The REAL Day 1 – Sign-On (at New Orleans)

Feburary 18^th, 10:25pm – The REAL day one: I am sitting on a chair in my cabin and watching Thor with my roommate. As expected, the TV runs continuously without any commercial breaks. There is a different channel for each of the different types of programming: movie, soap operas, cartoons, and even a special family program created by and for Royal Caribbean Cruises. It shows happy families and people who are skinny and pretty having a grand time on board one of the RCC ships. Superficial and ironic, I know. My first day on the ship has already showed me enough to know that it is just all a ploy to greater the passengers’ “vacation of a lifetime”.

It has been a long day. A rushed but delicious breakfast at 7:45 before waiting for the cruise shuttle at 8:15am (The hotel was super luxurious!!! More than I can ever afford) But like my plane delay yesterday, the shuttle didn’t show for an hour. By that time I had already met the other crew members who are also starting to work today (though there is only one other new hire; all others have worked on ships before). We decided to take a taxi and be reimbursed later.

I can’t quite put into words what my day has been like – there is a lot going on, and there is a lot of information to take in. Just navigating through the ship and the crew vs guest areas is a lot to handle. Everyone seems to know what they’re doing, and boy, do they ever recognize a new hire when they see one…