NEW SHIP-NEW PLACES-NEW CONTRACT

I'm getting ready to head out again on a new contract with Celebrity Cruises that will be taking me from Seattle up to Alaska! This time around I will be on the Celebrity Solstice which is the first of Celebrity's biggest class of ships. That means I will have my own room! The ship will take me to:

Seattle, Washington
Ketchikan, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
Skagway, Alaska
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

And each cruise will pass through the Tracy Arm Fjord.

I fly to Seattle, Washington on May 15th and join the ship there on May 16th. This (short) contract is only two months. I'll be the drummer in the orchestra again which means I'll be playing all of the shows in the theater with the cast and the guest entertainers and playing several jazz and big band sets around the ship.

I'm looking forward to joining the ship and seeing what it's like the second time around. I was able to do a lot of the training online this time as a returning crew member, which will make my first couple weeks on the ship much easier. I'm sure there will be some new things I learn on the bigger ship, but for the most part I'm expecting to just fall right back into the swing of things. A couple weeks ago I found out through facebook that the jazz quartet from my last ship (who actually signed off on the same day as me) has already boarded the Solstice and will still be there when I arrive. It will be really nice to have some friends already there when I join. I'm excited to see them again, but for now I'm just working on getting ready for the contract. I decided to spend some time in Colorado before I went out so I did all of my packing last week in LA.

The hardest parts of packing for a ship contract are deciding what is essential to bring, and how to make it possible to carry everything while navigating crowded airports and small hallways on the ship for sign on and sign off days. The other major things to consider are if everything will fit in the room (especially the luggage you are using, collapsable duffel bags are best), how much "guest area appropriate" clothing you bring, and ensuring that you have everything you need to perform you job on board. On my last contract I used a duffel bag with no wheels which was extremely difficult when traveling, so this time I got a large duffel with wheels, but still making sure that it collapses and will fit under my bed in my cabin.

I mentioned "Guest Area Appropriate" clothing above. What that means is clothing that meets the "smart casual" dress code for off duty time during the day. This would include nice shirts with a collar, slacks or dockers (no jeans), and no tennis shoes/runners etc. Since I'm going to Alaska during the summer I made sure to pack for all kinds of weather conditions, it will be very unpredictable.

GENERAL PACKING

UNIFORM CLOTHES (except the leather jacket...)

MISC

EVERYTHING

So hopefully I have everything I need. I'm excited to get going. I'll keep this blog updated as much as possible so make sure to check back to see what kind of things I get into in the great northwest!