On The Kiel Canal

Good day to you all!

Nina and I in overlooking Falmouth, in England:

Saw this in Top Shop and had to wear it in Saint Helier:

I can’t believe that Norway is on the horizon. NORWAY! We’ll be in the North Cape soon enough, who would have ever thought I would be exploring the top of the world? I can’t wait and am so excited. Where did I leave you off last time?!

Paris? well, here are some photos:

Arc de Triomphe:

Nina and I at Louis Vuitton:

Louvre:

I would love to tell you a few stories about ship life, if you’d like to hear them? Any objections? Well… guess not. Haha. (I amuse myself.) After our Broadway show in the Panorama Lounge this guest came up to me, she took my hand in hers and looked deep into my eyes and I was ready for her to tell me something about her late husband and how she missed him or something like that, the usual about how “someone to watch over me” was her favorite song and how she was so glad that I chose to sing it (as it is truly one of my favorites) and yet, this little old lady, took hold of my hand and said, “You, Rhett, are a glass of warm milk.” I mean, what? A glass of warm milk? I almost laughed. Perhaps it’s and expression I’ve never heard before; I mean, my grandmother drinks a glass of warm milk every night before bed, so maybe for someone who does that so often, she was saying I was indispensable? But it seemed as if she was coming on to me. Anyway, it was definitely an amazing moment in my life. Haha.

Notre Dame:

Here is me next to a statue in the Louvre gardens:

This is just silly:

Our fabulous cruise director Judie is leaving us for a two-month holiday at the end of this cruise when we reach Copenhagen. I am a bit distraught. She is the best. A cruise director is exactly what it sounds like. She makes everything happen. She organizes the entire operation of everything, from when the shows start to which newspapers the guests receive. She does it all and is so overly accommodating that I am sad to loose my “Dame Judie” as I’ve dubbed her. I have also titled her, “the voice in the sky” as she makes all of the announcements. For our Broadway show I wrote her a farewell song, (entitled “Judie, The voice In The Sky”) as my going away present to her and while it was a crowd pleaser and everyone was laughing in hysterics, she was brought to tears. Jimmy is our new cruise director and I’m sure he will be wonderful. I have heard great things and upon meeting him immediately got the sense he would be an excellent temporary replacement until Judie returns to us.

A sensible basket lift:

At a club:

Well my friends, I think I had just come back from Giverny, Monet’s home and gardens. That night we sailed into Honfleur. A lovely northern French town, one which I saw adoringly from the ship as, you guessed it IPM. A real you know what, sometimes. That’s alright, as I got the feeling it was much like the other. So I ran around the ship in my tennis shoes and suit, oh did I fail to mention the blisters from Paris? Well, they’ve healed since then, but the next day I was not in my boots, I’ll tell you that much!

From france up the coast to Belgium! A first for me. That gets added to the list of new countries I’ve visited: Spain, Portugal, The Faroe Islands of Denmark, Iceland, and now Belgium. Coming into the port of Ostend, I took a tour of the unbelievable Bruges. What an incredible place steeped in history! I went on a canal boat around the city and did a walking tour of the 15-18th century buildings. Unreal. I would go back there in a heartbeat. Also I tried my first street Belgian waffle with real Belgian chocolate. HOLY HEAVEN was that amazing. It was sin wrapped in a bow, and tasted like magic. I then indulged in the seasons prize mussels and fries for lunch (have I been getting this everywhere, duh!), which I must thank a wonderful couple from the Chicago area for. WE had had dinner the first night of the cruise and they saw me on the tour and invited me for lunch with them! How sweet of them to feed a starving actor, as this tour was a lunch on your own tour and I would have had to eat something really cheap, my budget just didn’t allow it. Anyway we then the three of us went to the famous chocolate shop called “The Chocolate Line” and there I purchased some indescribable Belgian chocolates. One was called non other than “Lara!” So of course I snatched that up. Let me tell you, the chocolate of my sister’s name, was an explosion of elation for my prim, picky and expensive taste buds.

