The Best Team in the Fleet

January 13^th – The Best Team in the Fleet

The only thing that makes this intense pace endurable is the people with whom I work. Even though they are the only team in the fleet that I know, I am doubtful there is one better.

The Silhouette Human Resources department starts with our brand new HR Director, Laura. She was my predecessor in the T&D job and is considered a cruise ‘lifer,’ as she has worked with Celebrity for over six years. She started in youth activities, moved up through guest services, and then entered the world of training. When the previous HR Manager went on medical leave, she was promoted and added a stripe. She is a high energy, Type A Canadian (which is definitely a contradiction of the typical stereotype). She is quick witted and wants everything to be not just good, but exceptional. Our work styles mesh very well together, although we reinforce each other’s tendency to not stop working. The fact that I worked until 11:15pm on my first night, and that last night’s 10pm office closure was my earliest return to my stateroom so far, gives you an idea of the workload we are tackling. (The good news is that most of the officers try to observe an ‘international siesta,’ getting away from our offices from 2:30 – 5pm, just to get some personal time during the day.)

The Crew Administrator, Yez (Jess), is from Mexico City. She is also a ‘lifer,’ with over ten years on ships. She is responsible for all the paperwork and processing of crew members either on or off boarding. Almost every port we have a couple crew members arriving or departing. Today, in San Juan, PR, we had 19 join. At the start of the next cruise we have 140 adding, with an equal volume leaving. ‘Turnaround Day,’ as it is called, is a non-stop sprint. Yez is rock solid at everything she does, an incredibly hard working teammate.

Dwight is our Crew Welfare administrator, responsible for most of the crew events. Dwight is from Jamaica, and was recently promoted into a ‘white shirt.’ It is amusing to watch him instantly change his speech patterns from the professional tone and language with officers, to his Jamaica rhythms of speech and action with crew members. He is well-liked by the crew and is learning how to translate his passion to work on their behalf into organized and effective action.

Despite our different roles, we tend to consistently muster to help each other get a task done. This has caused me to get involved in working closely with Dwight to set up a Crew Dance Party on the Solstice Deck one night, and the Shining Star Award Ceremony with the captain the next morning; assisting Yez in preparing welcome packages and then on-boarding new crew members this morning in San Juan. Finally, of course, setting up, and assisting in several training classes delivered by Laura in the first couple of days.

Almost like a family, we try to do lunch and dinner together, when at all possible. So far, that has mostly been in the crew mess, although as officers, we do have guest restaurant privileges, which we hope to use more once we establish a rhythm.

Today we were in San Juan . . . which started with a brief shopping trip to the local CVS for me to pick up a few items that I found I needed as I started to figure out life on ship. The work day has been full with the on-boarding process for new crew, scheduling and recording training in the employee database, attending a safety training class, and brainstorming a crew-focused wellness program based on the Biggest Loser television show. This evening we will end the night by cheering on Laura, who is participating in Dancing with the Stripes, and wind down at a crew focused wine & cheese party in Cellar Master’s. Looking at the last two items, you may think this is one big party. Well, there is partying, but it is only scheduled after 10-12 hours of work each day . . . every day. Not for the faint of heart.

And the adventure continues . . .