to get to the main terminal, and then grab a taxi to go anywhere (downtown or the beaches). Every month Image gives $20 per person for a group activity (something everyone agrees on as a team). The people who have been here longer knew about this place with an awesome beach, so that's where we went for the afternoon. There's an entrance fee of $5US which gets you access to the beach (including water trampolines, a climbable/inflatable glacier slide thing, and a rope swing!!) you also get one free drink. I got a Shark Tail (rum + some fruit juice mixture, it was good), plus we ordered a bunch of food (chicken fingers & wings, shrimp, basket of fries with cheese) and we ended up getting about 3 buckets of beers (6 beers/bucket = $15).

It was so nice to swim in the water (even though it's salty, yuck). It was such a beautifully sunny & hot day. I recognized a lot of the crew, and even some guests, I guess it's a popular place. There is a long boardwalk/pier that you can dive from at the end, and also a rope swing! It took some convincing for me to go on it, but it was so much fun (except getting a bunch of water up my nose)! I hung out on the water trampolines for a bit too. We also played some volleyball. I must have pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve or something because my back started to hurt. By the time we got back to the ship it was hurting really bad. I took a quick nap before work, hoping I could just sleep it off, but no luck. By the way, I'm getting awesome at napping! hahah, if I have a spare half hour to an hour I'll take a quick cat nap. This is pretty standard on the ship. They even have "international nap time" from 2-4 where you aren't supposed to phone anyone.

I was supposed to meet the cruise director to film a small segment advertising the Photo Department on the cruise TV channel, but it was cancelled at the last minute. I'm kinda glad because I was nervous and not told what to say! But also disappointed because I spent extra time making myself look good :P lol. By the end of the night my back was so sore, all I could do was cry myself to sleep because I couldn't find a comfortable position :( sad but true. I tried putting some Tiger balm (thanks Gabe!) but it didn't really help. I'm planning on going to see the doctor today, but it's only open from 4-5 and 7-8 for the crew... pretty dumb hours!! I could go to the guest medical area, but I don't that's only for emergencies (which this is not).

Tonight is the second formal night (busy night for us photographers!) and I'll be shooting pictures in the Ressi (restaurant) for the first time. The other day I did my first portrait studio and it went really well!! I was so worried I would suck, but I got a lot of positive feedback (and some helpful critiquing). My manager said he liked how confident I appeared, even when I wasn't sure what to do. I think I shot about 15-20 couples, and sold some of the pictures already!

Right now I'm at a bar in Grenada using the free wifi and drinking and Amaretto sour (which doesn't tastes that good). The wifi is really slow, but at least I'm not paying per minute to use it! Pictures are still impossible to upload :( so you'll just have to use your imagination. The weather here is overcast and not that warm, it even rained this morning for a bit.

Today is day 8 of the cruise, so I'm past the halfway point! I don't even want to think of how many more weeks until I come home... I miss everyone! I wish you could all come visit me! It's not that I'm very lonely (I'm enjoying the private room) but I'm so exhausted by the time we finish work around 11:30pm, that I just got straight to bed and don't really party or hang out with anyone. That might change once I get used to life onboard, but it's just been too much too soon, I'm still adjusting. Here's what an average work day looks like:

Port Days:
8-11:30am: on the gangway (I've only done this twice, since I have ship training in the morning, usually from 9-11, but they have me smudging on the gangway before/after the training, today was the last of the training though). There's usually 3-5 photographers, 2-3 shooting and the rest smudging or dressed as a character.
11:30-5pm: lunch break, time in the port, or nap time. On formal nights (like today) we have to be back by 3:30 to start setting up the portrait studios (5 different studios! on a casual day we only set up 1 studio)
5pm-11pm: the gallery is open for business. Everyone works and rotates taking breaks (usually 1 half hour break and 1 hour break, but this isn't always the case). On formal nights there are no breaks! We shoot the studio for 1.5 hours and go to the restaurant to shoot for half hour, then back to the studios for 1.5 hours, and back to the restaurant for the late seating for another half hour, and then back to the studios! Formal night photos are the best sellers, and where we make the most money, so they are very important.

Sea Days:
since there is no gangway, the Photo Gallery opens earlier, 10am I think. So far I've had ship training on all the sea days, so I'm not sure what the schedule normally looks like. I think some people will get the morning off and work in the afternoon/evening, while others work the morning/afternoon and have the evening off.

No one ever has a full day off, we all work 7 days a week, an average of 10 hours per day! It's physically draining, especially on formal nights. Setting up the studios take a lot of work (putting up the backdrop, setting up the lights, making sure everything is safe, etc). I really don't like doing it :( I wonder if I'll make it the whole 6 months. It's hard to say at this point, since I'm still adjusting. But I really want to go to Europe, so that's a great motivator! Only 6 more cruises until the transatlantic! It doesn't sound like much, but each cruise is 14 days, so that's still 3 months to go :(

St.Lucia (Castries)

Today we are in Castries, St.Lucia. The islands are all starting to look similar: port town with shops (selling same shit), people on the street trying to sell you stuff/get you in a taxi (cause all the good shopping is downtown, I just caught on), lots of wifi cafes and American fast food (McDonalds, Wendy's, KFC, Dominoes). I noticed there are lots of schools around this area (many kids in uniforms). I guess it's lunch time, cause they are all roaming the streets and buying candy from street vendors (cute!). There are lots of locals in this area. Only a short distance from the port are lots of local shops (clearly not for tourists/visitors).

