Four Months Onboard

We have been on the Solstice for 4 months as of today!  With that much time spent together comes some amazing experiences and friendships.  This week’s post will try to further introduce you to some of the people I spend my time with.

Hannah Marie

The first day of our cruise was spent in Cannes, France where the Cannes Film Festival is held.  Hannah and I HAD to find the casino where it is held and the red carpet that the stars walk.  We found it!  And I was able to spend a wonderful day with my best mate on board.  Hannah is from London, England.  She has done one other contract on the Solstice and has worked professionally for many years all over England and even China.  I am truly lucky to be getting the opportunity to work with her.

Sanci and Brook

Brook is not in this picture, but I feel like my stories about him should go hand in hand with Sanci. Sanci and Brook are both dancers and best friends. Sanci is from Hungary and Brook is from Washing D.C.  I feel like I have a special bond with Brook because he graduated from Point Park University!  He was a senior when I was a freshman and he graduated with a Dance degree, so I didn’t ever get to know him, but thinking back, I’m pretty sure I do remember seeing him around campus.  I love these two boys.  They have the best chemistry with each other and we always have a good time together.  In the next picture, I went for a picnic in Civitavecchia, Italy with Hannah, Sanci and Andrea (the new contortionist in our cast) and ended up meeting a few others by the water.  We were having our picnic by the water and it was so hot, so suddenly Hannah says, “Let’s jump in the water”.  But we didn’t have our bathing suits! So…we jumped in with our clothes on.  It was so refreshing. 

(Mathieu, Lorie, Jessica, Hannah, Sanci, Louise, Andrea)

Nazar and Matthew

I have a habit of spending a lot of time with people that are older than me.  Nazar and Matthew are two of the older people in my cast, but I tend to hang out with them all the time because they are awesome!  Nazar is from the Ukraine.  He has worked on the Solstice for 3 years, 5 contracts.  He is the most amazing juggler I have ever seen.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1TMRQvNIU)  Matthew is from St. Louis, Missouri.  This is his second contract on the Solstice as Clown 1, he likes to call himself.  Matthew is always up for an adventure and that is just one of the reasons I enjoy his company. We explored Napoli and had an awesome time just enjoying each other’s company.

Nazar, Jessica, Matthew

Dyma and Andrii

On Venice Day 1, I had a picnic in a park with Hannah, Matthew, Nazar, Dyma and Andrii.  I guess I like to hang out with people from the Ukraine because, like Nazar, Dyma and Andrii are also from there.  Dyma is a hand balancer and straps act on the ship.  This is his first contract on the Solstice, just like me.  He is extremely talented and I could never dream of being able to do what he does.  Andrii was the bass guitar player in the Solstice Orchestra and he signed off the ship today.  His contract on the Solstice is over.  But for the past 4 months he has been a wonderful addition to our team.  In Venice, I was able to spend time with Shannon Mosey and her friends again.  It was great!

Clockwise from me: Jessica, Matthew, Hannah, Nazar, Dyma, Andrii

In Dubrovnik, Croatia I jumped off a cliff with a bunch of my cast mates!  There is a place just on the outside of the city walls that you can jump into the ocean.  There are two levels you can jump from.  When I first got up on the cliff, my heart stopped.  I saw other people jump and knew that I could too, but I was scared! I finally worked up enough courage to do it and I jumped from the highest rock!  The free fall was amazing and the water was the perfect temperature.  I ended up jumping 3 times.  It was awesome…a great day spent with great people.

Louise and Jessica

It was odd spending the 4^th of July in Europe on the ship.  There were no fireworks, cook outs, or family, but there was a party!  The Solstice has a crew of 1,200 people and only 28 of them are from America.  I also had the privilege of singing our National Anthem before the evening shows in the theater that night.  It was quite an honor. 

Thomas, Vanessa, Nazar, Brenton, Jessica, David, Dominique

There are so many people on this ship that I would never in a million years get to know all of them, but I feel so honored to have had these people be a part of my life for the last 4 months and the next 3.  I am very lucky to be working with such incredible people.