very interest Peg
You'd love the journey. the captain was out and about, friendly, conversing
as well as the other officers
sheree
"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
news:svvde3tal28tgi2p1a772aivvj2haiplh6@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:03:11 -0700, Jack Hamilton wrote:
>
>>What did you do? You worked for a cruise line contractor?
>
> No--a bit hard to explain, but I will try as long as you
> asked. I have been on ships since I was 2; the Gripsholm (Swedish
> America Line) was my first ship in 1958. In those days (let's call it
> 1944 through 1978--the years that my parents sailed--with one, two or
> three of us kids, depending on which year you are asking about and the
> order of our birth coupled with the timing of our going off to High
> School or University!!), the ship's officers literally LIVED on
> board--not just for a few months, but for as much as 4 to 5 YEARS at a
> time; 2 years was considered a "Short" contract for any officer back
> then. The ships were much smaller and there were few (if any)
> "cruises"--the vast majority of my 15 voyages in those early years
> were "crossings" from Point A to Point B. Published passenger lists
> were the norm (cabin number, home address, current employment,
> etc...), you had to reserve your deck chairs with the purser, children
> were not allowed to eat dinner with their parents, adults dressed
> formally for dinner every night, all first class passengers had open
> access to the Bridge or Engine Room at just about any time they
> wanted, smoking was allowed everywhere--there was even a special
> "ashtray" piece of china at each place setting in the dining room
> etc.... Needless to say it was a very different" world" on the ships
> in comparison to what we know today!
> My father was a Diplomat, so "first class" service and
> treatment was the norm, especially from the Master and other Senior
> Officers of the vessel. I cannot recall a single voyage where we did
> not have meals regularly (even breakfast and lunch--which included
> me, mercifully) with the Master or other Officers. My father was a
> kind and generous man--for every ship that we boarded, he always took
> a large gift bag--usually food and newspapers from the home country of
> origin for the Master and Officers to share. It was a treat for them,
> gave them a break from the boredom of their daily fare (just try
> eating the same meals every day on the same schedule for a few
> weeks--then imagine that stretched out for years at a time!!), and was
> a thank you for the treatment he knew that he and our family would
> receive on board, simply by virtue of his job title. It was/is sort of
> like taking a bottle of wine or flowers with you when you are invited
> to someone's home for dinner even nowadays. And yes, just about every
> first class passenger did it--my Dad just took it to the extreme!!
> Flash forward to my husband's and my first voyage together on
> Celebrity's Meridian in 1993. It was simply "normal" for me to take a
> gift bag to the Captain and expect to meet him, have a meal with him
> and get to know him--and his family. Fortunately, the Master on that
> first cruise for Derek and myself, had already had a long career with
> Chandris/Celebrity, so he knew exactly what was going on. When I
> realized that the Meridian was one of the older vessels that I sailed
> on as a child (under a different name--in a former incarnation), he
> was just as enthralled to meet me as I was to meet him, and we
> developed a very friendly relationship (between myself and Derek, and
> the Master and his wife--that incidently still continues to this
> day!!), which made our voyage all the more happy, interesting and fun
> for all of us. It was that chance meeting that began an 8 year
> relationship between ourselves and the Celebrity officers. That
> particular Master made it possible for us to meet many others, and
> they (in turn) introduced us down the line to even other officers. Of
> course, we sailed at least one voyage with the line each
> year--eventually two per year (once we could afford it)--and met other
> senior officers that way..... It got to the point where we even had
> the President/CEO of the line on our speed dial!!! For a few years, it
> was rare that I did not have a conversation with the President/CEO at
> least once a month, especially when it came to design plans for the
> newer ships!! We had id cards cards issued to us and a standing
> invitation to be on board each week to relax, enjoy the ship, and even
> bring many other guests with us over the years--some of whom are even
> active (or used to be) on r.t.c. We made friends--good friends--among
> the officers and many crew members, and were happy to do what we could
> for them to make their lives a little brighter and easier. They, in
> turn, gave us "the run of the ship" on any weekend that we cared to
> come on board. It was terrific--for all of us. Do bear in mind that
> this was also in the years before internet access on the ships,
> especially for the crew--so they benefitted perhaps more than most,
> especially from the wide variety of newspapers (printed out from the
> internet and xeroxed for both ships) that we brought on board each
> week!! There were other "shore services" that we did too, especially
> taking care of banking business for many of the officers--just as an
> example, I got off the Horizon and Zenith one weekend with over
> $40,000 in my purse that I deposited the following Monday for several
> officers!! Of course, all that changed with 9/11/01--through no fault
> of ours.
