Hello everyone...
Well I'm offically back on the beautiful M.S. Amsterdam for 8 more months of crusing. This contract we are traveling to Alaska for 7 day cruises and then at the end of September we begin our Grand Voyage...which is a 67 day cruise to The South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. We will then finish doing a holiday cruise through the Panama Canal and end in Florida on January 6th.
So far this new cast is amazing and I cannot wait to spend the next 7 months with them. We went through our turnover and made it out pretty smoothly. Alaska is acting out of normal this year so far in that we have had sun almost every day for the past 3 and a half weeks. Last year it rained all the time. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Alaska is nice due to it being a U.S. port, having Walmart and Costco as our service and the U.S Postal service being in every port.
As for our shows they stay exactly the same as last contract...only we dance almost every single day whereas on the last contract we did a show every 5-6 days. It's not to bad though and makes the time go by pretty quickly. 3 days ago I finally was able to pay off my 2 credit cards and that is a relief. I can actually begin to save some money now and that is sooooooooooooooooo amazing. Saving money on this contract is easier then I expected. I ws able to go into Walmart the other day and not purchase one thing....Woooo Wooooo....Thats a first!!!! What else is going on you ask? Well I am still reading alot and having my new Amazon Kindle 2 from Amazon.com has helped with that. Basically the only thing I'm spending $$$ on right now is E-books. I know, I'm a nerd. Some of you know I purched a math text book to actually work on re-teaching myself math while on board. I have not really started that yet but have messed with the first chapter. We shall see what happens with that. Besides that not to much is new. I have posted some pictures on my Facebook account and below is the link. You do not need a Facebook account to access this. Let me know what you think. I miss you all and hope everything is going well back home. Write to me because I miss all of you. Cheers.
Danny
Monday, June 8, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
On our way to Santiago Chile
Hello everyone. Now, I know what you are thinking, “It has been a long time since you have posted anything!!!!” This is true and I sincerely apologize. Everyday I say to myself, today I’ll write my blog. Unfortunately I get caught up in something else and do not make it to the computer.
Everything is going pretty well on the ship now. We have about 2 more months left on the ship and it is going by pretty quickly. As for the next contract the three of us who are going to extend for the next contract have already received the contracts, signed them and have sent them to Stiletto, the company who does all the shows for Holland America Line. We received an email the other day from them saying they got them and now we are locked into being on the ship till January 6th, 2010. I will be coming home on April 27th till May 5th for a short vacation while the ship is in dry dock in Victoria, B.C Canada. From there we will do Alaska for 4 months and then venture onto the Grand Voyage which will incorporate Hawaii, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand and many other South Pacific ports. Then we go to South America again and then travel the Panama Canal on our way to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, where we depart the ship and head home.
It should be a very nice trip and will be exciting to see all these new ports around on the other side of the world.
As for the ship now, we are good. We are currently heading around the Cape Horn part of South America on our way to Santiago, Chile. We made our 3rd and final trip to Antarctica on the last cruise. It is sad not to be able to get back down there but we are lucky to have been there at all. I am currently making a short movie incorporating videos and pictures from all 3 trips to the continent and will have it when I get home to show everyone. If you want a copy please let me know and I will make you one. The last couple ports have been fun. On our way to Rio as usual we stop off in the Falkland Islands. This is a territory of the U.K. so things are in English and easy to understand. As we were waiting for a tender (life boat) ride back to the ship a Royal Airforce jet flew right over the water and then headed straight up into the air. It was pretty awesome to see this and a surprise. When we arrived in Rio we had an overnight there. Kristen and I ate at the Pinnacle Grill onboard which is the fancy restaurant onboard. The next day we went to this really awesome restaurant named Porcoa…Portuguese for Fat Pig. It opened at 12 noon and it was 11am. Being that we had an hour to kill we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain. The mountain overlooks Rio and has breathtaking views for miles around. To get up to the top you have to ride a hanging trolley. The other main attraction of this sort is Christ the Redeemer which sits on top of a mountain named Corcovado. This can be seen in the movie “Romeo and Juliet.” Unfortunately we have not made it to Christ the Redeemer yet. Sugarloaf was nice but was very cloudy so the views were hidden. We decided to go back down the mountain. On to Porcao we went. We had heard about this restaurant from the rest of the crew and it was worth it…Expensive but if you want that famous Brazilian meat this is the place to come. Once seated you are invited to the salad bar which has everything from salad to sushi. At your table they bring out all these plates or onion rings, rice, French fries,etc, etc, etc, but you can’t waste your time on that sort of stuff. You are there for the meat and in a few seconds there is enough of it. The floor consists of approximately 40-50 waiters (our approximation) carrying spears with meat on them. Every type of preparation and style they offer. They come up and ask if you would like sirloin, sausage, salmon, filet, or filet with garlic, with cheese, or how about ostrich. Every waiter has something different and you either say yes or no. They have these cards on the table, one side red, and the other green. Green means stop at the table and red means please no more. : ) Lets just say we had a ton of meat that day and it tastes better then anything we would find anywhere else. I recommend you to try to find a Brazilian steak house near your home. They have them in the states and if you have been to one you know exactly what I’m talking about. Okay enough about the food.
As for me I have been into reading lately…a lot. Since boarding the ship on November 23rd, I have finished 12 books and no they are not all picture books. HAHAHA Some of the ones I recommend are: “The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb, “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas” by John Boyne, “Father Knows Less or Can I Cook My Sister” by Wendell Jamieson, “Outliers – The Story of Success” by Malcom Gladwell. I also read “1984” by George Orwell and about to start “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I have no idea what has gotten into me lately but it’s kind of fun to read these, especially since I have found the classics section of the library. One crazy idea I came up with last night was while I was reading Outliers. The author talks about why people of Asian descent are very good at math. This made me realize when I have kids I want to be able to help them out…we all know I am not a mathematician by any means and have decided to purchase some math text books and re-study them on my next contract. This sounds nerdy but as I always say, “If there is something you want, go get it, that easy.” In this term I need to brush up on Math…a lot….
On the other hand Kristen and I have bee practicing the game of Darts. I know, I know…weird. In the officers bar (OB) which is in the crew area, the game is very popular. There is a dart board and every night you have to get there early to play. Everybody is getting pretty hooked and now when I get home I can challenge my brother Chris to a game and this time win. Besides that it’s rehearsing for the shows and going to the gym everyday. Not much new there.
I hope everything is well back home. The countdown to being home has started and I cannot wait to be home for the few days to see everyone and catch up. I hope everyone is well. Please write if you get a chance because I love hearing about home and everything that is going on. As usual if you have any questions about anything let me know. Take care and see you all very soon.
Danny
Everything is going pretty well on the ship now. We have about 2 more months left on the ship and it is going by pretty quickly. As for the next contract the three of us who are going to extend for the next contract have already received the contracts, signed them and have sent them to Stiletto, the company who does all the shows for Holland America Line. We received an email the other day from them saying they got them and now we are locked into being on the ship till January 6th, 2010. I will be coming home on April 27th till May 5th for a short vacation while the ship is in dry dock in Victoria, B.C Canada. From there we will do Alaska for 4 months and then venture onto the Grand Voyage which will incorporate Hawaii, Bora Bora, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand and many other South Pacific ports. Then we go to South America again and then travel the Panama Canal on our way to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, where we depart the ship and head home.
