Helsinki tour

Cruise #7
Day 6/12
Helsinki, Finland



Today was a very long day. It started at 9:30am (not so early actually, we're lucky to have late arrivals this cruise, compared to 7am last cruise). I was dressed as a dolphin for the gangway, while Becks was dressed as a moose (I know, strange combination, I'm not even sure there are dolphins in the Baltic). I was shooting inside the ship where the tour meet, rather than outside because everyone just leaves right away for the tour buses and never have time to stop for photos. After all the tours left I did go outside for a short time until the boat drill for the crew started (11am). I was originally excused from the boat drill (since I'm working) but at the last moment my manager told me I must go. I was a bit relieved to go actually, so I didn't have to do the gangway. But the drill was very boring, lots of standing around, about 45 minutes. Once the drill was finished I had to go straight to a meeting for all the revenue parters onboard (photo, casino, spa, gift shop, etc.). The purpose of the meeting was to introduce us to the new Europe season, and telling us we need to push harder because we have only reached target on one cruise so far this year. That lasted about 45 minutes as well. From there I went to have lunch cause I was so hungry (skipped breakfast to sleep a little bit longer) and I was about to go on a 4 hour tour leaving at 1:30 (and right when I get back I have to work 5:30-11pm!)

The nicest part about the Europe season is the tour escort program, where crew members can sign up to go on tours with the guests and then just fill out a short survey afterwards rating the tour. I decided the day before that I wanted to go, very last minute, but since my old roommate from the shore excursion staff was choosing the escorts, I was able to get a spot. The tour was called "A Glimpse of Old Town Porvoo", which is a town about 30 miles east of Helsinki. It's the second oldest town in Finland (established in 1346), very charming place with lots of quaint wooden houses and colourful storefronts along a river. It took us about an hour each way, and we had 2 hours to spend there (1 hour of free time, which I spent shopping, and 1 hour of guided tours plus coffee & cake at a cafe). The tour guide talked a whole lot about Finland (it's history, culture, language, etc.) the whole way there and back. I learned so much and had such a great time. I just wish I brought a pen and paper to write all the info down. Here's some things I remember:

- Finland has a population of just over 5 million (1/2 million in Helsinki)
- Helsinki is surrounded by the sea on 3 sides
- the country is called the "land of a thousand lakes" but there is actually more than 100,000 lakes!
- there's lots of trees, parks and green spaces (the motorway/highway reminded me a lot of northern Ontario)
- it used to be part of Sweden, and then part of Russia (I wasn't paying much attention to the history part, bunch of wars happened, etc.)
- Finnish is a very different language from Swedish (I thought they were similar)
- the language is closer to Estonian (which they understand a bit) and Hungarian (which they don't understand at all)
- it's very expensive to live in Helsinki, even an apartment in the suburbs costs around 150,000-200,000 Euros
- people mostly buy houses & apartments (renting is not very popular)
- most people have summer homes (very basic cottages)
- sauna is a Finnish word, and it's very common for people to use saunas (every summer home has one)
- they use the sauna, then shower or jump in the lake/sea, and then go back in the sauna, and back in water... more like a natural detox to keep you healthy
- most women work (since it's so expensive to live and the population is very small) but there is very good maternity leaves (up to 3 years off with 60% of your wages the first year and 30% wages the next 2 years (optional)
- the average (gross) monthly income is 3,000 Euros
- they pay a lot in income taxes (28%, including a state church tax)
- but have very good social services
- education is free, and elementary schools provide free (healthy) lunches
- there's more than 30 political parties, currently there is a coalition between 5 parties
- it's main industry is forestry, but technology is also big
- Nokia is a Finnish company
- there are lots of moose (and moose fences along the highway)
- the tour guide pointed out some "lost Canadian geese" in the park... but they didn't look very Canadian to me
- I saw a mama duck and 3 little ducklings crossing the street at an intersection (it was their right of way too!) so cute!

I know that's quite a random list of things, but it's all I can remember at the moment. I'm looking forward to going on more tours. It's a very good way to see the city, plus it's free! But I can only go on tours that start in the afternoon (because of gangway) and most tours leave first thing in the morning, so it really limits my choices. But next time I'll be sure to bring a pen and paper.



