Underway

Rainbows and open ocean!

Today we will arrive to the US Virgin Island of St. Thomas. It has been 3+ days at sea and I am thrilled to report that I apparently do not get seasick! There were a few moments of a slight queasy feeling, and I would just head up to the sky lounge and look at the horizon and tell myself it would pass and it did. Mind over matter is what many have told me and I believe that is part of it. I do not want to jinx myself at this point, but we did encounter some rough patches (according to fellow crew members we hit a 5/10 on the rough scale) and I seemed to maintain a settled stomach. One of my fellow stews has not been so lucky and we have all been trying to keep her fed and watered but she is struggling, I am feeling very fortunate to not be experiencing the same problems. I have been wearing the wrist bands my mom swears by the whole trip and decided there was no need to take them off to see if they were the remedy holding me together.

I was unsure of what to expect while we were at sea. Would we be cleaning? Working hard all day? What would we be able to do given we would be on some rough waters?
The answer...movie marathons and lots of snacks!!! A great time to bond with the crew as usually we are all working hard so during this time we get to chat and visit with each other so that has been fun.
Due to the conditions on this trip it would be unsafe for us to try to work, so instead we are having movie marathons and eating snacks galore. Apparently everyone snacks when we are at sea and I have been trying my best to limit myself as there are many naughty treats on board. I have also been trying to do a few little exercises like squats, push ups and sit ups to keep myself as active as possible...push ups on a moving boat add a whole new element to the work out! Periodically I would go sit in the galley (kitchen) and chat with the chefs and watch them cook. They have nice views and are always listening to good music so it is a pleasant place to hang out. I am thoroughly impressed with their ability to cook up gourmet meals for the entire crew while on such rocky seas and make sure to thank them daily for all their hard work.

Movie marathons in the crew mess

Hangin' in the galley with Calvin and Keith

View from the galley

Sleeping arrangements also become creative while underway as the crew cabins are all in the most forward lowest part of the vessel which gets hit the hardest in rough seas. While underway without guests the crew are allowed to sleep in the guest cabins, on couches in the sky lounge and salon, and anywhere else that high up and aft (in the back of the ship) as it is much calmer in those areas. The other stewardesses and I brought out some staff sheets to throw over the couches and guest beds so crew could inhabit those areas and keep them relatively clean. I managed to sleep in my cabin the first two nights, but on the third I moved to a couch in the salon as my cabin got quite loud.

Each crew member is also assigned a time to be on watch duty with the first officer each day. I was assigned 6pm-8pm each evening, so at that time I go up to the bridge and help keep a look out. It has been fun and educational as there are so many screens, systems, buttons and information to take in. On the hour you have to log information such as our longitude/latitude, speed, wind speed/direction, weather conditions, visibility and other pieces of information so we can make sure we are on track. Our first officer Richard has been a wealth of knowledge as I have been asking him endless questions about all the information we are recording, and he even taught me how to plot our position on the nautical chart.

The bridge

Systems on the bridge

Tools for logging and plotting on watch

Once we arrive it should be pretty full on as we get ready to welcome the guests on board. We are planning to have Christmas off which will be a treat!