Sunday, July 7, 2013

The End of My Career on Ships

The past few months have brought a number of changes for me, the biggest being that I am no longer working on ships.

A little (OK a LOT) about how this unfolded...  a few weeks into January I was still on the Oasis of the Seas, browsing Facebook, and got a message from a fellow ship technician about a rumour he had heard from other techs.  We got into chatting and he mentioned that he had heard through a couple of people that Sound, Light, and Lounge Technicians would be losing the privilege of single-person cabins throughout Royal Caribbean's fleet.  I thought this couldn't be possible, surely such a change would cause a major uproar among techs.  Not having to share a cabin has always been a big draw and a retaining factor for technicians with Royal Caribbean.  Not all cruise lines offer this, but those which don't all pay a considerably higher monthly salary.  Technicians who choose to work with Royal Caribbean over other cruise lines have generally done so because of a few factors: working some of the best shows at sea, working with some of the best equipment available in the market, and also the single cabin has been a very big factor with almost every technician I have ever spoken with on the subject.

Now, like I said, this was a rumour.  I asked where he got the information from and he said that several technicians were talking about it at that moment.  Within fewer than 10 minutes, I also had 5 or 6 chat windows pop up on Facebook from other techs asking if I had heard about this.  So within minutes this went from one of those ridiculous-sounding rumours that couldn't possibly be true to something that could be all too real.  Within the next half hour I received confirmation of this rumour.  A fellow technician shared a leaked powerpoint presentation he had received through a friend of a friend which outlined a plan through which Royal Caribbean was to recoup some of their losses in having contractors, shore-based employees, and sometimes ship crewmembers taking up guest cabins for weeks at a time (for instance, while an incoming technician was in handover with an outgoing technician).  Instead they would free up crew cabins to become ECCs (extra crew cabins) and keep those individuals out of the guest cabins.  This would be achieved by converting some existing single crew cabins to shared (bunk) cabins, and on some ships also converting existing non-cabin spaces into a handful of new shared crew cabins. Additionally, hundreds of "Travelling positions" were cut so that there would not be so many people to fill these beds.  These are the folks throughout many departments who move from ship to ship to oversee operations and ensure the fleet is consistently maintaining the same standards.  While I will not share the actual yearly dollar figure that was mentioned within the presentation as the amount of loss caused by the occupation of these guest cabins by crew, I will say it would be a big number for most individuals, but it was peanuts for a company as large as Royal Caribbean.  And so there it was, plain as day, that this was no rumour, this was reality, and it was happening SOON.  March 2013 to be exact, was when this privilege loss would take effect on paper.  All of this coming from a casual "have you heard" rumour an hour prior, and none of it coming direct through the company itself, but through a leaked document.

This wasn't the only change to come.  Upon reading through the entire presentation, I learned that not only was this cabin privilege change affecting entertainment technicians, but most 2-stripe officers throughout the fleet.  This means folks throughout the Hotel and Marine departments, for example: Assistant Systems Managers (IT guys), Deputy Security Officers, Supervisors throughout F&B, and many others.  All 2-stripe positions were evaluated and only a select few were to keep the single-cabin privilege, and generally the deciding factor was how many crewmembers reported to each position.  Another factor was very specialized positions such as the Rigging Specialists, who were to keep their single cabin status (I would argue that while Rigging Specialists do hold the lives of performers in their hands while performing their job (and received specialized training as such), ALL entertainment technicians undergo specialized educations to get to their respective positions and to perform their job effectively and safely, and should be compensated respectively).  However, nearly all (if not all) of the 2-stripers who were able to retain their single cabin privilege got a nasty surprise a couple of months later: while they were going to still have single cabins, they were going to be downgraded from what in some cases were slightly larger, nicer single cabins with portholes, to the smallest inside single crew cabins (sometimes on the lowest decks below the waterline) that were generally even too small to be converted to shared cabins.  This last change also trickled up through the ranks to 2.5 stripers who are generally Managers, whom also experienced a bump down in their accommodations.  The only exception to this that I saw was for certain specialty performers, who did get shuffled around between cabins during the changes but generally did not experience a change in category of cabin. 

In the minutes that followed those conversations, a private Facebook group was created by fellow Royal Caribbean "Black Shirts" (ship slang for anyone in the Production team) and within 48 hours nearly 400 members had amassed to talk about this.  All of this from a rumour.  Still no word at that point from the company on any of these changes.  I should note that within the powerpoint I received was an official deadline by which time all affected positions were to have been notified off the changes to their employment contracts.  While the actual date escapes me, it had been at least 2 weeks PRIOR to the date that I found out about this, and still I only found out through a rumour.

