We're on day 4 of our 7-day trip across the Atlantic. If you've been watching the news, you may have heard about my friends Henry, Isabel, and Fabian. You know, the hurricanes. Don't worry, I have the utmost confidence in our captain, and you should, too. The ship's rocking like crazy, but it's fun. I'll phone when we get stateside.
Love, Genoa
Friday, September 10, 2010
9/4/03: On the Crown
Here's the group email you all have probably come to expect from me.
Well, I made it here to the Crown. I flew into Rome and stayed in one of the nicest hotels in Civitevecchia where I fell asleep listening to crashing waves and crickets. But not before exploring Rome with Bruno, a fellow NCL chap who was picked up at the airport at the same time. I love that city.
Apparently, the ship is still under Orient Lines, not Norwegian, so the youth program and Freestyle Cruising don't start until Sept. 15 when we get to Baltimore. The other two YCs are still on their other ships and will transfer in a couple of weeks. But after 8 weeks without working, I was ready to get back on a ship. Not that I have much to do. The Kids Korner hasn't even been built yet. Until we get to the States and begin our program, I'm preparing and checking out what supplies we have. So I have plenty of free time, which is great. I went on a city highlights tour of Barcelona today. The crew here is awesome, and there are enough familiar faces to feel at home. My roommate is a French shore excursions girl named Valerie, but she leaves in a few days and I'll have my own cabin for the week until her replacement comes in Baltimore.
I hope you're all doing great. Everything is fabulous here. I'll email more once we get across the ocean.
Love, Genoa
Spain
Well, I made it here to the Crown. I flew into Rome and stayed in one of the nicest hotels in Civitevecchia where I fell asleep listening to crashing waves and crickets. But not before exploring Rome with Bruno, a fellow NCL chap who was picked up at the airport at the same time. I love that city.
Apparently, the ship is still under Orient Lines, not Norwegian, so the youth program and Freestyle Cruising don't start until Sept. 15 when we get to Baltimore. The other two YCs are still on their other ships and will transfer in a couple of weeks. But after 8 weeks without working, I was ready to get back on a ship. Not that I have much to do. The Kids Korner hasn't even been built yet. Until we get to the States and begin our program, I'm preparing and checking out what supplies we have. So I have plenty of free time, which is great. I went on a city highlights tour of Barcelona today. The crew here is awesome, and there are enough familiar faces to feel at home. My roommate is a French shore excursions girl named Valerie, but she leaves in a few days and I'll have my own cabin for the week until her replacement comes in Baltimore.
I hope you're all doing great. Everything is fabulous here. I'll email more once we get across the ocean.
Love, Genoa
Spain
8/28/03: To the Crown!
Good afternoon,
I hope this email finds you all enjoying a splendid summer. I myself have reveled in the very summeryness of it. San Diego is truly America's Finest City. If you don't live here, and haven't been here lately, you absolutely must visit. I would offer to be a city guide and hostess, but I'm leaving again. This time for the Norwegian Crown Odyssey. If you want to see where I'll be, you can look it up on www.ncl.com and you can even check out the bow cam. It's been a long vacation for me, and I'm eager to get back to work. I miss those little monkeys! Have a fabulous end of summer, a lovely fall, and a joyful holiday season. I should be home again in January or February.
Hugs and kisses, Genoa
I hope this email finds you all enjoying a splendid summer. I myself have reveled in the very summeryness of it. San Diego is truly America's Finest City. If you don't live here, and haven't been here lately, you absolutely must visit. I would offer to be a city guide and hostess, but I'm leaving again. This time for the Norwegian Crown Odyssey. If you want to see where I'll be, you can look it up on www.ncl.com and you can even check out the bow cam. It's been a long vacation for me, and I'm eager to get back to work. I miss those little monkeys! Have a fabulous end of summer, a lovely fall, and a joyful holiday season. I should be home again in January or February.
Hugs and kisses, Genoa
7/5/03: Ship Life
Hello lovelies!