Over the smooth sailing night we came to port in Antwerp the next day. A charming city, with some of the most attractive people I’ve seen yet. I did a little shopping. (I’ve taken an oath not to do so anymore. Well not a real oath as we’ll see how long that lasts…one day?) In Antwerp, there is the most beautiful Marble-esque train station, a long shopping street. Which has a Disney store of course. I’ve added that city to my list of Disney stores in Europe as well! London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Plymouth, Paris, and now Antwerp. Hopefully that list will grow too! (I’m such a mouse geek.) After Nina and I walked all over, grabbed hold of a Belgian waffle (again, Heaven created these) and some free wi-fi courtesy of McDonalds haha, we found that Urinetown the place, not the musical, really exists all over Europe. For those of you who don’t know, Urinetown, the musical, is about the future where the water supply is very low and there are laws preventing people from using restrooms apart from a select few that are taxed, so in other words, you have to pay to pee. As you might imagine, paying 0.40euro is not ideal, that’s almost a dollar to pee. I got yelled at for trying to only wash my hands! Thus the entire day I’ve been singing a theme song from the show, “it’s a privilege to pee”.

Next we had a day at sea, but we kept busy with Captains farewell parties, rehearsals, shows, and, as always, taking with guests. Currently we are transiting the beautiful Kiel Canal. With the greenery passing by my window maybe fifty feet away, its amazing to think that we will soon be in the Baltic Sea and at Copenhagen. I hear it’s a bit like passing through the Panama Canal, an interesting comparison, as it feels like we are floating through the middle of the countryside. I am enjoying looking out at the serene and tranquil breeze through the trees and watching the people waving from their houses which overlook the narrow passageway. A new and exciting cruise ahead and that also means a whole new faction of people.

Disney Store Paris. duh.

Until then, love, life and happiness to everyone. I purchased a shirt a few days ago which reads in bing bold blue letters, “IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY.” So enjoy life and the beautiful world that this life has given us. Stay positive and happy and many great things will come to you!
Love and care from who knows where (somewhere in the Keil Canal),
xoRhett

Photos from last week!

ICELAND:

Nina and I outside of the Blue Lagoon!

Nina and I in Ísafjörður.

here I am In The Blue Lagoon!

IRELAND:

this is the gang (me, olivia, olga, anton, and nina l-to-r.) in Cork!

Here's that photo I talked about in St. Stephen's Green, Dublin.

Nina and I on the shuttle bus, coffee and tea in hand on the way back from Dublin.

Nina, Alice (in Wonderland), the Mad Hatter, and myself with a tiny teacup in Dublin:

"In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone. As she wheeled her wheel-barrow, through streets broad and narrow, Crying, 'Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!'"
Here I am with Miss Molly Malone.

ME AND GRANNY:

PHOTOS FROM PARIS TO COME BUT HERE'S A PREVIEW!!

24 hours in Paris

Hello my faithful readers!

How are all of you doing today?! Well, I hope! Honfleur is peering at me through the windows of the ship as I sit here in the onboard internet café. I am on In Port Manning (IPM) today so I won’t be able to debark, but instead get to write to you fine people. Lol. Well there is a lot to catch you up on! Internet duty, for those of you who don’t know yet, is where one of the cast members parks themselves in the internet room to be of assistance to the guests when they are getting online and so on. Oh yeah, for an hour. Ugh. Thus, a great time for me to write my blog! Well, luckily it’s only been about a week since I last wrote you so this blog shouldn’t be too far behind.

Glasgow came and went, I was on IPM (in-port manning, remember?!) So that was fun. Hah. Our port after that was Dublin, so I can’t complain, because it has been one of my favorites so far. It’s so full of life. This time, I went exploring with Nina, as opposed to last time with Vicki, Oli, Kelly, Anton & Olga. We did a little shopping, (sorry mum) but hey, I love a deal, and found a a shirt in Top man, that has a scarf attached to it, (you have to see it to realize how cool it is) originally 30 euro, and I got it for 3 euro! That’s right 3 euro! We took a walk in my favorite park there, St. Stephen’s Green. A lovely young man offered to take our picture, so I will have to post it when I get the chance! After the park, it started to drizzle, not so much that you NEEDED an umbrella, but enough to be annoying lol. We took a walk down a little side street in Temple Bar, and found a little Bakery called Queen of Tarts that was sponsoring a showing of Alice in Wonderland in the streets! Alice herself, and the Mad Hatter were walking around handing out cupcakes. It made me think of all the wonderful times I’ve had at Alice’s Teacup with all my friends and family.