Tonight in the crew mess (dining area) they had a waffle station set up! It was so yummy... nice to have something special for a change. Especially since me and Becks were looking for waffles when we went out in Stockholm yesterday (no success). We didn't have much time in the city because it was formal night and between shooting gangway and setting up the studios we only had 2.5 hours (and the shuttle to the city took 30 min each way). I'm hoping they'll change that formal night to another day, because it's only 2 days after the first formal night. Also everyone coming back onboard from tours and sightseeing were probably too tired to get all dressed up, because our image counts were very low in the dining room and the studios (we even added a 6th studio, but I'm hoping they will cancel that one due to low numbers... one less studio to set up!)

There's a new performer who came onboard this cruise to fill in for Perry Grant (flamboyant cabaret singer/piano player/comedian) who left last cruise. He looks very familiar, and between us photographers we decided he must have been on some television show or something. Today I asked him and it turns out he was on this show "Beauty and the Geek" a reality type dating show that paired up beautiful women and geeky guys. Hah! I can't believe we all recognized him from that!

I just realized I haven't updated for a while. For the record, I didn't go out in Rostock (Germany) our first port of call, because the weather was not so nice (cold, rainy) and I was tired so I slept all day... it was nice. But I'll have to go out next time. Tomorrow we are in St.Petersburg (Russia) from 7am until 6pm the following day! Originally we had the whole day/evening off tomorrow, but the guy onboard in charge of the revenue partners (the one who had the meeting) is making us open from 7:30-11:15pm! Even though we are in port & probably no one will be onboard... we also aren't allowed to sell any retail (due to local laws, for reasons such as taxes & stuff ). the same thing happened in Germany (the ship didn't sail until midnight). But I'm hoping that if we aren't busy & don't make enough money to make it worth while staying open, then next cruise we won't have to open. It's unfair because the gift shops and casino are closed all day, so why not us???

Baltic Cruise! (& Paris)

Cruise #7
Day 1/12
Amsterdam!

I'm very happy to be in Europe, in our new home port in Amsterdam. The cruise terminal is really close to downtown, and it's so beautiful here. This morning I was shooting embarkation photos and also some sail away shots. It's really cold here, but being from Canada, I'm sure I'll get use to it. This group of people is much more diverse than the Caribbean & Transatlantic crowd. there are a few large groups (a group of 18 architecture students on a school trip, how cool!) and lots of Chinese and Japanese people traveling together it seems. There are also lots of Spanish people, and generally more Europeans than average. All of the prices for photos, photo packages, cameras and accessories have gone up, but I hope we can still make some good money this cruise, since last cruise was very, very slow.

Going back a few days ago to Paris, it was really nice to see the city, but I was only there for such a short time, such a tease! The ship docked at 7am, and we were aiming to take a 8am train, but the gangway was late and we had to walk far to the train station (neither of us had Euros to take a taxi or bus). By the time we made it there, we had just missed the train by 10 minutes!!! The next one didn't come until 10am! UGH! Nothing in Le Havre opened until 9am (except one cafe/bakery we found). But we had no Euros so we couldn't go there anyways. We went around to many banks, post office and hotels looking to exchange our money and no one could do it for us. We figured that in Paris there will be more places to change our money, so we just got on the train and went.

It was a 2 hour train ride, so we didn't arrive until just after noon. There was no where in the train station to change our money, so we went out to find somewhere. We ended up getting lost and getting directions from people was hard (only speaking French and my French is, let's just say 'ne bon pas' haha). I was determined not to let any of this bother me, and just let it be an adventure. We headed towards the Arc de Triomphe and Les Champs Elysees, figuring it's kind of touristy there and we'll find a place. Luckily we did (and the lady accidentally gave me 10 Euros more than she should have, score!). We took some photos and then got on the subway to the Eiffel Tower. We had no time to go up (plus there was long lines) so we just took some photos. By this time we had to make it back to the train station :( Not even time to take the subway, so we took a taxi (which ended up being 10 Euros exactly :) We ran from the taxi to the platform, and right as soon as we boarded the train, they blew the whistle and it left immediately. Couldn't have time it more perfectly. Another 2 hours back to the ship. I was so hungry (only had breakfast at 7am, no time to even eat in Paris, and there were so many nice bakeries!) but there were no places open in Le Havre to eat! So we just went back to the ship and ate there.

I wish I could have seen more of the city, but I enjoyed it while i was there. If only we had taken the early train, we would have had 2 more hours in Paris, and wouldn't have been so rushed. Oh well. I must go back again some time.

