Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! All the best for 2008!
Now been here for a week, but it feels like a lot longer. Moved into my new cabin yesterday and it is so much nicer and so much bigger, so that feels good. Can't unpack yet though, as we are going into drydock in a cpl of days time in Singapore, and we will then be staying at a hotel for those 10 days.
At the moment we are in Bangkok, arrived here yesterday morning. I went ashore for a little bit during the day, just had a little look around and checked out the market etc.
Still working my ass off during the days, it is stressy and very tiring and a lot of things to remember, but I do actually quite enjoy it! I mean the whole thing, being on a ship and that, I love it so far!
Have got an infection in one of my fingers, which has been pretty annoying. It sounds ridiculous, but it does actually affect me as I work with my hands constantly. The medical facilities onboard are really good though, the nurse gave me antibiotics and special creams straight away, so it is already a lot better.
New Years party here tonight I guess, the ship will have departed by then so we'll be at sea. I hope you all have fun whatever you get up to:))

Karin xoxoxoxox

Ko Kood sunshine

A quick update before I have to be back for work. We are in Ko Kood, an island in Thailand. Arrived this morning and the ship laid anchor (sorry i know I am really not good at this "seamans language" yet so I don't think that is what it is actually called)
The ship has opened up it's own marina so guests and crew can be taken ashore on little tender boats. After my morning shift today I went ashore for an hour or 2 with the other girls, and I have to say the last cpl of days of hard work was def worth it! So beautiful! Went swimming and sunbathed on the beach, I like this! Water very clear and warm. Despite being a short visit I found it very refreshing!
Have now been onboard for 6 days and have started to pick up on things. It is very hard work though and stressy, I can feel it all over my body, back and legs are aching from all the lifting and from being on my feet for so many hours. But I will get used to it and I don't regret it at all.
Also starting to find my way around the ship better, which is good and obviously essential in case of an emergency. We have another drill on monday and I will hopefully do better this time than last, when I had been on the ship for only 1 hr and didn't even know the way to my own cabin!! Hehe
Tonight we are off to Bangkok for 2 days, then this cruise is soon over and Spirit is going into drydock in Singapore. So we will be staying at a hotel for that time, and be taken back and forth to the ship. By the sounds of it, it will be a period of very hard work and long days.
Anyways, I'd better get going, need to have a shower before evening shift and might start moving some stuff over to my new cabin, hope it's better than the one I've got now:)
Take care and lots of love

Karin xoxoxox

Docking in Ho Chi Minh

Hey there:)

Hope you all had a nice Xmas:) Wishing you all the best for 2008!
I am not going to be long, but just a little update.

Things got sorted in the end and I am now onboard the Spirit since 3 days! Joined in Da Nang on Xmas Eve. It was pretty much straight into it, after having signed a load of papers and been shown to my cabin to dump my bags, I got my uniforms and had Safety Induction, followed by starting off work in the housekeeping dept. Then there was a crew safety drill, which was pretty overwhelming, as I couldn't even find my way to my own cabin after just 1 hr onboard, more work, lunch in the crew mess, then sleep for an hour or 2 before working again all evening, followed by Xmas party with captains and crew, then party in the crew bar. A long day!!! Not only my legs and backs are sore, but my brain is overloaded too! It IS a lot of hard work, but I had expected it. Have been warned more than once, that the first 2 weeks will be very stressful and tough. Not only because I have to learn the whole stewardessing role,but also because of all safety training and courses. But...I am determined to!:))I am doing my best and I am glad to be here finally.
Still struggling to find my way around the ship. This is considered a small ship, yet when you go inside I find it a big maze so far. Guess everything will fall into place in a couple of days.
A lot of the crew is Swedish/Scandinavian or South African.
We left Da Nang on Xmas Eve and spent the following day at sea. No seasickness yet, fingers crossed. This morning we docked in Ho Chi Minh City. Could have gone ashore today, but decided not to, as had training straight after lunch. Also wanted to go online and then I am gonna go sleep for a little before work again tonight, still haven't really caught up.
Docked in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) this morning. The ship is going into dry-dock soon for nearly 2 weeks, after that we are off to Thailand and Singapore.
Well, think I'm gonna go and lay down for a bit. Will be back with another report soon;) Take care,

Karin xoxoxoxoxox

Room with a view

Hey there again...
So....Finally. Finally in Da Nang, Vietnam and checked in at a very nice hotel, very nice!!!It has got a fantastic view of the city! Unfortunately my stay will be pretty short, as I am being picked up already at 06.15 tomorrow to be transported to the Spirit, but I am going to enjoy it as much as I can. Most of all I just want to sleep, haven't slept for several days now and feel a bit jet lagged from the flights. Haha, i have to laugh, never would I have thought that I was to end up in Vietnam, when I said goodbye on Friday morning!

