A Home Fit For Scarecrows

Well it’s been lot longer than I had wanted it to be but I am finally updating ‘Gullidgestravels’.  It’s now November and I’ve been neglecting this blog for the past 8 months! I hear you all ask ‘What have you been doing?’ well here is the shortest version possible:

March: Made it back to Nebraska after cruising with Allison and making a few stops on the way home. Klause was back to his usual self and I was wearing a smile from ear to ear. 

April: The night before we were due to fly to England we lost my wallet. Turned out to be in Allison’s handbag the entire time (even after we both checked it twice) ugh! Landed in England and it was the wettest April on record! Literally ‘April Showers’ for our entire trip. Beside the weather, we had such a wonderful time. We were lucky to have my mum there for the entire month and David’s car (Thanks David!!) Sadly Tara (the dog) was in Spain with David so no early morning walks but the weather would have ruined that anyway. Visited the birthplace of my dad in Somerset and met some distant relatives too. Nearly made an offer on the pub that my dad was born in (yes…he was born upstairs of the King William Pub in Curry Rivel) If only I had 300,000 pounds to spare! Oh and witnessed my sister Emma getting her first tattoo! Lots of laughs and some tears when it was time to head back.

Gullidge/Winter family day out in the rain at Wilton House, England

May: relaxed in Nebraska whilst staying at Dani & Michael’s place. Painted Allison’s parents house (white!!) and helped out over at our friend Robert’s house. Tilled his bathroom floor and sanded down 100+ year old wood. I was in my element. Then it was time to leave…again! A sad good bye to Klause but he is in perfect hands with Allison’s good friend Jamie.

June: arrived in LA for rehearsals. Allison arrived a week later. Had a good time hanging out with some old friends from TN, Justin & Melissa. They live in LA now. Spent a week in the studios with a friend from my 2007 Disney contract. Learnt all three shows and a few other little pieces. Flew to Vancouver and joined the Coral Princess on 25^th. Back to good old Alaska. Yoho!

LA, with my favorite band.

July; (Our Birthday month!!) All three shows are now up and running and we are out of rehearsals. Enjoying my time in the cabin and benefiting from dating a singer! (Room service & two portholes) Was spoilt on my birthday by Allison with a scavenger hunt for all my presents. She set the bar high for next year by getting me a new set of luggage! Am I a lucky guy or what! Just after my Birthday I got to see my partner in crime Jethro Marles. Many many laughs were had. Allison was pleased to finally meet this mischievous small boy I lived with whilst at college. He was working as a singer/dancer on Celebrity Cruise Line. The cast and I all went on a whale watching tour. We saw plenty and definitely got our $15 worth! Went to a 80’s theme party…but we went dressed with a twist…as 80 year old’s!! Got some laughs.

a sunny day visiting an Alaskan Glacier

soaking up the sun

Partners in crime!! Me and Jethro Marles

August: exploring the Alaskan ports with my friend Les and his girlfriend Mel. Fishing and hiking etc. Plus eating cupcakes in Skagway has now become a tradition. Saw some more of Jethro and mainly had breakfast with our other-half’s. Oh and we didn’t get to see any of the London Olympics due to Princess not airing it on the ship! Oh and took tons of photos of mushrooms.

A cold day fishing in Skagway with Les & Mel

Spotting lots of Whales

September; saw the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show. Started rehearsals for the two shows that are added when we switch to 14-day cruises.  Finally left Alaska and cruised down to LA and on through the Panama Canal. Celebrated Allison and I’s 2-year anniversary, she got me a year membership to Ancestry.com! I have spent a lot of time putting that to good use researching the Gullidge family tree! Rehearsing all the time for the new shows too. Went to a Hollywood themed party, Allison went as ‘Holly’ (the bush) and I went as ‘Wood’ (the material). Again some more laughs.

A fantastic group of Jack's!

Our 80 year old efforts!

hitching a ride!

October; spent this month mainly in rehearsals doing technical runs of the two shows, ie for lighting & automation! Went through the Panama Canal a few times too! Also swam with some Dolphins in Cabo San Lucas…beautiful experience!! Allison’s parents and grandma came on for a day visit whilst they were in LA. Enjoyed showing them around the ship and were we live. Her mum got us the biggest pumpkin pie I have ever seen!