So as the days went by, technicians continued to debate within our Facebook group about our options and there were several suggestions of ways we could communicate our displeasure to the company.  A few people mentioned some kind of job action, a few others got in touch with the higher-ups shoreside and received heartfelt but empty responses.  A large number of techs simply decided to vote with their feet and leave.  This lead me to seriously consider whether my then-current contract would be the final one (at least for the time being).  After a couple of days' deliberation I came to the conclusion that yes it was.  Luckily for me, there was work available at home, which would pay well, and would be a good transition away from ship life.   Many others were not so lucky.  Technicians from North America and the UK generally had an easier time finding work at home than those from other regions.  In general, there are two overall categories that ship technicians fall into:  those from countries where there is high demand for their work and decent pay offered in exchange for their expertise, and those from countries where related work can be harder to find and/or doesn't pay much.  Those in the former group usually seek ship contracts for the opportunity to travel, gain experience quickly, be a part of the "social experience" that is ship life, and sometimes save a little money on the side.  These techs generally take a massive cut in pay to work on ships but as there are hardly any living expenses onboard it is possible to save money and still have fun.  These techncians are the ones currently resigning in the highest numbers in search of something better at home.  The latter group of technicians tend to seek ship employment because the pay is substantially higher than what they could make at home (or there is no job availaility at home), and allows them to have a much nicer lifestyle at home than they would be able to otherwise; and these are the folks who generally are trying to stick it out onboard as they need to support their families back home.

Eventually various ships throughout the fleet started to schedule one-on-one meetings with the crewmembers to be affected by these changes.  Oasis (my ship) was one of the last ships to do this, far more than a month past the "official deadline" I mentioned earlier.  When we finally were asked to come in and sit down with the HR Manager and Cruise Director (our division head) it was little more than for show.   Everyone knew that everyone else knew what was happening.  We had heard from technicians on other ships what the procedure was.  Sit down with the HR manager, he/she presents an official memo from the company outlining all the changes to take place, why the need arose, and how we weren't going to receive any additional compensation or privilege(s) in exchange for this loss. Sign here.  The only thing that was different about each individual meeting was the date when the actual change would take place.  As I mentioned above, "on paper" it was March 2013, but this was a big project across the entire fleet that would take place a few ships at a time.  My contract was to end April 27 and I had no intention of going back to sharing a cabin the way I did when I was a Stage Staff.  I worked hard to get promoted to attain that extra privilege which came with being a technician (and not much extra money or anything else).  Since I didn't know what date the changes would start affecting us on Oasis, I entered the HR meeting with a signed letter of resignation in my pocket, only requiring me to "fill in the blank" with the appropriate end date, based on what date they conveyed to us for the changes onboard, which I would hand directly to the HR manager following the meeting.   In the end they ended up telling us that Oasis would be one of the last ships to go through the changes onboard and that the project was "to be completed by June 1, 2013".  I didn't end up using the letter (yet), and figured I would just stick it out to the end of my contract, and sign off "contract complete" (not scheduled to return to a ship).

In the end, I actually ended up resigning two weeks prior, on April 13th, due to a gut feeling that I wasn't going to be completely out of the woods staying until April 27.  In a way I was right, as they moved the affected 2-stripers out of their cabins during the week prior, however another technician still onboard who was due to sign off on April 27 was allowed to stay in his cabin until that date, so the same probably would have been true for me.  It cost me a couple weeks' pay and $300 for the flight home (resigning crewmembers pay their own way home) but I feel it was worth it to make sure I showed up as a "resignation" with a proper letter, forms filled out, etc. instead of just disappearing from the company as a "contract complete" with no trail at all of the reason behind it.

As of now, many Sound, Light, and Lounge Technicians have left Royal Caribbean.  I've read several reports that ships are sailing short-staffed and onboard techs are having to fill the gaps by doubling up on venues, etc.  I have done this a few times before and it sort of comes with the work, but it is re-assuring know that somebody is coming to fill that gap in a week or two so it isn't so bad.  The problem now is that so many technicians have left that the company hasn't been able to hire enough technicians to fill the gap.  So the techs onboard now, are having to double up on venues and workload, with no end in signt.  I'm sure this is only redoubling the number of technicians resigning so it will likely have a cumulative effect until an eventual breaking point.  Nobody knows what that will be but I feel like it must be coming soon.  As this starts to affect Production Managers due to being short staffed, I'm sure there will be a bit of an exodus among them as well, though possibly not of the same magnitude.  I know of a few who have left already or are thinking of going the Contract Complete route as well.

