Mo

*I hope this post doesn’t make me sound like an emotional basket-case, but I am in tears as I write it so maybe I am.*

Let’s be honest: Last contract, at least the first four months, was not great for me. I won’t go into all the gory details, but there was more than one occasion when I called my parents or best friend in tears, wanting them to tell me it was okay to quit and come home (fortunately my parents are amazing and, after listening to me cry, always gave me a loving yet firm “put on a smile, fake it ‘til you make it, and tough this contract out” lecture). I like to call it my “growing contract.”

I believe firmly that the Lord never leaves us alone in tough situations. He is always near to comfort and strengthen, but he often places someone near us to hold us up, give perspective, or simply give a hug when needed. On the Rotterdam, that person was my roommate Simone. Mo once came into the room to find me sobbing on the floor and she took an hour out of her day to pull me (literally) up off the floor, hold me in her arms, listen to my dilemma, offer advice, listen to me talk through my options, then give me a pep talk and send me off to face what I had to do. It was the next best thing to having my mom (I don’t care how old you are, sometimes you just want your mom). Later that night she pulled me off my bed, sent me into the bathroom with a bottle of Visine and an outfit she had plucked from my closet, then dragged me down to the OB where she had already alerted our friend Claire to have a soda waiting. She never breached confidences, but she let a few people know what had happened so they could be there for me as well. That day, more than any other, stands out as a day that she was there when I couldn’t do it alone and I will always love her for it. Mo was not the only one whom I leaned on during that contract (special shout-out to Claire, Laura, Karyn, Paul, Glen, Ace, Anna, Andrew, and James), but as my roommate she was there day or night and I hope I was also there for her on her bad days.

I don’t want it to sound like every day was bad, because it wasn’t and we made a lot of fun memories. There were nights of room service and movies, evenings out in the Crow’s Nest or MIX with Claire or Glen, trips into port (Maui will always make me think of Mo and smile –I think it’s the only port where we went out together every time), thousands of jokes that no one else would find funny, and countless hours spent laughing until tears streamed down our faces. The combination of good and bad times helped us to form a unique bond. We were incredibly close and enjoyed spending time together, but neither of us was hurt when the other made plans with someone else. We were also brutally honest with each other, but it was always constructive and never offense. Even though we live an ocean apart, I hope we always remain dear friends.

Because I would visit Southampton on the Voyage of the Vikings, Mo planned to drive down from London to spend the day with me. A few weeks before my visit she was offered a last minute contract on the Eurodam. I was disappointed, so I was thrilled to receive an email from my Hotel Director informing the crew that we would be docked next to the Eurodam in Quebec City. I sent Mo an email and made plans to meet for lunch.

It was so great to see her. We ended up going to lunch with four guys we were friends with on the Rott who are all now on the Maasdam with me. We ate pizza while enjoying the gorgeous day and each others' company.  It had been almost six months since any of us had seen Simone, but it felt like we had never  left. That's one of the amazing things about ship friendships: It's so easy to pick up exactly where you left off.

With our friends Pieter, Jim, and Mac

Thanks for a great afternoon, Mo! I can't wait until the next time our paths cross!

The End of An Era

I have always gotten along with the other members of the Explorations Team (what you might call the cruise staff), but I have never worked with a team whom I felt close to as a team (though that’s not to say that I haven’t felt close to individuals on the team). We were always able to work together without any problems, but there has always been at least one person who does his own things socially and I would never say that we were all good friends. This contract, however, has been different; this contract I consider the team to be my closest friends.

Me, Rashida (Shore Excursion Staff), Jo, Krista, and Amber at the Officer's Ball

Krista, Jacob, Jo, Amber, Benji, and I have all become good friends over the past few months. We’re not cliquish or exclusive (I hope), but we have our inside jokes, we go ashore together, we eat dinner together, and we often spend our evenings together whether telling stories in the OB or watching videos in someone’s room.

Me, Amber, and Jo celebrating Jo's Birthday

This week marks the end of the era. One person leaves at the end of each cruise until I leave in November. Krista leaves tomorrow, Amber leaves next Saturday, Jacob leaves October 6, Benji leaves October 19 after a thirteen-day repositioning, and I leave in November after a 42-day cruise (Jo is here until at least January).I’ve been living in denial that Krista is actually leaving, but once she got her flights I had to accept it. I’m sure everyone who comes will be great and we may all be just as close, but it will still be different. We will have to have a different set of inside jokes, a different routine, and different things in common. In short, I look forward to meeting new people, but I am very sad to see everyone go.

