http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Travelling-Artist/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Travelling Artist en-us Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:56:40 +0000 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:56:40 +0000 A few weeks back right around when American Thanksgiving passed and Christmas commercials started playing nonstop Clair my codirector and I started talking about little things we could do to decorate our club for the holidays. We picked up a couple of small things like wrapping paper and bows in San Diego and we borrowed lots of craft supplies from the childrenrsquos playroom. Soon after http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Pacific/blog-461873.html This week our regular itinerary is switched around a bit. Usually when wersquore in Acapulco wersquore there from noon until 1am. With this itinerary itrsquos 6am5pm. The regular itinerary is perfect for crew like me who work late I can sleep in then have a full afternoon and early evening out before having to come back to work. So today it meant getting up early in order to get a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Guerrero/Acapulco/blog-461255.html Today we were in the port of ZihautanejoIxtapa a sort of double port. Our ship pulls into a bay and we tender ashore into Zihautanejo. But the next bay over is Ixtapa and the two cities are pretty much connected. Zihautanejo is in many ways still developing. Itrsquos a bit rougher and itrsquos where many locals live. Ixtapa is very developed and is mainly lined with expensive resorts an http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Guerrero/Ixtapa/blog-459628.html Irsquom slowly starting to fall into the routine of this latest ship. Though it always takes time to feel completely settled and at ease. All of the sea days on our current itinerary are really draining so when we finally get the break of a port day itrsquos tempting to just stay in bed all day But Irsquove been making myself get up and out.Yesterday we were in Acapulco and a group of u http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Guerrero/Zihuatanejo/blog-459627.html I've had some inquiries about how to send things to me at the ship. Seeing as I'm actually here to stay I can actually receive mail onboard again The below address will get to our ship whenever we're in homeport. So please write away And then you can get pretty postcards or other surprise goodies from the south . . .MS Carnival SpiritJeanette Hedley 403242Club O2 DirectorPaxton Shreve http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/blog-456570.html I've already been on the Spirit for over a week now. And I'm still rather delighted to be here.Only a couple days onto the ship I got sick. The stupid sign on sickness that seems to find you when you join a ship. But I'd managed to stay healthy through both the Conquest and the Ecstasy so I guess it was time it caught me. I'm already back to normal though so at least it didn't last too lo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Colima/Manzanillo/blog-455618.html Transfer time has come againI finished things up on the Ecstasy. Brian is set to take the training wheels off as we joked. I did all my signoff stuff and got packed. Chris and Brian took me to the crew bar on my last night for some wine to see me off. I've really enjoyed working with the two of them and really they'll be what's missed from the Ecstasy. But I was ready to goI had one ni http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Colima/Manzanillo/blog-453717.html This last week we have had terrible weather. The tropical storm Ida has been working it's way through the Caribbean and right along the path where we regularly sail. The ships do their best to avoid the storms most of our ships based out of Florida have detoured to avoid this end of the Caribbean entirely. But being out of Galveston there's not really anywhere else to go. So we've been sai http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cozumel/blog-453267.html A favourite part of repeated contracts on the cruise ships for me is getting to meet up with friends from previous ships. Irsquom into my final two weeks on the Ecstasy my replacement Brian has arrived and Irsquove begun his intro training but Irsquove got a few exciting reunions during these last days. Today in Cozumel was one I got to meet up with my friend Erica who I worked with http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cozumel/blog-450994.html Over my years working on ships one holiday that Irsquod yet to experience was Halloween. My contracts have always worked out that I have either been at home or traveling on my own. Looking at photos from other crew members it always looked so fun with everyone all dressed up. So when this contract was sorted out and I knew Irsquod be on a ship for Halloween I started looking for my costu http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Caribbean/Gulf-of-Mexico/blog-450292.html Today another day in Cozumel has rolled around. I wanted to go and see something I hadnrsquot yet seen there so I asked Chris if he wanted to go to a beach. In all the many many times Irsquove been to Cozumel Irsquove never just gone to a beachAs we walked off the ship the sun was shining. Wersquove had whatrsquos seemed like endless days of grey overcast skies and often rain. I http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cozumel/blog-450286.html For the most part things are pretty much back to ldquonormalrdquo or as normal as it gets on ships.Our first cruise out of dry dock has come to an end. Today wersquore in Galveston our home port disembarking and embarking guests. This morning we had our Coast Guard inspection which can often be a very long and hot and frustrating drill. But it wasnrsquot too bad we were done in ha http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Galveston/blog-447317.html Itrsquos been about a week and a half since the epic adventure of transferring to the Carnival Ecstasy. And itrsquos been pretty chaotic ever since.When I arrived on the Ecstasy it was in itrsquos final days of dry dock renovations. We had one night in Freeport then 3 days to sail to Galveston the shiprsquos home port. That time was needed. Though the ship had been in dry dock for http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cozumel/blog-447316.html Todayrsquos blog has a special guest appearance Chris a fellow Canadian and my current work partner in crime. Hersquos been doing his new hire training on the Conquest for the last few weeks and is moving with me to the Ecstasy where he will be running the younger teen program Circle ldquoCrdquo. This blog is epic so sit back . . .Bright and early yesterday morning I signed off th http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Grand-Bahama/Freeport/blog-446727.html Already my week on the Conquest has come to an end.There was a second formal night which meant another night out at the disco. Lots of crew were out that night. I spent the night chatting with friends and dancing. I stayed until the disco closed and security cleared everyone out then I was at a friendrsquos cabin after.My second last day we were in Cozumel. I was meant to go on a tour wit http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Galveston/blog-446725.html I'm having such a great time on this shipI've been spending a lot of time in training or sitting at the computer reading months of old emails and computer postings getting updated on all things work related. And of course I've been in my club with Andy the other director here and our teens who are super nice and fun. I've gotten them hooked on SkipBo card game which was a bit addiction on http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/blog-443583.html I'm back at it again.It really didn't seem like it was going to happen for much of my summer at home but I have landed another ship contract that not only employs me until next summer but I'm really excited about doing. My first month or so is going to be pretty hectic as I'm hopping around to different ships but it's goingto be a good one.Today I signed onto the Carnival Conquest. I'm only go http://www.travelblog.org/Oceans-and-Seas/Caribbean/blog-443577.html My last full day in Vancouver was nice and relaxing. Laura and I first returned the rental car then explored around downtown. Had a lovely crepe breakfast then popped in and out of shops. And I made quite the purchase . . . a pair of John Fluevog shoes. John Fluevog is a Vancouver designer who makes some pretty incredible shoes. Laura had taken me to his main location in Gas Town earlier in http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-434644.html I thought it would be nice to do some exploring outside of Vancouver and see somewhere I hadn't seen before. Whistler seemed like a rather logical answer seeing as it's just up the recently redone Sea to Sky Highway. Laura hadn't been there yet either so that seemed like a bonus. Then a friend I'd worked with a few years ago Prenko happened to also be traveling out this way so we arrang http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Whistler/blog-434596.html I'm so happy to be in VancouverIt is wonderful to see Laura and spend time with her and talk for eons. I've been getting other great visits in to which I'll get to. And this is such a great city. I can see why so many of my friends are moving out here. It'd be a great place to live. I'll file it away in my list of ideas for places to live . . . not yet something I'm ready to settle on.It h http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-433585.html