November; happy to watch President Obama get a second term as President of the United States. Not sure how I would have felt if Romney had won! Now counting down those days until we sign off this ship! Went as Rodger and Jessica Rabbit for Halloween!

Halloween 2012

Both of us will be flying to Tennessee on Dec 1^st. Staying two nights with friends and clearing out our storage unit. Loading it all into a U-Haul truck and driving it to Nebraska. We will be back there on the 4^th and finally reunited with our dog! The plan is to spend Christmas in Lincoln, NE and then we will be making a move out to LA in January. My friends Justin and Melissa have offered me a job in their company. They both work for a small company called Ten Thirty One Productions. And they produce the LA Haunted Hayride every year. The company is growing and will be taking on new projects like a Hayride in New York etc etc. They spoke to me about it whilst we were catching up with them in LA. It’s a fantastic opportunity to finally step off the stage and make some career changes. I will be helping them with the production and special effects side of it all.  Something I am very interested in. There is a lot riding on this so please pray for a smooth relocation and job hunt. Until the new position with them picks up I will have to find other types of work and LA is really popular for extras. ie background work on TV and movie sets. Allison will also be looking for background work but she is still very much interested in performing. So keep your fingers crossed for us both. Putting positive thoughts out there and trying to network as much as we can!

Well for now I wish you all a happy fall season. I can’t wait to get into that festive mood, as it’s an odd feeling being in a warm climate during this time of year.  Thank you again for reading and I won’t be leaving it this long to update next time! Cheers.

Also…

sadly the day after we arrived in England my great Aunt Florrie passed away and we were just about to go over to visit her. The world works in a mysterious way I suppose. She was being forced to be moved to a hospice, as she was becoming very sick and frail. She had refused any treatment and said many times she wanted to die at home in the house she was born in. She got her wish on the morning the ambulance was there to pick her up. I was sad to have not been able to say good-bye to her but we were conveniently there to attend her funeral. She would have just celebrated her 90^th Birthday last month.

Planking for Mr President

The Beginning of The End

OK I am back and ready to update this blog. I’ve been taking my time to write this next chapter due to the seasonal celebrations. Since I last wrote on here a lot has been and gone and nearly all of it was good! The weeks passed pretty quickly leading up to my vacation with Allison.  I signed off my ship in the morning and was sitting eating lunch with a friend of a friend by 1pm! I was fortunate enough to see the Ruby Princess sail off into the horizon whilst eating my lunch too. This meant the holiday had begun. I then spent the rest of the day sprawled out on the couch surfing the web with free fast wifi and catching up on one of my favorite sitcoms ‘Modern Family’. Had a much needed FaceTime with Logan and Klause. FaceTime is for iPhone users only and is just like using Skype. Logan is the kind chap looking after our dog Klause. Who apparently was spoiled over Christmas from not only Allison and I but his surrogate family!

only the lobby of my Hotel in Curacao!! 

Pool view from the Hotel

I made it to Miami airport thanks to my organized girlfriend who had everything planned out for me! Boarded my flight to Curacao after a quick rendezvous with fellow cast members who were flying to the New York area.  Touched down and was escorted to my shuttle who would take me to the hotel. I can’t tell you enough how that drive was pretty crazy and reminded me that I was back in an Island were driving exams are just a test of putting the key in the ignition! Said at least a few prays on that 40-minute drive. Finally arrived and was greeted like a movie star! After all Allison had put me up in a 5 star Hotel and sadly I was only staying there for one night! I could have stayed there for at least 5 days longer! The only way I can describe it is as if you were in a James Bond movie or at a honeymoon retreat. Paradise! Offering me free drinks and a cold wet towel every time I step foot outside my room. Took a nice bath the morning of meeting Allison. Took the 40 min drive back to the airport where we had planned to meet. We both agreed it was kind of weird at first, we weren’t sure how to act around one another. I’ve been emailing this girl of mine for the past 3 months but for some reason didn’t no how to act normal around her. After a few hours we finally were back to our normal selves. Signed me on the ship and then spent the afternoon wondering around Curacao. I got to watch one of her shows that night called ‘Motor City’. Later that night we eat a little something in the Piazza and I thoroughly enjoyed it because as a crewmember I am not able to eat there on my ship. I took full advantage of this the next morning for breakfast. We spent the day shopping and drinking coffee at Starbucks! We don’t need anything fancy to keep us happy. So nice to spend time with one another after being apart for what felt like was forever! Treated one another to a piece of jewelry from Aruba. I have to say their use of the expression 

