Cruise, Dani, Cruise!

Oh, the places I've seen...

2007-04-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

In four and a half months aboard the ms Veendam, I visited 19 ports in 17 countries, most of which I'd never been to before. Here's the final tally:

Farewell, Veendam!
Don't make friends with salad!

Thur, March 8th – Flight details

2007-03-08T11:40:00.001-08:00

I got my flight details today, so the official countdown begins! I will arrive in Shreveport at 4 pm on Sunday, so that means I’ve got just…

...to go!!!

Wed, March 7th – One hour forward, one hour back….

2007-03-08T11:36:00.002-08:00

Last night we sailed over the time line from the Eastern to the Central Time Zone, and thus we set our clocks back to gain an hour. (We’ll lose this hour again on Saturday when we come back to EST.) At about the same time, I looked at my calendar this morning and noticed that this weekend is going to be Daylight Savings Time – on the very day when I fly home, from EST to CST…

So this means…
- on Saturday morning I’ll lose an hour of sleep to sail from CST to EST.
- on Sunday morning I’ll lose ANOTHER hour of sleep for Daylight Savings Time.
- on Sunday afternoon, I’ll gain an hour when I fly from EST to CST.

Thank God I’m flying west! Many of my European and African friends will be nursing some serious jet lag when they get home…

Mon, March 5th – Reunion with Gordon

2007-03-08T11:36:00.001-08:00

I had a whole list of stuff to get accomplished in the mere 5 hours we’re due to be in port today. Veendam is due to be in port from Noon until 5:30 (crew must be back onboard by 5), and the RCCL Jewel of the Seas has been here since 7 am, and is due to leave at 3 pm. My friend Gordon and I are going to have lunch, and he’s on the Jewel, so our window is limited.

Luckily, I’m not doing any shopping today, since I’m leaving the ship this weekend. But I do have THREE packages to get to the post office, in the hopes of lightening up my luggage for the flight. I’ll have to sneak the packages off in my backpack because US customs doesn’t like you off-loading stuff from the ship. Last week this meant making two separate trips, since the boxes wouldn’t both fit in my backpack at the same time.

I would like to get some Starbucks sometime before we ship off to Central America again, but that’s low on the priority list. Also, there is this one ‘starving musician’ who sits on the sidewalks of Duval Street with his dog and a hat for tips, and when he plays random high notes on the flute, the dog howls. I’ve often passed this guy and his singing dog while on the phone with Mom, which she can hear, so I’m going to try to get a video of him today to be able to show her when I get home.

So, right at 11 am, I’m sitting in my cabin and I feel the thrusters kick in to slow us down – perfectly on time, as they always kick in exactly one hour before we open the gangway. (One of the perks of having a cabin near the hull, as most of the cabins don’t hear and feel the vibrations of the thrusters.)

At noon, I’m standing on the gangway, one box in a shopping bag, and the two smaller boxes bulging out of my backpack. I couldn’t look more obvious. But luckily, as the crew begins to rally around the gangway, waiting for crew to be allowed to disembark, I see my advantage – stay in the group. At about 12:08, they open up the gangway for crew, and off we go.

Just as I see a security officer eyeing me a little suspiciously, I see the highlight of my day – Gordon standing on the pier, WAITING for me! (How thoughtfully sweet!!! How gallant!) The smile on my face spread from ear to ear and I practically RAN down the gangway to give him a humongous hug!!!

Together we walked quickly to the post office, catching up on all the “how are you” stuff, feeling like the month since we last saw each other was years or days all at the same time. It was so wonderful to see him again!!!

I successfully mailed all three packages at once, then we made a quick dash over to Duval Street and up to Fleming Street, while he called Yuliana on the cell phone to tell her where to meet us for lunch. On the way to the restaurant, we came across the flautist and his dog, and I got my video. I was getting my list all knocked out! We three had a quick lunch, then Yuliana had to dash back to Veendam to get to work, and I walked Gordon back to the Jewel just in time for him to sail.

And then I glanced down at my watch and realized it was not quite 3 PM and I had nothing left to do but go home and kill the rest of the day. No sailaway set today, no show tonight, and I’m probably not going to get off the ship again til Costa Maya on Friday, so to go home now means just to find ways to kill time.

As I come back towards the Veendam, I am welcomed by one of my favorite greetings – several of the Filipino sailors are out on deck, changing out the liferafts, and they all see me and call to me and wave. This is such an endearing welcome, and warms my heart every time I come ‘home.’

But just as I get to the gangway, Vasile is disembarking, and invites me to join him as he’s going to meet the boys for lunch. In a sentimental sort of “let’s do it while we still have time” mood, I join him.

We had a great time, first at Sloppy Joe’s bar, then down to Cheeseburger, just hanging out, getting in all that last-minute bonding. We headed back to the ship, getting onboard just before the 5 PM deadline.

It was a perfectly relaxed, everything-accomplished, laid-back, beautifully perfect day. And once again, I thank God and count my blessings for how wonderful this life is sometimes. It was great to see Gordon one last time, neither of us knowing when we might see each other again if not on a ship. (Although I am certainly considering a future vacation to South Africa to run around the country and visit him, Abi & Michel, Liza, Andrew, and Ernie.)

Still, in the back of my mind, a thought pops up that makes me grin again… 5 days til I go home!

Sunday, March 4th – Final Voyage!

2007-03-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

And still so much to do! Meeting a friend (a former Veendam’er) in Key West for lunch – don’t know when I might ever see him again, as he’s from South Africa. Meeting another friend (a Russian dancer from my last ship, the Fascination) in Costa Maya. Here’s the itinerary for my final voyage aboard the Veendam!:

Monday – Key West, FL
Tuesday – Sea Day
Wednesday – Belize City, Belize
Thursday – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala
Friday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Saturday – Sea Day
Sunday – Tampa, FL…. To embark on a plane for home!

Thursday, March 1st – UNO!

2007-03-04T16:53:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite people on this ship is my Romanian keyboard player, Vasile. We get along very well, we eat dinner together often, and in our spare time, we play Uno. We’ve had a little sort of personal ‘tournament’ going on since about mid-January. One day we just played a friendly game together, and a few days later I challenged him to a re-match, and so on and so forth, and now we’ve played 15 games! For a while there, it was neck-and-neck: he’d win one, then I’d catch up to tie him, then he’d pull ahead again.

But about a week ago, I finally caught up to tie him, then on the next game I took the lead! Three games later, I’m ahead 9 games to six. We’ve only got a week and a half left, so he’s got some hard work ahead of him if he’s going to beat me before this contract is through. Good luck, Vasile – bring it on!!!

Sun, Feb 25th – 2 weeks to go!

2007-02-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

Same itinerary as last week and next week. This week I intend to start mailing some stuff home (stuff that won’t fit in my 2 suitcases), making phone call and email arrangements for my 6-weeks stay in Bossier, and ravishing my skin with the Caribbean tan I should have been collecting all along the way. Why do we always insist on leaving things to the last minute?

Here’s the route:
Monday – Key West, FL
Tuesday – Sea Day
Wednesday – Belize City, Belize
Thursday – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala
Friday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Saturday – Sea Day
Sunday – Tampa, FL

Thurs, Feb 22nd – Guatemalan sunset

2007-02-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

It seems like the sunset in Guatemala is more and more beautiful every single time we sail from here. I’ve learned to bring my camera to dinner, just to be able to capture moments like this.

P.S. I got my coffee. ;)

Mon, Feb 19 – Starbucks in Key West

2007-02-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

I experienced an extraordinary phenomenon today, I think.

As I was leaving the ship today, I had only one thing on my mind. One mission. One sole task to accomplish before I came back to the ship to endure another 7-day Western Caribbean tour, not to return to the United States until Sunday.

I wanted STARBUCKS.

What is it about this chain that attracts us like moths to the flame? What is it about their particular brand of coffee that makes us willing to shell out exorbitant prices for a simple drink made from beans, dressed with milk, cream, sugar, and spices that is way too high in calories and far too low in actual nutrients? A drink which provides the temporary satisfaction of great flavor and the longer-term (though too quickly worn off) effects of caffeination?

All I knew was that I had $5 in my pocket and I wanted a ‘Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte, non-fat, no whip.’ The name was repeating in my sub-conscious like the one line of a song that you can’t get out of your head.

On my way down the gangway, the US Coast Guard fellows were making polite conversation and asked me where I was going, since I obviously didn’t look like the rest of the wide-eyed tourists laden with cameras and beach bags. “Starbucks,” was the only word I uttered. Their subtle response of silent surprise and amusement entreated me to expound, “I want coffee.”

Eager to help, the first guardsman pointedly offered, “If you want good coffee, there’s a little coffee place right over there that serves great Guatemalan coffee, better than Starbucks.” The latter name he muttered with a bit of growl to show his preference for the former.

Already a few steps off the gangway and into the square, I stopped to turn back over my shoulder and smile at him, thanking him for his recommendation, but quipping, “If I want Guatemalan coffee, I’ll get it fresh IN Guatemala on Thursday. Today I’m in the United States… and so I want American Starbucks.”

And that was the end of that.

Sun, Feb 18th – Three weeks to go!

2007-02-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

That’s right folks! Just 21 days to go until I’m home again!
I’ve done 65 cruises in 10 months, and I’ve got three left to go, starting with this one…

Monday – Key West, FL
Tuesday – Sea Day
Wednesday – Belize City, Belize
Thursday – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala
Friday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Saturday – Sea Day
Sunday – Tampa, FL

Sat, Feb 17th – Preparing to say good-bye

2007-02-22T10:40:00.001-08:00

One of the saddest parts of ship life is saying goodbye to your friends. When you live in an oversized, floating tin can that contains your bedroom, your kitchen, your recreation, the only local nightlife, your library, all the shops you need, your coffee hangout, and of course your WORK, it’s easy to make very close friends with other people very fast. You see these people hanging out while you work, working where you hang out, dining where you dine, going to watch the same entertainment you go to see, and walking home to a door that’s literally only ten feet away from yours.

But just as my contract is for a prescribed amount of time, so is theirs. All of us are here to enjoy our time to the fullest extent, but that makes endings seem so jarring and almost unexpected. Time on a ship is one of the most inexplicable things I’ve ever encountered. One day can feel like a week, a week-long cruise goes by too fast, days of the week are named in terms of locations where we’ll be ported, but at the end of six months, it almost feels like you just pick up right where you left off the last time you were on land.

For whatever reason, this weekend is a popular contract-end date. So is my sign-off date, March 11, and the week after that, March 18th. I would venture to say about 65% of the crew will turn over between now and then, in the next four weeks. The ship’s itinerary is about to cross the ocean in a few months, so that the turnaround port will be Rome instead of Tampa, so I suppose it’s cheaper for the company to fly people out of the US than Italy, and that’s why so many of us are slotted to leave now.

So, many of us are preparing to say ‘goodbye.’ This is never a fun task for me; in fact, I’m quite terrible at it, and avoid it as much as possible. I’d rather let someone go with “catch ya ‘round” like I normally do, expecting I’ll see them in a few hours at the dining room or in the gym working out. But if I don’t happen to see them again before they leave the ship for good the next morning, I’ve been spared the agony of trying to say, “Goodbye,” as if it might be the last time I’ll ever see them.

Such is the case with more than a few of my good friends this weekend. Now, granted, I call them “good friends” because we’ve spent such intensely close time together in the past few weeks… months… we’ve shared community gossip, work woes, personal trials, and adventures in strange countries. But the truth is that I really might not ever see some of these people again. They are from Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Even if we both return to ships for our next contract, the chances that we’ll end up on the same ship again are slim. And the chances of one of us visiting the other person’s country EXCEPT on a ship are even slimmer.

I don’t like saying ‘goodbye,’ so I don’t. Tonight, I will make a point of avoiding all the popular places like the laundry room, the crew human resources office, and the nightly hotspot, the OB, anywhere there might be a ‘last-chance’ party going on. And in the morning, my mind will prevent me from recalling that I won’t be passing by them anymore until that wretched moment when I pass by their replacement who came onboard the same day they left and realize it. Only then will I allow myself to mourn the disappearance of my friend.

Some of these “close friends” will be good about keeping up with emails and if I’m lucky, a phone call here or there. Most of them will simply close the door and move on. But the heartstrings remain intact, regardless of how thinly they are pulled.

The great thing about ship life is meeting and getting to know so well, so many world-class people from every corner of the globe. The hardest thing about ship life is letting them go.

Thurs, Feb 15th – Black and White Ball II

2007-02-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

Another two-week cruise means another Black and White Officers’ Ball. And once again, my voice somehow MIRACULOUSLY came back just enough for me to make it through this set. We even added some new songs just sent by the home base in L.A.: Begin the Beguine, Beyond The Sea, and I’ve Got the World On A String. The whole night was a huge success, and everyone had a lot of fun.

But the one thing I DON’T like about singing for these events is that I never get to dance! This is my favorite kind of dancing - ballroom - but there was never more than a one-song break for me, so I had to content myself to work and watch everyone else have fun…

That is until the party moved out of the Rubens’ Lounge and up into the Crow’s Nest, where DJ Geno was spinning some killer tunes! He did an awesome job of catering to the crowd’s clamoring, and that meant a lot more partner dances! I got to dance with Tim, Andrew, Emile, and lots with Ben. There was swing dancing, cha-chas, rumbas, salsas, foxtrots, one waltz, and even a bit of tango! At about 1 AM most of the crowds had cleared out, but Ben and I decided that, since we were the last couple standing at the previous B&W Ball, we would do it again!

We worked up quite a sweat, but DJ Geno kept pace the whole time. By about 2 AM, we were the last couple dancing, but a few guests and one officer still remained at the bar. We decided to outlast them all – and by 2:15 we’d accomplished our mission!

Here are some great memories!

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Wed, Feb 14th – Oranjestad, Aruba

2007-02-20T10:25:00.001-08:00

It didn’t take long for me to figure that while Aruba is one of the more recognizable island names of the Caribbean, it is not much more than that. There isn’t much history to this island, and when I got off the ship this morning to see if I couldn’t nose my way into some sort of natural bliss, I only discovered that I should have stayed home.

Aruba is clearly a commercialized version of what probably used to be a beautiful vacation destination. The beaches are the last remnant of soil that doesn’t have a building or a road on it, and even they are owned to the last acre by resorts who all want to charge exorbitant prices for you to set your towel out and just watch the waves.

From all that I read, there are a few notable exceptions. You can hire a taxi to take you to see: 1 - one little church (the first established church on the island from YEAR) which isn’t much more than a barely-upkept one-room rectangle with a roof; 2 – a large working windmill which was first used in Holland and then disassembled and shipped here (after Aruba officially became a part of the Dutch West Indies); 3 - a lighthouse, which is said to be the saving grace of the coral reefs, which are “protected” from the hundreds of cruise boats that visit this island every year.

However, clearly the cruise boats (and the DOLLARS they bring) are VERY welcome. Peddlers in fancified shops for miles and miles sell the same tourist-trap trinkets and wares that every other island sells, all for a “bargain” price that, for some reason, tourists can never seem to pass up.

Towels, swimsuits, sunglasses, t-shirts, jewelry made from shells, jewelry made from rocks, real jewelry made from gemstones at “tax and duty free” prices. With the blazing sun penetrating my t-shirt to aggravate my snorkel sunburn from yesterday, all I wanted was a few postcards and to say, “Yes, I’ve been here.”

So here it is! Proof that the Veendam was indeed in Aruba, and that I was off the ship, and put my feet on the island. “I’ve been here!”

Tue, Feb 13th - Kralendijk, Bonaire

2007-02-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

Bonaire, the “B” in the Dutch Antilles group known as the ABC islands, is about 50 miles north of Venezuela. The diving here is among the absolute BEST in the Caribbean, with pristine reefs and wonderful visibility, as there are no rivers to muddy the waters and it is out of the hurricane belt. To keep it that way, the entire island’s ocean boundary is a protected marine park. In fact, the city in which we port today, Kralendijk (KRAW-len-dyke), actually means “coral reef.”

The salt pans reveal Bonaire’s geological history. At one time, much of the land was submerged. As the sea level dropped, saltwater pools were trapped in the low-lying valleys. When the waters dried up, the salt remained, and the earliest settlers harvested this essential commodity in the days before refrigeration, Today it’s Bonaire’s #1 export. White cone shapes are often seen along the distant horizon – these are the stockpiles created from the mining of the salt.

And the animal population far outnumbers the human population here – lizards, goats, mules, and several populations of indigenous bats. But the island is most famous for its native flamingo population. (See the salt mountains in the background?) Flamingoes thrive in the coastal wetlands – as many as 10,000 of the brilliant pink creatures are easiest to spot in the salt flats on the southern part of the island, early in the morning. The graceful (nervous) animals are fond of brine shrimp and fly larvae that thrive in the brackish ecosystem, mostly in the first half of the year.

Today I got together with a bunch of friends to go snorkeling see some of this incredible coral reef. That’s Ben, Heather, and Kelsey, sitting on the pier waiting for Mark, Darren, and Christine to join us.

From the western coast of the island, at the port of Kralendijk, we all piled into a minibus that took us to Lac Bay on the eastern coast, to a little beach called Sorobon. What we didn’t know until we got there was that the Wind & Surf Resort we were headed to was right next door to a naturalist resort! I had to be careful using my camera on the beach to avoid the naked kayakers and nude windsurfers.

This is the view from the beach! I’ve been in the Caribbean long enough now (10 months!) to be bored of blue water. But the water here is beyond blue --- it’s CLEAR! The sand is completely white, and settled. There are hardly any winds or riverways to stir up the sediment, so even when the water is waist-high, you can see straight through to your toes! Even the sky looks bluer next to this water! The dark spots you see out there are bushes of seagrass, and that winding gap through the middle is the beginning of the path that we take to get out to the coral reef.

It’s about a half-mile walk straight out to this raft on the edge of the coral reef. You can see how far we are from the beach. The water is shallow enough to walk the entire way, then you sit on the raft and put on your fins and your snorkel mask, lay down in the water and start paddling and exploring!