It should be a very nice trip and will be exciting to see all these new ports around on the other side of the world.
As for the ship now, we are good. We are currently heading around the Cape Horn part of South America on our way to Santiago, Chile. We made our 3rd and final trip to Antarctica on the last cruise. It is sad not to be able to get back down there but we are lucky to have been there at all. I am currently making a short movie incorporating videos and pictures from all 3 trips to the continent and will have it when I get home to show everyone. If you want a copy please let me know and I will make you one. The last couple ports have been fun. On our way to Rio as usual we stop off in the Falkland Islands. This is a territory of the U.K. so things are in English and easy to understand. As we were waiting for a tender (life boat) ride back to the ship a Royal Airforce jet flew right over the water and then headed straight up into the air. It was pretty awesome to see this and a surprise. When we arrived in Rio we had an overnight there. Kristen and I ate at the Pinnacle Grill onboard which is the fancy restaurant onboard. The next day we went to this really awesome restaurant named Porcoa…Portuguese for Fat Pig. It opened at 12 noon and it was 11am. Being that we had an hour to kill we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain. The mountain overlooks Rio and has breathtaking views for miles around. To get up to the top you have to ride a hanging trolley. The other main attraction of this sort is Christ the Redeemer which sits on top of a mountain named Corcovado. This can be seen in the movie “Romeo and Juliet.” Unfortunately we have not made it to Christ the Redeemer yet. Sugarloaf was nice but was very cloudy so the views were hidden. We decided to go back down the mountain. On to Porcao we went. We had heard about this restaurant from the rest of the crew and it was worth it…Expensive but if you want that famous Brazilian meat this is the place to come. Once seated you are invited to the salad bar which has everything from salad to sushi. At your table they bring out all these plates or onion rings, rice, French fries,etc, etc, etc, but you can’t waste your time on that sort of stuff. You are there for the meat and in a few seconds there is enough of it. The floor consists of approximately 40-50 waiters (our approximation) carrying spears with meat on them. Every type of preparation and style they offer. They come up and ask if you would like sirloin, sausage, salmon, filet, or filet with garlic, with cheese, or how about ostrich. Every waiter has something different and you either say yes or no. They have these cards on the table, one side red, and the other green. Green means stop at the table and red means please no more. : ) Lets just say we had a ton of meat that day and it tastes better then anything we would find anywhere else. I recommend you to try to find a Brazilian steak house near your home. They have them in the states and if you have been to one you know exactly what I’m talking about. Okay enough about the food.
As for me I have been into reading lately…a lot. Since boarding the ship on November 23rd, I have finished 12 books and no they are not all picture books. HAHAHA Some of the ones I recommend are: “The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb, “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas” by John Boyne, “Father Knows Less or Can I Cook My Sister” by Wendell Jamieson, “Outliers – The Story of Success” by Malcom Gladwell. I also read “1984” by George Orwell and about to start “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. I have no idea what has gotten into me lately but it’s kind of fun to read these, especially since I have found the classics section of the library. One crazy idea I came up with last night was while I was reading Outliers. The author talks about why people of Asian descent are very good at math. This made me realize when I have kids I want to be able to help them out…we all know I am not a mathematician by any means and have decided to purchase some math text books and re-study them on my next contract. This sounds nerdy but as I always say, “If there is something you want, go get it, that easy.” In this term I need to brush up on Math…a lot….
On the other hand Kristen and I have bee practicing the game of Darts. I know, I know…weird. In the officers bar (OB) which is in the crew area, the game is very popular. There is a dart board and every night you have to get there early to play. Everybody is getting pretty hooked and now when I get home I can challenge my brother Chris to a game and this time win. Besides that it’s rehearsing for the shows and going to the gym everyday. Not much new there.
I hope everything is well back home. The countdown to being home has started and I cannot wait to be home for the few days to see everyone and catch up. I hope everyone is well. Please write if you get a chance because I love hearing about home and everything that is going on. As usual if you have any questions about anything let me know. Take care and see you all very soon.
Danny
Friday, January 23, 2009
2nd Trip to Antarctica...the results!!!
Hello Everyone,
I hope everything is treating you well back home. I hear it is raining in L.A. so I hope you are all staying out of it. : ) I am doing well, one day away from getting back to Valparaiso Chile to end this cruise. It was a pretty good one with a great Antarctica trip and I know you all want to know about it. If you read my previous blog you will remember that I mentioned some goals that the ship was trying to conquer. To the great surprise of everyone aboard we were able to complete all the goals that we wanted to do as well as other interesting events. Here is a quick break down of all three days and the major events.
Day 1 (1-14-09):
The first day we started out sailing near Elephant Island. It stared out foggy and we were not able to get a good view of the island. As the day went on though, the sun came out and was actually very nice. Our main goal of the day was to circumnavigate Paulet Island located towards the north tip on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship has only been able to do this once before due to the heavy ice flows from the Weddel Sea to the south. On our first trip we couldn’t even see the island due to the heavy amounts of ice. On this day though we were able to make it around the whole island making it only the second full circumnavigation by a Holland American ship. Passengers were able to see lots and lots of Adele penguin colonies (there are 100,000 pairs on the island) and the scenery was breathtaking. The other major event this day was the katabatic winds reaching 80 knots. While sailing away from Paulet Island the ship was listing side to side very sharply. This caused things on shelves in our cabins to fall off and made us kind of nervous at times. I had never seen the ship list to one side so much. Soon after Kristen and I decided to go to dinner and on our way up stopped in the gym to talk to the fitness instructor, Stacey, who stated due to the high winds she was not surprised that a lounge chair hadn’t gone over into the water. Kristen and I walked out on to the Lido deck and went to the large glass windows along with a group of passengers. Due to the listing on the ship we were basically looking straight down into the water and not out across the horizon like normal. All of a sudden a huge lounge chair and its bright yellow cushion came flying up over the ship and exploded upon impact into the rough seas. Now as I mentioned before, this is a huge problem in Antarctica. Having things go overboard is not an option, and this is the worst that could happen besides a person or oil spill going overboard. Kristen and I then ran into the spa to warn the manager who was already on the phone with the bridge. We all ran to the back of the spa to see about the other chairs. Two were still there but looked as if they were going to fly as well. To prevent this, another fitness instructor, Maria and I, decided to go out and get them……not such a fun idea we decided later. Kristen and 2 other spa personnel held open the door against the 80 knot winds as the instructor and I clawed out onto the deck almost getting pushed down…well I was pushed down almost immediately. We spent the next three chilling minutes prying the chair loose and slowly pulling it back in. I had one hand on the chair, the other on the railing and she had all her weight pushing the chair. Finally we got it in to the safety of the spa and then security came in to get the other chair. Pretty fun way to spend an afternoon in Antarctica, but now I can say I played in 80 knot winds. That was pretty much it for the day.
