I'm in the final days of my contract here on the Explorer. Of course, they couldn't let me leave without throwing a couple of hurdles in the way. One of those was expected: we were due for an ice cast install. I have known that for a while so I was prepared. It means a lot more ice makes and generally more work for every stage staff. The other problem is that last cruise, one of the stage staff had to take an early vacation due to a visa mix-up. It's very unfortunate because I know he was really enjoying working on Explorer and it must not be a very nice feeling to get news mid-cruise that you are leaving at the end of the cruise. Because it was such short notice, there was no time to arrange for a replacement stage staff to join the ship for this cruise and the start of the ice cast install. The result is that we have only 6 stage staff during one of the busiest times of the year. The good news for me is at the end of the install, when I'm exhausted and wanting to leave, I'LL ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO. :)
The process of the ice cast install is quite different from that of the production cast (singers and dancers). The production cast has about 2 months worth of rehearsals with the choreographers and directors at the RCI productions facility before they even get to their ship. After that, they travel to the ship with the production team (choreographers, directors, and the like). Then once they get onboard it's all about getting used to the space, motion, and the sets and equipment, but they already know the shows. In contrast, the ice cast will meet with the choreographer for the first time on the ship. If they have not been in the particular ice show before, as far as I know the only knowledge they will have of the show is a DVD copy of the ice show which I am told is sent to them before they join the ship. After joining the ship, they have about 2 weeks to learn the show from start to finish. It's not a lot of time and certainly seems like a very intense process for them, not to mention the additional work for us production staff.
I got my flight info on Saturday, but there was a little mix up in the dates (flights booked for June 4, but my contract doesn't start until July 4). Sort of a big problem but luckily I caught it early and have been told the request has been made to re-book the ticket so I should find out the result of that in a couple of days. At the very least, I now have my ticket to return home on the 10th of April which is the thing that matters to me the most right now. It's hard to believe I am only a week short of spending 6 months on the ship. I didn't know if I would even make it, but here I am. Even made it through a dry-dock. Oh, speaking of dry-dock, I meant to check if there would be one on the Serenade while I'm there.... guess I'll do that now. Nope, thank goodness for that. I wouldn't be against the idea of more dry dock experiences, but preferably I'd like to avoid doing them on consecutive contracts. It's a lot of work.
Since I am scheduled to join Serenade of the Seas on July 4th, I guess it will be quite a hectic day since it'll be in a US port (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and also I would expect the majority of passengers to be American.
That's it for now but I'm sure I'll do at least one more post before I leave Explorer for home. Time to go enjoy the rest of my day in St. Thomas and the precious few hours off that I get today.
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