I am AMAZED at how many fish there are out here! They don’t seem to be bothered by us at all. Right here under the raft, right away, there are hundreds of thousands of these little silver fish, apparently feasting on the plankton that grows on the bottom of the raft. Unfortunately for them, there are also a couple of larger fish feasting on them!

There were so many things to take pictures of, my friend Ben completely missed this school of black and blue fish that swam right past his legs at just a slow, leisurely pace.

The coral reefs harbor the plankton that the fish eat, so this place is really like a huge restaurant where all the world’s celebrity fish drop in for a bite! There’s so many different kinds, it’s a bit of sensory overload!

This coral was so cool swishing in the waves, but even cooler was what was hiding under it, in that dark crevice…

… this puffer fish! Look on his top-side, you can see all of his little spines laying down. We kept trying to scare him to get him to puff up, but he was content to just sit under the coral and stare back at us.

I love the way this coral looks like it’s reaching out its arms to the heavens.

Ben called this a “trunkfish.” I saw three or four of them, always swimming by themselves. At first they sort of look like puffer fish, so I kept chasing them, but I never could get a good picture of one from the front…

This black angelfish looked huge from the side, but from the front it was thin as a pancake!

The edges and spots on these two fish are electric blue – it seems almost fictional! God is so creative!

A beautiful combination of pink with yellow edges.

All shades of blue with yellow triangles on the tails.

These fish are seriously RAINBOW colored! Check out the one coming out of the coral with blue lips and eyelids, red and orange face, and green body trimmed with yellow – God spilled the paint on this one!

A school of “Dorys” go looking for Nemo!

Mon, Feb 12th - Isla de Margarita, Venezuela

2007-02-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, so once again I woke up with a coughing fit – not good for a singer. And once again, I decided I had to at least go into town (which requires the extra effort of tendering today) to get some postcards and pictures and say, “I was here.” After all, this island technically is part of Venezuela, and so this is my chance to see South America…

And once again, my day went a little farther than planned…..

No sooner had I stepped up the tender pier and spotted a nearby store that might have postcards, than I was surprised to see last night’s guest entertainer, Tian Jiang (an AMAZING concert pianist) running up to me, asking me to come along on a tour. For only $25, a 4x4 Jeep and a tour guide would take us all over the island, in four hours, showing us all the highlights it had to offer. His group of three needed a fourth person in order to take off. What can I say… it was too good to pass up.

Actually, having done a bit of homework the night before, I was actually interested in the possibility of seeing the religious center of the island, called El Valle del Espiritu Santo. There is a fascinating legend behind their patron saint, and so I asked if the other people on the tour would like to go there also. Well, as it turns out, the pianist and I were joined by none other than the ship’s chaplain and his wife, Sue. So it wasn’t hard to agree – and off we went!

Margarita is the largest of Venezuela’s 72 islands in the Caribbean. Just 25 miles northeast of the South American continent that spawned it, Isla Margarita is divided into two sections that are linked by a 7-mile long isthmus. The mountains of the eastern part catch most of the clouds and receive all the rainfall, making the land lush, green and fertile.

The western part, Peninsula de Macanao (mack-a-NOW), gets what little rain is leftover, and has slowly turned to dusty sweeping deserts, leaving it sparsely populated. This is where the cruise ships port, and that’s why you need a 4x4 jeep to get to the good parts.

After we all decided that none of us were interested in shopping or visiting the beaches, and that we all wanted to see mountain views and historical stuff, our first stop was El Valle del Espiritu Santo, the Valley of the Holy Spirit. Established by Isabel Manrique de Villalobos in 1529, El Valle was Isla de Margarita’s first capital.

The Virgin Margarita, patron saint of the island is reverently displayed at the church. According to legend, in the 16th century the statue of the virgin Margarita had been bound for Peru, but was inadvertently offloaded at nearby Cubagua Island. A prophecy foretold of an earthquake and subsequent tsunami destined to strike the island, and the frightened residents evacuated, statue in hand, to Margarita island.

She was given credit for the blessed miracle of helping them to escape the storm, and since then, thousands of pilgrims have arrived to pray and ask her for favors. The stained-glass windows of the church depict the facets of her tale.

(Again, I’m hopelessly enamored with the exquisite detail and color in stained glass.) Here, a more detailed look at the handicapped, wheelchair-bound, even the little children who have journeyed from far away places to kneel at her altar and ask for healing.

Even Pope John Paul II visited the site and consecrated the virgin as patron saint of the Venezuelan Navy in 1995.

Another legend tells of a fisherman who had been attacked by a stingray, severely injuring his leg. He came to pray to the Virgin, promising to bring her the first pearl he found if she would only heal his leg. When he recovered, he set out to fulfill his promise. To his great surprise, the first pearl he found (“la milagro de la pierna de perla”) resembled a human leg. The pearl itself is now on display at the nearby Diocesan Museo.

See the three sailing ships on the right near the bottom? The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Here, Saint Margarita blesses Columbus’ expeditions.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit endow the blessed Margarita with sainthood.

Bear with me – I cannot get over how gorgeous this is!

The patron saint watches over the island blessed with her name. Unfortunately, the vandals were able to desecrate a bit of the window near the bottom.

Just outside the church, vendors display tables upon tables of the country’s #1 export: pearls. Loose or stringed, bracelets or necklaces, on charms, set into rings, or posted as earrings, every shape and size and color can be purchased here.

After leaving La Valle, we continued up the mountainside to the national park El Cerro Copei. At an altitude of 1200 feet above sea level, you get a great view of the island’s current capital, Porlamar, which means “next to the sea.” Of Isla Margarita’s half-million population, half of those live in the capital of Porlamar.

I’ve tried to make the picture as clear for you as possible. Look close! 25 miles to the south, across the Atlantic Ocean, you can see the outline of mountains on the mainland of South America!!!
Yes, folks, I made it to my third continent!!!

Later in the ride: a mountaintop view of Playa El Humo. On the farthest outlet of the coastline, there on the right, you can see a red and white lighthouse at the top of a hill.

These round fruits that look like un-ripened oranges are called ‘breadfruit.’ The land here is too hard to grow potatoes, and too hot to grow pineapples. But the breadfruit that grows naturally here serves as a citrus-flavored starch substitute. Many Italian immigrants were welcomed in Venezuela in the 1940s, and have had a great influence on the food and language today. When I asked if I could try one, I was told, “If you can reach one.” (I didn’t try.)

Venezuelans are very passionate about their politics. The elections for president happened last December, but everywhere you go, icons of the election still remain. This sign in particular was prevalent, hailing the re-elected Chavez as “Victoria de Venezuela.” (winner for Venezuela) The chant in the white bubble with the red outline is like a stamp that a child got ahold of and plastered on every blank space on a wall, building, door, or billboard. It says, “Uh! Ah! Chavez no se va!” which is the people’s way of reiterating that he’s not going anywhere, not going to be unseated by another opponent, in this case Rosales.

Another breathtaking view: this is Playa El Agua.

The Castillo de Santa Rosa, rising above the land-locked city of La Asuncion harbors another tale of female heroism. Luisa Caceres de Arismendi, visibly pregnant, was imprisoned in the castle’s jail for sixteen years, refusing to divulge her husband’s hiding place to colonial authorities. There is a tunnel leading from the center of the castle to the church below in the city.

The view of La Asuncion shows you just how far this “fort” is from the sea. Political leaders of the age built it here on the highest hill in the city to assert their authority to the townspeople. The castle was never used to protect the distant harbor.

Fishing is the number one occupation on this island. When children are young, teachers have a very hard time keeping them in school, because it is a well-known fact that fishermen here earn daily what most educated men earn in a week.

Four hours later, we felt thoroughly educated ourselves. It was time to head home, but not before I got my postcards. I was also able to talk to some locals about their money, their exchange rate and the price of gas, and this is when I got my biggest shock of the day. I had seen signs at three BP stations that asked 60 Bolivares for a liter of unleaded gas. The exchange rate is 2150 Bolivares to $1 US.

Folks! That’s 2.7 cents per liter or TEN cents per gallon!!!! (Maybe WE need to think of electing Chavez!)

Sun, Feb 11th - St. George’s, Grenada

2007-02-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

Long known for the sweet aromas and lush groves of its spice industry, the Southern Caribbean island of Grenada (gre-NAY-dah) was suddenly newsworthy for an altogether different reason when a Category Four hurricane made devastating landfall there in September 2004. Hurricane Ivan damaged 90 percent of Grenada's buildings, destroyed 85 percent of its nutmeg trees and left more than half the population homeless.

Two and a half years later, Grenada’s natural beauty is slowly re-emerging. Signs of the storm do remain, particularly in rural areas – uprooted trees, damaged roofs, a few churches reduced to splintered wooden frames and rubble lying in undisturbed ruin – and in the faces of people who lost everything, and are gradually recovering, thanks to the tourist industry. The capital city of St. George's is as colorful and charming as ever, and the rainforests and mountains reflect that color as the magnificent flora returns. These are the attractions that keep the cruise ships coming.

Fort George, visible from the pier at St. George’s, is a relic of the 100 years that the French tried to keep the British from taking over Grenada. Today, the locals still speak English as well as Patoi, a creole blend of French spoken also in ancient parts of Haiti and southern Louisiana.

This country is known as the “Isle of Spice” because its main exports are cacao, mace, allspice, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and especially nutmeg. (If Columbus had bothered to make landfall here after ‘discovering’ the island in 1498, he could have successfully ended his mission to find exotic spices!) Grenadians are nothing if not resourceful with the spice. Nutmeg ice cream. Nutmeg cheesecake. Nutmeg sprinkled over rum punch. There’s even a nutmeg rub that’s supposed to cure the common cold. (Too bad what I’ve currently got is a little more severe…) Before the hurricane, Grenada was growing ONE-THIRD of the world’s nutmeg!

And indeed, the air is fragrant with these spices just about everywhere you go. And me being the big dessert-lover I am, I decided I just had to visit the Dougaldstone Spice Estate enjoined with the Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station. Imagine my disappointment when I arrived to discover they’re closed on Sunday! Unfortunately, Grenada's famous nutmeg industry has been a bit slower to recover (the trees take seven years to grow mature enough to bear fruit), so they’re only open four days a week. However, there are hardy new varieties of nutmeg trees currently being planted – varieties that will hopefully survive the next big storm.

So, since nature never takes a day off, I decided to visit the Grand Etang Lake and Forest Reserve and the Annandale Falls. Inside the cruise terminal, I negotiated a good price with a taxi driver named Duffy, who agreed to give me the grand tour of Grenada, highlighting the two landmarks I was interested in.

Like Dominica, Grenada is an island formed from the explosion of volcanoes. Its terrain is steep, and the roads are winding. But Duffy still made very good time. It took us about 20 minutes to climb to 1910 feet above sea level, and the breathtaking view along the way was worth every twist and turn.

We reached the top of the extinct volcano which is covered with the Grand Etang Lake and Forest Reserve. This rainforest was completely devastated by Ivan, and still bears the scars. Splintered trees dot the landscape among the reappearing greenery, which is about 75% returned. In the center of the forest is a large indented space, the crater at the top of the volcano, in which now lies the Grand Etang Lake. There are plenty of fish here, but the wildlife preserve prohibits fishing. The silence is as beautiful as the countryside itself.

Not far below the entrance to the park, I spotted a lookout hiking trail and asked Duffy to stop for a moment. It’s called Beausejour (boo-SHAY-zhoor) Lookout, and the muddy steps were not exactly easy to navigate. Add that to the thin air of the high altitude, and the climb had me sweating bullets in about 10 minutes. But again, the view was unbeatable and so worth it.

Next, Duffy took me to “de leetle waterfall on de way.” A land covered in rainforest among so many mountains is bound to have plenty of waterfalls, so we stopped here at Constantine (CON-stan-tyne) Waterfall. The two gentlemen in the background are catching fish and cooking them on the spot for lunch!

(Pssst! Another great dead picture here!)

Finally we reached the Annandale Falls, the biggest waterfall on the island. The water falls from a height of 35 feet into a pool which runs 15-20 feet deep in the current dry season. During wet season, the falls dump many more gallons, the pool rises up to 25-30 feet, and the falls appear much shorter.

The park surrounding this waterfall was filled with all sorts of native flowers, beautiful and exotic. The chili peppers are small and (I’m told) extremely potent. The papaya is used as a meat tenderizer, and the elephant ears are about two and a half feet long. The lobster claws are so long and heavy that they fall over, and from this angle they sort of resemble cardinal heads and beaks – don’t you think?

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The falls were amazingly beautiful, and so peaceful. Nothing but the sound of rushing water – not even birds. It was so tempting not to want to just dive in and swim around for a bit, but alas… it was good enough just to get some postcard-worthy pictures to share with you.

After returning to the cruise pier, I did indulge in a bit of nutmeg ice cream before heading home. As we sailed away from St. George’s, it felt good to know that the island’s pristine beauty is fiercely protected by the government. Everywhere you look there are signs to “take only pictures, leave only footprints.” Islanders have learned from over-development in neighboring nations. A strict law here restricts buildings to the height of the tallest palm tree.

One more thing worthy to note. The price of gas here is $10.94 EC per gallon. At an exchange rate of $2.64 EC to $1.00 US, that’s about $4.14 per gallon! Makes $2.25 seem a little more reasonable, doesn’t it?......

Sat, Feb 10th - Bridgetown, Barbados

2007-02-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m still not feeling 100% well, but I decided to get off the ship today just long enough to buy some postcards and take some pictures in the port to say, “Yes, I was here.”

But just as I was wrapping up buying the postcards, my friend Boz saw me and said, “Hey, come with us to the Boatyard.” I had completely forgotten I had promised him last time we were here that I would come the next time (this time). So despite not feeling well, I decided I had to make good on my promise, just for a little while. I certainly was not dressed for the occasion: the Boatyard is a beach resort, really cool – designed for crew, but I was wearing long pants and a t-shirt instead of a bathing suit. So I thought, “I’ll just go for a few minutes and then make my excuses and come right back…”

But this is the Boatyard…
Yeah, so I couldn’t resist staying for a little while.

There was volleyball…

…a pier…

… and a whole lot of beach chairs along a blue water, white sand, sunny day BEACH.

Ok, so I stayed out a little longer than I anticipated, but I had a good time, and now I can REALLY say, “I’ve been there AND done that!”

Fri, Feb 9th – Roseau, Dominica

2007-02-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

The island of Dominica (dah muh NEE kuh) was born some 26 million years ago out of a series of volcanic explosions, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. But even at this age, the island is the Caribbean’s youngest, a factor that is partly responsible for its dramatic beauty. Older islands have been eroded and softened somewhat by time, but Dominica’s volcanic landscape is still pretty sharp and steep. The island is stunning – in fact, it was one of three primary locations used in the filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels.

When Columbus sighted this island in 1493, he could not find a place to land on the high windward cliffs of the craggy eastern coast. He called it Dominica (“Sunday”) to mark the day he encountered it, but he sailed on without ever setting foot here. Still, it is unfair to say that Columbus “discovered” this island, as Carib Indian tribes had already been living here for nearly 500 years, and still live on reservations on the north part of the island today.

Many people see Dominica only from the deck of a cruise ship. Until 2005, there were no direct flights from the US or Europe to Dominica and visitors got to the island by making connections through several neighboring islands, including Puerto Rico. Now, the island, which measures 26 miles by 19 miles actually has two small airports, one near each the northern and southern ends of the island.

The island has very few visitors during a good part of the year, due to the limited window allowing ships to cross “Hurricane Alley.” Dominica is situated in the middle of the path taken by storms formed off the west coast of Africa as they feed on the warm water of the mid-Atlantic and head west, June through November. These six months are known as Dominica’s “wet season,” and the highest parts of the country can receive up to 400 inches of rain per year!

I decided I had to see this amazing rainforest up close and personal. So I took a taxi to the Rainforest Aerial Tram – a 2-mile trip in a hanging carriage up, over, and through the canopy of the rainforest! A half-hour drive up a winding, twisted, nearly vertical road took us from the cruise ship pier at sea level to a platform high up the mountain almost 2000 feet above sea level!

Dominica boasts a great deal of geothermal activity, including one lake called Boiling Lake, which actually bubbles as sulphuric gases are released from underground! The ship’s maps actually advise you: “Do not visit the geothermal area independently, as there have been tragic accidents in the past.” Yikes! But as I looked around when we arrived at the base station of the Tram, what I saw reminded me a lot of the set of the TV series “Lost,” which is filmed in Hawaii – another chain of volcanic islands.

Starting at 1900 feet above sea level, the tram traveled nearly a mile straight up the mountainside, carrying me another 500 feet higher, usually 50 or 60 feet above the ground, just skimming through the amazing variety of flora that cover this island in a dense blanket of green.

The view from up here is just breathtaking! To the east, you can see “mountains” which are actually dormant volcanoes, kept quiescent by the heavy annual rainfall and the lakes that lie in the volcanoes’ craters, and the rivers that flow from them. 40% of Dominica’s power is generated from the Breakfast River alone, by three hydroelectric plants tiered down the mountainside.

To the west, you can see a gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea. To give you an idea of just how sharp the incline is, my ship is actually ported just to the right of center along that mountain range line. But you can only see the topmost antenna, as the pier is right on the coastline at the base of those hills.

The slideshow below features just a few of the remarkable plants I got to visit today. There are leaves that grow in a corrugated style, which used to be used for roofing and hut-building; ferns made of thousands of tiny leaves, so old that they are believed to have been dinosaur food; vines like Tarzan used to swing on; and a fuzzy baby conifer.

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The “air plants” are a cool example of a symbiotic relationship. These are plants that actually live high up in the air, wrapped around the trunks of tall trees without being a part of the tree itself. They create root systems for themselves hundreds of feet above the ground, and their leaves curve inward, shuttling rainwater into the root base. In return, the tree lifts them up to where they can gather sunlight, and share the nutrients they harvest from the photosynthesis. Symbiotic relationship = you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

As long as I’ve been in the Caribbean I’ve always admired the way that palm trees grow, so that they are continually reaching for the sun. (Ask me about the Palm Tree Story from last year in Nassau.) So here was a rare chance to see the topside of a palm fern, where the new leaves are literally unfurling in spirals that look like nautilus shells or a frog’s tongue about to reach out and grab you!

