sushi work

The other sushi cook I've been working with is going on his 5 week vacation this Saturday. This means, I am taking his position ordering all the fish, supplies and running around the ship trying to "borrow" items/ food that we need. Or haggling with the butcher downstairs insisting the ahi tuna is for the sushi bar and the executive chef told us to just go and get it without a requisition.

In the meantime, we got 2 new sushi people in last Saturday. One guy is the sushi bar supervisor who has worked on the other 2 NCL ships but never this one. (The other two ships make sushi in the back with the rest of the restaurant and the waitstaff deliver the food to the table - there is no sushi bar). So this open sushi bar with all-you-can-eat is really different for him. So the supervisor is implementing new procedures from the other ships so it's more familiar and convenient for him. The other guy worked on this ship before but doesn't like the sushi bar and wants to transfer to one of the other restaurants.

I guess working 55-57 hour weeks is too much. The supervisor got rid of one of the sushi cooks saying he couldn't make the rice correctly and now I'm only working 4 hours a day. The really frustrating part is the cruise passengers really enjoy sushi and the whole restaurant East meets West will be open for lunch - sushi bar, teppanyaki, shabu shabu and Asian fusion starting this Friday. The waitstaff has already been informed of this change and will be working more hours. Us sushi cooks found out about this information by looking at the calendar and eavsedropping on the waitstaff pre-dinner meeting and when asking about who will be working lunch have been informed that the restaurant opening is only a rumor. It's not set in stone just yet... so we have no idea who will be working the lunch schedule. But with one guy out of the sushi bar and the other leaving, there will only be 2 sushi chefs (me included) and the supervisor.

On the other hand, Disney cruiseline just bought this ship itinerary. It will be a few months to a year before they will take over and no longer be Norweigian Cruise Line. Guess we'll see what happens. I'm counting down the weeks... 6 more to go before returning to California. Whew!