Today I woke up feeling extremely sea-sick, but the show must go on. I was the pianist for “Elegant Tea” – a private tea party for Captain’s Club (frequent cruisers) members from 4-5 in the main dining room. I improvised mostly and played some jazz charts. It was pretty much torture considering my state of nausea but when I was finished, this Indian family came up to me and told me their son was very interested in piano. He was 8, completely adorable, and had just learned Ode to Joy (pretty impressive). I asked him if he wanted to play the piano and all the cameras came flying out. He played Ode to Joy for the dining room staff – several times. I used to be this awe-inspired 8-year-old (I still am, most of the time) and I can vividly remember the pianists on cruises (and elsewhere) who made me want to be a pianist. I probably “wasn’t allowed” to let him play the piano but I would’ve thought I was the coolest kid on the planet if a cruise pianist let me play. I have a feeling I’ll have a new friend this cruise…
I played another set in the Cova Café for 45 minutes for the passengers’ “listening pleasure.” It’s nice when passengers wander in and sit for 20 minutes and applaud your noodling. I find people in general LOVE musicians, and pianist especially. Everyone has a story, everyone used to play, and everyone wishes they had kept up with it. I’ve never had someone come up me and say, “I stopped playing when I was 12 and I’m really glad.” Music truly is a universal language and it’s always nice to be the entertainment. It’s hard to be the entertainment 24/7, of course, but I think it’s a pretty sweet gig.
iBroadway tonight! I’m excited. So is that 8-year-old boy.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Seattle
I had such a great changeover day in Seattle! I had to go through immigration at 5:30AM (okay, that part wasn’t so great) and then I had until 2:30 to enjoy a beautiful day in Seattle. It was nice to know the area and find my own way around. I fell in love with Seattle when I visited the first time and my love has only grown. PLUS the Red Sox were in town and there were Boston fans everywhere! A nice taste of home.
I went to my first passenger emergency drill today – these cruises are sold out, and we’re just packing passengers onto Deck 4. It’s pretty hilarious – passengers are still drinking the cocktails they were handed upon boarding, and everyone is lost and/or has a question. Our favorite question from today’s emergency boat drill: “We have dinner seating at 6:00 – do you know where exactly the boat will be by then?”
No, sir, no I don’t. I just play the piano.
Another favorite is the “Elite” card holder who feels he has been on enough cruises to be able to lead the boat drill. By all means…
We had rehearsal for tonight’s welcome aboard show. The shows were so much easier tonight – second time around! The biggest improvement for me was being more comfortable with the click track and being able to anticipate the tempo/meter changes. It’s only my second round of shows but I feel for the other performers who have been doing this show twice a week for 4, 5, 6 months.
We had a beautiful sail-away from Seattle today – we really lucked out with the weather. It was the first time I was able to watch us sail away from Seattle, and the views of the city are spectacular. It was also a perfect day for Mount Rainier viewing, which many crew and passengers were doing for the first time. Seattle is such a great port city. This week we have passengers from Holland and Switzerland. As our cruise director pointed out, the Swiss have traveled all the way across the Atlantic ocean to see snow-covered mountains…hmmm…
I went to my first passenger emergency drill today – these cruises are sold out, and we’re just packing passengers onto Deck 4. It’s pretty hilarious – passengers are still drinking the cocktails they were handed upon boarding, and everyone is lost and/or has a question. Our favorite question from today’s emergency boat drill: “We have dinner seating at 6:00 – do you know where exactly the boat will be by then?”
No, sir, no I don’t. I just play the piano.
Another favorite is the “Elite” card holder who feels he has been on enough cruises to be able to lead the boat drill. By all means…
We had rehearsal for tonight’s welcome aboard show. The shows were so much easier tonight – second time around! The biggest improvement for me was being more comfortable with the click track and being able to anticipate the tempo/meter changes. It’s only my second round of shows but I feel for the other performers who have been doing this show twice a week for 4, 5, 6 months.
