Dry Dock in Marseille

Two weeks ago, I embarked on AIDAcara in Marseille. Though she is a beautiful ship, she was not in the most glamorous of states when I first dragged my three suitcases up the gangplank and onto what I now know is Deck 6 (I was extremely discombobulated at the time. What am I saying. I still am.). Here are some of my notes from my time in dry dock:

21/2/2019

I don’t really know what I was expecting, but it definitely was not this. I don't think most poeple get this experience when they work as entertainment onboard. This ship is a bit of a mess! I have absolute faith that the crew and contractors, most of whom have been here for three weeks, will pull it together in time. But, as of now, I think we need a good two weeks more, and we set sail for Mallorca in three days! Everything is being recarpeted, the crew mess is being completely updated, much of the pool deck is being redecorated, the hull has been repainted and the engine has been checked. Passenger cabins were redone, and crew cabins are being added to, whatever that means. I have no idea what kind of work we will be doing to help make this all happen—oh yes, every single crew member onboard has been mandated to pull their weight to help get Cara ready. I guess that is kind of fun. I get to say that I took part in a dry dock process.

Me in my work onesie and clown work shoes, which were actually quite comfy!

Marseille is beautiful from the distance, but I can’t disembark. Any “town center” of sorts is remote anyway, so I'm not missing much.

I live on Boston Street, next to Chicago Street, on Deck 2 at the bow of the ship. I think I remember that all of the corridors are named after cities where the AIDA ships were built, or where they frequently port at. My current roommate is the leader of the band onboard. She and I are both a little confused, as she is supposed to be rooming with her boyfriend and I am supposed to be with my cast’s artist, who won’t be here until Mallorca!

Ah, the cabin. This cabin makes the Pace dorm rooms look gigantic. I have a tall dresser that fits one of my suitcases, a bunkbed (I grabbed the bottom bunk), and a few drawers that all lock with my room key. There is a shared desk and chair. The bathroom is one corner of the cabin, and the shower head is right next to the toilet. Thus, the entire room is the shower, and just about

e v e r y t h i n g gets wet. It will be my mission to not have mold growing in the bathroom/ shower. BUT, my bed is very comfortable, I have a little reading light in the wall, and I can kind of make a cave for myself, which I love. I can’t wait to make it more homey.

Explored a bit, the theatre is huge!! I will be spending most of my time backstage; I have my own little station with makeup lights, my name, everything. There is a small area to warm up in, and I also have a costume and shoe station. This is what I imagined my dance life to be. The stage is lovely as well, which opens up to a huge audience of probably around 500 if you squeeze people in!

22/2/2019

I have no idea where I am in relation to the ground anymore. You know when you go up to the seventh floor and you walk back down and you realize that you were kind of high up off the ground? And you are also winded from walking seven flights? Well, I am on Deck 2, which is around the waterline most of the time, and the theatre is on Deck 8, so I have to walk six flights a couple of times a day at least and I have no clue where I am in space as I walk those stairs. It is super strange. And right now, I am technically standing in the middle of dry dock, on a boat that is being supported by stands. It is totally weird. Good news though, I will come back a stair expert; stairs will cease to make me angry at my lack of stamina!

23/2/2019

The dock filled with water today, all artwork, furniture, and carpeting is being uncovered and cleaned, and all of the trash is being lifted off of the pool deck by cranes! We ran about half of Holiday onstage (both outdoor and indoor versions), which was basically like doing it in the rehearsal hall back in Hamburg.

I’m getting used to using the crew passageways versus the guest staircases and hallways. It makes me feel as though there is this whole secret network that the guests don't know about, and that I don't really understand, frankly. What is the proportion of guest area to total crew area on this ship?

It is a straight shot up from my cabin to the theatre. For the most part, Decks 8-10 are the public guest areas. The theatre is toward the bow of the ship on Decks 8 and 9. In the middle of Deck 8 is the AIDA bar and dance floor and Deck 9 features the gym and put-put area (Oh yes, Cara features mini golf!). Nearer to the aft of the ship are passenger restaurants.

Complete with palm trees!

This is where we have been eating in dry dock because crew mess has yet to be finished. The food is actually really good, with lots of options. But, you can’t bring food to your room, so no snacks! It makes complete sense because it is easy for a ship to become a floating germfest, but it makes my life hard because I am a snack person.

And Deck 10 is the pool deck. :)

Oh! We had security and drill initiations today, which were introductions from our security officers and short reviews from Safety Training. Tomorrow, we have a couple more initiations, plus rehearsal. It will be a long day, but I am excited for it!

It is awe-inspiring how quickly everything became nice again on Cara. There is so much art and the whole atmosphere feels lighter onboard! Everyone is talking about how lovely it is compared to the other Cara Class ships. I actually think it is quite a nice ship as well, though I have nothing to compare it to. I’m excited because we are allowed to use the gym 24/7, as long as passengers come first. Excited to leave tonight for Mallorca! I have rehearsal at noon, but I WILL get off the ship to see Mallorca. I VOW TO.

And with that, dry dock is over! To be perfectly honest, from here on out I am not sure how my blog will be formatted because I could write an entire post for each day that I am onboard; so many interesting things are happening! I also realize that I am super behind, mainly due to lack of wifi. However, this blog is much like my present life; cheers to an adventure! Much love to you all, Tschüss!