My contract on the Dream is drawing to a close. I go on vacation on the 9th. I've had the most amazing time here, and I was on the schedule to return, which would have been awesome. But the new schedule has me signing onto the Crown Odyssey on September 1st (Same as you Sarah, yippee!). I'm excited about the itinerary, and the new experiences, but I wasn't ready to go through the goodbye-for-good process again so soon. These goodbyes are getting rough! Una, I'm going to miss being your roommate so much. I'll be able to email more once I'm home. Hopefully I'll see some of you soon. In the meantime, San Diego calls. I can use some home-time.
Love, Genoa
Copenhagen, Denmark
My contract on the Dream is drawing to a close. I go on vacation on the 9th. I've had the most amazing time here, and I was on the schedule to return, which would have been awesome. But the new schedule has me signing onto the Crown Odyssey on September 1st (Same as you Sarah, yippee!). I'm excited about the itinerary, and the new experiences, but I wasn't ready to go through the goodbye-for-good process again so soon. These goodbyes are getting rough! Una, I'm going to miss being your roommate so much. I'll be able to email more once I'm home. Hopefully I'll see some of you soon. In the meantime, San Diego calls. I can use some home-time.
Love, Genoa
Copenhagen, Denmark
7/4/03: Home on Wednesday!
Hello all of you lovely monkeys,
I'm coming home on Wednesday, July 9. I've had the most amazing adventures, met the most lovely people, and saw the most beautiful places. I'll write more about that once I get home and settled. I've loved it here on the Dream, seeing the Mediterranean and the Baltic capitals, but my time is drawing to a close. The new schedule posted has me returning to the Crown Odyssey on September 1. She goes to the Med, New England and Canada, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, then South America. Wow, huh? Unfortunately, I may not be home for the winter holidays as I'd hoped, but I'm used to that. I'm joining the Crown in Rome, one of my favorite cities, so I'm thinking about flying out a week early to spend some time there. Anyone want to join me? I'd still be home for about 6 1/2 weeks. So I want to see all of you when I'm home! You remember my phone number, right? I know I'm not home much, but I miss you guys. I hope life is grand for all of you.
Love, Genoa
Sailing to Copenhagen
I'm coming home on Wednesday, July 9. I've had the most amazing adventures, met the most lovely people, and saw the most beautiful places. I'll write more about that once I get home and settled. I've loved it here on the Dream, seeing the Mediterranean and the Baltic capitals, but my time is drawing to a close. The new schedule posted has me returning to the Crown Odyssey on September 1. She goes to the Med, New England and Canada, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, then South America. Wow, huh? Unfortunately, I may not be home for the winter holidays as I'd hoped, but I'm used to that. I'm joining the Crown in Rome, one of my favorite cities, so I'm thinking about flying out a week early to spend some time there. Anyone want to join me? I'd still be home for about 6 1/2 weeks. So I want to see all of you when I'm home! You remember my phone number, right? I know I'm not home much, but I miss you guys. I hope life is grand for all of you.
Love, Genoa
Sailing to Copenhagen
5/25/03: Play Money and Disney's Inspiration
Greetings and salutations o loved ones,
I've recently been briefed on my financial status, so I'll be tightening my purse strings. One of the ways I'll be doing that is by not emailing as much. My apologies. Please excuse the group email forum as I reply to individuals. Hopefully, there will be enough of communal interest to make this worth reading for all.
I was told by other crew members that you get the best exchange rate in Europe by using ATMs and credit cards, versus exchanging money. So I get cute, colorful bills from the machine, and everyone has $1 and $2 coins, and lots of the coins have holes in them. It's like play money. The bad thing is that I don't pay attention to the exchange rates, so when I withdraw 2,000 Norwegian Kroners, I don't think about that being US$300. I'll have to pay attention now.
I went to Copenhagen's Tivoli Gradens with some people the other night. It's an amusement park that's 160 years old. It was Walt Disney's inspiration for, you guessed it, Sea World. Ha ha. It's beautiful and fun and they have a tower you ascend in a car. On the way up, you see a stunning view of the city, are held way up at the top for a few seconds, then are released to plummet all the way down. What a rush. I screamed.
