Fun in the Sun

Posted on January 17, 2014 by CaseyT

When asking friends about New Caledonia, they all said there wasn’t much to do. I got off the ship in Noumea with low expectations, and ended up having a great day.

Noumea

There was a shuttle taking guests and crew from the ship to a terminal downtown. Inside, there was an information desk, and an array of bus companies vying for attention. My group of 4 all spoke with different companies, and ended up getting a great deal on bus tickets to Lemon Beach.

Beach Rock Cafe

When we got off the bus, our first priority was food. There had been a party the night before, so we wanted greasy food. Right across from the beach, we found just what we needed! The Beach Rock Café had outdoor tables, quirky décor, Wi-Fi, and a whole menu of burgers. Two of my friends ordered a Cadillac burger, which came out in a paper car. It was so cute!

Cadillac Burger

After lunch, we hit the beach. We ran into some members of the ice cast and joined them for a game of Frisbee. As the afternoon wore on, we met up with a few other friends from the ship, including singers, stage staff, and more skaters. It was a fun group!

The water temperature was warm, but I was reluctant to swim after seeing a few jellyfish while we were playing Frisbee. Instead, I attempted to sleep and then chatted with the gang. Despite my best efforts, I once again ended up with a sunburn!

Lemon Beach

The trip home put a bit of a damper on the day. Our bus was supposed to come every 20 minutes, but in the 45 minutes we stood at the bus stop, only one came by and it was too full for us to get on. Worried about missing our all aboard time, we ended up riding a city bus downtown, and then running back to the terminal. We caught the shuttle back to the ship, and made it just in time. It was stressful, but luckily ended well.

We’ll be returning to Noumea later this cruise, but since the port is on a show day, I won’t be getting off. I don’t need stress and sun before a show! I’m glad I made it to Lemon Beach, and hope to go back before the end of the contract.

Pretty Little Picton

Posted on January 15, 2014 by CaseyT

Welcome to Picton!

Picton is a very small, but very beautiful town in New Zealand. I started my afternoon in Picton wandering down the main road. I wove my way in and out of a few shops, including a costume shop, a bookstore, a gift shop, and a jewelry store. I walked back towards the water on a smaller street, and came across an outdoor market. Vendors were selling home made goods, such as cutting boards, jewelry, and most amusingly, hand made underwear. I picked up a fun pair of earrings and continued on my merry way.

Market in Picton

I joined some friends at an ice cream shop where I got a cone of vanilla hokey pokey. In case you don’t know, hokey pokey is a New Zealand specialty consisting of honeycomb chunks. It was delicious! We took our ice cream to a small park nearby and enjoyed the music of a street performer.

Ice cream = dream!

Once I had cleaned myself up a bit, I continued window-shopping. My roommate and I ended our outing with dinner at a café. I had a great quinoa dish with mushrooms and a soy latte. Quinoa is normally a staple in my diet, but I haven’t had any since joining the ship in July! Needless to say, I was very excited when I saw it on the menu. Even more exciting was my latte. I’ve seen some pretty incredible latte art in my time, but never before had I seen a bear. It was almost too cute to drink!

Latte bear

Unfortunately, I won’t be returning to Picton before I sign off at the end of the month. I greatly enjoyed my day there, and am glad I was able to see another lovely part of New Zealand.

View from the park

A Sample of Sydney

Posted on January 13, 2014 by CaseyT

Downtown Sydney

Since the Australian season began, we have started and ended each cruise in Sydney. I’ve already spent about 6 days in the city, and have loved every one of them! Here are some of my favorite places in Sydney thus far.

At the port in Sydney. Such a great location!

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Climbing the bridge

One sunny day I joined a group of dancers, singers, and skaters to climb the bridge. Before I got to Sydney, I thought the bridge climb would be just like walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. I was horribly wrong! In Sydney, you actually are able to climb a series of ladders to the top of the arch. We were connected to rails with a carabineer and walked up stairs to reach the center of the arch. We walked across the top, over 8 lanes of traffic, and went down the other side. From the bridge, the views are stunning! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and pointed out attractions all over the city.

