Stars and Sunshine

After so many months of traveling the most amazing places in the world, it was once again time to come home. Luckily, it is Christmas time and there is no better place to be at this special holiday than at home with friends and family!

Not sure if I am able to describe my time on the Radiance appropriately. A period of over six months is long and therefor slightly complex. One thing though is for sure: the world is an amazing place and it is such a privilege to be able to see it with open eyes. And even more amazing than the sights are the people that I have met. I am truly blessed to have friends everywhere, in every corner of the world.

So it is with a tear in one eye and a smile in the other I say goodbye to this chapter in my life. I know, I've said goodbye to it before (and it lasted for about a year and a half) but this time I really want it to be done. I'm grateful for everything I have learned through living and working on ships. There is nothing quite like it!

Merry Christmas to all of you. May God bless you and keep you. I'm wishing you all the best.

Oh my german-ness in Alaska...

“You from Uruguay?“

“Not really. I'm from Germany. Where are you from?”

“From Indonesia. Gotta go. See you later.”

I admit, a rather weird conversation, but not so weird when you work and live on ships. This just happened to me on my way to work when I got into an elevator. A short Asian looking guy pushing a cart with dirty linen was already inside and was trying to read my name tag. Those are placed on the left side of the chest and trained eyes can check in only few seconds all the information a name tag gives. I'm not a fan of those eyes because I'd rather have people ask me for my name, my nationality, and the place I work, directly. Those who know me also know I'm not shy to answer, haha. These types of conversations are not rare. Quite contrary, there's hardly an elevator ride where nationality doesn't come up. The uniform already gives away the area you work in, and the name is usually the last thing people are interested in. In the past couple of weeks my nationality became quite known on the ship due to the world cup. Every time Germany won a game people would ask me, “Are you happy?” and my reply would usually be, “Why not? I'm always happy...” By the way, I didn't watch a single match and Germany still won! After winning the world cup, especially people that didn't know my name, would holler “Hey, Germany!” in my direction. Not sure I've ever felt as German as then.... Thankfully the hype around the world cup has died down now and people have gone back to calling me simply Anna.

It's been eight weeks now since I've joined the amazing Radiance of the Seas and I must say I'm really happy here. The ports are truly amazing. I get to see a lot of wild life and nature, breathe the freshest air ever, and I'm just so proud to be in this part of the world. Though Alaska has never been on my bucket list, I'm very glad I was given the chance to come and see it for myself. Photos don't do justice to the beautiful views I get after hiking seemingly invincible mountains. God made the world such a beautiful place, and Alaska must be one of the top ten most beautiful places I've ever seen.

 hiking in Skagway

Hubbard Glacier

Exit Glacier in Seward

glacier in Juneau

hiking Mount Roberts in Juneau

hiking in Ketchikan with Jess

Some Dreams Come True

You know how it feels when you have this dream in the back of your head and you picture how amazing it would be if this or that happened? I had been dreaming of seeing Alaska and Australia for quite a while, and since Royal Caribbean has ships that go to those places, there was always a slight chance that I could get on one. I'm emphasizing the 'slight chance' since those ships naturally are the most requested ships to work on in the fleet. My status doesn't allow me to request anything. I go where someone drops out last minute, when people leave for medical reasons or - and this is the most common reason - someone gets fired and they need someone to fill their spot ASAP. This means I have been on 7 ships in a year. Quite a journey... So in the back of my mind I had my eye on the Radiance of the Seas. And one of my hopes was that at the right time, one of the things mentioned above would happen so that I would have the privilege of joining the Radiance. I cannot believe I'm actually writing this, but I just got confirmation that I can join the most amazing ship on May 30! It will take me to places I have never seen, but have been yearning to see. I feel overwhelmed and blessed by this opportunity and cannot thank God enough for how all of this is falling into place. Although I was on ships for just a few weeks at a time in the past year, I will now be doing a full 5 months contract. Excited doesn't grasp the emotion I'm feeling! I was always hoping that one day I would get to see the sights I'm about to see. Knowing that this dream is about to come true now is mind blowing. I'm going to Alaska and Australia!!