‘One Happy Island’ probably only comes from the fact that so many cruise ships port there and bring them the paying customers!! After Aruba it was back to the high seas for two days…but we had no complaints!! Finally got to see the show that everyone has been talking about, British Invasion, what a wonderful show. Allison is heavily featured in the entire production so I was sitting there like a proud dance mum! I did start to wonder if any British cruise lines perform a show based on American Music and Artists? Throughout my time watching Allison in her shows I witnessed a lady fall over behind me and so I got up to help and lost my seat!! Kindly told the couple I was sitting there…made them feel guilty. Never told them it was my perfectly chosen spot for filming the show from! Then another night some idiot behind me spilled her entire drink over the large lady sitting next to me. In her purse and over her cell phone. It’s amazing what you witness when you are 30 minutes early to a show!

Fred and Ginger reunited!

Backstage on the Grand Princess

Shopping is what she does best.

As we weren’t going to be together on Christmas day we had our own special day and pretended it was the 25^th December. I received some great gifts from Allison and we both spoiled one another. She was given two watches and other goodies from me. I woke up early and went out to grab some breakfast and set it up next to my laptop with the fireplace playing. Opened all our gifts and then watched a Christmas movie in bed.

Arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale and said goodbye to the passengers and hello to the new ones. We were up early and rented ourselves a car. Driving ourselves to the mall where we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Had our laptops looked at in the Mac store. This day was my first experience of the store Lululemon. Allison kindly treated me to a pair of ‘Kung Fu’ pants (dance wear) and a new black backpack. The backpack is like a Swiss army knife! We had some issues getting back to the ship on time. We attempted to meet up with a friend of mine; Rebecca O’Quinn but there wasn’t enough time for a conversation. So it was a quick hello and goodbye. Allison was due back onboard by 3:30pm and we ran up the gangway at 3:33pm. Lucky for us they didn’t seem too concerned. Phew! Allison was tuckered out and took a nap whilst I played with our new external hard drives.

After all the struggles and dollars it cost us to get me there we sure did have a fabulous time together. 

My tasty Christmas Day dinner! ugh!  

 So where did I leave off? Oh yeah…Christmas! Allison and I had a wonderful time during our cruise together. I am so fortunate that she did all the hard work she did for us to be able to spend 8 glorious days together. I won’t go on and on about every single thing we did but just know it was amazing and we both spoiled one another at this special time. Since I’ve got back onboard the Ruby Princess time has decided to fly by! I now only have one cruise left. I’ve enjoyed my weekly routine of going to the Greenhouse Bar in St. Maarten. This is a very popular bar for crewmembers and I’ve been going there since 2005! A lovely Dutch lady owns and runs the place. Also I have spent time walking through the wake looking for sea glass on the British island of Grand Turk. I’ve found a lot that I’m going to keep and eventually do something with. I’ve been trying to save money every paycheck so we don’t have to stress about paying bills whilst we are in between jobs. I swear I will never let my kids become a professional dancer. They can dance but this won’t be their career. It’s sometimes a joke when I see how little I am paid. But then I look at the hours I only work and I can understand why!

Reunited with my friend Annika in St, Maarten

Seeing in the New Year on the pool deck.

A few weeks back now whilst sitting at the bar at a Hard Rock Café in St. Maarten I was reunited with an old college friend, Annika. We spent three years training at Bird College for Performing Arts in London together. A random highlight to a rainy day trapped in the bar until the weather cleared up. We caught up on our lives since we had graduated and just couldn’t believe that we literally were in the same place at the same time! Small world eh!

