A-Musings

Week 3, Nov. 8 – 11, 2010 TravelBlog: Day 15 (Mon.) Killer day. Up at 3:30am for a 4:00am shoot of the Royal Promenade, the center and largest of the 5 (or is it 6?) “avenues” in this floating city. Breakfast, then we dash to shoot Rita’s Cantina and Pinnacle Lounge. Lots of prep … we encounter Thomas’s last gasp – nausea-inducing, rolling swells and rainy, gloomy skies – as we pass through the Bermuda Triangle. This should clear by tomorrow morning, leaving 2 days of sunny sailing before we arriving in FLL … Tried to nap after this morning’s exhausting shoots, but yet another safety drill kept me up. “Bravo, bravo, bravo” (code for fire) and instructions blaring over the PA for nearly two hours. (FYI, “alpha, alpha, alpha” = serious injury; “oscar, oscar, oscar” = man overboard!) Another dirty little secret: Some crew members never get to come above Deck 3; they are never permitted to step foot in passenger areas. Mole people - what a life. Michel’s origina...

Week 2: Nov. 1 – 7, 2010 TravelBlog: Day 8 (Mon.) Slept like the dead for the first time since leaving NYC. And we gained an hour … but still not caught up by a long shot. Daniel spent the night in the bathroom, emptying from both ends. Similar to what I suffered on the Oasis, divided by 12 (little slice of hell, though this trip I have the opposite problem). Must be something in the start-up kitchens, or with the swill they feed the crew/staff we’ve been served, which differs enormously from the passengers’ fare. It may better than some of them eat in their native land, but by western standards it’s nasty drek which tastes bad and smells worse … So far no other casualties, except Michel has this strange and itchy rash that appears to be spreading. Bedbugs from one of the flights??? In our staterooms??? Oy vay - Sailing “the Manche”, aka the English Channel. We passed the white cliffs of Dover during the night … So far surprising calm seas and clear skies, no...

Week 1, Oct. 25 – 31, 2010 Travelblog: Day 1
(Mon.) So trying just trying to get to the airport! Damn the MTA - service cutbacks have made taking the M60 to LGA an even longer nightmare ... Get to the airport 50 minutes before take off. Why isn't the security line moving??? The plane's an inferno, no a/c until take-off ... The row of Jewish grandmothers block the aisle, keep standing up during take off and landing as well, and scold everyone for everything from putting things in "their" overhead bin to wrinkling their sweater ... Arrive in Miami and it's hot-hot-hot – Dinner with Michel, photographer to the cruise lines, who hired me for the gig - Travelblog: Day 2
(Tues) Morning in Miami - took a bike ride over the bridge, along the bay, through old Miami, South Beach ... e-business over a coffee on Lincoln Rd. People seem friendlier and more relaxed than in NYC. Wish I had more time to just "be" here - but we gotta pack up for take-off. Hop...