Well after 5 days of rough sea we have finally made it to Hawaii. Well almost. During the first day the seas were pretty rough, and unfortunately a passenger fell and hurt himself severely. After turning around for 5 hours so a helicopter could land on the ship and pick him up we resumed our course. This affected our arrival in Maui, so much that we have skipped that port all together. We now are headed to Nawiliwili, Kauai. We do get to stay overnight as we arrive at 5pm. This means I can go off at night for the first time in 5 months.
On this journey to Australia there are a lot of time changes. We have enjoyed the constant hour set backs coming to Hawaii. There are a total of 6 set backs, 1 date change forward, and 2 set forwards. That’s a lot of clock changing in 40 days.
After over 150 days on board already and 36 to go, I have to say I am excited to get off. A nice little vacation in Sydney awaits me, and it should be a real good time. I will get to be home for the holidays, which is also a plus.
Once we leave Hawaii in 4 days we will sail to Pago Pago, crossing the Equator in the process. I wonder if there is a big line in the middle of the ocean, just kidding. It’s is quite the celebration on the ship I am told. From there we hit a few other islands in the South Pacific until we reach New Zealand. It’s a very exciting itinerary; I just hope I get to see as much as I can.
The seas have calmed down as we move closer to Hawaii, and the weather is much warmer than Alaska, of course. The ship however cannot keep up with the heat outside, and much of the crew areas are now saunas. But it’s not all bad. Soon I will disembark and chill out on the beach in Kauai.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Goodbye Alaska
We have just complete our last Alaskan cruise! We now are on our way to Seattle and then on to Hawaii. This is now a 30 day cruise that will end in New Zealand. After that I have one 14 day cruise to Sydney and I am off the ship. I have 6 weeks left on board, and then I have a 9 day vacation in Sydney.
Well this last week has been filled with a lot of interesting events. First of all this marked the last week for our executive chef and sous chef. They had an awesome goodbye party a couple of nights ago. The new exec chef is already here, and I remember him because here was still on board for my first week. It will be interesting to see how things differ. I know already that our budget for food has gone up 50% for this 30 day cruise. This means no more canceled orders and running around trying to get certain items.
There is a Filipino crew show every week and some of the guys asked me and the chef to come and watch them perform. It was a great time, we sat in the show lounge and watched some traditional dances. They also had some songs and then a hip hop dance number put on by some of the guys. They asked me if I wanted to join them next time, but I don't think so. Anyway they announced at the show that all of the crew is Filipino in the kitchen, and here I am sitting next to my Dutch chef saying, "Um....NO."
Some interesting things that I have noticed or have happened are the fact that my tourne skills have vastly improved due to the necessity of tourneing a lot of vegetables. I mean potatoes, carrots, squash, apples, pears, oh my what fun! But seriously I never thought I would do this again after I left the CIA. The other day in the elevator I got on and this guy wasn't paying attention and I guess just saw my whites and started speaking tagalog, the Filipino language, to me. I just stood there and said, "push 4 please" as my hands were full. He then continued to talk and looked up and was shocked. I guess I'm blending in pretty well here. Now as we are in September now the kitchen is filled with Christmas music, yes already. They told me it is a really big deal in the Philippines and September starts their countdown. Also when I have a chance to turn on the tv it is always at the same time every day, and this means I see the same part of every movie. I think I have seen the same 15 minutes of 6 movies for the last 19 weeks. Wow 19 weeks down already.
I will try to post when I can, but I don't know how the internet will be during the crossing on board the ship. I certainly don't plan on bringing my laptop with me when I go ashore. I will post my calendar for October later and you can see all of the places I will be going to.
Well this last week has been filled with a lot of interesting events. First of all this marked the last week for our executive chef and sous chef. They had an awesome goodbye party a couple of nights ago. The new exec chef is already here, and I remember him because here was still on board for my first week. It will be interesting to see how things differ. I know already that our budget for food has gone up 50% for this 30 day cruise. This means no more canceled orders and running around trying to get certain items.
There is a Filipino crew show every week and some of the guys asked me and the chef to come and watch them perform. It was a great time, we sat in the show lounge and watched some traditional dances. They also had some songs and then a hip hop dance number put on by some of the guys. They asked me if I wanted to join them next time, but I don't think so. Anyway they announced at the show that all of the crew is Filipino in the kitchen, and here I am sitting next to my Dutch chef saying, "Um....NO."