It's been a hell of a journey. Really. Basically anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. More than once I just felt like I wanted to lay down and die or smth.
haha, I know,my mind is playing me tricks sometimes...but you know...when everything just feels..hopeless!!All enthusiasm gone etc... Even just getting my bag out from KLM, when I was not flying on with them anymore, was almost impossible! Hate that look on their faces when you can tell already before they've opened their mouths " Sorry, but I don't think that's possible" Helloooo!
Funny thing was that that morning I had this funny feeling, almost as if I knew smth was gonna go wrong!
I even started thinking that maybe I wasn't actually meant to do this. Especially as I had also had a break-out of random spots just before I was to leave. So annoying, got a big one right at the front of my neck, how attractive is that for a stewardess!! Tried to attack, squeeze and anything to make it go away, but of course it only made it worse! So then had to walk around with big scarf on to cover up, which ws not pleasant when arriving in a hot and humid Singapore! Also had some appear in other random places where i never usually get them. Odd. and so typical!

Well anyways, I finally-after a lot of hassle and calling such and such and having documents faxed to airline, got my tickets to Singapore and Hanoi, as you might know. The main problem during this whole journey has been that I have been travelling without proper documents and paperwork. As i got rerouted very quickly there was never time to actually send me the new papers and to print them off.
But, it all worked out in the end!:)
The flight to Singapore was on 12 hrs, but wasn't too bad at all. Have been on other flights that have seemed twice as long! Watched a total of 4 films...Hairspray, A Mighty Heart, The Talented Mr Rippley and Failure To Launch. Liked all of them, although A Mighty Heart (portraiting the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl) was not as good as I'd thought it would be.

From Singapore to Da Nang via Hanoi, it all went surprisingly smoothly. My bag wasn't lost or anything and I was happy (and almost surprised after all bad luck) to see there was actually somebody waiting for me in Da Nang. Got transported to the Hotel and checked in. The Viatnamese are very polite and friendly, but I have to admit their English is not the best. Finding it quite hard to hear and understand what they say....
Had to drive off with the port agent and do smth with my passport (what it was I could never work out due to his bad English) after I'd checked in, so got like a little sightseeing tour. Mainly scooter traffic here, hardly any cars! And I noticed no seat bealts in the car, hehe a little different to home!
Here is hot and humid, sun is shining. Only got to see the airport in Ha Noi, but wasn't too impressed then, looked all grey and boring. Here in Da Nang a little nicer.

Well, I'm not gonna be much longer. Im neckered and looking forward to a good shower and an early night to catch up on sleep, feeling absolutely groce atm. Merry Christmas!:) God Jul!

Karin xoxoxox

Mission Impossible!!

Just gonna give you a quick update as have only got a few mins...So...Things don't always turn out as planned...I was now supposed to be on the Pride in Ft Lauderdale. I am not and I am very far away from there. All the way down in Singapore!!! Flying on to Vietnam in a cpl of hrs.
What happened yesterday was, in Amsterdam I missed my connecting flights to the US because of the weather. As so many others...= airport was absolutely mad and I had to que for HOURS everywhere. As it is this time of year it was also impossible to get me new flights in time to join ship. Was a hell of a hassle trying to get hold of anybody to help me, what to do etc, also Friday afternoon just before Xmas not easy to get hold of ppl in offices etc either. As all my flights etc have been arranged by Seabourn I had to go through them again. Well basically, every fucking single little thing turned into COMPLETE mission and I felt tired and dissapointed and thought I'd probably be sent home in lack of other solutions. Got to the point where I just wanted to dump my bags in the nearest bin and burst into tears. I know, silly and not useful at all. But so frustrating....anyways, at the end of it all Seabourn managed to book me a hotel in Amsterdam for the night, then get me on a flight the following day to Singapore, and from there to Hanoi in Vietnam and then Da Nang, where I am now supposed to join a different ship- Seabourn Spirit, on the 24th. So quick changes....I hardly keep up myself....
So have now just arrived in Singapore and was happy to see that they offer FREE internet access at the airport!
So seems it wont be Carribbean for me this time...but South East Asia will sure be cool to.
It is just 7am but 25C here, gosh I'm already struggling with the heat!
Anyways, running out of time, write more another day.
Lots of love,
Karin xoxox

Reality?