Day 2 (1-15-09):
Today was overcast with the sun making an appearance here and there. I started off the day taking pictures from inside the ship of penguins that floated by on an iceberg right near the ship. We cruised through Neumayer Channel, Gerlache Straight; passed by the Chilean research station Gonzalez Videla and the Argentine station Almirante Brown. One highlight for me was finally getting to see an Orca whale. It was only for a second and was just the head of one but I still got to see it. People saw many Orca’s and humpback whales throughout the three days. The rest of the day we continued to sail passing many icebergs and majestic mountains.
Day 3 (1-16-09):
Today was probably the most beautiful day we have seen thus far in the two trips to Antarctica. It was bright and sunny out with thin clouds making for the best picture conditions. It was moderately cold but on the rear of the ship the temperature always feels better due to no head wind in your face. The bow is always colder due to the wind. Today was another milestone for the ship. Today we again picked up some scientists and support crew from the U.S. research base Palmer Station located on Anvers Island, on the west side of The Peninsula. From there we sailed to the Lemaire Channel, which is the “Holy Grail,” of the trip. Last trip we were only able to get into the channel a little bit and had to turn around due to the density of ice in the water. Remember, when dealing with Antarctic conditions, things change on a moments notice and can affect a whole trip. Today we were lucky to be able to get all the way through the channel, only completed once by any Holland American ship. Another slap on the back for us. Being bright and sunny out and just the right amount of ice in the water caused the scenery to explode. I could not take enough pictures and it made you just stand there looking out over the water and thinking to yourself, “Is this real?” The furthest south we got was Latitude 65 degrees 09.6’ South. This was 80.4 nautical miles from the Antarctica Circle and 1,460.4 nautical miles from the South Pole. During this time we also saw numerous humpback whales swimming in mostly pairs around the ship. We also got great pictures of penguin colonies as they climbed up the hillsides. Most of these birds are well adapted to this but you always get the clown of the pack who wants to have his own show. We saw this from many different penguins that would roll around or throw themselves on the snow. Before disembarking the crew from Palmer we were able to get down and talk to them and ask them a few questions. They are amazing people who we all admire for their work and enthusiasm for working in such a beautiful yet distant place. The percussionist in the band, Kristen and I decided that we wouldn’t mind working down here for a few months. I guess that’s what’s next to come. If you are interested in jobs in Antarctica check out http://www.rayjobs.com/. From here we headed back north towards Cape Horn and our present location of Chile.
Antarctica is a wonderful place and can bring many great memories. A lot of these I have in pictures now and will be glad to share them with you. Again, if you have any questions and/or comments please let me know. I hope all is well back home and I cannot wait to see you all when I get home. Cheers.
Danny
I hope everything is treating you well back home. I hear it is raining in L.A. so I hope you are all staying out of it. : ) I am doing well, one day away from getting back to Valparaiso Chile to end this cruise. It was a pretty good one with a great Antarctica trip and I know you all want to know about it. If you read my previous blog you will remember that I mentioned some goals that the ship was trying to conquer. To the great surprise of everyone aboard we were able to complete all the goals that we wanted to do as well as other interesting events. Here is a quick break down of all three days and the major events.
Day 1 (1-14-09):
The first day we started out sailing near Elephant Island. It stared out foggy and we were not able to get a good view of the island. As the day went on though, the sun came out and was actually very nice. Our main goal of the day was to circumnavigate Paulet Island located towards the north tip on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship has only been able to do this once before due to the heavy ice flows from the Weddel Sea to the south. On our first trip we couldn’t even see the island due to the heavy amounts of ice. On this day though we were able to make it around the whole island making it only the second full circumnavigation by a Holland American ship. Passengers were able to see lots and lots of Adele penguin colonies (there are 100,000 pairs on the island) and the scenery was breathtaking. The other major event this day was the katabatic winds reaching 80 knots. While sailing away from Paulet Island the ship was listing side to side very sharply. This caused things on shelves in our cabins to fall off and made us kind of nervous at times. I had never seen the ship list to one side so much. Soon after Kristen and I decided to go to dinner and on our way up stopped in the gym to talk to the fitness instructor, Stacey, who stated due to the high winds she was not surprised that a lounge chair hadn’t gone over into the water. Kristen and I walked out on to the Lido deck and went to the large glass windows along with a group of passengers. Due to the listing on the ship we were basically looking straight down into the water and not out across the horizon like normal. All of a sudden a huge lounge chair and its bright yellow cushion came flying up over the ship and exploded upon impact into the rough seas. Now as I mentioned before, this is a huge problem in Antarctica. Having things go overboard is not an option, and this is the worst that could happen besides a person or oil spill going overboard. Kristen and I then ran into the spa to warn the manager who was already on the phone with the bridge. We all ran to the back of the spa to see about the other chairs. Two were still there but looked as if they were going to fly as well. To prevent this, another fitness instructor, Maria and I, decided to go out and get them……not such a fun idea we decided later. Kristen and 2 other spa personnel held open the door against the 80 knot winds as the instructor and I clawed out onto the deck almost getting pushed down…well I was pushed down almost immediately. We spent the next three chilling minutes prying the chair loose and slowly pulling it back in. I had one hand on the chair, the other on the railing and she had all her weight pushing the chair. Finally we got it in to the safety of the spa and then security came in to get the other chair. Pretty fun way to spend an afternoon in Antarctica, but now I can say I played in 80 knot winds. That was pretty much it for the day.
Day 2 (1-15-09):
Today was overcast with the sun making an appearance here and there. I started off the day taking pictures from inside the ship of penguins that floated by on an iceberg right near the ship. We cruised through Neumayer Channel, Gerlache Straight; passed by the Chilean research station Gonzalez Videla and the Argentine station Almirante Brown. One highlight for me was finally getting to see an Orca whale. It was only for a second and was just the head of one but I still got to see it. People saw many Orca’s and humpback whales throughout the three days. The rest of the day we continued to sail passing many icebergs and majestic mountains.
Day 3 (1-16-09):
Today was probably the most beautiful day we have seen thus far in the two trips to Antarctica. It was bright and sunny out with thin clouds making for the best picture conditions. It was moderately cold but on the rear of the ship the temperature always feels better due to no head wind in your face. The bow is always colder due to the wind. Today was another milestone for the ship. Today we again picked up some scientists and support crew from the U.S. research base Palmer Station located on Anvers Island, on the west side of The Peninsula. From there we sailed to the Lemaire Channel, which is the “Holy Grail,” of the trip. Last trip we were only able to get into the channel a little bit and had to turn around due to the density of ice in the water. Remember, when dealing with Antarctic conditions, things change on a moments notice and can affect a whole trip. Today we were lucky to be able to get all the way through the channel, only completed once by any Holland American ship. Another slap on the back for us. Being bright and sunny out and just the right amount of ice in the water caused the scenery to explode. I could not take enough pictures and it made you just stand there looking out over the water and thinking to yourself, “Is this real?” The furthest south we got was Latitude 65 degrees 09.6’ South. This was 80.4 nautical miles from the Antarctica Circle and 1,460.4 nautical miles from the South Pole. During this time we also saw numerous humpback whales swimming in mostly pairs around the ship. We also got great pictures of penguin colonies as they climbed up the hillsides. Most of these birds are well adapted to this but you always get the clown of the pack who wants to have his own show. We saw this from many different penguins that would roll around or throw themselves on the snow. Before disembarking the crew from Palmer we were able to get down and talk to them and ask them a few questions. They are amazing people who we all admire for their work and enthusiasm for working in such a beautiful yet distant place. The percussionist in the band, Kristen and I decided that we wouldn’t mind working down here for a few months. I guess that’s what’s next to come. If you are interested in jobs in Antarctica check out http://www.rayjobs.com/. From here we headed back north towards Cape Horn and our present location of Chile.
