A Cruise and A Half Down

A cruise and a half down for our Destiny 2 cast!

I am amazed how quickly days go by on the ship. Every moment is filled with either work or rest.

Today, March 2, we are ported in Cozumel. I didn't get off. Didn't sleep great. Then we had a training at 9am. Afterwards I took myself to the adult pool onboard and layed out for a few hours. Now grabbing breakfast/lunch at Marseliene's (the buffet).

Below whenever I say “we” or "us", unless specified, I am talking about mainstage performers, shipwide performers (Cal and I), restaurant performers, face characters (princesses,villians, etc), and masked characters (Mickey, Minnie, etc).

On Sunday, February 22 the Destiny 1 cast performed their final day. The next morning at 8am they moved out of their cabins and we moved in. Then along with the guests, the Destiny 1 cast, disembarked and Destiny 2 took over. We had 3 hours move in, begin unpacking, and rehearse while no guests were onboard. At Noon, our first passengers arrived and we became their entertainment! The only entertainment folks that are on different contracts are the entertainment hosts, Broadway Guest Artists (BGAs), and musicians.

Musicians and BGAs are on a 3 month contract. There are two BGAs in the mainstage shows at a time. The entertainment hosts, the folks who host bingo, trivia, and deck shows, are on their own separate contracts. They don't come to Toronto for rehearsals, and I am not sure how long their contracts are for.

There is so much you are taking in. As of now, it seems that most of us are taking it one cruise itinerary at a time. With more time, we’ll be able to lock in more to other things. As performers, we get our show schedule for each cruise the day before embark day.

Cal and I are having a ball with Zayah and Gamble. We enjoy all of our shows except our “premium show” which is a princess tea party. Parents pay extra for this. It’s fine. It’s just not our favorite. The script is dumb and the restaurant we do it in is not built for it, mainly do to sound.

We enjoy doing our scheduled “strolls” where we just get to go around the ship and improv. Our characters are unique as we we have the least amount of rules compared to all the other characters when it comes to what we can say and do. For example, Rey and Chewie can only be seen in the cargo bay area, or Jack Sparrow can't interact with Black Panther, and Mickey can't be seen with a villain. Not us! We can cross any story, any universe, and play along.

On our first cruise, after being sick (some sort of heavy cold), I nearly lost my voice completely. So my opening cruise was focused on getting through each show. Not particularly fun, but it was what it was. I am doing a little better with each day and am looking forward to doing the shows at 100%. It’s been an odd year health wise for me, but taking it one day at a time.

Saturday, Feb 28, was my first day off the boat since we stepped onboard Feb. 9. I got off with Cal and Angelica to go to Target in Fort Lauderdale. I bought a much needed humidifier, a cooler blanket, soft tissues, and a fan for my room. Hoping these things help with my sleep. I had started to get in a better sleeping rhythm week 2 onboard but my cold disrupted that, so I am trying to get that back!

Today, we are half way through this 5 night cruise, and I am taking it easy vocally where I can, and taking naps between shows to make up for my lack of night time sleep. Feeling a little better with each day.

Our cabins are cute! Here is my room:

We are not allowed to take pictures “backstage” so keep it hush hush.

On Friday, Feb. 27 we had our formal toast late in the evening to celebrate completing our opening cruise. Here are some photos:

I had my first greeter shift last week with the king himself, Black Panther. He is very nice.

All of us, except musicians, entertainment hosts, and BGAs have to greet.

However, since Gamble and Zayah are so guest facing and recognizable we do minimal shifts.

Other things of note:

• Guest Survey: There is a guest survey at the end of each cruise. Guest answers are anonymous but our management does print them off and all departments see them. So if you have an exceptional experience with any crew member and you mention them, it does indeed get back to us and our managers! If you know any fellow Disney cruisers, let them know this!

• Crew Bar: There is a crew bar and patio tucked away on the top level at the aft (back) of the ship. I have been up a few times but have been prioritizing sleep.

• Dining: After we completed cross over our dining privileges opened up to the guest grab n go stations (pizza, burgers, build your own burrito, bbq) and at the buffet.

• Internet: I had about 100 minutes left of internet before Monday but I forgot to toggle it off and it ran out. It’s hard thing to remember to do!

• Disney Look: When walking around the ship in guest areas, we have to be in Disney look. Which basically means, don’t look like a homeless person. After 6pm, we need to switch to pants, no shorts. They are pretty lax with this. But, the rule is there.

• Leadership: All the directors, choreograohers, and music directors left after our opening cruise. So now we have our Managers to report to. I love our manager (Character Performance Manager, aka CPM) named Jonahtan. He is excellent. Thank goodness. Cal said he has worked with bad CPMs before. I can't imagine. They handle everything for us, plus have to deal with all our personailities.

• All the Crew bedrooms have a TV. We have access to crew content (non Disney), as well as guest content (Disney). Crew Content completely changes every month. This month, everyone was excited to see all the Shrek movies. Last mont, I watched a movie called "Nickle Boys". It’s artsy and based on the true story of Nickle Academy. A reform school that abused and killed young black boys in Florida in the 1960s. It was a good watch.

• Cal and I’s schedule: It seems that our busiest days will be sea days. Makes sense since all guests are onboard. Chill days for us are typically Pirate Night and the last day of the cruise. Our CPM could stick us into Greeter shifts on any day but as of now he is giving us a a bit of a break due to all of our running around and the guests recognizing us haha.

• Dressing Rooms: They look like your typical theatre dressing room. There is a character dressing room and a main stage dressing room. Cal and I are in the Main Stage dressing rooms. They are all behind the Walt Disney Theatre. That’s also where you’ll find the costuming, props, and tech departments.

Today is Pirate Day and it’s Monday so my internet renewed for the week, hence why I am able to post.

It’ll take another cruise or two to get into the swing of things but we’re closer to finding a rhythm.

My current view: