The Crossing of DOOOOOOOMMMM

Ugh so I really have neglected you lately, apologies haha! but to be fair on me I had the monster crossing from the Carribbean all the way back across to England again :( saying goodbye to the gorgeous Carribbean was sad but hey ho least I got to go there and enjoy as much as I did!! Id never get to see the places Iv seen normaly.

The crossing consisted of 5 days at sea working from around 9am to around 11.30pm at night..after the first 5 days we had a short stop in Tenerife where I tried to get off an use wifi but I wasnt able to connect to the internet so I couldnt even speak to anyone at home, I just felt like a zombie who had no contact with the world :(

After the short few hours in Tenerife it was back to work for a further 3 sea days then we finaly hit Southampton. When we hit Southampton we had a huge delivery of stock which meant working in that port then we had to work the next day too because we didnt finish all the delivery in one go. The crossing had seemed fine to me at first but then it hit me all in one go at the end and I got somewhat depressed ha, I was missing my friends and family loads and I think I was just run down, tired and fed up!! meh I hate being like that its not what im normally like.

Finaly a whopping 12 days after we had origionally set sail from Carribbean I finaly had a port day in Southampton and I couldnt friggin wait to get off the ship!! ha I had my mum, her fiancee and my brother coming down to see me so I was mega excited!! I had the most loveliest day ever with them and honestly I have to say I just had enough and wanted to get in the car with my mum and come home...I didnt though im a stubborn mule so I wont quit anything ha.


After the day with my mum I was still a little down in the dumps, saying goodbye to people is so hard for me, I hate it!! We had a booze cruise onboard for the following 3 days which was actualy a laugh and differnt passengers to what we normally have, this cruise we have been to Barcelona which I love, its such a nice place to visit, great atmosphere and I love going round the market and the Ramblas :)


We docked in Monte Carlo which was veeery swarve!! all the snazzy speedboats everywhere...hmmm we went too Italy too but I just decided to get off and use wifi that day because I felt like id had no contact with anyone for weeks!! I hate not being able to just log on and use my internet whenever I likem I feel like im totaly neglecting people at home its awful :( I just don seem to get a mintue so im trying to take my laptop off with me every few ports so I can try and use the internet properly. I managed to skype with my mum yesterday which was lovely but my dad wasnt home boohoooo!!

Today we are in Corsaco (not sure how to spell that ha) but its my turn to stay onboard soooo im currently saty here enjoying a nutricious brekkie of M&Ms and wondering what the heck to do with my 'exciting' day ha. maybe i'll try and catch some rays up on deck and chill in the jacuzzi...and of course the wonderful task of doing some of my laundry!

sea day tomorow then Gibraltar so fingers crossed I dont get eaten alive by all the crazy monkeys there!!
Love Laura xXx

Lifes a Beach....

The past few days have been bloody brilliant!! constant Port days have meant everyday has brought me a beautiful beach to explore!! 

We docked in Antigua and went to a laaavely beach, I took my snorkel and we went in the water and we saw a sea snake..well I fecking nearly passed out there and then....a snake on land is bad enough but one that has the freedom of the ocean jeeeese its like facing a flying snake on land! I freaked out once again in the middle of a snork sesh and legged it out the water haha! I must grow some balls!

lovely beach in Antigua

Ha next stop was Dominca...all in all it looked like a bit of a shit hole when we got off the ship and it was a 30 min taxi to the nearest decent beach and it was spitting sooo we decided to screw the beach and we hit a local bar in the search for some good Rum Punch..boy did it have a punch!! haha i had only half of one and I felt very tiddly indeed, im a lightweight at the best of times so christ only knows what the hell was in this concoction....note to self and to all of you, drink anything but the rum puch!! Anything! ha, in my tiddly wisdom though I managed to sneak out my snazzy cup as a little souvenier for myself :) hehe

me and my 1st Rum Punch..rocket fuel!!!

