Week 4

Although daily planners have become a thing of the past for me, it did not escape me that it is suddenly November. Wow. The time has flown, and at the same time it feels like I’ve been here for a year. For good reasons, though. My cast feels like family (aw!) and I’ve adjusted fairly well to life at sea.

My favorite things about the boat:
1. Sleeping. Not only the time I have to sleep, but when the water is calm, to quote my friend Sarah, it’s like a giant mother rocking me to sleep.
2. It’s like dorms all over again! Only with people I like. There’s a cute slumber party quality to knocking on my neighbors’ door and inviting them to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, because we all miss home on the holidays, even Halloween.
3. Going out isn’t really “going out.” If I want to see what’s going on around the boat, it’s never more than a 2 minute walk. No commute.
4. The crew. The room stewards, bartenders, and hosts have gotten to be very friendly faces. Arnold, Bogart and Tito are my heroes!
5. The shows. Oh yeah, we’re here for that, right? There’s no Chicago venue to play a sketch show to a house of 1000. Thanks, Stardust Showroom.

My not favorite things:
1. The internet. Pricey and slow. That’s where ports come in.
2. If there’s bad weather, the aforementioned “giant mother” gets angry and violent. I’ve so far spent one night laying awake imagining the ship capsizing. Not likely, but not pleasant either.
3. Free food is just that. Free. You can get lucky. But there are no guarantees.
4. People on vacation have a scary sense of entitlement. They get rude, to put it very lightly. I am more than happy to stick to my room some days.

So…am I happy to be here? Yes. Is it a strange existence? Yes. Will the honeymoon end within our cast and will we start to grate on each other until James pokes out Shawn’s eyes and Peter rips out Katy’s earrings and I punch Tabetha in the neck? Hm. Only time will tell…

The reposition begins on Saturday. We sail away from NYC for good and venture into the Caribbean. In honor of the two week trip, including 6 days at sea, I will post a “Spotlight on” each of my cast mates. Oh boy!