Joining the Fantasy . . .

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What a whirlwind turn-around!

I arrive home from South Africa only 2 days before Christmas. There was some mad rushing around replacing things lost during my mugging (license, health card, etc.) before everything closed up. Then lovely holiday time. I’m so happy to have been home for a holiday, uninterrupted. Time with my family, including the extended family, is so valued right now. Lots of time with my best friend and the little guy I love (her baby). Jet lag really kicked my butt for the first week or so, but otherwise, it was just wonderful.

However, less than 3 weeks later, I was already packed and again on a plane! 10 days ago, I signed onto the Carnival Fantasy. The Fantasy is one of our oldest ships and she is so small! Well, actually she isn’t. I don’t know if any cruise ship is truly small. But compared to the other ships I’ve worked on, it is small. That took some getting used to. Our itinerary is only 4 and 5 day cruises - so short compared to other cruises I’ve worked. That’s taking some getting used to.The layout and the organization of the ship is very different. That took a lot of getting used to. Going over the safety information for my safety test the first week was so overwhelming - it reminded me what it was like being a new hire again!

But I’m settling in quite nicely. There are some great people that I’ve met here. And there are some fabulous people that I know from previous ships that I’ve been reunited with. That has become one of my favourite parts about doing multiple contracts - the reunions.

For work, I’m only mildly busy. There aren’t many teens onboard - about 50 each cruise. Though of those 50, I’m getting quite large turnouts. The ship is based out of New Orleans, so our guests are almost entirely from the Southern and Mid States, which is a different crowd than I’ve usually worked with. But those Southern folk really are nice! Work being calm is letting me settle into life onboard again - getting back in the gym, going out in the evenings.

Now that I’m settling in, I’m looking forward to getting out in the ports. Because it’s short itineraries, there’s only a few ports: Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico. But Progreso is new for me, and I’m especially excited about having New Orleans as the home port. So far I've only been out to quickly use internet in Cozumel (and have a surprise reunion with my friend Jenalle, from my first contract on the Legend - and she doesn't even work on ships anymore!). But soon, I plan to get out and start seeing things. Adventures ahead!

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Comments

[swills82]

And yet your "small" ship still holds more than twice as many passengers at max capacity than my poor Majesty (I checked. lol) Enjoy the sunshine!