It's unfortunate that this came around as I really enjoyed my job on ships as did many other technicians, but without a change in salary this became too much to bear.  As I mentioned, Royal Caribbean currently pays technicians one of the lowest salaries of any cruise line.  This was previously outweighed by the nice privilege of having a single cabin, but without that it isn't worth it.  Royal Caribbean Entertainment Technicians have some of the most demaning workloads among all cruise lines.  The reason for this is that the ships tend to have more technology and bigger/better shows.  This leads to both more time working shows and more time repairing the equipment when it inevitably breaks.   So how much of a difference is it really between the various cruise lines?  While I won't mention the actual starting salary of a Royal Caribbean Sound or Light technician, I will say that almost every other line pays more as a starting monthly salary.  Some specific examples:

Carnival:                          $500 more, techs share cabins
Holland America Line:    $400 more, techs have single cabins
Princess:                          $900 more, techs share cabins
P&O:                         $1200 more, techs have single cabins
Cunard:                           pays even more than P&O, but I don't know the cabin status techs share cabins (thanks Marita!).

I know that unlike Royal Caribbean, technicians working for Princess, P&O, or Cunard generally don't have to perform repairs on their equipment, as this is handled by a separate department.  Also every one of these lines has shorter employment contracts than Royal Caribbean, either by weeks or even months, which leads to less overall stress.  So for any technicians looking for work on ships right now, might I suggest that you take a look at the above mentioned cruise lines for a better opportunity.  Hopefully at some point Royal Caribbean will up their game and offer decent compensation to their technicians for their hard work and expertise.  On the other hand if the shows are the most important thing to you, Royal Caribbean offers some of the only Broadway shows at sea, and the only Ice Shows and Aqua shows at sea as well.  So that is something to take into consideration if you really want to gain experience running some of the largest and most complex shows at sea.


So after two hours of writing this, I guess I'll get down to the whole point of this post: what I am doing now.   At the moment I am working two part-time/freelance jobs.  One is as a Lighting Technician with a local show/event production company in Toronto, the other as a Home Automation Installer / Programmer with a local Home Automation dealer.  Maybe some day I will find myself back on ships, but I doubt it.  After 3.5 cumulative years at sea, I think I've done enough and seen enough that I don't need to go back.  I can't wait for the opportunity to go back to being a passenger on cruise ships, which is what got me interested in working on ships in the first place.

I guess that is all for now.  I will probably post one or two more times to this blog some time in the future, after some more time has passed, just to provide an update on what I am up to.  I think my life on ships though, is finished.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Finishing up the Holiday season

Now that I am well settled into the Oasis I guess it’s time for a bit of an update.  Everything is going well so far and I am still really enjoying this ship; I’ve been asked if I would like to return here for my next contract and I said absolutely yes.  We truly have such a remarkable product here in terms of the ship itself and the shows we deliver, and it continues to be a thrill to deliver this product week after week to our guests.  Oasis of Dreams (the primary aqua show) is remarkable in just how many different elements it delivers within one show and it is great to see that we continue to have full audiences day after day.  One thing that is challenging about the aqua shows is the winter season.  The seas are rougher with higher winds which sometimes makes for some serious motion in the pool.  This is something everyone takes very seriously and the situation is evaluated thoroughly prior to any show taking place.  In particular, the divers are the most at risk as they are faced with a unique situation.  Rough seas make any show challenging for any performer.  In the theatre if a dancer jumps and the ship moves they might not land where or when they expected to.  The same goes for the ice skaters in the ice shows.  The main difference is that, for the dancers and ice skaters, the amount of room they have to perform doesn’t change with the movement of the ship.  The ice is still an inch and a half thick, the stage floor is still the same as it always was.  For the divers, the pool sloshing back and forth can lead to the depth at the sides (where the dives take place) varying by +/- 2-3 feet at a time.  Even not being a diver, it is understandable that when diving from a 10 metre platform, you would expect there to be the same amount of water to land in each time you dive.  While on land that is something easy to control, at sea it is a constant variable.  During Eastern Caribbean itineraries this is particularly challenging and during the past 4 Eastern Caribbean cruises we have had to postpone all 4 shows on days 2 and 3 to later in the voyage.  Luckily the guests who have talked to me about this were very understanding of the situation (if they were not I made sure to explain it to them so that they would be) so overall it doesn’t seem to have much of a negative effect on our guests’ vacation experience.

