Ship Life

Ahhh! It's been forever. Here's a short little post. 

Ship Terminology

Paisono: somebody who is from the same country as you Ex: I have no paisonos in the dining room

Banana: somebody who does not leave a tip Ex: “Can you believe those bananas? I gaot them 15 hot chocolates everyday and they didn’t pay me.”

Bubbaloo: a stupid person Ex: “He is the biggest bubbaloo on this ship. Why he be telling me what to do?”

Fix: stealing someone else’s equipment in the dining room. Ex: “Somebody fixed me. I had 12 water glasses last night and now I have 2.”

Ship Life: term used to describe the way of life on a ship, usually used to make an excuse. Ex: “I really need to stop going to the crew bar every night”

                        “That’s ship life. Gotta get through this contract somehow.”

“That girl is married with two kids and lives with her boyfriend on the   ship.”

                        “That’s ship life. It get’s lonely without having someone.”

Back Deck: the crew bar, located on the very back of the ship on Deck 3. Ex: “Are you going to back deck tonight?”

Mauritius Mafia: huge group of Mauritian paisonos, always found together

Typical Conversations

“Where are you from in the States?”

            “Illinois”

“Where’s that?”

            “Chicago”

“Oh Chicago! It’s cold there.”

“This guy was just so mean to me. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to take water from there.”

            “Don’t worry about it, he’s Jamaican.”

Jamaican: “Why you cjkasouhf asoujfls?”

Other Person: “Speak English.”

Welcome To The Jungle

So I've been working on a post with lots of pictures and explanation of the ship but it's taking forever since I don't have much time. So that will be coming soon. In the meantime, I'll tell you about my first night in the dining room. Yikes.

Today was kind of nutso to begin with. I got a call at 7:45 telling me that I needed to go to the back deck immediately for immigration. Since we are going back into the US all of the employees have to be processed again. It was really easy for me, but I was told that it was going to be at 9:30. So I wasn't happy. I stood in the line and thought it was really stupid because all they did was glance at my passport.

Another super fun thing that happened today is that I was switched cabins. I was told by my roommate and no one else. No one contacted me to give me a key, tell me what I had to do, who my roommate would be. I went to the crew office to figure out what was up, but of course they were all involved in the immigration stuff. Finally a guy stopped me in the hallway to tell me what I needed to do.

I guess it was a good thing that I woke up at 8:00, because I managed to move out of my cabin, move into a new one, do my laundry, and a crew drill all before 10:30. All things that needed to be done. I really wanted to call home, but my phone wasn't working :( That was really annoying because I'm finally in the US and I still can't call home. Just as my shift at The Windjammer started, but phone began to work. I managed to text my mom a few times, but after that it was go go goooo.

At 3:45 I had to assist with the guest muster drill that is done on every embarkation day. Then right after that they posted which stations we were going to be working in the dining room. I had 4 tables and it was supposed to be 12 guests, which is the lowest amount. You have to work your way up to the bigger sections. Turns out my station is more like 20. Only 16 showed up tonight but it was still crazy. I was worthless. Anything I ever knew about serving completely went out the window. I spent half of the night hunting down random things like tongs and teapots and neglecting my guests. I will most definitely do another post on a typical day working in the dining room. Right now, it seems impossible.

On the plus side, I have been meeting a lot of new people. Unfortunately, this means I have been spending a little too much time at the crew bar. There are parties every week. But the group of people I've been hanging out with are so fun. Because...they're theater people! I'm really glad they've embraced me into their group. It feels good to be with people who get my jokes. I'm really funny, you know.

Anyway, time for me to go to bed. I work at 7:30 am tomorrow, which means if I'm not too tired I will be able to get off the ship! Yay!!!

What Day Is It?

I’ve been so sleepy that I haven’t been writing. We’re on Day 4 of Sea Days. The first day was very rocky and I felt kind of sick. Until now it has been pretty calm, but today at lunch we suddenly got some pretty rough waters. So I’m lying in bed before dinner feeling the ship rocking and hoping I won’t fall while I’m working.