The day after Paris we went to Dover, England, famous for it's white cliffs and castle perched on the hill top. It was so lovely there. I had to work in the morning, but I was able to go out for a couple of hours. I had some really good fish and chips and took some nice photos of the castle and cliffs. The town was really small, so not much to do. It was also quite far from the terminal, so I had to rely on a (slow) shuttle service to take me there and back. I made it just in time to start my afternoon/evening shift in the gallery (we sailed at 3pm).

Our first port this cruise is Rostock, Germany (about 2 hours from Berlin) and we are docked from 9am until midnight. I hope the gallery won't be open that night, so I can have the evening off and hopefully have more time than I did in Paris. The next ports we visit are Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), St.Petersburg (Russia - an overnight stop, so for sure an evening off), Tallin (Estonia) and then finally Copenhagen (Denmark), before arriving back in Amsterdam. I'm really excited for Copenhagen because I'll be able to meet up with my cousin Katie :) and it just so happens that my other cousin Laura will be visiting her that week, so I'll be able to see both of them, such good timing! I'm really looking forward to seeing familiar faces and to have someone show me around the city.

I hope everyone is having a good May 24 weekend back home. I miss having holidays. I hope the weather is nice. I miss you all, and I'll be home soon, my sign off date is confirmed - August 2nd! just over 2 months away.

Onboard Internet

Cruise #6
Day 13/16
Cherbourg, France

I just found out yesterday why they raised the prices for the internet. Apparently too many crew members (and the Captain included!) were complaining about how slow the service is, so the tech guys decided that by raising the prices, less people would use the internet, therefor making it faster for the people who are willing to pay to use it. Sneaky! But I have noticed that it's a bit faster now. Luckily I bought a package the night before the prices went up, so I'm still getting the old (cheaper) rate of .08 cents/min (it's now gone up to .14 cents/min).

I also learned that the reason there are so many parties in the crew bar & staff bar (and not all ships have parties every night like we do) is because a lot of revenue for the ship comes from the crew/staff buying drinks and things. It's still really cheap ($1 for a beer $2 for mix drink.. and they make them strong!) but it adds up. Anyone and any department can host a party, and they usually have fun themes (last night there was a Rio Carnival party, the night before was a 'college' themed party with flip cup and beer pong, there's been "dress as something that starts with the letter K" birthday party for some girl named Kelly, a "night at the movies" where people dressed as their favourite character, the casino hosted an all white party with free rum punch, my manager hosts Indian night once a cruise, and there was a Manila jam night when the band from Philippines was on board).

Well, time to catch up on my sleep. My body is still adjusting to the time change (8am back home and 2pm here in France). I'm port manning today so I can't go out anyways, but I'm going to Paris tomorrow! It's 2 hour train ride each way, so I'll only have about 4ish hours there. Going to make the most of it.

Au Revoir!

May 16

Cruise #6
Day 10/16
Lisbon, Portugal

Yesterday was the worst days at sea I've experienced so far. The waves were so high, it was moving the ship around quite a lot. People were holding onto the walls as they walked through the halls, and some things fell off the shelves in my room! Luckily I didn't feel sick, just a bit uneasy. It kind of felt like I was on a carnival ride... I don't know how I managed to fall asleep at night.

The day before we were in Ponta Delgada (Azores/Portugal). I only had about 2 hours between the time I finished working and the time the ship sailed (at 2pm). Since I'm lab assistant this cruise, I'm not on the gangway, which is good because it was so cold out! Well, relatively cold, having just come from the Caribbean (it was 16 degrees but very windy). I'm also glad I wasn't out there because it was really slow, the other photographers only got about 100 pictures! So it made printing them pretty quick and easy.

Me & the other girls made the most of our time walking around the town and taking lots of pictures (I think I got nearly 150! it's so beautiful!) and bought a few souvenirs (postcards, magnets).

Today in Lisbon we did kind of the same thing, only we had more time. The ship didn't arrive until 11am, so the gangway finished around 2pm and the ship didn't sail until 8pm. We took a shuttle downtown and walked around, taking pictures, buying our souvenirs (feeling like a stereotypical tourist!). There was much more to see in Lisbon than in Ponta Delgada, probably because it's the capital of Portugal, and also the oldest capital city in Europe (so says the information sheet I'm reading from). Sailing into the port, the ship passed underneath the third largest suspension bridge in the world (the "25th April Bridge" -what a creative name- looks very similar to the bridge in San Francisco). I couldn't believe we would make it through. There is also a huge statue of 'Christ the King' on top of a big hill ("a monumental gift to the Portuguese people from Brazil"), I'll post some pictures when I find a reliable/fast connection (hopefully soon... I have so many pictures!!!).

