I can't believe I'm already halfway through this contract. The past month or so has been quite busy for me. I received my new Road Hog console Aug. 13, so I spent the following 3 days working very hard on getting the rest of the showfile converted and was able to start using the new console that same week for shows. Since then,. I haven't had a single problem and programming anything has been a breeze.
As expected, I also ended up being promoted to Head Sound & Light technician, also on August 13. A few extra responsibilities and a bit more pay but otherwise nothing has changed. Things seem to be running smoothly so far though.
Itineraries for Asia have now been released internally so while I cannot say right now what is going to be available, I will say that there is going to be a lot of variety and we are going to be very busy I am sure as some cruises are as short as 3 days and as long as 7 so the schedule will be constantly changing and it is going to be a big undertaking to make sure that everyone is in the right places at the right times for shows and events all around the ship.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
A new toy is on the way...
I can't believe I haven't written anything in over a month... I guess nothing overly exciting has happened. Since my last post I have accepted an offer from our personnel scheduler to come back to the Voyager of the Seas for the Asia season in 2012, I am supposed to join on or around Feb. 18. This would mean I should be home for both Christmas and my birthday which would be really great. Also, when I return I will be in the theatre which is good news because as much as I love Studio B and the Ice Odyssey show, I will probably be pretty bored of it come the end of this contract. It will also give me more chances to program shows since I will be programming guest entertainer shows in the theatre.
My lighting console in Studio B (a Wholehog II) has developed a number of problems over the last month or so to the point now that it is no longer usable. Luckily we have a spare PC-based console on the ship which was on loan from head office in Miami while our Promenade console was away being repaired and we hadn't really gotten around to sending it back to them after we got the promenade console back. So for now I am using the PC console and so far there haven't been any major issues, just small tweaks needed here and there to keep things running.
I had sent an e-mail to our fleet sound, lighting, and rigging specialist in Miami to express my concern in repeatedly repairing our old consoles and to my surprise he responded that he had a Road Hog console just sitting around the office and offered it to our ship as a replacement for the old Hog 2. We should be receiving it sometime next month I would guess. It will be really nice to have a new toy to play with, with many added capabilities, not to mention something more reliable than the Hog 2 (ours are all 12 years old and each has SOME kind of issue). I sent my Hog showfiles off to the manufacturer today in order to have them converted into the newer format. Since the conversion process doesn't convert every last bit of the file, there will be some work still for me to do in order to get Ice Odyssey looking the same as it did before. That will not be a problem at all for me since I was present during the recent visit of our lighting designer in February and during that time I absorbed a lot of information about the show that I will be able to use to touch-up the show (in addition to videos from past shows, if needed).
So far there is still no real update on the itineraries for the 2012 Asia season, other than the crossing from New Orleans to Singapore. That will be one heck of a cruise and something I am really looking forward to. It will contain calls in the Bahamas, Azores, Spain, Egypt, the Suez Canal, Dubai, Goa, India, and Malaysia over a period of 6 weeks, broken up into 3 cruises.
Also, our current Head Sound and Light Technician is going to be signing off in just over 2 weeks and it sounds as though I am the most likely successor. It will be good experience for me to have, plus I am already contributing a lot to the overall running of all things technical as it is right now so I think if I am chosen I will settle into the position just fine.
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| Wholehog II |
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| Road Hog |
I had sent an e-mail to our fleet sound, lighting, and rigging specialist in Miami to express my concern in repeatedly repairing our old consoles and to my surprise he responded that he had a Road Hog console just sitting around the office and offered it to our ship as a replacement for the old Hog 2. We should be receiving it sometime next month I would guess. It will be really nice to have a new toy to play with, with many added capabilities, not to mention something more reliable than the Hog 2 (ours are all 12 years old and each has SOME kind of issue). I sent my Hog showfiles off to the manufacturer today in order to have them converted into the newer format. Since the conversion process doesn't convert every last bit of the file, there will be some work still for me to do in order to get Ice Odyssey looking the same as it did before. That will not be a problem at all for me since I was present during the recent visit of our lighting designer in February and during that time I absorbed a lot of information about the show that I will be able to use to touch-up the show (in addition to videos from past shows, if needed).
So far there is still no real update on the itineraries for the 2012 Asia season, other than the crossing from New Orleans to Singapore. That will be one heck of a cruise and something I am really looking forward to. It will contain calls in the Bahamas, Azores, Spain, Egypt, the Suez Canal, Dubai, Goa, India, and Malaysia over a period of 6 weeks, broken up into 3 cruises.