Some interesting things that I have noticed or have happened are the fact that my tourne skills have vastly improved due to the necessity of tourneing a lot of vegetables. I mean potatoes, carrots, squash, apples, pears, oh my what fun! But seriously I never thought I would do this again after I left the CIA. The other day in the elevator I got on and this guy wasn't paying attention and I guess just saw my whites and started speaking tagalog, the Filipino language, to me. I just stood there and said, "push 4 please" as my hands were full. He then continued to talk and looked up and was shocked. I guess I'm blending in pretty well here. Now as we are in September now the kitchen is filled with Christmas music, yes already. They told me it is a really big deal in the Philippines and September starts their countdown. Also when I have a chance to turn on the tv it is always at the same time every day, and this means I see the same part of every movie. I think I have seen the same 15 minutes of 6 movies for the last 19 weeks. Wow 19 weeks down already.
I will try to post when I can, but I don't know how the internet will be during the crossing on board the ship. I certainly don't plan on bringing my laptop with me when I go ashore. I will post my calendar for October later and you can see all of the places I will be going to.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Trip is Official
Well it is definitely happening. I am spending 9 days in Sydney once I get off the ship. The company has issued my plane tickets and I am so excited. I have already decided what I will do there, but more on that later when I set my plans. Anyways that is the best news I received this week.
At the beginning of this last cruise there was a magic and comedy show put on for the crew. A bunch of us went, and I have to say it was quite amusing. Even though the magic was very basic, it was funny and enjoyable to actually get to see one of the shows on the ship.
I was finally able to make my way off of the ship in Juneau this week. After 3 weeks of not seeing the city it was nice to walk around. I had to try Tracy's King Crab Shack on the dock as it is a place a lot of the crew talk about. They supposedly have really great king crab bisque. Let's just say I was impressed. It was so delicious. They gave a couple of rolls with it, and I had a tasty Alaskan Amber with it. The crab they cooked right before putting it in the hot soup and it was sweet and delicious.
There is one thing that to my understanding is universally frowned upon in the kitchen, whistling. Not one chef that I have worked for likes whistling in the kitchen. Personally I like whistling, just not in the kitchen. It is an extreme annoyance to everyone. But here, everyone whistles all the time in the kitchen. There is nothing we can do to stop it. I don't know why it is such a taboo thing, but it really irritates a lot of people. It's like nails on a chalk board.
Well it has happened again, something was stolen from our kitchen. With so many different departments, and not everything that is ordered is approved it is bound to happen at some point. This time it was a container of pesto that we had just received. In the morning it was there, we went on break only to return to an empty space in the fridge. Well I went around asking people who took it and no replies helped me at all. Some even said I don't steal, I ask first. If only I could believe that. Anyways later it showed back up in our fridge, and they guy who took it was the one who said he didn't steal. Wow that's a good one.
One more week in Alaska and then off to Hawaii. We are all looking forward to leaving here. The constant time changes are also taxing on us. Soon it will be time to set the clock back an hour several times.
Crab Bisque, rolls, and Alaskan Amber..... mmmmmmm
At the beginning of this last cruise there was a magic and comedy show put on for the crew. A bunch of us went, and I have to say it was quite amusing. Even though the magic was very basic, it was funny and enjoyable to actually get to see one of the shows on the ship.
I was finally able to make my way off of the ship in Juneau this week. After 3 weeks of not seeing the city it was nice to walk around. I had to try Tracy's King Crab Shack on the dock as it is a place a lot of the crew talk about. They supposedly have really great king crab bisque. Let's just say I was impressed. It was so delicious. They gave a couple of rolls with it, and I had a tasty Alaskan Amber with it. The crab they cooked right before putting it in the hot soup and it was sweet and delicious.
There is one thing that to my understanding is universally frowned upon in the kitchen, whistling. Not one chef that I have worked for likes whistling in the kitchen. Personally I like whistling, just not in the kitchen. It is an extreme annoyance to everyone. But here, everyone whistles all the time in the kitchen. There is nothing we can do to stop it. I don't know why it is such a taboo thing, but it really irritates a lot of people. It's like nails on a chalk board.
