It’s a red carpet countdown...

Less than 5 weeks left in the contract. The end is so close I can taste it. Lately I’ve been so homesick I’ve had dreams combining situations from the ship with friends from back home. I don’t think I ever mentioned the fact that whenever anyone in our cast (including myself) has a dream, it usually has to do with greeting or performing on set...This is what working every single day will do to you. It’s hard to get a full night’s sleep because you’re always worried you set your alarm wrong or you’ll sleep through it and be late for work. There was a short period of time at the beginning of the contract when I would talk/animate in my sleep. But all of that anxiety will soon come to an end. Just 1 week until the new cast comes onboard for crossover and then two weeks until our contract officially ends. 

I am especially excited for what is to come after the contract because Nick and I will be spending a few days in Orlando going to all the Disney Parks and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Then come July 26th, we will fly up to New York to stay with a fellow cast member in Brooklyn and explore the city together. We plan on taking some dance classes and hopefully going to a few auditions if we can find any! Then we fly back to LA together July 31st and finally get to relax back at home.

So that’s everything I’m counting down to right now!!! We still have some exciting things coming up on the ship before the end though! 

We are back to 5 day cruises again (thank goodness) and my parents came to visit May 27th for our first one. It was so amazing seeing my mom and dad. I hadn’t seen my mom since the time she cruised in February and I hadn’t seen my dad since Christmas! I was lucky enough to greet them right as they got on the ship! I was so happy to see them I started to cry. It felt like a little piece of home coming to visit. It’s hard to explain, but whenever someone in the cast had family on, everybody gets exciting. We are a family, so we are always so excited for each other. So when my parents stepped on the ship, some of my Cruise Staff and Youth Counselor friends teared up a little along with me when I introduced them to my parents.

We had the most marvelous time together while they were here! My dad and my boyfriend, Nick, met for the first time and got on quite nicely! Nick was so nervous he kept asking me for my opinion on his outfits...so cute. I was even lucky enough to eat 4 out of 5 dinners with them! I only had about an hour each time I joined them, but our servers were wonderful and made sure all of my meals got out on time so I was able to enjoy them before going back to work! I still thank them whenever I see them around the crew areas! 

Last time when my mom cruised, it was raining when we were in Nassau so she didn’t even get off the ship. This time, I had enough time to go on a Port Adventure with them!!! We went on one called Discover Atlantis. A shuttle took us on a short tour around Nassau on the way to the Atlantis Resort and then we went on a guided tour through all of the aquariums inside the Resort. Atlantis is beautiful and after we saw all the different sea creatures, we explored the rest of the resort. It is huge. There is a suite that connects two of the towers together called the Michael Jackson suite. It is $25,000 a night to stay there! After we were done Discovering Atlantis, we went to the shopping area across the street and had some Johnny Rockets for lunch. It’s always a treat to eat some good old American junk food. Then we took a crazy bus ride back to the ship and I went back to work for the night!

I had a nice break on the second Castaway Day so Nick and I joined my parents on the island. We rode Pelican Plunge (a little water slide that is on the island) and we snorkeled around the man-made shipwreck. We had some lunch and then it started to rain. Nick had to get back to the ship for a rehearsal so I went with my parents to the adult beach and took a nap on a beach chair under the umbrella until we had to go.

It was a perfect cruise and they had a wonderful time! I was so happy they both got to see the ship and all of my shows and everything! only 6 weeks until I see them again!

Just a few days later, was my 20th birthday!!! Nick got me some bug spray (I keep getting mosquito bites while greeting), a disposable camera for New York, and a dress. He also set up a brunch date at Palo on my birthday!!! It was delicious and we stuffed ourselves with all sorts of treats.

A couple cruises ago, my roomate, Maleah debarked for some personal reasons. I was really sad to see her go, but I know that she needed some time at home away from ship life. She’s hoping to come back for crossover, but there is only a few weeks left so we just don’t know if that will work out. So for now, I have the cabin all to myself. It’s lonely and little creepy sometimes but also kinda nice to have my very own little space to escape. But now I never want to leave my room and it makes me homesick because it reminds me of my room at home. Wishing you all the best, Maleah! Miss you<3

So all together, we have had 4 cast members medically debarked and 5 replacements from past contracts come onboard. At the beginning of the contract, I truly thought our cast would stay together until the end...then a handful of people started getting injured...never a dull moment here on the Dream!

Until next time...