We had a beautiful sail-away from Seattle today – we really lucked out with the weather. It was the first time I was able to watch us sail away from Seattle, and the views of the city are spectacular. It was also a perfect day for Mount Rainier viewing, which many crew and passengers were doing for the first time. Seattle is such a great port city. This week we have passengers from Holland and Switzerland. As our cruise director pointed out, the Swiss have traveled all the way across the Atlantic ocean to see snow-covered mountains…hmmm…
Friday, July 23, 2010
Victoria, British Columbia
It’s the last day of my first cruise! 1 down, 5 to go. This week was the busiest, and once I get my bearings the subsequent weeks will be much more calm. This morning we have what’s called “Waves”; the whole crew assembles in the theater to wave goodbye to the passengers. We then had rehearsal for our farewell show, which includes the orchestra, comedian, and magicians on board. We sailed into beautiful Victoria, British Columbia at 7pm. The view at night was just gorgeous. We ate dinner waterfront a cute little café (with wi-fi, of course) where we give them American money and they give us Canadian change (good thing I’ll be back 5 times). The beautiful Butchart Gardens are here in Victoria, but I’m going to save that tour for when my family comes in August!! It was nice to be out in port at night and not have to play tonight.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 6
Today we’re at sea all day on our way to British Columbia. I enjoyed some dolphin sightings at breakfast! The sea was rough and it was the first time that I felt sea sick. It’s pretty hard to play jazz piano when you’re feeling dizzy…
I played piano with the drums and bass at the Jazz Brunch this morning in the restaurant. We then played for the Captain’s Club Celebration – a private party for (VERY) frequent cruisers. We got to enjoy some delicious food and drink after that. This evening we played for the Baked Alaska “Parade” – on the second formal night, the cruise director introduces the restaurant staff who then all dance around with flaming Baked Alaska while we play “When the Saints Go Marching In.” A good time was had by all. After two Baked Alaska parades we played a new show called “Live At Sky.”It’s a 1940s-themed show and is basically an interactive dance party. It’s a really fun show for the audience (and us too!). After the show they brought out a huge birthday cake for Celebrity – it’s their 20th anniversary this year!
I played piano with the drums and bass at the Jazz Brunch this morning in the restaurant. We then played for the Captain’s Club Celebration – a private party for (VERY) frequent cruisers. We got to enjoy some delicious food and drink after that. This evening we played for the Baked Alaska “Parade” – on the second formal night, the cruise director introduces the restaurant staff who then all dance around with flaming Baked Alaska while we play “When the Saints Go Marching In.” A good time was had by all. After two Baked Alaska parades we played a new show called “Live At Sky.”It’s a 1940s-themed show and is basically an interactive dance party. It’s a really fun show for the audience (and us too!). After the show they brought out a huge birthday cake for Celebrity – it’s their 20th anniversary this year!
Day 5
This morning we had the weekly crew drill - it was freezing out on the decks! We docked in Skagway early but I had to take my Safety Quiz, move rooms (I’m now rooming with our awesome trombonist, Lauren) and go to tech rehearsal for a new show on board called “Live at Sky.”
I finally got out to Skagway around 6pm and was met by raging winds and our coldest weather yet! The average temperature in July is 58 degrees. Whoo. Skagway (population: 872) is much different than our previous ports – it’s the northern most we’ve been, and its known for its hiking by the Yukon Valley. They literally had to build a road to get from the cruise docks to the town. It’s very tiny BUT there’s a STARBUCKS!! Well, not a Starbucks exactly, but some store that BREWS and SELLS Starbucks coffee. My grande latte was about a bagillion dollars but it was totally worth it =) I walked around some and saw some cute little stores (all of which were closed by now). My favorite sign: OPEN 10-5ish. Again, welcome to Alaska. I’ve been told there’s some pretty spectacular hiking in Skagway so I might need to gear up for that in the coming weeks.
I’ve been enjoying a lot of great music on board and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to enjoy such great entertainment 24/7! And that my job is to play the piano. Yay.
I finally got out to Skagway around 6pm and was met by raging winds and our coldest weather yet! The average temperature in July is 58 degrees. Whoo. Skagway (population: 872) is much different than our previous ports – it’s the northern most we’ve been, and its known for its hiking by the Yukon Valley. They literally had to build a road to get from the cruise docks to the town. It’s very tiny BUT there’s a STARBUCKS!! Well, not a Starbucks exactly, but some store that BREWS and SELLS Starbucks coffee. My grande latte was about a bagillion dollars but it was totally worth it =) I walked around some and saw some cute little stores (all of which were closed by now). My favorite sign: OPEN 10-5ish. Again, welcome to Alaska. I’ve been told there’s some pretty spectacular hiking in Skagway so I might need to gear up for that in the coming weeks.
I’ve been enjoying a lot of great music on board and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to enjoy such great entertainment 24/7! And that my job is to play the piano. Yay.
