Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas from Mexico!

Hey all! This is just a quick post to say I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season full of fun and family. Spending the holidays onboard can be draining but it's also so much fun- everyone is happy and excited to be spending such a wonderful time with their Fantasy family and im so grateful for all of them. I miss everyone, and promise to have pictures posted soon, but enjoy your day! 





Monday, November 25, 2013

Vacation Time

Well, my seven week vacation from Disney ends on Saturday, and let me tell you, it flew by!

Sorry I haven't posted very many blog posts, but I was fixing some technical issues on Bombateo, so thank you for your patience!

However, here are a few pictures from things I did after sleeping 14 hours a day to recover from my first contract:

Lots of riding. 

Love and Theft concert, and Line Dancing.

Indoor skydiving- I want to do the real thing next! 

Hanging out with the cows. Aren't they a cute little family??

And building a tiny house on a trailer...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hopefully I'll have one more post before I head back to the ship!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Aboard the Fantasy- Part 3

As I mentioned in this post, what made the experience working onboard the Fantasy was the people. I met some incredible friends, and without them I don't think I would be going back for a second contract!

Snorkeling on the job. Life is rough.

Struggle bus.





Day off at Margaritaville. 

Hayley loved these iguanas. I was not so much in love...




Planking.

Oh hey, Pirate Stitch.

To everyone who has been there for me these last 5 months, thank you so much for your unconditional love and support. I'm so grateful and so excited for this opportunity to continue. But in the mean time, I still have over 5 weeks of vacation to sleep and eat delicious food. Woo!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Aboard the Fantasy- Part 2

So like I mentioned here, working aboard the Fantasy was full of it's ups and downs. But, we did go to some incredible places that I would never get the opportunity to visit ever again. I'm so lucky!


Grand Cayman. We tendered in the Cayman Islands, which means we couldn't dock right alongside the island since the water was too shallow for our ship. So, we dropped anchor just off shore and then we would run smaller boats from our ship to shore in order to get the masses off into port. It was pretty cool, but also sometimes a pain in the butt. 

A rainy day in Cozumel. Cozumel is always a nice port, especially since it has a Starbucks RIGHT INSIDE THE PORT. Perfect. But somehow, I feel like it was ALWAYS raining when we docked there. Hmm..



These three are of St. Thomas, which is probably my favorite port. There's a really cute coffee shop and it has good shopping and pretty nice beaches. 

This is Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. Castaway is always a day of mixed emotions. The ship staff have to work the island, so it's not so much like a real port day since we work like 9-10 hours on Castaway. But, it's so beautiful and so much fun, that how could you not love it?

San Juan. Have I mentioned how much I'm in love with Puerto Rico??



And finally, St. Maarten. I also love this port. It has really good shopping and it really beautiful too. 

Somehow I don't have any pictures of Costa Maya... weird. I'll work on that next contract. But, that's it for now. Off to sleep (have I mentioned that I've been sleeping like 15 hours a day these last few days?). I think my next post will be on the people I've met and worked with for the last 5 months because let's be real, they're the ones that make it worthwhile. 

Monday, October 14, 2013

Aboard the Fantasy- Part 1

Well, my first contract with DCL onboard the Fantasy is officially over. I've been home for two days now, and I have never slept more in my life. I guess working 70 hour work weeks for 18 weeks straight will do that to you.

Sorry I didn't post more, but internet was expensive, and honestly I didn't have much time to sit down and actually write about what was happening. So, here's a brief recap (that might turn into multiple posts... I'm not yet sure).

Our first three days were spent on land, in classes called "Traditions" where we learned about the Disney Company and other things. The first day of "work" we were instructed to just explore the parks, so this is me at Magic Kingdom, in the middle of a Tropical Storm. Classic. While on board, we did go through one pretty major Tropical Storm and that was brutal. Seasickness is no fun, especially when everyone around you is puking. But we survived and it is a fun story to tell!