Quick love life update: Jimmy was the long-distance boyfriend. He wasn't prepared for the challenges of a long-distance ship relationship, so we broke up. "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with." My friend Brian and I had been spending all of our time together anyway. When I broke up with Jimmy, it felt natural for Brian and me to start dating, so we did, for a whopping 12 days. He signed off on Thursday. "Alone again, naturally." I know this is the way of ship life. It's one of the few sacrifices I make for this wonderful lifestyle of mine.
The lead youth counselor Melanie signed off for vacation a few weeks ago. With a year and a half experience, I was the obvious choice to fill in. Mel emailed that she wants to spend the summer at home, so I'm staying the lead. I like the added responsibility and control of the program. It's fun being the boss. We have 12 kids this cruise. A 6-year old painted my finger nails the other day.
We got word yesterday that the SS Norway had an explosion in the bowels of the ship. Four engineers died. Eleven or 16 others, depending on the report you hear, were injured. I assume the ship will sit in Miami for awhile. A crew member was airlifted off my ship (the Norwegian Dream) yesterday with Meningitis. The person was raised on a stretcher up to a helicopter and taken to a medical center.
Thanks to everyone who's been emailing. Again, my apologies for having to cut down on my internet time.
It's time for our weekly boat drill.
Love, Genoa
St. Petersburg, Russia
I've recently been briefed on my financial status, so I'll be tightening my purse strings. One of the ways I'll be doing that is by not emailing as much. My apologies. Please excuse the group email forum as I reply to individuals. Hopefully, there will be enough of communal interest to make this worth reading for all.
I was told by other crew members that you get the best exchange rate in Europe by using ATMs and credit cards, versus exchanging money. So I get cute, colorful bills from the machine, and everyone has $1 and $2 coins, and lots of the coins have holes in them. It's like play money. The bad thing is that I don't pay attention to the exchange rates, so when I withdraw 2,000 Norwegian Kroners, I don't think about that being US$300. I'll have to pay attention now.
I went to Copenhagen's Tivoli Gradens with some people the other night. It's an amusement park that's 160 years old. It was Walt Disney's inspiration for, you guessed it, Sea World. Ha ha. It's beautiful and fun and they have a tower you ascend in a car. On the way up, you see a stunning view of the city, are held way up at the top for a few seconds, then are released to plummet all the way down. What a rush. I screamed.
Quick love life update: Jimmy was the long-distance boyfriend. He wasn't prepared for the challenges of a long-distance ship relationship, so we broke up. "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with." My friend Brian and I had been spending all of our time together anyway. When I broke up with Jimmy, it felt natural for Brian and me to start dating, so we did, for a whopping 12 days. He signed off on Thursday. "Alone again, naturally." I know this is the way of ship life. It's one of the few sacrifices I make for this wonderful lifestyle of mine.
The lead youth counselor Melanie signed off for vacation a few weeks ago. With a year and a half experience, I was the obvious choice to fill in. Mel emailed that she wants to spend the summer at home, so I'm staying the lead. I like the added responsibility and control of the program. It's fun being the boss. We have 12 kids this cruise. A 6-year old painted my finger nails the other day.
We got word yesterday that the SS Norway had an explosion in the bowels of the ship. Four engineers died. Eleven or 16 others, depending on the report you hear, were injured. I assume the ship will sit in Miami for awhile. A crew member was airlifted off my ship (the Norwegian Dream) yesterday with Meningitis. The person was raised on a stretcher up to a helicopter and taken to a medical center.
Thanks to everyone who's been emailing. Again, my apologies for having to cut down on my internet time.
It's time for our weekly boat drill.
Love, Genoa
St. Petersburg, Russia
5/17/03: That's the News to Me
A mini update:
I ate sushi in Stockholm, Sweden, today. A big group of us went to the Russian Ballet the other night; we saw Swan Lake in St. Petersburg. Some of us went to a coffee bar in Amsterdam, Holland, where people smoke marijuana right out in the open. You can buy magic mushrooms and other drugs at a store. My friend Abbey and I went to London last embarkation day. We took a bus, a train, and the London Underground to get there. We had a whopping one hour in the city before we had to head back to the ship, but seeing Piccadilly Circus was worth it. My vacation should be July 9-August 14th. If I play my cards right, I might be home for Christmas and my birthday...
