The Disney Fantasy :)

Hello All!

Well, I've been selected to embark on the Disney Fantasy on October 19.  I am so super excited!  I thought that I'd give you all a little info about the Fantasy and my initial schedule.  I leave here on Wednesday, October 16th and fly to Orlando.  I will be staying in property at DisneyWorld, in one of the All-Star resorts.  Then, on Thursday, October 17th I will be signing paperwork in the morning.  After that we have the day free to go play in the parks!  That will be really fun and a great way to get to know the other new people who will be embarking the same day as me.  On Friday the 18th we have Traditions.  That's the welcome to the Walt Disney Company class that kind of talks about what Disney means and what being a Disney cast member means/entails.  Then we have that night free to go back into the parks.  But we probably won't be staying out so late since we have to be ready to get on the bus to go to the ship the next day at 5am!  So I will actually get on the ship on Saturday the 19th.  Most of my first week will be safety and ship training with some on-the-job training.  But I should know more about that schedule a little later...

Anyway, the Disney Fantasy is the fleets newest ship.  It just started sailing in March of last year.  Here are a few links so that you can check it out:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/fantasy/

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/fantasy-ship.htm

 There is a ton of info on both of these sites.  The Fantasy alternates between Western and Eastern Caribbean 7-day cruises.  I'm excited about the 7-day cruises because you really get a chance to get to know the guests and create relationships with them and I like that aspect.  I also like that it's changing up its destinations so that I get to go to a few different places.  Here is the schedules for the Fantasy cruises:

Western Caribbean

Saturday: Port Canaveral

Sunday: At Sea

Monday: Grand Cayman

Tuesday: Costa Maya

Wednesday: Cozumel

Thursday: At Sea

Friday: Castaway Cay

Saturday: Port Canaveral

Eastern Caribbean

Saturday: Port Canaveral

Sunday: At Sea  

Monday: At Sea

Tuesday: St Maarten

Wednesday: St. Thomas w/excursions to St. John

Thursday: At Sea

Friday: Castaway Cay

Saturday: Port Canaveral

I will also be gone for the holidays, which will definitely be difficult but apparently they really go all-out for the crew to make sure that they don't feel so bad.  And I already checked, I will have a sea day for both Halloween and Thanksgiving, and I will be in Cozumel, Mexico for Christmas day.  That will definitely be weird, being in the sun and heat for Christmas.  No snow or rain?  Haha.

Anyway, it's time to really start thinking about packing.  I will have another post on packing and when I get more info from Disney.

-Steph :)

I have a date!!!

Just a quick post to let you all know that I have officially received my start date!  I will be flying out to Orlando on October 16th and setting sail on the 19th on the Disney Fantasy.  I will update with more information and a longer, more detailed post in a little while, just wanted to spread the good news!

-Steph :)

Stick in the Arm #2...

Hello All!

Well, now it seems I'm officially done with the medical exam!  I got a confirmation email from National Medical Systems saying that they were sending my results to Disney on Monday.  So - I should hear something next week with a confirmation that I passed.

My second stick of the needle went much better than the first.  I made an appointment with the lab so I was in and out in 15 minutes.  So that was very nice, a lot faster than the first.  She was also way better at drawing blood.  It wasn't painful and she was able to find my vein quickly and didn't have to wiggle the needle around to find it...

So, yay! Now I believe I'm just waiting for confirmation that I passed, then it's on to waiting for a start date.  A friend from the UK just got her start date today so hopefully I won't be very far behind!

Anyway, short update - hopefully I'll have more soon!

Steph :)

A Slight Misstep...

Hello All!

Well, apparently there has been a slight misstep with my lab results...

The lab lost my blood samples!!!

So, next week I get to go back and have it drawn again.  For someone who doesn't like needles, I am certainly not excited.  I just hope that I have a better person drawing my blood than last time...

Anyway, that's all - just a little hiccup hopefully!

-Steph :)

The Medical Exam

Hello All!!!

Well, yesterday I had the dreaded medical exam... 

Luckily - it really wasn't all that bad.