This is my schedule for the day. My line is highlighted in green. I was bottom line, so I actually started pretty late in the day, which was nice. But this little piece of paper tells you where all 80 Youth Activities staff members are for every half-hour of their day. Crazy. 

We had the morning off in St. Thomas, so we went to the Mariott hotel and swam in the ocean. It was great! Sometimes I had a really good schedule that meant I didn't start work until like 5pm on a port day, which was awesome but meant I was working until 2:30 that morning. I think more often than not it was worth it, because I got to actually explore the ports.


This was another late start in St. Thomas, where I got to swim with Sea Turtles and pet some iguanas. I wish I actually got pictures of me swimming with the turtles, but maybe next time. It was super fun! This contract, I also swam with Stingrays. Next up on my bucket list, dolphins! It's actually really expensive to swim with dolphins, which is a bummer. 


This is the Peacock chandelier in the atrium on decks 3, 4, and 5 of the Fantasy. It's beautiful. And that carpet in the lobby is hand-made. Ouch. It must have taken FOREVER. But it's a really comfortable carpet. 

Casually posing with the Minnie statue in the Atrium.


Morning off in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I fell in love with San Juan when we went there. The combination of modernity alongside the colonialism, plus the cultural and social changes that are constantly happening in the territory are fascinating. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

I'm glad the drinking water is safe to drink...

This is what the bow of the ship looks like from below. Crazy!


And it looks like I'll be posting more about my contract, since I do have a lot to say. Any questions? I'd love to answer them!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Where Has The Time Gone?

I have less than 40 days left on my first contract onboard and I honestly don't know where the time has gone. I've worked literally every day for 13 weeks straight and don't even remember what a day off feels like. But it's so worth it. I've met amazing people and done amazing things (have you swam with sea turtles? I have!) and am so in love with my job. It's worth the exhaustion and small living arrangements and everything else. Here are a few pictures of random things. Enjoy!

Home sweet home in Grand Cayman

The view from Deck 4

My super small cabin. Top bunk is mine!

That's all for now! Miss you all and look for an update again soon! 

Saturday, June 22, 2013

A Quick Update!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to send a quick little update on my current adventure! I'm working on the Disney Fantasy, the newest ship in the Disney cruise lines and we go to the Caribbean on 7 night adventures. So far I've been to Costa Maya, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St Thomas and St Maarten as well as Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. It's so beautiful everywhere! And each place has it's own personality so it's fun to visit each one when I get time off.

I'm working as a youth activities counselor in the kids spaces and it's a lot of fun. The people I work with are all really nice and so helpful when I get lost or don't know how to do something. And the kids are always so great to play with! We have this magic play floor that you can play games on (sooo fun!) and that's always a hit. I do work an average of 10 hours a day, 7 days a week but it's honestly more play than work!

I live in a cabin with a girl from England and we get along really well! The cabin is almost the size of a shoebox and let me tell you, shaving your legs in a shower that is two feet wide is really difficult. But it's still fun! Life on the boat is an adjustment but I do love it.  Seasickness hasn't been a problem yet but the seas haven't been too rough yet. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Sorry I don't have any pictures yet but I'll get some ASAP!

I'll try to post again when I have time and free wifi but until then, have a great start to your summer!


Monday, June 3, 2013

By the Numbers

1363 days since my first day on campus
979 classes
65 Final Exams or papers
11 Psychology courses
10 Spanish courses
3 JanPlans
2 majors
1 semester abroad
1 Colby Experience



It's hard to believe that just like that, it's over. 

HOWEVER. My next adventure begins in 39 hours.
1,400 crew members
18 weeks
14 decks
1 contract on Disney Cruise Lines

I'll try to keep everyone updated, but internet is spotty on the ship, so bear with me! And if anyone wants to take a Cruise to the Caribbean on the Disney Fantasy, I'll be there until October 18th!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Graduation!

Well, I did it. I finished my Colby education. Here are a few pictures of the rainy day.








Thanks for an incredible four years, Colby. Thank you for teaching me and giving me lifelong friends, and for allowing me to grow as an individual and as a community member.