Besides shopping and taking pictures, we also went to the Lisbon Cathedral, the oldest church in the city (originally built in the 12th century/re-built in 18th century). We also went to the Castle of St.George. It's high up on a hill. Once we finally got up there, we realized there was an entrance fee (7 euros) and a lot more walking to do, so we decided to just head back. There was some nice views of the city from on top the hill. On the way back we walked through 'Alfama', the oldest quarter in Lisbon ("a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys, considered by many to be one of the most colourful spots in the city and the popular site of Fado music").

It was a good day. I'm glad I was able to go out and see Lisbon, especially since it's our only stop there (starting next cruise we are in the Baltic). The next port is Cherbourg, France, and unfortunately I have port manning duties, so I can' go out :( but I'll be able to go out in Le Havre (the port for Paris, though it's 2 hour train ride away). We'll be docked for the whole day (11 hours) so I'll get to go to the city. I need to start planning now, and book my train ticket!

May 11

Cruise #6
Day 5/16
Middle of the Atlantic



Today is the 5th sea day in a row, and the gallery is extremely slow. It's so boring! We only have 1st formal night and embarkation photos to sell, and many people have bought them already or aren't interested at all. The gallery is open for 14 hours (9am-11pm) but today we didn't make our first sale until 11am. It's 5:20pm now and we've only had 6 sales (amounting to $130). I brought up my laptop so I'm writing this while working, heh. I've done a lot of sudoku and caught up on the photography magazines that I brought with me. I've also completed most of my photog 3 online courses, so I'm hoping to get a promotion soon. This cruise I am lab assistant, so I'll be spending more time in the lab this cruise.

Tomorrow will be my 3 month anniversary of joining the ship. I can't believe it's been 3 months already. But sometimes I feel like 'it's only been 3 months? feels like I've been here longer'. That means I'm halfway done my contract. It feels like just yesterday I was writing in the blog that in 3 months it'll be halfway, hah.

I've been given a sign-off date of August 26th, but I've requested to leave earlier (I'm hoping to leave August 2nd, the other date could be August 14th, which is closer to my 6 month mark). I'll find out soon, so that I can book my ticket home. I'm still hoping to find a way to stay in Amsterdam for a couple of days. Charlston says that he was able to stay in England for a week once when he finished his contract, so it is possible.

Goodbye Caribbean, Hello Europe!

Cruise #7
Day 2/16
At Sea (transatlantic crossing)

Well the Caribbean season is finally over. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, and I'm going to miss the nice weather and beaches... but I'm so excited to be heading to Europe. So far the cruise has been really slow. We have 7 days at sea until we reach Ponta Delgada (Azores). It's been really smooth sailing, luckily... I was expecting the worst conditions. I think we worst part is that almost every night we will be losing an hour as we are traveling through different time zones.

The last port in the Caribbean (Bonaire) I went out with my friend Charlston on a mission to see some flamingos in the wild. We rented an ATV for the day and drove all around the south part of the island, where the ATV rental guy said we would see lots of them. It was so nice to drive around on our own and see the beautiful landscapes, the turquoise waters, some of the best snorkeling and diving spots, the salt mines, and a ton of wild animals. But we only ended up seeing 2 flamingos!! And they were very far away. But I got a few nice shots and a video of them fighting each other with my new camera (it has a 10x optical zoom... although we just got a brand new camera onboard that has 21x optical zoom! :@ now I want it). Besides the flamingos, we saw a wild horse very close up (we pet it and took some photos but then I got scared it was going to attack us or something). We also saw lots of goats and donkeys and even some iguanas. I'll post some photos soon.

It was such a nice way to end the Caribbean season. I wish I had done more stuff like that early on. I got a really bad sunburn on my neck and outer thighs from riding on the ATV, haha.