One of the downsides to being on such a large ship is the number of ports we can visit.  When the Oasis of the Seas was built, most of the ports she currently calls on had to be modified in some way in order to accommodate such a large ship.  The biggest problem is width as Oasis is not much deeper or longer than the next smaller class of ships, the Freedom class, which can visit so many more ports and also ports that require tendering.  So there is not a lot of variety here.  We call on the same 6 ports every two weeks (plus Fort Lauderdale) and at this point I usually can’t be bothered to get off the ship.  I guess it was a bit of a shock to go from a ship visiting places that I never really thought I’d get to in my lifetime and come back to a ship that does the same old routine constantly.  The ship itself is awesome, the shows are amazing, and the crew is great and well taken care of for the most part though; so overall it is a fair trade.  What will be really fun is when I have people come to visit me because then it will be worth it to go out in the ports.  My friend Rob is coming to visit me next month, he is another technical person like me (although not of the production/theatre type) and I’ll have a great time showing him the ship and all of the technology that goes into making our shows work (and I know he’ll enjoy the opportunity to see everything--and probably push some buttons too).  My mom and our wonderful friend Martine (who insisted she be mentioned) are coming to visit a few weeks after that as well, so there will be lots of ship tours going on and I’ll be getting plenty of exercise.   It really helps to break up these long contracts when friends and family come to visit.  Around mid-January I’ll be at roughly the halfway point in this contract and having a few visitors to look forward to after that is great.

Christmas and New Year’s celebrations were as big as ever on the ship with nearly record-breaking passenger numbers with over 6200 guests onboard last cruise (6400 is the absolute maximum possible occupancy, with every bed, bunk, and sofa bed filled).  It’s been a busy few weeks for sure, and I’m looking forward to having a few easier days coming up.  One unfortunate thing that happened over the holidays was that our Studio B light technician, Peter,  had a family emergency at home and he had to leave to go home and take care of his family.  As he is very new to Royal Caribbean (he had only just started his first contract) I was really hoping that this would not interfere with his hire status because he is a great light tech, a team player, and overall a real asset to the company.  Luckily it sounds like we were able to convey this information to the folks working shore-side and they have confirmed that his position will be waiting for him whenever he feels he is ready to return.   Of course this meant that we were and are short by one light tech at the moment but we have been able to work around that and it hasn’t been a real problem.  We worked out a way to split the Studio B duties between me and the theatre light tech, Jack.  I was happy to take on the extra work as I love working in Studio B and it was great to have an opportunity to do a few shows in there.  We now have a technician coming in temporarily for a month starting tomorrow to bring us back up to par on staff, and then my friend Tom, whom I first worked with on the Voyager of the Seas in 2010, will be the Studio B light technician until mid-April.  I’m really looking forward to working with him for a couple of months as we get along very well and also he played a big role in helping me to get promoted to Light Technician.

Frozen in Time, the ice show on the Oasis of the Seas, is a fantastic show, probably my favourite in the fleet so far and the Studio B facility on Oasis is very well-equipped.  It seems as though the designers took all the lessons they learned from the Voyager and Freedom class ships and very thoughtfully designed the space on Oasis to be more efficient, easier to work with and around, and more flexible than any of the previous versions.  The ice surface itself is a little bit bigger, and there are far more seats and the seats are better laid out to allow for improved viewing angles.  Additionally the retractable floor concept was completely reworked for the better, as well as the process for setting up the rink for guests to skate.  While I am no longer a stage staff, I can certainly appreciate how these improvements have made their lives easier on this ship.

So there is still plenty to look forward to this contract and then it looks like I can expect a late-April vacation, to return in June.  I can only imagine how hot it is going to be out here in the Caribbean at that time of year, but now that I’ve done Asia in the summer I’m fairly certain I can handle it.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Oasis of the Seas–Introduction to the Aqua Theater

Edit:  There we go, photos are working now!


20121007_145137
It has been almost two weeks since I signed onto Oasis of the Seas as the Aquatheater Light Technician. I have to say, I love this ship so far. I had heard from so many other technicians that this ship wasn’t so great to work on due to the massive number of small venues and a lot of maintenance to be done. However, in the last few months I was convinced by a few individuals that this was the ship for me and they were exactly right. I was lucky to just happen to be offered this particular ship as I did not have much of a choice except that I requested not to do a 4th contract on Voyager of the Seas out of sheer boredom of being on the same ship for nearly two years. Currently I am finishing up the last two days of a two-week handover period with the light technician I am replacing, Henrique. I worked with him when we were both stage staff on the Explorer of the Seas and it has been nice coming here to Oasis and seeing not only Henrique, but also many other production staff that I have worked with in my 3 years with Royal Caribbean. On Oasis, the production team is quite large and consists of 3 Stage & Production Managers, 3 Rigging Specialists, 3 Light Technicians, 3 Sound Technicians, 2 Lounge Technicians, and (I believe) 10 Technical Stage Staff. This would make a total of 25 members of the production team, up 10 from the 15 staff specified for Voyager-class ships. With so many productions staff on the team, it is inevitable that I will continue to see familiar faces from previous contracts.

