The best day!!!

This is Labadee - where John lives/works!
The view of the island from the 500 ft tall zip-line.

Riding up to the zip-line...

Ok, I just had the best day I've had in a looong time!! I got to spend about 4 1/2 hours with John today on Labadee!! I can't believe it worked out so perfectly.  Security agreed to let me off the ship on the very first tender at 7:30 (we're not supposed to get off until open tendering, which is usually around 9:30ish) so I was on the island by 7:45 am! Then, John's buddy Tony offered to take his 8 am zip-line tour so that John and I could spend the morning together! I had rehearsal at 10:30, so we were together until then, and I was straight back off the ship by 12 pm to spend the afternoon with him. :)  He did end up having to do a tour at 2:30, but that actually worked out well because there were only 3 people on it so I was able to go too!  I ZIP-LINED from 500 ft up!!!  That's right - ME - who's scared of heights!! It was actually AMAZING. I loved it! I zip-lined the longest line that goes over water in the WORLD! - and it was 500 ft up! Geeeeeez ~  Anyway, it was soooo good to spend some time with John again. Just reminded me of why we care so much about each other.~  

Other than that, the shows went really well tonight.  Tomorrow night is my "summer breeze" set, so once that's out of the way the pressure will die down a little bit!  Finally - it'll be about polishing everything I've learned, and no more learning anything new!  

Let's see, OH - Mrs. S, the Jewel goes to: Miami, Florida; Oranjestad, Aruba; Cartagena, Colombia; Panama Canal (Cruising Canal); Cristobal Pier, Panama; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; and George Town, Grand Cayman until May.  Then we transition and go to : Kings Wharf, Bermuda; Lisbon, Portugal; Vigo, Spain; Cherbourg, France; Harwich, England, Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; and Oslo, Norway.  Isn't that amazing?? It's gonna be GREAT that last month!! I mean, it's great now because it's warm, but I can't wait to see some of those places.  

Well, that's all I know for now.  I'll keep you posted!  More to come of course~

Creative Jazz~

Can you find me?? :)

Our production manager took these...what do you think?  Susan Foster Photography~

So, I had my debut jazz set last night...the final night of the cruise...saying goodbye to all those people that have become fans throughout the cruise...at least the ones that didn't go to bed at a decent hour.  The one problem I've already figured out about this set is that it's not until 11 pm on the last night! SO, everyone's tired - packing - just doing whatever it may be to get ready to go HOME.  The last thing they're worried about is stopping by the Safari Club to hear the same singers they've been hearing all week long sing a few more songs.  So, we started out with about 40 people - and by 11:15 we'd lost at least half of them...I just have to believe that if it were earlier in the evening, or even on a different night then we would have a packed house! I mean, the ones that stayed seemed to really love it!  But alas, we did not.... :)

Even better than this was the fact that I had to learn 9 songs in about 3 days time...those of you that know me know that I don't have a problem learning music - notes and all that good stuff...it's the words that hang me up every time!  Well, this time was no different! I'm beginning to think that the problem with doing a replacement contract is that you take on so much new material that it all begins to pile on top of each other and there's just no more room in your short term memory to store anything else!  

So my story...I won't say that the set was terrible.  It's like I told my parents - when I was on I was really on, but when I wasn't - oh boy did I crash and burn...haha  I started out doing really well - made it through the first...5 songs with no problems.  Stumbled here and there, but to the average audience member they probably didn't catch my switched up lines or little mistakes...so at that point I'm getting more confident and thinking "Hey, I'm gonna make it through this without a hitch after all!" Well, you know that old saying 'don't count your chickens before they hatch"...yeah - I should've stuck with that mentality because around song number 7 I went completely BLANK.  Now I'm not talking - missing a few words - or even 1 line.  I'm talking - couldn't even get the first line out!!  SO bad - and SO SO obvious that I was clueless!! There I am - on what I would've considered the easiest song in the set because I knew it before I ever began learning the set...and I'm at a loss.  