I’ve been very frustrated with the management the past few days. Everywhere I turn someone is telling me I need to do this and that and I’m doing this wrong. Well, I’m working on it, but at the moment my hands are full and this person just asked me for 10 lemonades. If I was one of the people standing around in the bus station all the time I would understand, but I don’t stop moving as long as there is something to be done. I’m not standing idly. It just doesn’t matter what I do. I could be standing in the bus station waiting to put all of my stuff down while other people are in my way and they will ask if I’m standing there for a meeting. Or the one time I stop to take a break, a supervisor is there.

Oh, and my shirts are too big. Well, I asked for a small when I ordered my uniforms and they gave me a medium. Didn’t have time to do anything about it at the time because I had to start my shift. By the time I got a chance to exchange it I was told that I only had 2 days to exchange it. If someone had told me that I would have worked a little harder to get there before then. So now I’m wearing shirts that are way too big and I haven’t had time to buy new ones because the store is only open from 11-2. That’s when I work…But I don’t Look The Part and that’s very important. Maybe you should give me some time to fix it then? Everywhere I go, you need a different shirt.

On top of that, we are preparing for USPH when we get to Ft. Lauderdale so we are doing a lot of deep cleaning. Working from 5-12:30 for dinner. Last night I was given the impossible task of cleaning out the closet where all of the cleaning supplies are. Where everyone dumps the dirty water. So naturally, my closet didn’t pass inspection when my supervisor came with his stupid flashlight because every time a wiped out the sink or the shelf someone else came and used it.

Other than the management issues, I’m enjoying life. After 90 days I can apply for a different position. I think I’m going to apply for bar server. I talked to Gary today and he said that I could apply but it was unlikely that I would switch during this contract. They will have me come back for another contract in that position. I think I would be better as a bar server, because I like to talk to the guests a lot and guests like to talk to me. Don’t get much of a chance for that in the dining room because it’s so fast paced. My plan was to switch to bar server after 90 days and if I decided to do another contract I would take some bartending classes during my vacation so I could apply for bartender.

Once we start the Caribbean itinerary there will be a lot more drinking so that’s where most of the money will be.

I REALLY, REALLY need to learn Spanish. Anyone wanna buy me Rosetta Stone for Christmas?

I'll have pictures up soon. 

At last! WiFI!

So my other posts shouldn't be as long now that I have figured out the wifi. Kind of. I was just told I have been on for 22003894 minutes for a total of $7921401.84. I don't think I've even been on the ship for that many minutes.

10/29/2011

Day 1 “You’re American?!?”

So today has been full of crazy ups and downs. Started out dowwwwwn. I stayed up late talking to my mama last night and my roommate went to bed and said she was going to set her alarm for 7:15. The shuttle came at 8:00 and I knew I would need more time than that so I set my alarm for 6:45. Well of course after staying up late and not being able to sleep, when my alarm went off at 6:45 I ignored it and decided to wake up at 7:15 with Maria. Well Maria felt the same way and turned of her alarm when it went off. So she shakes me awake at 7:45 telling me we only had 15 minutes to get ready. I pretty much had a heart attack. Those of you that know me know that I am a slob and an awful packer. It was going to take me a half hour just to get everything packed back up. Somehow we made it out of there on time but I had to have Maria pack some of my things in her suitcase. Haven’t seen her since I got on board. She also owes me quite a bit of money…so there’s that.

After that it was a lot of lines and paperwork. There were a ton of new hires so it was looong. And of course I hadn’t had any time for hair and make up, so I looked awful. I got in trouble for my hair later that day, but I’ll come back to that.

After all the paperwork I finally got to find my room and put my luggage down. Tiny, tiny room. My stuff is still everywhere. And my roommate happens to be a head waiter. She’s really nice but it’s really hard for me to feel comfortable around authority figures, so living with one is going to be hard. But don’t worry, I’m probably moving out in two weeks anyway. Which sucks because it seems stupid to get unpacked and comfortable but I can’t find anything with it in the suitcases and the suitcases take up half of the room. I will definitely take some pics of the room once I have time.