Presently a good friend of mine from Pigeon Forge Tennessee is down to the last 60 contestants on American Idol. Her name is Janelle Arthur and is a country singer. We worked together in 2009 at the ‘Country Tonite Theater’ and I really hope she can either go all the way or at least use this as a stepping-stone to becoming a recording artist. She is a winner either way. So I’ve been trying to follow her progress via the Internet. Please if you can place a vote on my behalf ok!

The plan right now is for me to fly to Myrtle Beach, collect my car from the storage garage it is in. I’m kindly spending the night at Claire and Rodney’s place. These are friends of mine from Celebrity Cruises and most recently ‘The Palace Theater’ in South Carolina. Then on the road for a 6 hour drive to Pigeon Forge, TN. I recently had new tenants move in so I have lot’s to sort out with them and all of mine and Allison’s stuff has been moved in to a storage garage. We were using the basement as a dumping ground for all our personal belongings so I have the task of looking through it all and throwing out what isn’t needed. So I’m going to be in Pigeon Forge for 5 days and will try to visit as many of my friends as I can fit in. I’d like to see some of their shows, so most of my evenings will be filled with entertainment. I am staying with my good friend Matthew Samler and his wife Nikki. They just got a new dog so I am looking forward to playing with ‘Timber’ as I won’t be reunited with Klause until sometime late in March.

View of the Ruby from the island of Dominica

climbing to the bottom of a water falls in Dominica! So much fun!

My dance partner Luca in our show 'Broadway Ballroom'

I will be cruising on the Grand Princess with Allison from March 3^rd until 17^th. That’s also her last 2 weeks of her contract. On the 2^nd I will be driving all the way down to Melbourne, Florida and spending the night at a family friends house. Bill and Carol Maskell, they are friends of our neighbors who we have visited before back in 1993. Both my Dad and John have stayed there too over the years. Bill is originally from England and Carol is American. He has been living over there for at least 30 years if I’m not mistaken? Anyway we’ve stayed in touch over the years thanks to Facebook and I can finally visit them. Although it maybe short it’s still taken us a long time to finally get together.  It’s so handy because Fort Lauderdale is only 2 hours away so after all those hours of driving I can get some rest that night and leave at a sensible hour! Park the car in the port parking lot and then a much needed 2 week holiday with Allison. This is what has been getting us through these months apart! Knowing we will be able to spend those two weeks in each other’s company. Fast forward to March 17^th and Allison and I road tripping our way to Lincoln, Nebraska! Taking a week to get there whilst visiting friends of ours and Allison’s Aunt and Uncle. First stopping in Savannah, Georgia to spend the night with our friend Faith Boles. Then onto Knoxville, St Louis, Memphis, Branson and finally to Lincoln.  

Whilst we are in Lincoln Allison’s friend Dani and her fiancé Michael are getting married so we will be looking forward to celebrating their special day with them. April 9^th we will be boarding a flight to London, England and spending a month long there. I am truly blessed that Allison is willing to spend her time to do this! It is a much-needed visit home. I miss out on so many celebrations and routine events, so this should quench my homesick blues! My family means so much to me and just spending time with my mum at the house will be my highlight! I’ve been busy thinking of places for Allison and I to visit and people to see so let me know if you are reading this and would like to meet up. Another big reason for my visit is my Great Aunt Florrie is seriously ill and well…all I can say is please hold on and keep fighting so I can see you one more time! It would be all I ask for this visit.

Then we will be back in Lincoln for the most of May until we fly to LA and start rehearsals for the Coral Princess. Yep we are heading back out to sea but this time together! We will be cruising Panama, Mexico, Alaska and the West Coast. The best part is we will be home for Christmas!! So we can spend our 3^rd Christmas as boyfriend and girlfriend together…as we haven’t spent one together yet! Can you believe it! Another goodbye to Klause but it’s a sacrifice we have to make and hopefully this will be the last time! Who knows though? After we get back at the end of 2012 we hope to spend a Christmas with her family and then look to the future. I’m not sure what this might be yet but I am sure there is a plan for us! I just hope it’s one I like eh! I will try my best to not leave it as long to update my blog next time! Thanks for reading.

Swimming with fish and a dog.

