Beach Bound...

I realized today that I am destined to be settled in a warmer climate. Yesterday was thrilling as well as refreshing. Everyday is refreshing come to think of it. The sun comes out most of the time providing me with essential "happy" vitamins and warming the air around me. As I got off the ship today the birds were chirping in nearby trees as a calming warm breeze brushed through the air. I was in my shorts and sandals and love how the air crosses by my ankles on such warm days. I had my sunglasses on and had no worry of freezing rain or wind chills. I walked through Curaçao at a casual pace on a day in winter that felt like it was early summer and thoroughly enjoyed my time out. I also love just lazing about on deck letting the sun warm me up. When I think of most of my friends and family to the north putting on layers of clothing to withstand the wind chills and cold temperatures I shutter in disbelief. I know I will have to face it for a few winters. All that extra clothing that bunches up when you go out to dinner or see a show. The cold feet as I have to put on many layers of socks to keep the dampness of the slush and the cold out. The cloudy and crisp days. The sunny ones are nice, but your nose runs when the freezing air hits your face and your eyes water icy tears. Your face becomes burned not by sun, but by the harsh breezes that scrub your face cold. No way. I like putting on cool clothing and going out without a jacket or even just a light one for those cooler evenings. I like walking around in my sandals and occasionally having the sand brush through my toes. Winter? Bah humbug! I could have spring and summer all year round. Especially on a beach.

Totally Tubular....

Aruba. We took adventure to the extreme today. We all went to the beach and had a fine day out. Once we all got our heads together on what to do, we decided on tubing. It was awesome and tough at the same time. I was in the first group to go. Jason Venner (our CD), Katie, and Andre (from the shops) joined me. Remembering the last time I went tubing in 2005, I thought this would be exhilarating and slightly tough to hang on. Jason promised me I was going down and I rejected him saying I was going to stay strong. He put the idea in my head of splashing water in opponent's faces by placing your hand in the water to catch a spray. We started off. It was good. We were going strong. Instead of my hand I decided to play with my foot. I wanted to have the strongest grip possible. I was going good and enjoying it. Suddenly the driver took a sharp turn. I knew what that meant. We were going to crack the whip and I was the first to go. He took the turn sharp and I still had my foot in the water. Before I knew it the wake of the boat was on me and my tube flipped over because of the resistance of my foot. Into the sea water and a mouthful of it I got in a gasp. Ewww. I spat it out and started the embarrassing swim back to the tube. I lost control. First to go. I sure ate my words. It was more difficult than I thought getting back into the tube. I hoped it would be the last time I had to do this. Although I knew I was in for more of a beating. He took off again. We were going fast and ramming into each other. I tried to counter and balance myself on the wakes. I flipped again from the middle and knocked off Katie and Andre after bouncing off of Jason's back. Jason stayed on. In the water again. Ugh! Wow this was exhausting. We got back on after much laboring and the driver was off again. This time he took a very sharp turn isolating Jason from the rest of us and whipping him on the outer edge. He was crossing the wake so fast he couldn't hold it and he was over. Bam!! He was down. He got back on after his first spill. The driver was off and zooming again doing more turns creating more crack the whips and sending us across the wakes. I was doing real well at balancing and holding on. Water was plashing in my face and I couldn't see. I was holding on for dear life eating salt water after laughing so hard. Another sharp turn in the opposite direction sent us careening across the wake of the boat along with the wakes of other boats creating this weird pattern of waves. I couldn't hold it and my foot got caught in the stream of water. Flipped!! This time I took Jason and Katie with me. I was pretty far from the tubes this time. I started to swim and took a huge gulp of seawater. My gag reflex ignited and the water along with the small snack I had earlier came spewing out of my mouth and into the sea. I was taking in too much seawater and it was exhausting me. I didn't know how much longer I could take it. I barely made it back into the tube and pressed on. He started heading back to the starting point crossing the view of our friends on the beach. He went for the turn. Oooooh. It was a sharp one and I was on the outside heading for the whip. I almost held it to the end before I bounced into the air and landed on the side of my tube sending me cart wheeling off into the sea. I was done. I was in shallow water so I was just going to walk back to the shore, but the driver said he needed to take me in. I barely made it back into my tube again to make it back to shore. He did one final crack before heading to the beach, but I held strong. Ooh that was a rough ride. It was much rougher than I remember it back in 2005. Much rougher!! The next group went consisting of our lead singer David, his wife Michon, and 2 other dancers Cara and Steve. This set of tubers weren't hurdled as much as we were, but they were given a fairly rough ride as well. Especially the guys. They really got whipped and David took 2 hard spills. Another group went out consisting of our shops men Andre (in for round 2) and Richard, and 2 of our guy dancers Chris and Marty. They left the beach only to reappear at the end all four flying high into the air on the wake of the boat and their final whip. They came off spent since there was some tough spills because there were 4 guys on the team. Whoa. I guess it was too rough for them since only 2 got minor enjoyment out of it. Spent from the day we headed back to the ship for a little clean up and pizza on the bow. A tradition that's becoming popular every time we stop in Aruba. It was definitely an exhausting day and I will definitely sleep well tonight. I will however think twice about tubing with the single tubes again and go for the doubles or triples. They take the rides smoother, but still exciting, with the more people they tow in a tube. We were asked at the beginning if we just wanted a thrilling ride or if we wanted to have some real fun. We opted for the real fun with the single tubes. Next time I'll be happy with an exciting ride or maybe just a jet ski.