Also, our current Head Sound and Light Technician is going to be signing off in just over 2 weeks and it sounds as though I am the most likely successor. It will be good experience for me to have, plus I am already contributing a lot to the overall running of all things technical as it is right now so I think if I am chosen I will settle into the position just fine.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Voyager of the Seas Heading to Asia?
It's true. In May 2012 the Voyager of the Seas will be re-located to Asia, doing a few cruises out of Singapore, then the rest of the summer will be spent sailing out of Shanghai. In October, the ship will once again be re-located, this time to Australia and New Zealand. Voyager of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship in Asia, and the first with an ice skating rink and indoor promenade. It's odd to think that about how much we take this ship for granted as crew members, or indeed even as guests in Europe and North America. Being almost 12 years old, Voyager of the Seas is nothing new to anyone here, however when we become the first Voyager-class ship to sail out of Asia, this ship represents many firsts that have never been offered on a cruise ship in that part of the world before.
The itineraries have not been finalized yet, but it sounds like we will be doing a few cruises out of Singapore to start with, followed by spending the Summer sailing out of Shanghai, and finally being repositioned to Australia and New Zealand for the winter season. At this point it is not clear if I will be coming back to Voyager for my next contract or going to a different ship. Luckily enough though, our head office sent out an e-mail request to all production managers to ask if they would like to request any specific technicians to stay with their ship for more than one contract. The premise of this is of course to assist in building a knowledgeable team on board, which particularly for techs takes some time as we really need to know the ship bow-to-stern as it relates to our job; but of course it would work in my favour if I get to come back to sail to Asia. It seems likely that my Production Manager, Marie, will submit my name to have me return to this ship as everything in my venues runs smoothly (lighting-wise) while I'm here.
This past Friday and Saturday there was a press conference in Studio B that is part of a program to promote Voyager of the Seas to Italian cruisers while we are in Italy. Everything went off without any problem despite some lack of information being provided in some cases.
Right now I am saving up for a new laptop so I haven't really been out in any of the ports, except a brief couple of hours in Venice. I am looking forward to possibly taking a couple of tours as a Tour Escort. So far it sounds like we don't have any "dud" ports -- that is, ports where there is nothing to do-- on this itinerary, so when I do have the time and money to go exploring I will definitely do so.
The itineraries have not been finalized yet, but it sounds like we will be doing a few cruises out of Singapore to start with, followed by spending the Summer sailing out of Shanghai, and finally being repositioned to Australia and New Zealand for the winter season. At this point it is not clear if I will be coming back to Voyager for my next contract or going to a different ship. Luckily enough though, our head office sent out an e-mail request to all production managers to ask if they would like to request any specific technicians to stay with their ship for more than one contract. The premise of this is of course to assist in building a knowledgeable team on board, which particularly for techs takes some time as we really need to know the ship bow-to-stern as it relates to our job; but of course it would work in my favour if I get to come back to sail to Asia. It seems likely that my Production Manager, Marie, will submit my name to have me return to this ship as everything in my venues runs smoothly (lighting-wise) while I'm here.
This past Friday and Saturday there was a press conference in Studio B that is part of a program to promote Voyager of the Seas to Italian cruisers while we are in Italy. Everything went off without any problem despite some lack of information being provided in some cases.
Right now I am saving up for a new laptop so I haven't really been out in any of the ports, except a brief couple of hours in Venice. I am looking forward to possibly taking a couple of tours as a Tour Escort. So far it sounds like we don't have any "dud" ports -- that is, ports where there is nothing to do-- on this itinerary, so when I do have the time and money to go exploring I will definitely do so.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Busy Back on Board
Hard to believe I've been onboard for more than 2 weeks and have not posted anything yet. Just goes to show how busy it has been!
Coming back to the same ship is something I haven't experienced before. It's nice to see so many familiar faces, not just within the production team but all over the ship as well. The other 3 times I have signed onto a ship, I didn't recognize more than 1-2 people and it took some time to feel comfortable. This was not the case this time however, and as soon as I got onboard I immediately set about writing out plans for how I'm going to get my venues back in top shape.
Unfortunately there has been a lack of maintenance with some of my fixtures while I was away, leaving a bit of a pile-up for me upon my return. This, coupled with the double charter cruise we did last week, has lead to an extremely busy first couple of weeks... with no end in sight at this point. The charter was especially demanding on all of us. We had two 3.5 day cruises with a total of about 5000 guests between the two, and 100% of them were from France. It was very unusual hearing all of the usual announcements made over the PA solely in French. We were expected to compress many of our usual activities of a 7 day cruise into each 3ish day cruise. This meant doing 6 ice shows, 4 parades, 6 theme nights, 2 captains welcome receptions, and 8 production shows during a 7 day period where we would normally only have half as many (with the exception of the ice shows, of which we usually have 4 in a week).