The song was "Cheek to Cheek" - a classic that most everyone recognizes...of course it had to be one of those...well the first line clicks in - "Heaven, I'm in Heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak" - then NOTHING else.  I just went blank and stopped singing...I couldn't help but laugh out loud because I saw the faces as everyone realized I'd definitely missed my line. SO, I try to joke about it - haha Ok guys lets try this again! Here I go...and yet AGAIN still BLANK!  I've got nothing...so this time my lyrics go from emptiness to "Heaven, I'm in heaven...etc....OHHH that gamblers silly, silly, silly streak"  hahahahahahahahahahahaha  (come on, you know that's funny)  So, then I make a joke about creative improve lyrics and how trying them in front of an audience pushes me as a performer...or something like that.  HA  People laughed at least...but even better I never could remember the most recognized verse of the song which I was supposed to go back to at the end - so I finally popped out the 2nd verse about love vanishing like a gambler's lucky streak and then ended it!  The line should've been "Heaven I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak AND I SEEM TO FIND THE HAPPINESS I SEEK"....so easy - so familiar - came to me on the last chord...a bit too late!!!

So, that's my embarrassing story for this cruise.  Oh well - over all it wasn't a bad set and the audience still cheered...some even stood at the end! I guess it must not've been too terrible. :) Just hilarious to watch! I would love to see a video of it!  Wow...hilarious.  

Other than that, I have a "summer breeze" set in 3 nights...a little nervous about getting that one ready after the last time...I think this time I'll request a music stand for lyrics as a back-up plan.  Then at least I'll feel more confident, even if I don't really need them.  BUT - once that's out of the way I'll be done learning new things, and it will just be a matter of polishing everything up!  YES!  ALMOST THERE!!! 

And - I'm really excited because in less than 30 hours I'll be on Labadee with John!!! Can't wait! We do have a show that day unfortunately....so I have rehearsal from 10:30-12.  BUT I plan on being the first one off the ship at 7am and then I'll get back on for rehearsal, and run right back off again until 3:30!  And, hopefully John will be able to take off in the afternoon so that we can spend some time together away from the water slide or the zip line. :)  

Let's see...I don't really have any other news.  Just wanted to share my funny story! Hope all is well at home! I miss everyone!  XO

Random...

I'm just using free internet in Grand Caymon so I thought I'd add this link. I can't remember who all I've sent my promo video to so here's the link if you haven't seen it!

Kristian's Promo Video  click on this link and there it is!

Almost There!

Valentine's Day  - Britne, Amber (dancers), myself & Andrew (Boy 2) with Steve (cruise staff) and Brian (sound guy) popping his head in at the back.
I love this guy!! Andrew, Amber and I~
Check out my opening costume for City of Dreams!!! Isn't it amazing?? hahahahaha That's Nicki, my girl 2 with me. That's right, we don't wear wigs for this, just that awful hat...in fact I only have 3 wigs for this whole show because I wear so many of those things!!!

Well, I don't really have a lot to add right now. Just wanted to post a few more random pictures from the past week.  

The shows are going GREAT! I absolutely love performing in all of them! I'm finally installed into all 3 shows, which is a huge load off my plate.  Now all I have left are the 2 jazz sets that I'll do with Dwayne (my Boy 1).  It's a good thing I recognize most all of the songs, so hopefully it will be fairly easy to pick up the lyrics because we'll being doing at least one of them at the end of this cruise.  

I still haven't really gotten off the ship a lot during port days...I've just been so focused on trying to learn everything, that I've been afraid to really get out and enjoy each place. I really wanted to get the shows under my belt before playing!  But, I will say that I got off for a little while in Aruba and had an amazing day on the beach as well as laying out on the ship.  So, I'm no longer pasty and it gave me a chance to bond a little with the girls in my cast.  

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.  Mine was nice - we had shows that night, but still hung out afterwards so that no one was alone on V-day!  OH - and I'll be seeing John one week from today! Well...technically yesterday because it's like 2 am here...but I can't wait! I only hope he's able to get a little bit of time away from work so we can spend a little of it together.  We shall see!!!!

Ok, I'm off to bed. Just wanted to write a quick note and post a few pictures. Hope all is well back home! 

Finally settling in!