The brilliant red and orange Lobster Claw is one of 20 species of orchid found in Dominica. In 1979, a huge hurricane named David blew across Dominica with winds up to 150 mph. Soon after, a brand new species of orchid was discovered across the island, assumed to have been a hybrid of something blown in from another land on the winds of Hurricane David – and thus it was given the name David’s Orchid.

Nearing the topmost platform, I spied a sight that made my heart leap – a bridge! And not just any bridge – a suspension bridge stretched 300 feet above the Breakfast River! Without question, this was about to be the highlight of my day!

We reached the top station platform at 2400 feet above sea level and disembarked the Tram to venture over to the bridge. The feel of that much air between you and the ground is an indescribable rush!!! This is the view over the left side of the bridge, with the water flowing down to the Valley of Desolation…

… and this is the view over the right side, with the water coming in from the mountaintop. The Breakfast River below is so named because the locals make a traditional day-long trip from the city at the base of the mountain up to the Freshwater Lake in the crater at the top. It is said that, because the hike is about 6 hours, one should start this trip early in the morning, and by about 9 am you should have reached the river, just in time to stop for breakfast!

Pure happiness! And not a bit scared!
I love bridges!!!
(P.S. A great dead picture was taken here!)

On the small path that takes us from the other side of the suspension bridge back to the Tram, I passed this kapok tree and had to get inside to be able to show you just how big these roots are. They grow overground like this because remember – the terrain is mostly solidified ash! So they are forced to grow thick, wall-like roots overground just to hold themselves up!

Of course, every plant here is more than just beautiful – it has a purpose. This tree is native to Dominica, and only recently its fruits have been discovered to have properties that may be conducive as a treatment for the HIV virus.

My tour guide was quick to point out that the researchers are still running tests, and that they’re only expecting this to treat the symptoms of the virus, and not necessarily be a cure for the full-blown syndrome. But still – it’s a step in the right direction!

In that valley between the dark green in the middle ground and light green at the topmost point is the Freshwater Lake, held in the crater of a dormant volcano, keeping it quiet. None of the volcanoes on this island (there are more than a dozen) have erupted or even shaken in over 175 years. Still the geothermal activity in over 50 active fumaroles and hot spring pools indicate extreme temperatures always lurking just beneath the surface.

Yet another dormant volcano. On our way back down through the rainforest, we passed most of the same plants, and so the tour guide allowed me to sit quietly and enjoy the sounds that most people have to buy on CD. Running water… Rustling leaves… complete and utterly natural peace. Sixty birds are indigenous here, but hundreds more are migratory, and they all sing sweetly, and their echoes carry under the canopy of the rainforest.

God has blessed this tiny island with a wealth of natural opportunity, and protected it from man’s greed with location and weather. The people are as friendly as the landscape is beautiful. What a great day I had in the beautiful country of Dominica!

Sun, Feb 4th – Southern Caribbean!

2007-02-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

The same cruise we did just three weeks ago, only this time I plan to keep myself healthy and in able to get off the ship and visit some of these fantastic places! I’ve even done some crafty arranging with the boys in my band and our port manning schedules, so that hopefully I’ll get to see all six ports that I missed the first time! Here it is:

Monday – Sea Day
Tuesday – Sea Day
Wed – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Thur – St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Fri – Roseau, Dominica
Sat – Bridgetown, Barbados
Sun – St. George’s, Grenada
Mon – Isla de Margarita (El Guamache), Venezuela
Tue – Kralendijk, Bonaire
Wed – Oranjestad, Aruba
Thur – Sea Day
Fri – Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Sat – Sea Day
Sun – Tampa, Florida

Thur, Feb 1st – Hasta, Costa!

2007-02-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

Once again the Veendam pulled into Costa Maya early this morning, and once again, we didn’t stop. This is the 2nd time in three weeks! Last time the winds were just too high for safe docking. But this time there was a Carnival ship parked in our spot. So once again, we’ve got another sea day. And because I didn’t get off the ship in Belize or Guatemala, this is my fifth day in a row onboard. This is getting to be more and more of a habit.

However, I’m REALLY looking forward to being healthy on next week’s 2-week cruise to the Lower Antilles and South America and bringing lots of good material to the blog – so stay tuned!

Mon, Jan 29th – Key West with Gordon

2007-02-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

Currently, my life revolves around the simple detail that I have had port manning duty in Tampa (our US port) the last 3 times we’ve been there – and I’m running low on important things… like deodorant!

Well, the good news is that we’d be in Key West today. But to get an external hard drive for my laptop (which I have learned the importance of after it crashed a little over a week ago), I would have to sojourn about four miles up the length of the island. To complicate matters, Veendam is only scheduled to be in port for a total of 5 hours, and I have a Lido set for 2 hours out of that five, and I have to be back onboard in time to get ready for a Sailaway set at the end of that five hours. Oh yeah, and we’re porting at the Naval Base, which requires us to take a 10-minute trolley ride through the base to downtown. Long story short: I’ve got just 2 hours to get four miles out to Radio Shack and Kmart, get all my shopping done and get back to the ship.

So I enlisted the help of my groovy friend, Gordon. And what a hero! He got off the ship about a half-hour before me and arranged the rental of a couple of bicycles for us. $10 each for the day – not bad! As soon as my set was over, I ran to my cabin, changed from my singing clothes into my riding clothes, grabbed my backpack, took the trolley to the post office to mail a package (the line at the Key West post office is ALWAYS long, but I’m never in the US on a weekday otherwise!), and RAN to meet him where he was waiting with the bikes.

At about 2:10 we set out towards the Key Plaza that held all the stores I needed. It was a mad dash! Even though it was a cool overcast day in Florida, we were sweating by the time we made it there – four miles in about 20 minutes! It was even more fun for Gordon, who’s from South Africa where they usually traverse on the LEFT side of the road.

By 3 o’clock I had all my shopping done – praise the Lord! And Gordon even got me a good deal on the external hard drive at Radio Shack - $100 for 200 GB. Great teamwork!

We took a more leisurely route getting back to the ship. Since he just got word he’s being transferred to another ship at end of this cruise, this was going to be his last time in Key West, so we took the time to get some pics around the island.

Best wishes to Gordon as he joins the Royal Caribbean fleet next week. Cheers, mate! You’re gonna be “awesome!”

Sun, Jan 28th – Six weeks (five cruises!) to go!

2007-01-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

I’ve been sailing for 92 days, which is 13 cruises. That brings my lifetime achievement up to 64 cruises! I have 42 days and 5 cruises left to go, starting with this one! We’re back to the one-week of Central America that we got used to. Next week we’ll have another 2-week run in the Southern Caribbean and it’ll be all one-week’s after that. Here’s this week’s itinerary:

Monday – Key West, Florida
Tuesday – Sea Day
Wednesday – Belize City, Belize
Thursday – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala
Friday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Saturday – sea day
Sunday – Tampa, Florida

Thurs, Jan 26th – Black and White Officers’ Ball

2007-01-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

The good news is: I’m back to singing! The bad news is: I missed six out of eight new ports on this 2-week cruise! Oh well, we’ll be back in three weeks…

Meantime, tonight was the big Black and White Officers’ Ball! Everyone is required to dress up formal in black and white, so I picked the most glamorous red dress in my closet to stand out in! Ha ha! All of the officers looked mighty handsome in their formal white uniforms, and the hour-long dance was punctuated with me happily larking six of my favorite ballroom dance tunes. The two male production singers, Xavier and Brad, also chipped in with a song each, and the entire night was a smashing success!

Wed, Jan 24 – Flu and vocal rest

2007-01-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

Well, unfortunately I haven’t blogged in about a week, and worse than that, I haven’t been off the ship or out into a single port for six straight days! I’ve had the symptoms of an oncoming flu, and as that is a major work hazard for me, the ship’s doctor has put me on a strict regimen of vocal rest.

While I haven’t been sick enough to be quarantined (it’s only the SYMPTOMS of flu, so this is just precautionary treatment), the doctor has actually suggested that I get out for some fresh air and visit the ports. The only restriction is that I am not allowed to speak at all – which is VERY hard to do when you’re a visitor in a new country! It’s a pain to have to write everything down, things like asking directions or prices. And especially when you’re in a country where English is not the first language. It puts TWO language barriers between you and the locals.

So :::sigh::: I have resigned myself to stay aboard and rest as much as possible, even more than the doctor ordered, so I can get back to work as soon as possible. Granted, I have missed such wonderful ports as Dominica, Grenada, Barbados, Venezuela, Bonaire, and Aruba that I was really looking forward to, since these are six new countries I’ve never been to before, and even from the deck of the ship they look really amazingly beautiful. But more than that, I have missed singing six Lido sets and one sailaway. Luckily, my boys have covered for me not being there with them, playing a lot of instrumental jazz.

And everyone around me has been SOOO wonderful being patient with my gestures and charades and taking time to write things down so they can read them. Being quiet has made me a much better listener, and has taught me again how to think before I speak. It’s been a hard time, but a good lesson learned.

The good news is: I am on the mend! Even today I feel better, and the doctor has officially returned me to “light duty.” But my Music Director and my Cruise Director have requested that I rest for one more day, then get back into it slowly tomorrow to gear up for tomorrow night’s big Officer’s Ball, at which they will definitely need a good singer. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Thur, Jan 18th - St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

2007-01-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix) are known as “America’s Caribbean.” After the Panama Canal opened up, the US recognized the strategic advantage of having a Caribbean military base, but took 50 years to purchase these. In 1917, the US paid $25 million for these three little islands, and at nearly $300 per acre, they (along with Alaska) were considered to be Seward’s Folly. However, when you look at today’s real estate prices and the gorgeous views, I think it’s only a shame that more Americans don’t get out to see this part of the “country.”

Today, after our Lido set, I went out into the port with my two new boys: Mike, from Canada, who plays bass, and Mischa, a Russian from New Jersey, who plays guitar.

We had limited time, so we took a taxi into downtown to try to get to the heart of the good stuff. The market was full of all the normal tourist-trap trinkets, shirts, island dresses, knick-knacks, and my only purchase: postcards.

After picking up a few things, we headed straight for one of the closest “historical” sites, the “99 Steps.” It’s a very long staircase, with beautiful flora all along the sides on the way up. Altitude changes prompted colonists to add staircases all over the island. Completed in the mid-1700s by Danish builders, these steps were fashioned from a ship’s ballast. (We counted, there’s actually 103 steps to the top!)

I raced them to the top, and they had a fun time trying to keep up. Ha ha! But the reward at the top was the pure view of the port of St. Thomas. This is what Seward bought!

(P.S. Another entry to the dead blog from here!)

Wed, Jan 17th - San Juan, Puerto Rico

2007-01-29T18:51:00.000-08:00

This is the beautiful port of San Juan, Puerto Rico! It is a cruise ship terminal built in the center of an already bustling town, the capital of the country. But the best thing I figured out today was that I was in a US Territory… that means I can make phone calls! It was hilarious to shock my best friend for a second into thinking that I was standing on her front porch step (I’m notorious for pulling off great surprises).

We docked in the middle of downtown San Juan this afternoon at 4 pm. Gordon and Boz and I had decided to go “looking for trouble” together. Well, trouble found us quicker than we expected. We didn’t even get past the gangway before trouble found us…

There’s a new port manning system put into place this weekend, and like any technology, it has premiered with a fair share of glitches. Gordon was supposedly on when he should have been off, and my ID had expired with my first contract, and had not automatically renewed with my extension. So here we are, like Keystone cops, bumbling around the gangway just trying to get off the dang ship.

But finally we managed to get out by about 4:30. After a few quick phone calls, we began the deliberations for a taxi. This is a much higher-stress situation than it should be. Unfortunately, the taxis are mini-vans, so they’ll only take you for $4/person if you have four or more people. So whilst trying to gather a few more friends from different departments, speaking different languages, all trying to go to the same place, we got into some tiffs. Gordon needed to go to a FedEx to drop off a package for work, the photogs wanted to go to the mall, one girl had to meet a friend by 6 pm, Boz was doing the smooth talking and translating, and I was just sort of along for the ride.

Long story short, we got to FedEx in the nick of time, the girl met her friend in plenty of time, the cab only cost us $2 extra, and Boz made sure everyone was copasetic before parted and agreed on a time to meet back.

So Boz and Gordon and I were shopping in a mall. Not ideally what I wanted to do in San Juan, (I’d rather be out soaking up the historical stuff) but I looked at the situation as an opportunity to search for the yellow formal dress I need to wear to my sister’s wedding in a few months.

At the end of the day, no dress. But Boz found a few great pairs of shorts, almost lost his sunglasses (recovered them) and did some talking about tanzanite with the girl from Tiffany & Co., I got a few new blouses for a real good price, and Gordon got a delectable pastry stuffed with chocolate. We also all gathered for coffee at Borders before we decided to head back to the ship.

The boys decided to get dressed for the evening (it had turned a bit cool and rainy after the sun went down) and to head back out on the town for an evening of dinner and carousing. I decided to stay back on the ship and make phone calls before I had to get ready for an evening performance in the Crow’s Nest.

All in all, I did enjoy my day in San Juan. The port itself is exquisite, built for embarkations and departures by Carnival CL. But I am most definitely looking forward to making plans ahead of time when we return back in three weeks, so I can see all the beautiful places, historical sites, and educational value that Puerto Rico has to offer.

(P.S. For those of you watching the dead blog, we did get some good ones at a big water fountain sculpture here; so surf on over and check ‘em out!)

Tues, Jan 16th – Tonight, “Atlantic Time Zone”

2007-01-19T10:40:00.000-08:00

For the past ten weeks we’ve been going back and forth between the Eastern and Central time zones. This means that twice a week we have to change our clocks one hour forward and one hour back. It’s nice to get an extra hour of sleep early in the week, but we usually lose the hour again on the final sea day.

However, this week we’re not traveling west to Central America, but to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. That means that tonight as we leave the Eastern Time Zone, on our way to Puerto Rico, we’ll cross over to the Atlantic Time Zone and lose an hour of sleep first! I am only soothed by the reminder that we’ll get this hour back on our way from Aruba to Grand Cayman next week.

Also interesting to note, from our coordinates at midnight tonight, if you were to travel due east from here you’d be in the Sahara Desert in Africa!

Sun, Jan 14th – Now porting stateside on Sundays

2007-01-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

Phew! I’ve been cooped up in this ship for two whole sea days, and now that we’re back in Tampa, I’ve got port manning duty, so for one more day, I’ll be here on the inside. It’s starting to get smaller. Not to mention that we’ll have two and a half sea days before we reach our first destination, Puerto Rico, so I’ll probably be the first person down on the gangway desperate to get out!

But I’m really looking forward to this new cruise! From now on we’ll be returning to Tampa on Sundays, but this cruise in particular is going to be a full two weeks! Here it is:

Monday – Sea day
Tuesday – Sea day
Wednesday – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Thursday – St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Friday – Roseau, Dominica
Saturday – Bridgetown, Barbados
Sunday – St. George’s, Grenada
Monday – Isla de Maragarita (El Guamache), Venezuela
Tuesday – Kralendijk, Bonaire
Wednesday – Oranjestad, Aruba
Thursday – Sea Day
Friday – Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Saturday – Sea Day
Sunday – Tampa, Florida

So while it’s somewhat painful to spend almost six straight days at sea, that will be alleviated by eight countries I’ve never been to before in a row! And of course, I like Grand Cayman, as I’ve been there five or six times now, and I’m quite familiar with all my favorite haunts there. The changed format and the weird times we’ll arrive and leave the ports is going to keep me on my toes, set-wise. Plus, we’re due to get both a new guitarist and a new percussionist today, so maybe some extra rehearsals are is store – woohoo!!!!

Fri, Jan 12 – No Costa Maya – boo!

2007-01-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

Usually by the time I wake up at 8 am, the ship is still and quiet, having been docked for at least an hour or so. Such was not the case this morning.

I went up to breakfast at 8:15 and noticed only water on every side of the ship, which seemed to be moving along at a fair clip. “Strange,” I thought, “Maybe we’re running a little late today.” After all, the waves were showing a bit more whitecaps than usual.

But at 9 am, as I was finishing breakfast with still no land in sight, I knew something was up. About the same time, the captain made an official announcement. When we had arrived to Costa Maya about 6:30 this morning, the waves were far too choppy to permit us to dock safely at the pier. The forces of the surface water were such that our large ship could have knocked out the pier, or the pier could have caused significant damage to the ship. So from our vantage just outside of Costa Maya, he had made the decision to turn around and go ahead to start heading home to Tampa. Too bad, because this was going to be the only COOL port we were looking forward to all week.

As the day went on, this really turned out to have been the right decision. Because of the rough seas, we had to slow down to a crawl just to keep some semblance of stability. Carnival CL’s Miracle had done the same thing, skipped Costa Maya on their way back to Tampa, so we had a bit of fun watching them alongside us for two days.

Thur, Jan 11 - Roatan, Honduras

2007-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

It always boggles my mind to discover that God’s most beautiful landscapes - like those found in the lush island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras – are often the poorest and most impoverished civilizations on earth.

There in the distance are the mountains of the mainland coast of Honduras, Central America. The Veendam has never stopped here before, it being a fairly new cruise port. And indeed, the Costa Meditteranea is the only other ship with us in port.

Still, when my tender pulls up to the dock, it’s clear to see why this place is so rarely visited. There’s not much here more than impoverished beggars trying to sell whatever they can to thrill-seeking tourists just to get by. I am no more than 10 feet up the pier when a group of locals in their best semblance of uniformed costumes performs a cultural dance with the equivalent of a jugband of musicians, and a bowl on the ground before them labeled “tips.” As I continue down the pier to the port, there is a similar setup for a three-man marimba, and a large billboard with handwritten paint listing “cheap” excursions dressed up with fancy names.

