brodie.mcculloch

On the ms Noordam in the Caribbean

This Caribbean season was more work than play. There was some beach time but after Jayne left there were very few photos. Still was good fun but work was the priority. Many of the ports were new to me and I really enjoyed the Dutch ports of call, very different to the rest of the Caribbean (I thought anyway).

Posted

0 Comments

getting scuba qualified in Cozumel, Mexico

I finally organized to get open water scuba qualified in Cozumel, tomorrow I have my second lesson which I am excited about. On the first lesson we got straight into it and were underwater in about 10 minuets after some brief instructions…….I love mexico. There is a group of us doing it from the ship, 2 youth councilors, one shop guy and one other shore ex staff. Everyone really enjoyed the first dive, it was off the beach but I got to see a eel which made mel (one of the YC’s) freak out. Gold. It Is working out to be really cheap but is going to take 4 Cozumel’s to get qualified because we are only there every second week. At least I will have done something really good this contract (and saved money and learnt Spanish and got fit…..oh-o). So I should be fully qualified in about 1 more month, it will be worth it though.

Posted

0 Comments

Yacht racing in Barbados

In Barbados we have a yacht racing tour where they split the group of about 30 into two teams of 15 and the get on a genuine racing yacht. I hadn’t been on a yacht before (once again im not sure why considering I live in Australia but whatever) and it was a cool experience, shagun and kylie managed to avoid getting seasick which was good considering we were going quite fast.

the boat we beat

We were able to participate as much or as little as you wanted. It turns out there is a lot involved in sailing a yacht, there are ropes and sales and all sorts of things that have to be turned. As you can see I picked up nicely on the sailing terminology and now consider my self an expert……this may also need to be put on the CV - “Champion Yacht Racer” sounds good to me.

Go team green, turning the thingos to make the sail thing go up / or down

pro yacht person

Needless to say our Yacht won, they said it came down to the crew which I am confident is true. More photos are here.

Posted

0 Comments

“MESSY” is the word to describe the catamaran cruise in Antigua

We have a great tour in Antigua called Antigua by Sea, It is a tour that takes you by a really nice catamaran around the whole island of Antigua. There is lunch on the beach, famous peoples houses, snorkeling and then a cruise through Nelsons Dockyard ( a famous British navy port). None of this mattered because there was free (well included) liquor. I had also invited Clair who organizes all the groups on the ship and Chris who is one of the Ships IT guys.

our boat

Things started out smooth but as the rum punch kept flowing it became increasingly more “messy”. Our first stop was snorkeling and lunch on a private beach. We then continued around the island to see Operas house and some other famous people who’s names I forget now. When shagun got in the water to go snorkeling he lost his snorkel and one flipper, I have know idea how he managed to do that but it is impressive none the less.

the team snorkeling

We then went into Nelsons Dockyard which had some of the most impressive Yachts I have ever scene.

Shagun in the water

With all this action and history going by it was good that we were able to relax with a drink or two. Kylie was dancing and missed most of it while we had met another group of Australians from Brisbane who were cruising for 14 days. They did not help the situation and attracted an email from the operator. Fun and games.

we look under control, that changed.

That night was also interesting……but I might save that story ? You can see many of the photos here, and all my photos on flickr.

Posted

0 Comments

The Baths at Virgin Gorda

I haven’t been to the baths in about 7 months or so and it was good to go there again. We all agreed that it is probably one of the best beaches we have seen and we got some good underwater photos. The ferry ride took about 45 min but Kylie and Shagun didn’t get sea sick which was good. My favorite restaurant in the Caribbean overlooks the baths, they make a good drink and have one of the best views I have seen. It was also nice to not be taking photos, In the last year I had taken about 4500 photos and it was good to have Shagun and Kylie taking all the photos. I will just copy them but I doubt they will be as good…… We also have reservations for the Mexican restaurant which should be nice, except Shagun dosen’t eat Mexican, or much of anything else, im not sure how Kylie puts up with him. oh-o, no photos, I will have to get them off kylie and shagun.....shagun send me the photos, I know your reading this because you have nothing else to do.