Dwayne (my B1) and I getting ready to sing "The Power of Love".   P.S. - I LOVE that I'm a brunette again!!!! YES!!!
During the Tango Show - Dwayne sings "Night of a Thousand Stars" - this part is adorable...one of his fans decides not to let go and he drags her across the stage! So well played!! haha
Ahh yes - my costume for "Never Said Goodbye" - I actually change out of this behind a panel ON stage!! 2 of the dancers change me while I'm singing. It's SO much fun! And you've gotta love the head piece...amazing of course!
This one is the dancers before West End - Morgan, Amber, Britne, and Gemma.

Well, I'll be back in Miami tomorrow after 10 days of craziness.  Things have really been great though.  The stress is finally starting to subside and I'm beginning to feel like I fit here! The cast has really been amazing. I can't say that enough. Patient, encouraging, uplifting, and so much more.  They are all wonderful and I can tell I'm going to have even more amazing friendships to take away from this contract.  

The shows are going really well too! I didn't perform in the Tango show this week (Tango Buenos Aires) just because it was so close to West End. They really wanted me to focus more on City of Dreams because they needed me to do as much as possible in that show.  Well, I ended up getting 6/8 songs performance ready!  Not too bad I guess for 5 days preparation.  We were supposed to do the show on Day 8, but the weather has been TERRIBLE here so that wasn't possible. Instead, the shows were last night - still a bit rocky - but we made it through.  

I won't say that my performance was amazing by any means, but I felt really good about everything at the end of the night. The singing part came off without a hitch, and I'm pretty sure I made it to all the right blocking places as well.  It was a lot to think about and I can't say I didn't worry that I wasn't connecting with the audience - but hopefully next week that will all be a little easier.  It will be very interesting to see the videos though and start taking notes on things I'll need to work on.  

Other than that, I'm looking forward to the next cruise. I'll finish the rest of West End this time and they'll put me into the Tango Show as well.  I'm very excited because the two men that wrote the Tango Show, Mario and Danielle, are actually on board with us right now (they are headliners with Royal), and they will be able to really work with me on my spanish so that I get all of it right! On top of that, they are very passionate about the show, so they will make sure I actually know what I'm singing about as well.  

I must say that the best part about being on the ship right now is having my own space. It has been so nice to come to my room and listen to MY music, watch what I want to watch, and put my things wherever I want to!  I'm also able to wear pretty much whatever I want during the day in guest areas, and that is SO wonderful. I mean, jeans and a tank top - or just whatever! I'd forgotten how much I stayed out of guest areas just because I didn't feel like putting on my blues (uniform) or dress clothes.  Now I can go whenever I want and there are no questions asked.  YEA!

Mrs. Stricklin - you crack me up! So many questions - so many comments. I love it!  Let's see, I'm sure you've figured out by now that I am guest status just like I would've been on the Radiance. But they do want me to finish this contract instead of leaving and going to the Radiance in April, so I will just be here until June and then hopefully they'll offer me something else.  It is all very exciting, and I feel very blessed that they haven't started letting go of performers just yet with all the laying off that they had to do at the end of the year.  For now, people are still cruising. Our ship is at least 3/4 booked all the time according to my castmates, so they're still making money - they're just cutting back every way that they can...I even heard that on some ships they've started writing employees up if they catch your lights on when you're not in the cabin and things like that...and of course they're asking for employee's input on anything that they might know of that could save the company money. The funny thing about that is, we just had a meeting about that very thing, and they're offering MONEY for ideas to SAVE money...hilarious...makes a lot of sense don't ya think?  haha  

Anyway, I hope that answered some of your questions.  I'll have to read back through and see if I missed anything!

This next week, will still be pretty busy. Though I'm at least 1/2 through the shows and that learning process, I will also start learning jazz and summer breeze sets for the end of the cruise.  This is really like having a 4th production show on a smaller scale because they set the songs, even the dialogue in between, and you just go out and perform it at least once a cruise.  So, thank you so much for your prayers - I have felt them - trust me! BUT don't stop now! With all this memorizing, I'm bound to start running songs together in one big blur, so just pray that I stay focused and productive!  

I miss you all!  More soon!  :)

What a whirlwind!

