Alison's Adventures!

2007-06-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Fate!?

For those of you who know I spent near to five years on and off living in Egypt.

The next little village on from where I am living now is called Camels! Always makes me chuckle!

The other coincidence which I didn't even realise until I had bourght the car is that I have purchased a diving number plate! Ata - pressure at sea level is called 1 atmosphere (ata) of pressure!!

2007-06-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Space/Alien Fancy Dress Evening - St Mawes

Me

Simon

It might be a small community here but they certainley know how to party!

2007-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

On the Beach with Tia

2007-06-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Victory Inn - St Mawes

This is where I have been pulling pints for the last few months....a real quaint old English pub.

St. Mawes, on the Roseland Peninsula is a pretty harbourside village that looks out over the River Fal towards the busy maritime town of Falmouth. The dramatic Cornish coastline around St. Mawes was used as the setting for the popular television series Poldark.
This is very much a sea faring community, with boats and yachts continually setting anchor in the calm waters just beyond the main harbour. St. Mawes' sheltered location creates a a safe anchorage with easy access to the coast, the Fal and the Carricks Roads - (a large waterway created after the Ice age from an ancient valley which flooded as the melt waters caused the sea level to rise dramatically -creating an immense natural harbour, the world's third largest, which is navigable from Falmouth to Truro).

2007-06-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Carne Beach - The Roseland - South West Cornwall

This is the beach which is five minutes from my back door - I love walking all over the costal paths and being so near to the ocean......it is just a bit chilly to get in!

2007-02-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

HOME SWEET HOME!

Back to England and the lovely British Winter.....it is actually very refreshing after all that sunshine so much so that as soon as I saw the snow I put on my welly boots and went out for a walk in it. Wrapped up warm from head to toe! This is the weather to get back home and sit infront of the roaring fire with a nice bottle of red wine!

2007-01-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

New Year Under the Stars in the middle of the Ocean

As the bells chimed in the New Year we were out on open decks for the celebrations.

2007-01-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wishing you all a very Happy & Healthy 2007.......hope to catch up with all my UK friends very soon xxxxx

2007-01-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

Homeward Bound

After 5 months & 2 weeks onboard I have two weeks left to go before I get to go home.

Hoorah!!

I have saved so much money that I have purchased a private yacht and my crew of six hunky men are ready to help me sail back to the British Isles just in time for some lovely British Winter weather!

I will be sailing in on 15th January, see you then x

2007-01-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas Carols in the Atrium & the Tour Office Team

2007-01-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

Xmas On Board

This was our departments offical photo......I missed it as I was underwater!

2006-11-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Halloween!!

The whole crew got dressed up and celebrated Halloween with a disco.

It turned into a very messy evening, copious amounts of alcohol and general mis-behaviour!

I was three hours late for work the next day.... I slept through my alarm and the office never called me as they thought I had gone diving. Supposed to start at 6am...arrived to the office at 9.

Some bright spark organised full crew drills at 10am and during lifeboat evacuation I had to be excused to go and vomit! My god I have not been that ill since college days! Never again....I am now on the wagon and if I see another pitchfork or horns again it will be too soon!

2006-10-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Bored of Blonde!!

Decided to go for a bit of a change and live life as a brunette for a while!

2006-10-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

TOM AND ALBERTO

Congratulations Tom and Alberto on your Open Water Certification......I had the best week.....thanks for the great company and great fun. You are very special people.........

Alberto originally from Cuba is a hairdresser to the rich and famous!!!.........he got out his scissors and his curling tongues and made me look like a lady for the evening!!! A rare occurance!

2006-10-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

CREW DIVE COZUMEL!

Last week we organised a crew dive out to the Chankanaab National Marine Park in Cozumel.

I did wonder when I saw the boat arrive whether we were infact actually going to make it out there and not create a new wreck dive but we did.

We dived Palancar reef which is one of the famous ones.........it was amazing to finally do a deepish dive after weeks of sitting at 8 metres with students.