Last night we docked back in Barbados for the final time :( booooo we had an overnight stop so of course we all went on a big night out to a bar called Harbour Lights, its $20 to get in then a free bar...uhh ohhhhh haha I was wasted, as was everyone else! I honestly have no clue how the hell any of us made it back on the boat at stupid o clock in the morning without getting breathalised!! pah haha It was a great night though and we all had such a giggle...as always I made a B-line for the burger bar after Id had enough ha, im a piglet. Today I was on IPM so I had to get up at liek 8am which KILLED me seeing as we didnt get back on board the ship until like 4am or something! ugh and I had to do embarks and meet and greet all the new passengers so I worked from about 1.30 until near nidnight and I only ate some soup and some mushrooms :( im so tired...and peckish!

some of us at the boatyard in Barbados

and again

me and Mr Sea Turtle :)

Im going to bo bos now for some much needed beauty sleep cos I look and feel rough as a bears ass..Nighty Night

Laura xXx

Laura the Explorer :)

I have a feeling I will be neglecting this blog a little, im just so busy all the time be it working or playing :P haha. sea days officially suck ass!! ugh theyre long hard days, my poor tootsies are killing me!! :(

me at the waterfalls looking a little scared!! haha

We went to Jamaica on 3rd March and we went to Dunns Waterfalls and climbed them, they were so beautiful I loved it!! Then we headed on to a bobsled place where you go up right into the top of the rainforest and bobsled down just like Cool Runnings, I screamed like a little bitch the whole way down hahaha it went so bloody fast I thought I was going to fly off the end of it!! So much fun though!!

waaaaaahhhh

 I also went to Grand Turk, you can literally step off the ship onto the beach here its just lovely, we went to a resort called margaritaville and there was another ships passengers in there but they were all Americans and their ship was a booze cruise!! Ha they we are hammered beyond belief but it was such a fun day we met loads of people and had a laugh with them all, it was like being at Spring Break!!

 Yesterday was St Maarten and we went to a place called Aeroplane beach where the runway is right next to the beach and all the planes fly over you and land its really cool there...untill the biggest jumbo jet takes off and the jets blew us all over in to sea and it was just like a sandstorm...my frickin back was savaged and red afterwars!! ahhhh haha one of the lads lost his shoes tho so he had to walk around sheless for the rest of the day, I took some small pleasure in that pahaha. I wouldnt bloddy do it again tho, it hurt!!

Today we are in St Lucia but its my turn to stay on board :( sooo im having an exciting day of doing my washing and updating this...I may go up to the deck and take some pics..pretend I got off, no one will know really hehe.

Ciao for now

Love Laura xXx

The Newbie

Above is me in front of the ship when I forst arrived YIPPEEEEE

Sorry this is the first chance Iv had to update this, since I landed in Barbados Its all been very manic!! Once I landed I met a girl who is joining the same ship as me in the airport we got a txi to the port ready to start our new jobs together!!

When we arrived at the port I just could not believe how big the ship was...Iv never really seen a cruise ship before and It was just so humongus I was so shocked!! I was very tired when I arrived after flying Manchester to Gatwick and then Gatwick to Bridgetown...It was about 7pm when we finaly arrived which was about 11pm in england so after being up since 5am I wa pooped. We went to meet our manager and then she took us on like a mini tour of the ship...I unpacked all my stuff so I felt a little more at home and soon as my head finaly hit the pillow I was out like a light!!

First day was preety easy we only worked from 8.30 to 11 because there were flight delays so the ship couldnt leave until all the passengers arrived!! Whe the ship finally did set sail I bloody felt it haha!! I felt like I was walking like Id had one to many cocktails pahaha. Everyone said that was really mild though so I was a little worried for if it ever gets rough cos Il be falling over ha! Im fine now tho I cant really feel it too much I think I was just not used to it.

My first port day was in Bonaire, we got off and went to a little rocky beach with some snorkles and went snorkling, it was so beautiful. Iv never seen fish like that before but I must admit I was a little freaked out to be so near them I have this weird phobia of things in the water touching my feet..I hate anything touching my feet!! haha. Only bad point was I got stung by a jellyfish twice!! grrrrrr little shit bag!!

Above is my ship docked in Bonaire...so lush daaarling!! haha and Im on a little pontoon thing where I was snorkling from!!

Im burnt to a crisp now so today im not sunbathing, Im in Aruba today but todays my turn to stay on board :( boooo hence my catching up with my blog etc.

Got a sea day tomorow again which Im not looking forward to its a really long day, the work is pretty easy really its just physically draining but Im sure I will get used to it!

Everyone on boards really nice iv already met lots of people from all different departments and everyone seems up for a laugh nd stuff which is good, I can eat for free so Im in my element here haha Iv been stuffing my face at any opportunity so im sure Il come home nice and fat! ha

Im rather sleepy today so going to try get some shut eye ready for work tonight and hope that my lobster chic look has dyed down by the time I wake up haha!!

Love Laura xXx

2 more sleeps...

Im SCAARRRRREEEEDDD!!!!! I mean of course im excited but im scared scared scared!! Iv travelled alone before so I dont really mind flying on my own and stuff, in fact I quite like it because I can read my book or listen to my ipod and just relax. Im just finding it all so daunting now thought, its like when you get any new job nerves but times a million ha!

Iv pretty much packed now but seeing as im a forgetful nelly I cant remember whats in there and whats not so unfortunately I think I might have to unpack it all and repack it again!! Flamin' Nora!! Most important things to take are charges and stuff cs any toiletries or anything else I can buy when Im there but I would cry if I forgot my camera charger or something.

Im just having a chilled night tonight with some food and a film, first night iv not physically been out anywhere so should be nice because Im just knackered!! Luckily Iv got 5/6 days in port in my first week so should be a nice easy week to start off with.

Im having some of my girls friends over tomorow for a final goodbye, I hate to leave people I love behind Im a very sociable butterfly and I spend a lot of time with my friends and family so Im very very close to them, the thought of not being able to just pop over to my friends for a brew when I want makes me a little bit sad :(

Luckily a girl who was on my trainnig is assigned to the same ship as me and her flight lands in Barbados about 30 mins before mine so shes going to wait in the airport for me so that we can go to the ship together!! Its raining here today and weather is just a teensy bit miserable so oe thing im hugely excited for is that moment when you step off the plane and feel a blast of heat..ahhhhhh bliss :)

This may be my last post from Jolly England so I guess I'll say goodbye for now and will see you on the other side!!!

Love Laura xXx

Bon Voyage

My oh my!! What a weekend!! Me and my friends went to a piano bar on Saturday and my friend had booked a booth and decorated it with bon voyage balloons, it was so sweet! I drank Rasberry Mojitos and danced the night away, such a perfect leaving night. Im so lucky to have my friends theyre just amazing!!

Of course it didnt end up so sophosticated haha after a few cocktails we made our way into the town centre and I hit the good old Vodka Lemonades, I was so drunk. We went back to my friends house afterwards because she has a Kareoke machine. I darent even try and remember the songs I tried to sing haha im a terrible singer at the best of times nevermind after Iv been drinking!!

On Sunday me and my family went to Alma de Cuba for lunch and some more drinks, I was very fragile when we first arrived but hair of the dog sorted me out! ha I had a roast beef dinner with yorkshire pud, veggies and yummy gravy...just what I needed after a heavy night :) We had champagne and strawberrys too, I really have been spoily rotten by everyone. I love doing things with my family because theyre really up for a laugh so we always have a giggle.

Tonight im meeting up with some girls I used to work with in my previous job, we are just meeting up in a local pub for something to eat and a catch up, its nice to be able to stay in touch with people youve met through work and I was lucky to make some real friends there.

Iv got dinner again tomorow with some other friends of mine and then the girls are coming over on thursday night before I leave...I hope that I make some friends for life on the ship, I usualy get along with people realy easily so hopefully I will like the people onboard (and mmost of all my room mate!! eeek)

Love Laura xXx

You've got mail

Wooohoooo finaly I have received my Itinery!! I have about a gazillion pages to read through ranging from my T&Cs to my facilities to of course the countries and places I will be getting to dock in.

So all in all I will be visiting around 20 countires and Islands starting off in the beautiful Carribbean islands where I will be going to Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Dominican Republic, St Kitts & Nevis and then moving across to the Med where I'll be going all round Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Monaco, Gibraltar, Greece & Croatia!! I darent even try and count the amount of cities and places within these countries that I will get to see because alot of them have several stops within each country...too exciting!!!!

Im lucky because Im in port quite alot and only really have full sea days once every 2-3 days so that means more time to explore the countries when we are at port a few days on the trot!! Only bad bit is when we sail from the Carribbean across to the med and we have a gruelling 5 days at sea which will mean alot of long hours!!

Iv been brave and faced the bombsite again, I've now organised alot of my stuff so when I come to pack properly next week I have most things set out ready, I still have no clue what to pack though...especially with the weather being just crazy lately with all the global warming and freak weather a europian summer may not be warm!! haha better pack some woolies just in case!!

 Above: Case numero uno with some toiletries and accessories etc
Below: shoes, summer clothes and bikinis

 Im trying my hardest to be very stringent and these items below didnt make the cut so are staying at home!

