First Crusie Ship

I just got back from my first day on the crusie ship and I have to say it was probably the most enjoyable day of "work" I've ever had!! No, not probably, it was for sure!
I've been preparing for this first ship since I got here and for the most part I had no real idea as to how the whole operation worked, so it was a little difficult for me to prepare. I knew I would be speaking on the PA system to about 1400 people as we crusied closer to the Hubbard Glacier but still, you just have to see for yourself as to how everything unfolds to truly understand. I was a little nervous in the beginning but not bad at all and once I got going i felt pretty comfortable. Bert, who is the cultural interpreter, is there beside me and we basically just pass the mic back and forth telling all the people about the history, culture, landscape, glaciers, mountains, parks, etc. He gives the cultural side of things and tells the stories of his people while i mainly tell them about the parks and more of a scientific explaination of everything. You can see my view down toward the front deck of the ship with all the people below looking at the glacier.
So, after about an hour of that, I went down to the deck to talk with the people and answer all of their questions. It was something else! There were lots of people asking if they could take pictures with me and wondering how I got such a great job!! I think I'll be in people's photo albums all over the world by the end of the summer!
I was surprised at how many of them said they really enjoyed my commentary and of course they all knew it was me without even knowing my name because they recognized the accent!
I really hit the jackpot on this job! Its such a unique and enjoyable experience to be able to:
ride a boat (a killer ex navy boat with almost 4,ooo hp by the way!) out into the ocean at about 1pm, meet up with a cruise ship, get ready while the captain manuevers the boat up against the side of this huuuge ship while we're still crusing at 12 knots, climb a rope ladder up into a big open door on the side of the ship while passengers watch and oo and ahh over the rail, then go up to the "bridge" with the Captain of the ship, tell everyone on board how wonderful your National Park is on the PA system for about an hour, then go down to the deck and hang out, talk with them, answer their questions, and be in their photos! Then, to top it all of, you go into the dining room and eat all you want for free!! Oh and one more thing, the entire time You are getting paid for it!! Unbelievable! Everyone asks you "which side of the ship will your boat pick you up on??" because they want to watch the transfer(around 6pm), which is pretty cool I must admit!
Damn!... It was awesome, and now I can feel a bit more releived since I've seen how everything works. I'm already looking forward to the next one! I think I can actually say " I Love my Job!!"
:-)
Here's the proof!

This is the "Pilot" boat that takes us out to the ship. The "Survey Point."

We had a bit of training last week and had to try on the survival suits. The water here is just a liiitle chilly so you'll want to have these handy!

Approaching the Crusie ship. "Rotterdam"

Here's the view once i get up into the "Bridge" with the captain and others who navigate.

I've already been talking for about an hour by this time and we've made it to within 2 or 3 miles of the Hubbard Glacier. You think you're like half a mile away because its so huge but the face you see is actually about 350' tall sticking out of the water.

"I heard there was a Glacier around here somewhere"

I couldn't get photos of the transfer from the ship back to the "Survey Point." We do it crusing at about 12 knots and depending on the swells, its exciting!

Now back to Yakutat