I guess by the next cruise I will know what to do in each port, but for now I don't want to stray far from the ship (fear of getting lost/not boarding on time!). I have yet to go to a beach, or even see one! But I love talking to the guests and seeing what they did each day in port. yesterday there was a pirate ship party/tour that looked like a lot of fun. Daniel, the videographer, went on an excursion to swim with dolphins, pet sting rays and snorkeling and stuff. I saw some of the footage and it looks like so much fun! I'm definitely jealous of his position (good motivation to work my way up).

95% of the people on my ship are old. Like, retired couples who cruise all the time. I guess because it's a 14-day cruise, many people can't afford to take that much time off work (and to afford this cruise in general!) Most of the guests I talk to have been on dozens of cruises, some have even cruised the same ship multiple times! Also, everyone is white. Old, rich and white (also grey-haired, slow-walkers & wrinkly.... sorry but it's true!!). It makes it hard to remember certain people, 'cause they all look the same! Like when I'm trying to help someone find their picture on the wall, I don't want to offend them by pointing to someone else, but it's really hard to tell them apart! Something I have to get used to I guess. The 5% who are young people are easy to remember, and by young I mean under 40. There are only about 5 children I have seen, and 10 people who I would consider "young adults" (couples or friends, or with their parents). There is one disabled kid in a wheelchair, with his whole family from Scotland, and he's so adorable! When he sees his picture in the gallery he gets so excited and it really puts a smile on my face :)

Tonight I am shooting my first portrait studio! It's called "Lifestyle Portraits" because it's more casual, not very posed. It's a white backdrop that extends to the floor, and the guests can pretty much do anything they want. I take about 5-6 shots of each couple/group. In the past 2 nights, there has only been 6-7 people who take these kinds of portraits, so I imagine it will be a slow night for me. But it's good to get some practice. I'm a little bit nervous though.

Time to upload some photos while I'm on shore!

Scratch that: the internet connection keeps dropping & I have to re-connect, making it impossible to upload anything. Also my battery is dying and there's no outlets around :(

St.Thomas & Antigua

Yesterday we docked for the first time in St.Thomas (near Charlotte Amal) which is part of the Virgin Islands. Having never been to the Caribbean before, I was in awe of it's beauty. The weather was beautiful, very sunny, and 30 degrees!!! I need to start getting used to this kind of temperature. I had 4 hours free to explore on my own. The port town is very commercial and tourist (as you can imagine) which is why many people do excursions further into the city and rural parts. I mostly just walked around the shops and made my way to the Kmart to pick up a few things. I was surprised to see a Scotiabank! I also got a phone card and made a few calls to people. I didn't bring my computer with me, otherwise I could have used the free wifi.

Today we are in Antigua, and the port area is very similar (but more colourful!). All the shops sell the same kinda stuff: expensive jewelry & watches (almost every other shop!), typical souvenirs (postcards, t-shirts, shot glasses, nicknacks, etc.), perfume & cosmetics, really cheap booze & cigarettes ($10 bottles of rum, $25 carton of cigarettes). It seems like all the crew on the ship smoke. There's only 1 place you can smoke (crew bar) but people are allowed to smoke in their cabins (if their roommate doesn't mind) so the hallways always stink of smoke. And you can imagine how smokey the crew bar is. I went there last night for the first time. $1.25 Heinekens & Coronas :D most people buy them 6 at a time (a case) lol. I had about 4 and felt drunker than I was because of the motion of the ship. But I am getting use to that motion (getting my "sea legs") and the small bit of sickness I felt is all gone.

Right now I'm using free wifi available from a cafe near the port, but I should have gone a bit further I think. There's many people here so the connection is slow. But still faster than onboard the ship. I'll try and get some pictures up.

I am the only "traditional English" speaker (as they say) in the photo team, so everyone keeps asking me questions like "how do you say this?" *points to a cupboard* or "what is the difference between here and there? Do I say over here or over there?" I'm glad to help them, but sometimes it makes me second guess myself, like why do we say this and not that, and all the other funny English rules. Since my English is the clearest/easiest to understand, I do a lot of interacting with the guests, and I think I will even be the narrator for the Cruise in Review DVD.

I have been learning so many different things, from my job training to the ship's training, and adjusting to a whole new way of life, I can't even imagine trying to learn a new language on top of all that!!