A nice benefit of this charter was getting to sail into Istanbul on what is probably the largest ship ever to call there. Istanbul is one port where you definitely do not want to miss the sail-in. I went up to the Helipad while we sailed into Istanbul so that I would have the best possible view.
This week we started cast install in the theatre. Since my 4 follow spot operators in Studio B are usually dancers, this means I will have a bit more difficult time getting spot cues done correctly over the next few weeks as generally the replacements that are sent to me have not used a follow spot before. In a few weeks time they will have learned all their shows/events and then I will finally be able to start teaching them the spot cues for Ice Odyssey. It’s a difficult show when it comes to spot cues so it’s really important to consistently have the same people doing it every time. By the time they’re halfway through their contract, generally spot operators will have memorized all of their cues and I will no longer have to call them. Unfortunately for me, I missed most of the second half of the previous dancers’ contracts so I never really got to sit back and watch the show a bit without having to call the spot cues. The solution to this is to record the spot cues… which I will be doing sometime next month after I have the money to buy the equipment and software to do it. The beauty of buying my own stuff is that I can take it to every ship and use it over and over with different shows which will be great.
I’m currently typing this from my cabin onboard. Using my TIM 3G USB stick I am able to get Internet in my cabin, courtesy of the porthole which I am very lucky to have (I believe there is only 1 tech cabin with a port hole).
Anyway, better get back to work.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
How I know this job is the right fit for me
I have been on vacation just about a month now and I have to say that although I love being home, I also find myself missing the ship. This never happened when I was a stage staff, but as a light tech I enjoy my job so much that even during my vacation I'm thinking about things I'm going to accomplish when I get back.
In the past few weeks my mom has both sold her current house and bought a new one, so my last few weeks of vacation are going to be spent moving and doing some wiring at the new place.
One last thing: I don't know if there are any first time cruisers reading this blog, but if there are MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE ICE SHOWS (if you are on an RCI ship that has them). I truly can't believe the number of people who never even get to Studio B until the last day of the cruise and sometimes those guests will ask me when the ice show is and it's painful to tell them that they're too late. The showtimes are advertised both in the cruise compass and by the cruise director at every possible opportunity. Even if you don't THINK you'll enjoy the show, just go. Give it a chance, what's it going to cost you, 45 minutes? It's worth it.
In the past few weeks my mom has both sold her current house and bought a new one, so my last few weeks of vacation are going to be spent moving and doing some wiring at the new place.
One last thing: I don't know if there are any first time cruisers reading this blog, but if there are MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE ICE SHOWS (if you are on an RCI ship that has them). I truly can't believe the number of people who never even get to Studio B until the last day of the cruise and sometimes those guests will ask me when the ice show is and it's painful to tell them that they're too late. The showtimes are advertised both in the cruise compass and by the cruise director at every possible opportunity. Even if you don't THINK you'll enjoy the show, just go. Give it a chance, what's it going to cost you, 45 minutes? It's worth it.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Almost There
This will be my final blog post for this contract. It's so strange to think I leave in four days, and I know when I get home it will likely be quite similar to the end of my first contract. Driving away from the ship you feel the instant relaxation of knowing you have no schedule, no work, no commitments to the ship at all until the end of your vacation. Going from working 6-12 hours a day every day for more than 6 months to nothing at all is such a dramatic change but it is very satisfying.
As I mentioned in my last post, this week and last we have had the lighting designer for Ice Odyssey, Marcia Madeira, on-board to facilitate the replacement of some old lighting fixtures, as well as giving the show some much-needed TLC as after 6 years, the show file had been severely "tampered with" by previous light technicians. Marcia brought along her programmer, Chris as well and it has been great working with both of them. I certainly hope to still be on this ship when we get the next round of new lights (hopefully around September). It would have been better to have them here in the middle of my contract though, compared to now where I am days from leaving. Nearly everyone on ships suffers from "checked-out syndrom". As the end of the contract approaches, you start to become a little more lazy and not interested in making new projects on board. For me, the point where this happens is about the 1 to 1.5 week mark. Luckily since I have had Marcia and Chris here, it has made it easier for me to avoid thinking about going home and concentrate on the the tasks at hand. Since they are using the Studio B lighting rig every day for these two weeks, and everything besides the 14 brand new lights is 11 years old, it is a constant process of fixing lights as they break. I wake up every morning to a new punch list of things that broke the previous night (they program in the evening and into the night usually, since the room is available then).