I’m writing this new addition from the comforts of my cabin after a relaxing day on Princesses very own Island called Princess Cays (pronounced Keys). This was my first port of call since the 6 day Atlantic crossing from Europe to Florida. I’m very content just laying on a beach with the sand between my toes and the sun beating down. This really is paradise to me. There’s only a redheaded lady missing to make this a picture perfect paradise! So since my last blog I have lots to share with you. Whilst soaking up the tropical paradise, I had the opportunity to test out my new camera; it is an underwater one too! The best part of it is it didn’t cost me a penny! My name was entered into a raffle during a crew show and I was the lucky winner of an Olympus Tough, 14 megapixel with a water depth of 10ft. So far so good though. Perfect timing because a new camera was on my wish list whilst sailing around the Caribbean. I was a little reluctant to put it under the water at first…you know me, I never trust anything to actually do what its supposed to do…this must be a British thing, thinking its to good to be true. I was pleasantly surprised and snapped some fantastic under water photos. This may just be my new hobby! I’m going to be spending the next 4 months cruising around the Caribbean so I hope I can use this camera to capture the beauty of these islands. 

confused if Jessica had taken the photo of not.

The Ruby Princess finally made its way to 
Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday 6^th. After being at sea for 6 long days! I figured this was going to be horrible but the time sailed by (pun intended!) and I am now in all three production shows onboard! Still have a few numbers to learn in the Broadway Ballroom show and some more when the injured female dancer returns. That’s still up in the air so let’s hope she is back with us after dry dock.

is that fish really smiling at me?

I was lucky enough to spend an entire day in Barcelona with my Mum and her boyfriend David. He owns a place out there and since my mum has retired they spend three months living in Spain together and then head back to dismal England for a few months and so on! It all went to plan apart from trying to find a place to park for 30 minuets. No ones fault just a very congested city to park in. My mum isn’t the best of passengers and would point out every parking spot we missed! We silenced her quickly!!  David gets 10 out of 10 for driving and parking whilst dealing with the traffic and Mum! Anyway it was so good to sit and have coffee with them both. We caught up on all the gossip and shared photos back and forth. One thing I’ve learnt about my mum though, never pour her a warm cup of coffee…she likes it piping hot! Haha! David tried to explain that it is because she orders milk and this cools the coffee down!

Mum and David dropping me off at my ship.

Spent the day walking along ‘Las Ramblas’, it felt so strange to be there with them both and for only one day! It felt so surreal. Had lunch in a great little Spanish restaurant and at the same time skyped with Allison. The weather was the best it has been since I got onboard so that made it even better to be outside all afternoon. So as soon as they had arrived it was time to say our good byes! I felt very blessed that they drove 4 hours to visit me.  But really what else do they have to do now they are both retired! J This was just what I needed and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  Said my good byes and went up to the crew deck to sit in the Spanish sun. Although it had got a little colder the sunbeams were still warm. Had a little cry by myself and stayed there for nearly 2 hours! I miss my mum being around so much. Hopefully that will change soon!?

Also another exciting event happening in the month of November.. my school reunion! It’s been 10 years since I left Neville Lovett School at the age of 15 !! (I turned 16 two weeks later!) I can’t believe where I have ended up in these 10 years! I don’t think I ever could have imagined I’d be where I am today! Living thousands of miles away, kicking my legs for money, Happily Divorced and cruising the Caribbean! At the time when I graduated you think the people around you are the only ones who matter and care! This is not the case! There is a big big world out there where no one has ever heard of the little town of Fareham, in Hampshire. At 15 I used to think life was so complicated but as you get older you realize it is nothing compared to life right now! Wouldn’t you all agree? I’m pretty much still the same guy who left in 2001… just a little more mature and with a little more expensive tastes in life. Who takes advantage of being an adult and is still as silly as a school boy! I’ve learnt rules are there to be broken and you can only really trust yourself. I’ve gained the confidence to speak my mind and this isn’t always a good thing but I hate all the pointless small talk and I’d much rather just get to the point. Last but not least I’ve discovered a love for Gingers! So as you can see I won’t be making the trip back to England for the reunion. This really annoys me because I always told myself that if we ever did have one I would make the effort to go. So if any of you from the class of 2001 are reading this, have a wonderful time and know I will be at the 15^th I promise!! The school memories still surface now and then so none of you are ever forgotten. I would like to be there to catch up on all your lives and adventures. Have some drinks for me and I look forward to seeing some of the photos soon.