There are lots of Canadian guests on the ship, which is nice, I have something to talk to them about (I even met someone from Mississauga!). Also lots of people from Greece are onboard. I met a few musicians, who are all laid back and love to party (easy for them, they only work 3-4 hours a day), 2 of them are American (one from Detroit, I duno about the other) and a drummer from France (who is very quiet, I think because his English is not so good). He is a new hire like me, so we always see each other in the ship's training sessions. Everyday for at least 2-3 hours there is training (safety, environmental, ethics, harassment, diversity, etc.) which is pretty boring. Today we went into one of the emergency life boats (which was actually kinda scary, even though it wasn't an emergency!) It's good to be prepared, I just hope I never have to be in that situation! I might forget everything I learned. I had to pass a safety quiz and so I studied all night. When I got the quiz it was such a joke. Multiple choice questions with the obvious answer worded exactly as in the book, and all the other answers were totally a joke (Q: What to do if you show up to your emergency station without a life jacket? A: call the bridge and complain LOL)

I shot my first pictures today! I was just shadowing the other photographers on the gangway and one needed to use the restroom so I took over, I only shot about 4 pictures, but it was fun. I don't think they turned out good (one too loose, one too tight) but I'll get the hang of it soon, with more practice. I mostly just work in the gallery selling photos, cameras, accessories, etc. which is good because that's where you make commission :)

Life onboard (so far)

me in my tuxedo for my first formal night

The ship I'm on is very nice. There's lots of art all over the place, in every hallway and all the main public areas. Mainly framed photographs, but also some drawings and some sculptures. It's a nice touch, I will try and get some pictures of my favourite ones. I met a guy in the training session who is the art auctioneer in the art gallery onboard (who goes on cruises to buy art? I thought that was weird)... but a pretty sweet job. He says he only works about 3-4 hours a day. His name is John and he's from Texas, an older guy, used to serve in the Marines or something. He said he's got free internet in the art gallery so I can just stop in if I need to use it :) Other than him, and my photo team, I haven't really talked to anyone else. John says to be careful cause I'll get hit on a lot (guys out number girls by far) but I haven't found that happening much. Everyone is friendly though, smiles and says hi while you pass them in the hall. Tonight there is a Valentines crew party but I'm not sure if I'm going to go. I've been really tired lately, trying to adjust and take in all the new experiences.

Tomorrow we are in St.Thomas, which is apparently one of the best ports. I hope I'll have some free time to explore and take pictures, but I have a feeling I'll be working (and possibly dressing up in a silly costume). We are only given our schedule one day in advanced, so it's hard for me to know when I'll have free time.

I wanted to upload some pictures of my cabin for you to see how tiny it is, but it's taking way too long, so I think I'll just wait until I'm on shore to post them. The internet is connected by satellite, which explains why it's so slow.

I have a 4 hour break so I'm going to take a nap and then explore the ship some more. The first day was so overwhelming, but now I am getting familiar. The right side (when facing forward) is called Starboard, the left side is Port. The photo gallery is on Deck 4 at the front of the ship (next to the theatre), the restaurant is at the back ("aft") of the ship. Deck 5 (right above the photo gallery) are the shops. Deck 3 aft is the cinema (where the training takes place). The crew/staff mess (eating areas) are on Deck 1 (mid-ship), but after-hours I can eat on Deck 10, which is the guest buffet (made-to-order foods like stir-fry, pasta, pizza, salad, sushi and loads of desserts :) My room is on Deck 0 (aft), the second lowest deck (the bottom of the ship is called the "Tween" deck and that's where you can find the crew bar and laundry). My emergency station is Deck 5 Fire Zone 6 (mid-ship). As a new hire, I don't really have much responsibilities when it comes to emergency requirements. I have a safety quiz tomorrow on all the stuff I've learned so far. I hope I never have to experience a real emergency!

The photo team is: Mark (Business Manager) from the Philippines, Fredsel (Production Manager) from Philippines also, Charleston (Sales Manager) from India, Daniel (Videographer) from Spain, Jan (Photog 2) from South Africa, Ivan (Photog 2) from Serbia (or Croatia, I forget), Ming (everyone calls her Evelyn though, or sometimes China lol) is from China (she's a Photog 1 but should be a Photog 2, just too lazy to complete her competencies), Alena (Photog 2) is from Belarus (my "roommate"), Alex (Photog 1) is from Belarus also, he was in the training session that I was supposed to be in, and just joined the ship on the previous cruise.

Photog 1's only make commission on the sales of digital cameras (I've sold 3 so far!), DVDs (sold about 5), folios & frames (none, yet!) and all other accessories. After completing some online courses ( Image U "competencies") you can advance to Photog 2 (where you get commission on sales of photos as well as all other stuff), after you complete your courses for Photog 2 you advance to Photog 3 (more responsibilities), where you get a higher base-wage, and also more % commission. I want to move up as fast as possible :) but if the internet is slow it might take me some time to finish my online courses.

Feb 13

I just got my in-room internet set up. It's slow but manageable, and only 0.12 per minute haha. Here are some 'entries' I wrote offline

2:00pm
I had set my alarm this morning for 7:30, but when it went off I changed it to 7:45 to get a bit more sleep. My plan was to go to the laundry service (which opens at 8) to get fresh towels and linen (I did not trust to use the ones in the cabin, cause who knows!!), but I somehow missed that alarm and woke up at 9am to the sound of my watch's hourly beep (a feature I had tried to turn off but didn't know how... I'm lucky I didn't). I panicked a bit cause I was supposed to be at my "Time & Attendance" meeting (how ironic!) I threw on my uniform, washed my face, brushed my teeth, put on deodorant and practically ran there. I made it by 9:08 and everything was fine. A few others trickled in late as well. There was another safety meeting after that, and then I worked for an hour in the photo gallery. At 12:30 I went for lunch with Mark, Alena and Evelyn (another photographer, she's from China). Daniel (who is from Spain) also met us there, he is the ships videographer. I really want his job, so I'm going to talk to him as much as possible. The videographer gets to go to all the cruise events and shore excursions and edits the footage into a "Cruise in Review" DVD which we sell in the gallery. I won't be able to do that until my second contract though.