Finally reaching the town, there is nothing more than a rambling street lined with shack after shack, each family scattered around tables in their front yards which are covered in handcrafted jewelry made of seashells, fish scales, semi-precious mineral rocks, and fishing line; wooden plates crudely hand-painted with depictions of Honduras’ symbols; postcards, clothing, and anything else that might open a tourist’s wallet. Even the children are so bold as to walk right up to you, hold out their grubby hands and say in English, “Give me a dollar.”

Bicyclists with buggy carts offer to take you anywhere on the island for just a dollar. An old thinly-bearded man with his few remaining teeth yellowed and hanging crooked from his gums sings slurring lyrics while strumming his tattered guitar and once in a while he holds out his hand to the passing crowd, since there is no guitar case to lay open, nor a place to set it beside him on the busy sidewalk.

Finally, I stopped into a convenience store that had a Coke sign on its door. Inside, the floor is well-trampled dirt, the plywood shelves are strewn with dusty stockpiles of everything from laundry detergent to baby formula, and the entire place reeks of the mangy hounds that probably “safeguard” the place at night. One lonely Coca-cola cooler stands in a corner, from which I pull two Coke Lights (the C.A. version of Coke Zero). I pay with a five dollar bill and receive 66 Limpiras in return. The cokes cost me about $1.50 US. The exchange rate is £18.8 to $1 US. When I asked the clerk about the people whose faces are depicted on the bills, he can only tell me that each one was a “national hero” of some kind. (I am ashamed to say that most Americans can’t do much better with our own bills.) But he is impressed with my language fluency.

An hour and a half later, thoroughly unimpressed but nonetheless moved, I returned to the ship. Here, where the passengers have paid upwards of $1500 just for the privilege of cruising, many of whom are on their sixth or seventh cruise, who aren’t afraid to throw out $2 for a can of soda or $7 for a cocktail, I wonder how many of them saw what I saw today, in the same way I saw it, and how many took one look out their porthole-windows and just didn’t bother to get out. When the crew gathers around at dinnertime, and everyone asks, “So, did you go out today?” the all-around response is chorused, “Yeah,” with a bit of reflective pity. Some of us are grateful to be Americans. But we know that many of this crew just got a glimpse of home today.

P.S. Grand Turk post is now complete!

2007-01-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the wait! Scroll down this page a few days to see all the fun details about Grand Turk from last week!

Wed, Jan 10th – Nothing to report

2007-01-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

Folks… what can I say. This is my THIRD day off this week. Out of five.

It’s hard for me to find things to write about when nothing’s happening. But I can tell you about a few exciting things that DIDN’T happen this week….

1) My friends Denis, on the Carnival Valor, and Garth, on the Carnival Legend were both due to be in port with me on the Veendam in Belize yesterday. We were all going to meet up and have lunch at the Smoky Mermaid in Belize City. But the Legend had a medical emergency last week, which threw off their itinerary by a day, and they are in Belize today instead. And Denis didn’t get my email detailing where to meet me in time, so we missed each other too. Que sera sera – I had a great lunch of seafood ceviche and a banana chimichanga which was absolutely delectable.

2) Today’s port of Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala is on the edge of a dense rainforest. And wouldn’t you know it – it rained all day long. So one hour before our only scheduled set of the day at sailaway, Dani and the HALcats were cancelled. Again, que sera…. I called up my friend Vasile, our keyboard player, and we played a 2-hour session of UNO, at which I won the first fourteen hands, but in the end, he beat me by a whopping 22 points.

3) Our percussionist, John Patti, whose contract was originally slated to terminate this upcoming Sunday (as was mine), had decided to take a two-week extension that was offered to him, to better fit his schedule of land-based gigs. However, due to a paperwork mis-shuffle, John Patti’s extension did not get through in time, and on Sunday when his replacement arrives, John will be given a plane ticket to head back to Baltimore. This will surprise and delight his girlfriend and his family, but the rest of us HALcats are sad to seem him go sooner than expected. Not to mention that John was REALLY looking forward to our upcoming eight-ports-in-a-row, two-week cruise.

Such is my life. This is it, folks – the “glamorous” life of a cruise ship showgirl… ahem “band singer.”

Sat, Jan 6th – Eight days, five ports!

2007-01-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

And not a moment too soon – a change in the itinerary!

Sunday – Key West, FL
Monday – Sea day
Tuesday – Belize City, Belize
Wednesday – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala
Thursday – Roatan, Honduras
Friday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Saturday – Sea day
Sunday – Tampa, FL

Today was our last Saturday in Tampa – from now on we’ll be in Tampa on Sundays. That makes it hard to take care of business like banks and post offices. But luckily, we’ll be in Key West on a few Mondays, and there you can get to the post office on foot (in Tampa you’ve got to take a $20 cab to the airport).

I’m looking forward to Honduras, a new country on my list of places I’ve visited. Also new this week, we’ve got a new bass player, Michael. So it’s back to rehearsals for us…

The new year is starting off with a bang and a shuffle! Woohoo!

Thur, Jan 4th – Fascination reunion!

2007-01-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

Today the Veendam was in the port of Georgetown, Grand Cayman with five other ships – two of which were Carnival’s Victory and Conquest! A few of my friends from the Fascination are now on these ships: Victory holds Abi, the dancer from Australia; Jordan, the pianist from North Carolina; Mariano, the sound tech from Argentina; and Conquest carries Bekah, the social host from Texas.

Abi and Jordan met me at the Olde English Bakery to do a little catching up and chatting. Then Jordan and I headed on down the beach, while Abi had to make a quick return to her ship for afternoon rehearsals.

Jordan and I had so much to talk about… how we like our current jobs, where we think we’re headed next… then we headed to Senor Frog’s for lunch.

It was great to see them, and we’re already making plans for when we meet again in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in February!

Tues, Jan 2 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

2007-01-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

I had never heard of these islands before coming on this ship. But as it turns out, it should be in the history books for a few reasons: Christopher Columbus and John Glenn.

The country of Turks & Caicos is a chain of small islands just south of the Bahamas, 600 miles southeast of Florida. Grand Turk, the island we ported at today is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to yet in the Caribbean. Only about 10 square miles, and inhabited by only 3500 locals, mostly rastafaron, it is completely laid-back and rarely visited, so that all of it’s beaches are still very clean and beautiful, very natural and untouched. The cruise pier itself is the newest in the Caribbean (built in February 06), and they have only a few of the major chain stores, including Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville with the largest pool in the Caribbean.

I went into downtown and walked around a bit, getting some history stuff in. The cab dropped me off at a gas station, and the first thing I noticed was the price of gas. Ok, America, check it out: $4.80 US for a gallon of gas! This is why other countries look at us as spoiled!

Grand Turk is commemorated as being the site where Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the “New World” on 12 October 1492. The western beach of the island is named for him, and everywhere there are plaques and memorials laying claim to being the very spot where he first set foot. Apparently he called this island La Isla de San Salvador, and the natives whom he called Indios, gladly shared their food and drink with him for 2 days. On 14 October, he continued with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria towards the Caicos Islands, which he named La Isla de Santa Maria de la Concepcion.

I came across this cathedral which was originally known as the “chapel of ease.” St. Mary’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral Church was the second church established in Grand Turk, because the main church was across the island from downtown, and too far to get to for evening services. Ecclesiastically, this church is the designated pro-cathedral for a diocese which includes churches in T&C and the Bahamas.

Not a Catholic, but deeply missing my own church, I decide to venture inside. The reprieve from the afternoon sun encouraged me to sit a while and just drink in the organ hymns floating through the fan-blown breezes. But then I started to look around, and I was mystified by these stained-glass portraits above each of the long windows. Going around the church from right to back to left, to above the altar, were scenes depicting the various stages of Christ’s life. They were so amazingly beautiful to look at, and these pictures just don’t do them justice.

| View Show | Create Your Own

The more recent event that makes this island memorable is displayed at a major intersection as you enter and exit downtown. There is a black space capsule there, marked USA with a checkered line running down the side. When John Glenn returned from his historic flight in 1960, this little space capsule landed off the waters of Grand Turk, and the aircraft carrier that picked him up out of the water brought him here first.

But downtown itself was very laid-back. No bright lights, or noisy music playing. Throughout the whole island, people just kick back in their hammocks and let the days roll by, occasionally trying to sell something off their display tables to the tourists who are passing through. They say they have 350 sunshine days every year! Wow! This truly is paradise…

Sun, Dec 31st – Happy New Year!!!!

2007-01-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my doubts if we would pull it off. With just over 24 hours to go, the boys scrambled to pick apart 10 new songs and get them ready for our New Years’ Black-and-White Ball (all on their own - no help from charts from the company). Four rehearsals and a day later, the ball went …maybe not EXACTLY as planned, but very well nonetheless. Turned out that we had way too much material prepared, and not quite well enough to be perfect. Still, the audience had a great time and was none-the-wiser.

The Rubens Lounge stage was transformed to expand the dance floor to a second level

My view of the packed dance floor from backstage

If you’re going to spend your holiday working, do it in STYLE!

Sat, Dec 30th – New Year, new itinerary!

2007-01-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

We’ve been sailing basically the same two itineraries over and over for the past nine weeks since I came onboard, so a change of pace is long overdue! This week we’re gonna get it!

Sunday – sea day
Monday – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
Tuesday – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos
Wednesday – Sea Day
Thursday – Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – Tampa, Florida

Half Moon Cay is a private island owned by Holland America Lines. From what I understand there’s not much to do there other than lay out on the beach, eat at the buffet, or browse the gift shops, all of which contain all the same amenities we already have on the ship. So I’m not too sore about having port manning that day.

I’m about to do some research on the country of Turks & Caicos, a small island chain just 30 miles south of the Bahamas. It’s one more new country to add to my list of places I’ve visited!

And while I’ve been to Georgetown several times by now, this Thursday is going to be the best visit yet, as Carnival Conquest and Carnival Victory are also going to be there, and that means I’ll get to see many of my Fascination friends! We are planning to meet at the Olde English Bakery and maybe even make a trip out to the beach if we have time.

So while the past few weeks’ blogs have been a bit dull as the ports have gotten familiar, do not fret! Big changes are coming (including South America!) so keep an eye on the blog for all the exciting updates to come!

Thur, Dec 28th – The view from my “office”

2007-01-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

I love doing these pictures! These are the moments that make me so grateful to work where I do, and that remind me how hard I have to work to make sure I never get stuck in a 4x4 cubicle with calendar-sized photos of faraway beaches.

When I worked at Sight & Sound, the view was overlooking an audience of over 2000 seats, and man… I felt I was living large. But here is my new workspace…

Yup! This is the view I have while I’m working! Watching a beautiful sunset as we sail away from yet another exotic locale in the Caribbean, and singing my heart out to a crowd of screaming fans (or snoring seniors, as the case may be). Spend a few hours on the beach, come home, sing three or four songs out on the deck, and then call it a day. Can you believe I get paid to do this??? The Lord has truly blessed me!

Wed, Dec 27th – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala

2007-01-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Today was my fourth time that the Veendam has been to Guatemala, but this is the first time I’ve gotten off the ship there. Unfortunately, if you don’t go out on a tour there’s not much else to do. So I wandered into the little hangar they have set up there in the port. Inside, many many native merchants try to sell you tourist items, mostly things that their families have made by hand, crafted to represent the culture of their country.

There was also a family playing a really long marimba! It was incredible – these seven men all lined up side-by-side playing this gigantic xylophone, which must have been a full eight octaves long. Together with a stand-up bass and drums, they were playing lots of standards, classics, and Sinatra tunes, like “I Love Paris,” “Begin the Beguine,” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” It was a treat to hear it done that way - the sound echoed throughout the entire hangar.

Mon, Dec 25th – Finally Christmas!

2007-01-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, even though the Christmas trees and fake snow went up all around the ship the day after Thanksgiving, and the background Christmas tunes have been playing in the dining rooms and lounges, it hasn’t really FELT like Christmas up until the start of this cruise, three days ago. Don’t know why.

This Christmas-on-the-sea has turned out to be a lot different than last year. Last year I spent a lot of time alone in my cabin, watching my Sight & Sound Christmas Spectacular DVD and pining for home, family, and friends. This year, my “onboard family” has been a great source of fun and festivity. And thank goodness, work has kept me busy, kept me occupied and happy.

Of course, I still watched the DVD about three times! (I still crack up at Dan and Duane’s genius antics, and it’s just awesome to see Maria singing that beautiful “Rejoice!!!!” before the drum circle.) But hanging out with my boys has been really special. We’ve all embraced our ‘extended family’ to make the holidays special.

John Patti dressed up his steel drum at the sailaway from Tampa with some lighted garland and a big red bow.

We all wore Santa hats at the Lido deck set on Christmas day. Those things get really hot in the 85 degree weather!

And a very special Christmas dinner was served to the entire crew at 6:30 on Christmas Day. But unfortunately, a few of us had to work – yup, me and the boys had to play at the Captain’s Champagne reception. But it worked to our advantage – we ended up getting to eat in the passenger’s dining room for Christmas! It’s a treat to eat in the formal dining room anyway, but on such a special occasion it just ROCKS!

Together we made it feel like a real family Christmas dinner. Of course, we all dearly miss our own real families, but if we can’t be home for Christmas, there’s no one else on this ship I’d rather be with than these 7 guys.

Sunday, December 24th – Christmas Eve Concert

2006-12-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

I was so blessed to be able to speak with my family and dearest friends this Christmas Eve, as we departed from Key West, Florida. Granted, it would be better to be together on Christmas, but thank God for cell phones while we are apart!

But after we sailed, it’s probably the one day per year that I work the hardest! I love Christmas, and I love working hard, so this year has been very blessed for me. I had a fabulous red dress that I was excited to debut here, and I got to share my God-given talents with all the passengers by singing carols about our Savior’s birth at dinnertime with the Veendam cast.

Me with Noel, our Stage Manager

Robert played piano for the cast and I singing carols at the Rotterdam dining room

Destiny, Xavier, Victoria, Brad, Jacoby, Julie, Tara, James, Lauren, Samantha, Jenna – the Veendam Cast

Later that night, I was asked to open our Veendam Christmas Eve Concert with “Winter Wonderland.” The boys and I worked together to take a simple lead sheet and turn it into a fabulous island-style opening number. Thanks to the hard work of all my boys, the HALcats, featuring our percussionist John Patti on the steel drum, the number was a smash hit! It was so much fun, I wish we could have done it twice!

(This video is 2 ½ minutes, so please be patient while it loads. Trust me, it’s worth the wait just to see my fabulous red dress and my boys! This is us at our absolute finest!)

Finally, when all of our work was done at about 1 AM on Christmas morning, the cast, the band and I, and some of the other musicians from around the ship all gathered together around the Christmas tree in the Rubens showlounge to exchange Secret Santa gifts. It was an awesome experience to be able to spend Christmas with our family-away-from-family.

Opening gifts together on Christmas morning

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and GOD BLESS US, EVERY ONE!

Sat, Dec 23 – “Going Under” the Sunshine Skyway Bridge

2006-12-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love bridges. Each week, the Veendam performs an amazing feat, which I try never to miss.

The Veendam departs from the port of Tampa at approximately 4:45 pm every Saturday. And at about 7:15 pm, as we sail through Tampa Bay on our way out to the Gulf of Mexico, we pass under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which links St. Petersburg and Bradenton, Florida.

It also happens that every time we depart Tampa, I have an opening night show to do at 6:30. I am the last act to appear in the 45-minute production. So as soon as the show is over, I run out the backstage door to the big open deck on the forward-most part of the ship to watch us pass under this bridge in the night.

Now, I think bridges are beautiful anyway, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is no exception. But what makes this occurrence so incredible is that the Veendam extends vertically above the water 55 meters… and the vertical clearance to the bottom of the bridge is 58.8 meters. When you’re standing on the uppermost deck of the Veendam, you feel like you could practically reach out and touch the bottom of this bridge.

(The video is about 1 minute. Click the play button until it says "loading" and then be patient while it loads.)

And lucky me… I get to experience this incredible rush every week!

Sat, Dec 23 – Christmas Cruise!

2006-12-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Another easy cruise has past. Only 12 sets last week, most at which I sang seven songs or less. Once again, let me reiterate – I am the highest paid singer on this ship, with the best accommodations, and the least hard working. IT’S A CRIME!!!! I volunteered to work once with the Port and Shopping Ambassador, modeling jewelry and passing out flyers, and once for about an hour registering bidders for the art auctioneers. I stayed onboard in Ocho Rios and had port manning in Costa Maya. It’s been a pretty laid-back week.

But NEXT WEEK IS CHRISTMAS!!! Hooray! Our new cruise director seems to be a real whiz at leaving things to the last minute and expecting us to pull it all out for him in the end to make him look good, and he takes all the credit for pulling it together. (Can you sense my sarcasm?) Boo.

Yesterday, 48 hours until showtime, I FINALLY received the music to the solo with which I’m supposed to open our Christmas show. Luckily, it’s a fairly simple rendition of “Winter Wonderland,” and my boys are fabulous, so we should be able to pull it off. Plus, my famous red dress is sure to knock out their eyes so maybe they won’t even notice if I miss a note or lyric.

Then, I also found out JUST last night that I am going to be leading six Christmas carols with the audiences who are gathering before the guest entertainer’s show on Christmas night. As of right now, I still don’t know which six carols, but I have been assured that they are standards, and that I’ll be given the lyrics for them SOMETIME before that night.

I’m ready to throw my Cruise Director overboard. Shh. Don’t tell anyone. (You know I’m only kidding.)

Last Christmas I was in the Bahamas. This Christmas I’ll be on the Mayan Coast! This Western Caribbean cruise will be a little mixed up from the way we normally do it, though.

Sunday – Key West, FL
Monday – Sea Day
Tuesday – Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala
Wednesday – Belize City, Belize
Thursday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – back to Tampa, FL

Mon, Dec 18th – “Bwile en eedem!”

2006-12-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

I didn’t have any big plans for today in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. I definitely wanted to get off the ship for a while, so I wandered on down to the Olde English Bakery. On the way, I ran into Robert, our new piano player, walking by himself, so I invited him to come along. I couldn’t decide between the strawberry cheesecake and the walnut/almond-honey bar, so I got one of each. Robert played along and bought a sugar cookie in the shape of a red Santa hat, but as it turns out, he’s not a big fan of sweets, so left me to devour most all of it. (Which was heaven at the time, but I later regretted with a huge stomachache.)