Yeah...you that's really me! It was a dare.

Trust me the hair was in fashion!

So this cruise takes me back to a favorite Island of mine, St. Thomas. This was always the port I’d look forward to the most. Sadly I’m having real mixed feelings about being back there because this was where I had the dreaded phone call that my Step Father John had passed away. Still over 3 years later that horrible phone call from my mum still plays on repeat in my head. We not only lost my mum’s companion but my best friend! He influenced my life more than anyone and I have him to thank for my strong character but sensitive nature. I miss him everyday! No one will or has replaced the void in my life. He was only with my mum and I for a short while but it was the best 13 years of our lives! I’ve realized he prepared me for life in a way no one else could. He gave me all the tools I needed and then his work was done and off he went. He taught me to enjoy life even if it’s a simple thing but still get enjoyment out of it. Also a sense of pride with anything I own or would like. To look after things so they last a lot longer…plus I share his love for music and watching movies! Nothing beats watching a good movie at the Cinema! Thank you John for everything.

My Father and my Step Father.

Well Halloween just passed and it actually wasn’t a bad one. I’ve only ever been to two Halloween parties…and if you know me all too well you’d know I am a sucker for dressing up in costume! Nothing changes! I’ve had a brilliant idea for a costume and finally got the chance to put it to use! I’ve attached a photo so it pretty much explains its self. Bad taste I know but as the celebration was on a Cruise Ship why not go with a seafaring theme. Well I got a good laugh out of it…and so did most people that night! I actually was short listed for a prize of $400! But I didn’t look as creepy as the winner…anyway no one in my department deserves to win money. Compared to what others earn on here it wouldn’t be fair. I was just happy to take part and make some folks laugh!

Ryan as a Smurf (I said his hat looked more like
a turban  so we called him Punjab Smurf)

I am slowly getting into a routine on here, although walking around the ship is still an odd thing to do by ones’ self! I’m very comfortable with my own company and I tend to enjoy my independence but at the same time would much rather be sharing the experience. I’ve had to accept that this is great for me and my soul but crap for my girlfriend and our love life! We knew what we had signed up for though so I can’t let myself be a hypocrite and say ‘this isn’t what I signed up for’… because it is! A difficult decision but really there is a light at the end of the tunnel…with a small dog sitting and waiting! Yeah!

Downtown in Lincoln, Nebraska, September 2011

I’ve been thinking recently if I should have just done this a year ago? Instead of leaving the show ‘Joseph’ and moving to Knoxville..?? I wonder? But at the time I hadn’t the opportunity or desire. After all I had to deal with in 2010, I think I made the right decision to stay and be a land lover. I would have felt like I was running away from it all and at the time I had so many things to sort out and tie up it would have been the wrong choice. I also had to spend ALL my money somewhere…I seem to find a lot of these places. Plus a certain beautiful redhead gal waltzed her way into my life (and I gladly accepted).

Adjusting to life with out my little dog Klause is not easy. I think of him as often as I think of Allison and my own family. But he is in good hands with Logan! Forever grateful to you, buddy. See attached photo of my boy.

My boy.

So for those of you who don’t know I will be cruising with Allison on the Grand Princess in December!! I didn’t want to write about this until now, just incase it didn’t work out but for mine and Allison’s sake it did!! My ship is going into Dry Dock December 11^th. This means it is out of service and will have any maintenance done to it that is needed. Most of the crew stay onboard but work very little and some disembark. This does mean I won’t be getting paid for 11 days but I don’t care if it means I can spend 9 glorious days with Allison. Out of my cast only three of the dancers are disembarking…two are going to New York and I am leaving a ship to go cruise on one! Mad!! In all my traveling I’ve never been on a cruise as a passenger…not sure if I would ever go if it wasn’t for Allison signing me on. I have been an employee for so long it kind of ruins the magic! But I will be taking full advantage as a guest onboard! No name badge, dress codes and safety drills! Just watching the shows and eating with Allison onboard. Plus I can eat at the Sushi bar whenever I want!! Yes!! And for only $15 a day this is going to be the best Christmas present ever! Looking forward to hearing Allison sing her face off in her shows, sleeping in her deluxe double size bed…I’m going to feel like a king after my Vacation…going back to my tiny room with bunk beds and a room mate! (Who is totally cool) (Incase he is reading this!!) So I get off of my ship on 11^th and stay over night in Ft.Lauderdale then fly to Curacao where I am being put up in a 4 star hotel courtesy of Allison Frenzel. She will be docking there early in the morning (the ship that is!! J) and will come and meet me at the hotel. The ports of call aren’t anything amazing but that’s not why I am going, she is! So we will be celebrating an early Christmas together…just a shame a certain little dog called Klause couldn’t be there! This cruise is going to be exactly what both of us need at this point in time…after the dry dock I only have just over two months left of my contract! Then not sure where we are going but I know for sure it will be together! Thanks for reading… 