Day 4
I can’t believe it’s already Day 4! I have no real concept of what day of the week it is, and it’s hard to keep track of time because we go forward and back an hour each cruise! Today we’re still on Alaskan time, which is 1 hour behind Pacific Standard Time. On Day 4 of this cruise the ship sails through Tracy Arm Fjord from 6-10AM (we don’t dock), which I was told is worth getting up for. The ship goes much slower through these glaciers. I had every intention of waking up at 7AM, but by the time I actually rose at 9AM I had missed most of the glaciers. The scenery was still fantastic though – lots of ice caps that have fallen off the glaciers were in the water (which I could feel us sailing through last night/this morning) and the tree-covered, snow-capped mountains that surround the water are breathtaking. The tiny icebergs in the water almost look like Styrofoam, and they’re everywhere! It’s pretty amazing to wake up, look out your window, and see icebergs as far as the eye can see. This morning, from the gym, I saw an orca whale! Have I mentioned I love my job? The scenery is just incredible…anyone who has thought about cruising to Alaska: you must!
2pm: We sail into Juneau, Alaska’s capital. Temperature is about 66 degrees – I wore a T-shirt! Juneau is pretty much like Ketchikan, only slightly bigger (it is the state capital, after all). We went in search of free wireless and then walked around a bit. I saw the state capital building and…that’s about it. There is a tram which goes up gorgeous mountain ranges – I’ll check that out one of these weeks.
That night we played another production show: Boogie Wonderland. It’s a lot of disco music and medleys from the 70s/80s (the Rod Stewart medley is my favorite). I’m on keyboard again for this show, with lots of different sound patches (click track again as well). It’s a lot of fun music, and the audiences love hearing the familiar tunes.
2pm: We sail into Juneau, Alaska’s capital. Temperature is about 66 degrees – I wore a T-shirt! Juneau is pretty much like Ketchikan, only slightly bigger (it is the state capital, after all). We went in search of free wireless and then walked around a bit. I saw the state capital building and…that’s about it. There is a tram which goes up gorgeous mountain ranges – I’ll check that out one of these weeks.
That night we played another production show: Boogie Wonderland. It’s a lot of disco music and medleys from the 70s/80s (the Rod Stewart medley is my favorite). I’m on keyboard again for this show, with lots of different sound patches (click track again as well). It’s a lot of fun music, and the audiences love hearing the familiar tunes.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Ketchikan
Today the ship docked in Ketchikan, Alaska at about 6am. I woke up to gorgeous blue skies and decided I had to explore Ketchikan since it supposedly rains ALL the time! I walked around the city for about an hour (it’s very tiny) and enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather. We are one of three cruise boats docked in this port, and we’re only here until 4pm this afternoon. Ketchikan is also known as the salmon capitol of the world, and there are salmon symbols/figures/restaurants/shops EVERYWHERE (Ketchikan comes from the native name for the salmon-abundant stream in town). It’s a lovely coastal town, and the main attraction is the Lumberjack show (admission for crew is $1 – I think I’ll have to check it out next week) – turns out lumberjacking is a highly competitive sport. I went to get some coffee (of course) and the one woman working there was on the phone for approximately 5 minutes while I waited to order, and then told me all about her conversation with her sister when she unapologetically got off the phone….this is just one of the many unique things about Alaska, I imagine…
The landscape is filled with evergreen trees and snow-capped mountains. The town is so small that its local paper only comes out once a week (as our Cruise Director says, the ship casts a shadow that covers the whole town). The zip code is 99901….pretty much as far away as you can get from my 01970 east coast zip code! There seem to be 4 main roads in Ketchikan: Main Street, Dock Street, Front Street, and Creek Street…you get the idea. Ketchikan also boasts the world’s largest collection of totem poles. Some other shore excursions are fishing and sailing/flying through Misty Fjords.
I had some more trainings to complete today so I didn’t have much time to explore Ketchikan, but I’ll have more to report next week. Tonight we have two big band sessions in the Rendezvous Lounge and a late-night Jazz Jam. We pass through Tracy Arm at 6am tomorrow and I’ve been told it’s worth getting up for!
The landscape is filled with evergreen trees and snow-capped mountains. The town is so small that its local paper only comes out once a week (as our Cruise Director says, the ship casts a shadow that covers the whole town). The zip code is 99901….pretty much as far away as you can get from my 01970 east coast zip code! There seem to be 4 main roads in Ketchikan: Main Street, Dock Street, Front Street, and Creek Street…you get the idea. Ketchikan also boasts the world’s largest collection of totem poles. Some other shore excursions are fishing and sailing/flying through Misty Fjords.
I had some more trainings to complete today so I didn’t have much time to explore Ketchikan, but I’ll have more to report next week. Tonight we have two big band sessions in the Rendezvous Lounge and a late-night Jazz Jam. We pass through Tracy Arm at 6am tomorrow and I’ve been told it’s worth getting up for!
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