Sydney Opera House

Outside the Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is the landmark of the city. We’ve been lucky enough to port across the harbor from the house, so I’ve seen it in rain and shine, from close up and far away. I’ve not yet taken a tour of the entire opera house, but I have walked through the lobby and spent much more than I should have at the gift shop.

Botanic Gardens

In the Gardens

The Opera House is on the tip of a small peninsula. If you continue up the peninsula, you will find yourself in the botanic gardens. There are beautiful flowers and trees, excellent views of the city, and bizarre birds called ibises roaming around. It’s a lovely place for a stroll or a picnic.

View from the gardens

Hyde Park

Lovely trees in the park

My first afternoon in Sydney, I had a little picnic in the park. It’s in the center of the city, and is easily accessible from the port. Most days, I’ll stroll through the park before returning to the ship. It’s beautiful!

View from the park

Bondi Beach

Bondi is one of two famous beaches in Sydney. It’s known for great surfing and great people watching. I made the journey via bus to the beach last time we were in Sydney. The weather was gorgeous—sunny and about 75 degrees. The beach was crowded but not overwhelmingly so. We found a nice place to set up camp just down the hill from an outdoor gym, meaning when the macho men needed to cool off in the ocean, we were directly in their path. What a lucky coincidence! The water was too cold for me to swim in, but I enjoyed wading in it. When we had had enough sun, we walked up the street and found a fish and chips joint. It just happened to be the #1 fish and chips spot for about 8 years. Yum! I took my fried calamari and fries to go, and we had a picnic in the grass. The outing ended with a bit of souvenir shopping and a scenic bus ride back to the port. Although I ended up with a terrible sunburn, the day was perfect!

City Hall

I’m looking forward to my remaining stops in Sydney. I can’t wait to see what else this amazing city has to offer!

Sounds Like Hallelujah

Posted on December 11, 2013 by CaseyT

Last week, we sailed through Milford Sounds in New Zealand. It was stunningly beautiful! Here are some of my photos for you to enjoy. Play the youtube clip for some mood music!

Waterfall

View from the back of the ship

So lovely

Can you see the ice?

Enjoying the view

Intro to New Zealand

Posted on December 9, 2013 by CaseyT

Beautiful view in Wellington

The first cruise with New Zealand ports was very busy for my cast! We were installing Mystery Theater, re-blocking shows due to injuries, and still doing our regularly scheduled performances and parades. As a result, I chose to save my energy and take it easy when I was on land. Even though I haven’t done many touristy activities, I’ve loved my time in New Zealand so far!

Walking in Wellington

I’ve now stopped twice in Wellington. The port is a just a short walk from downtown, so it’s very easy to get out and explore the beautiful city. The color of the ocean is shockingly blue, and the weather has been sunny and warm, just how I like it! I’ve found great shops, delicious food, and plenty of lovely views.

Breakfast of champions. Eggs benedict

One of the other New Zealand ports is in a small town called Tarangua. There is one main road that leads to the beach and has a variety of restaurants and shops. I’ve spent my time there sitting on a patio and napping on the beach. The living has been easy! I hope to have the energy to climb a mountain next time we are in Tarangua. I’ve heard the views from the top will be stunning.

The beach in Tarangua

Auckland has been another great port for shopping. I splurged on a bit of retail therapy our first day in Auckland. The last time we were there, and group of friends and I went to see “Catching Fire”, the new Hunger Games movie. It was surprisingly exciting to go to the movies. I felt so “normal”! We ended the day with burritos and margaritas at a restaurant on the water. It was a fun, simple day. The next time we stop there, I plan to go wine tasting on Waihiki Island!

Margaritas in Auckland

I’m looking forward to more excitement in the coming weeks in New Zealand. Stay tuned!

I Don’t Care… I Love It!

Posted on November 29, 2013 by CaseyT

Here are a few highlights from the past few months on board!

Emerald City Party

A Wizard of Oz and/or green themed birthday party for a fellow dancer.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Dining Room

Cast dinner in the Dining Room… a lovely treat organized by the Cruise Director.