Digging for bones apparently? 

'Scones in the Staff Mess?'

 Welcome to my first update whilst at sea. After my 26 hour travel adventure to Italy, I finally boarded the ship Saturday 8^th at 8am. In fact I nearly missed my taxi ride to the ship, due to jet lag I fell into a sleep coma and was only woken up when the front desk called to say my taxi was here. Me being half asleep replied ‘oh he’s early?’ her response was ‘No, it’s 8:05am. Sir, your late!’ Luckily for me I had rearranged my bags that night and could up and leave within seconds…and that’s what I did!! 30 mins later I was carrying my luggage up the gangway and through security (I am pleased to announce I was cunning enough to smuggle a bottle of HP Brown Sauce/Salad Cream/1Box of Weetabix and a Christmas Pudding!) I was met by the Dance Captain and a blast from the past who goes by the name of Sam Cowens! 

The real thing in Pisa, Italy

For those of you who aren’t familiar with our connection, from the age of 5 we used to compete against each other in many Dance Festivals and have crossed paths twice before on Celebrity Cruise Line. It was good to see at least someone I knew. Having said that the cast are such a friendly bunch and have made me feel very welcome and I’m starting to settle in nicely. Truth be told I think they were just grateful to have their replacement onboard so the show would return to normal!(no just kidding) But as I arrived another one left! Sadly Megan who is a female dancer, had to medically disembark the next day due to a foot injury and had to fly home to the land ‘Down Under’. Fingers crossed she will be back in a few weeks.  So I spent the day getting a tour of the ship and then unpacked my suitcases. I’m sharing a cabin with a dancer from South Africa, his name is Tinis and is a great chap. I’m very pleased to have a room mate like him but I just hope he feels the same way about me!? Time should tell. 

The view of the Santorini, Greece (this isn't my ship) 

So it’s back to sleeping in a bunk bed…the top bunk is always my favorite place to sleep…I think that comes from being a kid who had bunk beds but it was only me in the room. I would often alternate between the two but the top bunk seems to be a magical place to sleep, don’t you agree? Anyway the first night I managed to keep my sleepy eyes open to watch the cast perform ‘Stardust’. I really enjoyed the show and they are a wonderful group to watch. 

So all that aside I do have to mention that being on here isn’t as perfect as it might read. Without my girlfriend here to share this all with, it really does put a damper on it all. I’m trying to not think about it too much but it’s hard to adjust to being on here by yourself. She seems to make my days full and exciting now it’s just sleeping, eating, rehearsals, sleeping, eating and eating! I’m gutted I can’t be there to share her first time experiences onboard a Cruise Ship. I’m not able to protect or encourage her too. Plus if I was onboard with her I’d be sleeping in the same bed in her luxury guest cabin and not in a small shared cabin that’s the size of a garden shed! This will be a huge test to our relationship and I’m sure we will pass with flying colors otherwise I wouldn’t have decided to do it this way but you can’t help but think is this all worth it? Well yeah because life is all about lessons right? (according to Oprah it is) and boy have I had some lessons taught. Its just frustrating that we aren’t able to share this experience together but I know we will in the future.

Mykonos, Greece

My only concern in life right now is if I ever let the social network community know how amazing this ‘Allison’ girl really is, she could be snapped up and taken away from me! So with that said all I’m going to say is…world you must be missing a huge piece of something because she probably took most of what you had to create her and I’m just blessed to have her (and as an added bonus she is a fabulous cook). So Thanks!

