It was perhaps the worst 24 hours in my life. My family were all away, and when they are, my dog gets anxious. So do I. Neither of us sleep well at all. But last night I'm doing a Google search for a boutique store I remember visiting in India. I click on what I think is the site, and 13 Trojan Horse viruses enter my computer. Last time this happened, my documents, my photos, in fact almost everything that I hold dear to me was lost. But Microsoft was onto to it this time. For 1.5 hours I waited
For my last entry, I referred to a client who was gearing up to make a complaint against me for having been kept waiting, even though the other clients that day had waited for much longer than her. While I am sure I haven't heard the end of it, so far, I've heard nothing further.
That night though, after my day at the airport had come to an end, I received an email requiring my urgent attention. Another female client HAD complained. The issue was this. There were several ships in Sydney tha
Last week I worked at Sydney International Airport meeting clients joining a two week cruise. Now all of us when we fly to a foreign country arrive tired. Sometimes we arrive with a problem. A man had lost his suitcase and was understandably distraught. A woman had her scooter damaged. Neither were my clients. They approached me needing to express to someone, anyone, how upset they were. In my sometime role as a tour guide, while I wait with my cruise ship sign, people approach me for all sorts
What's the best way to manage jet lag is a commonly asked question. Adrupt changes in time zones can upset our natural rhythm, to which many of our bodily processes are timed. Jet lag can make you tired, sleepy, irritable and less able to concentrate. Appetite and bowel habits may be affected and insomnia, headaches, dizziness, clumsiness and a general feeling of not being well are also symptoms. There is no cure for jet lag but there are ways to minimise the effects. How?
Well for starters
Just a brief postscript to my last blog:
Our arrival in the city of Patna, in West Bengal, India, drew considerable media attention. A cruise upstream on the river Ganges onboard a small cruise ship, is quite a momentous occasion, since almost no tourists have taken this route since the 1940's.
Our Naturalist/Guide was asked to name the foreign dignitaries onboard for a photo. He told me later that he remembered
my name, since I often spoke to him, but had difficulty recalling th
So after working on cruises for a good while, I finally broke down and booked a cruise as a Guest. I am going on the Carnival Destiny for the Weezer (band) cruise on January 19th. I have not been on a ship that did a concert style cruise but I am looking forward to it. I will be only stopping at Cozumel (a place i have been more than my fair share) I am still on tour all around the country. My next stops are in Salt Lake, Denver, Saint Louis, Columbus, Boston, Albany, Long Island, Philadelphia,
Kevin was not happy. We had met several days earlier in Kolkata and were looking forward to joining a cruise upstream on the Hooghly and Ganges rivers in India onboard a luxury cruise ship, quite a momentous occasion, since almost no foreign tourists had taken this route since the1940's. It was our welcome dinner at the gracious Oberoi Grand Hotel in Kolkata. I had entered the dining room late, having made a quick dash to collect my new shirt from the tailors. Seated with Kevin were two English
Last week while doing my tour guide duties, I met Bill at the International Airport. While he was due to depart on his cruise that afternoon and had no intention of doing much at all until boarding time, he had arrived on an early flight and would have at least 6 hours to fill in. When he finished the cruise, he would have 10 days. Where are you staying when you come back I asked. I'll find something he said and off he went to a tourist stand, collecting a handful of brochures offering not the b
This week I'd like to offer some tips on keeping your valuables safe and organising what you will need when you arrive at the airport and cruise ship terminal.
In preparation for your flight, keep your valuables - passport, camera, cash, mobile and credit cards close to you. Recommended is a bum bag, preferably with a wire cord running through it. Securely fastened around your waist with a padlock, you will be less likely to be targeted by pickpockets. Carry your completed outgoing passenge
Two days ago I returned home after a few days in Melbourne, an hour's flying time south of my home town of Sydney. Our flight had been delayed and it was already after 10pm. I was tired and sent a text message saying "stuck on tarmac, be home late," only to realise my error - I'd sent it to one of my business associates, not my family.
I was lucky to have flown at all. The next day, the entire Qantas fleet was grounded. I was at Sydney International Airport to meet and greet those passenge
As I stood waiting in line for an International flight recently, Gerard, the elderly man in front asked if I could help him and his wife lift their bags to be checked in since they were unable to. They were flying business class and while they may have been entitled to a generous amount of luggage, might not they have given better thought to what they actually needed? While he expressed a few sympathetic ums and ohs as I struggled to lift their 5 bags, with his wife shouting at me to "bend the k
Before joining a river cruise in India recently, I travelled together with my fellow passengers on a bone rattling bus for several hours. Seated beside me in the front seat was a man by the name of Dennis who was also travelling solo. When we finally arrived at the jetty, Dennis was insistent that he go on ahead with our luggage while we waited behind for the boat to return. Later, as I entered my cabin, there was Dennis carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Dennis, may I ask what yo
Cruise experiences should be enjoyable - We all anticipate our next holiday and reflect on our most memorable travel moments. But rarely do we completely avoid a hitch, a problem, an error, an oversight. Sometimes there is nothing we can do to prevent those dreaded travel hicupps from happening, but sometimes they can be avoided, or we can at least feel a little better if we know that they happen to us all.