Krista, Me, and Jo enjoying a night in the Crow's Nest

Here’s to the end of an era... Thanks for the fun memories, the many laughs, and two great months. Safe travels and I hope to work with each of you again!

At Dessert Extravaganza

You Might Work on a Cruise Ship If...

 Somebody asks what day it is and your reply is a city, not a day of the week.

You have a wallet full of bills and coins but not one of them is from your home country or the country in which you are.

You don’t know have any of your friends’ cell phone numbers.

You think clocking fifty hour constitutes an easy work week.

Weight and packability are among your requirements when shopping for clothes.

You have visited dozens of countries since renewing your passport but only have a handful of stamps, most of them from your home country.

You think a group with an average age of 58 is a “young crowd.”

It's funny because it's true. Feel free to leave a comment with your own scenarios.

St. John's, Newfoundland

Due to weather challenges, we skipped another port and docked in St. John’s the evening before our scheduled arrival. Jo got off early the next morning for a run and scouted out a route for her “Homes and Gardens” tour.

I followed Jo up the streets of St. John’s (I came back from the Voyage of the Viking with awesome calf muscles) and there was plenty to see. The houses were colorful to say the least. After walking for a while I spotted a cemetery and knew it was out destination.

We spent almost an hour exploring. Cemeteries are neither creepy nor morbid to me, but they have so many stories to tell. Unlike in Scandinavia, the majority of this cemetery’s occupants had lived short lives and many head stones told stories of how they had died. This cemetery was also interesting because some sections were divided by occupation. There were a few sections dedicated to priests, a section for the teachers of the city, a section of nuns, and several sections military. I think we could have spent much longer there. Although the cemetery was old and could have used a little TLC, it was beautiful. Another great adventure in another great port.

Akureyri, Iceland

One of the reasons Jo and I enjoy exploring ports together is we both enjoy going off the beaten tourist track and exploring other parts of the city; we call it Jo’s Homes and Gardens Tours. Jo is an avid knitter and crocheter and someone had told her that a grocery store about two miles from the port had a basement dedicated to yarn, so we left the ship and started to climb. Although it was all uphill, it was a nice climb and lived up to the title of “Homes and Gardens Tour;” we passed everything from beautiful historic homes to shabby apartment buildings.

The store had so much yarn in so many colors! Jo was like a kid in a candy store and her enthusiasm was contagious; I ended up with two skeins of wool so I could learn to knit. I’m not sure how much wool Jo ended up with but it was two bags full.

Akureyri was so steep that walking downhill was just as slow as walking up. We still had some time when we got back near the port, so we visited the local church and wandered through a few of the shops. I tried to get Jo to take a picture with a troll, but she refused. Too bad, it would have been a nice memory.

Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Seydisfjordur is a tiny, rustic town in Iceland; it is absolutely beautiful. Jo and I had planned on hiking some waterfalls, but that didn’t end up happening. Instead we walked through town (that didn’t take long) and along the river.

 We passed a cemetery, so on our way back we decided to spend a few minutes exploring; Jo shares my fascination. 

There isn’t a whole lot to say about Seydisfjordur, so I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

Tόrshavn, Faroe Islands

I only had a few minutes in Tόrshavn because I was on IPM so I had to be back on board before Krista finished work. It was okay, though, because the day we were there was a Danish holiday, so most places were closed. But, I did manage to get some pictures of this beautiful island.

Dublin

Although we did not arrive in Ireland until noon, I woke up early that morning like a child on Christmas. Through my grandmother was born in the United States, she was 100% Irish and spoke with an Irish brogue until the day she died, so I have always wanted to visited the land of her heritage.

My friend Jo and I hopped on the port shuttle bus and headed downtown. Just before the bus stop we saw this store. We just looked at each other and nodded, there was no question as to where we would stop first. We loaded up on chocolate (and Jo had what she described as the best mocha she has ever had) before we started to explore.

We wandered in and out of the shops along Durbin Street, Dublin’s main road. We found a shop that sold fascinators and spent a good ten minutes trying them on. I have an obsession fascinators and if I ever move to the British Isles I will wear one on a regular basis. We walked into a cheese shop because every adventure with Jo involves cheese, chocolate, or both. We found a street cart selling jewelry where I found a dainty shamrock charm for my bracelet.