 I’ve been slowly adjusting to the showering experience onboard. Those of you who have been a crew member know exactly what I’m talking about! Imagine your bathroom being the size of a restroom cubical… squeezing a sink/toilet and having a shower in there can be a mission! It’s kind of like going to the bathroom on an airplane…a frustrating and difficult task eh! So whilst bending over to apply shampoo the shower curtain decideds to get fresh and wrap its self around you like a Roman Toga! This will be an ongoing relationship I think.   

Mykonos, Greece

Princess Cruise Line are so far the most relaxed company I’ve ever worked for when it comes down to Dress Code, Eating in guest area etc etc. So at the moment I haven’t really taken full advantage of this but once I’ve finished learning all the shows I plan to make this a priority.

So last night was my big opening night on the Ruby Princess! But before the big night I had performed a little deck party routine and two performances of a number from the show (a sneak peak). So with all my first night jitters running around inside of me we had to stop the show after only 1 minuet in!! There was a problem with a set piece so we had to reset the show and start again! I questioned if this was an oman of things to come… I hope not. I also missed an entrance to a number that starts on stage… so my slow ass had to wait until they moved to an easy place for me to acces them on stage. Come the second show it went much smother and I have to say it was nice to finally be dancing on here.

Sunset in Santorini, Greece

Two nights ago I was pleasantly surprised to walk in the staff mess and find delicious looking scones! This was such a treat and after felling like you sometimes do on a ship ( a prisoner) well this just made me feel like a human again… mmmmm it really hit the spot.    

A little something I came across whilst doing some safety training on the ship!

On a side note, whilst I was flying to Italy I started to wondered whatever happened to the complimentary boiled sweets they handed out before take off and landing? As a child I always looked forward to this. It was to help with the pressure change and supposedly sucking on a sweet would help/prevent this!? Did someone realize it never really worked? I wonder how much the airlines saved by cutting this?

'As the Scarecrow Flies'

So this has been something I've wanted to do for many years. I didn't really think I had enough to write about but in these last couple of years I seem to have collected plenty of material. I figured I'm going to be by myself on my next adventure so why not invite you all along whilst I document my travels and thoughts. When it comes down to social networks I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan. I do take full advantage of sharing photos and comments with friends and family but I like to have control of what is published on the web! This seemed like a sensible way to share my thoughts and experiences with those of you who actually are interested in reading my posts. Eliminating those who were just some guy I once knew at school and thought it was only polite to add me as a friend. I'd like to say I am 100% dedicated to writing this blog but I tend to loose interest in things pretty quickly so please don't hold your breath! I will give it a go and see what comes of it.

My new adventure is taking me back to a place I wasn't sure I'd return to... Cruising. And not the kind you do in your car around a red light district but out at sea onboard Princess Cruise Line. The name of my ship is the 'Ruby' and its passenger capacity is 3400 guests! I will be joining the cast as a replacement and will be onboard for the next 5 months! At this very moment I am waiting for my medical results to come back and when they do I shall be flying to Europe to join the ship. I will slowly be placed into the shows so I probably won't have much time in the ports but I'm flat broke so it's really ok. Then starting in November I will be porting out of Ft. Lauderdale and cruising the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

Sadly my girlfriend Allison (who is a Singer on the 'Grand Princess') will never get a chance to dock with me in the same port!! So frustrating as we are going to be cruising the same islands but not on the same schedule! I thought at least we would be porting together...but no! Not only is it hard enough being on a ship by your self but your loved one is in the same stretch of sea and you can never see her! Luckily I have a Dry-Dock scheduled for December (meaning they take the ship out of the water and do a routine maintenance check) it's for 10 days and we can either stay on the ship and get paid to do nothing or we can disembark but not get paid. So I am jumping at the chance to go spend a week with my girl for only $15 a day. I'm flying from Miami to the island Curacao and will board her ship from there. (no pun intended) So at least we will have a week to spend with one another right before Christmas. That's something to look forward to.

Well that's my quick and easy update for you all. Check back soon for photos and more stories.
Wish Me Luck.