The hurricane has taken it's toll and the reef above 40ft is covered in sand but never the less still beautiful.

2006-10-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

STINGRAY CITY - GRAND CAYMAN

I got sent on this tour to do a risk assement for the company....I am not a fan of touching the marine life but duty calls.

I managed five minutes in the water with these enormous stingrays sliding, sliming and sucking on my legs and I had to get out and observe the rest of the tour from the boat. The guides thought it was hilarious and could not believe I was a Dive Instructor!

These photos were captured in a very quick moment!

2006-10-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

Yeah Mon!

A few drinks in Jimmy Buffet's Margararitaville, Ocho Rios - Jamaica.

2006-10-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Dolphin Cove - Jamaica

2006-09-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Lunch with Kingsley in Grand Cayman....

Ian showed me how to tie the lines on the Thistlegorm many years ago when we were working together in Sharm, Egypt.

Since his Ozzie adventures he is now working in Grand Cayman and I met him for a rather liquid lunch and wobbled back to work a few hours later!!

2006-09-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Tour Dispatch - Grand Cayman

Up before the sun taking the 6:30am shore side tender over to the pier in Grand Cayman to start doing crowd contol with 2,000 passengers.............

Not the best part of my job but thankfully we only have 2 more Western runs and we will be switching to Eastern Carribean only from 1st Novemer through till June....Horrah!!

2006-09-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Views of St. Thomas.....

Took a trip up to Paradise Point for the stunning views and the home of the famous Bushwakers drink, even though it was only 9:20am set me up for the day!!

The Caribbean Princess is the one on the right.

2006-09-05T10:35:00.001-07:00

Dolphin Cove - Jamaica

I have always thought as my myslef as a bit of an adventure seeker, jumping out of aeroplanes, diving with sharks but I never thought I would ever be able to have a snake wrapped around my neck......as you can see by the picture I wasn't exactley sure of the situation but I did it anyway followed by having an iguana sit on my back!!

Went to Dolphin Cove in Jamica, swam with the dolphins and then took a walk around the nature trail.

Got offered every drug under the sun on the way back to the ship by lots of big Bob Marley looking scary men! Wish I still had the snake to frighten them off!

2006-09-05T10:23:00.001-07:00

Drinks with the Captain

Captain Guessepe Romano........luckily for me he is a much better driver than the last one who tilted the ship on it's side!

2006-08-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

Helmet Diving - Cozumel Mexico

The ultimate in chick diving.....keeping your hair dry and your make up on!

2006-08-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

My first Open Water Students

Congratualtions to Dan, Lynn, Danny, Steve and Keith.

Thanks for a great week, was lots of fun.

2006-08-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

Caribbean Princess

This is the grand daddy of the Princess fleet holding a mere 3,500 passengers! 1,200 ships company.

I joined on 15th July for a six month contract.......itinerary is

Week One.......Bahamas, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel
Week Two.......St Thomas, St Maarteen and Bahamas.

It is the same design and lay out as the last ship just an extra deck so quite easy to find my way around.

2006-05-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Niagra Falls - Canada

The photo looks a bit out of focus but it is actually the mist created by the falls. They were awesome!
Chasing rainbows at Niagra Falls! Ever hopeful to find the pot of gold!

2006-05-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

Old Classic Cars - Havana, Cuba.

All the Cuban cars are pre 1959 American cars............

Looks very strange to see such old fashioned valuable cars in a 50 year behind the times country.

2006-05-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Cuba - local mode of transports!!

Horse and carriage - very cultural and tried this method for a city tour around havana.

Or the Coco Taxi..............one of the most funny three wheeler moode of transports I have ever seen in my life......eat your heart out Del Boy!!

These are three wheeler taxi's which are driven only by women who wear a crash helmet!! A little disconcerting!