So we decided to wander on down the beach front. I know of a gas station down the way with really good fruit smoothies, so I set out at a good pace. But, it was sweltering hot, and he had made the mistake of wearing all black. So when we spotted a little pier leading out to a dried coral reef, we took a little detour.

The dried reef is so remarkable. You know at one point it was large underwater bushes, brightly colored and teeming with tiny amazingly unique fish and other sea creatures. But now it looks like just jagged grey rocks with pools of clear water in the crevices…. Until you stop long enough to look closer.

Soon we spotted little sea urchins, spiny and poisonous, leeched in the crevices of jagged dead coral. And pea-sized hermit crabs or soldier crabs, hustling along edges until a wave would catch them and pull them back in to the sea.

A boy was sitting fishing off the side of the pier with a simple line with a hook on the end. Sitting so close to the shore, I passed him by, thinking he’d never catch anything. And we saw his mother and little sister down at the end, stepping carefully over the jagged coral, seemingly searching for something. The little girl had a bucket and was standing at the edge of the pier, while her mother prodded the edges of the coral with a stick. We asked what they were searching for and she looked up and grinned, “Wilks!”

She showed us a few that she had in the bucket – wilks are little nautilus shells, green and purple on the fungus-covered outside, and with a spiral shaped mollusk inside. They attach themselves to the outer banks of the coral and feed off the plankton that washed through. The mother was using the stick to pry them off and every once in a while would bring back another handful to her daughter’s bucket at the pier.

So Robert decided to help her out looking for more wilks, while I stayed on the pier and played with Christina and we used sticks to poke at all the little sea creatures I only noticed after looking more closely. She showed me how to spot little wilks, but said we must put them back, because they’re too small for good eating, and we should wait til they got bigger. Meantime, Robert was getting educated on how to smell and throw back wilks that are too big, because when they get that big, they’re too tough to eat once cooked.

I asked Christina what they would do with the collection once they got it home. She looked at me like I should know better and said very matter-of-factly in her thick Caymanian accent, “Bwile en eedem!” (Boil and eat them.) She explained that they would boil them first, which would loosen the meat out of the shells. Then they’d clean them off, slice them thin, and fry them up in a flat pancake-like batter. This is a Sunday-dinner, she explained, a delicacy they only enjoy once in a while. Still, for someone like me who’s never cooked anything she didn’t buy directly from a grocery store, I was quite impressed!

Once they’d filled the bucket, which the mother explained would be enough to feed six people, we all returned over to where the little boy had just caught another fish. The silver skin was glinting in the sunlight, the fish was about five inches long. It was flopping around on the pier, and mother and son were chasing it around with a Styrofoam cup until it slipped through the cracks and back into the water, at which they just sighed, laughed, and watched through the waves as it swam back out into the water at the side of the pier, almost as if it was laughing back at them.

I couldn’t believe that he was really catching fish this close to the shore! But sure enough, he would cut a bit of squid, put it on the end of his hook and toss it no more than five feet off the pier into the water below. No pole, no fancy weights and flashy lures – just a plain bare line with a simple hook and some squid. Then, through the clear water, I was amazed to see three or four fish swim right up to his hook! He waited, watching patiently to see which one would go for it. As soon as one did, he tugged! Five out of six times, the fish got away with the bait, but ten minutes later, he’d caught two more silver fish and one yellow one he called a “grunt.”

Of course, Robert couldn’t resist trying it a few times. It’s a bit like gambling, if you ask me. It looks like it should be so common sense, so easy. But the more you miss, the more determined you get to try just one more time…

Finally, it was time to get back to the ship to get ready for the sailaway set. We blessed each other and wished them Happy Holidays. And the family invited us to come back and join them in a couple of weeks, when Veendam returns to Georgetown to help them out some more. I’m looking forward to it!

Sat, Dec 16 – Return to the East

2006-12-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry that there wasn’t much to report last week, folks. With two new players, a new cruise director, and a new music director, there’s been a lot of adjusting going on, and that means a lot less sets. I had two whole days off last week, on Sunday and Friday, and of the five days I worked, I did a total of 8 sets. At two of those sets I did only three songs each, and at two more sets I only did one song each.

This week I have been BORED out of my GOURD. (My friend Gordon thinks this is a reference to him. He says I should just hang out with him more often.) It seems so unfair that I work so little and get paid so much. But I’m trying to, “Just be grateful.” At least I’m knocking out some of my credit card debt and student loans.

Here’s where we’re headed for my 59th cruise:
Sunday – Sea Day
Monday – Georgetown, Cayman Islands
Tuesday – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Wednesday – Sea Day
Thursday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – Tampa, FL

Thurs, Dec 14 – What would you take with you?

2006-12-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

At about 1:45 this morning, just after I’d gone to bed, something very strange occurred. The ship’s whistle woke me up.

One short blast, one long blast…

Ok, we know it’s not a general alarm, which would have started with seven short blasts, so if it sounds twice more it will be a fire alarm…

One short blast, one long blast…

Grrr, why are they having a fire drill at 2 AM???

One short blast, one long blast…

Ok, for fire drills, generally after the third repetition the captain and/or the cruise director will come over the PA and announce to the passengers that “this is only a drill” and we should all just stay put…

One short blast, one long blast…

Um, that’s FOUR times… my eyes are now open, but I’m still laying in bed waiting for the announcement to tell me it’s going to be ok…

One short blast, one long blast…

Sounds are emerging in the corridor, people are getting out of bed to see what all the fuss is about…

One short blast, one long blast, and one more short blast.

And then…. silence. Eerie silence as we all stand and wait for the familiar voices to tell us what to do next.

But there were no voices. And after another moment, the voices of crew began to fill the halls to share the news that the fire squad had been set into action. Holy cow… this is no drill. This could very well be the real thing.

I grabbed a shirt, roughly smoothed over my hair, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and opened my door. There’s my neighbor, John, with his warm clothes already on, putting on his close-toed shoes, packing a bag getting ready to jump ship.

I wander out farther down the hall to where I could see the ship-length corridor. Crew members are standing around everywhere, wondering what we should do next. One of the traffic directors, clearly still drunk from the previous evening’s festivities, is the only one of his kind in place. (He’s not supposed to be there until the general alarm sounds.) And all the way down the length of the ship, people are sticking their heads out of their hallways to see what all the commotion is, and trying to discern answers.

I can’t imagine what panic must be ensuing upstairs in the passengers’ hallways.

I return to my cabin and shut the door. Immediately my heart begins to race with thoughts of, “Ok… so this could be the real thing. But I can still hear the engines propelling us forward, so if the captain hasn’t stopped the ship, maybe it’s not… But if it is, and the fire squad can’t contain it, the general alarm is going to sound next… and I’m not dressed.”

Ok, yes, I started to panic just a smidge. Still not having heard an announcement, I feel it necessary to assume and be prepared for the worst. What if I have to abandon this ship in the next five minutes? Standing in the middle of my cabin I am thunderstruck by a huge question – what should I take with me?

My immediate first thought is to grab my passport. We’re somewhere in the middle of the gulf of Mexico, halfway between the Mayan Coast and Tampa. The closest land is Cuba. (!!!) No matter where I end up, I want to be able to prove I am an American citizen so I can be taken back to the USA. But Human Resources keeps all of our passports on file after we sign-on. I don’t even have access to my passport.

Alright then, I want to take my wallet, with my government-issued ID and some money. But the liferafts will not accommodate any purses, backpacks – nothing but people. So whatever I take has to fit in a pocket.

But so much of my life is on record in this computer! I can’t take the whole laptop with me under my shirt and my lifevest, and even if I do, the moment I jump in the water it will be useless anyhow. Same goes for my camera. What if I save a bunch of stuff to my memory stick – will that ruin in the water? Do I have time to open up my computer and make a bunch of transfers? Maybe I should take my bible…

Bing, bang, bong… Ladies and gentlemen this is the captain speaking…

Hallelujah, at last! The captain explains to us that a moment ago we did indeed hear the fire alarm. Some steam was spotted, and was incorrectly presumed to have been smoke. The fire squad checked it out, the steam is normal, so this has been a false alarm. He apologizes for the early morning interruption.

And with a heavy sigh, I sink back into my bed, realizing that in the time it took me to panic, I didn’t manage to pack anything, make any solid decisions, or even put on my warm clothes and close-toed shoes.

And before I closed my eyes to sleep again, I resolved to be more prepared in the future, to know immediately what I would take with me if the ‘real thing’ should ever actually occur.

But since I woke up this morning, I still haven’t done it………..

Wed, Dec 13 – Learning Romanian

2006-12-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

My keyboard player, Vasile, is from Romania. Over dinner, he was teaching me some phrases in Romanian! Here they are, along with their pronunciations, so you can try them too:

Ce face - /chay FAHtch/: How are you?

Fac bine - /fahk BEE-nuh/: I am good (well).
(or, to avoid the awkward feeling the first word gives you, just ‘bine’) /BEE-nay/: Good

Doi zece - /doy ZEH-che/: Two-ten. (the common phrase used at a mic check)

Proba de microfon - /PRO-bah deh MEEK-rro-FONE/: Microphone check

Yes, I have used the latter two a few times. Also, some of the girls in the casino, and our new Lido manager are Romanian, so I get to use the “how are you” bits here and there.

Other than this, the week has been fairly uneventful. Bad weather has caused several arrival delays, which cuts off a lot of our in-port time. I haven’t even bothered to go out in Belize or Guatemala, which is quite a shame, since we’ll only be there a few more times before the itineraries change again.

But the good news is: the two new band members, Seth and Robert, are settling in quite nicely! We’re all working hard to get them caught up, we’re playing a lot more jazz in general, and we’ve had fewer sets to make way for more rehearsals. The flipside of this is: these two guys are only here for four weeks, then we’ll get a new pianist and bass player and start the rehearsal process all over again! Then two weeks later, we’ll do the same with the guitarist and drummer, and two weeks later the percussionist. Well, that’s one way of “keeping it fresh!”

As for me, I’m currently in negotiations with Stiletto Entertainment and Holland America Lines about the extension of my contract past January. We should come to an official agreement soon, so stay tuned to the website, the fan club e-mail newsletter and this blog for the latest news when it comes available!

Fri, Dec 9 – The only thing constant is change…

2006-12-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

What a cruise we’ve had! This past week has been fraught with changes – most notably, the loss of our bass player and our piano player/music director. They went home today, and Robert and Seth came onboard. Because of the rough weather we’ve had in the gulf the past few days, we arrived late to Tampa this morning. So by the time the two new guys got oriented and safety trained, etc., it was time to put on the introductory Let Us Entertain You show… and they’d barely had a chance to rehearse.

Luckily, these guys are both really professional players. Both of them picked up the charts and played them straight. The first show had some little hiccups here and there, some scrambled numbers, but the entire cast and crew of entertainment staff here on Veendam carried on as if all was well, and the audience was none the wiser. A true case of, “The show must go on!” And it did. I am so incredibly blessed to be counted as part of the team of such a group of pros!

This week… back to the Western Caribbean again.

Sunday – Key West, FL
Monday – sea day
Tuesday – Belize City, Belize
Wednesday – Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala
Thursday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday – sea day
Saturday – Tampa, FL

No big plans yet, but anticipating much rehearsal with the two newbies! Can't wait to learn some new stuff. Sometimes - change is good!

Thur, Dec 7 – Three amigos a “Banditos”

2006-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

Simply put: today in Costa Maya I took a few of my friends from the ship, Gordon and John Patti, into a restaurant called "Banditos" at the pier (where we get free internet) to show them how to blog. Here's the picture of the three of us hard at work:

Ok, I know, it looks like we’re working REAL hard out here in the sunny Caribbean on a warm December afternoon, right? Can you believe this is what we get paid to do??? Yup, it’s a tough life, but somebody’s got to do it!! :)

Tue, Dec 5 – Swimming with dolphins, snorkeling with sharks!

2006-12-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Today was awesome! As a birthday gift, my dear friend Dave set me up on an awesome tour of Dolphin Cove in Ocho Rios, Jamaica! Dalma and Greg, the directors of the resort gave me and a friend VIP star treatment during our day there. May I HIGHLY recommend if you ever get the chance to visit Jamaica, DO NOT MISS this once in a lifetime memory-making adventure resort!!!!www.dolphincovejamaica.com

This is my friend Coby. He’s a dancer in the Veendam cast, incredibly talented and an all-around stellar fella to hang out with. I asked him to accompany me this morning to swim with the dolphins.

The resort itself is gorgeous! It’s set up not too far from the pier – we could actually see our ship from the lagoons. As soon as we arrived we were welcomed like royalty and escorted down to the dolphin lagoon. We were assigned to a dolphin named Nina, and guided by Romaine. Once we splashed into the cold saltwater, we met Nina, who passed by us several times close enough that we could touch her skin and feel her slippery fins. Then she did some jumps for us, and tricks! When we put our hands up and twirled around, she danced with us! When we shook our open hands in the air, she sang a Bob Marley song for us! Then Coby was asked to throw a brightly-colored ring out into the middle of the pool, which Nina then went and scooped up with her nose, leaping way up in the air before splashing down and returning the ring to the pier! Then each of us got to share loving kisses with Nina and have our pictures taken. It was spectacular!

As if that wasn’t enough, then we were escorted on a jungle tour, where we met and pet all sorts of God’s creatures! A donkey and a goat, a huge iguana, a boa constrictor, so many flowers and sea creatures, and all kinds of beautiful birds, including African grey parrots, macaws, and lovebirds. After we chowed down on some fries with a strange concoction of ketchup and sweet’n’sour sauce at the restaurant, we headed over to see the Shark Encounter!

“When in Rome….” Coby and I decided, if this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, let’s do it all the way! So we volunteered to be pioneers on the shark experience. This part of the tour won’t be open to the public until Fall of 2007, so we felt very privileged to get this chance. After five guys dressed as pirates gave a very high-spirited, energetic, entertaining and informative talk, Coby and I were “brought on as victims!” All five guides got into the lagoon and each corralled a shark into his grasp. Then Coby and I were escorted down to a concrete platform in the center of the lagoon, and once we were situated, the guide set an 8-foot-long, 220-lb nurse shark in our laps! The feeling was so intense! The skin is made up of millions of little tiny shark teeth, so it feels like sandpaper. And when the guide dropped a piece of fish down in front of the shark’s snout, it made this huge popping sound and writhed in our hands as it sucked it in! I really think my heart stopped for about 2 seconds!

Then the shark was lifted off of us, and set loose. We were handed our snorkeling masks and fins, and off we went! The feeling of swimming openly in a tank with five very large, very LIVE sharks is simply indescribable! The guides were always near us, and several more were standing all around the lagoon, keeping an eye and a finger pointed at each of the five sharks at all times, so it was all as safe as possible. There are only two places in the entire world where you can swim with sharks like this - one is in the Dominican Republic, and the other is right here at Dolphin Cove. It was so awesome to look down through the snorkel mask and see these massive creatures swimming just inches from your face. They swim so gracefully, you feel strangely threatened and calm all at the same time.

Our time at Dolphin Cove was really one of THE BEST tours I have ever been on! The property was clean, well-managed and meticulously kept. The staff were all very educated about the animals, passionate about their conservation efforts, and above all FRIENDLY to the utmost standard. And the management was superb. My hat’s off to the people and animals in Ocho Rios, Jamaica at Dolphin Cove!

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Mon, Dec 4 – Three compliments

2006-12-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

I have had three strange comments in the last two days that, separately are kind, but together are a bit confuzzling:

“Wonderful! You sound just like Connie Stevens!”

“Just like Rosemary (Clooney)!”

“Sounded just like Frank Sinatra!”

That last one especially makes me giggle.

Sun, Dec 3 – Job Swap party

2006-12-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

Last night was fun! Every once in a while, the cruise staff puts on a theme party after hours and below decks, just to keep things interesting. I’m not usually much of a party person, but this one was especially intriguing. Everyone was asked to come dressed in someone else’s uniform! It was hilarious! We had steiners tending bar, musicians dressed like officers, cast dressed as maintenance, and so on.

The hardest part of my idea was getting someone to wear my famous “blue handkerchief.”
Some of you will have heard me speak in loathing tones of the blue handkerchief. Much as the giant banana hat was the bane of my existence aboard the Fasc, the Veendam comes with its own bane, pictured at right. When I first came onboard, the music director gave it to me with a laugh. Days later, I discovered that all the boys have shirts in matching material. So every once in a while, I have to wear it just to fit in. Luckily, I’ve got a nice long white skirt that I wear with it and a pair of four-inch heels to make it somewhat attractive.
Anyhow, everyone’s aware of how much I despise wearing this blue handkerchief. So there was only one way I was going to this party, and that’s if I could get someone to wear the blue hankie.

This is my bass player, Tibor, and he’s leaving in a week, so he’s got nothing to lose. He agreed to wear the blue hankie, and the wheels in my head started spinning! Woohoo! As soon as work was over, he came over and we traded costumes. I even persuaded him to bobby pin my flowers in his hair! Then I slicked my hair back, got out the mascara and the eyeliner to make a goatee and eyebrows, and put on one single diamond stud in my left ear, and here’s how it turned out! We were a party hit!

Sat, Dec 2 – December already!

2006-12-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe it! This afternoon, I was making cell phone calls in a tank top and shorts, bare feet, wandering around the forward deck, and sweating despite overcast skies. I can’t believe it’s December!

….somebody please send me some pictures of your snow…..

We’re going back on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary this week:

Sunday – Sea Day
Monday – Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island
Tuesday – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Wednesday – Sea Day
Thursday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – back to Tampa, FL

(I know the picture shows "Montego Bay," but we are definitely going to Ocho Rios - same island, other side!)

As aforementioned, I’ve got plans to go out on tours in both Ocho Rios and Costa Maya this week! (Thanks to my friend from Belgium for my birthday gift!) So stay tuned to the blog this week for all the pictures and stories!

