Cruise, day 2

Yesterday the Capt made a very sobering announcement over the crew-area intercom. Apparently there are crew members that are still getting sick from this “Norovirus” and so more extreme measures will be taken, namely the closing down of the crew bar, crew gym and crew internet. Additionally crew members are not to go into passenger areas unless they are carrying out of their duties. These rules don’t really affect me directly as I am technically a guest and am permitted to use the passenger gym, restaurants and bars. But it is a bit scary, and I’ve taken to disinfecting my hands quite often.

Here are the facts about the Norovirus: It is an extremely common virus, which causes gastroenteritis causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms usually last between 1 and 3 days and generally resolve without treatment or long-term consequences. It is also highly contagious, which is the main issue on board a ship where everyone, especially the crew and staff are living in close quarters.

Because they have closed the crew bar the beverage quartermaster is selling bottles of alcohol directly to the crew members at cost in a sale called “cambooza.” I haven’t figured out the etymology of this word yet, but will report back to you if I do. I’m also going to see if I am allowed to participate in this. I think I am.

On a similar note, I haven’t quite figured out how to get bottled water in my cabin, other than to buy it at passenger prices at the bar. So this morning I woke up at 5:30am extremely thirsty. In my fridge are two Bud Light bottles left for me by my predecessor. Of course they were not twist offs, so I spent the better part of 5 minutes trying to use my apartment key to pry off the top whilst not injuring my hands. Finally after spending way too much time trying to quench my thirst, I fell back asleep. I must say I am really enjoying falling asleep on the boat. The sea has been rather choppy and the back and forth motion of the boat just rocks me to sleep. I am on Deck 7 which is about 3 decks above the surface of the water so the movement is rather gentle. The higher in the ship you are, the more exaggerated the movement is. I found myself not wanting to wake up this morning, mostly due to the hypnotic rocking motion. But when I did, I used the rest of the Bud Light to take my morning vitamins.

I worked the piano lounge for the first time last night. Upon arriving, I couldn’t get the sound to work, so the bartender tracked down one of the sound techs who explained to me how to switch over from the canned music to my system—something he should have explained when we did the sound check on Sunday. As people began to fill up the lounge, I used a lot of the skills I’ve learned with dueling pianos to get them to participate, but it was a struggle. They seemed to want to listen more than anything, but I did manage to get them singing. The cruise director was pleased with my performance which is important. I found it exhausting, and to top it off, I realized I had left my room key in my room. So the night crew supervisor was tracked down for me at 1 am so I could get back home.