I am slowly getting use to the rocking motion of the ship. My stomach is not as sick feeling as yesterday, and I was able to eat more at lunch (probably because I didn't have any breakfast). After lunch I got my towels & linen and was able to take a shower finally. It's so awesome not having a roommate, because I can leave the bathroom door open if I want, and walk around naked without worries :)

Feb 12

Feb 12, 2011 - 12:15pm

I left the hotel this morning at 9am and took a shuttle to the ship's port in Fort Lauderdale (technically Fort Everglade). There was one other girl on the shuttle and she was going to the same ship as me (also a photographer!). What a relief! Her name is Alena and she is from Belarus. This is her second contract with Image and her first time onboard the Constellation. It was good to have someone with me who has done all this before and knows what it's like to be new. We didn't talk much on the ride though.

Once we got to the port we checked through security (just like you would in an airport) and waited to be escorted onto the ship. After we got onboard we dropped off our luggage in a room and went to the cinema where the new & returning crew were greeted by HR. We had to fill out and read a bunch of forms and hand over our passports and medical forms (I wasn't given many forms because my name wasn't on any lists, they apparently only added me yesterday, so the lists weren't updated). That took about an hour, and then we met Mark, the Photo Manager. Alena had worked with him on another ship, they seemed very close. Mark brought us to our room (yep, we're roommates) and it is TINY! A narrow table and 2 chairs, a closet to hang clothes and 3 small drawers below. A table with a small TV, DVD player and telephone, with a mini fridge underneath it. Above the TV are the security deposit boxes and a shelf (full of random crap the last people left behind). The beds are on top of each other, and I assumed I would be taking the top, since I'm the new girl, but she put her bag on the top and said she's "feeling generous.... for now", so I'm not really sure what to think of that.

Alena and Mark left and said they will come back to get me in a little while to eat. As soon as they left I sat on my bed and just took it all in. I really didn't know what to do!! I took pictures, used the washroom, cleaned up a bit (the people before us left a lot of crap behind, just random bits of stuff stuff). Mark said not to unpack yet because it's possible we will be moved around. I feel like I have way too much stuff! A large duffle bag on wheels (shoes, toiletries, makeup, books/magazines, chargers/cables for computer, camera, sweaters, bathing suit, etc), a small duffle bag (I had to buy at Walmart last night to carry all of my uniform!!) and my Betseyville carry-on which has all of my casual clothes.

We did a quick tour of the ship. My room is on Deck 0, the bottom of the ship (well there is a lower level called the Tween deck and that's where the crew bar and laundry services are). The photo gallery is on Deck 4, between the casino, theatre and piano lounge. The photo lab is right next to the gallery. The mess (dining hall) is on Deck 1 just upstairs from my room. That's pretty much all I have seen. I hope I have some free time to explore the rest of the ship later, but I'm not sure if I'll have that luxury.

We have "Pre-departure safety training" at 1:30 and a general emergency & lifeboat drill at 4:15. Tomorrow from 9-9:30 there is a "Time & Attendance, Welcome Onboard" and from 9:30-10 a "Meet & Greet". 10-11am the schedule says "SSOT 1" which I guess is some kind of safety training. And at 4pm I will get my A-Pass (crew card). On Monday from 9-10am there is a "Save the Waves" training session and 10-11am is "SSOT 2". On Tuesday there is a safety quiz from 11-12. Thursday (Feb 17) and the following Wednesday (Feb 23) are Crew Drills, and Friday (Feb 18) there is some security training from 9-10am. So much to remember! and that's not even for my own job, just Celebrity's required training. I think I will start tonight at the formal dinner, but I'm not sure if I will be taking pictures or just shadowing someone. Alena says there are only 5 photographers in this team, plus the manager, assistant manager and a videographer. She said I'm lucky because there are a lot of new people, and people leaving after this cruise, so I won't be the only one. But I still feel like the only new-hire who is clueless about this whole situation.

2:20
Just got back from the safety on board training (they just made us watch a movie & handed out a booklet with info). Before that I had lunch with Alena and Mark, and I felt pretty alone, as they were getting along great and talking to each other mostly. When we came back to the room I asked Alena about the bed situation.
"Are you sure you want the top bunk?" I asked her.
"Yeah, you are lucky. I won't be in here much anyways."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"I'll be in Marks room mostly"
"Ohhhh, are you two, like, together?"
"Yeah, *laughs* so only if we fight I will maybe come and sleep here."

I am very lucky!!!! Not only do I get the bottom bed, but I also have a room pretty much to myself :D I have a few hours until I need to report for work (5pm) so I'm going to take a nap.