>
>
>>I'm quite sure that the captains on the ships I've been on had no idea
>>that I even existed, and couldn't do much to make me unhappy if they
>>had (I suppose they could instruct the cabin stewards to put dirty
>>towels in my room, but that would be about it). What power did the
>>ship's captain have over you?
>
> No, most Masters, " Captains", or other senior officers have
> no idea who is on board for any given cruise, and (you are quite
> correct) they don't really care. There are still a few out there who
> do, but today it is impossible to get to know everyone on board--the
> voyages are too short, the passengers regard them as "the drivers" or
> "the hired help", there are way too many passengers on board for them
> to meet each one in person, security is too tight to allow visitors on
> the Bridge or especially to the Engine Room, technology has taken over
> seamanship, passengers do little but grumble and complain whenever
> they do have a chance to meet an officer or the Master, children run
> wild through the ship and misbehave in the pool or at the dining
> table, etc.... A lot of the old delights (for Officers, Crew and
> Passengers) of being on a ship are gone. More's the pity, from my
> POV. Today it is far more of a "business" than it used to be--and
> that it is to put it mildly!! But, there are still some of us out
> there who DO care--and I am one of them. I want to meet the man in
> charge and his colleagues! I enjoy being at the Captain's Table, or
> being invited to visit the Bridge, or finding a bottle of wine or an
> appetizer in my cabin with a little card that tells me someone on
> board still cares!!! I am used to it and I expect it. To me, that is
> a VERY large part of what a voyage is all about!!! Always was, always
> will be....for me! To be perfectly honest, I would rather be on the
> Bridge for each arrival and each departure, watching the activity and
> marveling at the technology--or even learning how some of the machines
> work, rather than to hop off at any given port just to get a bad sun
> burn on the beach or at some local site--or get "Delhi Belly" from
> eating some local snack!!!!! LOL That is probably why the Premier/
> Dolphin sailings we did on the IslandBreeze, SeaBreeze and OceanBreeze
> are undoubtedly still the most memorable voyages to both Derek and
> myself!! The hours that we spent on the Bridge, in the Engine Room and
> with the officers of those vessels are some of our most fond
> memories--for us and for the officers that we got to know so very well
> and who are still in touch with us!!!! Just as an aside, on 9/11/01 it
> was not my mother or brothers, or Derek's family members that put in
> the first phone call to us to see if we were okay--it was Captain
> Chilas (Master of the SeaBreeze for 2 of our voyages) calling from
> Greece to be sure that we were alright!!!!!!!!!!!! An exceptionally
> good friend--back at the time of our voyages, and still to this day!!
> I still want to be of help if I can to Officers, Staff and
> Crew--even if only to honor my father's memory (he died in 1994). Some
> regard it as "smoozing", others think it is too old-fashioned, others
> don't understand because they have no experience of it. Their
> loss...... and they have no idea of what they are missing!!!!!!!!!.
> NCL officers seem to understand. Even the tradition of having
> your photograph taken with the Master still exists on their
> ships--although now the man stands alone smiling while everyone walks
> by him with a puzzled look on their faces wondering why he is standing
> there all by himself and not up "driving" the ship!!. We have seen
> any number of Captains this way, and had some terrific conversations
> with them--while other passengers pass him by as they race off to the
> show lounge or the casino! They honestly have no idea of what they
> are missing--IMHO!! These guys are AMAZING, and have so very much to
> share and learn from!!!!! Stories of storms, difficult arrivals or
> departures, difficult passengers, drunk passengers, dead passengers,
> weird passengers...you name it!! They love to talk about it all....and
> really appreciate it when you can understand and participate in the
> conversation. Gossip about their colleagues on other ships or now
> promoted to headquarter office jobs are VERY popular too!!
>
>
>>It does seem strange that they didn't realize it was out of your
>>control.
>
>
> Yes, this was the saddest part of all. They blamed us (or at least
> most of the Captains did--one in particular) for not being there any
> more--and no amount of explanation about tighter security that we
> could no longer just walk through would change their minds.
>
> Someday we will go back to sail with Celebrity again--but no bookings
> planned at the moment, beyond those on the Gem (for Christmas) and
> Spirit (B2B next July)!
>
> I apologize for rambling too much, but I hope I got my point across!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Peg
>
>
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