Antarctica is a wonderful place and can bring many great memories. A lot of these I have in pictures now and will be glad to share them with you. Again, if you have any questions and/or comments please let me know. I hope all is well back home and I cannot wait to see you all when I get home. Cheers.
Danny
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
New Years, Penguins and Antarctica!!!
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe 2009. I know it has been a week or 2 since I have updated this blog so I would like to update you a little. New Years on the ship was nice…quick but nice. We turned our lounge into the balloon drop center with one of the bands playing and dancing. Of course free drinks were passed out and everyone was having a lot of fun. The highlight for me was at midnight when I had to come out with Father Time, played by Chris our Travel Guide, as Baby New Year. Yes this means I had to run around in a diaper and take pictures with passengers. We then had everyone follow us up to the Crows Nest, the “disco” on the top of the ship, to celebrate the rest of the night. Again Chris and I had to take pictures with passengers and mingle. There was also a crew party that was happening on the mooring deck. The mooring deck is in the front of the ship where they keep the huge anchors and all the huge ropes to tie off the ship when in port or when we are anchored off shore. It surprisingly is a great place to host a party. That was about it for New Years. I hope everyone had a great time at their own functions.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS = LOTS OF PENGUINS!!!
Currently we are heading back down south to Antarctica for our second trip into the White Continent. Today we made our last stop before getting there in Stanley, The Falkland Islands. The island is located 400 miles off the eastern tip of South America in the South Atlantic Ocean. The group of islands is under control of the British Government, after defeating Argentinean forces in 1982. Still to this day there are land mines that are placed around the islands from this confrontation. The islands have become a major tourist attraction for cruise ship and expedition companies as they make their way around South America and/or en-route to the Antarctica Peninsula. Major wildlife include of course, penguins, sea lions, dolphins, whales, and many types of birds. Kristen and I set off to find such wildlife, and was happily surprised at what we saw. After taking a short $10.00 shuttle ride to Gypsy Cove located west of the main city center we found what we came to look for…Penguins. The species was that of Magellanic penguins which look like what you would think a penguin would look like. They are not very tall, maybe standing approximately 1-3 feet tall and was made up of black and white in color. As we approached the cove we could see two large groups of them on the pristine white sand beach. Some were out by themselves including one little guy who started to climb up the hill towards us. This offered us a great chance to shoot some photos of him. The path we were on was flanked by short brush that the penguins made their “burrows” in, some as deep as 2 meters. You could usually spot a mother or farther and their chick in a burrow if you looked closely. Further up the trial came to a look out deck and below that stood about a dozen more penguins spread out over the hill side. Some were walking around, taking care of chicks, or just doing nothing. They seemed pretty content with themselves. : ) A little further up the trial we spotted a huge Sea Lion that was lying on the beach and then a smaller one just up from him at the base of the hill which led up to the first lookout deck. We then headed back before a nice couple from our ship stopped us and showed us another parent and their chick. This was amazing because the two of them were no more then 3 feet from us at the top of their burrow. The chicks are brown in color and have think fur which I guessed is to keep them warm till they can produce their own set of feathers. It was very cute as the chick was making lots of noise probably because it was hungry or upset. The parent kept trying to stop this by pushing its beak down on the younger one…pretty typical from what I remember as a child when I would get to loud and my parents would try to shut me up. At this time we also spotted 2 dolphins swimming near the shore. We then decided to get back to the shuttle but not before we came across our last penguin who was laying outside his or her burrow. This one was no more then a foot away from us and could have been easily grabbed by anyone. He or she just lay there as we took its picture seeming to enjoy the attention. What an easy life!!! We then returned to the ship. We had a great day and got to see up close something I never thought I would ever see in person….real life penguins.
PLAN A TO ANTARCTICA!!!!
Like I mentioned before we are on our way now to the Antarctic Peninsula. This will be our second trip to this continent and the only difference is we will do things in reverse order of our first trip. Here is a quick run down of Plan A. Now remember, on our last trip we got to Plan G…maybe Plan M…not sure but things change on a moments notice due to weather, ice and time constraints. Our ice pilot assured the passengers at his first lecture that this trip is an “Ice avoidance trip,” and not one of an “ice breaking trip.” Our ship can withstand some hits here and there, but should not be running into icebergs. This is the biggest ship to ever travel through Antarctica. Day 1 plans a trip into the Antarctic Sound, also know as Iceberg Alley. This is located towards the north part of the Peninsula. Last time we did not make it all the way through to Paulette Island where we are trying to get to. This is because of pack ice and is to dense to travel through. Also on the agenda is Esperanza Station for penguins, and Deception Island. Being that this time there will be about 2 hours of complete darkness there is a chance of seeing the Auroris Australis (Please excuse the spelling). This is like the northern lights up in the North Pole, just in the South Pole. Day 2 we are planning to go to the Danco Coast, Gerlache Straight, and Newmeyer Channel. Again these places offer views of penguins, and lots and lots of icebergs. The scenery is amazing. Day 3 we plan on going to Palmer Station, which is a U.S. research station in Antarctica. We have some of the researchers board and do lectures. We will also debark 2 or 3 scientists that have been passengers since Buenos Aires. Talk about a nice way to get to your job. The Holy Grail of the trip will also be on this day as we try to get through Lemaire Channel which is beautiful. Last trip we got down pretty far but then had to turn around due to pack ice. From here we will head back up to Cape Horn and travel north on the west side of S.A. to Valparaiso, Chile. Don’t worry, I will update this when we are done and let you know what actually happened with the trip.
I hope everyone is well back home and I miss you all very much. Again if you have any questions or comments let me know. If I don’t now the answer I can get the answer ASAP. Love you all and can’t wait to see you all in a few months.
Cheers, Danny
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe 2009. I know it has been a week or 2 since I have updated this blog so I would like to update you a little. New Years on the ship was nice…quick but nice. We turned our lounge into the balloon drop center with one of the bands playing and dancing. Of course free drinks were passed out and everyone was having a lot of fun. The highlight for me was at midnight when I had to come out with Father Time, played by Chris our Travel Guide, as Baby New Year. Yes this means I had to run around in a diaper and take pictures with passengers. We then had everyone follow us up to the Crows Nest, the “disco” on the top of the ship, to celebrate the rest of the night. Again Chris and I had to take pictures with passengers and mingle. There was also a crew party that was happening on the mooring deck. The mooring deck is in the front of the ship where they keep the huge anchors and all the huge ropes to tie off the ship when in port or when we are anchored off shore. It surprisingly is a great place to host a party. That was about it for New Years. I hope everyone had a great time at their own functions.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS = LOTS OF PENGUINS!!!