2006-05-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Laundry day at the local fire station! - Havana, Cuba

Hope they didn't get a call out before the washing dried!!

2006-05-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Fresh Juice deliveries to the locals

This is in one of the backstreets, locals buying fresh pineapple juice.

2006-05-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Capital Building - Havana.

2006-05-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

Appreciating the Cuban Music in Havana, the Capital City

Havana the Capital City was an amazing city, full of culture, great music, great coffee, great rum and big fat cigars!

2006-05-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Famous "La Bodeguita Del Medio" - Cuba

Very near the Cathedral Square, half way down Empedrado Street, right there where it has been standing for fifty years: La Bodeguita del Medio.
What started as a grocery store in 1942 under the name of La Casa Martinez, became a restaurant after World War II, turning into a favorite meeting place for poets, newspapermen, intellectuals and bohemians who were interested in having a good time and trying to "fix the world" while drinking "mojitos" and eating appetizers, rather than in the menu, which was quite scanty by then. But Martinez's ability for business and the satisfaction of gathering his friends into a big family, made him open a special typical cuban dishes area in the back of the store. Thus, the world-famous Bodeguita del Medio came into existence. Politicians, MPs, art celebrities, intellectuals, sportsmen and gourmets have all enjoyed our "sleepy black beans", roast pork, fried green bananas, jerked beef and many more traditional Cuban dishes which are as Nicolas Guillen (our national poet) once put it, "overflowing with surges of aged rum", and of course dressed with the most genuine inspiration of "soneros" and troubadours (poet-musicians).

2006-05-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

Downtown Toronto

Defining the Toronto skyline, the CN Tower is Canada's most recognizable and celebrated icon. At a height of 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches), it is Canada’s National Tower, the World's Tallest Building, an important telecommunications hub, and the centre of tourism in Toronto

2006-05-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Dive Dominatrix turned Biker Chick!!

Met up in Canada with my bestest diving buddy Ernie who took me for a spin on his Harley Davidson......felt like a proper biker chick as we went racing through the rush hour traffic in Toronto.

2006-04-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Dahab, Egygt - Bombings - Monday 23rd April 2006

After living through the frightening Sharm bombings in July 2005 my heart goes out to all those affected by the recent bombs in Dahab. I was a regular visitor to Dahab during my time in Egypt. Taking groups of divers up there on a weekly basis when I was working for Emperor Divers to dive the famous Blue Hole and the Canyon. Dahab in arabic means gold and thats what type of a place it was.......somewhere as precious as gold.

23 innocent people died and over 100 were injured.

Below is a picture of myself and a great friend of mine Mel, sat in the very spot where the first bomb went off. Alcopones restaurant in Dahab. I knew all the staff in there and the Manager always stopped me for a chat when I was passing. I don't know if they were killed but I suspect they probably have been and it breaks my heart to think of this tragic waste of life.

Another thought that stays echted on my mind is that it really doesn't matter where you are in this world anymore......no where is safe from terroism. So live life to the full, live your dreams and don't let these terrible people stop you from living your life as you wish.

2006-04-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

NEW WAVES SCUBA AND SNORKELING CLUB

My heartfelt thanks to all my students who emailed Princess head office about the possible exclusion of the New Waves programme from the ships. I am happy to say that New Waves is back up and running.

Ernie is going to be Lead Diver on the brand new Crown Ship as of June 10th...............as for me not sure of my plans yet but will keep you posted............definately underwater somewhere in the world!!

2006-04-27T03:17:00.000-07:00

HOME SWEET HOME

This is me and my Chocolate Labrador, Rolo out walking nearby home in Staffordshire, England.

After two weeks at home lots of sleep, time with family and friends and batteries fully recharged I am now ready for a new adventure! Can't sit still for long!!

Flying out to Toronto in Canada on Tuesday 2nd May for 6 weeks so will keep you updated on my adventures and travels.

2006-04-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

Carpei Diem !