Working as a Light Technician in the Aqua Theater
As I am getting settled into the Aquatheater environment, I am beginning to appreciate even more how unique this venue is to the Royal Caribbean fleet and how fortunate I am to have secured one of only two Aquatheater Light Technician positions in the entire fleet. Unlike most Light Technicians, I have the unique task of also being responsible for the operation and partially the maintenance of the fountain system built into the Aquatheater stage. This consists of approximately 190 individually-controlled nozzles, all accompanied by individual LED lights to highlight them. These are used not only in the production diving shows, but also in standalone fountain shows complete with synchronized music, lighting, and video to go along with them. The system was programmed from takeout with 26 individual fountain programs (22 in regular usage, and 4 more that are just for the holiday season). Among the regular lighting fixtures within the Aquatheater are the following:
· 2 High End Systems DL3s (basically LCD projectors that move)20121006_112637
· 2 Martin MAC III Profiles
· 2 Martin MAC 700 Profiles
· 2 Martin MAC 700 Washes
· Approximately 40 Philips ColorKinetics ColorReach (LED wash fixture)
· 9 Philips ColorKinetics ColorGraze (also LED)
· 18 Selecon spot conventionals, 10 of which are equipped with Wybron Coloram IT scrollers
· 2 ETC Source 4 EFS conventionals
20121006_112533The ColorKinetics fixtures above are all designed to be used outdoors and don’t require any special type of enclosure to do so. The two 700 Washes and all of the conventionals live in a special catwalk above the Aquatheater on deck 14 with windows to allow the light to reach the stage but otherwise they are protected from the elements. The remainder of the fixtures live adjacent to the rock climbing walls on either side of the theatre on deck 7 and are housed in Tempest enclosures. These allow the lighting fixtures to be mounted within transparent domes so that they are protected from the elements and also provide air filtering and heating (as if the latter will ever be needed on Oasis’ Caribbean cruises, but is nice to have) to keep the fixtures in a relatively normal operational environment. The domes are a bit of a pain to remove in order to access the light fixtures for maintenance and repairs but they do provide relatively good protection (the salty air from the sea still gets in) against the weather. The real pain here is getting to the domes as there isn’t really a pre-conceived access point for this purpose so the process involves climbing over the adjacent railing wearing a safety harness and is not easy at all. Luckily there are only 6 enclosures in total so even if it takes a while, this isn’t such a big deal.
In addition to the Aquatheater itself, I am also responsible for the maintenance of all show lighting on all open (outdoor) decks, and in Dazzles, our secondary lounge.

What I do During Each Cruise
The following are the events for which I am responsible for running lights every cruise:
· Oasis of Dreams aqua show (6x per cruise). This is the primary show in the Aqua Theater and consists of diving, synchronized swimming, flying, and acrobatics. It has a runtime of approximately 40 minutes and is the first ever diving show produced on a cruise ship. This is something that should not be missed by any guest on Oasis of the Seas.
· Splish Splash comedy dive show (2x per cruise). This is the secondary Aqua show which also features diving and synchronized swimming.
· 50s and 60s Rock ‘n Roll night in the Aqua Theater
· DreamWorks Sail away Party in the Aqua Theater
· 70s night on the Royal Promenade
· Rockin’ Rhythm Nation and Move It! Move It! parades on the Royal Promenade (operation alternates every other week with Studio B Light Technician)
· Fountain Shows in the Aqua Theater. These are split up between the Aqua Stage & Production Manager, Aqua Rigging Specialist, and me. As I mentioned above we have 26 pre-programmed fountain shows lasting between 2-7 minutes each. For the scheduled fountain shows, we attempt to combine a few of these into one session between 15-20 minutes in length. Generally the fountain shows tend to be unique because the three of us choose different combinations each time.
· Family Comedy Show in the Opal Theatre every Friday
Aside from that, the rest of my time is taken up with maintenance and repairs. At this point it seems that things are in good condition for the most part, but Oasis is just starting to reach that age where things begin to break. As that happens, it will be crucial to be on top of the repairs as this ship has a lot of technology (or in other words, things that can break) and the to-do list could become quite long very quickly.