Well it has happened again, something was stolen from our kitchen. With so many different departments, and not everything that is ordered is approved it is bound to happen at some point. This time it was a container of pesto that we had just received. In the morning it was there, we went on break only to return to an empty space in the fridge. Well I went around asking people who took it and no replies helped me at all. Some even said I don't steal, I ask first. If only I could believe that. Anyways later it showed back up in our fridge, and they guy who took it was the one who said he didn't steal. Wow that's a good one.
One more week in Alaska and then off to Hawaii. We are all looking forward to leaving here. The constant time changes are also taxing on us. Soon it will be time to set the clock back an hour several times.
Crab Bisque, rolls, and Alaskan Amber..... mmmmmmm
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Not a Whole Lot Going On
What a bummer, this week did not hold many great events of interest. Our first day was crazy busy and none of us expected it. It was unfortunate that we were so unprepared that we struggled the whole night to catch up. I guess it happens sometimes.
On another topic this was the second week in a row I was unable to leave the ship is Juneau. This time it was because the head people from the corporate offices were on the ship. With a couple of meetings and dinner on the ship, it made for an interesting day. I met the culinary director, who wanted to know how I liked working here. I told him that I enjoyed it very much. It was good to finally meet the person that I spoke with so many times on the phone. This is also the guy who came on the ship after my first week and was looking for me, only to leave without meeting me. This was because I didn't know he was on board and I was in my cabin sleeping in order to recover from a brutal few days.
That is pretty much it. 2 more weeks in Alaska, 8 more weeks on board. I am starting to think about my plans for Sydney once I get there as I want to spend a week there after I get off the ship. If you have any ideas send me a message.
On another topic this was the second week in a row I was unable to leave the ship is Juneau. This time it was because the head people from the corporate offices were on the ship. With a couple of meetings and dinner on the ship, it made for an interesting day. I met the culinary director, who wanted to know how I liked working here. I told him that I enjoyed it very much. It was good to finally meet the person that I spoke with so many times on the phone. This is also the guy who came on the ship after my first week and was looking for me, only to leave without meeting me. This was because I didn't know he was on board and I was in my cabin sleeping in order to recover from a brutal few days.
That is pretty much it. 2 more weeks in Alaska, 8 more weeks on board. I am starting to think about my plans for Sydney once I get there as I want to spend a week there after I get off the ship. If you have any ideas send me a message.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Winding Down
Well the end of the Alaska season is here and it is obvious on the ship. The business has slowed down tremendously. A lot of the management is struggling to meet the revenue targets and seem stressed because of it. Anyways it does allow for a little more experimentation in the kitchen, which I enjoy.
A lot of the guys I work with know how to carve fruit and vegetables. After watching with amazement for the last few months I decided to take a shot at it. My assistant cook has proven to be quite skilled at this, he even teaches classes on it for the ship. He took some time to explain to me how to make flowers out of beets and turnips. Lets just say it took a few tries to get something that resembled a floral object, but it was fun. I just need to practice a little more. Some of the stuff he does with melons is just phenomenal. I will post pictures next week of some of his work, and maybe mine.
I will say that after thinking about my comment on hollandaise a few weeks ago, I've changed my mind. I am not tired of it. In fact now I am continuously fascinated by it. I mean making a proper hollandaise is quite a nice thing to see. I always seem to get a small sense of accomplishment when I make it too. Also after making several incorrect versions, I learned if made proper you can use less butter and egg yolks and achieve a greater volume. It's pretty cool.
There is a cruise ship recipe competition sponsored by Bacardi, I have been asked to enter a recipe. So, with some extra time I have begun to play around in the kitchen. I came up with crispy braised pork belly over arugula with a Bacardi gastrique (the recipe has to have Bacardi) and pickled apples. I made it and it was quite a tasty treat, everyone else liked it to. I may even get to run it as a special in the restaurant. Man I really love a good pork belly.
A lot of people are starting to leave the ship and new crew members are coming on. This is one thing that is tough. If you work with someone for awhile and then they leave, you have to start all over again. It is funny that many of these guys will be coming back before I leave. Some come on the day I leave, which is the reason for the term, "See you on the gangway." I hear that a lot from these guys.
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