My last sunset in the Carribean, before I disembarked the Grand Princess for my flight back to the UK.

It has been an amazing journey.......I have had the best time, lots of great memories and many, many new found friends.

"AT EVERY STAGE OF MY LIFE FRIENDSHIP HAS BEEN THE MAIN SOURCE OF MY QUITE OUTRAGEOUSLY ENJOYABLE EXISTENCE." Sir Geoffery Keynes

2006-04-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ernie - Lead Diver.....aka Papa Whale!!

This is one of my favourite photos.......our first dive together. Hopefully the first of many. It has been an amazing contract....we made a great team together and I loved (nearly!) every minute of it!!

You have been like a father, a brother, a boss and a best friend all rolled into one. I know I am a dizzy blonde and a bit of a scatter brain, some days driving you mad with my blonde moments!! SORRY!!! but I know you love me really even when you are telling me off! He He!!

Thanks for an amazing five months, will see you very soon in Canada for a road trip on the Harley! Got my leather pants and biker jacket at the ready!

Love you to bits xx

2006-04-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

What a team!

Myself, Joel, Luke and Ernie. The Shore Excursions team.

Never before has work been so much fun.......love you all to bits.

2006-04-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

"A friend may move away - so far that you may never meet again. And yet they are part of you forever".

Luke.............you have been an absolutely amazing friend to me over the last five months. Making every day at work such fun, brightening up every where you go with your happy, bubbly personality. No night in the crew bar is ever quiet when you arrive....the life and soul of the party....JD and a splash of coke!

Next time I am feeling stressed as I have irate passengers screaming at me, anxious or talking too fast as I am feeling nervous I will remember what you always said to me. "What's the rush!" My new motto from now on!

Have an awesome time in South Africa with Marisa and I hope one day our paths or one of the seven seas cross again.

Thanks for everything, your awesome xx

(Guys and Gals......can you name the Seven Seas of the world??? We had this question at the tour desk, a passenger doing a scavenger hunt......... Luke was the only one who could name the Seventh Sea!! Email me if you need the answer!

Doh....another blonde moment......I actually meant the five oceans of the world! Luke was the only one who could name the fifth ocean)

2006-04-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last Dive

My last day in Cozumel......my last dive in the Carribean for a while. I took Joel, one of the Shore Ex team for a Discover Scuba Dive......the programme for beginers. Joel, all the way from South Africa only went snorkelling for the first time last week and ended his time in the Carribean with a scuba dive. He was a natural. I love this shot with the crystal clear Mexican waters and the Grand Princess in the background.

Joel......thanks for a great time, only wish you had joined Shore Ex earlier.....the four of us made a great front desk team......next time I meet you I expect you to be a fully fledged Open Water Diver!

2006-04-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

Formal Night

Our last team shot all together in our evening attire!!

2006-04-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

Hat Party!

The Shore Ex boys who look after me like they are all my brothers!

Yeah har.........do you think I will fit into down town Texas as one of the locals??!!

2006-04-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Luke!

Myself, Joel, Patrick, Luke and Ernie celebrated Luke's birthday by stuffing ourselfs with a 14 course Italian meal washed down with some fine wine.........followed by a quick change and off to the crew bar for a hat party.....pictures to follow!!

2006-03-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

HOMEWARD BOUND!

Well my first contract is nearly finished and I have had a blast.......will be flying home to Manchester on 16th April.

I plan to spend the first week catching up on 5 months of sleep and detoxing!

Then will be ready to catch up with all my friends and family........looking forward to seeing you all xx

2006-03-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

MEDICS PARTY!!!!

Nurse Alison!!!

A great night out organised by the medical department. Lots of games involving an alcohol drip.......sticking medical termonology stickers on the parts of your patients body!! and being fed vodka jelly through a syringe!!

2006-03-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

TIME TO DIET!!!!!!!!

