That's ent-er-tainment.

Have I told you about our shows? I love them. We do 4 different sketch shows and a ton of improv sets. In the sketch shows I play a variety of characters from Shakespeare’s Ophelia, to a blow-up doll, to a woman who is explaining to a guy she is about to have sex with (Jeff) that she has a Nuva Ring in her vagina. The material is fun and the response is amazing!

Because we do so many shows, we really vary the improv sets. We may do a whole night of short-form improv games. We might do a Pad set, where we get a list of audience ideas and mix them together to create scenes. We might do an Armando (we get a ship “celebrity guest”, like the Cruise Director, to tell real stories about his life and then we do inspired scenes based on his monologues).

The most fun I have been having lately is doing an improvised solo song. I get a suggestion and then make up a song on the spot. It’s often a torch song... about bad drivers or small cabins. But the other day I did an up-tempo R&B about snoring. And last night I did a Calypso song called “Going to the Gynecologist”.

Yes, we are getting paid for this.

Other fun stuff: As always the Crew Staff on board provides a number of entertaining activities for guests. The usual Bingo, art auctions, scavenger hunts, and ballroom dance classes are well-attended.

Some genius came up with the idea to do a belly flop contest in our incredibly shallow pools. Last week we heard “Code Alpha, Code Alpha. Deck 16, Pool Portside.” Yup. The first contestant in that contest cracked his head open on the bottom of the deep end. Vacation memories!

The Crew Staff is also responsible for kicking off the many themed dance parties. The non-dancer staff has to do these intricately choreographed dance numbers that are themed to include Caribbean vibes or “Zuke” (no one, including the locals, knows what that is). They do a 1920’s flapper number in the Casino, and then get harassed by dirty old men. And then of course there is my favorite, FABBA. It’s a fabulous ABBA tribute complete with sequins, shiny bell-bottoms, and open silk shirts.

The dorkiest event on board (apart from our Murder Mystery, which actually turned out to be pretty cool. I know you don’t believe me.) is the Twilight Teen Night in the nightclub. It’s called “Thirst”. It’s a 2-hour gothic dance party for ages 12-17. The nightclub is dark. And they put up this super-cheesy cardboard castle. It’s super gayballs! But, I love all of this corny stuff. I wish I had more nights off to attend these functions. They make me laugh uncontrollably.

I will post one more blog of our final week. I still haven't told you about the ports...