Looking sharp

Back to School Party

All crew party hosted by Facilities. Complete with beer pong and dance contests!

Top of the class

Wine Night

Free wine and cheese. Need I say more?

Oh, you fancy, huh

Shops

Modeling thousands of dollars worth of jewels? Fine by me!

Diamonds are a girl’s best friends!

Cocktail Class

Learn to make cocktails and drink them for free. Yes!

Appletini

Cheers, darling!

China Party

Celebrating Chinese National Day. With so many Chinese crewmembers, this was quite the party!

Such fun

Jungle Party

Another cast birthday celebration. Welcome to the Jungle!

I am woman, hear me roar

Bingo

Crew bingo night. Competition is fierce!

Go Team Red

Halloween

Cruise Division hosted an all crew party. Costume contest, dancing, and free drinks. It was frighteningly fun!

The production cast. Awesome costumes!

I’m looking forward to more fun in the next couple months!

Forget Lions and Tigers… I’ve got Koalas and Kangaroos!

Posted on November 26, 2013 by CaseyT

Cute koala!

In Brisbane, I joined a crew tour to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I signed up for the tour just to hold a koala, but ended up doing so much more!

Lone Pine

My first stop at the sanctuary was a large field full of kangaroos and wallabies. I fed some of the kangaroos, and was able to pet a wallaby. I loved seeing the kangaroos hop around, though they usually walked on all fours. They have very short arms, so they looked rather awkward walking!

Feeding a kangaroo

Close up

Next, I watched a short presentation about Tasmanian devils. The small animals are kind of cute, but they are disgusting little things! I was also able to see platypuses, wombats, and dingoes.

It’s a wallabee!

The sanctuary had koalas of all ages. There was a Retirement Home, Kindergarten, and a Bachelor Pad. My favorite place was the Koala Cuddling area. I was able to hold a sweet little guy and pose for a few photos. Although his fur was soft, his rear end was hard and callused. He was eating a eucalyptus leaf, and he smelled like the plant. Considering I have a eucalyptus allergy, I was very glad I loaded up on allergy meds!

I cuddled a koala!

I caught the end of a show about sheep shearing, and got to play with a sheep dog named Rex. While walking back to the entrance, I came across a little pony and a bird feeding area. Although the birds were beautiful, I hated having so many of them flying around my head. When a bit of droppings landed on my shoe, I ran out of there!

Rex, the sheep dog

I dig a pony

We were supposed to stop downtown to shop, but ran out of time. Although I didn’t get to see the city, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Brisbane! Up next, New Zealand!

Beautiful birds

Crazy Crocodiles

Posted on November 23, 2013 by CaseyT

After months in Asia, we have now moved on to Australia season! Our first port was in Darwin on Halloween. A few friends decided to take it easy at a nice public pool near the ship, since we were all a bit sleep deprived after the Halloween party the night before. I opted to go into town and visit Crocosaurus Cove, a zoo of sorts, full of crocodiles!

Giant croc!

There were crocs of all ages and sizes. I was able to poke my head up through a glass dome and be face to face with some babies. I walked under a massive crocodile swimming in a tank, but chose not to go in the Cage of Death, a glass tank that would put me in the water with him.

Crocodiles in Darwin

One of the most exciting parts of the day was feeding some of the young crocodiles. I dangled a fishing pole with ox heart over the glass wall of a small platform and waited, momentarily, for the crocodiles to jump up and get it. I shrieked quite a bit, but in retrospect, it was pretty cool.

Feeding the little ones

The other terrifying but awesome experience was holding a baby crocodile named Fuzzy. One of the employees guided me through a photo shoot with him. I put him on my shoulder, draped him over my head, and even gave him a little kiss. Even though his mouth was held shut with a rubber band, I was uncomfortable with his face so close to mine!

Me and Fuzzy

We ended the day with lunch at a pub and a bit of shopping, then went back on board to catch up on sleep!

Dumbo and Ping Pong Show

Posted on November 21, 2013 by CaseyT

For our overnight in Thailand, the ship ported near a city called Pattaya, about 2 hours from Bangkok.