Hugs and kisses,
Genoa
I ate sushi in Stockholm, Sweden, today. A big group of us went to the Russian Ballet the other night; we saw Swan Lake in St. Petersburg. Some of us went to a coffee bar in Amsterdam, Holland, where people smoke marijuana right out in the open. You can buy magic mushrooms and other drugs at a store. My friend Abbey and I went to London last embarkation day. We took a bus, a train, and the London Underground to get there. We had a whopping one hour in the city before we had to head back to the ship, but seeing Piccadilly Circus was worth it. My vacation should be July 9-August 14th. If I play my cards right, I might be home for Christmas and my birthday...
Hugs and kisses,
Genoa
5/5/03: Trying to Phone
Hey, monkeys,
With the time change being 9 hours ahead here, the only chance I can get to phone you when it's not 3am there is when I'm in port late with free time and an open phone that I can figure out how to use. I'll keep trying. In the meantime, everything here is going great. We're going to see the Hardanger Fjord today. If I don't get my extension, I should be home for Christmas. I love you guys and I miss you loads. I'll tell you more about my travels when I have more time to email, or on the phone.
Love, Genoa
At sea today
With the time change being 9 hours ahead here, the only chance I can get to phone you when it's not 3am there is when I'm in port late with free time and an open phone that I can figure out how to use. I'll keep trying. In the meantime, everything here is going great. We're going to see the Hardanger Fjord today. If I don't get my extension, I should be home for Christmas. I love you guys and I miss you loads. I'll tell you more about my travels when I have more time to email, or on the phone.
Love, Genoa
At sea today
4/28/03: New Places
Sorry for the group email, but I've been catching up on my emails and my fingers are getting tired.
Portuguese is way different from Spanish! I was so lost.
The other day the weather was too bad for us to go to Cadiz, Spain, so we had an overnight in Lisbon, Portugal, instead of just one day. A group of us went to a traditional restaurant and they came around with skewers of all types of meat, including chicken HEARTS and turkey wrapped in bacon. It was just like a Brazilian bbq place I've been to, even down to the disc that sits on your table--turned one way to say, "Keep bringing the food," and the other way to say, "I'm stuffed, stop coming 'round."
The Baltic Sea is still frozen, so we had to cancel St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tallin, Estonia, this cruise. Instead, we're going to Warnemunde, Germany; Amsterdam, Holland; cruising the Hardanger Fjord (Ha! Who names these things?!) and Bergen, Norway. We told the passengers before they got on the ship and they had the option to reschedule. Once on the ship, they could do nothing about it. You have to have a special visa to visit Russia unless you're on a ship's excursion or are a ship crew member. So lots of people wanted this cruise just for that port. Bummer.
Last cruise we had about 70 2-17 year olds on the ship for Spring Break. Twelve of the 2-12's came to program and a few teens dropped in and hung out. Those who came were lots of fun. Three kids lost teeth within 12 hours! Two of them were missing about 4 front teeth. Adorable. It was a great cruise, except for two horrible sisters, whose parents taught them everything they know. I'm so glad they're gone! This cruise, the prelim numbers had two 2-5's, one 6-12, and three teens. That's six kids, folks. On the whole ship. Eleven days. Melanie left for vacation so I'm the head honcho. My feelings about being lead have changed over my time with NCL. You don't get any more money, it's good for a resume, it's good to have more responsibility and be the firefighter, so to speak, it's more paperwork, on and on. But in preparing the schedules for the next couple of cruises, I got excited about implementing my ideas from other ships. I have a lot of experience, and I bring a lot to the table in that way. I'm looking forward to the experience, and I hope I'll be able to transition as easily back to regular YC.
Okay, if you're still reading, thank you. I know this one's long, but are you really surprised?
I miss your voices. I'll call when I can.
Love you, Genoa
Portuguese is way different from Spanish! I was so lost.