What it was was long.  My appointment was at 10am.  So I got there at 9:45 and signed in.  They only had one little form for me to fill out - so I asked about the two other forms I thought I had.  The man from National Medical Systems (the company Disney contracts with) had told me that I would need to sign the DCL medical examination form and the Seafarers Medical Certificate.  It took them some time - but eventually they found them and gave me about 12 more forms... Example: a form to say that they were going to draw blood - then a form to say that they could have my blood tested, then a form that says they could send the test results to Disney...

Anyway, they didn't take me back until 10:45 - and the first thing they did was draw my blood.   They needed six vials of the stuff - so I was beat the rest of the day.  But the man who drew my blood wasn't great.  Now, I've given blood to the Red Cross a lot and they are always really good about finding a vein, etc.  Well, this guy was not.  It took him forever to find a vein, and when he finally poked me - the blood apparently wasn't flowing.  So he decided to jam the needle up my arm more, then, when that didn't work, well he thought it'd be great to wiggle it around... Now for someone who doesn't like needles it was not a fun experience.  I have a big bruise in the crook of my arm today.

Finally, when he was done the rest of the exam was much less painful.  I had an audiogram.  Which is when you sit in a little room and put on headphones and push a button every time you hear a sound.  Then I had a vision test, a test to see if I was color blind (I'm not), then they took my blood pressure, my temp, and then I finally got to see the doc.

I was with the doc for probably about 15 minutes.  He listened basically.  To my heart, my lungs, my liver, my spleen, etc...  When he was done I had to go back and sit in the lobby for a few more minutes, sign one more form, then I was finally done!  Two hours and forty-five minutes later...

I'll know the results in a week/week and a half.  But the doc said unless something weird comes back in my bloodwork I'll be fit for duty!

So that's my story - I'll let you know when I hear back.

ttfn,

-Steph :)

One Step Closer...

Hello All!!!

Well, my background check finally came through yesterday... I was getting a little worried since it was taking so long.  I thought it would be fast since I've already had two background checks by Disney in the last eight months... (One when I was rehired in August and another in October to become an authorized driver for the holiday season) But I digress, it finally came through! So what do I get to do now? Wait some more!  The medical exam is the next step so I  currently waiting for them to contact me - then I'll schedule the exam and get 'er done.  Short post today - talk to you soon.

Steph :)

New Friends

Hello All!

So - it's been just over a week and I am still super excited!  I gave DCL (Disney Cruise Line) permission to run my background check so I am just waiting on it now.  I thought it would have been quicker than this since The Walt Disney Company has already run two background checks in the last 12 months on me, but oh well, I wait.  After that I'll be able to schedule my doctor's appointment and really get going!

But this post isn't about that.  It's about the new friends I've made in the course of this last week.  I have been following a forum for DCL crew, but I had never posted or done anything like that.  But, when I was hired I decided to introduce myself to my fellow DCL crew.  Almost as soon as I hit send I had a few responses.  Now I have two new friends from the UK who are also going to be working in merch (merchandise).  And last week, one, Rob, got his start date!  End of the month on the Disney Magic in Barcelona.  It was relatively quick for him, 3 months, so I hope it's just as fast or faster for me!

I also emailed one of the other people who was hired at the same time as me, she lives in Southern California and we've chatted over facebook a few times.  She seems really nice and I really glad that I have someone who is going through this process at the same time as me.  That way we can hopefully keep each other sane when the waiting becomes almost too much...

There are a few DCL facebook groups, and through one I also met a guy named Tim from Germany who currently works in merch on the Disney Fantasy.  He's given me some great insight into DCL and he will be a wonderful resource for small details like packing and the like!  He's the one who told me that merch is the best if travel is your thing.  And for those of you who know me, you can guess how I reacted to that.  YAYYYYYY!!!  I am a travel bug.  That was one of the big reasons DCL seemed like such a great opportunity, and to hear that merch is great for travel was really awesome.

I am really glad that I got to touch base with these other fellow DCL crew.  Because this way, when I finally get on the ship, and am completely overwhelmed, I will have some people close to help me through.

Hopefully I'll get some new news this week - TTFN!

-Steph :)