On board for over a week now...

Long time, no post. Getting used to life on board now. Very overwhelming at first I must say. The ship was one big maze. Slowly getting my bearings now and starting to get out and about. The first couple of days all I knew was the gym, my cabin, the mess and the staff bar. I have since progressed to dressing up one night and seeing a show, the Martini Bar, the coffee shop, the Waterfall cafe, the crew bar, the crew mess (only cause there was a fire in the staff mess one night).

I have had 2 days off and ventured into Athens on my first day and yesterday Civitivechia where a couple of the girls and I consumed quite a few bottles of very cheap but good red wine. Had full intentions of making one of the crew parties last night but alas didn't have the stamina to make it through til 11:30pm. Probably a good thing though as it was my turn to open the gym this morning, which means a 6:30 am start. The other fitness instructor and I alternate days.

Things are quite slow at the moment as it's the end of the season here in the Med. We're all looking forward to the crossing and the Carribean. Everyone keep saying we will start to make more money and be really busy once we start there on 7 day cruises. I hope so - I do spend a lot of the day wofting (a Steiner term - translation waste of f**cking time - in other words trying to make yourself look busy).

Had one of the hairdressers do my hair yesterday - definitely one of the perks of the job along with the staff discount for all products - and this morning I discovered that the discount covers all of the shops onboard as well. So not only do I get duty free but then I get a reasonable percentage off that price as well...Very dangerous...but need to start making some more dollars first before I take advantage of that.

I have internet onboard but it is not the cheapest so my contact will be a little sparse. I need to suss out wireless onboard yet and see whether that is cheaper. I have to head back to work as this is my lunch break. Hello to everyone back at home - miss you all...