NCL SPIRIT UNDERWAY!
I just returned from 4 terrific days on the Norwegian Spirit! It was my first time on the ship, and it lived up to all the positive hype I'd heard about it from everyone who'd been on the ship in the past. The Spirit is a fairly new vessel and will accommodate nearly 2400 guests with a crew of almost 1000. Sheryl Thomas and I arrived last Thursday in Belize (my first time there). I was a little disappointed with Belize, probably because we did not see anything of the country other than the road from the airport to the port in Belize City. As you can see from the pictures above, Belize City is very poverty stricken and seemingly completely dependent on tourism. Mindy McLemore and Brandon Thomas met us at the port and escorted us directly to the ship. Once on board, I met with the previous cast who was in their last night of performances. They were truly awesome! Hats off to Robbie Hertenstein and Richard Ambrose for the great job of casting. This was one of the tightest casts I had seen in a while, both in their performance and spirit. Rueben (company manager) and Bree (dance captain) were incredibly helpful to our entire team throughout the remount process. And the entire cast was nothing but gracious to us and the new performers. Thanks again you guys!
We spent most of our time there in rehearsals for the "On the Radio" and "Broadway" shows. The cast was coming along quite nicely until Candice, one of the dancers, had a rib injury and was unable to continue. The ship's medial team decided to send her home for rest and therapy, so the cast had to immediately go into re-block mode. Sadly, Candice learned of her "sign-off" on her birthday - it was a very sad way for her to spend the day. We're looking forward to having her back healthy and happy in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Claire and the cast did a wonderful job of swinging Candice's part. It's not the same without her, though!
Mindy, Sheryl and I left yesterday when the ship returned to New Orleans. Brandon Thomas and Claire Williams remained on board to get the shows open. They have their first performances of "Broadway" tonight (they are in performance as I write this, so I can only hope all is going well!). Good luck everyone! We're all looking forward to hearing how things went!! All of the photos above were taken during the cast's first dress tech run Saturday night. I will add some more shots - ad pictures of the outgoing cast - later this week. Gotta go pack now!
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