12:16am
I just got back from my first shift in the Photo Gallery. It began at 5pm and went until 11pm (the gallery closed at 10 but we had a team meeting that went until 11, and they told us we are losing an hour during travel, so technically it's 12). It was not as bad as I thought, although when the ship left the port and I started to feel the rocking back and forth, it made me feel a bit 'off' (a combination of slight nausea, dizziness & disorientation) but it might also be because I had just woken from a nap and didn't eat any dinner until 9pm. We ate on the top deck at a guest buffet area because the crew mess had closed. I got pesto pasta and a slice of pizza but didn't really eat much because my stomach was still a bit woozy (I thought food would help tho), I mostly just drank water and juice, and a little bit of ice cream.

I had a bit of a panic attack when I first arrived for my shift and realized I wasn't wearing the half-knot tie thingie all the other girls were wearing. I went back to my room to put it on and I got so completely lost! All of the crew cabin areas look the same, but they are not all connected. You have to go up one floor and then down a certain set of stairs to get to your area. The first time I was shown my room they took me down these stairs which had a water-tight door connecting to my room. When I went down that way again the water-tight door was closed! I didn't know any other way to get to my room, so I panicked! I was also really hot from my uniform, and my stomach was off, I needed to drink some water badly, and all I could do was cry :( I didn't want anyone to see me though so I just walked around in circles :s. I eventually found my room, took off my suit jacket, chugged some water, and let it all out (hyper-ventilating and all). I took some deep breaths, drank more water, eventually calmed down and went back to work.

There was no shooting tonight, so all of us in the photo team were in the gallery trying to sell the photos taken earlier (Embarkation). Right away I see 2 other photographers selling $120 packages and $150 cameras to guests, and they made it look so easy! It was pretty slow for the most part. I answered a lot of questions like "where is the theatre?" "what time does the show start?" "where's the restrooms?" and so forth. The gallery is not really like a shop as I imagined. It's mostly a hallway with the pictures displayed on the wall and a counter off to the side. Guests have to pass through the gallery to get to the theatre, casino and restaurant. I ended up selling about 5 photos. Not bad, considering they are $15 each (normally $20) I heard a lot of people complaining about the prices, but many didn't. I guess if you are spending so much money on a cruise, you want to be able to have a professional photo to remember it. The photos come with a cool border that shows all the ports we will be visiting, as well as the date and name of the ship. Tomorrow is the first of 3 formal nights, but I won't be shooting it. I'll be in the gallery with Alena, thankfully. We only get our schedules one day in advance (the night before), which kinda sucks. Besides the safety training in the morning, I've got a 1 hour shift in the gallery from 11-12, then a break until 3:30, half an hour of set up and then an hour break (for dinner), and then I'm in the gallery again all night from 5:30-11pm while the rest of the team shoots the formal portraits and ressi (restaurant). I'm exhausted now so I'm going to sleep! good night

CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION!

I'm so excited right now this is going to be hard for me to type!! I found out the ship I will be on today, and I couldn't be more excited!!!! It's the Celebrity Constellation! Everyone seems to have a great ship and itinerary, but mine is especially great (for me, at least)! A little bit about the Constellation: It was built in 2002, renovated (or as they called it "Solsticized") in 2007 and in May 2010 it got a $40+ million overhaul. It carries around 2,000 passengers and has about 1,000 crew members onboard. There are 11 decks and lots of different restaurants, bars, clubs, shops and things to do and see. It has some really excellent reviews on Cruise Critic. The demographic is pretty old (I think), and that is because it's very expensive ($1000-$5000+), but has a luxuriously relaxing and entertaining cruise itinerary. Here's my itinerary for the next 6 months! (Expect lots of post cards!)



I leave tomorrow morning at 9am to get on a shuttle to Fort Lauderdale, where the ship leaves from. The cruises are generally 14 days long. My first trip will be:

Day 1: Fort Lauderdale (Florida)
Day 2: at sea
Day 3: Charlotte Amal (Virgin Islands)
Day 4: St.John's (Antigua)
Day 5: Castries (Saint Lucia)
Day 6: Bridgetown (Barbados)
Day 7: St.George's (Grenada)
Day 8: Scarborough (Tobago)
Day 9: at sea
Day 10: Oranjestad (Aruba)
Day 11: Willemstad (Curaçao)
Day 12: at sea
Day 13: at sea
Day 14: Fort Lauderdale (Florida)



The week after that is similar, but a little bit different:

Day 1: at sea
Day 2: at sea
Day 3: Philipsburg (St.Maarten)
Day 4: St.Johns (Antigua)
Day 5: Castries (Satint Lucia)
Day 6: Bridgetown (Barbados)
Day 7: St.George's (Grenada)
Day 8: at sea
Day 9: Oranjestad (Aruba)
Day 10: Willemstad (Curaçao)
Day 11: Kralendijk (Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands)
Day 12: at sea
Day 13: at sea
Day 14: Fort Lauderdale (Florida)



The itinerary in the Caribbean will continue until May 7th, then I get a transatlantic crossing to EUROPE!

Day 1: Fort Lauderdale
Day 2: at sea
Day 3: at sea
Day 4: at sea
Day 5: at sea
Day 6: at sea
Day 7: at sea
Day 8: Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Day 9: at sea
Day 10: Lisbon (Portugal)
Day 11: at sea
Day 12: at sea
Day 13: Cherbourg (France)
Day 14: Paris (Le Havre) (France)
Day 15: Dover (England)
Day 16: Amsterdam (Holland)



After that (May 22): Scandinavia & Russia!

