Disney Dreamin'

You know what’s strange about working on a cruise ship? Going to see a showing of one of the musicals in the theatre then going to get my supper and eating next to Aladdin and Cinderella. Well, not in full dress anyway. A few of us from YA went to see Disney Dreams together tonight (Dani, Caroline, Cassie, Teresa and Hunter, for my own reference). I’m such a sap, I was tearing up the whole time ‘cause I loved it so much. I kept trying to hide my sniffs within the notes and was wishing so bad for my sis Catherine to be next to me since she’d be in a similar state, if not worse! I’ve seen almost all of the shows now and as everyone had told me this one was by far the best of the lot. Amazing. I love musicals. (And Pirate Parties with ziplining Mickeys and fireworks. That was last night's cultural experience. They are much better held outdoors now that we're out of Alaska.)

Also, a letter of importance...

Dear Mom,

I miss your home cooked meals. A lot.

Love,

Emily

Mexico!

This is the first time I've used Internet since the coffee shop in Victoria, which was about a week and a half ago. I feel so disconnected from the world but now that dry dock is over I'm back to having limited time to see things and that's my priority unfortunately. Facebook just makes me miss home more anyway. The last few days have felt like all I've done is sleep, eat, work, repeat.

Saturday we stopped in Ensenada, Mexico. My very first taste of Mexican culture. We will never go there again, as it was only part of our repositioning cruise from Vancouver. I spent my brief break seeing the sights.

And there wasn't much to see really, it was a 'hot mess' as they like to say here; cluttered, tacky billboards lined the streets. It didn't really matter though because the entire time I was thinking, "I'm in Mexico right now. I'm in freakin' Mexico right now." They did happen to have a decent little park along the way just on the side of the street and there was a Mcdonalds and a Starbucks. I went and ordered an iced drink from Starbees. It was ALL in Spanish, so I just ordered what I saw advertised in the picture cause I didn't know what anything was. The girl spoke english anyway, but I got my first pesos back as change. (side note: I bought flip flops that were $134.00 today! Pesos that is. It's weird how expensive it all seems, but apparently you get 12 pesos for 1 american dollar.)

Today we stopped in Puerto Vallarta, after two longgg days of being at sea. We were so happy to see land and it is so gorgeous here!! Super convenient too, because there is a mall with Subway, McDonald's and Chili's inside and a Walmart right next to it, all directly across the street from where the ship docks. Oh, and a resort just ten minutes away with a beach and a pool we can use for free. Perfect. 

I worked from 7am-6pm today with a 2 hour break in the afternoon. I was guiding groups of people to the gangway to do port adventures for the first 3 hours and I was rather tempted to sneak off of the boat and join them. On my own break, I got off with Cassie where we met up with a couple others coming back from the beach and we all went to Walmart and got food in the mall foodcourt. I bought a sub and paid in pesos. I have no idea how much I actually paid for it, I didn't even understand what she asked for. I just handed her money with a question on my face and she nodded and took it all. Must have been exact? Hope I figure it out soon. Luckily the guy making my sandwich spoke English. Let's just say I am now very inspired (desperate) to learn spanish as quickly as possible, even though before now I pretty much hated it.

The weather here in PV was super sunny and incredibly humid. Apparently the humidity is from the hurricane that passed by in the last day or two, but we've been fine. Last week I got my first real taste of rough seas and I'm very happy to say that I did not get sick while plenty of passengers and kids were tossing their cookies all over the place. Gross. I only felt kinda blah the first night, and been ok since then. Just a little headache at the most. Feel free to tell that to my dad you guys! Proud to have my sea legs. In my cabin I get rocked to sleep every night and since my room is right next to the side of the ship it sounds like a quiet washing machine which is soothing. I love it.

We're in Cabo San Lucas the next two days. One is a short day, the other a long one, not sure which is which, but we are "tendering" for both to get to shore, aka, catching a little boat to get to shore instead of walking the gangway. Slows things down a bit. Chances are with my schedule I won't have time to get off this week. There's always next week. Oh, and some friends of mine went jet skiing this morning and dolphins were swimming right next to them in the water, said they could reach out and touch them if they wanted. Awesome right? I'll have a late start to my shifts next week, starting at 10 or 11am at the earliest, so I plan to get up early with a friend to try do whatever I can!! So excited!

I know I sound like I'm completely loving life all the time here, but I have definitely had my homesick moments. I miss you guys and I wish there wasn't such a massive time difference between us.