Im absolutely petrified that my cases may get lost on the way because I will be having a connecting flight and have heard lots of stories from peoples cases and things going missing and not making the connecting flights....lets hope that doesnt happen to me!!!!

Love Laura xXx

Starting the goodbyes

 To Ring of Fire....oh lordy!!

It all got just a little bit silly hahaha

So, with only 8 more days to go the goodbyes have begun...of course pretty much 90% of any goodbye style evenings include alcohol, this particular one included a drinking game called Ring of Fire. Needless to say me and my friends Kat, Lisa & Rebecca were a little merry and went very giddy within the walls of my house ha!! Ahh well only live once and I plan to enjoy it!!

Initialy the girls were just going to come over we would watch some films and have some snacks...it all went downhill when we had a snack disaster and totaly burnt what you would think was an easy think to make, Nachos!! They were completely and utterly ruined and so we ended up getting a dominoes instead!!

Nacho disaster....

Seeing as we were all of work we decided to have a sleepover and a few drinks, of course this didnt end up in just a few drinks we all ended up very giddy indeed!! haha I had so much fun though, they always make me belly laugh so was a really funny night!!

Iv got my proper leaving do with all my friends this saturday, its going to be very bitter sweet for me because yes it will be lovely that everyone its getting together but im going to be very sad because I know thats the last I will see of them for 6 months :(

We are going to a Piano Bar and have a booth booked so im going to treat myself to a few cocktails, my favourite cocktail is probably a cosmo but I also really like daquiris and rasberry mojitos. I lived in Italy last year and tried my first ever Margarita (a rasberry one) which I also loved!! I only really like fruity cocktails, nothing creamy...bleugh!! 

Iv got a family leaving lunch too on Sunday so lets hope im not too hungover after Saturday evening so I dont ruin it for myself!! haha 

Organised Chaos

The Bombsite

Im only 2 weeks off my flight date now eeeeeeekk!! Still no itinery or flight details have been emailed to me...hmph, this makes it difficult to start packing properly because I still have no clue what I will need to take!! Plus I need to know my flight details so I can work out how on earth I'll be getting to the airport on the day.

My sisters bedroom has now become my personal dumping ground for all things 'Cruisey'. In a bid to start packing I have started to throw all my summery bits that I have unearthed from last year...I didnt realise how much stuff I have so now Im worrying that I wont fit everything in my case!! I have an allowance of 40 Kilos within 2 cases but I have to bear in mind that my cases have to be stored in my teeny tiny cabin once I arrive so I've opted for a large case and then a smaller one so I can store the little case in the big one.

I am being very good and trying to limit myself as much as possible with things im taking because im sure I will buy things while im away so I dont want to be faced with paying extra charges to get all my worldy belongings back home afterwards!!

Im not going to actualy pack my case until maybe a day or two before I leave, Im a bugger for getting too premature with packing etc because I just get too excited about my holiday that I always want to pack weeks before and then everything gets horrendously creased and I often end up taking it all out and re-packing again a day before...not clever as thats how I usualy end up forgetting something.

One year (unfortuntely for my friend) I forgot my jim jams so she had to play the roulette game of waking up to me in god knows what (if anything) after a night of drinking haha, other items I tend to forget are the small (but immensly important) items such as..beach bag, night time bag, toothpaste(even though I have my toothbrush)...you get the picture.

Lets hope this time I forget nothing seeing as it wont just be a 2 week holiday that I'll be without it.

Love Laura xXx

Run Forest Ruuuuuun!!

In a bid to shed some last minute pounds I have been hitting the gym...I have had such a lazy week this week though and hardly been, today I only did a measley 2 miles on the treadmill and I didnt even run it all. Im going to try and go everyday next week. I just dont have any motivation this week at all. Good thing about this gym is the treadmills have little air vents on them so they blow a lovely cool breeze on your face when your running, but I still manage to come out looking like a little Tomatoe! 

Its officially only 3weeks left today until I fly out to Barbados, still not had my full itinery through yet or my flight details so im just bobbing around at the moment waiting. Hopefully that will come sooner rather than later so I know exactly where I'll be going and what crew facilities my ship has to offer. The important thing is iv found out theres definately a crew bar, I've been told the bar gets a little wild at times which im sure will provide me with endless entertainment allthough im a bit of a granny sometimes so may not be able to keep up!!

When I first got this job it seemed like it was so far away and now its just popped out of no where and I suddenly feel like Its to soon, cant win!! Iv worked away before and I know how much I miss my friends and family so I hate to leave them :( just going to cram in as much time with them as I possibly can from now until I leave and hopefully I can find out how much discount I get off cruises so they can come out and have a cruise at some point so they can visit me!!