Aqua Theater In-Depth (pun 100% intended)20121007_200323
So what actually is the Aqua Theater? This venue contains diving platforms, flying apparatus, and a trampoline all centred around a huge kidney-shaped pool. The pool contains 3 hydraulic stage lifts topped with perforated “Mondo” flooring to allow water to flow through the top stage surface of the lifts. What this means is that the whole pool can be turned into a solid stage surface in only seconds, without the force of the lifts causing any displacement of the water in the pool. There are two 3 metre motor-retractable springboards, two 10 metre platforms connected by a bridge across the pool from which diving is also possible, and two 17 metre dive towers on either side of the pool. There are also 3 motorized flying points over the pool and one transverse flying point that can travel from the port side rock climbing wall to the port side 10m divw platform. Additionally there is a motorized trampoline platform upstage of the pool that can be flipped over between the trampoline surface and a regular stage surface. While in a typical theatre setup on Royal Caribbean ships, the Stage & Production Manager calls the show and runs all the automation, in the Aqua Theater there are more safety aspects and this requires the SPM’s full attention. Therefore a rigging specialist runs the automation (stage lifts, springboards, and trampoline) leaving the SPM free to call the show and make sure everything is safe, especially for the divers. Another rigging specialist operates the Foy flying motors. Located across from the pool are 3 “traffic lights” that allow the SPM to indicate for the divers that it is safe to proceed. As the moving stage lifts obviously cause the depth of the pool to vary, being able to communicate to the divers that the lifts are fully retracted and there are no obstructions below is very important. The SPM pushes a button for each traffic light to turn it from red to green indicating that it is safe to proceed, however the automation system will not allow a green light unless the sensors in the lifts indicate that they are fully retracted to the bottom of the pool.

A Bit About the Opal Theater
This week I had the opportunity to see both of the full-scale production shows in the theatre, Hairspray and Come Fly with Me. Both of these shows were awesome and far from anything I’m used to seeing on ships. While the Aqua Theater is a revolutionary venue for cruise ship entertainment, the Opal Theatre shows a tremendous evolutionary step forward from the previous class of ships from Royal, the Freedom class. This is especially evident in Come Fly with Me. As the name implies, this is a show focused on flying, and there is certainly a lot of it. Throughout the show there are performers coming in from above, up from the orchestra pit, from the sides of the stage, and just about anywhere else you can imagine. This venue has one of the most sophisticated flying rigs I have ever seen, and that includes Cirque du Soleil performances and they are known for having a lot of flying in most of their shows. Without a doubt Come Fly with Me shows off every one of the “toys” in the Opal Theatre and is really a visually-immersive show. After having watched these two productions, even I have a lot of unanswered questions about how certain things were done and I really enjoyed that because I get tired of having “seen everything before”. I have no doubt that those questions will all be answered soon enough and then there won’t be anything to surprise me with until the “Project Sunshine” ships come out.

That’s about enough for one post I’d say,  I should be back in the next week or so with more.  See below for additional photos from my first two weeks.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A proper update is coming soon... I promise!

I'm just beginning my third week here on Oasis of the Seas in the Aqua Theater, the technician I am replacing has just left, and I am now properly responsible for this position.  I know it's been forever since I posted anything.  I promise, I am still around on this blog, and I am working on a very large post with lots of pictures and whatnot.  It is taking some time to put it all together but what can I say, Oasis is big and writing about her tends to turn into big paragraphs and lots of photos to take it all in.  All is well here and I will work on getting this darned post finished in the next two days...

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Next contract

Life continues to be a little bit all over the place here on the Voyager of the Seas.  With so many different itineraries, all of different lengths, some full charters, some half charters, and some regular cruises, it is very hard to keep track.  We have gone from the usual ship life of routine week after week to simply being ready for whatever comes next.  I don't try to keep track, I take it one cruise at a time and wait and see what happens.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been onboard this ship for her inaugural Asian season, and have been able to visit so many unique and interesting ports, unlike anywhere else I've been in my life.  Just yesterday I was in Okinawa and we visited Shuri castle, went to the duty free mall and found a tasty lunch at the food court, then went to a cafe for some coffee and to use the free wifi for a couple of hours, and finally ended the day with a quick dinner at a Japanese BBQ place where you cook the meat at your table.  As with most of the restaurants I have been to in Japan, the menu didn't have any English translations but did have pictures of most of the dishes which makes things a little easier.  I ended up ordering the pork belly and some cut of Kobe beef, which of course I then cooked to my liking on the grill at the table.  It was a great way to end the day and the Kobe beef was amazing.


Now, in other news I have been waiting on information concerning my next contract for a week or so as there have been some complications to sort out.  Those however are now in order and I have accepted a contract to join Oasis of the Seas as the Aquatheatre light technician on October 6.  Since this would mean a very short vacation for me with my original sign-off date (sometime in September), my vacation has been bumped up and I will be going home August 11, which will mean I actually have some time to enjoy summer at home, complete with BBQ and nice weather (hopefully).  Also it coincides well with my sister's university co-op work placement program as she will be leaving for Alberta for 6 months in October and it will be nice to be home together for the full length of my vacation.  Then we'll both take off in separate directions for 6 months and hopefully be back home around the same time.  It's nice when timing works out well like this.   Of course, it was a major surprise to be finding out I would be going home a month early but this is a very welcome surprise and I am looking forward to going home in only 24 days!

