Category Archives: Summer Contracts

All Ashore who are Going Ashore – Vancouver – [05/26/2012]

Posted on May 26, 2012 by GypsyShaughnessy

The key to overcoming buyer’s remorse is to take your time, take one room and make it your own….introduce yourself to the house This is also what it feels like walking onto a new ship. This was someone else’s home, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska, Below the waterline, Reflections, Travel | Leave a comment

Untitled – 09/24/2011

Posted on September 24, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

And then there’s the day when you turn in your keys, print off your handover notes, belt out one last karaoke number, try not to cry when your best friends debark 24 hours before you…and call it all a day. … Continue reading →

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Corner of Bitter and Sweet – At Sea/Inside Passage – [09/21/2011]

Posted on September 23, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

The last week of a contract is like the last week of a show. Every second suddenly becomes that little bit more heightened, every dance number you perform (or watch in this case), every song you sing, becomes different, takes … Continue reading →

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Wrapping it all up – Ketchikan – [09/21/2011]

Posted on September 21, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

It’s hard to believe that this is the last Alaskan port I’ll see until next season, and that’s always assuming I get the Alaska run next season. That’s never a sure thing. As it is we’re ending the season with … Continue reading →

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Before and After – At Sea [09/19/2011]

Posted on September 19, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

Sometimes there really is only Before and After. There are events that just split your life in half. Before High School, After High School, before your First Love and after. And for me (and for a lot of the people … Continue reading →

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Motion of the Ocean – At Sea – [09/18/2011]

Posted on September 19, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

I’ve said before that there are things you have to deal with ship-side that you wouldn’t think of worrying about when you work most shore-side jobs. Missing the ship is one of the obvious ones, the other is something that’s … Continue reading →

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Artistic Dentistry – At Sea – [09/09/2011]

Posted on September 9, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

One of the ways I earn my keep as a party-band groupie is by helping out with their live karaoke night. I help with the sign up process, man the songbooks and coax people onto the stage – in exchanges … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Cat Chronicles, Alaska | Leave a comment

Wind-down – Ketchikan – [09/08/2011]

Posted on September 9, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

Gradually the ship is starting to wind down. Like a clockwork doll who’s limbs have been wound too tightly for a while, we are starting to slowly click down to zero. Those of us that will be finishing our contracts … Continue reading →

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Journeys in Narnia – Tracy Arm – [09/07/2011]

Posted on September 7, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

~Oh perilous place, spell-bound and un-child-proofed~ With it being the end of the season, the weather in Alaska is starting to play up against us. In order to avoid a potentially hurricane force storm as we traversed the open water … Continue reading →

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I Could Have Missed the Pain – Seattle [09/02/2011]

Posted on September 4, 2011 by GypsyShaughnessy

~ Some things are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance~ I always get retrospective near the end of a contract; probably everyone here has noticed that it’s a … Continue reading →

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