At the end of Durbin Street we found a park, but the park was packed full with thousands of zombies. We weren’t real sure what we had gotten ourselves into the middle of, but we found out later that it was a parade to support cancer research. It made for an exciting end to the afternoon.

The next morning none of my friends wanted to get off, so I headed into the city on my own. I wanted to see St. Patrick’s cathedral, but it was closed for mass and it’s fenced off so it was difficult to get a great exterior shot for the front. A city park lines the back of the cathedral, so I got a few shots from there. From the cathedral I headed to Dublin castle, but on my way it started POURING down rain and as rain was not in the forecast I was not prepared. I walked past the castle and kept on walking until I got to the shuttle bus stop. I looked like I had jumped into a pool, but that’s okay.

When things cleared up a little later I was able to get a few nice shots from the sports deck. I definitely need to go back and spend a week or two to see everything I wanted to see.

Plymouth, England

In Plymouth I decided that I want to live on the English sea shore. I don’t really want to live at the beach, but the beach and the seashore are two very different things; the beach implies sand and surf and sun (all nice, but sand gets stuck in every crevice and they do not make an SPF high enough for my Swedish/Danish/Irish complexion) while the seashore implies a rocky shoreline and lighthouse and ships sailing gracefully past. I’ve added it to my bucket list.

Shortly after docking, my roommate Alyssa and I got off to explore. We had planned to walk downtown, but apparently Plymouth has two city centers; we headed towards the first one. It was a nice city, but similar to many places in America with chain stores and fast-food restaurants lining the streets.

When we found the city center it had been turned into an Olympic park of sorts. Olympic flags surrounded a seating area that faced a giant screen and official vendors lined the perimeter. JACKPOT! I love the Olympics and was sad to be missing them (even though we spent two days in England right in the middle of the games). My family began collecting Olympic pins for the Atlanta Olympics and continues when the games were in Salt Lake City, so I couldn’t resist adding a London pin to our collection. Time was limited because we docked late (we were actually there early but the ship using the pier before us was an hour late leaving), so I watched about twenty minutes of swimming before I had to head back. It may not have been the most exciting city on the itinerary, but I got to watch twenty minutes of the Olympics live and that was exciting to me!

Stonehenge

Several weeks before the Voyage of the Viking the Human Resources Officer posted signs advertising a crew tour to Stonehenge. Seeing Stonehenge was on my bucket list and my two friends, Kayleigh and Simone, whom I had hoped to see in Southampton each got contracts and ended up on ships so I was eager to sign up. Imagine my disappointment when I found out I was scheduled for IPM that day.

The great thing about my team is that we are all pretty flexible and willing to share IPM. Jo found out I wanted to go to Stonehenge and I found out that she had IPM on her birthday (the second day in Amsterdam) so we just traded. I was able to adjust my working hours with my manager and I took the last spot on the tour. The tour was incredible. Stonehenge was amazing and it is always fun to spend time with friends away from the ship.

With my friends Krista and Jenny

The monument itself is amazing, but the landscape is incredible. Stonehenge is surrounded by green and yellow fields and pastures as far as the eye can see. Although simple, it was breathtakingly beautiful. In a way it felt holy; I think it was a combination of the beauty and the fact that, although Stonehenge’s original purpose is unknown, it is believed to have been a religious monument. I noticed that many people spoke in whispers and although the place was packed it was not at all noisy. 

I spent the time with my friends Krista and Jacob and we enjoyed circling the monument and taking pictures; Jacob had just changed his facebook page to timeline so he was determined to take a picture he could use as his cover photo. It probably took us half an hour or more to complete the circle because it really does look completely different from various angles. Once we had viewed the entire thing we sat in the grass and enjoyed both the view and each other’s company. They are totally one of those couples who are easy to hang out with without feeling like a third wheel.

Before leaving we walked through the gift shop (every tourist attraction has to have a gift shop, I think it’s a law) and I was thrilled to find a charm for my bracelet. The charm kinda looks like pi, and I’ve had more than one person ask me if I like math because of it, but it was exactly what I was looking for.

The ride back was beautiful as we made our way through quaint villages and towns. It was a perfect way to spend my day in Southampton if I couldn’t spend it with Kayleigh or Simone.