- Emily Ellet
Shopping: Days 6 (ish) & 7
One cruise down, several dozen to go!
We’re currently docked in Seattle, on what’s called “Turnaround Day” – meaning the day where we disembark the previous week’s passengers and embark a whole new group of them. It’s a crazy day for most cruise ship staff…except performers. I have pretty much had the whole day off. YAY!!!
Unfortunately, I was up at the indecent hour of 5:30 am, for an infrequent (once every three months or so?) immigration something-or-other. Seriously, I have no idea what it was for other than OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT PURPOSES, but I survived the long walk to a short queue with a customs/immigration officer, bleary eyes and all.
Of course, then I was totally awake, whether I wanted to be or not. So I grabbed some breakfast, put some makeup on, and headed off the ship to catch a shuttle to downtown Seattle.
Well, the plan was to go to church, which was wonderfully close to the shuttle stop, but I arrived fairly early and decided to go shopping at Target beforehand, just to make sure I had all the time I needed. (Also, I really, really, REALLY wanted to go shopping.) Below is my awesome haul.
Yes, I carried all that around downtown Seattle with me today. And to church. #nobigdeal
Here’s what I needed:
Detergent – while crew washing/drying machines are free of charge, you need to bring your own detergent! Granted, it’s better to buy it in port, rather than flying with all that weight.
Shower organizer – it’s a very well designed shower, with a small shelf built in, but I can’t stand leaning down to grab my shampoo and conditioner, and I especially hate having soap on the floor. So for me, this shower organizer was the item I most wanted this week! (Also, there’s a loofah, simply because I needed a new one right as I left home.)
Hangers – okay, well, I found out that my next door neighbor had a billion hangers left by the last person, right after I put these hangers away in my closet, so I guess if I’d just asked, I would have realized I didn’t need to buy hangers. But you know how sometimes you get embarrassed about not having known something? I thought everyone but me had known you had to bring hangers. So I didn’t say anything to anyone… #facepalm
Receipt organizer – that’s the little green floral box-looking thing. I’ve always been very conscientious about keeping track of my finances and receipts for tax deductions (years of hearing my dad say, “Receipt, please!” everywhere we went), but I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle them on the ship. I quickly figured out that just stuffing them in a drawer was going to drive me bonkers, so I got a receipt organizer.
Nail polish – I actually brought a bunch of nail polish from home but hadn’t been informed that my nails had to be natural-looking on stage. My bright blues and reds weren’t exactly natural, so I had to pick up a light blush color today. I had thought perhaps I could get away with infrequent manicures in the salon onboard, but the price tag was much higher than I’m used to (it’s hard to beat those $10 NYC manicures) and was willing to pay.
(Pink) day planner – OMG, remember how I said I felt like I was in college? This is the quintessential college accessory – the day planner. I found myself reaching for one so many times this past week, for reminders, for small schedule things, for bigger events (like formal nights), that I knew I had to get one. I’m already depressingly excited at how organized I feel. I’m such a nerd…
Ramen and bowl – apparently, I have one comfort food favorite that satisfies me no matter the season or time of day, and that is ramen. I don’t anticipate needing to eat many bowls of ramen, given the tremendous array of options on board, but I felt oddly unprepared for life without some packages of instant ramen in my cupboard. Also, it’s never a bad idea to have a bowl around.
Closet fresheners – I have two large closets, one of which houses my dirty laundry, but they don’t ventilate well, and the smells are not making my day. So I got some “Grapefruit and Bergamot” air fresheners. Instantly a happier room.
A mirror – it’s really obvious which rooms housed girls in our little singer hallway. Decals on the wall, mirrors in the desk, lots of cute little accessories, etc. Well, I ended up in a former boy’s room, which has none of those, and while those large closets above have mirrors, it’s incredibly unwieldly to try to get ready in a tiny hallway in front of swinging closet doors (every time the ship swayed, the door shifted out of view or closed completely). Mirror over the desk will fix everything.
Reusable grocery bag – like the ramen, it’s just an essential. Everything but the mirror fit in it, too!
So that’s what I did today! In other news, this was what I did with my evening yesterday:
Alright, I’m off to pyrotechnic training onstage! Very excited to see what that looks like. Have a great weekend!
Though I am an employee of Princess Cruises, all opinions are mine only and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.
#dayoff #Target #shopping #PrincessCruises #Seattle #church #RubyPrincess #dormroomessentials #downtown #turnaroundday