Funchal, Mediera Islands, Portugal

Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Funchal, Mediera Islands, Portugal

Today was finally the first day in port since leaving the Bahamas. I got up this morning thinking that I had time to go eat and get ready before the emergency drill. Unfortunately they didn’t really tell people that they moved the drill an hour earlier, so there I was in the shower with the alarm going off. Luckily, the fire drill was first and that drill was only for the fire teams so I had enough time to jump out of the shower and put clothes on before the general drill started.

After the drill we went straight into rehearsal for tonight’s show, “Dancin’ In the Streets.” This show was a lot easier than the last one, but it isn’t quite a good a show. Rehearsal went smooth and as always only takes the amount of time that the show is, since it is all on tape and timecode.

At this point after rehearsal breakfast was already over so I had an early lunch and then got ready to get off the ship. I took a tour of Funchal and saw a lot of the city. I took a lot of pictures, though unfortunately it was an overcast day so it wasn’t quite as pretty as it could be. I rode on the basket ride, one of the traditional forms of transportation there. You sit in a basket sled and two men pull, push, and steer you down the hills through the narrow streets of Funchal. It was a lot of fun.

After the tour I headed back to the ship. I had a little bit of time off before the lecture in the afternoon, another port lecture. After the lecture we had our sail away festivities. The band plays on deck and they serve wine and cheese and everyone comes out to watch the ship sail away. It is fun.

I went for dinner before the show, it wasn’t terribly thrilling. Then we had the show. It went well, and seemed to be very well received. This show has confetti for the end, so that is kind of exciting. After the show I sent a couple emails and then headed down for bed. Tomorrow we are in Santa Cruz de la Palma and I have most of the day to get off the ship. So sleep is good.