Excursions

One benefit to life as a cruise ship crew member is the travel opportunities. Granted, we visit the same ports over and over again for months, but, this lifestyle does lend itself to experiences that are not necessarily available on land. In addition to basically living in beautiful vacation destinations, occasionally the right set of circumstances puts me in a position to partake in shore excursions offered by the cruise ship at a discounted rate. Good times.

Last week there was a crew excursion on a catamaran in Aruba. It involved sailing, snorkeling, sunbathing, music, and an open bar. Attendees were most of the production cast, ice cast, and a few musicians. We hopped off the ship in the morning, took a bus ride to our catamaran, lathered up with some sunscreen, and sailed out into the clear blue water. We anchored close to shore for some shallow water snorkeling. I saw hundreds of beautiful fish, a starfish, and two octopi. 

A quick aside: most of my friends onboard are singers, dancers, ice skaters, and other performers. A group largely made up of tremendous athletes and people whose job requires that they stay in excellent shape. Going to the beach can be a little intimidating with these folks. It's kind of like hanging out at a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition photo shoot.

After a short sail we anchored near a historic shipwreck site. A German freighter had an explosion onboard due to engine problems and sank very close to shore in the early 1940's. The water depth where the ship sank is only 55 feet and it's one of the only places on earth where one can get close to such a huge wreck without the need for scuba gear. I, of course, was terrified. Not only was it open water snorkeling (which means strong currents), but, the deeper the water…the bigger the ocean creatures. Not to mention that I find shipwrecks pretty creepy generally speaking. In any case, I overcame my fears (I'm not kidding about this…I nearly had a panic attack when I first jumped in the water) and participated. I even held my breath and swam down a few meters to get a closer look. Overall, it was an exhilarating experience. Hey, what can I say? Sometimes it's fun to be scared.

The party bus.

Kieran following directions on his glasses.

Pre-sail debrief with the staff (where's the bar again?)

My sun protection plan often involves a t-shirt, hat, and sunglasses.

Dustin (alto sax), Beau (tenor sax), and me. I don't tan well.

Me with JoJo (dancer) and Henry (piano).

Beau and Suzie. Cute picture.

Kim is the aerialist with the ice cast. I told you there were

tremendous athletes onboard!

Me overcoming snorkeling fears.

Quick Hits in the New Year

So…New Years Eve is usually a fun night for me as a musician. When I'm lucky enough to have a gig on NYE, I enjoy that because I get to party, play music, and get paid for it. If I don't have a gig, I usually am hanging out with good people anyway, so, the holiday is enjoyable. New Years Eve on the ship was great. I had the best of both worlds. First, we played an extra set on the Promenade (main area in the ship where all the shops are) and counted down the time until 2013. It was a huge party almost everyone on the ship there (I'm talking about literally thousands of people). Awesome. We played some funk arrangements and I did my best Fred Wesley impression. At midnight, we drank champagne and I realized that I was at a gig while also surrounded by all my friends. The party continued in Studio B (onboard ice rink) where there was drinking and dancing. We continued with an after party in the crew bar. The evening/morning came to a close having snacks and watching a DVD of the Ellington band with several close friends. Good stuff. I can truly say I'm damn glad to be here.

--

I turned 37 on January 17, 2013 and had the pleasure of my Mom's company for the cruise over my birthday. We had a great time onboard enjoying St. Croix, St. Maarten, Barbados and more. She got me an M-22 shirt for my birthday as well as a massage up in the Shipshape Spa. We saw the Murder Mystery Dinner Theater show. She came to all my shows and met all my friends. We took a tour of Old and New San Juan and basically got some great hangout time. Ended out the week with a trip to Crane Beach in Barbados to get some sun and boogie-boarding. Terrific. What a treat!

Photographic evidence of fun:

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater.

Representin' Northern Michigan!

St. Croix with Adventure in the background.

L to R: Mom, Me, Beau Fleming (tenor sax), Jamie Newnham (vocalist)

Dustin Bear (alto sax). Murder Mystery night.

A smoothie in Antigua.

L to R: Shannon McMillan (vocalist), Mom, Dustin, Me.

Crane Beach, Barbados.

Crane Beach, Barbados.

Lunch in Barbados.

Crane Beach entrance. Only entrance to beach is

over the stone circular walkway. 

Me and Jaime catching big waves! 

Mom catching some rays in Barbados.

The boogie-board crew (L to R: me, Jaime, Chris Joodi (trumpet),

Beau, Krisitan Brooks (dancer) at Crane Beach.

Mom enjoying a Carib...the official beer 

of the Caribbean! (I practically live on the stuff).

Crane Beach view from our lunch spot.

Another shot of Crane Beach.

Mom relaxing at Crane Beach.

Profile pic at Crane Beach. That is a 

CRAZY shirt.

Old San Juan. Castillo San Cristobal.

Castillo San Cristobal museum.

A view from the fort in Old San Juan.

Main courtyard of the fort.

A lookout post.

Photo opportunity in Old San Juan.

View from the top of the fort in Old San Juan.

St. Croix. What, what?

The beach in St. Maarten.

After the Old/New San Juan tour in PR. End of a 

great week.

--

For the first time in almost a year, I have accepted a bit of responsibility into my life. The Music Director (manager of all 20+ onboard musicians) is taking his vacation in about 5 weeks. He asked me to fill in for him while he is gone and I said yes. It is only a short vacation fill, but, I had to extend my contract to do it. I will be with the Adventure until May 5, 2013 and will be serving as MD for the last 6-7 weeks. This past week I started shadowing Kris (current MD) around and learning from the master Jedi. We'll see how it works out, but, I like it so far.