Today I will be doing my laundry and probably starting to pack. Unfortunately my flight details have yet to arrive which is making me a little antsy, hopefully that will be resolved by the end of the day.
During my vacation I may post once or twice but otherwise I look forward to having new stories to share when I return in May. It should be interesting having Venice, Italy as a home port.
As I mentioned in my last post, this week and last we have had the lighting designer for Ice Odyssey, Marcia Madeira, on-board to facilitate the replacement of some old lighting fixtures, as well as giving the show some much-needed TLC as after 6 years, the show file had been severely "tampered with" by previous light technicians. Marcia brought along her programmer, Chris as well and it has been great working with both of them. I certainly hope to still be on this ship when we get the next round of new lights (hopefully around September). It would have been better to have them here in the middle of my contract though, compared to now where I am days from leaving. Nearly everyone on ships suffers from "checked-out syndrom". As the end of the contract approaches, you start to become a little more lazy and not interested in making new projects on board. For me, the point where this happens is about the 1 to 1.5 week mark. Luckily since I have had Marcia and Chris here, it has made it easier for me to avoid thinking about going home and concentrate on the the tasks at hand. Since they are using the Studio B lighting rig every day for these two weeks, and everything besides the 14 brand new lights is 11 years old, it is a constant process of fixing lights as they break. I wake up every morning to a new punch list of things that broke the previous night (they program in the evening and into the night usually, since the room is available then).
Today I will be doing my laundry and probably starting to pack. Unfortunately my flight details have yet to arrive which is making me a little antsy, hopefully that will be resolved by the end of the day.
During my vacation I may post once or twice but otherwise I look forward to having new stories to share when I return in May. It should be interesting having Venice, Italy as a home port.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Three Weeks Left!
I can't wait to get home. It's been such a long time... by the time I leave I will have been away from home more than 8 months. A few weeks ago I was asked to extend by an additional week because my replacement was not ready and I accepted, so my new sign-off date is March 6. Last week they sent another request, this time to extend 'til the end of March (once again, something to do with my replacement being delayed). I responded that it was not possible as I already have a plane ticket to join my mom in Aruba for a week starting March 12 and after 8 months away from home I am not giving that up. I have yet to hear back but hopefully they will be able to find someone else to fill in for me; I simply cannot do 9 months.
Last night we (finally) started a full ice melt in Studio B. This melt has been overdue since November but unfortunately it is difficult to schedule time to do it during 7 day cruises with so many sea days. We simply can't afford to be without a venue for ice skating and/or ice shows for 2.5 days. However we were able to work it out so that we would melt the ice on the evening of the last day of last cruise and then build the new ice over the first two days of this cruise. It is going to be a tight schedule this week. On top of the full ice make, our fleet head sound and light technician, Jeff, is going to be onboard Voyager this week. Definitely a good thing since it means we can get some maintenance and repairs done that may require a little more expertise, but it will make this week all that much more busy. In addition, the lighting designer for Ice Odyssey is expected to come sometime in the near future for a week or two to install some new lights we have onboard but cannot use them until the show has been re-designed for them. In preparation for her visit, I have been working very hard in Studio B trying to ensure that the lighting rig is in 100% working order (minus the broken lights that we are replacing).
My last few weeks are shaping up to be the busiest of my contract. I guess I'll certainly be earning my vacation now.
Last night we (finally) started a full ice melt in Studio B. This melt has been overdue since November but unfortunately it is difficult to schedule time to do it during 7 day cruises with so many sea days. We simply can't afford to be without a venue for ice skating and/or ice shows for 2.5 days. However we were able to work it out so that we would melt the ice on the evening of the last day of last cruise and then build the new ice over the first two days of this cruise. It is going to be a tight schedule this week. On top of the full ice make, our fleet head sound and light technician, Jeff, is going to be onboard Voyager this week. Definitely a good thing since it means we can get some maintenance and repairs done that may require a little more expertise, but it will make this week all that much more busy. In addition, the lighting designer for Ice Odyssey is expected to come sometime in the near future for a week or two to install some new lights we have onboard but cannot use them until the show has been re-designed for them. In preparation for her visit, I have been working very hard in Studio B trying to ensure that the lighting rig is in 100% working order (minus the broken lights that we are replacing).
My last few weeks are shaping up to be the busiest of my contract. I guess I'll certainly be earning my vacation now.
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