Mom,
The girls I'm working with are fairly new to ships, but they're cool. The crossing of the Atlantic will be a challenge because we only have about 12 kids, age 2-17, and they may all want to be involved. What do a 2-year old and a 12-year old have in common? Abbey and Melanie are used to having only a couple of kids in program, whereas I love a group of at least 15 so we can play games and get loud. But I've always thought I'm resilient and adaptable. I'll be fine.
I'm rooming with Una again, as she asked the assistant cruise director (ACD) if he would put us together. So that's cool, but our room isn't as nice as our palace on the Norway. It's small and dimly lit, and the previous girl left stuff because she is returning in Spain (but to a different cabin). There are several familiar faces and the ship is just as I remember her sister, the Wind.
I love you around the world and back again, literally.
Your daughter, Genoa
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
3/22/03: My Next Adventure
As another vacation draws to a close, I find myself looking back and looking forward. I suppose I do this often. My life has so many small chapters lately.
I've had a wonderful vacation. My mom was on vacation, too, so we spent a lot of time together, including in Paris, London, Bath, Warwick, and Edinburgh. We had a blast, taking the tube (London Underground subway system) everywhere and exploring castles and lovely old architecture.
While I wasn't in Britain, I've spent the last five weeks taking a quick trip to Vegas, spending quality time with friends, having my wisdom teeth removed, and smushing my face in the soft fur of my cat and dog. I also did my fair share of laying on the couch, under an afghan, curled up next to my mom, watching movies. It's funny the things you miss when you're away.
I'm leaving on Wednesday to cruise as a passenger on the Norwegian Sea for 5 days in the Bahamas to see a friend. On March 31st, I'll walk off the Sea and onto the Dream. We'll set sail from Miami to Civitavecchia, Italy.
I'm expecting to be on the Dream until July 21st. The ship does two cruises in the Mediterranean and then heads up to Scandinavia (England, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). There aren't supposed to be very many children, and I will miss that part, but I'm sure there will be plenty of playtime anyway.
I hope you all have an awesome next four months. Remember to notice the beautiful parts of every day and reach out to each other with love. Everyone deserves to be loved. Please take care of each other and of yourselves.
Love, Genoa
I've had a wonderful vacation. My mom was on vacation, too, so we spent a lot of time together, including in Paris, London, Bath, Warwick, and Edinburgh. We had a blast, taking the tube (London Underground subway system) everywhere and exploring castles and lovely old architecture.
While I wasn't in Britain, I've spent the last five weeks taking a quick trip to Vegas, spending quality time with friends, having my wisdom teeth removed, and smushing my face in the soft fur of my cat and dog. I also did my fair share of laying on the couch, under an afghan, curled up next to my mom, watching movies. It's funny the things you miss when you're away.
I'm leaving on Wednesday to cruise as a passenger on the Norwegian Sea for 5 days in the Bahamas to see a friend. On March 31st, I'll walk off the Sea and onto the Dream. We'll set sail from Miami to Civitavecchia, Italy.
I'm expecting to be on the Dream until July 21st. The ship does two cruises in the Mediterranean and then heads up to Scandinavia (England, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). There aren't supposed to be very many children, and I will miss that part, but I'm sure there will be plenty of playtime anyway.
I hope you all have an awesome next four months. Remember to notice the beautiful parts of every day and reach out to each other with love. Everyone deserves to be loved. Please take care of each other and of yourselves.
Love, Genoa
1/30/03: Genoa's Dream
Hello all,
I finally get to go on the Dream! I'll join in Miami for the repo to Europe. I'm so excited! I can't wait. There are two cruises to Genoa, Italy! Will you still be there on March 31st, Matt? Is anyone else going to be there? Europe, here I come! Far away places that are more than 100 years old. Yippee!! I hope you're all doing fabulously. Big hugs and best wishes to you all.
Love always, Genoa
St. Thomas
I finally get to go on the Dream! I'll join in Miami for the repo to Europe. I'm so excited! I can't wait. There are two cruises to Genoa, Italy! Will you still be there on March 31st, Matt? Is anyone else going to be there? Europe, here I come! Far away places that are more than 100 years old. Yippee!! I hope you're all doing fabulously. Big hugs and best wishes to you all.