Currently we are heading back down south to Antarctica for our second trip into the White Continent. Today we made our last stop before getting there in Stanley, The Falkland Islands. The island is located 400 miles off the eastern tip of South America in the South Atlantic Ocean. The group of islands is under control of the British Government, after defeating Argentinean forces in 1982. Still to this day there are land mines that are placed around the islands from this confrontation. The islands have become a major tourist attraction for cruise ship and expedition companies as they make their way around South America and/or en-route to the Antarctica Peninsula. Major wildlife include of course, penguins, sea lions, dolphins, whales, and many types of birds. Kristen and I set off to find such wildlife, and was happily surprised at what we saw. After taking a short $10.00 shuttle ride to Gypsy Cove located west of the main city center we found what we came to look for…Penguins. The species was that of Magellanic penguins which look like what you would think a penguin would look like. They are not very tall, maybe standing approximately 1-3 feet tall and was made up of black and white in color. As we approached the cove we could see two large groups of them on the pristine white sand beach. Some were out by themselves including one little guy who started to climb up the hill towards us. This offered us a great chance to shoot some photos of him. The path we were on was flanked by short brush that the penguins made their “burrows” in, some as deep as 2 meters. You could usually spot a mother or farther and their chick in a burrow if you looked closely. Further up the trial came to a look out deck and below that stood about a dozen more penguins spread out over the hill side. Some were walking around, taking care of chicks, or just doing nothing. They seemed pretty content with themselves. : ) A little further up the trial we spotted a huge Sea Lion that was lying on the beach and then a smaller one just up from him at the base of the hill which led up to the first lookout deck. We then headed back before a nice couple from our ship stopped us and showed us another parent and their chick. This was amazing because the two of them were no more then 3 feet from us at the top of their burrow. The chicks are brown in color and have think fur which I guessed is to keep them warm till they can produce their own set of feathers. It was very cute as the chick was making lots of noise probably because it was hungry or upset. The parent kept trying to stop this by pushing its beak down on the younger one…pretty typical from what I remember as a child when I would get to loud and my parents would try to shut me up. At this time we also spotted 2 dolphins swimming near the shore. We then decided to get back to the shuttle but not before we came across our last penguin who was laying outside his or her burrow. This one was no more then a foot away from us and could have been easily grabbed by anyone. He or she just lay there as we took its picture seeming to enjoy the attention. What an easy life!!! We then returned to the ship. We had a great day and got to see up close something I never thought I would ever see in person….real life penguins.
PLAN A TO ANTARCTICA!!!!
Like I mentioned before we are on our way now to the Antarctic Peninsula. This will be our second trip to this continent and the only difference is we will do things in reverse order of our first trip. Here is a quick run down of Plan A. Now remember, on our last trip we got to Plan G…maybe Plan M…not sure but things change on a moments notice due to weather, ice and time constraints. Our ice pilot assured the passengers at his first lecture that this trip is an “Ice avoidance trip,” and not one of an “ice breaking trip.” Our ship can withstand some hits here and there, but should not be running into icebergs. This is the biggest ship to ever travel through Antarctica. Day 1 plans a trip into the Antarctic Sound, also know as Iceberg Alley. This is located towards the north part of the Peninsula. Last time we did not make it all the way through to Paulette Island where we are trying to get to. This is because of pack ice and is to dense to travel through. Also on the agenda is Esperanza Station for penguins, and Deception Island. Being that this time there will be about 2 hours of complete darkness there is a chance of seeing the Auroris Australis (Please excuse the spelling). This is like the northern lights up in the North Pole, just in the South Pole. Day 2 we are planning to go to the Danco Coast, Gerlache Straight, and Newmeyer Channel. Again these places offer views of penguins, and lots and lots of icebergs. The scenery is amazing. Day 3 we plan on going to Palmer Station, which is a U.S. research station in Antarctica. We have some of the researchers board and do lectures. We will also debark 2 or 3 scientists that have been passengers since Buenos Aires. Talk about a nice way to get to your job. The Holy Grail of the trip will also be on this day as we try to get through Lemaire Channel which is beautiful. Last trip we got down pretty far but then had to turn around due to pack ice. From here we will head back up to Cape Horn and travel north on the west side of S.A. to Valparaiso, Chile. Don’t worry, I will update this when we are done and let you know what actually happened with the trip.
I hope everyone is well back home and I miss you all very much. Again if you have any questions or comments let me know. If I don’t now the answer I can get the answer ASAP. Love you all and can’t wait to see you all in a few months.
Cheers, Danny
Friday, December 26, 2008
ANTARCTICA....
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS….
First off I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I also hope you all have a great New Years.
As for me I just spent the last 3 days in Antarctica, which was by far the most amazing place I have ever seen. We arrived to the Antarctic Peninsula on Dec. 23 and spent till Christmas day cruising the archipelago. If you look on a map at South America the “arm” of Antarctica that extends from the main continent is the Antarctica Peninsula and that’s where we were. Ask yourself what you think of when you think of Antarctica. Do things like snow, ice, icebergs, penguins, cold, etc come to mind? Well it should, because that’s what it is, but more then that it is probably the most beautiful place I have ever visited. I hate to say it but it makes Alaska look like child’s play. There are many similarities between the two but also a lot of differences.
On our first day we encountered 30 degree weather encompassing fog, snow, and even some sun in the late afternoon and late evening. The thing about this time of year, which is the “summer”, is that it stays light out all day and night. The sun disappears around 9pm but there is constant light out. Pretty amazing and kind of weird if you have never seen this before. On this day we had scientists from the U.S. base camp Palmer Station come aboard and give some presentations to the passengers. While watching one of these I missed a mother Orca whale and her two babies playing outside the ship. I’m bummed I didn’t get to see them but there are pictures that I can get. Other wildlife we saw are many species of birds and of course everyone’s favorite, Penguins. Types that we encountered on this trip were Adele, Chinstrap, Macaroni and Gentoo penguins. Antarctica is home to most of the species that exist in the world today with some becoming close to extinction. Not being able to get to close the penguins looked like crushed pepper on a white table cloth, only they moved around and could swim. Also impressive was the scenery, including many islands consisting of snow and mountains and then some with snow just a couple feet over the water. Moving the ship through narrow channels is difficult for a couple reasons. One being all the drift ice coming up from the Wendell Sea, which has a huge sheet of pack ice. One these “Ice Bergs,” break off they will float for a long time. Of course they always win in a collision so the best way is to stay away from them. Sometimes they block opening to channels so the ice pilot and captain decide on other routes. The other reason is other smaller excursion ships that also are in the area. These are passenger ships or research vessels. They always have the right of way cause unlike our ship; they can make landings onto the land. The excursion vessels carry a smaller amount of passengers and take small rubber zodiac’s to get to land. The rest of this day we cruised around different areas and took in the extreme nature it has to offer.