Love Laura xXx

I hate Injections :(

LOOK my huge war wounds!! hahaha Above Hep A & Below Tetnis (hence the pathetic frown)

I was up very bright and early this morning so that I could go and get a further 2 injections...Hep A & Tetnis. Lovely. Im a bit of a wuss when It comes to injections, the nurse would never know I act all calm and collected on the surface but in my head I always manage to work myself up just a little and secretly I would like a little hug afterwards haha.

In the grand scale of things they really wernt that bad, but they did hurt more than the Yellow Fever which I found to be completely pain free!! If I were to put them in order of pain then I would say The Tetnis was the most painful (bearing in mind this is my pain threshold which is puny) then Hep A & finally Yellow Fever. The nurse also advised me I may need a Malaria Jab so I need to double check about that.

The nurse had a student in the room with her so thank god I didnt have to have the tetnis in my backside like I feared haha..no one wants to see that before 9am!! Im now sporting 2 'severe' injuries in each arm and the Tetnis Jab has left me with a bit of a dead arm but im a trooper and the day must go on pah haha...next stop, the gym. My day get increasingly more fun.....NAAART.

I just have this horrible image of all these slim girls on my ship hitting the beach and then me..a rather pale distant relative of the hippopotumus trumpeting along. The Christmas Diet was far to good to me and Santa left me with a lovely Christmas Gift...a brand spanking new tyre for my stomach ha so Im trying my hardest to go the gym 5 times a week and hitting the treadmill. I used to run alot and even took part in a 13 mile half marathon for Charity, I need to get back into my running and I find the weight just drops off when your running a few times a week. Im not into diets at all, in fact eating food is one of my most favourite hobbies so I prefer to enjoy myself eat what I like and just exercise to shed any excess pounds. Im not a fan of girls who slim down to the point of looking like little girls...why anybody would want to look like that I dont understand?? Surely thats not attractive to men??

Iv started off at the gym doing 5 miles on the bike and then 3 miles on the treadmill...my running is poor right now so need to build it up!! The bike is a bit of a waste of time for me because I get lazy on it and dont like to turn up the resistance so im probably not burning any calories, im a little cheat. ha. I much prefer classes to the gym itself they are lots of fun and the instructers really push you which I like, it makes me go that little bit harder and that little bit longer. I have a bit of a gammy knee which sometimes goes funny when Iv been running alot..so far so good and its not showed yet so hopefully it will be ok...

Love Laura xXx

Starting to prepare...

So I guess with this being my first ever blog It probably wont be very good to start off with haha plus you guys wont have a clue what Im on about just yet..dont worry though you'll catch up with me im sure :).

After being successfull in my interview and attending 2 traning courses...one in Bristol and a rather entertaining Personal Survival course in Southampton consisting of me and about 10 others trying our hardest to swim in full clothes and a very large lifejacket to get into a life raft while theyve got a wave machine going full pelt..not an easy task!! haha Clearly I need some more muscles if im to survive any kind of abandon ship emergency!!

I am now only waiting on one document to come through so that I am 100% ready to set sail and start living the life....my Seamans Log. It has been something of a nightmare making sure I have everything, who knew there was so much to do before you could go work on a dingy boat ha! Medical certs, injections, visas, training certs, uniforms, ahhhhhhh shoot me now! It better be worth all this hassle!!

On an up note I was given my ship, I'll be joining the huuuuuge P&O Ventura on the 25th February. Starting in Barbados I'll be sailing around a total of 10 destinations in the Gorgeous Carribbean before heading back across to the med to sail all around there!! WAHHHOOOOOOO!! I'll give you a full Itinery soon for my amazing destinations.

Iv never been on a cruise before, in fact I dont think I've even seen one in real life haha so I have no idea what on earth to expect! Spoke to a few guys that were on my training who are already on board their vessels and they all had the same things to say....HARD HARD WORK!! ohh maaan. Seems I'll be working very hard therefore I'll have to make sure I play very hard too :) Best thing about being a shoppee as apposed to any other member of staff is that the shops all close when the ship docks so that means we can always get off the boat and see all these beautiful countries!! I feel so very lucky!!

Anyway still a while to go yet before my adventure really begins but thought id start the updates now on my stresses and mental break downs in the run up to my leaving...

Love Laura xXx