Calm Day Goes Awry

May 8, 2012

Some days just seem to be slightly out of kilter. And today was one of them. There was nothing terribly wrong with today, but the entire rhythm was a bit off. It actually started a few days ago. Prior to the beginning of each cruise I create a training schedule for the duration of the voyage. This is done after discussions with several other departments, chief of which is Safety so that all of their critical training is properly covered and I account for the very important Crew Boat Drill that needs to take place. In fact, the Boat Drill sets the agenda for the entire day on which it occurs and is a centerpiece around which most of the other days of the schedule are laid out. And this fact defines where today’s problems began.

On this voyage, just after the schedule was set and published, the decision was made to change the date of this critical activity. As we would be visiting our port of registry, Malta, for the first time since Silhouette came on the water last July, it was recommended that the drill occur on that day. It was also a possibility that our flag authority would wish to conduct a public health inspection, or a bomb drill, as well. The question remained up in the air for the first few days of our cruise. This resulted in a preemptive adjustment to the cruise schedule and then the need to wait patiently, something I’ve never done well, to see how the day would unfold. The result is that the Boat Drill was moved to this date, and we would find out the rest once the officials were onboard. Tim was aware of the disruption this was causing me and called me shortly after I awoke this morning to invite me to have breakfast with him at the Aqua Spa Café. This café is one of the few venues on the ship to which I do not have access, which is unfortunate as its offerings of healthy options is completely in line with my preferred eating habits. Oddly, though, this kind invitation which I quickly accepted turned out to be for me just one more ‘disruption’ to my regular pattern. However, the funniest part of the day occurred while there when my friend, Yzelle, who serves as our detoxification specialist at the spa came in to procure a extra large canister of coffee. When someone who helps others detoxify from all the bad things in the body shows up to power down the coffee it gives me hope for my lifestyle.

The drill also took on a strange flavor for me. My responsibility during the drill is to be positioned by the Staff Captain or the Safety Officer halfway between the ‘incident’ and the Bridge to act as a messenger if the radios fail to work properly. However, for reasons that escaped me, the Staff Captain decided that for this drill he wouldn’t need to use his Intermediate Communication Officer (me). As a result, I simply ‘hung out’ in the staging area now only wishing this drill to quickly end. When it did end, I knew this had to be a day for a shore excursion.

Tim, Karen, and I had agreed to go into Malta for lunch. Malta is a very impressive view from the port, the first we had seen on this part of our journey. From the deck of the ship you could see the walls of the castle city of Valetta, which had been built by the Knights of St. John who built this fortress to repel Islamic invasions from North Africa centuries ago. That did mean, of course, a significant uphill walk to access this modern city wrapped in antique dressings, but it certainly seemed worth the effort. But I will save the retelling of that excursion until tomorrow. However, the end of the excursion completed my trifecta of the day’s disruptions.

Due to different interests during our visit, I stayed in Valetta for a little longer than Tim and Karen and headed back to the ship shortly before our mandatory onboard time. As I cleared the port terminal and headed along the dock to the ship, two passengers fell in step with me and we began to chat. They were mother and daughter, mid 40s and early 20s, who were taking a vacation together from their home in Hawaii. We had a nice chat about their opinions of the cruise so far and I shared that I worked on the ship, which guests always find interesting. We said goodbye at the gangway and I figured that was it, another successful ‘guest encounter.’ However, that was not to be. I transited the crew corridor on Deck 2 and climbed the crew staircase up to Deck 6 prior to briefly appearing in the guest corridor for the last 50 yards to the doorway back to my cabin.

As I walked down the guest corridor a voice called out behind me, “We know you!” it was the guests whom I had just met. I laughed that we had taken very different routes but ended up in the same place. It turns out they were staying in one of the furthest forward guest cabins very near where the crew doors were back to our cabins. I walked with them as they made it to their cabin and once again bid them adieu. As their key was placed in their lock I turned walked around the corner and opened the crew area door without a further thought. I was five steps past the doorway when I heard a voice again. It was the mother who had decided to follow me and had pushed open the crew door and was invading this private area. “Show me which cabin is yours,” she said. I quickly turned and advised her that she was not allowed in that area and that I was sorry but she would need to return to the guest corridor. She insisted I show her which guest cabin door was mine, which I quickly denied, gently ushering her back out. Now I knew my day had just gotten further complex. No crew is allowed to have guests come into a crew area and I knew that the ship’s cameras had caught her entering the area. For my protection and the protection of the ship I needed to immediately report it to my supervisor and ship’s Security. I am sure she was just curious, but we don’t take any chances when it comes to the potential for any type of risk exposure for our crew and company.

And a trip to Security to report this incident was how I was privileged to end this bizarre day. But one thing you can be sure of working on a cruise ship. No two days are alike. And some are just plain weird!

And the adventure continues . . .