The thing with the cruise industry is – much like any other entertainment situation – what you see on the surface is only just a tiny bit of what’s actually going on.
At the moment we are on our second to last cruise in Alaska. The weather is rough, and the passengers every so often rougher. But they’re friendly for the most part. Things are going well.
But behind that we’re all spinning our wheels prepping for what comes next.
After this we have a several-days-long wet dock coming, where a whole bunch of contractors will come on board and we’ll mostly be doing things like restocking the library and troubleshooting the computers (okay that last part will just be me)
And then after that – first thing in October – we start the 80 plus day Asia/Australia/South Pacific voyage. My first time back on a GA since…2014? And my first time back on a Grand voyage at all since 2015. While the scheduling is lighter, the pressure I’m sure I’m putting on myself is higher…I’m nervous. Definitely nervous.
Entering in my schedule to the ship’s computer this afternoon I was suddenly floored with just how much new material I have for this cruise. Being as how it’s so long I am able to stretch my wings a bit and teach a little outside the box, but that also means teaching things I’ve never taught before, material I’ve written myself, that I’ve never had a chance to field test. In some ways this feels like starting the job all over again…
I can do it, I know I can. But I have a feeling I’m going to spending a lot of time the next few days reminding myself of that.