Posted

0 Comments

Cayo Leventado…….again

Because we tender in Samana I have to work until about noon, after that I am free to do whatever. So I sent Shagun an Kylie to see the caves and mangroves in Samana and I was going to meet them on Cayo Levintado.

Shagun with nicole

So I met them there then had some rum in a pineapple and coconut. We were lucky because I was able to get them on the sea lion encounter which I had done the previous call but it was still fun.

Team Sealions

We were the last ones on the beach and caught one of the last tenders back to the ship. It always seams to be nice on that beach and I think I would go there every few weeks because there isn’t much to see on the Samana main land. There are a few more pictures here and all my photos are on flickr.

Posted

0 Comments

Shagun and Kylie on board…….

I can feel my liver hurting already. Shagun and Kylie were able to get tickets on the 9 day cruise which was lucky because it looked like it was going to be sold out. I managed to get the put on the VIP list and the latitudes list (people who have cruised like 10 times). I think they are going to be eating a lot and I have organised a heap of excursions, almost one for every day. After this cruise I am planning on saving a bit of cash and starting riding to get ready for the looming cycle around Europe from the start of June to sometime in August. So I better get fit for that one to make it a bit fun rather than a slow 50-100 kilometers of pain per day. Also I am looking to extend this contract through to the end of April instead of the end of March; this would make it a five month contract. Will keep you updated on that one. Better go and get Shagun and Kylie a drink so they can take advantage of my discount….could be an expensive week.

Posted

0 Comments

swimming with sea lions in Samana, Dominican Republic

We have just started running a tour in Samana that involves going to Cayo Levintardo (an island of Samana) and then going swimming with the trained Sea Lions that they have there.

Cayo is one of the best beach escapes we have and probably the only really good thing worth doing in Samana. I have put up stuff about Cayo before here, but they hadn't started the sea lion encounter before I went on holiday.

Sea lions are really cool, they are sort of like dogs but they swim more I guess. It was good fun to get to go swimming with them as I don't think I have ever done that before.

The count of animals that I have been swimming with is on the rise so that is good, I don't think there are any others. From my count it is Sting Rays, Green Turtles, Sea Lions and Dolphins.

They gave us all the photos they took on CD so we got some good ones. I have put them up here and you can see all of my photos on flickr.

Posted

0 Comments

busy times in the Caribbean

It has been a busy few weeks in the Caribbean, I have got back into the flow of things quickly and am looking forward to Christmas and New Years where it looks like we have some good parties planned.

I had a mo when I got onto the ship which made for some good conversations. It is gone now but will be missed by the many who liked it and the many more who hated it and said I look like a pervert.....well more of a pervert.

I have also had a chance to have a few quiet drinks in the crew bar which have provided for some good times.

The internet on the ship has been really slow so it has been hard to do anything, I have this Miami off so I will get a chance to make some phone calls after I get some phone credit.

Posted

0 Comments

jet skiing in Grand Cayman

I haven't been Jet Skiing in a long time.....and by long time I mean ever. The Jet Skiing in Grand Cayman is a new tour (it started while I was away). Apparently they got asked to start something by NCL because besides the sting rays in Cayman there isn't much else to do.

Paul the dodge man in front of the Pearl

I am going to say this now, Jet Skiing is awsome fun. They were locked at 35 mph but that was ok for me and we were going fast, the weather was rough as well so that made for some interesting riding.

me

We stopped twice to go snorkeling off the Jet Ski's which was nice but were were riding for about an hour which is a lot of time.

One of the guides took my photo and managed to take it of me and another ship (not the Pearl) which mixes things up a bit.

I only got a few photos but they are nice, you can see them here.

Posted

0 Comments

Tags

Get Updates

On the ms Noordam in the Caribbean

getting scuba qualified in Cozumel, Mexico

Yacht racing in Barbados

“MESSY” is the word to describe the catamaran cruise in Antigua

The Baths at Virgin Gorda

Cayo Leventado…….again

Shagun and Kylie on board…….

swimming with sea lions in Samana, Dominican Republic

busy times in the Caribbean

jet skiing in Grand Cayman