My manager offered an incentive for us this past cruise. The photographer who has the highest sales in more than 2 categories (DVDs, folios, packages and cameras) will get to go on a 10 hour tour of Paris! This is the only cruise we are going to Paris (well, technically we're going to Le Havre, but it's 2.5 hours away from Paris, which makes the tour really only 5 hours in Paris and 5 hours in travel time). It ended up being a tie between me and Becks! We each got highest in 2 categories (DVDs and folios for me, packages and cameras for her), so we both got spots on the tour. I was so excited to go, until I found out today that I'll be working while on the tour, taking stock photos and also being in charge of a bus load of people and holding up a stupid paddle (as they say, 'lollipop') and making sure everyone makes it back ok. Me and Becks won't even be on the same coach bus, and I won't have any free time to do anything I'd like OR have anyone to talk to or to take my photo if I wanted to. So after much consideration, I decided to not go on the tour, and to just go on my own with Charlston (who's been there before). He says we can take a train which is faster than coach bus, and then we can spend our time doing whatever we like.

The internet prices went up this cruise (I guess cause we're in the middle of the ocean, but maybe the prices will stay up throughout the Europe cruises), so I might not update as often. Hopefully though, the wifi on land will be faster and much for reliable/available than in the Caribbean. This is the only cruise where we'll get to see Portugal (& Azores), France and England, so I want to make the most of it while we are here. Un/Fortunately I am going to be lab assistant this cruise (we each take turns doing more work in the lab and learning the technical side of the job). It's good in a sense that I won't have to shoot on the gangways (instead I'll be printing the gangway photos) which is a super bonus considering 4 of the 5 gangways start at 7am! (the other one starts at 11am). So I can go out in the mornings, but then I have to be back in time to print the photos. I'm mostly excited for the next set of cruises which is to the Baltic (Germany, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Denmark, Holland). It will hopefully bring us some more money as well. I'm even more excited to see Norway (the Fjords) and the Arctic Circle (where it will stay light outside all the time - doesn't bother us in our window-less cabins though)

Last Photos in the Caribbean

Having a drink in Barbados

Welcome to Barbados (my last time here & it rained all day :(

The girls having some drinks

Yummy drinks! I got the "forbidden pleasure" malibu, rum, banana liqueur, pineapple juice & coconut cream!

stray kitty! it was so tiny!

funny enough, this area smelt like pee

some photos I put up in my room

some of the things I got in the mail & stuff I bought myself :)

I smell like Teen Spirit (cute & girlie!) just had to buy it...

May 2

Cruise #6
Day 10/14
Oranjestad, Aruba

I can't believe it's May already! Boy time is flying by... almost half way done my contract now! I'm pretty sure I'll be ending my contract the first week in August (Aug. 2 most likely). But I just found out today that I' not allowed to stay in Netherlands for a few days like I was hoping to do. I must leave the country immediately after leaving the ship!!! What a shame.

In other disappointing news, me and some of the other girls really wanted to swim with dolphins while we are still in the Caribbean, but the only island that has such tour is Curacao (where we'll be tomorrow) and the tour is fully booked! Even the staff captain wants to go but can't. I should have booked it early on, but it's nearly $200 so we weren't sure if we wanted to spend that much. Oh well, I guess I'll have to do it another time.

Today we were going to go to the beach, but it's a public holiday here in Aruba, so the buses are running on a limited schedule and we didn't want to risk being late on the ship. So I'm just using wifi instead, and buying some last minute things. I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow, but hopefully it will be something fun. Bonaire will be our last stop in the Caribbean, and I want to see some flamingos! Gotomeer lake is known as a good spot, so I think I'll head over there.

Tonight I have the evening off in the gallery and I'm really looking forward to sleeping, catching up on my laundry and getting some packages/letters ready to mail in Bonaire. Haha, so boring! This cruise has not been so good for sales, and people are not stopping for photos on the gangway, which is very discouraging. Some people are just outright rude to us (yea I get it, we're annoying some times, but just trying to do our jobs!!) and other people just straight up ignore us like we're invisible!! How can you miss a giant dancing dolphin!? My manager has set up an incentive for us photographers: the person who has the most top sales out of 4 categories (DVDs, photo packages, folios, cameras) will get to go on a tour in Paris next cruise!!! Everyone is trying really hard, but I'm just having really bad luck. Most of the guests I help say they'll think about it and come back later, and then one of my co-workers makes the sale! It's happened many times, and really gets me down... but I try not to let it bother me. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal!

Life is good (most of the time)... cheers!

Easter Bunny Photos