Love always, Genoa
St. Thomas
1/30/03: The World is Mine! :-)
Family and friends,
After nearly a year and a half, I'm finally going to cruise Europe! I've been begging to go on the Norwegian Dream, and I'M GOING!!! I go on vacation from the Norway on February 16 and I'll be roaming around for six weeks, so hopefully I can see everyone in America's Finest City. Then on March 31, I'll join to Dream in Miami. She will cruise across the Atlantic and hit Genoa, Italy, along with other amazing Mediterranean ports and over to Rome, or thereabouts. That's one cruise, then there's another one, Rome to London. From there, we'll be in Scandinavia--Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway--for the summer. Yippee!! I can't wait to see everything! Load me up with camera film. I'll finish my contract July 21st.
I hope you're all doing great, too. I miss you all.
LIVE LAUGH LOVE
Love always, Genoa
After nearly a year and a half, I'm finally going to cruise Europe! I've been begging to go on the Norwegian Dream, and I'M GOING!!! I go on vacation from the Norway on February 16 and I'll be roaming around for six weeks, so hopefully I can see everyone in America's Finest City. Then on March 31, I'll join to Dream in Miami. She will cruise across the Atlantic and hit Genoa, Italy, along with other amazing Mediterranean ports and over to Rome, or thereabouts. That's one cruise, then there's another one, Rome to London. From there, we'll be in Scandinavia--Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway--for the summer. Yippee!! I can't wait to see everything! Load me up with camera film. I'll finish my contract July 21st.
I hope you're all doing great, too. I miss you all.
LIVE LAUGH LOVE
Love always, Genoa
1/28/03: The Dream!!!
Mom,
I am on the schedule for the Dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes to Genoa, Italy, twice and other ports in the Med, then up to Scandinavia! I can't believe it! I don't know when I'm going except that it's in March, so we should do our trip to England/Scotland in early March, just to be safe. It's cheaper for NCL to fly me to Miami on the 31st, vs. S. America earlier, but I don't want to push it. Pass the word. Yippee!!!
Love, Genoa
I am on the schedule for the Dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes to Genoa, Italy, twice and other ports in the Med, then up to Scandinavia! I can't believe it! I don't know when I'm going except that it's in March, so we should do our trip to England/Scotland in early March, just to be safe. It's cheaper for NCL to fly me to Miami on the 31st, vs. S. America earlier, but I don't want to push it. Pass the word. Yippee!!!
Love, Genoa
1/9/03: The Legendary S/S Norway
The Legendary S/S Norway was described to me as an old lady. She was originally the S/S France, built around 1961 as an ocean liner. And (the description continues), like other old ladies (though certainly none I know), she needs a lot of makeup to look as good as these new ships. She's also called the Big Blue Canoe. Her lower half is painted royal blue. She's so long that the carpet is different colors to tell you if you're forward or aft. The forward half of the ship has blue carpet with blue criss-crosses, and the aft of the ship has red criss-crosses. The decks are referred to by their names, not by their numbers. This is quite confusing at first. I live on the 8th deck, which is the Viking deck. I remember this by saying, "I am a Viking." Below me is the Norway deck, and the Atlantic deck, and so on. On the other ships I've been on, there are 5 or 6 vertical fire zones. There's a fire team for each, and fire screen doors that can isolate a zone in case of a fire. The Legendary S/S Norway has EIGHT fire zones. Because the ship used to be an ocean liner, it's not perfectly equipped for the types of cruises we do now. Troll Land is the room we use for 6-12 year olds in low season, which just begun after the holidays. The murals on the wall are also 42 years old, and are estimated to cost $1.5 million. The room was originally the second class children's room. The Concierge's office, which is a nice size for him, was the first class children's room. Also beautifully painted, but way too small for kids to run around in. Poor rich kids. For the 2-5 year olds, we use a room called the Porthole. It used to be the dog kennel. It's long and narrow, and if you are predisposed to claustrophobia, don't stop by. Fortunately, there's an outside area (for the dogs to run in) which gives us more space for those little monkeys. In high season, we split off and use a conference room for the 10-12 year olds.
During my first week here, There was a power outtage. There were a few emergency lights, including low level lighting, which is a glow-in-the-dark striping along the bottom of all walls. I felt my way to my cabin, and left the door open to let in some light. It was neat, a little excitement for my day, but it caused us to be several hours late in leaving port. Due to that and poor weather conditions, we couldn't reach our private island that week.