Hello and welcome:)


Yeah, decided to set up a blog in order to keep you updated on the latest happenings, now that I soon jet off on new adventures. Have given up on resdagboken.se, that site was too much of a hassle to update and has failed me too many times, so thought I would try this one now.

Got only a few days left now, on Friday I’m off. As you might know already, I’m about to start working as a stewardess for the Yachts of Seabourn. Can’t remember when the idea itself was born, but ever since, I have been more or less obsessed to give it a go. Don’t know why, guess I am just like that, quite spontaneous and once smth interesting pops up in my head I just can’t take it off my mind. Never thought it would be that soon, but things suddenly sped up recently.

Sent out applications to different cruise lines as soon as I got back from the States in October, but didn’t hear much back. Wasn’t until mid Nov things started to happen. Seabourn were looking for staff and I went to interviews in Gothenburg. Got accepted and had to start sorting paperwork out, Medical, Police records and a quickie to Stockholm to visit the US embassy for my visa.

Then, last Thursday I had it all and faxed copies to the UK office. I put a little note down there as well, saying “available immediately”, as I thought otherwise I might be put on file and have to wait several months….It was funny, half an hour later they called from the office. “Hey, Karin, u think u could fly to Hong Kong on the 18th?? I was a little surprised hearing back so soon and be presented to a date so very near in time (only 4 days later) and just stuttered “eh…yea.., I guess so” at the same time as I was thinking, goodness me Hong Kong(!!) and dammit I wanted to be on a ship in the Carribbean!! Asked if he had anything on the other ships, but no. Giving it a quick thought though, I decided Southeast Asia might be cool after all, so I said I would go. As soon as I’d hung up I ran around the house and let everybody know in a slightly…hysteric(!) way…2 mins later Andy from the office called me again, “Sorry Karin, I made a mistake, you are to fly to Ft Lauderdale on the 21st and join Seabourn pride on the 22nd”. Even better, as this is the ship I wanted to be on, cruising the Carribbean and South America plus I would have a few more days to get ready!

Have to admit it’s sucky having to leave just 3 days before Xmas though! In fact, I’ve never spent a Xmas away from home! Oh well, after all it’s a pretty boring day of maxed eating, looking out of the window just to see muddy and almost greenish lawns(where are those idyllic white xmases these days?), trying to get hold of a Santa and falling asleep in front of Donald Duck (Yeah, you Swedes know what I’m talking about…)

So, the last cpl of days have been hectic, had to run off trying to find the right shoes required for the uniform (I can tell you it’s not easy to find plain white shoes at this time of year!), 20+20 pairs of tights and lots of other things I suddenly realized I would need, also had a jab today…silly me, I know, nervous all day for that tiny tiny needle, deep breath.. but..it DID hurt! Better get over this if I want to become a veterinarian….

Freaked out a little as still hadn’t received a flight ticket or anything by today, so called the office this morning. Obviously they had sent it, but it hadn’t gone through on my email. So they sent it again and I was very surprised to see I was flying to…Memphis, TN! I mean…if you are to work on a ship, Memphis is not very near any coasts at all really. But as I had suspected, the last section of the email had been missed out, got it sent again and this time I was flying all the way to Miami. Phew, seems things might finally get sorted.
Not feeling entirely sure of what I am to embark on (yeah, literally this time!) but guess I will find out. Hopefully it will be all good, and I’m sure an adventure regardless. I’m up for anything, ready for smth new. Life back here has been pretty stale… If you wanna have a closer look at where I will be found for the next cpl of months, check out www.seabourn.com

Oooh, also have to tell you I went to London not long ago. How good it felt to be back!! Sounds silly, but kinda felt like coming home!(Maybe thanks to you, Rosie;) Hehe. I still love that place so much, and being back there I really felt how much I’ve missed it! Can’t really put my finger on what it is….just the people, the whole atmosphere! And the shopping of course! And…the British accent! Have started to love it, I was walking around Heathrow as I had just arrived, just listening and smirking!! It’s beautiful!
Had a great time and can’t wait to go back:)

Still haven’t started packing, guess I will give it a shot tomorrow.
My dear travel buddie Suitcase is already sitting on my floor waiting for me. Just 2 more days, I’m excited but nervous!

Not sure how much time I will have to actually spend online once onboard the ship, but I would loooove to receive emails! There is also that mad facebook, if you feel like dropping me a line....
Will try and keep you updated:))

Karin xoxoxox