Last night in Canada you guys! As of tomorrow I will be making my way towards LA and Mexico. Bout time. But I'm a little worried. Apparently Alaska cruises were just a lovely little break from the craziness that the kid spaces usually are. They will be super packed in Mexico. Imagine, sitting with anywhere between 100-200 kids for 9-11 hours in one room. Yikes. We'll see how this goes! All I know is that I am looking forward to seeing the sun on a regular basis. I think I deserve it. haha.

Above pictures are from when we were in Victoria. A group of us went orca whale watching for super cheap and then my roomie and I went exploring downtown. It was a fun DAY OFF. Didn't even know I'd ever get one of those!

a quick update

One of my favourite pictures from Alaska. 

We spent the afternoon on the sports deck in Tracy Arm, 

playing games with the kids all with the gorgeous view of the glacier.

dry dock: day 4

Hello world! I am currently sitting at a Starbucks in Victoria, BC with a few comrades from work. I'll be here for the next week and a half for dry dock! It's nice to be in one place for a little bit of time for a change, to have a chance to discover the fun spots. Our days are shorter which is great. Instead of the usual 9 to 11 hours a day, it's a normal 8. I've been doing a lot of random jobs. All of us from the Entertainment department wait in one place until someone radios us asking for x amount of people to go to an area to do something for them. I've done trash runs, carpet moving, fabric sorting, vent cleaning, furniture moving, all sorts of dirty, dusty jobs. We got our very own set of coveralls and gloves which are kinda fun to wear. Our bodies are taking a slight beating but don't get me wrong, it is a welcome change.

As we arrived from Vancouver to Victoria they held a Sail Away Party up on deck 9. It was fun to do something together that wasn't work and to mingle with some of my friends in other departments. A good start to Dry Dock! 

In our off time we're free to leave the ship any time, 24 hours a day and they have a free bus that runs back and forth to town for anyone on board until 2 in the morning. Our first chance off the ship Sarah Jane and I met up with one of our friends from our traditions group and his spa friends and ate out at Fiamo, a little italian restaurant with an outdoor patio that we took advantage of. It had a heat lamp which kept us perfectly warm as the night cooled down, and even heated toilet seats in the bathrooms. I was amused. There I sat at a table with someone from Ireland (Keira), Northern England (Emily) and Scotland (SJ).

Last night SJ and I took a quick walk after work to Tim Hortons and a gas station for some snacks since it was the only thing open at 9:45. She had never had it before and it wasn't really that life altering. Just for fun though. She was telling me about a place called Greg's in Scotland, where you can get good food for cheap (SK you should go, if you haven't already!) and how good their breakfasts are. As if I needed more reasons to want to make a trip across the pond.

Anyway, hope all is well across the country and I should be better at my updates now that I know where to find good internet. We have free wi-fi on the ship for a portion of the day but it is worse than dial up most of the time and I can't be bothered. I had some pictures to share but as always, it's taking forever to load. I think we're moving on from here to do a little browsing. Another update soon. xo

mickeyyyy

Me and the Mouse himself. Was walking in after being in port last week and there he came up the hallway. I had my camera in hand and he came to me waving and made a click click gesture with his hand. It really warms my heart the way the Disney characters interact with the guests. I turn into a mushy excited little kid.

Since I got off super early I had some time on my hands this evening. Claire and I went to see the Toy Story Musical they were putting off in the theatre. It was excellent. I love the dinosaur so much, whatever his name is. I'm glad I get to see full scale musical at almost any time I want to. Love!!

Stoneys in Vancouver!

I got to see my lovely CWJ friends, the Stoney twins, while in Vancouver on Tuesday (August 30^th)! Somehow the stars aligned and allowed this to happen. They actually live about 15 hours away from Vancouver but were going to be in town the day before I was in port. They picked me up and we spent what precious time I had left in Stanley Park before having to get back on board. We got some pictures by statues and totem poles and caught up a little bit. I’m so glad to have been in their province and get to explore a tiny part of it with them. It’s definitely a part of this trip that I will cherish.

sarah palin

I met Sarah Palin in Juneau on Saturday (27^th).

I was a thrilling experience, mostly because a few weeks before I left home, 

my uncle decided that I looked a lot like her and he started calling me Sarah instead. 

So, to travel all the way to Alaska and to 'meet' my twin? 

It kinda made my day.