Next came Cork, and let me tell you, I took a fabulous trip to the Jameson Distillery in Middleton. What a neat excursion. We had a private tour of the old distillery and after viewing how the whiskey was made (including seeing the largest wash still in the world) we sat down, and eight of us volunteered to become Irish whiskey tasters! They took us through the different whiskeys of the world a bit like my mother’s wine tasting evenings, when she was becoming a sommelier. At the end they presented me with a certificate from Jameson & son, saying that I was an official Irish whiskey taster! Hah, perhaps they didn’t know I was an honorary Devlin! Anyway, I bought a couple of hats for me and my Devlin brothers (surprise?!).

After cork came Falmouth again, and I took to the streets to seek out wifi, not without getting some of that brilliant clotted-cream & blackcurrant ice-cream again. That stuff is insane. Walking along the beautiful coastline high street is always a pleasure; but, not as much as the next day brought.

Sailing into Southampton for the second time, this time Uncle Barry and Aunt Kim were visiting granny so I got to see them and give them a tour of the ship! Of course, we went back to the same fantastic restaurant that I went with my mum and granny just three weeks prior. It’s always a pleasure to see Granny and a special one when I get to see my favorite Canadian Uncle and Aunt! I showed them all around and unlike my mother, they we’re snapping photographs of everything and asking our stage manager how many watts and what type of lighting the ship had! That’s Barry, always trying to find the best light. So please go bug them for some great pics and stories about the ship.

A new cruise has started and I’m sad to leave the last group who were most likely my favorite to date. I made some real connections, including a wonderful Floridian couple who I will be seeing hopefully in New York late this fall! I also met a wonderful Texan dinner party that now travel the globe together and I will most certainly stay in touch with them too!

This is an interesting cruise because while I was showing Barry & Kim around, we ran into a new couple on board from non other than Carmel, California. Of course I already have their information, and I’m ready to put them in touch with my mother and see them over the holidays! They are just a lovely pair, and live right near Sunset Center! Amazing.

The next day we landed in Plymouth! (I couldn’t help but sing the opening lines of Anything Goes all day! “Instead of landing on Plymouth rock, Plymouth rock would land on them.” We had it all planned out that the cast was going to go see the new and final Harry Potter; however, the shuttle bus into town dropped us right outside of the Theatre Royal, so I said I’d like to go check it out before the film. Everyone else went across the street to get lunch before the film started and in I went to the box office to try to get a tour of the theatre. Little did I know that on a Thursday afternoon I’d be giving up my Harry Potter movie ticket and purchasing a ticket to see the matinee of the UK tour of Jekyll & Hyde the musical (starring rockstar Marti Pellow of Wet Wet Wet who’s hits include “love is All Around” you know, it was recreated in Love actually?!)!! It was so fantastic to see live British Theatre again! They really did a fantastic job and without boring those of you who have no idea what the Wildhorn musical is like or about, The Emma was unreal, and her rendition of “In His Eyes” with the Lucy was amazing. Now, I’ll have to find another place to see Harry Potter by myself as the cast has seen it, but it was so worth it! Ten rows back and center for only £26! Not a bad day. Of course I couldn’t leave without visiting the famous steps of where the Mayflower departed for America!
We are anchored at sea in the English Channel at the French Island of Jersey next! That means we tendered to port, which means that we have a little boat, called a tender, which takes passengers from the ship at sea to land. I was able to go ashore with Kelly and Nina and we explored the main streets and market areas! I caught up on my heytell messages on my iphone and bought some post-cards. One thing I have been doing is getting a post card from every port I get to see! I’ve created quite the collection!

