I have just returned from a wonderful holiday, cruising in the Adriatic. The ship visited Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Italy. We saw some beautiful scenery, visited some interesting buildings and met some wonderful people.
The thing that impressed me most was the attitude of the ship's crew. The 500 plus members of crew were mainly from Bali, Fiji, the Philippines and Greece. A lot of the time they work in hot, cramped conditions for long hours and yet were unfailingly happy, smiling, courteous, polite and very hard-working. There was a sense of pride in their work that was obvious and very refreshing. The company award "Oscars" for the crew and the Cabin Steward or Waiter of the Month award for instance was highly prized.
All the jobs on boared ship were seen as of great value and, speaking to the crew, they obviously felt proud to be working for the cruise line, even though, in most cases, the cruise season meant working away from their homes and families from March to October, with little or no chance of a home visit during this time. One beauty technichian from the Philippines had left her 3 month old baby and her 2 year old son behind, in the care of her husband's family, to take the opportunity to earn a good wage to help support them in the future.
I wish everyone had the same attitude to life as the crew of this ship.