My new ship!

So the first two days on a new ship are the hardest. First, you’re exhausted because of jet lag, so it makes your enthusiasm to meet new people go down. Second, for a musician it’s the busiest day of the cruise because we play 2 sets on the deck, one rehearsal, another set that night, and then play the show. On top of that, they get you on the ship at the crack of dawn to start training and getting used to the new ship. THEN on top of all that, our ship went into Code Red. This means that the GI virus they call Norwalk virus, has spread to a certain percentage of people on the ship. I was nervous at first, but it’s really not that big of a deal. The only bad part about it is every night we have to sanitizing our entire showroom (it’s a big showroom!).

Other than that, this ship is pretty cool. It’s much smaller than my first ship, but that means the staff is closer because there’s less of us. I would compare my last ship as being New York City, and my new ship being Eugene. One is huge and has tons of things going on, and the other one has a small-town feel. The big difference I notice here is that the guests are younger. Since it’s in the Caribbean, and it’s winter break, there are more families, more teenagers, and more people my age. I can’t really hang out with them, but it’s nice to see some people less than 50 years old for a change.

Our first port was Cozumel, and I laid on the beach at this bar that only crew members from ships can go to. There were crew from Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships there. I worked on my tan and grubbed on some awesome nachos. Then I played a set on the top deck while we sailed away. I wasn’t in the show that night, so it was a pretty easy work day. I’m also really lovin the weather- sunny and warm, no snow, and no temperature under 60!