Hole Again

Cruise #24- This was my last cruise. The main focus for this cruise was having a good time. My handover, Atalargo, started taking over the shows. I watched him do the first show and then watched the second show from the house. This was especially nice because I haven't seen the show form the front since my first week on the ship. I went out virtually every night and had a ridiculous time. On nights when we didn't have production shows, I would go to the Gotham Lounge and watch Jay play. He played "Georgia On My Mind" every time I went up there. He also learned Billy Joel's "Piano Man" for me. I have been annoying him with that request for months. He hates that request because he plays guitar. He says people actually request it. When I found this out I would shout it out during his sets. His most common response to this was "I hate you". It was kind of sad though. I had to say goodbye to all my friends with the knowledge that I probably wouldn't see most of them again. It didn't hit me until the last night as people started going to bed and saying goodbye. There was lots of hugging. The Miracle turned out to be an appropriate name for my first ship. It's a miracle that I am where I am today. This time last year, I was jobless and struggling to pay the bills. I had no idea where I was going or what the future held for me. I took a shot in the dark and applied for a job that I thought was way out of my league. Turns out, they gave me a shot. I was right. I was way out of my league. Luckily, I was able to fake it until I learned what I was doing. This past six months have been the most exciting of my entire life. I owe it all to my job and all the amazing people I met on the Miracle. Thanks to you my life has changed for the better.

The fly-ons for this cruise were Carl Strong, Michael James, Jerome Dabney, Phil Hughes and Mike Panzeca. After the way Carl acted last time he was on, I didn't talk to him much. Michael James did his juggling thing. And by juggling thing, I mean, he was on a ladder for nearly thirty minutes. He climbs a ladder with no one holding it. It's kinda cool but very annoying if you have seen it several times. The whole time he is on the ladder he is "walking" it side to side. So, it makes a thud, thud...thud thud sound as he rocks it back and forth. Imagine that for thirty minutes. Jerome Dabney needs to take a break. He can barely sing at this point and usually ends up talking through most of his songs. Phil Hughes is a ventriloquist who hasn't been on in several months. His show is terrible. He moves his mouth when he talks and his dummy has the same voice as him. So, you can barely tell who is supposed to be talking. It's really just a guy playing with dolls. He is a really good guy, though. He hangs out in the crew bar at night and is always good for a story. It is fitting that Mike Panzeca is the last fly-on that I worked with because he is the one that has been on the most throughout my contract. He's a great guy and I will miss working with him.

In St. Maarten this week, a huge group went to the beach just off the pier. Emma(dancer), Mike(trumpet), Chip(bari sax), Laura(social host), Sam(pianist), Fede(drummer), Emma Shenton(dancer), Jason(production singer), Scott(golf pro), Dan(guitarist), Jay(guitar soloist) and Ailsa(nurse) were all there. We hung out in the water and enjoyed the view. Well, the guys enjoyed the view. The girls just made fun of us for gawking at all the beautiful women. I brought a football and wouldn't you know it a game broke out. We threw the ball for several hours. My arm was sore the next day. After we were done working on our tans we went and ate lunch at the Greenhouse. I had a jerk chicken wrap. I had to ask for more ranch dressing because it was so spicy. It was probably the coolest beach hang that I have had since I was on the ship. Everyone was in a good mood due to the fact that we didn't have a production show that night. Normally, we would have Singing with the Big Band that night but Christopher Alan Graves was on vacation this week.

In St. Lucia this week, Chip and I got off and went to the Wharf for lunch. If you have been reading my blogs you already know what I had to eat. I had chicken Roti. Delicious as always. We didn't have time for much else because we had a tech run of Ticket to Ride for Alana the new dancer. So, we headed back to the ship around 1:00pm.

In St. Kitts this week, the ship had an accident. We hit the pier on the way in to port. In every port we have a pilot from the port authority get on the ship and guide into port. They do this because they know the port better than our captain and therefore should be able to avoid any trouble. Apparently, as he was guiding the ship around the pier he clipped the front of the ship. It put fifteen foot hole in the pier. I was awake when it happened but didn't know it had happened until I got outside. When we are docking the thrusters(allow us to maneuver sideways) are very loud and we only just grazed the pier. There wasn't a sudden stop as there would be in a car crash. Everyone was very lucky. The hole didn't breach the walls of the cabins inside. In fact there was someone sleeping in one of the cabins and he didn't even wake up. We had to fly in 20 welders and several large pieces of steel to repair the ship. They worked over night to repair the hole. They had to rip out three crew cabins in order fix it. We left 12 hours late and this caused us to be late in Fort Lauderdale. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because I didn't have to wait at the airport all day like I would have.

Also, in St. Kitts, Chip and I went to the Royal St.Kitts Golf Club and played golf. Again, I didn't score very well but I don't think anyone could have the way this course was playing. It was incredibly windy and every hole should have had a higher par. On one of the par fives, I hit three really nice balls(straight and long). I was still 150 yards from the pin because we were hitting directly into the wind. I hit the ball well but my short game failed me, again. Despite the frustrations with our play, we both enjoyed it immensely. It is now number#1 on my list of courses I have played. It was beautiful. The last four holes are along the coast over looking crystal clear blue water and volcanoes in the background. It was breathtaking. The course was in great shape and at no time did I have to move my ball out of a divot or rough spot in the fairway. What way to spend my last port day.

On the day I left, I woke up around 9:00am and went through customs. It was a lot of waiting but I got myself and my luggage through around 12:30pm. I went to the airport and waited for several more hours. My flight was on time and we left at 6:45pm. I arrived in Atlanta around 8:45pm and met my parents at the baggage claim. It was good to see them. It had been a while. I look forward to seeing those of you near Atlanta in the coming month. I will here until March 14th. So, if you are interested in seeing me let me know and hopefully we can arrange a place and time.

Talk to you soon,

Chris

Picture #1- Hole #16 at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club in St. Kitts.

Picture #2- Par 3 at the St. Kitts Golf Club. It was about 175 yards. My ball was about 30 yards short of the green due to the wind.

Picture #3- Another Par 3 at the St. Kitts Golf Club. It was about 200 yards. The green is just on the other side of those houses. I aimed it wrong and hit the house closest to the fairway. While we were on the green, a lady came out and asked if we were just learning to play golf. We replied "No". She said, "you hit my house" and I retorted, "I know". We quickly putted out and left before she made us pay for the dent in her roof.

Picture #4- Some houses on a hillside at the St. Kitts Golf Club. You can look at the trees to see how windy it was that day.

Picture #5- The fifteen foot hole in the bow of the ship. My cabin was about twenty feet from there on the interior.

Picture #6- My favorite picture of the Miracle. It was taken on Half Moon Cay.