Then came Rouen. Well really, I should say then came PARIS! Nina and I had been planning to overnight in Paris as the ship overnighted in the Seine town of Rouen (made famous by being the burning spot of Joan of Arc- of which I got a glimpse!). We took the hour and a half train ride into Paris and did EVERYTHING, and I do mean, everything in our 24 hour span of not sleeping! I guess I am younger than I thought I was. Having both been to Paris before, we didn’t feel in necessary to go inside many of the museums and such, but we did take some incredible photos which will have to come later. We jumped on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower, took pictures next to statues and the the great glass pyramid of the Louvre. Viewed the stunning architecture of the Notre Dame de Paris. Enjoyed some Moules-frites at a Parisian café. Walked probably over 10 miles around the city including the entire length of the Champs-Élysées. We went to a wonderful night club and danced into the wee hours of the morning, before climbing the to the top of the Sacré-Coeur to watch the sunrise. (something I haven’t seen in a long while!) After breakfast and macaroon shopping at Laduree, we boarded the train back to Rouen and I immediately changed and got ready for my tour. Somewhere that I have always wanted to visit was Monet’s home and gardens in Giverny. I finally got the chance to do it, thanks to Silversea, and looked over the beautiful water lilies that inspired some of the most famous artwork in history. I walked through his brightly colors house of green, pink, blue, yellow and purple, each room having its own theme, and even stepped inside two of his three studios, including the one in which he created the water lily masterpieces. It was an incredible experience.

That brings us up to date and into the internet café on board the ship! With pictures to come next time, I hope you are having fun exploring the world vicariously through my strange and exciting adventures! I’m off now and send my love to everyone all over the world!

Xoxo,
Rhett

I WENT TO ICELAND!

Hello my readers!

It’s a lot harder then I thought to keep this going. I can understand how someone who blogs for a living, has free internet, and ample time might be a little bit better at keeping their blog regular. So, sorry about that. Anyway here I am, having just left Iceland and on my way back to the British Isles! Let me get you up to speed! I left you last in Oban. Wow so much time has passed, not only that but 10 different ports, since then! Wowza, we do get a lot done here.

First of all the on-board life is getting into a regular swing. We are performing our shows and doing our assorted duties, leaving us with more free time, which is lovely. (However we just got a new band, so we’ll have to rehearse them sometime this cruise before our show with them!) Time really seems to fly by while performing. It really is lovely. I get some amazing complements, one of which was “I should be paying $250 a night to see you perform on Broadway and all over the world.” I like to think of it as though our shows are included in the fare of the cruise and thus, they are paying $250 a night to see us! Hah. One gentleman suggested I perform my own show at the Ritz, he said it had a lovely theatre for me to sing in and that it would be a great venue for me specifically. I jokingly asked him to get me the booking and I would be glad to, and he (without missing a beat) handed me his card. And then of course, we also get some very interesting comments, with guests who believe they know everything, and tell us exactly how it “should” be executed or what not. But I take those critiques with a grain of salt, if you know what I mean. If you shoot me an email, I’d be glad to share a few of my favorites with you more privately.

For those of you who know me, I am a Disney fan, so I put in a Disney medley into one of our shows, and it is such a thrill to sing it. People love it, and have said they see me turn into an elated 12 year old boy while singing and they really enjoy it.

So, Invergordan came, and I did the tour of Foulis castle. The head of the Munro clan who’s family has lived in the castle since 1000AD gave us a private tour and told us all about the history of not only his clan, but about clan life in general. It was really fascinating and for my first shore excursion (as they’re called) I had a great one!

Next came Edinburgh! What an incredible city. My second time in Edinburgh, I was last there while touring the country with Into The Woods playing the baker, and this time I got to explore on my own. I went to the amazing Elephant House for lunch. Has anyone heard of a little book series called Harry Potter? Anyone? Well The Elephant House is where J.K. Rowling wrote the first and second books and thus is dubbed “the birthplace of Harry Potter” I sat at a table overlooking The Edinburgh Castle while eating a brie apple and red currant Panini on ciabatta and sipping a ginger beer.

It was delightful. I then went on to explore the royal mile (the mile long street from the Edinburgh castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse [the queens residence in Scotland]). I found my heritage bar called The Royal McGregor. Then of course, I visited the Disney Store! Haha.