Day 1: Amsterdam (Holland)
Day 2: at sea
Day 3: Berlin (Germany)
Day 4: at sea
Day 5: Stockholm (Sweden)
Day 6: Helsinki (Finland)
Day 7: St.Petersburg (Russia) *overnight* :)
Day 8: St.Petersburg (Russia)
Day 9: Tallinn (Estonia)
Day 10: at sea
Day 11: Copenhagen (Denmark)
Day 12: at sea
Day 13: Amsterdam (Holland)



That amazing itinerary continues until July 9, when I get to visit the Arctic Circle!

Day 1: Amsterdam
Day 2: at sea
Day 3: Bergen (Norway)
Day 4: Arctic Circle (crossing)
Day 5: Leknes (Norway)
Day 6: Arctic Circle (crossing)
Day 7: Longyearbyne (Norway)
Day 8: Arctic Circle (crossing)
Day 9: Honningsvag (Norway)
Day 10: Acrtic Circle (crossing)
Day 11: Alesund (Norway)
Day 12: at sea
Day 13: Amsterdam



After that (July 21): Norwegian Fjords!

Day 1: Amsterdam
Day 2: at sea
Day 3: Stavanger (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: at sea
Day 11: Oslo (Norway)
Day 12: at sea
Day 13: Amsterdam



And that will conclude my 6 months at sea! I will end off in Amsterdam where I will probably vacation for a week before returning home :) Anyone who wants to come to Amsterdam to meet up with me is more than welcome (and is HIGHLY encouraged)

Final Examination

Tonight I'm studying for the test I will take tomorrow morning. It covers everything we have learned so far, and we need 80% to pass. I think it will be very easy, but everyone is freaking out about it, which makes me kinda freak out about it too. Someone asked "what happens if we fail?" and they said "chicken or beef?" (an ongoing joke about your flight meal options after being sent home), but they said it with a smile, as if to say that no one has failed before. The 3 sections it will cover are Safety & Environmental, Sales & Services and the Camera, Equipment & Posing.

For environmental safety we have to know about the company's Zero Tolerance Policy (for photo chemicals and photo waste), which states "no liquid or solid waste materials (directly or indirectly in contact with photo processing) are to be disposed in any of the ship's drainage system." Image has 2 tag lines: Save our Seas & Respect Your Mother (nature, that is). We learned about MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) that outlines every chemical used in photo processing. There is a SRU (Silver Recovery Unit) that is used to filter out silver-bearing chemicals (such as bleach fix & stabilizer). The silver recovered by this unit can be sold and recycled, but mostly it's used to keep the waste out of the drain system (and ultimately into the sea!). The majority of waste on the ship is recycled. For instance, all the photos that we print that do not get sold are incinerated and the heat is transfered to heat water, pretty neat!

The sales & services part covers customer service ("we start selling the picture the first time we approach a guest"), how the photo gallery is run, the types of services we provide (besides taking photos and selling them, the gallery also sells digital & disposable cameras, film, batteries, cases, memory cards, frames, folios and a Cruise in Review DVD). Since there is no cash onboard the ship (everything is done using a card), we are not allowed to accept cash for photos, or to give any away for free (we are allowed to get tips, but we must report it to our manager). We talked about closed questions vs open questions ("Do you need any help?" vs "where are you from? how is your trip so far") the trick is to ask questions to the guests (people love to talk about themselves) and to be sincere and friendly at all times. "The most important part of your uniform is your smile" I heard that over and over (BTW we got our uniforms today and they are super ugly :(

(I'm writing this mostly to help me remember the material, sorry if it's boring, but this is my life now!)

We need to know what KPI's are (Key Performance Indicators: a performance measure used to evaluate how successful the ship is): IPP (Images Per Pax: image counts per person per day), PDR (Passenger Daily Rates: a dollar target each guest should be spending per day) & Sales Percentage: images taken vs. images sold. The highest profit service we sell are the photos (the "bread and butter"... 300%!), Cruise in Review DVDs are 40% profit, digital cameras are only 15% profit. We get team commission on all photos sold (and also accessories). Some items (frames, folios, DVDs, digital cameras) we get individual commission on. Images customer service policy is as follows:
Greet ALL guests within 30 seconds of entering the gallery
Recommend packages and daily specials to ALL guests
Entice ALL guests to purchase add-ons
Ask ALL guests whether they found everything they were looking for
Tell ALL guests about upcoming events & promotions
Pretty much, "every guest, every time" (a phrased that was used over and over again)

