Have internet in my cabin...finally....

Finally managed to get an internet cable last night so now have access in my cabin...very dangerous as it is no cheaper - just much better to be emailing in the comfort of my cabin (if you call it comfort) and on my own laptop.

Yesterday was my first rough sea day.  The good news is I didn't get sea sick.  I had a couple of iffy moments.  I had some ginger ale and crackers and slogged through it.  I also had acupuncture - I couldn't look at the needles in my arm and leg but it did seem to work.  I'm still getting over the shock of having acupuncture...We had to close the treadmills and the ellipticals in the gym as it was not safe with the ship rocking so much.  I am still struggling to comprehend what would possess someone to come to the gym to walk on the treadmill when they are unable to walk around the ship without holding a handrail...Quite a few of the therapists had to leave guests in the middle of treatments to throw up.  Not a successful sea day all round for the spa.

We are currently in the process of docking in Naples.  I can hear and feel the vibrations underneath me as I sit in my cabin typing this.  We are here overnight now instead of overnight in Civitavechia tomorrow night.  Due to the rough weather, our itinerary changed.

Teaching my first Pilates class this afternoon.  To date, have had noone sign up to these classes so need to go and refresh my memory...Better get back to work...

Cannot believe this is my 5th week onboard already...

So onto cruise number 3 already. In some respects it feels like it's gone quick but also feels like I've been here forever. It is now normal to get up in the morning and put my hair in an upstyle and do my makeup. In fact, I rarely go without makeup these days!! A stark contrast to home. Also normal to get in the elevator to go to work. Also normal to pay 60 cents for a beer in the staff bar...(although that is on special). I think it's normally about $1. Definitely going to struggle going back to regular prices on land...whenever that will be...

We will have 3 new girls coming at the end of this cruise as 3 of the girls are finishing their contracts, so will no longer be one of the new girls in the spa. Will be exciting to get some new people but sad to see others leave. We lose another 2 after the crossing so in the next month, there will be 5 new girls in the AquaSpa.

Went to the movies last night - yes there is a cinema onboard that crew are also allowed to go to - saw The Bee Movie. Very cute although I must admit I was falling asleep as I had a big day yesterday. Was a successful sea day for me, meeting my sea day target. So have made more money this cruise already than I did in the entire last cruise. The rest of the spa is struggling but I have managed to get a few guests in for personal training and sold a few detox packages yesterday. Am bounding with positive energy once more. Last cruise was a downer and I must admit I did let it get the better of me towards the end of the cruise, which was not good.

Looking forward to my day off tomorrow in Kusadasi. May do a little shopping. Supposed to be quite good. Although trying to save my pennies still at the moment as I haven't accumulated masses of money as yet - saving that for the Carribean....

Anyway, off to enjoy the rest of my 2 hr lunch break. The Spa made target last cruise so we all enjoy a 2 hr lunch break this cruise rather than 1 hr. Definite perks to hitting targets...

Love to all back home...

Trying to get the girls in the spa motivated to exercise before the Carribean so am doing a circuit class for them tonight. Should be a lot of fun.

Need New Passengers...

Second cruise nearly over. One more port day tomorrow and then new guests the day after...YEAH!!! This has been a very slow cruise and have made next to no money. Have only one more here in the Med and then the crossing to the Carribean. Cannot wait to leave here and start earning some serious money. We also go onto 7 day cruising, which means things should be much faster pace and turnover of guests every week, so really looking forward to that.

Have explored a little more of the ship in the last couple of days. Went to another of the bars upstairs - the Rendevous - kind of like a lounge bar. In passenger area so have to wear my name badge but still managed a couple of cocktails and kind of felt semi-normal. Later went further upstairs to Revelations, the "nightclub/disco" onboard. Was a fun night. Although was spied by guests who were quick to highlight that they'd seen me there the night before in the gym the next day. All good - body getting used to hardly much sleep now...Overrated when you live on a ship!!

Not off to a great start this cruise...

Only time for a quick update...

So my second cruise now. Haven't been quite as successful as my last cruise but only halfway through so hopefully make some sales the rest of the week - otherwise that means no money for Alex :(. And although drinks are super cheap onboard for crew they still add up. Although I did a BCA on myself this morning (A BCA is a Body Composition Analysis - this is the test we do to tell you how toxic you are, how fat you are, metabolism, etc.) and alas I am getting more toxic. Also getting fatter. Damn ship!! So I plan to slow down at the crew/staff bar and train like a spartan warrior until I hit the Carribean in 5 weeks time (but who's counting?).

Did enjoy my last day off in Naples. Had a wander around the city. One of the girls almost got pickpocketed as we crossed the road but didn't manage to get her wallet out of her bag, which was lucky. Had an awesome pizza - getting off the ship to eat is a real highlight let me tell you...Our last overnight in Civitavechia, 8 of us left the ship for Chinese for dinner. Those of youat home will know how much I love Chinese (detect the sarcasm here) but I thoroughly enjoyed my dinne out - anything beats mess food really...

Anyway, be be back to work. Doing a yoga class for the spa girls tonight and hoping noone is in the gym this arvo so I can sneak in a bit of a workout...

Talk soon...Thank you to everyone who's been emailing. I love hearing from you all back home...

One cruise down...

Well I managed to get through one full cruise and although I didn't make my sales target, I did do the best out of the team, which now means I get 2 hour lunch breaks this entire cruise (except sea days). Expectations are high though this cruise and unfortunately so far, I am off to a slow start...But aiming for a big finish!!!

My day off yesterday was a non-event. We tendered in Villafranche. This means we weren't docked to the shore but a tender (a small boat) comes and takes you to shore. Unfortunately due to the crappy weather, there wasn't enough tenders to allow crew off the ship. So I had a whole day off onboard. I did manage to catch up on some sleep, which I needed after a 3:30 am night in the staff bar, watched a couple of Sopranos episodes and checked out the basketball court but that is as good as it got, unfortunately.

Someone asked the difference between the staff bar and the crew bar - basically staff bar is nonsmoking and just chairs, pool table, dart board, etc. Crew bar is more club like - smoking and DJ and dancefloor. Crew bar doesn't come alive til after midnight. Have had a couple of fun nights in the staff bar losing at cards the last few nights.

My half day in Barcelona was nice but short - felt a bit like Cinderella having to get back to the ship by 12:30 pm for embark. The city was just coming alive as I made my way back to the ship to work. So no photos. Will have to put some of the few photos up for viewing - I haven't really taken that many. Will try to do so on my next day off in port.

Next day off is Naples and desperately wanting to get onshore and eat some regular food especially since I missed out yesterday although one of the singers and I had dinner upstairs last night at the Waterfall cafe - we're allowed there in the last half hour of service in uniform or dressed up - and he got me a sirfry (salon staff not privileged enough for stirfry, singers have more privileges) so I did manage to eat something different yesterday.

Have another hour to kill for my lunch break. I think I may spend it in my room reading a book...Catch you all soon later...