Welcome Aboard

Yesterday was my first day ever living on a ship.  We landed in London around 8:30 am and drove down a couple hours to the Southampton docks.  You would have thought we were little school kids seeing that ship for the first time.  We have just been so anxious to explore and get to know our new home.  Between lugging 6 months worth of clothing and navigating a labrynth of hallways, we finally arrived at a corridor labeled, “Broadway.”  Ha ha!  Each area of the crew space is named after a different area of NYC and the entertainers are perfectly placed!

Right away we were swept away to begin safety training, get uniforms, and we even ran a boat drill with guests and everything since it was an embarkation day.  Each time a new cruise starts with new guests we have a boat drill.  My particular job is to check in the guests that will be in lifeboat 4.  There are up to 150 and I am partially in charge!  Can you believe it?  (Don’t worry- in an emergency I actually board lifeboat 5!  No Titanic nonsense for me!  Ha ha!)

We basically were going on 2 or 3 hours sleep (whatever we got on the plane) and had to continue going, going, and going.  We finished with costume fittings and then blocked one of our big shows onstage last night until 1:00 am.  It was a long day for sure and by the end of it we were hardly standing!  It was nice, though, to get back to my little cabin for a nice, rocking sleep on the water.

One thing I’ve already learned is how efficient everything MUST be on a ship like this.  Everything has its place and everyone has their job.  There are a lot of rules and things we have to follow.  We can only be in certain spaces wearing certain clothes at certain hours.  It seems daunting at first, but we have more privileges than most crew, so we are grateful.  All of our meals are provided in the Officer’s mess.  The food is good and we are actually able to eat at many guest areas as long as it is at the appropriate time and with the appropriate people! 

Finally- I had to do a tribute to my cabin.  This is my home for the next 6 months, so I wanted to do my best to make it work well.  Thanks to Laura, I had a good map to hang up and I brought some pictures to remind me of home.  I have a TV, bed and small desk.  Then there are a couple drawers and some shelves and my bathroom.  Basically the bathroom is about a 3 ft x 3 ft box with a sink, toilet, and shower all in one space.  It’s tiny, but it works.  My little home… who could ask for more?! 

Love you all bunches and I can’t wait to talk to you soon!  Try and catch me sometime online! 

Tripp