It's time....

19th of March 2015

Hi Everyone,

After a week full of information in Cologne, I have spend some time here in Arnhem and in Almere.
But today is THE day, my vacation is over, it is back to work for me!

I’ve been busy preparing myself for the upcoming season, as far as I could do things at home anyway.
We got a layout of the menu’s and a menucycle, we had to put the different dishes in the right order on the menu’s. I made a main menu file with all the right menu’s for the right days, going from Amsterdam to Basel and back. There’s a different order in the menu’s, not like last year where we would end up back in Paris and we would just start the cycle over again. Okay we do have the same courses, but just different days. With one main file, it is easy to just copy and paste it for the right cruise. And when Chef has made some changes, we only change it in the file, so the main file stays intact.

It was quite a lot of work actually, especially when now it is a regulation in Europe to let people know what kind of products are in the dishes, because of allergies. So now we have to tell them if there are nuts, eggs or dairy products in the dish and so on. Luckily we ca use numbers, but I still had to look through the cookbook they gave us.

I’ve also started making a Crew list, with names and nationalities. When everyone comes I have to put their passport numbers in there as well, so I thought I’d get a head start.
The HM had send me the definitive list of crewmembers with phonenumbers in it. So I made a list of that too!! I will not have it again, where we are leaving a crew member behind and can’t get a hold of him, like what happened last year in Vernon!!!
Turns out we’re going to have at least 5 couples on board, so there might be a chance that I will get a cabin for myself!! Can’t give up hope now can we?!

Well, I have managed to put all my stuff in my suitcases!! They’re heavy as hell, I probably have too much stuff with me!! It’s hard to think of things to bring when you’re packing for 8 months!! Ok I’ll be wearing my uniform mostly, but in my free time I really don’t want to wear that!!
It’s okay, I can always call and have someone come and pick it up now that I’m also going to be in Amsterdam!!

Today I’m going to Hardinxveld – Griessendam, which is in the Netherlands, about 2 hours by train from Arnhem. It’s a new ship, which is still in the shipyard of the Dutch company that has been building it. I think they’re dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s.
Today only the Heads of Department are going to the ship, the Chef, Maitre, Housekeeper, Hotelmanager and me. Tomorrow the rest of the crew will come on board. Then it’s going to be very busy and hectic, we have to get the whole ship ready!! Tables and chairs in the right places, beds in place and made up, restaurant and kitchen stuff in place and so on and so forth!

Then I’m not sure what our itinerary is going to be. I think Monday or Tuesday we will get our first passengers. But I’m not sure what will happen next, according to the schedule on the Avalon website our first cruise is on the 27th of march, a combination cruise with the Poetry II, where Jayson is.
But that would mean that the people are coming to our ship in Basel on the 4th of April, to come with us to Amsterdam.
But I’ll see it when I get there, won’t I!!

I’m going to try and keep you all posted of my adventures!! But the first few weeks are going to be busy and hectic like I said, so I probably won’t have time to write. Also the company is giving us 1GB for internet….not per month, but for the whole season!! I’ve talked to people in Cologne and they said it wasn’t all that much. Now I don’t use FB a lot, so I think I will be okay. We can buy more of course, another GB for € 25,- which I think is a bit too much!!
Fortunately the library in Amsterdam is close to where we are docked, so I can go there to post my stories!!!

Ok, I’m going to head for the train station soon, yes more dragging of suitcases, but at least I’m not in Paris, they do have elevators on the train stations here in the Netherlands!!!

Bye for now,

Linda