Since I joined the Grand Princess I have eaten everything in site, drank the bar dry and partied my ass off!!! Only last week did I discover the midnight buffett on Island night with the chocolate dipped strawberries and deep fried bannanas!! Yum Yum

I wonder why the trousers that were falling off me when I first joined are now impossible to do up and why the weighing scales have increased by 8 kilos since December!!! Must be something to do with weighing yourself on moving water!!

So action stations needed........four weeks left to go and hope to lose at least a few kilos before coming home. So salad and fruit from now on and lots of trips to the gym......no more taking the elevator and no more chocolate dipped strawberries :-(((

Why was I not blessed with a 100mph metabolism!!

2006-03-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

Happy St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day was celebrated on board.......................the galley did a display in the attrium......chicken's dressed up as you have never seen them before (see photo above) and of course Guiness in plentiful supply!!

2006-03-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

ABANDON SHIP!!!!

At 4:58am on Wednesday morning I was fast asleep in bed and got suddenley woken by the crew alert going off! This is the alarm which signals that there is a major incident happening on the ship and all the crew have to go to their muster stations ready to muster passengers incase evacuation into lifeboats is needed. I woke thinking what an earth could possibly be going on......shot out of bed (probably the fastest I have got out of bed on my whole contract) and went in to action stations! Thinking back to my training......grab warm clothes, medication and lifejacket which I did and dashed out my cabin complete in Spongebob squarepants pj's!!!! Great Look!! Luckily it was a false alarm and we were all back in bed by 5!

2006-03-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

Diver Down

We have an art gallery here on board and this painting by Michael Goddard jumped out at me. My first piece of art has now arrived home.......not sure when or where I will have my own wall to ever hang it on but it is at home ready!!

I have drank a lot of martini's on board, even learnt how to shake them and the olive with the dive flag was just so apt.................something I can look at for years to come to remind me of my time onboard the Grand Princess.

2006-03-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

Bon Voyage to the Don Walker Quartet - The Commodore of Lounge Bands!!

Al, Bill, Don and Real.........you meet some amazing people along life's way and you are four of the best. Enjoyed your music (you must remember this.....a list is just a list!!!!) your company, the starbucks, the sands, the martini's, the bad jokes (just kidding Al!). Congratulations on your Diving certifications Al and Don........will miss you all, the place is not going to be the same without you - Love from the Mermaid xxx

2006-03-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Belize Diving

Don, Tara, Myself and Al........out on a pleasure dive.

A Caribbean sea fan

Belize Coral

2006-03-11T09:18:00.001-08:00

Belize

The local nectar!

A local law......one of course which must be abided by!!

2006-03-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Belize - 7th March

Just thought this was a gorgeous photo........two local boys on the way home from school eating a coconut!!

2006-03-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

Belize City

A day out in Belize City.........walked around the city......went for luch in one of the backstreets and bourght some fresh papaya from this lovely man on the sidewalk!

2006-03-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

OPEN WATER DIVERS

Terry, Kathy, Richard, Bob and Don...............CONGRATULATIONS on your certification.

These guys braved the elements and survived the toughest conditions I have ever taught a course in to get their certifications. Surf, current, surge....you name it they experienced it and they all came through champion......I was so proud of them all.

The nicest thing about my job as a diving instructor is meeting such nice people and I had a great week with you all. Keep in touch guys and maybe meet you underwater some where else in the world sometime.

2006-03-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

THE BLUE HOLE!!!

2006-03-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

THE BLUE HOLE - BELIZE!!!

Approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Belize City, the almost perfectly circular Blue Hole is more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) across and some 400 feet (123 meters) deep. The hole is the opening to what was a dry cave system during the Ice Age. When the ice melted and the sea level rose, the caves were flooded, creating what is now a magnet for intrepid divers. Today the Blue Hole is famed for its sponges, barracuda, corals, angelfish—and a school of sharks often seen patrolling the hole’s edge.

An AMAZING dive, one I will never forget.......descending down the inside of the Blue Hole to 50 metres.......NARCOSIS oh yeah!!!