New Year Message

2012 was an eventful year for me. My life turned upside down and then somewhat righted while enjoying my Walkabout. Here's what I thought about as the clock ticked to midnight on January 1, 2013.

• I've spent the majority of my time in the past year wearing sandals as opposed to socks and shoes.
• It pays major dividends to have a bottle opener on my key chain.

Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Looking forward to staying in touch throughout 2013. Thanks for reading!

Xmas 2012

I'm a big fan of the show "Entourage" that used to air on HBO. Created by Mark Wahlberg (and loosely based on his life), the show describes the experience of a young actor rocketing to super stardom in Hollywood after a role in a blockbuster movie. The show also details the friendship and family bond between Vince (the star) and his "Entourage" made up of his brother and his childhood friends from the East coast. Vince is determined to make it or break it in Hollywood his way...with his friends around him. What he really cares about is his "Entourage" not movie super stardom. He'd be happy back in the pizza parlor in Queens as long as he's with his friends.

Early in the first season of the show (Entourage ran for 8 seasons on HBO), Vince does an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel late night talk show. The interview and the entire evening's festivities for the Entourage is an impressive success. The episode culminates with the group of friends watching themselves on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, smoking weed, drinking, smiling, laughing, and basking in the glory of an awesome night spent with friends. The moment was so eloquently summed up by the character Johnny Drama with this famous line, "Great night, man. Great fuckin' night!"

This past Christmas I had a similar experience with a group of friends from the ship. We spent December 25th in St. Maarten - land of amazing beaches. There are way too many details to describe about how marvelous the day was. However, the short version involves gingerbread flavored coffee in the morning, playing for the arrival of Santa Claus with a 2nd line version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" on the Promenade of the ship, a van rental and trip to a secluded beach, burgers, beer, pictures, swimming, and most of all laughter throughout. After we returned to the ship there was a gift exchange, two shows with the guest entertainer, a great dinner, blueberry pie for dessert, and a Christmas crew party on the back deck with free beer. 

Those that know me understand that I'm not a big holiday guy. A lot of people on the ship struggle with being away from home for the holidays, but, it didn't really bother me that much. However, I have to say that this was one of my best Christmas celebrations ever. Certainly contributed to me enjoying my holiday at sea. Drama was right. "Great fuckin' day."

A Tale Of Two Cities

There was a time in my life when I was considering moving to Puerto Rico. Seriously. It was an actual consideration at the time. Everything has it's pros and cons, but, I figured that there were a lot worse places for me to move to at the time. I was pretty sure that I could find some good things about the weather, beaches, and music of Puerto Rico.

At the time, I didn't know much about Puerto Rico at all. Now that I'm on a cruise ship that docks in San Juan once a week, I know…well…only slightly more. So far, I've only visited San Juan. I haven't taken the time to rent a car and drive around at all to see the rest of the country. Maybe I'll do that in the future sometime. For now, I've had experiences with 2 areas in San Juan: Old San Juan and New San Juan.

The two locations couldn't be more different. Each has it's merits and my preference for one over the other hinges on my various moods and needs while in port.

"New" San Juan (not sure it's actually called this, but, it's the opposite of Old so it works here) is basically a combination of most of the aspects of commercialized modern America. The main attraction is a HUGE mall that features all of your favorite American franchise stores. Church's Chicken, Burger King, and Chili's in the food court (among others) and Abercrombie and Fitch, Old Navy, and Sears just to name a few. There's a huge movie theater showing American movies (subtitled in Spanish) and plenty of mall standard kiosks hawking everything from sunglasses to flying toy helicopters to Dish Network TV. Across the street from the mall is a Best Buy, K-Mart and other big box stores eager to take your American currency in exchange for goods and services. It's basically the USA. Everyone speaks English. Everything and everyone is encased in a recycled air conditioned environment. It's a dry walled paradise. There are big crowds, long lines, and no shortage of mall walking shoppers. Like I said before, everything has pros and cons, New San Juan included. It's great if you need to go to GNC or Radio Shack, but, bad if you want some quiet time and sunshine.

Old San Juan is basically the complete opposite of it's counterpart. Old San Juan is charming with brick streets where homes and buildings featuring dated architecture seem to crowd in over and around you when you are strolling on the sidewalk. The entire place is adorned with flowers and palm trees that provide shade as well as a pleasing aesthetic. Street musicians mix in with tourists and locals almost seamlessly. It seems like there is an antique shop on every corner. Everything seems to move at a slower pace here. All kinds of food is available and I took advantage of that by stopping in a small local cafe. I sat down and asked the waiter to order for me. I ended up eating mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican dish that features mashed plantains covered in meat and various sauces. I had lightly fried pork with garlic sauce as the waiter recommended the "pork with a good beer." 

Both of these areas of San Juan have their merits. There seems to be more history and culture associated with Old San Juan so I'll have to check that out in the future. For instance, there are a couple of historic landmarks that feature military forts or castles of some sort. I'll be taking a tour of those very soon. 

Like I said before, I still don't know much about the history of Puerto Rico. My impression of it's people (all judgments garnered from observing vacationers onboard Adventure of the Seas…caveats apply, naturally) is that they are nationalistic, passionate, and music lovers. I do know that I like it here. Every time I get in a cab or hear a local radio station I hear salsa music. It almost always features trombone (gotta love that). I think I could've been very happy living in Puerto Rico.  The weather is beautiful. American currency is used everywhere and almost everyone I've come in contact with is bilingual, courteous, and welcoming. I never ended up living in Puerto Rico. Life dealt me a different hand that took me to Indianapolis, a place that I enjoyed living very much for two years, but, I'm glad that my ship life has given me the opportunity to visit a place where I could've have moved to about five years ago.

Pictures from Old San Juan:

Mofongo!

I bought a CD of these guys. Nice to hear authentic Bomba.