In the Aquatheatre on the Oasis of the Seas, I will be running lights for two shows: Oasis of Dreams, an evening show featuring diving, synchronized swimming, and acrobatics, and Splish Splash, a daytime comedy-diving show that features a completely different style of diving and synchronized swimming.  The control booth is located on deck 12 and looks out over the stern of the ship towards the ocean, providing what will certainly be the best view I have ever had while performing my job.  I am really looking forward to this opportunity as Oasis is the second-newest vessel in the fleet and offers so much technology that I am very excited to get my hands on.  In addition to the two aqua production shows, which are each offered multiple times per 1-week cruise, there are also fountain shows that feature the automated fountain system built into and around the diving pool.  This system also falls under the responsibility of the light technician in terms of day to day operation and I look forward to working with such different equipment from my usual routine so far on ships.

Well, I have a magic show rehearsal to prepare for so I'd better go do that.  More details about Oasis to come soon.


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Shanghai: it Begins.


The past 2-3 weeks we have been sailing out of Singapore, with calls in Port Kelang, Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, and Phuket, Thailand.  Singapore was an amazing experience and I definitely plan to go back some day and spend a decent amount of time there.  Everything is new, clean, and just done right in Singapore.  Plus the selection and quality of the food there is amazing.  I really only visited a handful of Singapore and quickly realized how I would easily be able to spend days.

While in Singapore I visited the Marina Square mall at the Esplanade, and it was a very nice mall with the kind of shops that I could actually afford to purchase things in.  We had some amazing Korean BBQ for lunch there, and the only way I could imagine that it gets better is to have it in Korea.  The next turnaround day myself and the theatre sound tech, Doug, went to explore the Marina Bay Sands complex, including the mall and hotel.  The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands is the name of the mall and they had mostly high end brands of everything.  Not a lot there that I would be interested in buying but just going and wandering around is quite an experience in itself.  Everything in that mall is just beautiful and new looking.  I can't even imagine the cost.  Just the fountains and lighting displays must have cost millions of dollars on their own.  Upon leaving the Marina Bay Sands hotel we ran into the ship's Schooner Bar entertainer, Matt Yee.  We ended up spending the rest of the day with Matt and his cousin (who lives nearby).  The highlight of this day was the Singapore Cable Car which we rode end to end, stopping for Starbucks in the middle.  Then we made a quick trip to Chinatown and headed back to the ship.

Unfortunately I never made it to Kuala Lumpur  in Malaysia as the schedule during the day just never allowed enough time to get out there.  Luckily, in Port Kelang there was a little food court outside the terminal with delicious Asian cuisine and free (very slow) wi-fi.  I got fried calamari, Chinese fried rice, and a huge mango smoothie for only about $12 US which was very reasonable considering the portion sizes.

In Phuket Doug and I headed out with Matt Yee for an awesome meal at Tunk-ka Cafe.  The restaurant is located at the top of a hill, has spectacular views and the food was incredible.  We all shared about 7 different Thai dishes including curries, noodles, and a whole fish with lemongrass sauce.  If you only have a few hours to spend in Phuket, I would highly recommend visiting this place.  The view and the food, coupled with very decent free wi-fi internet ended up being a very worthwhile way to spend the little time we had free that day. 

Along the way to Shanghai, we had an overnight in Hong Kong.  The port time was a little unusual as the ship was to spend the first day from 4pm til midnight tendering, and then move to a pier and open the gangways at 7am.  I only had the first day available as I was to be on duty the next day, so I headed out at around 8pm, and Doug intended to take the next tender and meet me at the terminal.  Unfortunately he got tied up doing something onboard and didn't end up making it ashore until much later.  So I headed off with some other coworkers who happened to come off another tender.  We ended up going to the Temple Street Night Market.  We took a taxi over, and what an amazing place that was.  Vendors selling all manner of different things but there was something for everyone.  There were numerous electronics stalls for me to look at, and I did end up buying a few items to bring back with me.  We also stopped for a quick meal at a local seafood restaurant which was very tasty and also very very cheap. 

Anyway, here we are now in Shanghai, China.  It has been a very long time coming to get from New Orleans to our main home port for the summer.  Today marks the end (mostly) of any English-speaking guests onboard.  Now that we are in China, 98% of our guests will be Chinese and speaking mostly Mandarin only.  In fact, most of our cruises here are resale charters sold through various travel companies around China, so on those cruises especially it is going to be Chinese guests only, with a handful of guests from nearby countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia.  It's going to be a more challenging environment for sure but I think we're up to the task.  The ship now has about 75% Mandarin-speaking staff onboard, and they are filling the majority of the front-of-house positions. The best strategy us non Mandarin-speaking staff really have is to just avoid guest areas when we don't need to be there.