2006-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

ATV, Cavern Explorer and Beach Trip

Another staff outing in Playa Del carmen.

An ATV treck around some rather rocky Mexican outback.................some cavern exploration..................some time to swim and relax on the beach and then lunch in an underground cave restuarant!

2006-03-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras!!

Yes just another excuse for a party and what a good one it was. This is me and my room mate Andrea.

2006-03-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

Diving Diva's!!!!

Leslie and Jodi........it was a pleasure to add two more diving diva's to the underwater world. Congratulations on your Open Water certification and thanks for a great week. Had muchas fun!!

2006-02-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

Cruising around Costa Maya, Mexico!

Hired a jeep with my room mate Andrea and went zooming around the Mexican highways!! If you thought driving in Egypt was scary you should try Mexico!!

Had a great day, stopped at a beach for some nachos and taco's, swam in the crystal clear ocean and caught some sun rays before heading back to the ship.

2006-02-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

HORSE RIDING IN MEXICO!

Having not been on a horse since I was 12 decided it was time to get back on the saddle!
Seems I had the oldest plodder in town and no matter how many times I told it yeah har and gave it a little kick it just didn't want to move! So had a very slow treck through the Mexican outback!

2006-02-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOUR IN THE OFFICERS WARDROOM!!!

What do you get if you offer three hours of free booze to the ships company???

I am sure you can imagine!! What a mess the work force was the day after!

Marion, myself and Luke..........my lovely ozzie work mates
The star of the evening.....the golf pro Jeremy who dived over the chair and cracked his head open on the dancing pole!!! A quick trip to the medical centre, a few stiches and he was back to the party!!! How handy to pop to the hospital and be back to the party in just 15 minutes.

2006-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

BELIZE BEACH BREAK

A fast boat ride...........
out to a paradise island...............
The whole Shore Excursions team went for the day..............chilled out, caught some rays and enjoyed a few cocktails!!

2006-02-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

NEMO!!

Having not had a single bed since I was about 5 years old I decided to brighten up my cabin with a silly duvet cover!!

2006-02-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

BIG FAT TUESDAYS - COZUMEL MEXICO

A wild afternoon in Big Fat Tuessdays........3 Pina Colada Attitube Adjusters later........WASTED!!

2006-02-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

CAVERN DIVING - PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO

The entrance to the caverns

Chickin Ha

Fresh water.......Crystal Clear............absolutly awesome

2006-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

DIVING GRAND CAYMAN

2006-01-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

Ernie!!

This is the lead instructor on the ship, Ernie. The most laid back, relaxed Canadian you will ever meet!!

All the way from Toronto, Ernie is one of the nicest people you could meet and we make a great team together.

2006-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

BARACUDDA BAR, MEXICO!

What better way to chill out but an ice cold Sol beer with a slice of lime at the Baracuda bar in Mexico.

This bar makes the best Nachos I have ever tasted and they do a wickedly hot sauce made with habenero peppers!! It blows you away. I have wobbled back to the ship many times after a few beers at this bar with my students celebrating there open water course!

2006-01-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

Buster and Bill

Congratualtions on your Open Water Course.

I am looking forward to coming to your Ranch in New Mexico for you to turn me into a cow girl!!

YEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for a great week, it was so much fun and lovely to meet all your family.

2006-01-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

MY FIRST ONBOARD OPEN WATER STUDENTS!!

I teach Open Water Courses onboard every other week. One week I teach and the next week I have free time in all the ports to do Shore Excursions while the other instructor teaches.

This was my first group of students and they were a pleasure to teach.

Brian, Sherry, Minnie and Doug.........you did amazing and made me proud. Happy Diving and hope to see you back onboard soon!

2006-01-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!

This ship seems to be a floating party, alcohol infused vessel!!!

When I am not working hard then there is always a party going on somewhere. An early night has become a rare event and the gym is further to walk than the bar!!