My cabin is outside the disco. There's a door to the right of mine which leads to an anteroom with a door to the ladies room, then another door which opens to the disco. When the both of the doors get opened at night, as when someone leaves the disco, I can hear the music. It doesn't bother me, but I think that's why it's a crew cabin, in amongst passenger cabins. Last week I was working with teens, and two of them were in a cabin across from mine. Luckily they were cool and didn't play any pranks on me or Una. Una is my roommate. She's from Latvia and she's such a sweetheart. I thought I was lucky with my last roommate--I must be on a streak. Una's a sports afloat coordinator, so she does aerobics classes, yoga, fitness walks, etc. Our room is like a suite, especially in comparison to others I've seen on other ships. I'm on the top bunk, which is smaller than the bottom, but still roomy. Una's bunk, which I'll move down to in a few weeks when she signs off, is huge. We have a vanity and plenty of shelf space. I even got someone's old DVD player for free. There's a woman from Belgium here named Dagmar. Can you believe it? So cool. When I first got here, I thought the Norway was like a white elephant. You have to act so grateful if she's in your fleet, but she requires so much upkeep that she's a bit of a pain. Now that I'm in my fourth week here, I love her. I'm so glad my request to come here was granted. It's so neat wandering around, finding new places to explore. And now that I know my way from one place to another, I feel quite at home.
I hope you're doing marvelously. I wish you all the best for the new year. For those of you who sent cards or packages, my most heartfelt thanks. Everyone loves mail. Like I said before, I don't have as much time to email as before, so please don't send me forwards or large files. But please do drop me the occasional note to let me know you're still out there.
Love always, Genoa
Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did.
During my first week here, There was a power outtage. There were a few emergency lights, including low level lighting, which is a glow-in-the-dark striping along the bottom of all walls. I felt my way to my cabin, and left the door open to let in some light. It was neat, a little excitement for my day, but it caused us to be several hours late in leaving port. Due to that and poor weather conditions, we couldn't reach our private island that week.
My cabin is outside the disco. There's a door to the right of mine which leads to an anteroom with a door to the ladies room, then another door which opens to the disco. When the both of the doors get opened at night, as when someone leaves the disco, I can hear the music. It doesn't bother me, but I think that's why it's a crew cabin, in amongst passenger cabins. Last week I was working with teens, and two of them were in a cabin across from mine. Luckily they were cool and didn't play any pranks on me or Una. Una is my roommate. She's from Latvia and she's such a sweetheart. I thought I was lucky with my last roommate--I must be on a streak. Una's a sports afloat coordinator, so she does aerobics classes, yoga, fitness walks, etc. Our room is like a suite, especially in comparison to others I've seen on other ships. I'm on the top bunk, which is smaller than the bottom, but still roomy. Una's bunk, which I'll move down to in a few weeks when she signs off, is huge. We have a vanity and plenty of shelf space. I even got someone's old DVD player for free. There's a woman from Belgium here named Dagmar. Can you believe it? So cool. When I first got here, I thought the Norway was like a white elephant. You have to act so grateful if she's in your fleet, but she requires so much upkeep that she's a bit of a pain. Now that I'm in my fourth week here, I love her. I'm so glad my request to come here was granted. It's so neat wandering around, finding new places to explore. And now that I know my way from one place to another, I feel quite at home.
I hope you're doing marvelously. I wish you all the best for the new year. For those of you who sent cards or packages, my most heartfelt thanks. Everyone loves mail. Like I said before, I don't have as much time to email as before, so please don't send me forwards or large files. But please do drop me the occasional note to let me know you're still out there.
Love always, Genoa
Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did.
12/26/02: Another Group Email
Happy New Year! (It's too late to say Happy Hanukkah or Merry Christmas.) It's crazy busy on the LEGENDARY S/S Norway. Thankfully, the workload is balanced out by all the parties! Everything is awesome here. I'll write more another time, but the email rates just went up (it's 25 cents after 5pm on port days and only 10 cents before 5pm). I have scarce free time to email here, so please bear with me as I communicate less frequently. If I haven't been in contact with you much anyway, this shouldn't come as any big shock hee hee). I wish you all the best for the new year.
Love always, Genoa
Love always, Genoa
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