So we went on a tour of the ship a little bit later, which didn’t help me at all. I can’t find my way around. Fortunately, there are these little Indonesian men who have taken it upon themselves to help out the little American girl. So I follow them like a lost puppy.

I also met a girl from the US who said she would take me under their wing, so that’s comforting. That’s right, a one girl. Which leads me to the theme of the day.

“You’re American?! And you’re a waitress?!?!” All. Day. Long. I am one of a handful of people from America and the only person from the US that works in restaurants. The only one.

The American that I met earlier told me to take advantage of it because passengers are going to be surprised and want to get to know me and give me better tips. So I took their advice. It’s been pretty easy. I just speak and they realize that I don’t have an accent and it’s an instant conversation starter. So I already have a connection with at least three groups of people that I talked to while serving at the Windjammer, one of them being “Super Mario,” the king of Royal Caribbean. Apparently he’s been on more cruises on the Liberty than any of the captains/crew. Do an internet search, you might be able to find something about him.

I knew that I was going to be one of very few American’s, but I didn’t realize it was going to be this big of a deal. I mean, it’s unheard of for an American to be a waitress.

I feel like this is putting a lot of pressure on me, EVERYONE is watching me, I don’t know if their just curious or waiting for me to fail and prove that American’s can’t do the work. I’m kind of paranoid. About the failure stuff, not about everyone watching me. They really are.

So tonight I worked at the Windjammer, which is the buffet style restaurant here. I will be spending my first two weeks there. I was really nervous at first, but once I started interacting with the passengers it was fun.

It was the before and after that were really awful. It started off with my supervisor telling me that I needed to fix my hair, which was very true. But it was going to take more than just a quick look in the mirror and a barrette to fix this monster. I slept on my hair wet last night and JUST managed to have time to straighten my bangs. So, I understood why it needed fixed, but there was just nothing I could do about it, I explained it to him and then I kind of broke down and cried a little in the corner. He didn’t say anything else but I was self conscious about it the rest of the night.

The passengers came and everything was fine and then they left and it started to suck again. It’s 10:30 and I haven’t had dinner yet, the only thing they have in the crew mess that is edible is rice so my lunch wasn’t even that satisfying and since I’ve gotten to Barcelona there doesn’t seem to be enough water in the world to quench my thirst, I’ve spent that past week sleeping on airplanes and airports and hotel beds, so I’m sore and on top of that I’m doing more physical labor than I have done in a long time. My back was killing me and the work was never ending and I was hungry and thirsty and my supervisor was watching me like a hawk. Might be the paranoia thing, but I think he really is paying special attention to me. And think I would have been fine if I was actually working on something useful. No. He had me empty out this closet and wipe all of the shelves down. So I had another moment. Why am I doing this? I could be at home with my puppy and mommy and daddy and internet, but no, I am torturing myself doing work that apparently most American’s wouldn’t even consider doing.

So here I am now. I got some food in me so I feel better, but I’m still feeling overwhelmed. Everyone keeps telling me that the first few days are like that, so I’m going to stick it out. I am definitely going to stick it out. I WILL finish this contract and prove to them that I can do this job. I’m just going to have a few breakdowns along the way.

I have a phone card that the company gave me, but the phones aren’t working. So I can’t even call my mama. There will be more time to figure all of this stuff out. For now I will sleep and have a good cry.  Oh and I don’t have a blanket. My roommate was very kind and went to the laundry room to get me one but it’s still a little damp.  And the ship is rooooooccccckkkkkkkinggggg. But! Best thing that happens today is it is daylight savings time here and I get an extra hour! Yay! Good night!

10/30/2011

Day 2: I Hate Rolling Silver

So I don’t know what I would have done without that extra hour. I would be a zombie. I managed to get my room a little more organized this morning. While watching Scrubs. So that was nice. Every part of my body hurts. My hands even hurt from rolling silver. Today went pretty much the same as yesterday. Met some nice and helpful people, everyone is very interested in the American girl. Might get old after awhile.