Tues, November 28th – Mayan Ruins of Altun Ha, Belize

2006-11-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last night, I ran into a friend of mine, Gordon (from South Africa) who’s one of the art auctioneers. He’d had a hard day at sea, and I’d had four sets myself. So we agreed to get out in Belize this morning to take an excursion to the Mayan Ruins of Altun Ha!

It was great fun! I’m only just getting to know Gordon, but we’re quickly learning that we share a lot of the same interests – sushi (makes me miss Reji and Café East!)… coffee (makes me miss A.D. and Prince St. Café!)… and (for Abi!) taking pictures that create illusions of being something we’re not…. like DEAD! [shameless plug: www.deaddani.blogspot.com]

The first one we got right off the bat… or should I say, right off the boat! The Veendam is required to anchor way off shore in Belize (the continental shelf is just really long here, and only the smaller tender boats can get into the shallow waters of the pier). So Gordon and I took the opportunity to enjoy the sun on the back deck of the tender boat while riding to shore. And as the Veendam disappeared into the distance, Gordon’s first idea was brilliant – jet skiing!

Brilliant and fun! And I didn’t even have to get wet! Ha ha! …Ok, on to the Ruins!

I’ve been to two other Mayan Ruins excavation sites, Tulum and Muyil, both in Mexico. Altun Ha is a little bit further south along the Mayan Coast in Belize, but it’s definitely the most prolific that I’ve seen so far. There were at least eight major temples/burial pyramids, just in the two “elite class” plazas we got to wander around, and an adjoining 6-mile path leads down to a pond surrounded by a smaller village, where the lower classes lived. When Dr. James Pendergraff discovered these ruins a few hundred years ago, they were piles of rocks and stones overgrown with vegetation. So he named the place for what he found: “Stone-Rock Pond” or in the Mayan language: “Altun Ha.”

This is plaza A, one of two major areas in which it is believed the elite-class of priests and royalty lived, and commerce was traded. This is “downtown.” It is believed that the earliest generations lived on the foundations of these temples, and as each generation died, they would be buried right on site, with all their belongings, and that block would then become the foundation for the next generation, who would rebuild a new level on top, and so on and so forth.

This is the cornerstone of a smaller temple, in which you can see the depiction of a “beautiful” Mayan face. The forehead is large and flat, and the nose is low, wide, and painted red to draw the eyes to be crossed. The earlobes are huge, and the lips protrude like a pucker. The entire head is about 3 ½ feet high, which is about how tall the tallest men of the time were.

The picture on the right is the tallest of the temples in plaza B, known as B4 or the Temple of Masonry Altars. In the huge stair block at the top was the tomb of an elderly priest along with the largest carved jade artifact ever recovered in the Mayan area, called the “Jade Head”. (Belize is still the world’s most popular place to get great quantities of good quality jade.) The Jade Head was elaborately carved to depict the Sun God, and weighed almost 10 pounds! It’s very intricately carved to look like a Mayan face, with curving fangs, crossed eyes, a large flat forehead and giant earlobes, sticking his tongue out. Ok… so maybe not a contemporary idea of “beautiful” but the jade it’s carved in lends an eerie green luster that actually makes it stunning to admire.

So what else to do with this Mayan religious arena now that we’re fully aware of its sacred symbolism? Climb all over it, of course!

I got to the top of B4 first (in the picture at right, that little speck at the top is me!), then Gordon joined me. Let me tell ya – that’s not an easy climb! There were about 50 stairs that took us up about five stories, and each stair, carved from the stones the temple is built with, was 18 to 20 inches high! Yet it is said that for their religious ceremonies, the Mayans would crawl to the top on their knees with their heads bowed forward, to show reverence. That can’t be easy in the blazing hot sun for a man less than 4 feet tall!

But once we got there, it was quite a rush to look down from the edge. Gordon had the bright idea that this would be a brilliant place for a BASE jump!

See for yourself in the video...

Ok, ok…. So I only jumped from the uppermost level to the top of the tomb – about a 2 foot drop. But still, you gotta admit that’s funny!

Back on the ground, we encountered a few kids holding baby alligators for a photo op. Apparently they’re abundant in that pond at the end of the 6-mile road. Hey Andrea: how do you like my new purse?

The ruins were great, so beautiful to see. But after a few hours in the blazing sun, it was time to get back on the air-conditioned bus and head home. Hooray for Altun Ha!

Mon, November 29th – Formal Night with my boys

2006-11-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

Sea Day – four sets: Lido at noon, 2 Captain’s Cocktails, and a Crow’s Nest

I’m well energized after having all of yesterday off from singing. My voice rejoices! And still, I think I’m the luckiest woman in the world to get to be constantly surrounded by these seven gorgeous men – especially when they get all dressed up for formal night!

With all the Christmas decorations that have gone up all around the ship, and the fact that our bass player is leaving in 2 weeks, the nostalgia of “we must take pictures!” begins to rear its ugly head. And boys are notoriously impossible to round-up for picture-taking opportunities, but tonight I tried my best to make it happen.

We got a photographer to take a few group shots of us on the staircase and on the stage. Keep checking in – I’ll post that one a little closer to Christmas time. Meantime, here’s a look at me with each of my boys (except my MD, Daniel, who seems to be wildly flagrant in public, but tremendously shy for the camera). Take one look at these gorgeous (not to mention talented!) men and tell me I’m not the luckiest girl on this ship!

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Sunday, Nov 27 – A whole day off!!!

2006-11-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

I have done at least one set every day for the past 16 days straight. This is my first blessed WHOLE day off in 16 days!!! I don’t have to sing a single set today!!!

But let’s not celebrate too quickly – this can only mean one thing: I am the only loser with port manning duty today – the joke’s on me!!! (Grrrrr….)

Of course, my dauntless work ethic won’t EVER let me be still, so in the morning I offered to help out as a showroom model and assistant for the Port and Shopping Ambassador, Rina. She’s the person onboard who tells you where to find all the best shopping, the best prices, the best quality stuff. She puts on a presentation before each port to highlight and tout the sponsoring stores and give away samples and prizes and stuff, so I offered to help her out by doing all her walking around the audience, modeling the jewelry and passing out raffle tickets while she spoke from the stage.

That lasted for only an hour, and as the ship started to pull into the port, I had to scramble to find someone to take over my port manning duty. I was dying to get off the ship, get my Starbucks fix and just find some secluded beach where I could chat on the phone with my best friend all day. (It’s been a long week for both of us, and there is much to discuss, but we didn’t get to connect while I was in Tampa yesterday.)

So here’s what I did in Key West!

Ok, I know… so most people go to Key West to go to the beach or party hearty! Me… I’ve been to this 8-sq-mile island about 3 dozen times, literally, so at this point, I'm just happy to find a quiet pier and CHILL. Luckily, the only ones bugging me were the pigeons and seagulls, and Maria and I had a fun time yelling at them (long story, but funny!).

Ahhhh…. Five glorious hours of strolling through the streets of Key West and then peeling off my socks to attempt to kill the sock tan around my ankles while yammering til my cell phone literally went dead. This was a GREAT day!

Sat, November 25th – Back to Central America

2006-11-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

There’s good news and bad news! This week we’re traveling back to Central America for three days in the middle of the week. Good news – we’ll be in Key West on Sunday and another day in the US means another day of cell phone service – hurrah! Bad news – I’ve got port manning duty on Sunday, and Key West is a popular port, so I’ll be lucky if I can get someone to trade with me so I can go ashore.

Good news - It’s nice to have the foreign port days centralized, bookended by the sea days. Bad news - the ports themselves are not particularly glamorous. If you don’t take a tour in Belize, Guatemala, or Costa, there’s really not much else to do. Good news - Most days we’ll be leaving the ports late, just after sunset, so I won’t have to do too many sailaway sets. Bad news - I like to work! But this is going to be a light work week.

Well, maybe I’ll try to get out and do some excursions. ;) Since I’ve been onboard, we’ve only sailed to Belize and Guatemala once, but it was early in the rehearsal process, so I didn’t get to go ashore. Maybe this time!

Here’s the course for the week:

Sunday – Key West, Florida
Monday – Sea Day
Tuesday – Belize City, Belize
Wednesday – Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala
Thursday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – Tampa, Florida

Fri, Nov 24 – Another day at sea

2006-11-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, so today would normally have been a sea day anyway. But it feels extra long because we didn’t stop in the Cayman Islands yesterday, so this is our second day at sea. Oh boy, I’d better get used to this – if I ever intend to go trans-Atlantic, it will be SIX long days at sea!

I had almost all my boys gathered around me at lunch today, during our break from the Lido set. I felt so special, surrounded by all these talented musicians, sharing their ideas on how to improve songs and sets, and generally just shooting the breeze. I am amazed at the camaraderie I’ve become a part of in just a few short weeks.

And my bass player, Tibor, is coming to the end of his contract in just a few weeks. So I’ve decided it’s time to finally get some pictures together. Daniel, our music director and pianist, was not with us when we were having lunch, but these are MOST of my boys – my family away from home. They take good care of me. ;)

Standing – L to R: Aaron Koppel (guitar), Nathan Kivett (drums), Tibor Duka (bass), John Patti (percussion); seated: Patrick Mayette (sax), Vasile Ribu (keys)

Thur, Nov 23rd – “Push the Button, Jack!”

2006-11-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

(Fans, like me, of the ABC hit show “Lost” will understand this reference better.)

In the plot of the hit series “Lost,” there is a bunker with a mysterious complex computer that runs on a cycle. Every few hours, an alarm will begin to sound, and the inhabitants have about three minutes to enter a specific code and “push the button.” Now, for drama’s sake of course, this alarm never seems to go off when they’re all just sitting around on the couch, reading a book, or having a jovial conversation over a cup of java. No, this alarm is, for some unknown reason, CRITICAL to their survival on this island, and only sounds when they’re all tied up being held hostage, or trying to resuscitate someone’s life, or rescue a wanderer from some deadly smoky apparition! No one has ever dared to let the alarm run out without pushing the button, just to see what might happen.

Veendam has its own version of “the button.”

I work on a weekly salary. I get paid the same amount every day whether I work 20 hours, or 0 hours. Still it is, for some unknown reason, CRITICAL to my boss that I “clock in” at least once every 24 hours. I punch in the same “work hours” every day, 5 pm to 10 pm, regardless of when I actually worked. And the time clock’s day turns over at 10 am every day.

So if I have forgotten to clock in on any given day, as I did yesterday, then the boss calls my cabin to remind me. (Somehow, he seems to know what time my alarm is set for, and conspires to call me just 20 minutes before it goes off.)

So at 8:15 this morning, I dragged my tail out of bed to answer my phone, and I hear my boss on the other end of the line. “Dani, you need to clock in before 10 am.” Thanks, boss. In my still half-asleep stupor, he might as well have yelled in desperate anguish: ‘Push the button, Dani!’

And of course, never willing to risk what might happen if I DON’T push that button, I got myself dressed, walked out to the time clock, and pushed the friggin’ button. :::sigh::: I guess it could be worse: I could be living the drama of Fox’s 24. Ha ha ha.

Wed, Nov 22nd – An unexpected detour

2006-11-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I was serving port manning duty today, so I didn’t get off the ship in port today. I was really looking forward to tomorrow though, since we’ll be in the port of Georgetown, Grand Cayman with Carnival’s Conquest and Carnival Victory (as well as four other big ships), and a few of my friends from the Fasc were going to meet me at the bakery there for lunch.

Unfortunately, the weather in Ocho Rios was sort of overcast and bleak. And as we sailed away, the captain came over the loudspeaker with a very important announcement. The port of Georgetown had announced that it would officially be closed to all cruise ships tomorrow due to inclement weather. You know that this has to be bad news, as the Cayman Islands are supported almost 90% by tourism, and denying all seven ships means losing the revenue of 17,000 passengers!

The reports say that winds there are very bad, and the waves are crashing up over the pier and flooding the streets in Georgetown. Three ships will be allowed to port at another pier in Grand Cayman, but as Veendam is one of the smallest of the seven, we were not chosen as one of the three. So, we will be sailing for the next two days to arrive back in Tampa on time on Saturday. In a way this is good, because sailing at a much slower speed means a smoother journey while the seas are very swollen.

But it means that the entertainment department is now scrambling for ways to stretch the shows we have left to cover all of the next 48 hours. Hooray! This is the sort of excitement I live for! Flying by the seat of our pants, never knowing what’s coming next. It’s a little harrowing, but a lot thrilling!

Mon, Nov 20th – Horseback Riding in Costa Maya

2006-11-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

This morning I got to go on an excursion with about nine other passengers from the ship. It turned out to be quite an adventure! We took a 16-passenger bus from the port about 45 miles inland to a ranch in the thick of the jungle. They had a small menagerie of animals there, including turtles, chickens, a boa constrictor,
and a toucan! (And no, he was not eating Froot Loops….)

Then we were each assigned to horses that were ‘suited to our personality.’ Interestingly, my horse’s name was Pajarito (which means “little bird.”) I think it’s interesting because my first name, when pronounced in Spanish means “little wing.” Cool, huh?

Once we got acquainted with our horses and got a little orientation on how to drive them, we set out in single file into the jungle. We traveled about forty minutes through some pretty beautiful trees, and we got to sample some of the natural jungle fruits. At some places, the mud got very sticky and sloppy, and the element of danger only heightened the excitement of the tour. Pajarito was an old pro and took great care of me! When we got through it, honestly I was probably the one person of the whole group who had been the least splashed with mud.

A view from the saddle…

Then, close to the end of the trail we turned onto a straightaway. Now, we’d already discovered that the horses were a little bit energetic, since they hadn’t been out on a tour since Friday. But here’s where they got really excited. The group was divided into those who wanted to canter and those who wanted to walk. Well, everybody ended up cantering – you might as well get the full experience, right? The cantering was a bit bumpy, so I took it up a notch and led Pajarito into a full run. It was amazing! I mean, he only ran for about ten seconds before we ran out of track, but it was still pretty intense!

Yes, the next day I was a little bit sore, but only in my knees. I think something with the stirrups must have been turned wrong, and my legs were twisted in this weird position for just a little too long. And I had one small bruise on the side of my right wrist, where I had bumped it on the horn while running. Other than that, the mosquito bites hurt worse – six of them in all. I can honestly say, Mexican mosquitoes are some of the smallest and most vicious insects I’ve ever met. But not one of the other passengers got bit! Maybe Mexican mosquitoes have a preference for Mexican blood…

But the excitement didn’t even end there! We all piled back into the bus to head back to the pier. It’s amazing how much just sitting and riding can take out of you, and half of us were nodding off as we ploughed down the Mexican highway. But then I heard this strange sound and felt the van jolt softly… putt, putt, putt… putt, putt… putt….. coasssssssssst. Um…..?

The van had run out of gas. Clearly this was poor planning on the part of the driver. And we were still ten miles away from the port. It was only about 1 in the afternoon, and the ship wasn’t due to leave until sunset. But I had to be at rehearsal at 2! Luckily, our tour operator, Ramon, was able to radio down to the port to send another van to collect us. Meantime, we all piled out and waited there. Ten Americans in the middle of the desert on the Mayan Coast.

Well, we made it home, and I was happy to report that all of us returned safely. I even had time to grab a Coke Zero and my favorite cookie, Doraditas, before getting back to the ship just in time for rehearsal. What an adventure!

November 18 & 19 - Tampa and Sea Day

2006-11-19T13:07:00.001-08:00

This week’s itinerary has been reversed – not sure why, maybe it has something to do with the Thanksgiving Holiday. One thing’s for sure: there are a LOT of families onboard this week, including the lead male singer’s entire family (25 of them altogether!) and 180 kids. It’s a FAR cry from the usual nursing-home crowds we have! It’s almost like being back on Carnival again… almost. ;)

Here’s where we’re headed this week:
Sunday – Sea Day
Monday – Costa Maya
Tuesday – Sea Day
Wednesday – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Thursday – Georgetown, Cayman Islands
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – back to Tampa

Worthy to note: On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, the Veendam will be in port together with Carnival Conquest and Carnival Victory, and I’m planning to have lunch with several of my friends who are now serving on those ships – hooray! I already have so much to be thankful for….

Last night the band and I finally attempted to do “Conga” for a public audience. And not just any audience… the first night’s “Let Us Entertain You” (LUEY) show audience, where each performing group gets a chance to give the passengers a sample preview of what to expect throughout their week. We’ve been rehearsing this song on and off for a few weeks, but it’s been tricky, as the band had separate charts from the vocal charts that Dan and I had; they were in different time signatures and had different forms… it’s been a chore to pull this song together. At first I really didn’t think this song was at all appropriate for the LUEY show, as there are separate solos for each of the seven players, which leaves a LOT of time for me to just stand there and…. What? Shake my ‘groove thing’? Look lost? I’m not a choreographer, and I’m surely not about to make up some ridiculous dance breaks…

So for a long while, I’ve been resistant to the idea of putting this song in this show. But reluctantly I must admit: it’s not only a crowd pleaser, but it makes my boys very happy, especially our percussionist, as they all get a little machismo-rush with all the solo material they get to highlight. It would be just plain cruel not to indulge indulge them just a little.

And so when it finally got to the point-of-no-return, when I realized that we were going to do this song for the LUEY show whether I liked it (or looked like an idiot) or not, I did the best thing I could do with my perceived lemons – I made lemonade. Late on Friday night we had a last ditch rehearsal of the song, and I started to pay attention to who played what and where throughout the song, in all my lyrics breaks. I had to find a way to get the spotlight off of me when I wasn’t singing. Ideas were cooking.

Throughout this week, God has been humbling me, in a great way. I’ve had a lot of passengers stop me to compliment me on the job I do, that ‘celebrity factor’ I had such a hard time getting used to on the Fasc. I remember I learned to use it as an opportunity to compliment my dancers, and throw attention to all the hard work that they put in onstage as well as behind-the-scenes. I recognize how much harder they work than I, and I wish they were given more applause for it. So I do what I can with what I’m given.