We then went on to Newcastle. It was a beautiful day in New Castle, but I stayed on the ship, because I was on In-port manning.

We then came into London.

And I mean right into London. In possibly the most amazing thing we’ve done to date, we sailed down the Thames and right under Tower bridge to dock opposite The Tower of London. Let me tell you, Overnighting in London and walking around the city at 1am with Olivia was incredible. We had a blast walking past the london eye, big ben, trafalgar square, and all the others. I love London and can’t wait to go back there in a few weeks!

We then went back down the Thames and on to Scotland’s Aberdeen. The city of granite! It was a lovely town and Nina and I explored it in the morning finding a Starbucks and checking my email (the necessities, duh). Nina then went on to shop and spend a lot of money, I returned and then went on a tour of the Glen Garioch distillery! What an amazing place that was. To see where the whiskey is made is something incredible, even for non drinkers like me….but hey, I had a dram while I was there!

Our next stop was Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. A small town, with a main street with little tiny shops, we nicknamed it little Oxford street. (or little 5th ave.) Nina and I explored together again and found a hotel bar that served the most amazing local mussels in garlic and cream.

They were unreal! Seriously if you ever find yourself in Lerwick…lol…go find this place!

On the first semi rainy day we encountered we entered the town of Thorshavn, which is the capital of the Faroe Islands, and is a very small capital at that. Of course its part of Denmark so the conversion to the Danish Krone made everything incredibly expensive, try $60 for a t-shirt (which I didn’t buy mum). Or how about $4.00 for a coke! Yeah. That’s right. I left to explore the city on my own and ran into Vicki, so we shared a pizza (and by shared I mean we each got our own) and continued to explore together. We became almost part of two different weddings, and went to a bar where I had a taste of Vivki’s Cider, which was lovely and fruity.

We had a day at sea to get us up to Akureyri, Iceland, which was unbelievably beautiful. The weather was unreal as well; I was the whole day in a short-sleeved polo and almost sweating! I went on an eight-hour tour, which included geo-thermal hot spots of boiling mud, scenic mountains and valleys, famous trout rivers, lava fields – where I stood one leg on the European plate and one leg on the American plate, the gorgeous Goddafoss waterfalls, and a stunning lake, which has 45 different species of ducks that nest there. Oh, and less I forget, I had a delicious Icelandic trout for lunch, and although it was amazing, its not quite as great as the trout Granny fishes out of her river in the New Forest. (Alright I might be a bit biased).

Our next stop was Isafjordur, which was a stunning harbor town located on a fjord, between two snowcapped flat mountaintops. The amazing mountains of Iceland are mostly flat-topped as they were glacially formed, millions of years ago. I went out in search of wireless and found a lovely café with incredible views and sat there catching up and looking out at my incredible surrounding. The funny thing about Iceland however is that there are barely any trees, I suppose this is because its mostly north of the Arctic circle, but the native Birch tree grows more as a shrub. I suppose that’s where the old saying comes in: What do you do if you’re lost in an Icelandic forest? … Stand up.

Our final stop in Iceland was its capital Reykjavik (I didn’t even look up the spelling! I’ve got it down) which means smoky bay (because of the natural steam that rises from the earth all over Iceland). The crew went to the famous Blue lagoon, which is a geothermal hot bath, where you can submerge yourself in warm blue waters and put the white skin healing mud all over your body. It was amazing. The mist that rose from the water was incredible. My skin, even now, feels healthier and brighter. It truly was the swellest activity that we have done ashore so far. I really enjoyed myself. I also felt that I was enjoying it for my sister Lara as well. It was her birthday yesterday while I was there and I wanted her to be with me so desperately, but was glad to sing her happy birthday and speak to her for a little bit.

Now we’re at sea on our way to Glasgow. I can’t wait for the next twists and turns of my adventures here on the silver cloud. I hope you are enjoying the blogs, I feel like I’m boring you to bits, but there ya go.

Hope you are staying safe and happy and loving life as much as I am. If not, book a cruise aboard the Silver Cloud and come enjoy it with me!!!

HERE ARE SOME PICS OF THE CAST ABOARD THE SHIP!

All the best to all the best,
Rhett