The events we shoot are: embarkation, captain's handshake, costumes, dining room tables, dining room couples, gangway (port days), portraits (formal, casual and "lifestyle" aka freestyle), group shots, events onboard and occasionally weddings. The gangway shooting is all about speed and being loud to attract the crowd into taking a picture on the dock. With thousands of people leaving at the same time, you need to get their attention and take the picture quickly so they can continue on their way. For this event we have 1 photographer and 1 'smudger' (someone who is dynamic & entertaining, and sometimes dressed in costume, who approaches the guests to have their photo taken). Portrait shooting is more relaxed. People will actually line up to get their picture taken with a backdrop, and are usually dressed up for the occasion. We take 3 poses of each couple/group and are in charge of posing them in a specific way (we practiced 10 classic poses). The set-up and take-down of the portrait studio is kind of a hassle, but it's getting easier. For portraits we us a Pentab computer to swipe the guests card to collect their information. For all other events we use face-recognition software to sort the photos. The dining room shooting is kind of awkward, because you have to approach tables of people eating and get them to pose for pictures (first the ladies individually, then couples/families, and on the last night only, the whole group, usually 6-8 people per table). One of the hardest things to keep in mind when shooting any event is that the final photo size will be a cropped version of the composition (8x10, 6x8). So if shooting portrait (vertical) the top and bottom get cropped, and landscape (horizontal) the sides will be cropped. To take a great image we must pay attention to the details (jewelry, clothing, hair, etc.) and make the guests feel comfortable and always come off sounding confident and acting professional.

We talked a lot about diversity and harassment, but that won't be covered on the test (but we will have to do more training in those areas once on the ship). I think I covered everything. I'm really tired now, so I'm going to bed.

Oh, just a few things I learned while here in Miami (that I wish I had known before!). As a new hire, we are not allowed to get off the ship at any American port for 90 days (that's almost half my contract!), but there are no ships that only do American ports, so we are able to leave the ship anywhere else (it's just a dumb American law). Also I will have to pay for my return flight home from wherever my ship's home port is! If it is a transatlantic itinerary then there is an option to be left off at the port closest to your home (NYC for me, Southampton for the Brits) and there is also some special cruise-crew flight offers from some places. I think that if my home port is far away (Europe or elsewhere) I will probably stay there and travel a bit, might as well!

Hotel pool

You have seen what the view from my room looks like, now for the nicer part of the hotel: the pool area. We spend a lot of our free time here. Click on the images for a larger version.

Destination Unknown

We haven't been told yet where we are going (I'll find out on Friday). But I've been doing some research because they will ask me where I would like to go tomorrow (we are having a one-on-one interviews). At first I was all "anything but Disney!", for many reasons: too family-oriented, lots of children, having to be annoyingly happy at all times even when not working, but also because I dislike Disney as a brand and company/corporation. But the more I talk to others who have worked on Disney ships, I'm starting to see the benefits of it.

1. More families & kids who actually want to have their photos taken... meaning they will be more willing to pose & most likely will buy more photos than a regular cruise
2. It's not kids everywhere all the time, they have a ton of activities to keep them occupied.
3. Part of my job on other cruises is to dress up in silly costumes and pose for pictures... Disney does this already so the photographers won't have to (score!)
4. The gangway shooting we practiced the other day does not apply to the Disney cruises, one less event for me to shoot! (you can imagine how difficult it would be trying to stop people to take a picture who have just been stuck on the ship and now they finally have the chance to visit a port)
5. They have some awesome itineraries & destinations, such as Europe, Alaska & Pacific Coast, Transatlantic, Caribbean, Mexico, Panama Canal and others (I would pretty much love to go any of those places!)
6. I won't technically be working for Disney directly, I work for Image, so I won't feel as bad taking money from the Mouse House



My next cruise line of choice would be Cunard, a British-based company that departs from Southampton. It's a high-end/luxury cruise that also has a lot of amazing destinations, including a 42-day world cruise!!! They also have a Scandinavia route that would be amazing to see. Also Eastern Mediterranean.



Norwegian has a 7-day Hawaii cruise that has the option to stay overnight on both Maui & Kauai, which would be a cool experience and give me a chance to get off the boat.

Celebrity has a lot of amazing destinations as well, like this Scandinavian/Russia cruise that departs from Amsterdam. But it's very unlikely I will go, because the earliest departure is in May :(



The more I think about working on a large ship, the more it scares me. My training manager currently works on the Oasis of the Seas (worlds largest cruise ship) and she said after 6 months she didn't even get to see everything on the ship! Larger ships mean more passengers (up to 6,000!) which would take more time to get them on and off the ship at each port. The busier the ship is, the harder I work. So I think I will be happy on a small-medium sized ship, at least for my first contract, until I get the hang of things.



It would be great if my ship changes itinerary midway through my contract, or I was transfered to another. That way I can see more places. I think that no matter where I end up, I will have the time of my life and make the most of it.

Hoomewood Suites - Airport West

This is the view from my window, lovely, isn't it?



That might help explain why I haven't been posting many photos. Also because I am busy with training all day. I will try and get some more, there is a nice pool area with a (small) basketball court. The food here is not that great (think Uni dining hall type stuff), where the lunch is made up from the left overs of the previous nights dinner. Breakfast is pretty safe though, lots of fruit & healthy options, along with the usual scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast, etc. It's nice that at dinner they have wine and 2 different beers on tap :) Last night we had a bit of a room party, and today we had an early start (8am) so everyone is a bit rough and sluggish haha. We had HR come in and talk to us about harassment and diversity in the work place, and also benefits like medical coverage. This afternoon we will be shooting studio portraits and practice posing.