Well, I’ve easily slipped into doing the same thing here, for my boys. I know how hard they are working and how little it is noticed… my job is easy by comparison. In any given 90-minute set, I might sing 5 to 10 songs, but they are playing for the entire 90 minutes. They play for me at deck sets, sailaways, cocktail sets and nightclub sets, but also for all the production shows, and all the fly-on entertainers. And that doesn’t include all the countless hours of rehearsal they dedicate individually! So some days I look at a schedule and I can see they have two rehearsals, and four sets, half of which don’t even require my attendance. To me, four sets is great! I love getting to work hard, and it’s just enough to be fun without being a burden. But these guys are really working their tails off! How come nobody knows it?

So when I started to put this idea together with all the solo opportunities in “Conga,” it finally clicked. This is for the introductions show… if all these singers are going to get their names mentioned and get their personal moment in the spotlight, then I’m going to make it my job to see that these boys get their names and their moments too. After the Friday night rehearsal, I ran back to my cabin and re-wrote a lyrics sheet with the new introductions written in. Essentially, as each guy plays his solo, I introduce him by name and instrument, and the spotlight hits him. It’s supposed to induce applause for him. I made a spotlight script and ran copies of it straight up to the lighting guy, Emiel, to give him as much prep time as I could.

Even so, I was still feeling anxious. This whole big change was happening very last minute, and at the LUEY run-thru on Saturday morning, we still weren’t completely on the same page with the form of the song. We ran through it three or four times, and only finally got it right the last time. But as it was our only day to be in Tampa, and we had four more sets still to go, we decided to call it quits and hope for the best.

I scrapped any thoughts of trying to go into Tampa myself that day. Whatever “things” I needed would have to wait. I spent every moment between sets going over my new form and new lyrics. I put together my five-points choreography and memorized the script faster that way. I had woken up at 6:30 am and started with a cappuccino, praying all the while that God would not just instill confidence in me, but BE my confidence.

And eight hours later, it happened! The first LUEY show got wild applause, thanks in part to the lead singer’s family being there. ;) The entire audience was great! They clapped for each individual band member as he played his own solo, the spotlights all cued in all the right spots, and you could see the pride in each guy as he finally got the moment he’d worked so hard for and so deserved. Praise the Lord for His provision of a great idea!

And then the Evil One tried to throw us a curveball. As I was making my entrance for the second show, the sound guy accidentally cued up the next song and it started to play as I came out to sing! The band stopped, and I stood there, doing my best to keep my calm for what seemed like an ETERNITY as the mistake was recovered, and we cued up to start again.

But once we launched into it, I felt more determined than ever to make this routine work! Even as the opening lyrics were coming out of my mouth, my head was spinning the prayer that would see us through. Once again, the audience clapped in all the right places, and each of these boys got his due. At the end of the song, the collective sigh of relief from the band was palpable if not audible! Thank you, Father!

Overnight, all the hard work has paid off in the response we’ve received. Everyone from cast members to administrators to passengers, have complimented the idea of giving credit to each player. And at this afternoon’s deck set, all my boys were clearly ego-boosted. It’s all I could have asked for.

Now I’m feeling much more confident, even energized, about making “Conga” the standard intro song for the LUEY show. I love being able to give credit to my boys. And I’m humbled to give credit for the inspiration and completion to my Lord. Praise the Father!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 – Montego Bay, Jamaica

2006-11-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

I’ve done 10 sets in the first three days of this cruise… I’m a little tired. Today is the only day in my entire three months that we were going to port in Montego Bay, Jamaica, but even so, I really didn’t feel like getting out there. But something kept telling me I needed to go. There was a small matter of business I needed to attend to, but nothing so urgent that it couldn’t wait until we are back in Ocho Rios in 9 days. Still, something kept calling me out.

So, reluctantly, I put on my shorts, my sturdy runners, and my dark sunglasses. Maybe, I figured, I’ll just do a little walking and shopping right close to the ship in the tourist section. I don’t feel like getting all dressed up for a tour, even though I’ve only got three more chances in Jamaica to see the Dunn’s River Falls, something I don’t want to miss. Even as I stepped off the ship, my legs were getting heavy, but my heart was urging me onward.

The bus taking tourists to downtown was $3 per person. Still thrifty, and eager to dodge all the very pushy vendors, I opted to walk, and was quickly joined by a couple of passengers, Robin and Brian, who were like-minded. They had a map, so we were sort of all following each other.

Well, what I thought was going to be a spiffy little jaunt turned out to be about a 3-mile hike along a busy highway, with no shade in the 86 degrees blazing-hot Caribbean sun – much more sun exposure than I had anticipated. I was sweating buckets. Still, something in me was determined to journey on.

I don’t think we ever really reached “downtown.” But after that much walking, we started turning down streets and searching for the place where the buses were dropping off their loads of passengers. We had passed a straw market along the way, but collectively decided to keep going. Still, something about that straw market was calling my name.

We wandered into a very busy and dirty section of commerce where there wasn’t a single white face to be found. But Robin was looking for a mall. Problem was – every “mall” we passed was more of a shopping centre, and usually we’d take a look at it from the distance and agree, “Uh… let’s find the next one,” and we’d keep walking further.

So with this same adventure happening at every new corner, we zig-zagged thru the streets of downtown Montego Bay: me insisting on returning to the straw market, Brian and Robin fruitlessly searching for a ‘decent’ mall. Probably not the best idea. I was quickly discovering that not only did Brian’s sense of direction usually keep us on the sunny side of the street, it was also leading us in circles. In our attempt to dodge vendors, we began mostly ignoring the people we passed, for which I sort of felt bad (this is the way foreigners begin to get the impression that all Americans are stuck-up and snobbish). Until one of the taxi drivers that approached us finally got downright angry and told us, “Look, I’m just trying to warn you that the direction you’re headed is the wrong part of town. You really don’t want to go that way.” About that same time, we saw three military policemen walking down the center of the street wearing Kevlar vests and carrying M-16s. Yeah, at that point, Brian finally gave in to my insistence to turn back in the direction of the straw market.

When we got to the market, I knew we would find other passengers there – it’s the same sort of trinkets-and-cookie-cutter-t-shirts place that is found in every port. Still, Brian and Robin weren’t convinced that they wanted to shop here. So finally I had to put my foot down and wish them a safe journey, but that I was going to stay here and look for a taxi back to the ship. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of wandering around by myself, but somehow I had a peace that I’d be ok with God’s direction.

I wandered back through the vendors, and actually peered into a few shops, presumably seeking some new sort of blue dress or skirt and top to add variety to my performance attire. But as I ducked my head into one small hut, the shade seemed to be considerably cooler, and something stopped me in my tracks. There was an old woman sitting there with an American baseball cap and a toothless smile, along with one called “the Birdman,” who was putting the finishing touches on his latest mahogany bird sculpture to add to the collection of five he had to sell today.

This woman asked what I was looking for, and I told her I was just looking for a spot to rest for a moment. She pulled up a stool beside her, and we began the normal conversation. ‘Where ya from? First time in Jamaica? How you like eet so fah?’

And then there was something else. Nothing in this shop was even close to what I might have come shopping for, and the time was growing close for me to return to the ship. As I fanned myself with a page folded in half, the old woman and I began to compare and contrast ourselves – old/young, preferring the heat/preferring the cold, and the obvious: white/black. That’s when she said the words that confirmed why God had brought me here, to this hut: “But we are all one world – one Maker.”

She saw my eyes light up. Two Christians now recognized each other. Her name was Nita Thompson, and she is more than 80-years old. Without hesitating she went on to share her testimony of God’s Goodness in her life: how He had brought her a husband and taken him too, and how she had been miraculously healed of gallstones after his passing. Praise the Lord! During the course of our conversation, I was blessed to meet her daughter, granddaughter, and 6-months old brand new baby great-grandson, Everton. She never stopped smiling, not once. There was so much wisdom in Nita's eyes, such unbridled compassion in her heart.

The fruit man came by and for about $30 Jamaican (about 50 cents, US), gave her a yellow banana and a green orange, peeled and ready to eat, as was his daily custom. She shared the orange with me, which was surprisingly sweet, and told me her daily routine with the ripe banana for breakfast was to keep her young. [Jamaicans rarely eat ripe yellow bananas – instead, their Official National dish is aki-and-codfish, a style of mashing boiled green bananas and mixing it with shredded fish, and most Jamaicans eat it for breakfast every single day. They love it!]

Finally I could wait no longer and made up my mind to get back to the ship. But I did promise to remember her in my prayers, and to share her testimony with all of you back home, that you might pray for her also. We took a picture together, and she blessed me with a palm-sized wooden plate, decorated with scenes of Jamaica.

THIS is the part of Jamaica that you can’t buy on an excursion. These are the people God sent me here to learn from! These are the lessons you can’t learn in church, or from a book. THIS is the entire reason I sing for retired senior citizens who can’t hear me anyway – so I can receive the blessings the Lord has set before me, and so I can pass them on to you. Please keep Nita and her family in your prayers, as will I. And remember that God is so Good – He will show Himself to you in all the places you least expect it!

Monday, November 13, 2006 – Georgetown, Cayman Islands

2006-11-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

“Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” -- Italian Proverb

Today I had the luxury to spend a few hours on a secluded beach I found hidden away in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. I was marveling at all the coral bits along the shoreline – it seemed like everywhere I looked there was another shape, or texture, or growth pattern. God’s creativity is breathtaking! But all the coral that is washed ashore is already dead, and it’s all white and stony. When the waves have washed over it enough, it degrades back into sand and is washed out to sea to be a bed for the new sea coral to grow in.

You can tell where to find the most vividly colored coral reefs by the expense of the excursion tour that takes you there. Ostensibly, we put a higher value on the most beautiful ones – the more colors and shapes you can see, the reefs with the most variety of textures and sea life, are worth paying more to see. But how often do we stop to remember once we get back to the shore that God created all things, and God recalls all things?

The lesson is this: Beauty is fleeting. Status and rank are created by man. Money is “easy come, easy go.” The only thing that lasts eternally is God Himself. He is mighty, and worthy of all glory. He shows us so, over and over, in the nature He has blessed us to behold.

Friday, November 10, 2006 – Tampa

2006-11-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

Finally I’m working!!! Last week we did thirteen sets in six days. Yesterday we only had a quick rehearsal where Dan and I went over a couple of songs, then we did a few of those with the boys, and next week we’ll be adding “Conga,” “New York, New York” and a couple of country songs, “Top of the World,” and “All I Ever Need Is You” to the repertoire.

This week’s itinerary is basically the same as last week’s, with one little change up: Montego Bay instead of Ocho Rios in Jamaica on Tuesday. Same island – other side.

And on Thursday I’ll be celebrating my birthday in Costa Maya, Mexico! I started throwing hints at my boys earlier this week about the surprise party they should be planning for me. ::wink:: Of course, we’ll probably have to do at least one deck set that day, as we sailaway, and the boys will have to play two production shows that night. But hopefully I’ll get to do some kind of cool excursion that morning, maybe horseback riding on the beach or something fun.

Ok… I know I said I wouldn’t add any more videos, but this one has very special significance. Be aware: it’s about a three-minute video, so load at your own discretion.

Some of you know about the charts show that I had commissioned over the summer. Well, here is the first song I’ve performed from that show, “Stuff Like That There.” The Veendam has a sort of previews-style show on the first day of each cruise, to sort of give the passengers an idea of what sort of entertainment they’ll be able to experience around the ship during the week. Each of the production singers get a song, the string quartet and the Filipino band, each of the piano soloists, and at the end – me and my boys! So here’s how I hit ‘em on the first night of every cruise. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 9th – Costa Maya

2006-11-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Today I spent two glorious hours on a private beach in Mexico. Somebody pinch me - I can’t believe this is my life! Bless the Lord, for I’ll never know what I’ve done to earn this precious gift.

Today is my thirteenth day on the ship, and the whole 'celebrity' factor ("Oh! You're the singer!!") is finally getting on my nerves. So I donned my baseball cap and dark sunglasses and decided to wander by myself into town to get my Doraditas, and then walked a little ways further to get a cab. Honestly, I didn’t even care how much it was going to cost; I just had to get away to somewhere where I knew no one would recognize me.

So the first cab driver to greet me was a man named Arturo. I put on my smile and quickly recalled my broken Spanish. I asked him the name of the tall white lighthouse we can see from the pier, and I learned a new Spanish word: “el faro” – the lighthouse. He took me in the cab to the lighthouse.

Turns out that that lighthouse is actually a restaurant, and it’s not as pretty up close as it had been from the distance of the pier. :) So I asked him (still using my kitchen Spanish) to take me to a beach a little ways further down, “una playa sin turistas” (a beach with no tourists). He thought a moment, then continued driving.

We passed several patches of beach which looked like they would have served just as well, but he kept on driving. We were headed down this sandy path, where they lay the lines that tie up the boats across the road to serve as speed bumps. Not that you’d need them – it’s impossible to speed through the maze of sandy sinkholes.

But finally we got to a little clearing in the jungle’s edge where you could walk down the water, and I asked Arturo to pull over and drop me off. There was one little man there, named Angel (say “ahn-HEHL"), who was kind enough to warn me that the water is not so clear, as there is lots of seaweed and rocks. But I told him that that was ok, I only wanted to lay out in the sun for a few hours. So he agreed to let me spend a few hours on this little patch of ‘la playa.’

Arturo put the car in park, and that was when I learned that this wasn’t just a cab… this was a Tour Taxi service. Anywhere you want to go, they take you, stay until you’re ready to leave, and then they are there to take you back to the pier. Well, since Arturo had sort of figured out that my kitchen Spanish only goes so far, I was content to let him stay and chat with Angel while I kicked back in the hammock that was set up between two palm trees.

I hadn’t been lying in the hammock for even ten minutes when I heard Arturo calling me down to the beach. “Mira los cangrejos,” he told me. I learned a new word, “Look at the crabs.” There are silver dollar-sized holes all along the beach, and if you stand still long enough, the sand crabs will peek out to see what’s going on. There were dozens of them, so clear-brown that they nearly blend in with the sand! (It made me more aware of where I’d lay out my towel later.)

When Angel noticed how this delighted me, he invited me and Arturo to wander with him down the beach a little ways, he had something to show us. He started climbing up in this tree that was hanging over the edge where the water meets the sand. He grabbed a handful of fruit and passed it to me saying, “juvos frias.” Grapes. Absolutely fresh! Straight off the beach, a blessed gift from God, as Angel explained to me that they shouldn’t even be ripe at this time of year. Not as sweet as vine-grown grapes, but certainly tasty!

Still further down the beach, Angel started grabbing large coral rocks and turning them over to see what sort of treasures we’d find. A lobster tail, some beach spiders, quite a few blanched conch shells of various sizes, mostly empty, and tiny tiny nautilus shell creatures, and a baby red crab.

Grateful for my mini-tour, these guys at last got the hint that I really had just come to spend a few hours laying quietly on the beach, and they let me be. But they continued with their scavenging, and about 20 minutes later I look up to see them approaching me, and Angel’s got a machete! Not to worry… they brought me a couple of coconuts with holes in the side, for a refreshing drink. Once I’d finished that, they split them in half, and scraped the fruit up into bite-sized pieces, using the half-shell as a serving bowl – what a treat! This is not like the flaked coconut you buy at the store and put on top of your cupcakes at home. This was smooth, actually slimy, but so sweet! No processing, no preservatives, just sweet beautiful fruit of the Lord.

Finally it got late in the afternoon, and it was time to return to the ship. I thanked Angel graciously for allowing me to spend time on his private beach. I asked him what he called it and he threw his hands up. So we all agreed to call it “La Playa de Daniela,” at least when I’m in on Thursdays. ;)

Arturo had spent three hours chaperoning me around, and I braced myself for the price when we got back to the pier. He told me $10. I was astounded, I couldn’t believe it! ‘That’s it? For the private slice of heaven I just experienced? ALL this for ten bucks?!’ This was a section of Costa Maya unknown by the weekly ship passengers; no pushy vendors, no loud music, and best of all NO TOURISTS. All I had was a $20, and Arturo looked sad because he had no change to offer me. So I told him that he’d just have to take me again when I come back in two weeks! He agreed, I got his cab number, and I’m already looking forward to doing this again!

Bless the Lord, how did I ever get so lucky?

Wednesday, November 8th – Sea Day

2006-11-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

I witnessed a marvelous wonder this morning – flying fish!

We crossed into the Central Time Zone today, so I had an extra hour to kill after breakfast this morning. I decided to take a stroll on the Sports Deck, deck 12, which sits above the main pool and the bridge. I stood at the railing looking across the sea, which is calm for the very first time since I boarded 12 days ago – no white peaks at all! We’re traveling at about 60 knots, and as I peer over the portside railing into the water, I see these slivers of light streaming across the waves, perpendicular to the ship’s course. At first there were only few, and then many of them, and in a staggered formation.

It was then that I figured out that those little slivers were really fish! Flying fish! They’re about six to twelve inches long, and they have these long thin bones along each side, about three-quarters the length of their body, webbed to their side and retractable. I guess we must have been sailing through schools of them, because every once in a while you’d see group of them speed toward the surface, leap out and spread those side fins, sailing through the air for 200 feet before they’d just touch the tops of some waves to get another wiggle of acceleration and keep on flying! They’d keep on like this, grazing the surface for a few feet and then flying for another 200 feet or so, up to 1000 feet before plunging back beneath the surface, once they were a fair enough distance from the ship’s wake.

It doesn’t seem physically possible for such a phenomenon to occur, but here I was witnessing it hundreds of times, over and over. I was amazed at how far these little fish could fly! And it just reminded me of how clever and creative God is, and occasionally how whimsical.

The amazing price of gas in Jamaica

2006-11-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

… Yes, that’s $52.64 for a gallon of unleaded gas. But don’t worry, the exchange rate is $65 Jamaican dollars to $1.00 US. That means a gallon of gas in Jamaica costs about 81 cents!

Tuesday, November 7th – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

2006-11-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

As promised – pictures of me and the band!

