Home Sweet Home Away From Home - Carnival Spirit, Sydney

   Built in Helsinki, registered in Malta and launched in 2001, Carnival Spirit sailed into her new home of Sydney Harbour, in October 2012, after months of major Aussie modifications made by the world's largest cruise company, Carnival Cruise Lines. A few facts on the biggest boat to call Australia home year round:

- holds up to 2680 guests

- over 1000 crew

- too big to get under the Sydney Harbour Bridge

- features the steepest and fastest waterslide at sea

- 20 restaurants, bars and lounges

- .... and, if the prices didn't change drastically, drinks are half as expensive or less than anywhere in Oz!
  I know that because, you see, there's more to this image than meets the eye....
  Back in 2001, over a period of more than 7 months, I was one of those 1000 crew, working in most of those 20 bars and restaurants. Particularly, I was the worst barwaiter in the history of the company. But this is in no way about how much I enjoyed laboring on a $ 35 monthly salary (don't rub your eyes, that's not 350, nor 3500, it's 35) and relying only on tips made through the selling skills I've never had. Ever. I mean there's a reason I hold the record of the lowest sales in the largest cruise line in the world. Did you notice all the superlatives?
  However, this is about something else, way more important. Here are a few more facts on Carnival Spirit and the time she was our home:
- in awe I've visited some of the most amazing places on this planet: Alaska (Juneau, Ketchikan, Seward, Sitka, Skagway, Valdez, Anchorage), Vancouver, Hawaii (Hilo, Kona, Lahaina-Maui, Honolulu, Pearl Harbour, Kauai), San Diego, Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatenejo, Acapulco, Cancun), Panama, Columbia, Costa Rica, Belize, Barbados, Miami, Sint Marteen, Martinique
- I've crossed the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea
- I've met wonderful people and some of them changed my life forever
- in Costa Rica, I've met the only creature that could have probably broken my negative sales record: the sloth
- on a September morning, sailing southbound from Alaska to Vancouver all the TV screens on board were tuned to the most shocking news of the century, news that changed the world as we knew it, whether we liked it or not. It was the 11th day of the month
- thanks only to my bar manager from India, at the end of the contract I was to go home and come back as a cruise ship photographer
  All of the above made Carnival Spirit my sweetest home (and work) away from home. And yes, there were emotions involved at our unexpected 12 year reunion.
And yes, there are lessons to be learnt.

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