The other day the weather was too bad for us to go to Cadiz, Spain, so we had an overnight in Lisbon, Portugal, instead of just one day. A group of us went to a traditional restaurant and they came around with skewers of all types of meat, including chicken HEARTS and turkey wrapped in bacon. It was just like a Brazilian bbq place I've been to, even down to the disc that sits on your table--turned one way to say, "Keep bringing the food," and the other way to say, "I'm stuffed, stop coming 'round."
The Baltic Sea is still frozen, so we had to cancel St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tallin, Estonia, this cruise. Instead, we're going to Warnemunde, Germany; Amsterdam, Holland; cruising the Hardanger Fjord (Ha! Who names these things?!) and Bergen, Norway. We told the passengers before they got on the ship and they had the option to reschedule. Once on the ship, they could do nothing about it. You have to have a special visa to visit Russia unless you're on a ship's excursion or are a ship crew member. So lots of people wanted this cruise just for that port. Bummer.
Last cruise we had about 70 2-17 year olds on the ship for Spring Break. Twelve of the 2-12's came to program and a few teens dropped in and hung out. Those who came were lots of fun. Three kids lost teeth within 12 hours! Two of them were missing about 4 front teeth. Adorable. It was a great cruise, except for two horrible sisters, whose parents taught them everything they know. I'm so glad they're gone! This cruise, the prelim numbers had two 2-5's, one 6-12, and three teens. That's six kids, folks. On the whole ship. Eleven days. Melanie left for vacation so I'm the head honcho. My feelings about being lead have changed over my time with NCL. You don't get any more money, it's good for a resume, it's good to have more responsibility and be the firefighter, so to speak, it's more paperwork, on and on. But in preparing the schedules for the next couple of cruises, I got excited about implementing my ideas from other ships. I have a lot of experience, and I bring a lot to the table in that way. I'm looking forward to the experience, and I hope I'll be able to transition as easily back to regular YC.
Okay, if you're still reading, thank you. I know this one's long, but are you really surprised?
I miss your voices. I'll call when I can.
Love you, Genoa
4/18/03: Hi From GENOA!!
I finally made it! I'm in Genoa, Italy! It's beautiful. The architecture and history blow my mind. I love it. In the past few days, I've seen Rome, Barcelona, Cannes, Africa (10 miles away as we sailed through the Straight of Gibraltar), Pisa, the Azores, and of course, my lovely city. There's lots more to come as we travel out of the Mediterannean and up to Scandinavia. Pesto is a Genovese specialty and I've eaten it the two times the Dream has been here. Delicious. All is going fabulously. My best to you all.
Love, Genoa
Love, Genoa
4/6/03: Rockin' and a Rollin'
We're set to stop in the Azores tomorrow. Rumors fly that we might not make it. Last year the weather was too bad to dock and we coasted into the Med pretty much sailing on fumes and feeding the passengers canned food. The seas have been pretty rocky the whole trip. I haven't gotten seasick, but I've felt a little yucky when I haven't been able to eat first thing in the morning. Abbey, Melanie, and I have a rotation, so for the three sessions we have each sea day, only two of us are there at a time. There are only 5 kids who come, so we're overstaffed, and it's nice to have some time off. I'll say it again, Una is the best roommate ever. We get along really well. There was a crew party and we went to Le Bistro beforehand. Did I tell you this already? Our shower is so small that I have to squat down with my back against the wall so I don't hit my head on the on/off/temp nozzle trying to get my shampoo, etc. on the floor. And I lean against the wall for support because of the waves. It's like I'm constantly drunk (metaphorically); I have no equilibrium. To accommodate for traveling across several time zones, we're losing an hour's sleep almost every night. Because of daylight's savings, we were afforded a reprieve the night before last, and that's when we had the crew party. The food in the mess is pretty gross, but we eat with the kids in the sports bar or pizzeria and by the time we get to eat Italian, French, and Spanish food, it will be like the gods themselves have provided us with a feast. That's the news for now. I love you guys. I hope you're all doing really well. Happy belated birthday to Kelly. Ruff ruff.
Love, Genoa
Love, Genoa
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