So who am I you say? I work, I travel and now I combine the two. I write travel art
Hi Everyone,
Coming home from being on a cruise ship for 5 months is always different.
You do not realize the differences of living on ships and living on land. Communication is completely different. Having a cell phone and texting is foreign to me again, and being connected online all the time without paying for it is amazing. However paying $3.75 a gallon for gas might be enough to send me back out on the sea. For ship crew vacation is sitting at home for a week and not anywhere tro
Hi everyone! Many people are fascinated about working aboard a modern day cruise ship. And I must say, it's a very cool gig. As soon as guests find out that I work aboard the ship, I am asked a wide range of questions.....I've been asked pretty much everything .... ranging from my personal experiences, how life really is at sea, crew contract questions, salary, food, perks, and more. I received some questions from CruiseCrazies members and I have compiled them below, along with my answers. I hop
With the topic of hurricanes in the weather, many people ask what cruise ships do in a hurricane situation.
Cruise ships always stay clear of rough weather as much as possible, this could result in different ports than on the schedule, or even sea days. The captain of the ship will always do what is safest.
When I was on the Carnival Legend our port schedules were Isle Rotaan, Belize, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. There were times when a hurricane was brewing around Isle Rotaan and Beli
Hey CruiseCrazies,
People often ask about life on board, different dramas, and annoyances of the job! But before I get into that subject, I will recap the last couple of weeks onboard the Carnival Magic. I have had family on board and will have friends and family visiting for just about the rest of the cruises that I have left until December 11th. The Red Frog has been packed just about every night I play. People are all around the stage dancing and having a great time... It wears me down b
In the first Carnival Cruise Ports blog I covered the Eastern Caribbean so now I will continue on with the western Caribbean and central ports.
Let us begin with Jamaica.
Jamaica is a place I have been a bunch of times and have probably climbed the falls so many times. It is an easy place to get to. If you get off the ship and pass the main gate you can find a cab driver that will drop you off at the falls for a total of $15 per cab. They will also pick you up at a certain time to ta
For this blog, I am going to go over a bunch of Caribbean cruise ports, talk about some of my favorite things at each port and things you must do.
Eastern Caribbean: The eastern Caribbean is my favorite part of the Caribbean. The best beaches and sites for pictures and sailing around.
Starting with Puerto Rico:
Sailing into San Juan is one of my favorite parts of this port. You must get outside and see the sail in and sail away. Get a front row seat at the front of the boat. As f
Cruise Ports - Part 2:
In part 2 of this blog I will be discussing more Mediterranean ports.
Let us begin this series with Livorno. Livorno is a great port with a lot of great places to see. Two places I would recommend going to are Pisa & Florence. You would think that seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa might not be all that special but it is one of those amazing sights that makes you feel like you have crossed something off of your list. Florence is another beautiful place but is r
Cruise Ports - Part 1:
I am going to do a series of Blogs covering all the ports that the Carnival Magic goes through, and also most of the ports in the Caribbean that ships typically sail to. This will be a guide of things to look for at each port.
Let us begin with Monaco/Monte Carlo France.
This is one of the most beautiful ports you will see in Europe in my opinion. There are big yachts and many things to see. I would recommend walking around the city or getting a tour of th
I get asked a ton of questions every day by guests on the ship. Most of them are the same questions. I was able to compile a list of 10 questions that are asked most frequently.
Q: How long have you been working on Ships?
A: I have been working on ships since end of January 2010. I did a 6 month contract on the Carnival Freedom... I subbed in for someone on the Paradise out of LA for a couple weeks. Then I did 2 months on the Carnival Legend followed by 4 months back on the Carnival
Blog 3: ShipLife how to save some $ on your cruise -
Currently the Carnival Magic is doing a European Cruise until the end of October. Some of the most beautiful ports you can imagine seeing when we dock and sailing away. There are certainly some tricks and tips when going on a European/Mediterranean cruise. Money is key here. Euro cash are not hard to get at some of the bank ports, but Euros are nice to have when you are walking around and shopping, I would always suggest getting back on
