Day 1

Today I finally join Serenade of the Seas after a long 3-month vacation.  My flights to San Juan were uneventful... well at least there were no negative parts.  I did manage to score my own exit row (that's right, the whole row) on both flights, which was quite nice.  I'm sure in both instances the flight attendant saw how uncomfortable I was (I'm quite tall at 6'4" and as such, need some leg room) since they only offered the move after I was seated.

It took quite a bit of time to get checked-in at the hotel this time.  They kept saying they needed to do my paperwork before they could issue the room key -- whatever that means -- which resulted in approximately 30 minutes of sitting around.  And that's when I realized exactly how much of a hurry-up-and-wait process joining a ship is.  In my experience so far, there isn't really a part about sign-on that moves quickly.  Last contract I was waiting in the crew terminal (tent) for 1.5-2 hours before I got on the ship at all, and during that time all that I accomplished was handing my paperwork over to HR and Medical.  Then there was more waiting once I got on the ship after that, but luckily I really hauled ass when they finally did take us on the ship which led me to the 3rd or 4th spot in the line (of probably 40 crew).

Last night I got some rather unfortunate news from my mom: one of our close family friends passed away yesterday.  An unfortunate part of working on a ship is being away during others' times of need without the means to do very much about it.  Compassionate leave is offered but only for immediate family members as far as I know.  Even then, the process is a hassle for everyone else because during the 1-2 week leave, there is no replacement for the missing crew member.

Anyway, at 8 am today we (the crew at the hotel, probably 30 or so) are being picked up and taken to the pier to go through the usual ritual of nothing much happening for a while, then off to do pre-departure safety training and meet my new coworkers.  I've already met someone I should be seeing quite often.  My roommate here at the hotel is a musician (sax) in the orchestra on the ship.


I shall report back sometime in the next few days how the whole process of getting myself settled in on board works out.  Since it's a new ship layout for me, I'll be spending the next few days just trying to get myself oriented.