It's nice to finally have family on board. I have been cruising now with Holland America for roughly 6 contracts and with my extension on this one it will be 7. I have been able to see the world and perform with a lot of great people and experience fabulous things. In the amount of time I've been out here I've been able to reflect on personal time and pay off huge debts. This will be my last contract coming up for as long as I can help it. I need to focus on my land-based goal and take some time off from traveling. I wanted to finally have the opportunity to bring out some of my family to experience some of the daily things I get to experience. I talked my mom and grandma into sailing with me on this ship, the Westerdam. It's only the Caribbean, but it's a fabulous start for first time cruisers and they still get away from the country for a bit (away from the coldness of the north). They came into Ft. Lauderdale this past Sunday and have been sailing with me to places such as The Bahamas, Grand Turk, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. They got to see the huge production shows that come with this class of ship (Holland America's Vista Class) that are unlike the other shows on the smaller ships. They have all the bells and whistles so to speak of a regular theatre on land and then some. They got the white glove service of the Pinnacle restaurant on board as well as the 5-star dining in the main dining room. They enjoyed the spa, complimentary room service, culinary demonstrations by master chefs, and of course the casino. We didn't do too much in the way of shore excursions offered by the ship. As they found out, there just wasn't enough time in 7 days to do EVERYTHING that could be done. We did manage to get out in ports and see a bit though. To be honest there isn't much to do in the Caribbean except enjoy its beautiful beaches along with the awesome snorkeling and undersea activities. This just isn't their cup of tea. They did enjoy all the desserts we have on board though and realize what I have to put up with on a daily basis. Yikes! Calories galore. I did learn that the food in the dining room, although similar to what I get in the Lido for dinner, tastes much better and is presented so much nicer. I'm actually thankful I don't get dining room service weekly. Otherwise I'd be a blimp. One week of dining room (and not a full week mind you) was enough for me. On shore we experienced what we could. I got them out to see the beautiful beach in Half Moon Cay in The Bahamas. It's a private island and very remote. My mom and I took a little taxi adventure to the San Gervasio ruins in Cozumel, and they even went off on their own for a bit in Grand Cayman.

It was strange to have them on board with me. I knew when I took up cruising as a venue that not many of my friends or family could come out to see me in a show if at all. It would mean a matter of timing, affordability, and itinerary. Cruise ships go EVERYWHERE and sometimes I was just too pricey of a flight for someone to reach me. Whenever I performed on land someone was always able to come see me in the show at some point. Some friends who were in town or could take a trip to one of the states I was performing in, my immediate family were always able to make at least a few shows a year, and then the local friends I made from show to show were always supportive (granted most of them were into the arts in some form). The cruise life brought up the challenge of performing knowing that maybe 1 chance in a hundred someone I knew would see me. It was always great landing the contract especially for fantastic voyages like the World Cruise, South America Cruise, European Destinations, or even to the top of the world. However this didn't allow many people other than my immediate ship friends to come partake in the performances we gave. Some cast members throughout the past years were able to get their families on or have a friend sail with them for nothing (based on officer status), but many others and I were always left in the dark. It brought all of us together as a cast in most situations. I had my own family on board. Game nights, party nights, days out, biking, exploring, hiking, and on and on. For the first time I was able to share this with my mom and grandma. I almost got to share it with them and a good friend from New York who also wanted to cruise this week. He unfortunately got wait listed and eventually cancelled since this week was booked for the holidays. It was odd to finally see my family on board and for them to see the Lido in person, sit in the theatre, or eat in the dining room. My favorite was going to the specialty restaurant (the Pinnacle). I was a tad nervous during the shows since I finally had someone out there I KNEW to perform for. It was great though. I've never spent more time out in passenger areas than I have this week. Wow. I hope I can see more of my friends and family on board in the coming months. I know my best friend from San Diego has already been scoping out and most likely booked her cruise for September already. That will be exciting in Alaska. That is one thing I have to say about abundant itineraries like Alaska and the Caribbean along with the bigger ships. They are affordable for the line. The line itself is pretty pricey, but the bigger ships tend to be cheaper (especially at the last minute) because they are so big. The smaller ships (which I have been working on in the past) are cozier, but they come with a stiffer tag to them. Pricier also because they have more extravagant itineraries. I had to see the world though and for show quality I'm glad people can see these shows I'm performing in now. There's a certain notch higher of production quality that comes with this class of ship. One I would expect from a flashy Vegas show lounge. It generates a rousing response from week to week and that's always nice. It's a good way to leave this industry for a while. Although now I think I'm spoiled for big ships if I ever have to come back for any reason.

I've seen more friends from land, more family, and given more ship tours than I have ever done in the past. I will be giving more ship tours in the future. It's great especially for those who haven't seen the inside of a cruise liner or this particular line. Pictures just can't do certain things justice and can be a bit boring. I always get home and know my friends and family like to hear and see where I've gone and what life at sea was like, but it's another thing to experience it first hand. Even if it's just to see the ship itself. I always feel like the epitome of tourists when I come home with my hundreds of pictures from all over and give a slide show. It's nice to actually experience it with someone you know who's not from the ship's staff.

Mom and Grandma signed off the ship on Sunday. I was sad to see them go, as they were sad to depart the beautiful and spoiled life. Saturday was a great day at sea where they enjoyed the many activities available on board including the bingo. They ALMOST won a free cruise. They were one number off in the drawing. It went by room and they were in room 4093. The number called was 4-0-9 and then the got excited only to be let down by the last number 8. That would've been fabulous. Sunday I got out on land before they did to pick up a car. When they finally were able to disembark, I went and picked them up. We had a drive along the coast, which was busy due to the marathon event that was happening. We went to the mall for a bit and walked around to break up the driving. Then we headed to Las Olas riverfront in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. We had lunch in the shopping complex before I said goodbye for the day. It was a fabulous week and I was so lucky to have them on board this time.