Again it has been awhile since I have blogged. I think I will start where I left off and try to remember what all happened in New Zealand. It was a long 16 day cruise but it was a great experience from November 17 to Nov 30th. I saw so many dolphins swimming near the ship that cruise as we were sailing which was so amazing.
That cruise we had two sea days and then sailed through the Fiordlands. We didn't port at all that day, just sailed through the most beautiful lands ever. This area had mountains and cliffs on both sides of us and jungle all over. It was pouring rain that day which made waterfalls come crashing down everywhere from the tops of these Fiords. I also saw some penguins and seals swimming close to the ship.
The ports after the Fiordlands were Port Chalmers, Lytlelton, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland and Bay of Islands. But I think it was Tauranga that we skipped because of the weather and got to have an overnight in Auckland which was crazy fun.
Im pretty bad with remembering which port it was but one of these days I got off the ship and hiked up a mountain. I power walked up it by myself for about two hours and was pretty much to the top of it. It was so fun and I need that time alone. While walking up this dirt road, near the top there was cattle all over which was so cool to see. At one time, I came across a few cows that had calfs in the middle of the dirt road. I figured if I don’t bother them they wont bother me and so I walk pretty close to them and then the mom snorted and got upset with me. She kind of came at me for a bit as I backed away slowly and then she just stood there. We stood there looking at each other and then finally she and her little one as well as other then started walking down the mountain from the path. That really kept me on my toes. That was a little scary. I figured I could have just yelled and went YAAAh YAAAH and scare here away but I didn't. Ha! As I was walking up I took so many pictures. Right as I was getting higher up the mountain my camera dies. I eventually walked around this bend and saw the most beautiful view of the city we ported at, the ship way far away and mountains all around. I tried to see if I could just get one picture really fast and sure enough I was able to get one. I hate it when I don't charge my batteries. The walk down was harder than the walk up because there was more pressure on my shins on the way down. I was a bit sore the next few days. What a great day!!
Wellington was so cool. Sophie, Jenni, some of the security on board and I went walking around the city and got some drinks and food. Then we split up and Sophie, Jenni and I went to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. This Museum was so cool and big. We went on two of these rides that have a screen in front of you and your seats move around to make you feel like you are actually there.. I forgot what those are called but it was cool. This day was rainy and windy but still was better then being on the ship. After the museum Sophie had to go back for duties and Jenni and I went on the cable cars and then got some drinks. It was a nice day in Wellington.
The best Port was Auckland! We were suppose to go to Tauranga but went straight to Auckland and had an overnight there. I completely lucked out. I was suppose to have IPM that day but found a swap earlier in the cruise which allowed me to get of the ship. After my gigs a bunch of us met in the crew bar and left the ship at about midnight. There was probably 25 of us ready to tare up the city and go clubbing. The first bar we all went into had a band playing. Everyone was dancing and kicking it. Then we went next door where there was a DJ and hung out there for a while. We later went to I think the waterfront bar (not sure if that is right), and danced it up a bit. From there everyone kind of went there own ways and Sophie and I adventured around some yachts. Crazy night! All of a sudden it was light out and we did not get back to the ship till around 7am. We made it before the ship was about to re-dock. A few of us wanted to do some bridge bungee jumping that next day but that did not happen. Sean, Jenni, Sophie and I had a goofy day laughing so much. We hung out with this man painted gold, being a statue and we gave him lots of money. Such a great day!
New Zealand was just amazing! I am going back there in the end of January and hopefully I will wright more while im there so I don't forget so much. Another reason why I was not blogging is because I was working on campaigning for the Crew Club President position on board. The whole next crew was pretty crazy with all of that.
The cruise after New Zealand which went from Nov 30 to Dec 10th was a normal cruise that we always do. Our ports were Isle of Pines, Lifou, Port Vila, Mystery Island and Noumea. This was a hard crews for me because my best friends on board were leaving after it. I hung out with the singer dancers most of the time on board and on land, and we did so many fun things together. Im missing them all very much. Especially Sophie, whom i've been dating now for about three months. Knowing she was leaving and going back to england was very hard for me. I miss her very much! This was the first time that I learned in a hard way about “ship life”. That disembark day was tough.
The next cruise I felt overwhelmed because I had so many more responsibilities. I got elected as CCP of the pacific jewel which is an extra paid gig. I have to organize events, manage the crew shop, manage the crew bar and do lots of ordering, budgeting and other little things. I am happy to have a vice president that helps me with all of this and we are getting things down. At first I hated it! I did not have a clue what was going on and I was getting paged all the time which upset me. I was never use to being busy being and musician on board. But now that I have a good hand on this president position, I think it will be ok and I feel we are doing good for all the crew.
In sydney I walked into a Dick Smith store with 5k and bought over 40 sweet raffle prizes for the crew. We are going to do a free raffle with all 725 crew members in it, giving everyone a fare chance to maybe win something big. On Christmas we are having a crew BBQ from 8-11pm and then Bingo and free raffle in the Marque at midnight, then disco after. Some of the main big prizes are Mac book pro, 2 wii gaming systems, cameras, Ipod touches, mp3 players and many more. I bought a few funny prizes like a barbie clock, some games and two sweet radio controlled Helicopters. I thought the helicopters were cool. I will be hosting the bingo giving away $2,000 grand prize, $1,000, $500 and two $250 games. It will be a good fun day for all the crew. I am missing home sometimes now or miss the idea of “normal life”. Ship life has big highs and big lows and can get tough sometimes. But we all are a family here and that is nice. To all of you back at home or where ever, I miss you all. I hope to keep my blog more up to date. It is now Dec 20th at 1am. Goodnight and if I don't write before the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Merry Christmas everyone! <3
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