Training: Day 3

Today was more exciting than yesterday (but still not that exciting in the grand scheme of things), so I feel that a play by play of what I did is not very interesting of a read. In short: we learned how to set up and take down a mobile studio (auto poles with clamps and expans that hold up the 12 foot long backdrop, and light boxes, cables, safety signs, etc. We took turns in pairs doing this (it looked harder when they were explaining it than it actually is, but still took about 15-20 minutes to set up). We also had a presentation about sales. Part of my job is working in the photo gallery, not only selling the photos to guests, but also frames, folios, digital cameras, disposable cameras, cases, chargers, batteries, memory cards, etc.). In pairs we had to present a scenario where we tried to sell a camera (plus add-ons) to a guest. We talked about which areas have the highest profit and most sales, and how me as photographers impact the sales before we even shoot a photo of a guest (being polite, friendly, enthusiastic, providing a positive experience, etc.).

We also talked about sales targets. For example, say there are 3000 guests on a 7 day cruise, if we take 1 picture of each guest each day that's 21,000 pictures. A target could be $2 from each guest each day (obviously nothing costs $2, it's an average of those who buy vs. those who buy nothing), which is $42,000 in sales in 7 days! For an event like shooting in the restaurant, in one sitting (there's usually 2 or more sittings) a group of photographers would be asked to take 3000 images (!!!!) and of those 3000 maybe only 25% will be sold. Obviously the more images you get (if the percentage stays the same) will result in an increase of revenue. Ah, math. not my best subject, but it all makes sense so far (still a bit shocked with the expected numbers of images they require from us)

They are throwing a lot of information at us in a small amount of time. I can't wait to get on the ship and actually start doing the things we are learning. It's one thing to pretend & create scenarios, but it is so unrealistic to the actual environment.

Training: Day 2

I just completed my second day of training. In the morning we talked about shooting the restaurant/formal nights, looked at a bunch of examples, and then practiced with the group. With 6 or 7 people around each table, we took turns being the photographer and photographing the 'guests' in singles (just the ladies), couples, families and a group shot of the whole table. We were shown how to approach, what to say, how to pose them, the composition and looking for small details (such as moving the plates and glasses aside so that they don't end up in the photo). After that we took a break for lunch and a bunch of people from Image head office here in Miami came to meet us. After lunch we had to do presentations in pairs where we introduced the other person. I volunteered first just to get it over with, because it was so nerve-wracking! I think I did well, but I kind of rushed and left a few things out, whereas my partner went into great details. We had to do these presentations in front of the VP, COO, Operational Manager, Recruiting Manager and our 2 training instructors!

After that was done we went outside to finish shooting/practicing the Gangway (when the guests get off the ship at a port, you take their picture in front of the ship (or in our case, a gate with a life preserver attached) that bares the name of the cruise ship. (I tried to find a photo as an example but couldn't find any! Use your imagination) You do this at every port, any time the guest disembark. imagine thousands of people leaving the ship at the same time and all coming at you. One person's job is to be loud and get people's attention to guide them to have their picture taken, and then one person's job is to take the pictures (and sometimes someone will dress up in a costume to pose with the guest, think pirate or a full body furry dolphin!). So we practiced doing this yesterday, but not everyone got a chance to do it, so we finished today. UGH! it took 2 hours today, and probably 2 hours yesterday. The rest of us acted like guests and posed for the pictures. I must have been photographed at least a hundred times, if not more! It's very exhausting smiling and posing hahah. We had to pretend we were couples, families and groups. Once we had our picture taken we moved to the back of the line and kept doing this for 2 hours!

Finally after that was done, we moved on to the mobile portrait studio. Learning all the equipment and how to set it all up (backdrops with autopoles, light stands, etc.) We are going to practice setting it up tomorrow and then do some shooting (which I hope goes quicker than it did today). We are also learning about the cameras we will be using (you would think they would show us that first!).

The weather has been warm and fantastic (maybe a bit too hot even? especially all that gangway shooting outside! the hotel is air conditioned). I haven't really been able to see much outside of the hotel, besides the gas station where I bought my calling card (& beer!) and the restaurant we all went to yesterday. But today we will venture out, I don't know where yet (probably the mall). I'll let you know how that goes later.

Edit (22:58): We waited for a taxi to come pick up all 16 of us, but only one van cab came. The rest of us waited nearly 40 minutes until we asked the airport shuttle guy (who was just sitting inside the lobby) to take us there for $20. He agreed. The funny thing is that there is a shuttle that goes to the mall, but it stops running at 5! By the time we got there we only had a little more than an hour to shop. We split into smaller groups and decided to meet when the mall closed. This mall is gigantic! It's called Dolphin Mall, and it's partially outside! i got a pair of light turquoise framed sunglasses & an anchor necklace (both from Forever 21). Not that I really need either things (I brought 2 pairs of sunglasses but I'm afraid I'll break them, and you really need sunglasses here all the time), but they were cheap.


I'll post some more pictures tomorrow. I haven't really taken that many, to be honest, because the area our hotel is in is not that nice (right next to the airport with planes flying right over it constantly) and also because all day (9am-6pm) I'm busy with training.