Wow - that's all I can say! I have been running around like a crazy person since Wednesday night! Trying to say goodbyes, run errands, and pack everything to leave for a 7:30 am flight Friday morning.  In case you haven't heard - I got a phone call while I was substituting (my first day actually) that Royal Caribbean needed a replacement Girl 1 for the Jewel of the Seas by FRIDAY.  I had been sending emails since I got home saying "if you need a replacement I'm here because I don't go back until April", but I never dreamed they'd actually call!  Boy was I wrong!

Let's see if I can give you a run down of the last two days:

  I got into Miami around 9:30 and waited to take the shuttle over to the ship.  I finally signed on to the ship around lunch time and from then on it was just one big mess! I was handed music for 2 of the shows, then pushed into a rehearsal for the welcome where everything was the opposite of what it was for me last time, had costume fittings until 7:00 knowing that I had an 8:00 call for the Welcome Aboard Show...finished the welcome (which came off farely well considering I just met these people...), ate and then rehearsed until 12:30 Fri. night...

 Woke up at 7:30 Sat. morning for required safety training - took my music with me and tried to memorize it during that 3 hour class - then had to get my crew card and emergency card from the office (loooong line of new hires and sign ons), and got finished at 11:30 - just in time to grab a bite to eat before a 12:00 rehearsal. Learned my blocking/choreography for 1/2 the songs I do in the first show - which I will be performing TONIGHT...that was followed by a vocal rehearsal where I sang with the singers for the first time - and I finally finished around 6:00 last night. I took a break on rehearsing and tried to get my thoughts together because my brain was pretty much shutting down at that point.  I order some room service and chilled out for about 2 hours and then my cleaning guy FINALLY came and cleaned my room which gave me an excuse to go back upstairs and practice on my own.  I rehearsed until about 10:30, wrote a few emails, and finally went to bed.  

When I took this contract one of the best parts about it (other than the warm itinerary) was that this ship goes to Labadee. That may not mean much to you, but that is where John is working now!! So, here I thought I'd be in Alaska all summer and probably never have the chance to see John again, and all of the sudden I get this phone call that I'd be joining the Jewel Friday and would be in Labadee by Sunday!!!! I was SO excited and so was John! We've emailed back and forth about it and his boss was ready to give him a really long "lunch" so that we could spend some time together. My dance captain/supervisor was more than willing to work around those couple of hours and schedule rehearsals in the afternoon so that I could see him too!  It was all working out just perfectly! 

THEN - I woke up bright and early this morning so that I'd be ready to step off the ship on the first or second tender and low and behold....the captain makes an announcement while I'm in the shower..."Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to inform you we will not be able to tender at Labadee today due to this bad weather we're having.  It wouldn't be safe for us to put you on the tenders right now and we don't want to risk any injuries. They've also had some equipment come lose on the island so none of that will be in use as well....." etc etc.  Of all things...the weather has kept us apart!! BBBOOOOOOOOO... :(   BUT, I will be back in 21 days and this time I'll know to pray for more than just getting to Labadee...I'll pray I can actually get off the ship and see John too!! 

Let's see....what else...OH! I get my own room this time!! I have my own room and plenty of closet space. I'm considered guest status now, so I get to where jeans during the day and eat in guest areas whenever I want! It's GREAT! I don't know what to do with myself!  

The shows are going to be great. I have some great songs and the cast is very talented.  If you're interested in checking out my male singers here are their websites:

www.andrewjamesperry.com  - B2/vocal captain   

www.dwaynebritton.com   - B1

And I don't know how to let you here Nikki, the G2, but she has a really nice sound too and we blend really well together.

I'm really nervous about performing tonight, but I do have to say...after all the stress that I was feeling up until this morning, the tech run went really well today.  I'm only in 4 numbers so far, and I won't say things went perfectly, but I definitely felt 100x better after the run than I have been feeling.  If you happen to read this today then please say a prayer.  I want to thank all of you that already knew about everything and have been praying. I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to perform, and I know that's thanks to your prayers! 

We have late shows tonight and we've already finished rehearsing for the day, so I don't have anything to do until around 6:00 pm! YEA! I'll be relaxing and probably playing on the internet in my room! (Yes that's right, I have internet in my room now! woo hoo!)  More to come!

Blessings,

Kristian