It seems compulsary that you must attend work with a hangover.

The drinks in the crew bar are ridiculously cheap....only $0.85 for a beer and $1.25 for a bacardi coke.

Every week we have an alcohol delivery direct to our cabin and a litre bottle of Bacardi is only $7!! God help my liver!

2006-01-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

MY CABIN MATE....THE LOVELY ANDREA!

I have to say in all my years of working away, travelling and sharing houses I have never before had to share a bedroom!

I was a little apprehensive at the prospect of this but it has all worked out just fine.

Andrea is lovely, all the way from St Andrews in Scotland.

We get on great and it is nice to have company in the cabin.

She is very tidy so for those of you that truly know me you will know I am of course her worst nightmare....Miss Untidy...thats me!

2006-01-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

MY CABIN!!

This is my cabin.......I had, had visions before joining of being locked away down on deck three over the engine room. However my cabin is great. I am on deck 10 right at the front of the ship. I actually opted for the top bunk as the bottom bunk has about 6" head room and didn't relish cracking my head open every morning before work! My bed is very comfy and I even have a saftey rail so I don't forget where I am and fall out after one too many drinks in the crew bar!!

Have an ensuite bathroom, fridge, tv, dvd player and satelitte telephone.

2006-01-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

FOOD ONBOARD!!

The food onboard is just exquisite.............available 24 hours a day!!!

I have a choice of eating in the crew or passenger areas. The crew area is the officers mess where the trainee waiters practise on the staff!! No soup or latte spilt on me so far!!

The restuarants upstairs are fantastic. This was a night out at the Italian. A 25 course dinner which was one of the nicest meals I have ever eaten. I managed all 25 courses needless to say I didn't need to eat for the rest of the week!!!

The trousers are getting a little tight so a few more trips to the gym are needed!!

2006-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

BELIZE ZOO AND CITY TOUR

This is the national bird of Belize, the Toucan. The most amazing coloured beak.

2006-01-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

DOLPHIN SWIM - COSTA MAYA MEXICO

My job as diving instructor means I work as part of the Shore Excursions Team. Every week we have to go on any trip of our choice to make sure the tour is up to scratch and the passengers are having a good time.

This was my first tour and it was such an amazing experience.

The Dolphins were kept in a huge natural environment and looked very happy.

Being kissed by a dolphin was certainley and experience I will never forget. They danced for us, sung for us and even waved us goodbye!!

2006-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

NEW YEARS EVE!!!!!

A great night was had by all and every picture tells a story! One too many drinks for me!

2006-01-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

XMAS EVE 2005!!

Drinks in the Captains Capain.

This is the office Clan..... Luke (Australia), Jeremy (USA), Chris (Reunion Island), Thomas (Canda) and Paula (UK).

I could not have asked for a better bunch of work mates.........everyday is great fun.

There are 1000 crew members onboard with 56 different nationalities!!

2006-01-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

First Dive in the Carabbien

My first week on a dive in Costa Maya, Mexico with the other Instructor, Ernie (left) and the Shore Excursions Manager Chris (right).

The Carrabien diving is nice but alot different to the Red Sea.

2006-01-21T08:43:00.000-08:00

CARABBIEN ADVENTURE BEGINS!!

Hi All,

Well my Carabbien adventure begain on the 2nd December when I left the UK for Galveston, Texas ready to join the Grand Princess Cruise Ship as a Diving Instructor.

http://www.princesscruises.com

The weekly itinerary is Costa Maya, Mexico, Belize, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.

I will endevour to update this site with my travels and adventures to let all my friends know what I am up to and where I am.

WHERE EVER YOU ARE IT IS YOUR FRIENDS WHO MAKE YOUR WORLD and I love each and every one of mine.

A Happy New Year to you all and hope 2006 is full of love, laughter, happiness and good health for you all.

Lots of Love

Alison xxxx