Pacific Crossing

Well, it's been about 10 days since I've blogged and since I've been off the ship. We had one more Russian port before our Pacific crossing but staff and crew weren't allowed to leave. Then, our little MS Volendam sailed into the Bering Sea. Now, for those of you who have seen the show "The Deadliest Catch," it's filmed in the Bering Sea. There's a reason why it's called the deadliest catch. There's a reason most cruise ships don't go through the Bering Sea. There's a reason why all of the sea sick pills were emptied out within a day...our 3 days through the Bering Sea were the rockiest any of us had ever felt, including staff members who have lived on ships for years.  I would be lying if I said it was anything but miserable. I knew we were never in any real danger, but dishes were falling off shelves, food was sliding off the Lido Buffet, all of our costumes fell off the racks, all daytime activities were cancelled and we almost cancelled our shows. Instead, what we did was a radio style show so we sat in chairs and sang with no choreography or movement. It was impossible to stand still or walk in a straight line for about 3 days straight. In fact, in our radio version of "Dinner Belles," one of our cast member's chairs started to slide across the stage with her in it!! Now looking back it's almost laughable but I never want to experience that again. The Bering Sea is obviously known for rocky waters and we were chasing a storm. We definitely won't hit any waters like that again with our upcoming itinerary.

Truthfully, the Pacific crossing is kind-of a blur because it's nearly impossible to sleep with the ocean forcing your tossing and turning. So, when we got through the thick of it, I slept as often as I could for about 3 days. I have nothing else really to report on. The storm was all consuming.

Now we are on our first 7 day cruise to Alaska! We went to Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska but again we weren't able to leave the ship because they were both tender ports. The views from the ship were breathtaking though and since we'll be in Alaska all summer, I didn't mind not being able to get off.  Even though we'll be busier with shows more often, I'm very excited to be on a regular schedule and routine. Since we will visit the same 4 ports for three months, there isn't as much pressure to see everything in one day. My top priorities are whale watching, hiking and if at all possible, taking an Alaskan helicopter ride!  

Yesterday I was in the gym on the top deck of the ship - where there are floor to ceiling windows with a crystal clear view of the bow and the ocean - and about 100 dolphins started jumping right in front of me!!!!  I squealed out loud as I watched dolphins surround the ship, playing and jumping as far as the eye could see.  For everyone who knows that I used to send my 4th grade allowance to Greenpeace to help save the dolphins, and that I used to want to be a marine biologist, you can imagine how excited I was admiring these beautiful creatures.

Tomorrow we'll be in Juneau, Alaska with free Internet. We can finally upload a months worth of pictures!!! Love you,

J & J