On Christmas Eve we did the same thing cruising into different area to witness the wildlife and scenery. The great thing about today was that is was absolutely gorgeous out with 100% sun. Some clouds in the sky provided awesome pictures being in the backdrop of glaciers, mountains, and the water. The weather again was in the low 30’s. Making it colder was the wind sweeping over the ship. We cruised past some bases that are stationed in the area and saw some more vessels cruising around. As for the evening we had one of our production shows to do and then took part in the international choir for the passengers. This took place in the lounge and had a packed house. There were Indonesian, Filipino, and English speaking sections and turned out very nice. After this Kristen and I went to midnight mass, and then went to sleep because Christmas was fast approaching.
Christmas morning I woke to a phone call from Kristen telling me to get out on deck because there were thousands of penguins. We had arrived at Esperanza Island. I suited up in my many layers and snow jacket and then headed outside. To my surprise we were just off an island that was home to a penguin rookery. I’m not sure but I think the penguins were again Adele’s or Chinstraps. Again you could se their tiny bodies on the land, and also hear them. As small chunks of ice floated by some penguins were hulling themselves out and then jumped into the water as our huge ship went by. I was able to capture many pictures of groups of them swimming to shore. Every second they would jump out of the water and then dive under only to leave the water at an astonishing speed. We spent about an hour and a half here and then continued on to other islands. The main island we were heading too was Elephant Island, which was discovered in 1819 by British sailors who were blown off course while rounding Cape Horn. It got its name from the abundance of Elephant Seals that were on the island at one time. We were not going to get there till around 7pm, so as we were cruising we saw some of the most incredible icebergs I could have ever imagined seeing. Some of these we were told today were probably 2 and half square miles and measuring 70 to 110 feet tall. So, this means that it probably weighed around 400 MILLION TONS!!!! This is no joke and is pretty astonishing. Who says water is light. Some of them are so deep in the water they are standing on the bottom of the sea floor. To believe this you have to see them, which I will show because I got some pictures. : ) The crew then had a Christmas dinner in the Lido Dining Room and both Kristen and I had the Surf and Turf (filet and lobster tail), not to mention the three desserts I had just because. The rest of the night was a party as usual.
As of right now we are on a course to arrive into the Falkland Islands tomorrow morning. This island is also known for having a large number of penguin colonies. Unfortunately I have to stay onboard so I will not be able to explore this time. That is okay as we might not even stop at this island due to huge swells and the possibility of the weather changing so fast. This is typical of the area as is Antarctica.
I hope sometime everyone will get the chance to visit Antarctica. It truly is a gem of a place to go to, and only can be seen to be believed. Let me know if you have any questions about Antarctica. I would have written in more detail but this would have turned into a thesis paper. Hahahah However, I do not mind if you ask as many questions as you want. Our ship will be venturing back to Antarctica twice more this season so I will have a more things to report on in the near future. For now have a great New Years and write back when you can. Miss all of you sooooooo much.
Danny
First off I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I also hope you all have a great New Years.
As for me I just spent the last 3 days in Antarctica, which was by far the most amazing place I have ever seen. We arrived to the Antarctic Peninsula on Dec. 23 and spent till Christmas day cruising the archipelago. If you look on a map at South America the “arm” of Antarctica that extends from the main continent is the Antarctica Peninsula and that’s where we were. Ask yourself what you think of when you think of Antarctica. Do things like snow, ice, icebergs, penguins, cold, etc come to mind? Well it should, because that’s what it is, but more then that it is probably the most beautiful place I have ever visited. I hate to say it but it makes Alaska look like child’s play. There are many similarities between the two but also a lot of differences.
On our first day we encountered 30 degree weather encompassing fog, snow, and even some sun in the late afternoon and late evening. The thing about this time of year, which is the “summer”, is that it stays light out all day and night. The sun disappears around 9pm but there is constant light out. Pretty amazing and kind of weird if you have never seen this before. On this day we had scientists from the U.S. base camp Palmer Station come aboard and give some presentations to the passengers. While watching one of these I missed a mother Orca whale and her two babies playing outside the ship. I’m bummed I didn’t get to see them but there are pictures that I can get. Other wildlife we saw are many species of birds and of course everyone’s favorite, Penguins. Types that we encountered on this trip were Adele, Chinstrap, Macaroni and Gentoo penguins. Antarctica is home to most of the species that exist in the world today with some becoming close to extinction. Not being able to get to close the penguins looked like crushed pepper on a white table cloth, only they moved around and could swim. Also impressive was the scenery, including many islands consisting of snow and mountains and then some with snow just a couple feet over the water. Moving the ship through narrow channels is difficult for a couple reasons. One being all the drift ice coming up from the Wendell Sea, which has a huge sheet of pack ice. One these “Ice Bergs,” break off they will float for a long time. Of course they always win in a collision so the best way is to stay away from them. Sometimes they block opening to channels so the ice pilot and captain decide on other routes. The other reason is other smaller excursion ships that also are in the area. These are passenger ships or research vessels. They always have the right of way cause unlike our ship; they can make landings onto the land. The excursion vessels carry a smaller amount of passengers and take small rubber zodiac’s to get to land. The rest of this day we cruised around different areas and took in the extreme nature it has to offer.
On Christmas Eve we did the same thing cruising into different area to witness the wildlife and scenery. The great thing about today was that is was absolutely gorgeous out with 100% sun. Some clouds in the sky provided awesome pictures being in the backdrop of glaciers, mountains, and the water. The weather again was in the low 30’s. Making it colder was the wind sweeping over the ship. We cruised past some bases that are stationed in the area and saw some more vessels cruising around. As for the evening we had one of our production shows to do and then took part in the international choir for the passengers. This took place in the lounge and had a packed house. There were Indonesian, Filipino, and English speaking sections and turned out very nice. After this Kristen and I went to midnight mass, and then went to sleep because Christmas was fast approaching.
Christmas morning I woke to a phone call from Kristen telling me to get out on deck because there were thousands of penguins. We had arrived at Esperanza Island. I suited up in my many layers and snow jacket and then headed outside. To my surprise we were just off an island that was home to a penguin rookery. I’m not sure but I think the penguins were again Adele’s or Chinstraps. Again you could se their tiny bodies on the land, and also hear them. As small chunks of ice floated by some penguins were hulling themselves out and then jumped into the water as our huge ship went by. I was able to capture many pictures of groups of them swimming to shore. Every second they would jump out of the water and then dive under only to leave the water at an astonishing speed. We spent about an hour and a half here and then continued on to other islands. The main island we were heading too was Elephant Island, which was discovered in 1819 by British sailors who were blown off course while rounding Cape Horn. It got its name from the abundance of Elephant Seals that were on the island at one time. We were not going to get there till around 7pm, so as we were cruising we saw some of the most incredible icebergs I could have ever imagined seeing. Some of these we were told today were probably 2 and half square miles and measuring 70 to 110 feet tall. So, this means that it probably weighed around 400 MILLION TONS!!!! This is no joke and is pretty astonishing. Who says water is light. Some of them are so deep in the water they are standing on the bottom of the sea floor. To believe this you have to see them, which I will show because I got some pictures. : ) The crew then had a Christmas dinner in the Lido Dining Room and both Kristen and I had the Surf and Turf (filet and lobster tail), not to mention the three desserts I had just because. The rest of the night was a party as usual.
