Oslo, Norway

Stage Manager’s Log
M.S. Prinsendam
Monday, June 12, 2006
Oslo, Norway

Today I got up early to see the fjord as we sailed into Oslo. The sail in was beautiful, a little hazy, but beautiful. As we docked I had breakfast, and then I got ready to get off the ship. We were in port today with one of the other HAL ships, the Rotterdam, so I went over there to visit the ship. I actually ended up spending a good portion of the day there.

The Rotterdam is about twice the gross tonnage of the Prinsendam, and it carries more than twice the number of passengers. It is still small compared to some of the Royal Caribbean ships though. Getting on the Rotterdam though, it feels a lot bigger than my ship, and you notice that right away. I went up to the lounge and met the techs. The lounge there is two decks tall with all sorts of automation and new moving lights. it is pretty impressive. They also have more techs on the ship so everyone works in his own area. I suppose that makes life a little less stressful. I like the way things work here though, it is nice, a little more personal.

I had lunch on the Lido Deck of the Rotterdam. I have to say, having more people does have it’s benefits, they have more selection for food. They have lots of different rules though, like the crew always had to eat on a specific side of the Lido (we only have to do that at dinner). The crew has to be in uniform or have a crew ID at all times even when they are in crew only areas. I suppose on a ship that big, everyone does not know everyone else, so that might be why. It was interesting to see how some of the other ships in the line are.

After visiting the ship I thought I was going to go walk around Oslo, so I went home to get my camera and get out of uniform. When I got back to my room, I wasn’t feeing the going out again, so I went up on deck and read, and I fell asleep for a bit. We had rehearsal for the performer, Richard Gauntlet. He does a vaudeville act, juggling and escape tricks and comedy.

After rehearsal we sailed out of the fjord, and the light was even better than the morning, so I took a bunch more photos. It was so beautiful. Then I went up for dinner and back to the lounge for the shows. The audiences loved the act. We also had the “What’s my line?” game show before the first show, and after the second we had the Filipino Crew Show.

After the shows I did my laundry, and then was off to bed.


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