Compliments Make You Smile No Matter How Tired You Are

March 6, 2012 – Compliments Make You Smile No Matter How Tired You Are

Almost everyone who works on a cruise ship is sleep deprived. That’s why the first bit of homework we give to all our sign-offs when they leave on vacation is to sleep for two or three days, or a week, whatever it takes to help their bodies catch up with the deficit. I then tell them to spend lots of time with their friends and family. Unless, of course, they don’t like their family and then they should just stick with their friends. But the first priority must be sleep, for we are a tired group of people after working every day, 10 – 12 hours a day, for months on end.

Yet if you need energy, there is one source that can make you forget about your exhaustion. That would be the kind words of crewmates and even guests. Crewmates, especially, understand the need to support each other. One of the things that I remind them during their new hire orientation is that we are the only ‘family’ that any of us will have nearby for many, many months. So I tell them we need to take care of each other. To be aware when someone is down and to go out of your way to pick them up, again.  They obviously understand the importance of that instruction. I make it a point to go out of my way to share encouragement with whomever I can whenever I can. And what goes around comes around, as I have been blessed by the verbal support of my crewmates, as well.

It started early on when my new friend Iaroslav (who you may remember as the Ukranian Mr. Bean) stood up and applauded me at the end of his New Hire Welcome Aboard training. He came up and told me it was the best training class he had ever taken. I laughed as I knew it was simply his youthful exuberance speaking, but he had immediately internalized one of the messages that I always try to share. Other similar comments make me wonder about their sincerity. Sherwin, a Celebrity Cleaner, who was a soldier in Guyana, always passes me and loudly calls out ‘there’s Mr. Dave, the Number One Trainer,’ with a smile that makes me want to put my hand on my wallet (something, by the way, that I don’t carry). Manny, the head of our jazz quartet always asks me how the ‘Number One T&D is doing.’ My reply is always, ‘number one on this ship, Manny, just on this ship,’ which gives us both a chuckle.

But then there are the heartfelt and profound comments that catch you off guard and let you know you might be making a difference. Amaury, from the Dominican Republic, who moments after he met me told me I had the kindest soul he had ever known. Ashley, the pianist in the jazz group said that I brought caring passion to my training, which made her love to come to my classes. Rolando, an assistant stateroom attendant who was struggling with his job, told me I was the first person who made him feel they were on his side, and now wants to show me proudly how well he can clean a room. There is Wormold, a crew mess attendant from Nicaragua, who hugged me on his sign off day saying, ‘I love you Mr. Dave.’ And, of course, the Indian Catholic community on board who told me the other night that they have never had an officer on board the ship that cared about their faith so much and worked to guarantee they had mass.

Even the guests can make you feel you are making a difference. There was one Catholic guest who told me she wished that I could attend the masses with the guests, after seeing me help a new priest set up on the first day of the cruise, and said she was praying for me. Another guest told me she felt good about Celebrity because they had someone like me caring for the crew. And the Sullivans from Massachusetts asked their Maître D’ to call me from their dining table on the last night so they could wish me goodbye.

This is not a puff piece to try to show how wonderful I am . . . it is quite the opposite. I am simply me. What astounds me is the number of people who have gone out of their way in these two months to give me encouragement in this new and challenging life. They are the heroes of this blog entry.

And when I am weary they give me renewed strength.

And the journey continues . . .