It is definitely going to take some time to get used to the culture over here.  We've all been through cultural sensitivity training for our cruises in Asia but of course actually putting it into practice is something completely different and that is what we are getting to right now.  There are some things Westerners are just not accustomed to.  To give a simple example, last night during the welcome aboard show (which was actually one of our production shows, Music in Pictures), the audience talked quite loudly throughout the entire thing.  In western cultures that is quite unheard of and of course usually would be considered rude behaviour.  However in China it is quite commonplace and this is the sort of thing where we (as the outsiders) have to take a step back and go "OK, this is normal, just accept it and move on".  There was also a constant barrage of flash photography, another expected occurrence.  It was like there were more flash bulbs going off in the audience than I had lights onstage.

Thus begins my Asian experience on a ship.  Hopefully there will be a lot more news to come.  So far I have had some incredible experiences here and I'm looking forward to what's still to come.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Finally in Asia

OK, so a lot has happened in the past 6-7 weeeks. It's been way too long since I last posted anything. I don't even know where to begin really...

In the last 6 weeks, we have completed the 3 transition cruises from New Orleans to Singapore (New Orleans > Barcelona > Dubai > Singapore). During that time the Voyager of the Seas underwent some serious refurbishment in preparation for her new life in Asia. Here are just a few of the things that were done:
  • Massive casino refurbishment and change of layout. We now have a lot more game tables and a lot fewer (maybe half as many) slot machines.
  • Cigar bar was converted into a VIP Casino.
  • Carpet replacements all over the ship extending to public areas, guest cabins, crew cabins, and more. Not all of it was replaced but certainly a large amount was.
  • Lots of upholstery work all over the ship.
  • The previous Royal Caribbean logo shop has been converted into two new shops: a perfume shop and a Dreamworks/RCI logo shop.
  • The previous Perfume shop has been converted into a watch store.
  • All staterooms received new 22" LED TVs

The installation of the Dreamworks Experience program was completed, which includes: Dreamworks 3D movies in the theatre, a new Dreamworks parade that replaced Party Around the World parade, Dreamworks family photo opportunities, Dreamworks family breakfasts, and a few other things


The production show Music in Pictures (previously named Music in Motion) has had some big changes. Most of the original second half of the show has been re-worked or replaced. The new version has been very well-received so far. It now features Jai Ho as the finale Bollywood number, among several other changes. This change was scheduled during a cast install so we have now installed the cast for Music in Pictures and for Broadway Rhythm & Rhyme.

The transatlantic cruise from New Orleans to Barcelona was fairly uneventful. Very typical, and the sea conditions were very calm. I managed to get off the ship in a few of the ports, something very unusual for me. Usually on a transatlantic I am stuck onboard the full 14-16 days. Following the transatlantic my mom came on in Barcelona to cruise for two weeks which was nice. I was able to go out in Cairo, Egypt with her for a full-day excursion and spent time with her on the ship on all the other days. It was a busy time but manageable. She departed the ship in Dubai and thankfully I managed to get a few hours in Dubai myself. I went to the Dubai Mall with Doug, the theatre sound technician, and we did the At the Top experience at Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. I knew it would be busy there so I booked our tickets online the night before. Dubai is amazing and even though I only visited the mall and the tower, I still got a very good understanding of what the city is like. I will definitely try to come back sometime in the future and see more. Heck, I could even end up working there one day; I hear good lighting technicians are in high demand in that area.

Following that cruise we lost our Studio B light technician. A new one has not been able to be brought out to the ship until June 2nd (hopefully). As a result, I have been running lights in almost all venues onboard by myself. It's been a little stressful but I'm trying my best not to think too far ahead. Just thinking a few hours ahead about what I need to do next is helping to keep everything in perspective.

Of course, while I've been doing everything by myself that is normally done by 2 people, we have also been going ahead with cast install in the theatre, doing all the changes to the Music in Pictures production show, and installing the Dreamworks parade on the Royal Promenade. I'm definitely ready for a break now, so I'm really hoping our new tech will show up in 2 days as planned.

In addition to everything else going on, we are also installing a long term magic show onboard. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time because lighting magic shows tends to be a lot of fun but also a challenge. Unfortunately time has been rather tight for me so I've been having to program at night when time permits. His first show is tomorrow and I still have lots of work to do so I'm thinking tonight is going to be yet another late night for me.

We still have 2 more cruises out of Singapore and then we move on to Shanghai. I really want to be able to go out in Singapore but so far that hasn't been a possiblility with all that is going on. Unfortunately the job does come first so I haven't been out yet there; the view from the ship is incredible though. Hopefully I'll make it out there.

Following Singapore we head north to Shanghai and will be doing many cruises there all of different lengths. Many of them are resale charters and for those I don't really know what to expect, although I hear it will mostly be business as usual with few changes.

Anyway, time to get to work... Hopefully I'll have more updates soon.