Welcome Aboard

Today was quite the exciting day.  The bus from the hotel took drove me and 5 other crew members to the pier, where we had our paperwork checked and handed over our passports.  From that point it was probably about a 45-60 minute wait until we got on the ship.  Once onboard, went directly to the crew office and signed my employment and checked to make sure all the info they had on file for me was correct.

The dance captain from the main theatre met me at the crew office and took me to my crew cabin (my roommate’s name is Ryan… so I guess it shall now be known as the Ryans’ Cabin), followed by a brief tour highlighting a couple important areas of the ship such as my emergency station, staff mess (cafeteria), and staff bar.  Then I was introduced to my Head Stage Staff, George (who was only today promoted to Head Technical Stage Staff).  He showed me around the crew areas a bit more and then took me to my venue, Studio B.  Studio B is a multipurpose room featuring an ice rink which is used for 2 different ice shows as well as being available at certain times for Passengers to skate.  Since I work Studio B and not the main theatre, my schedule will probably be a bit more relaxed and I will also get to drive the Zamboni when we make ice (which seems to happen quite often, 3-4 times a day.  At Studio B I met the other 2 stage staff there: Leslie and Junior, and my Studio B supervisor: also Leslie.  I have met the entire technical team at this point including all from the Palace Theatre and from Studio B.  Everyone seems quite friendly and positive, so I think this is going to be a great experience.

I’m all unpacked now (I can’t believe I’m already done) and the cabin has a surprising amount of storage considering its size.  I’m on the top bunk, but it’s not as bad as I had expected it might be.

I think I’m going to go for a walk now.  I haven’t really been up to the passenger areas today, and since I am allowed to use them, I think I should.

Tomorrow I will have a 3 hour safety training session first thing in the morning.  I’m not looking for ward to it.  On the positive side though, I will get my crew ID card tomorrow which means I will be able to start charging drinks to my onboard account.  I think that will make up for the training.