Mark's Blog

Here’s a clip of another one of my musician friends. He’s another American from New York working on the ship. This guy rocks the piano bar bar every night. Here’s a link to his facebook profile if you want to learn more about him: David Ross

Here’s a clip of an awesome band from the Philippines called Music Power. In this clip one of the guest plays the guitar and sings with the band outside on the open deck during the deck party.

A few weeks ago, I shot a short clip of one of musician friends on the ship right before he went home. What’s crazy is that when I first met him I found out that he lives in the same city as me, San Diego. What’s even more crazy is that he literally lives right down the street from where I live. Here’s a clip in the casino with Craig singing “Sweet Home Alabama.”

If you ever get a chance to go to Key West, Schooners Warf is one of the best locals bar to visit. Here’s a clip of Michael McCloud a musician who frequently plays there. In this clip McCloud sings about a woman who used to work at the bar who had a huge butt. The title of the song, “She Got a Butt.”

Here are a few photos of my day trip to New Orleans. The history in this city is amazing. In the morning I had the chance to visit a slave plantation dating back to the late 1700’s. It’s hard to imagine that slaves once lived here.

Later on during the day, I took a visit to a cemetery. Now why would I do such a thing. Well New Orleans is well known for their cemeteries. A majority of the city lies below sea level so all of the grave sites are build above ground in these elegantly crafted tombs above the ground.

After that, I took a trip to the French Quarters. A quick word of warning, I wouldn’t recommend driving there. The place is not very friendly for cars. But any ways, the music scene was simply breath taking. The whole area was full of life. Everywhere you go there would be musicians playing on the street and believe it or not they were very good, unlike the mediocre talent seen in L.A. Here our a few videos I filmed that really captures the atmosphere in the French Quarters.

To end my day, I went back to the French Quarters later on to check out the nightlife. Like during the day, the nightlife was teeming with energy. Unfortunately my battery on my camera died so I was unable to take any pictures. But just to describe it, New Orleans is very laid back on the laws compared to California. There were people performing impromptu fire shows on the corner street. People were allowed to drink alcohol in the street which is completely unheard of L.A. I checked out this Reggae Bar and I was overwhelmed by the amount of energy it emitted. The musicians were great. The crowd was full of life. It was all a pleasure to experience.

When I think of one phrase that best describes life in the French Quarters, the famous Greek quote immediately comes to mind, “Carpe Diem.” The whole essence of New Orleans captures this philosophy to the fullest.

I don’t know if it’s the Cognac that’s doing it, but I’m feeling pretty inspired right now to write in my blog. On a more philosophical note I’ve always been curious about the nature of reality. The subject always came up while I was living on a cruise ship. People would always complain that they wanted to get off the ship and come back to reality. And yes I was one of those people. After being home for about two months now I’ve come to the conclusion that reality is everything around us. It is everywhere we go. It is everything we experience. The truth is, is that I’m feeling pretty nostalgic for ship life right now.  Funny how that may sound seeing that I wanted to desperately get off the ship during the last month of my contract even if it meant jumping overboard. I miss the life. There’s nothing like listening to Bob Marley music in Jamaica. Or getting to experience beautiful sunsets everyday out on the ocean. The thought of sailing out into Atlantic with the most beautiful scenery surrounding you is pure pleasure. A smile comes to my face just thinking about it. After a long day of work, coming into the lounge to smoke a Cuban cigar and sip on a glass of Cognac while listening to great music was pure bliss. These are real moments I will never forget. Will I ever come back on the ship again? Maybe. But then again with all those wonderful experiences came the reality of  the daily grind of ship life. Someone once asked me what ship life was really like and I told them plain and simple, “You work hard, You Party Hard.” That’s the reality.

It’s already been about three weeks since I left the Carnival Freedom and oddly enough, it still feels weird to be back on land. The past six months feels like a faint memory to me already. The Kiwi I used to work with told me when he came home during his first contract he forgot about ship life all together. Even though I’m glad to be off the ships, I kind of miss the lifestyle and all the great people I ran across. Ship life was a very unique experience and I’m glad to have been part of it.

The idea of money has been a big adjustment for me. On ship you don’t really think too much about money since there are hardly any expenses involved. The other day at the golf course my brother in law was surprised that I bought a four dollar hot dog. One thing about ship life, you don’t think too much about prices. On many occasions I would go out to eat on port and pay a shit load of money for a meal. There were a few times on ship I would down forty dollars at the steak house without even flinching. Unlike the time when a bunch of my friends went out to this fancy restaurant to celebrate my friend’s birthday. When we found out the minimum price for a meal would be thirty-five bucks we bailed without a second thought  embarrassed or not.

Night-time still feels a little unnatural. On ship you are always surrounded by some sort of light even when you’re outside at night. Not here on land. The other night I went out and it was pitch dark. Spooky! And also I’m hit with the realities of the real world once again. I don’t have a job and I need to get new tires for my truck and health insurance.

If you ever decide to work on a cruise ship, here are some common words and expressions you’ll hear from the staff and crew.

Kaput- finished, broke, done. Word used quite often on the ship.

No rice, no power- expression used by many Asians to describe why they eat so much rice.

Don’t worry you will see- expression used to describe something to a newbie.
Piesano- person of same nationality.

Aft- back of ship.
Forward- front of ship.
Starboard- right side of ship as you face the forward.
Port- left side of the ship as you face the forward.

Lido- main outside area for guest where buffet is located.

I-95- main crew corridor or documentation that non-us citizens must carry when going in U.S. ports.

Marshaling Area- location where luggage and supplies are temporary stored.

Open Deck-normally refers to the outside area where crew go to smoke, normally toward the front of the ship.

Gangway- normally where guest and crew get off the ship during ports.
MSA- Administrative office for staff and crew.
Crew bar- place where crew hang out to get drunk.
CTC- Crew Training Center

Bomboclat- Jamaican word used for insulting someone.
Ag shame man- South African slang.
Comida- Spanish word for eat.
Siesta- Spanish word for sleep.
Taka taka- to talk a lot.

Mafia- refers to a group of people from same background who help each other out on ship.

List- when the ship leans from side to side

Purser- aka guest services. These are the staff that work the front desk who deal with guest related issues.

Cones- derogatory remark referring to the guest on the ship.
Conning- to have sex with one of the guest.

Nothing finer than a Steiner- humorous expression used to describe the girls that work in the spa. (the girls at the spa hate this expression)

WOFT- waste of fucking time. usually refers to a cheap guest.

Sign-off- the date when staff or crew are signing off the ship.
Vacation- period between contracts when crew go back to their home country.

Ship life- common expression used to describe life on the ship.
Same Shit different Ship
Ya man- greeting used by many crew members.

What’s your next ship?
Did you get go out today?
You going out tomorrow?

If you don’t like, go home- often said to another crew member when they are complaining about life on ship.

Muster station- location where all the crew and guest meet during a general emergency.

Boat drill- usually a safety briefing that takes place right before the ship sets sail on the 1st day. All guest and crew meet at their muster station and are told what to do in the event of an emergency.

Tender- is a small boat, used to service a cruise ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship. This service is normally used when the cruise ship is to large to dock into port.

Port manning- usually when a crew member is required to stay on ship for the whole cruise to assist guest in an event of an emergency.

Embarkation- 1st day of cruise when passengers board the ship.
Debarkation- last day of cruise when passengers get off the ship.