As of right now we are on a course to arrive into the Falkland Islands tomorrow morning. This island is also known for having a large number of penguin colonies. Unfortunately I have to stay onboard so I will not be able to explore this time. That is okay as we might not even stop at this island due to huge swells and the possibility of the weather changing so fast. This is typical of the area as is Antarctica.
I hope sometime everyone will get the chance to visit Antarctica. It truly is a gem of a place to go to, and only can be seen to be believed. Let me know if you have any questions about Antarctica. I would have written in more detail but this would have turned into a thesis paper. Hahahah However, I do not mind if you ask as many questions as you want. Our ship will be venturing back to Antarctica twice more this season so I will have a more things to report on in the near future. For now have a great New Years and write back when you can. Miss all of you sooooooo much.
Danny
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
12-17-2008 Puerto Montt, Chile
Hello there everyone,
So the last time I wrote (a few days ago), I said we would be getting into Chile and then on into Antarctica. Well we are getting closer to the “Lady in White,” as they call Antarctica. We left Santiago, Chile today. Our changeover is officially complete and now it is up to us, the cast to maintain the shows. I don’t think there will be any problems. Now we have to get ready for Christmas. Kristen and I bought Christmas lights and tree decorations for her cabin today. We even got a gold snowflake decoration that we are using as the tree topper for free. Got to love that.
Well a couple days have passed since I wrote that first paragraph. Today we were in Puerto Montt, Chile. I had to stay on the ship due to IPM (In Port Manning) but that’s okay. We come back here a coupe more times so it is okay. Not knowing what to expect here I was surprised to see a department store and a McDonalds. There is a tiny mall here within walking distance so that’s good to know for the future. The weather here is pretty nice. The temperature is about 60 degrees and there were some clouds in the sky but sunny for the whole day. Behind the town you can see a Volcano...the name I do not know but it rises into the sky with clouds around its top creating a very pretty picture. I was unable to get a picture so hopefully when we return we have the same weather and I will be able to photograph it.
For the next two days we will be scenic cruising through the Darwin Channel, The Chilean Fjords, and then Amalia Glacier and Canal. It will be good to see some gorgeous scenery kind of like what we would see in Alaska but totally different. Again I will get some great pictures.
As for the shows we had our first production show last night on our own. We did “Love Songs from Broadway.” It went pretty smooth except for the rockiness from the pretty nice swells occurring outside in the ocean. It was the rockiest we have seen since boarding the ship. Even though it wasn’t too bad it is a sample of what it will be like as we continue around Cape Horn and into Antarctica. Some of the worst waters are in this area so it shall be interesting. Prepare for some lovely accounts of this is the near future. As well as Pictures and hopefully some nice video as well.
As for now, take care and write me when you get a chance. Hope all is well.
Danny
So the last time I wrote (a few days ago), I said we would be getting into Chile and then on into Antarctica. Well we are getting closer to the “Lady in White,” as they call Antarctica. We left Santiago, Chile today. Our changeover is officially complete and now it is up to us, the cast to maintain the shows. I don’t think there will be any problems. Now we have to get ready for Christmas. Kristen and I bought Christmas lights and tree decorations for her cabin today. We even got a gold snowflake decoration that we are using as the tree topper for free. Got to love that.
Well a couple days have passed since I wrote that first paragraph. Today we were in Puerto Montt, Chile. I had to stay on the ship due to IPM (In Port Manning) but that’s okay. We come back here a coupe more times so it is okay. Not knowing what to expect here I was surprised to see a department store and a McDonalds. There is a tiny mall here within walking distance so that’s good to know for the future. The weather here is pretty nice. The temperature is about 60 degrees and there were some clouds in the sky but sunny for the whole day. Behind the town you can see a Volcano...the name I do not know but it rises into the sky with clouds around its top creating a very pretty picture. I was unable to get a picture so hopefully when we return we have the same weather and I will be able to photograph it.
For the next two days we will be scenic cruising through the Darwin Channel, The Chilean Fjords, and then Amalia Glacier and Canal. It will be good to see some gorgeous scenery kind of like what we would see in Alaska but totally different. Again I will get some great pictures.
As for the shows we had our first production show last night on our own. We did “Love Songs from Broadway.” It went pretty smooth except for the rockiness from the pretty nice swells occurring outside in the ocean. It was the rockiest we have seen since boarding the ship. Even though it wasn’t too bad it is a sample of what it will be like as we continue around Cape Horn and into Antarctica. Some of the worst waters are in this area so it shall be interesting. Prepare for some lovely accounts of this is the near future. As well as Pictures and hopefully some nice video as well.
As for now, take care and write me when you get a chance. Hope all is well.
Danny
Thursday, December 11, 2008
First Real Post
Hello everyone…I said I would be better about writing on this blog and I have not done so…so here it goes. I hope everyone is doing well back home and getting ready for Christmas. I hope Thanksgiving was pleasant.
We are doing well here on the ship. Today is December 10, 2008 and we left Peru today and heading for Chile. If you did not know the itinerary for this ship is South America and Antarctica. We hit Antarctica for Christmas…talk about a white Christmas. : ) Many people have asked, “How is the Ship?” The M.S. Amsterdam is gorgeous. It is one of two flagships for Holland America. It is slightly bigger then my last ship, the M.S. Veendam but has a slightly smaller stage. The décor of the ship is beautiful and has some things The Veendam did not. As for the crew, they are super nice as usual and are easy to get along with. We have already made friends with a lot of crew on board. The quicker to get to know everyone the better.
The second question everyone is asking is, “How are the shows?” They are pretty great. We have around 4-5 day’s to install every show which gives us plenty of time to clean each show and make it look good for our opening night. There are always those moments that get away but after a few weeks those get ironed out. We are doing an opening night show called, “Let Us Entertain You,” and 4 full production shows, “Tribute,” a Vegas review show, “Love Broadway,” and Broadway themed show, “On the Air,” hitting the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and “today.” That is a high energy show which of course makes you sweat a lot. Right now we are installing our 4 show called, “Showgirl.” It is a showgirl show with lots of feathers and showcasing the girls…of course. The guys do work a lot in this show as well which is nice….The show is costume heavy which means there are a lot of costume changes not only for the girls but for us guys as well. We will open this show on Saturday night. The time on this ship is going by fast. I feel like we just got here but we have been on for a couple weeks now. Our production staff leaves on the 15th of December as we port in Valparaiso, Chile. Then we are on our own for the next 4 months. Due to long duration of these cruises, (16, 22, etc day cruises) we have a lot of down time. Ramon, my roommate has a Nintendo DS as well as me so that will come in handy. Also I have collected a little library of books so those will be taking up some time as well. Besides that I will be helping Kristen with vents throughout the ship and also plan to teach some crew hip hop classes. It’s always nice to give back to the crew on these ships because they work sooooooo hard. Another questions people have is, “How are the living conditions?” Well my cabin in pretty small but we do have the biggest room out of the cast. It has a pole in the middle making it a bigger cabin…nice. : ) It’s like dorm room living but free. We have a bathroom, TV, mini fridge, closet space…ohhh and curtains on our bed for some privacy. It could be a lot worse I think and we are never in here for to long at a time so it’s not too bad. The best part of working on a ship is the free food. We re lucky in the sense that we can eat our meals in the Lido, which is the casual dining or Buffet style type of eating you find on ships. The food is pretty good...but can get repetitive after a few weeks. It is free though, so you can’t complain. We are also able to enjoy a beverage or few in public areas on the ship...which is weird because you are basically getting paid to drink on the job. Hmmmmmm….. This is mainly in the evening in the bars and nightclub. A few days ago they hosted the Black and White Ball, which is a way to meet the Captain, his staff and the officers on the ship. We are able to go to things like that’s and they provide free drinks o that’s pretty cool. They also have crew parties for the crew as we did a few nights ago while we were doing an over-night in Callou, Peru (Lima). It was on the bow of the ship and is just for the crew so that’s great….again free drinks and food.
