Ship Life (First Couple of Days)

HELLO ALL! Greetings from the MV EXPLORER. I'm currently sailing between Nassau and Puerto Rico. We will arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico tomorrow morning and I am SO EXCITED.

Let me start off by saying this has been an awesome experience so far. Most everyone I have met has been really cool and it seems like we're all here to explore the world and have a great time. I've already made a little group of friends. I hang out with my friend Natalie (who I've known since way back and was close with up till middle school and then we parted ways for HS and college) and three guys that are really cool, Ryan, Matt and Matt. Ryan and I have pretty much hung out since we boarded the plane in Ft. Lauderdale. He's a really cool guy from southern california who goes to UT in Austin. The Matt's go to Pitt and are really cool also, friendly guys! I also hang out with this girl Kelly and some of her friends from college (Univ. of Miami in FL) - I met her on the plane too. It's hard to label a group already because everyone is meeting everyone and just hanging out and trying to grasp this whole experience. I've also been spending some time with Kate from Wisconsin who's a friend from WASB (no time to explain, haha).

Here is my journal entry from Day 1, it's pretty long but I think you may enjoy it:

Day One
I woke up early in my Atlantis hotel room in Nassau in order to get ready to board the ship! I took a big van cab to the Prince George Wharf with a group of kids that we’re all pretty cool. I got to the port and it was ridiculous. Crowded, hot, and slightly disorganized. I placed my heavy, heavy bags under a tree near the entrance gate and walked a lot of blocks away to the back of the line. It was HOT and uncomfortable, but I made a friend in line and we chatted for a while. She’s on ALL of the same excursions as I am so I’m sure we’ll meet again soon (Liza from Depaul).

After going through security and all the paperwork on the ship I made it to my room! Which was so exciting. It turns out, completely randomly, that I am rooming with Meggie Warner, a junior from Wisconsin! She’s from outside Milwaukee (went to high school with Sover!) and is very chill. She’s got sorority sisters on the boat, so is very connected with the Wisconsin crowd. She’s really sweet though and I’m excited to get to hang out with her. Plus we have an AMAZING suite. It’s huge compared to other rooms and has a couch and will definitely be a happening spot. I also took a shower and it far surpassed all expectations! Haha… (Cool sidenote, it’s a new SAS tradition to sharpie the back of the paintings that hang above our beds, so Meggie and I took down the painting and read through a bunch of scribbled notes with humorous sayings and tricks for using the room to its full advantage, etc).

So once I got to the room I unpacked and explored my floor. I’ve got a pretty cool floor as it turns out. My buddy Ryan lives like 8 doors down. Also two girls, both of whom I spent most of the day yesterday with at the Atlantis (friends of Natalie’s) are just down the hall. I also met two really cool guys from Pitt (the Matt's) who live two doors down.

Then we had a lifeboat drill, which was pretty lame, but I did get to meet some more kids. Then Ryan and his roommate Tommy (also very cool kid from socal) came and hung out with Meggie and me in our SWEET room. Then we went outside to wave farewell to the parents as we left the port and set sail! It was pretty cool to have all the kids out on the back decks cheering and looking out as we left Nassau for Puerto Rico.

While hanging out on the deck with Ryan and his roommate Tommy I met the Matt’s and two girls they know from Pitt and Natalie ran into us. Then Ryan, Matt (x2), Natalie, and the two girls all went to the dining room and got some dinner. Krsytel and Sarah (Nat’s friends and the two girls I like from yesterday) randomly met up with us and hung out in the dining hall. We just sat in that room for like 2 hours laughing at ridiculous stories and getting to know each other. It was cool.

Then the Dean gave his important speech and then we met up with our floor, known as the “Red Sea”. More details on that in future posts.

The boat is swaying a lot this evening, which is a welcome change to my routine. I find myself talking and falling over. Very humorous.

So, I’m all packed and set to go to bed so I can get up early tomorrow for a full day of orientation, meetings, and last minute bookings. Life is good aboard the MV Explorer.


For Day 2 I was basically a blob. Ryan, Matt, Natalie and I (plus a ton of others who came in and out) sat out on the upper deck and hung out by the pool. We went to some manditory meetings which, no joke, Ryan/matt/I slept through all of. Then we sat out by the pool some more. It's amazing because it's HOT and everyone is meeting a ton of people. There's a great snack bar with ridiculous smoothies also that I've come to enjoy. It's important to note that the alcohol will not be served until after Puerto Rico, so everyone's been resorting to playing cards and other games to meet people. Tons of kids sit by the pool and read or attempt to work out (super funny because if you try to run on the treadmill without holding on you WILL fall over or bang into the wall, as Kate's roommate has already done). It's nice to get to know everyone before we start to party.

As for day 3 I went to Global Studies, the mandatory daily class with Matt and Ryan, and it was terribly boring, but no worries. In about 30 minutes I'm going to meet with Natalie and plan travel through Puerto Rico!!

I'll post pictures soon, with a guide of the ship, which is UNREAL - it's huge and fantastic. I'll also let you in on my travels and expected travels.

I miss you and all and would love to hear what's happening by you!!!

Peace!