Pattaya Elephant Village

I joined a few of the girls from my cast on a guest tour to Pattaya Elephant Village. My roommate and I rode a feisty young elephant named Mina through the rain. Our elephant tamer, Lun, entertained us with fun facts about Mina’s sister, working at the village, and life in Pattaya. After our ride, we watched the elephants perform tricks in a show, and were able to feed them bananas. One of the elephants was able to count! A member of the audience would tell him how many bananas to eat out of the 5 set in front of him. 3 times in a row, he nailed it!

Mina and Lun

The tour ended with a short lecture in a silk factory. We learned about silkworms, and were able to watch a woman working on a beautiful pink piece of silk. The patience required was incredible. She could produce just one meter of silk in two weeks, but the resulting product was perfect.

Silk factory

The tour bus took us back to the ship, where we were able to rinse off, regroup, and then hopped in cabs to go to downtown Pattaya. Even on a Monday night, the nightlife was crazy! We saw an incredibly disturbing show at a bar, tried Thai whiskey (40 proof), and then went searching for pad Thai. We found a tacky little restaurant on the water that had surprisingly tasty food!

Dinner on Walking Street

When we went back out on Walking Street, we found some more friends sitting outside at a bar. There was a band playing, so we stopped to join them. The male singer was fantastic, but the girl’s version of “Someone Like You” left much to be desired.

Always love live music!

Our new big group migrated to a club down the street. We had fun dancing, chatting, and drinking some slushy shots. A few other staff members, officers included, were at the same club. It was great to see them off the ship, having fun!

Dancing the night away

Walking Street

The taxi ride home was quite an experience. The cab was a remodeled truck with benches along the sides of the truck bed, and nothing but a railing across the back. 5 of us sat on the benches, gripping handrails in the center for dear life. We made it safely back to the ship in half the time it took to get to Pattaya. My hair was so horribly windblown; I was surprised ship security didn’t laugh.

In the “cab”

All in all, Thailand was terrific!

Good Morning, Vietnam!

Posted on November 19, 2013 by CaseyT

View from the Grand Hotel, Saigon

Since we were only stopping in Vietnam once, I decided to join the crew tour. I wanted to ensure that I would see as much as possible in our one day in Saigon. The tour started with a rather terrifying bus ride. The roads are filled with scooters, some holding up to 3 people! Lanes don’t seem to exist, so the scooters, cars, and buses all fight for space.

The prettiest rest stop I’ve ever seen!

Our first stop was the Reunification Hall. We took a tour inside, hearing interesting facts from our tour guide about the palace, the Vietnam War, and Vietnam in general. The hall, formerly known as the Independence Palace, is a particularly important landmark, because on April 30, 1975 a tank crashed through the front gate and marked the end of the Vietnam War.

Reunification Palace

View from inside the palace

By the time we got to lunch, it was nearly 4:00pm. We were starving! Luckily, there was a wonderful meal in store for us. We ate at the top floor of The Grand Hotel. We had seafood soup, fried vegetables, steamed fish, lychee salad, rice, and best of all, coconut beef. The beef came out inside coconut shells, and after the waiters set down the trays, they lit them on fire. It was such a spectacle! Dessert consisted of some delicious fresh fruit, and some of the best coffee I’ve had in months. If you have a chance to drink Vietnamese coffee, do it!

Coconut beef

The next stop was City Hall. It was beautiful, but since it was already getting dark, it was a bit anticlimactic. The next two stops were supposed to be photo stops, so some friends and I opted to take off and explore on our own for a bit, instead of setting ourselves up for disappointment when our photos didn’t turn out well in the dark.

City Hall

Scooter parking

We started at a Bier Garden, accidentally walked into a brothel, and then ended our evening on a deck bar. Despite rainy weather, the deck was great. We had a lot of laughs, and then trudged through the rain to meet up with the tour bus. Some friends stayed in the city overnight, but I returned to the ship for a birthday party. It was an awesome night, and a great end to a fun, adventure filled day!

Bier Garden… without beer

waltzing on water

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