I had training at 9:30. Polishing the Gold. The Gold Standards:

Greet and smile

Own the problem

Look the Part

Deliver the WOW

I love our Training and Development guy, Gary. He is Scottish and really enthusiastic. It’s very contagious and makes me excited to work here.

Then I went to The Windjammer for lunch until 4:00. I get an hour break and then back for dinner. Haven’t had time to eat today because I had to get my ID and the crew mess doesn’t open until 5 pm for dinner. I think I might lose some weight...

I really want to go sign up for internet and such, but I haven’t had time. All I can think about right now is resting my back. I have a lot of other things to figure out as well. Still haven’t called my mama. I really want to but I can’t get out of my bunk right now. I love you, Mama. Hopefully I will get to post this soon. I’m hoping to have enough energy tonight to get the internet situation squared away and go socialize at the crew bar, but we will see…

Day 3 Why Aren’t Puppies Allowed in My Cabin?

Pretty much going the same as yesterday. Still haven’t called home :( Still haven’t figured out the internet. I did go to the crew bar and I met a lot of people. I don’t remember half of them. Ay. Too many names and faces and the names are hard to pronounce. I can’t even remember my roommate’s name half of the time.

I talked to some guys from Turkey tonight. They were really nice, I just hung out in their cabin for awhile. They told me that all the guys from Turkey that are here are running away from the army. Apparently everyone is required to join the army for 15 months in Turkey, but if you work in America for 5 years you are exempt. At least that’s the way I understand it. I never knew about that.

Day 4 Don’t wear it out.

Finally called home and talked to my mama and sister on facebook, which was very nice. I had training this morning, but it got cancelled so I’ve had 3 hours to get things organized. Finally. I needed to get my pants shortened, my laundry taken to the laundry room, figure out my wifi (yay!) and iron some stuff (I knew I should have taken my mama on the ship). So everything is going better today. Between learning all of the job assignments plus how to get everything I need to live, I have been very stressed and homesick. Still missing home and worrying about the work, but at least everything else is mostly taken care of.

We have a whole day at sea today, and the ship is rocking. Starting to feel a little seasick. So it’s probably going to be a long one.

I’ve gone to the dining room the past two nights to get the feel of it. I’m really scared that I can’t handle the work. It’s very fast paced. People keep telling me that if I learn the basics, I should get promoted fast because I am American. It seems a little unfair, but I don’t think I could turn it down. It makes me uncomfortable that I could potentially be in charge of people who have been working on ships for 10 years. I would prefer to get promoted to a different department, but I think I will need to at least learn Spanish to do that. I plan on talking to the T&D manager to see what I have to do to get into a different department. I have to work for 60 days in my current position, and even after that it is unlikely that I will get promoted during this contract.

I didn’t realize until I got here that I really like working with people. All of my coworkers complain about the demanding people, but I like the challenge. The American passengers respond to me really well, but the European’s don’t appreciate it if I can’t speak their language, so they just don’t ask me for anything. Anyway, I think I might want to try to work in some sort of HR on the ship and when I leave the ship. So we’ll see.

It seems weird to complain about this, but, as I mentioned before, being American makes everybody interested in me. They all ask the same questions.  “Why are you here?” “America is good country.” They don’t understand that things are not always so easy in the US for jobs right now.

The phrase “That’s my name, don’t wear it out” has been taken on a whole new level here. People I don’t even remember pass me and say “Cassie.” So I don’t respond to my name anymore, except for with a smile.

I’m missing home and my puppy A LOT, but I’m trying to keep my head up and keep going. I feel like giving up sometimes, but  I have to remember that I’m just starting and it’s going to be a while before I understand everything. Mostly, I need to get my ear trained to understand these accents. I can’t understand Jamaicans AT ALL. People get frustrated with me when I have to have them repeat what they’re saying over and over. I guess I will just have to get used to it.

I hope this seasickness goes away soon. I keep singing “Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down you’re rocking the boat.” Those are the only words I know. Until next time…