Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Sunday, July 9, 2006
At Sea

Today is the last real day of the cruise. I got my debark information this morning and started to take care of some of the things I need to do. It is a sea day though, so there is a lot going on. As with the end of every cruise we had Sea Quest this morning. Exciting as usual. After that they announced Mr. and Mrs. Prinsendam, and then Peter gave his debark talk followed by Love in any Language.

After all of that in the morning we had a short break during Bingo which was spent mostly getting ready for rehearsal with String Fever. We are not ending the cruise with a variety show on account of the fact that Paul Romhany doesn’t have an act. We thought we might do a band show, but we decided to just have String Fever play a second show.

In the afternoon we had a music appreciation session with Barbara followed by the final Explorations Lecture with Gerry Lucas. After that, finally a little break which I used to relax a bit and start to pack.

After dinner we had showtime as usual. Both shows drew a huge standing ovation. String Fever was a great hit. it was a lot of fun to work with them as well. I also handed over the pager to Celina, and now, the showroom is hers. With that, I am signing off for tonight, to finish packing and try to get some sleep.

Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Saturday, July 8, 2006
Oslo, Norway

This morning started with some drama in rehearsal as we had problems getting the new tape to play, and then we couldn’t get the old tape to play right, and it was a mess. We finally got everything working again. it was a little strange. We also had a problem with Rachel’s mic, but we think that it might be an issue with the console. This theatre is falling apart. No matter what I try to do, I can’t get everything to work right.

After rehearsal I spent some time working with Celina on more lighting lessons. We started by making system flow diagrams for her of how things work. It isn’t quite as straight forward in that sense as sound ins, but I think that the analogy helps her. Then I showed her how to load and unload a scroller as well as take it apart and put it back together again. Then we took apart and went over the insides of the moving lights. it is too bad that the MLs are not so great, they are really a pain in the neck to work with. We went over addressing and dimmers and channels, sort of. Unless things go really crazy, she should be fine.

After that work we went up for lunch, and at that point I decided that I would just hang out the rest of the day. We had the last port lecture for this cruise this afternoon, and then a round of Bingo. Tonight was a formal night, so one last time to get dressed up before I leave. We sailed out of Oslo during dinner, and while we were sailing, the captain had to steer hard over because some little sailboat almost cut us off. the harbor pilot chased down the boat to get mad at it.

The shows went well. This was the final performance for this cast as a group, so they were kind of sad. They had some Champagne after the show, and Peter got flowers for all of them, so it was nice. After the shows I went up to the Crow’s Nest to listen to Buddy play, and then changed and went to the OB for a bit, to see people. I also did some laundry at some point. Then it was bedtime.

Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Friday, July 7, 2006
Copenhagen, Denmark

Today was a nice day. I got up in time to catch the tail end of continental breakfast, which is fine by me. I ran into Peter, Chris, and Paul at breakfast so I sat and ate with them. We talked about what Paul was going to do for his show, and how to try to make light of the fact that the airlines lost his show. We also set up some rehearsal time in the evening.

After breakfast I spent a little time trying to figure out what I was going to do today, and eventually I just decided to get off the ship and go and see what happened. So I changed into street clothes and left the ship a little before 1200. I didn’t have any plan, I just took the map and started walking. One thing that I realized very quickly is that Copenhagen has a lot of statues and sculptures.

The first stop on my random self guided tour was the Little Mermaid statue, which was about a 10 minute walk from the ship. I hear that they are going to be moving that statue a little farther out into water to deter vandals, as it has been defaced many times. Next up was a pretty spectacular fountain, the name of which I don’t remember. I kept walking until I found myself in the square in front of one of the royal palaces. I had some pretty fortuitous timing as at 1200 is the changing of the guard, so I got to see that take place. it is very interesting, and people line the square to watch.

I kept on walking down towards the center of town and the two main canals. After walking through the major center I ran into Ashley, who was on his way back from Tivoli Gardens. He pointed me in the direction of some other interesting things to see, so I continued on my way. The architecture in Copenhagen is very interesting; it is a mixture of new buildings and old. Many of the buildings like city hall are still the original buildings.

I walked all the way down to Tivoli Gardens, but I didn’t go in. They say that the amusement park at Tivoli was the inspiration for Disney Land. I looped back up towards the center of town by way of one of the major walking streets. that was pretty typical European with modern shops. It was a very busy place, lots of people the entire way. During this week there is a big jazz festival in Copenhagen so there are a lot of people there.

As I continued my walk back towards the ship I ran into some passengers who were lost, so I helped the find their way back as well. I had a late lunch when I got back to the ship, and then got ready for the Mariners Party. We had mariners, then rehearsal and then Mariners for the second seating guests, and then showtime. I think Paul did very well, all things considered.

After Paul’s show we had the Filipino Crew Show which went like it always does. I checked the ship email before heading down to my cabin and found that Seattle had finally sent the updated lights for Broadway in Concert so I went to find Chris to tell him we could do the new show. it should be fine. After that I headed off to bed.

Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Warnemünnde, Germany

Today was very different from most days as we had no show. Instead of a show we had Bierfest on the Lido Deck. So that is a great thing because no show means no rehearsal. So effectively I had a day off. In the morning I did help Peter move some boxes that were being offloaded and transferred to the Amsterdam. I tripped an twisted my ankle doing that, and it hurt, but it wasn’t bad.

After moving the boxes I changed out of my uniform and got off the ship to walk around the town. Warnemünde is a beach town, very similar to Nantasket or Ogonquit. It has walking areas along the canal to the beach with shops and restaurants. There are café’s and fish markets and people walk around in bathing suits and ride bikes. The beach was packed, as far as you could see, it made sense as it was very hot. I ran into Jen and Ed at a little café and had lunch with them, and then continued on my walk out to the beach.

I walked out to one of the lighthouses, took some pictures and then wound my way back through town to the ship, stopping for some soft-serve ice cream on the way. I took some time off before dinner and Bierfest. I read a little bit and talked to Becca on the phone.

Bierfest included dinner. They brought on the local beer, Rostocker, and they also had a German Oompah Band that played on the Lido.

After dinner I sent some emails and talked to my family for a bit on the phone before heading down to my cabin for the night.

Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Gdansk, Poland – Day 2

Today started at 0930 with a fire drill followed by a surprise traffic director’s drill. That was exciting. To top that off, there was no water this morning as they were working on the plumbing. So, no shower this morning. As soon as the drill was over I made it upstairs with barely enough time to get some breakfast.

After breakfast I went down to the lounge to get ready for rehearsal. Tonight’s group is String Fever. The group is made up of a husband and wife, Brenton, a violinist and Jaqui, a cellist.. It should be a fun show. Jaqui, the cellist has a very interesting cello, custom built for her electronics and it even has blinking lights. As we finished rehearsal the ship was just leaving port, setting sail for Warnemünde, where we will be tomorrow.

After rehearsal we moved right along to Barbara’s Port Lecture on Oslo and Copenhagen. I went up for lunch after getting that lecture going. Back at the end of the lecture we went right into Gerry Lucas’s lecture.

Finally, after the lectures I had time to go back to my cabin and relax. The water was back on too, so I took a shower before getting dressed up for formal night. We also had flipped showtimes tonight because the Officer’s Black and White Ball was tonight. So after getting dressed I went up for a quick dinner before showtime. We had the Liars Club gameshow between shows, then the second show and then the ball. the shows were great, very well received. The ball was the same as always, the only good thing is it is one of the only times they have free drinks.

After the ball I went up to the Crow’s Nest with a bunch of the guest entertainers. We listened to Buddy play for a while, and then I went off to bed. Sleep is nice.