The last question people pretty much ask is, “Do you ever get off the ship?” The answer is Yes. We are able to get off the ship almost in ever port. Every port 3 cast members have to stay on for IPM (In Port Manning). Basically a certain number of crew have to be on board in the case of an emergency. This rotates every port so most likely you don’t have to stay on the ship twice in a row. We have been able to get off the ship lately. Most recently Kristen and I got off in Peru. Most passengers g on excursions of shop and I had to get some essentials…..We rode on a 30 minute shuttle ride to Mira Flores which is a higher end part of Peru. They have a pretty nice outdoor mall with restaurants such as Hooters, Tony Romas, Burger King and a Sushi place, not to mention the little fast food places as well. They had a good selection of stores which you would find in any mall in the states or Canada. We were warned many times because it is not the safest place to travel to and the day before a comedian on our ship was robbed. But we had no problem and I was able to get what I needed…2 shower lufa’s, and more razors to shave with. I know…I’m a big shopper. If don’t right you can save a lot of money on these contracts and that’s what I plan to do. I just have to stop my cell phone for a few months. Speaking of which if you need to get a hold of me please email me or send me a message on facebook or myspace as my cell phone will not be working while in South America. My email address is danny.hochman@gmail.com. Or you can comment back to me on this Blog.
Well I hope all is going well back home and I miss everyone soooo much. Please if possible stay in contact as it is good to hear how you are all doing. I will be back April 27th, 2009 and might possible be home for a week then heading back out to this ship for 7 months. I know pretty crazy. I will update that as the time gets closer. Have a good Holiday and I love you all.
Danny
We are doing well here on the ship. Today is December 10, 2008 and we left Peru today and heading for Chile. If you did not know the itinerary for this ship is South America and Antarctica. We hit Antarctica for Christmas…talk about a white Christmas. : ) Many people have asked, “How is the Ship?” The M.S. Amsterdam is gorgeous. It is one of two flagships for Holland America. It is slightly bigger then my last ship, the M.S. Veendam but has a slightly smaller stage. The décor of the ship is beautiful and has some things The Veendam did not. As for the crew, they are super nice as usual and are easy to get along with. We have already made friends with a lot of crew on board. The quicker to get to know everyone the better.
The second question everyone is asking is, “How are the shows?” They are pretty great. We have around 4-5 day’s to install every show which gives us plenty of time to clean each show and make it look good for our opening night. There are always those moments that get away but after a few weeks those get ironed out. We are doing an opening night show called, “Let Us Entertain You,” and 4 full production shows, “Tribute,” a Vegas review show, “Love Broadway,” and Broadway themed show, “On the Air,” hitting the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and “today.” That is a high energy show which of course makes you sweat a lot. Right now we are installing our 4 show called, “Showgirl.” It is a showgirl show with lots of feathers and showcasing the girls…of course. The guys do work a lot in this show as well which is nice….The show is costume heavy which means there are a lot of costume changes not only for the girls but for us guys as well. We will open this show on Saturday night. The time on this ship is going by fast. I feel like we just got here but we have been on for a couple weeks now. Our production staff leaves on the 15th of December as we port in Valparaiso, Chile. Then we are on our own for the next 4 months. Due to long duration of these cruises, (16, 22, etc day cruises) we have a lot of down time. Ramon, my roommate has a Nintendo DS as well as me so that will come in handy. Also I have collected a little library of books so those will be taking up some time as well. Besides that I will be helping Kristen with vents throughout the ship and also plan to teach some crew hip hop classes. It’s always nice to give back to the crew on these ships because they work sooooooo hard. Another questions people have is, “How are the living conditions?” Well my cabin in pretty small but we do have the biggest room out of the cast. It has a pole in the middle making it a bigger cabin…nice. : ) It’s like dorm room living but free. We have a bathroom, TV, mini fridge, closet space…ohhh and curtains on our bed for some privacy. It could be a lot worse I think and we are never in here for to long at a time so it’s not too bad. The best part of working on a ship is the free food. We re lucky in the sense that we can eat our meals in the Lido, which is the casual dining or Buffet style type of eating you find on ships. The food is pretty good...but can get repetitive after a few weeks. It is free though, so you can’t complain. We are also able to enjoy a beverage or few in public areas on the ship...which is weird because you are basically getting paid to drink on the job. Hmmmmmm….. This is mainly in the evening in the bars and nightclub. A few days ago they hosted the Black and White Ball, which is a way to meet the Captain, his staff and the officers on the ship. We are able to go to things like that’s and they provide free drinks o that’s pretty cool. They also have crew parties for the crew as we did a few nights ago while we were doing an over-night in Callou, Peru (Lima). It was on the bow of the ship and is just for the crew so that’s great….again free drinks and food.
The last question people pretty much ask is, “Do you ever get off the ship?” The answer is Yes. We are able to get off the ship almost in ever port. Every port 3 cast members have to stay on for IPM (In Port Manning). Basically a certain number of crew have to be on board in the case of an emergency. This rotates every port so most likely you don’t have to stay on the ship twice in a row. We have been able to get off the ship lately. Most recently Kristen and I got off in Peru. Most passengers g on excursions of shop and I had to get some essentials…..We rode on a 30 minute shuttle ride to Mira Flores which is a higher end part of Peru. They have a pretty nice outdoor mall with restaurants such as Hooters, Tony Romas, Burger King and a Sushi place, not to mention the little fast food places as well. They had a good selection of stores which you would find in any mall in the states or Canada. We were warned many times because it is not the safest place to travel to and the day before a comedian on our ship was robbed. But we had no problem and I was able to get what I needed…2 shower lufa’s, and more razors to shave with. I know…I’m a big shopper. If don’t right you can save a lot of money on these contracts and that’s what I plan to do. I just have to stop my cell phone for a few months. Speaking of which if you need to get a hold of me please email me or send me a message on facebook or myspace as my cell phone will not be working while in South America. My email address is danny.hochman@gmail.com. Or you can comment back to me on this Blog.
Well I hope all is going well back home and I miss everyone soooo much. Please if possible stay in contact as it is good to hear how you are all doing. I will be back April 27th, 2009 and might possible be home for a week then heading back out to this ship for 7 months. I know pretty crazy. I will update that as the time gets closer. Have a good Holiday and I love you all.
Danny
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