This was taken at today's sailaway deck set on the Navigation Deck Aft. From left to right: John (percussion), Vasile (keyboard), Nate (drums), Aaron (guitar), Daniel (MD, piano), me, and Patrick (saxophone). The only one not in the picture is Tibor (bass); you can see the end of his guitar above Vasile’s shoulder on the far left. I’ll try to get some good posed pictures with the whole band soon, maybe after a Captain’s Champagne set or something, if I can talk these guys into it. They really do look good when they’re all suited up on formal night.

Went river tubing on the White River this morning in Ocho Rios, Jamaica! It was great fun, with about ten other passengers, including my drummer, Nate. A few rapids here and there kept it exciting, but the best was our river guides, three native Jamaicans who kept the jokes coming and still kept us all safe enough to feel relaxed.

The tubing tour ended at this botanical oasis, where I saw so many wild and crazy flowers in astounding brilliant colors. The pictures look great, but the camera still just can't do justice to the beauty of these Jamaican wonders.

Create Your Own!

Monday, November 6th - Georgetown, Cayman Islands

2006-11-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

Turns out that last night's wobbles were caused by winds up to 43 knots and swells up to 7 ft! But Praise the Lord we made it here today to the port of Georgetown in the Cayman Islands and we had great weather all morning!

Although it was a bit hot and humid, and I'm a weird one who prefers it cold and dreary - I miss PA!! It did start to rain just a bit on the back deck about three or four songs into our sailaway set, which made it gross and humid. John's steel drum got all wet and our music was blowing around a bit. But the captain did great and sailed us right out of the rainstorm and the band kept on! We got to finish the set and it was great fun. (Don't worry, don't get any dreadful visions of us being the band who plays until the ship is completely sunk... most of the boys have already admitted: if this ship's going down, we're getting our happy tails in a lifeboat!)

So, I don't have a picture of this week's itinerary, but for those who are interested:
Sunday - at sea
Monday - Georgetown, Cayman Islands
Tuesday - Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Wednesday - at sea
Thursday - Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday - at sea
Saturday - back to Tampa

I also have a few more videos to post (a tour of my cabin and what the crashing waves sound like at night; a few samples of the band at work) but I realize that the loading of so many videos is slowing down the loading of the blog, so from now on I'll try to stick to pictures and journaling. ;) If I can find an internet place on land that's a little cheaper than the satellite we use onboard, I'll give them another shot.

Didn't do much in Georgetown today. Only had a few hours, so I wandered downtown, sent out a few postcards, and found the Olde English Bakery that Dave had suggested to me. (Thank you, Dave!) I had the most fabulous cinnamon roll and an oatmeal raisin bar made with thick rum molasses! Makes me miss my oven!!!

Just wanted to let you all know how much I love and miss you, and that I'm doing alright out here in the Caribbean. Love you!!! God Bless!!!!!

Sunday, November 5th - Sea Day

2006-11-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

I survived the first week! Now I’m starting to get into a groove with the boys, and I’m learning more than I ever could have imagined about musicianship. It’s a very different feeling – not at all like musical theatre, which is so prescribed, and especially some of the places that I’ve worked at where every last detail is so structured that you fear for your job if you don’t turn your head on the right word or get off your number one too many times.

Singing pop songs with this band is a little more off the cuff, something I’ve only barely tasted with the few jazz songs I know. I can arrive to a set with a pocket full of songs, never knowing which ones will be called for until we’ve learned the crowd a little bit, and what kind of mood they’re in, or – in the case of this cruise line – what AGE they are and how much they’ll be able to dance, or what volume they’ll be able to stand before they’re all covering their ears. Ha ha.

Today I actually worked! 4 sets and an hour of rehearsal – hooray! It was a day at sea, and a rocky one at that! (The captain says we are sailing through the Gulf Stream against crosswinds, but that all should be smooth sailing again once we round about the end of Cuba and head back east towards the Cayman Islands.) But with no ports at all today, the band and I were booked all over the place to keep it hopping. At 11:30 we did a 90-minute double-set on the Lido deck by the pool. Unfortunately, with the overcast skies they had the deck roof closed and it was like a sauna inside! Blech! But I sang six or seven songs, so it was a pleasant afternoon for me.

Next was the Captain’s Cocktails’ sets at 5 pm and 7 pm. This is my kind of music – slow dancing jazz ballads like Blue Moon, It Had to Be You, and Moon River. Unfortunately, since the ship has been rocking hard all day, not many people got up to dance. However – funny story! It’s the third song of the set, and the first song with me, so I’ve just made my grand entrance onto the stage. Everyone in the room (about 500) are looking right at me – a vision in a long blue ballgown, with a white rose in my hair, doing my best to channel a 40s songstress. I’m singing “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” for the first time. About two lines into the song, the ship hit one really big hard wave and sea legs or not, I tripped a step – me and simultaneously the other four guys in the band who are standing! The entire audience GASPED, as everyone had felt the jolt and they’re all looking at us losing our balance! But praise the Lord, and bless these guys – none of us missed a beat or a lyric, and the audience was quickly relaxed again.

The rest of those two sets went fine. Then we had a 90-minute double-set up in the Crow’s Nest at 9:30. When we got there to take over from the pianist, there was no one in the entire room except two or three seniors in the very back, and the three very bored-looking waiters. Wow! That’s a tough crowd! So I decided to make the most of it. Now that I’ve got about 15 songs that I’ve performed at least once, this was a good opportunity to just cut loose and make choices, and if they turn out to be mistakes, well, at least no one was around to hear them. It was great! It was like a good solid 90-minute rehearsal, which went mostly well! I just took all the lyric sheets I have and set ‘em up in alphabetical order on the music stand. We were all just flying by night – throwing out whatever song came next. I sang a total of eight songs, including a new one, “Rock Around the Clock.” Finally, as we were wrapping up for the night to turn it over to the dj, a crowd was beginning to form. But it was really nice to have the chance to rehearse WITH the boys, WITH a mic, in a performance SPACE. It was the best kind of education.

Now as I sit here, we’re only about six hours away from the Cayman Islands, but the ship is still knocking about quite loudly. Oh well… it’s been a long day, and I am looking forward to only one set tomorrow. Pray for good weather in Grand Cayman – or this will be the third new country I’ve been to with bad weather!!

Monday, October 30th – Sea Day

2006-10-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Time zone shifting – you know that great feeling you get from gaining an extra hour of sleep in the fall, and the complete opposite dread when you lose it again in the spring? But you deal with it because, after all, it’s only once a year, right?

Imagine trying to deal with it two or three times EVERY week, and you’ll understand a bit of what life is like on the ms Veendam. On my first ship, we only crossed into the Central Time Zone once a week, and it was consistent – every Wednesday. Then we’d come right back to the Eastern Time Zone, so we never bothered to change clocks, we just called it “ship time” to follow Eastern Time even if we were presently in the Central Time Zone.

Well, the ms Veendam does not follow a regular schedule. Six weeks ago it was in Alaska, and over the next month or so, it traveled down the West coast all the way down to the Panama Canal. So every two or three days they kept crossing into eastern-more time zones – which means that every two or three days, they’d lose ANOTHER hour of sleep. Yikes!

Luckily, my contract here will not be that bad. We’ll remain in the Eastern and Western Caribbean until I leave in mid-January, but we’ll still change clocks every time we come back and forth between the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

Sunday, October 29th – Key West

2006-10-31T19:26:00.000-08:00

The Veendam’s first port after leaving Tampa this weekend was Key West, Florida. After a whirlwind first day onboard, I couldn’t wait to get my feet back on dry land – and especially in a place so familiar (the Fascination would port here once a week). With five hours at my leisure, I packed up my iPod with all the tunes I needed to learn, my shopping list for Walgreen’s, and made a beeline for Starbucks!

Once I had all my errands taken care of, I still had plenty of time to spare. My feet, now blistered from the sandals I haven’t worn all summer, were begging for the feel of sand and saltwater, so I trekked the rest of the way down Duval Street to the pier at the southernmost point of the island, which is also the very southernmost point of the continental United States. And there, God taught me an unexpected and important lesson: Dive In!

>another cool movie is going to go right HERE soon!<

This dog, Max, a red-nosed pitbull, was having a blast as his owner would run to the end of the pier, throw a coral stone, and Max would chase him, leap off the pier and dive in after it! Of course, the coral would sink, and Max would return to the shore, where his master was waiting to run again and repeat the whole circuit a few times. He never seemed to tire of the game, and was always ready for another go.

But Max was clearly not afraid. What Max knows, and you can’t see in the video, is that his master is walking right beside him as he swims along the pier. Also, there is a pipeline just beneath the surface that Max can barely reach with his toes, so every once in a while he jumps on it until he gets all the way back to the shore, where his master is always waiting with another rock, ready to go again.

And later, the pelicans sitting on the posts of the broken down pier next to us were diving for their supper. I don’t know how they knew where to find the fish, but they would swing up in the air, just skimming the surface, and once they spotted a fish just under the water, they would DIVE and scoop it up! The littlest seagulls were pestering them, hoping to scavenge some leftover bits. But the pelicans would shoo them away, carefully hold the fish in their throat and filter all the seawater out of their beaks, then tilt their head back and – down the hatch!

God is all around us, especially in nature. Why should we fear? If He leads you to it, He will lead you through it. Max was never afraid to jump off the pier, because he knew the pipe was there to help him if he needed it, and that his master always had a watchful eye on him. The pelicans dive despite the pesky seagulls. So too should we dive without fear. When God invites us to take on a task that we think might be too big for our abilities, it is then that we must trust Him the most.

It’s a lesson I needed right at that moment. Here I am, petrified of being thrown to the wolves, of being asked to perform 45 songs I’ve only barely just learned on the first day. And yet, I get here and the band has been terrific, only asking me to sing the four or five songs I’ve already conquered, and giving me plenty of rehearsal time to learn more before they’ll ask me to perform them in front of an audience. The Lord has led me to this, and now He’s quietly giving me all I need and leading me through this. Why should I fear?

Watch the video again and see what the Lord reveals to you! Dive in!

The first 24 hours...

2006-10-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

...have been great!

Well… I made it! And within just a few short hours of my arrival, I was in rehearsal with my new Music Director, Daniel (go ahead, “Dan and Dani”, it’s worth a chuckle). Together we picked out a song for me to sing at the first night’s show, “Let Us Entertain You” – a sort of introductions show, a chance for each entertainer on board to show the passengers a sneak preview of what they’ll be in store for in the coming week.

I boarded the ship at 10 am, got my initial safety training and lifejacket issued at 1 pm, rehearsed at 2 pm, sailed at 4 pm, and sang my first song, “Strangers in the Night,” at 8 pm. What a day!

Now that the initial buzz is over, it’s time to get down to WORK. I’ve got quite a few songs to cover with these guys, but so far they’ve all been super-supportive easing me into the group, called “Dani and the HALCats.” (HAL = Holland America Lines)

When we’re not in rehearsals, here’s the port itinerary for the coming week.

Sunday – Key West, Florida
Monday – at sea
Tuesday – Belize City, Belize
Wednesday – Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala
Thursday – Costa Maya, Mexico
Friday – at sea
Saturday – Tampa, Florida

…not that I’ll get to see many of those ports, because I’ll be working my tail off to learn all these songs! Pray for me! :)

My new Stiletto family

2006-10-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

It's still incredibly surreal to be standing in the "La Cienega" building to which I've sent countless headshots, resumes, videos, and other promotional materials. Now, I'm actually here, a part of the team! Somebody pinch me!

Here's just a few of the people who are making my quick transition to the Veendam just a little bit quicker and smoother - thank you all for your hard work!

Create Your Own!

Rehearsals in Los Angeles

2006-10-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, what have I been doing for the past three days in Los Angeles? Well, a lot of my hours have been spent cooped up in a little closet-sized room with a piano, a whole lot of music, and a vocal coach trying to cram all of that music into my head! This is all the homework that never gets seen, all the hard work we do ahead of time so that when you finally see a showgirl on stage, she looks stunningly fabulous, like her artwork is effortless.

Two of my vocal coaches at Stiletto - Doug H and Jubel - have been IMMENSELY helpful in getting my new sets up and running in such a short amount of time! I applaud their efforts, and thank them for their patience and tenacity with me. :)

Putting some final touches on "It Had To Be You" this morning:

Hollywood tour with Vitti!

2006-10-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

After a long day of rehearsal on Wednesday in Los Angeles, my good friend Vitti took me out for a real Hollywood dinner and tour!

We started at In'N'Out burger, where I ordered the famous Double Double and fresh Fries, "animal style" (topped with thousand island and chopped onions). What an awesome meal!

Then we took the long way to get to the other side of town, driving the length of Sunset Blvd. We passed through Beverly Hills and Bel-air, seeing some HUGE, majorly expensive realty, and almost reached Malibu before we returned back into town. I did keep an eye out for 10086, and though it wasn't marked, the property where it would have set was a full city block by itself! Surely this is where Norma Desmond would have resided!

When we got to Hollywood, the fog and smog were just too thick to be able to see the Hollywood sign on the side of the hill, no matter how close we got. But we parked and walked around to see all the legendary theatres along the Hollywood Walk of Fame: Pantages, Stella Adler, El Capitan, Kodak (where the Oscars are held annually) and the mecca of Hollywood - Graumann's Chinese!

We saw loads of legendary names on their stars, and took our pictures with the ones for whom we were willing to lay on a dirty sidewalk. ;) It's an incredible and surreal experience to place your hands in the same place those legends have laid theirs.

Thanks, Vitti, for my personal tour of Hollywood! I had a blast!

Create Your Own!

First day in Los Angeles

2006-10-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Humor in the layover

2006-10-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

Can I take a minute to just tell you how God keeps me in check?

Monday, Houston International Airport… I had a 3-hour layover, so I planned to do some work on the computer while sitting at the gate waiting for my plane to arrive. You know… multi-tasking, using my time wisely. My addiction to Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte is so bad that when terminal B’s Starbucks told me they were out of that flavor, I actually opted to walk all the way to terminal E’s Starbucks rather than choose another flavor at terminal B. (Somebody… stage an intervention! This Pumpkin Spice Latte addiction is out of hand!)

So I got my pumpkin spice latte and I’m settled in to wait for my flight at gate C-43. My plane isn’t due to start boarding until 11:30, so when there are no other passengers at the gate by 10 am, I’m still not too worried. Megan calls, and we spend at least an hour catching up. Well, I thought it was at least an hour… did I cross a time zone? How come no one is coming to this gate?

Finally, nature calls, I pack up my computer, and gather up all my things, all the while listening to Megan’s conversation on my hands-free cell phone, about to take this conversation with me into the restroom. But as I pass by the departures board on the way, I happen to glance at the clock… 12:02. Doesn’t my flight leave at 12:10? Wouldn’t it have started boarding at 11:30? I glance back at the gate, which is still completely devoid of any passengers. Someone’s clock must be wrong…? “Megan,” I interrupt her mid-sentence, “What time is it?”

“Um….” She looks for a clock where she is, but doesn’t see one. “I don’t…. know.”

Just at that very moment, I hear a lady’s voice on the airport intercom paging me urgently, “Passenger Garza, please report to gate C-34 immediately.” As in, if you don’t get here like YESTERDAY, you are gonna miss your flight!!!

“Megan! I’ve gotta RUN!”

And that’s exactly what I did. Fully loaded with my computer bag, backpack, and empty Starbucks cup in hand, I bolted around the corner to gate C-34, every worst-case scenario possible running through my head faster than I could run through the airport. People are staring as this lunatic lumbers down the corridor, clearly panicked. Huffing and puffing, I arrived to gate C-34 and announced myself to be the missing Passenger Garza. They didn’t check my ID or my ticket, they simply yanked open the door to the gate chute and urged me to run! So I ran a little more. Finally seated in 26D on my flight, I breathed and went back over the situation in my head….

I was sitting alone at gate C-43 for over two hours. I don’t have a watch – a situation I must remedy as soon as possible. But my flight pulled away from gate C-34…. 43….. 34….. I check my ticket to see whose mistake this was.

The ticket says C-34. And I can hear God chuckling at my bone-head confusion. And as I sit there in 26D, I just laugh with him, just Praising Him that I made it on this flight, that I won’t have to explain to my new bosses how I missed the flight they bought me just because I was on the phone and chasing coffee. Praise the Lord, I am on my way to Los Angeles!

God is good. And yes, He has a sense of humor.

First day on the road

2006-10-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

I was so overwhelmed by the beautiful panorama of vivid colors in the fall foliage as I left Pennsylvania and traveled along the Appalachians mountain range south through Virginia. I couldn't help but ooh and aah at the colors and the majestic mountains and valleys, and the video just doesn't do justice to the magnificent grandeur laid out by God.

You'll hear me comment a couple of times about, "I don't know where I'm going." Trust me, it's just that my poor head is swimming with how fast this whole move is happening... I actually have a four-page list of detailed directions for the 1400-mile trip in the passenger seat.

P.S. The song you hear in the background of the second half of the video is coincidentally a band from Virginia, called Six Chasing Seven.

FINAL Tuesdays' Friday (again...)

2006-10-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

So after a full day of frantic packing on Friday, I finally arrived at my shindig. I am learning that if I have a "FINAL" Tuesdays' Friday every time I leave Lancaster (which is up to 3 now, for those of you counting), pretty soon no one will believe I'm really leaving anymore! Can I help it if I love this town?

Here's some pictures from that night:

Create Your Own!

Finally!

2006-10-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here's how it all started...

Wednesday, October the 18th - I get the phone call I've been praying for for three years, "Dani, this is Stiletto Entertainment... how soon can you start?" After I stammered incoherently for a couple of minutes, I finally admitted that I was of course, available immediately. "Good, because we need you immediately."

HOOOOORRRRAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday and Friday were spent taking care of business, packing up my apartment and making last minute arrangements to get the heck out of Dodge. Saturday, I drove the southbound stretch to Tennessee, and Sunday I drove the westbound stretch to get home. Monday, I flew to L.A. and here I am!!!!

A week ago I was shooting a film in Collegeville, PA, thinking I'd be there until December 1st, if not longer, as I'd just been cast in a production of The Last Five Years. Now, I'm 4 days away from sailing again... proof positive that God does indeed have a sense of humor.....

Next, I'll post a few fun stories about the trip to get here...