We have now left Penang and are on our way to Sri Lanka. Last night we were treated to a brilliant performance by the London West End star Jenna Lee-James, backed by the ship’s small orchestra. Her renditions of ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ and the ABBA hit ‘The Winner Takes it All’ were simply stunning. The evening before that a former member of the legendary Paraguayan group ‘Los Paraguayos’ played a range of Latin American and other well-known pieces on his harp with such vibrancy and skill it was simply magical. He had the audience eating out of his hands (as it were)!
Everywhere you go around the ship you are entertained by different musicians. Walking back to my cabin from last night’s concert there was a German String Quartet playing classical music in the Grand Lobby and then, in our packed ‘British pub’ called ‘The Golden Lion’ on the same deck, jazz singers were keeping everyone very entertained. Further to the back of the ship, although I could not hear them, an orchestra and singer were leading one of the nightly balls - this one on a Latin theme. Tonight it will be a ‘Raj’ ball and everyone who attends will be dressed up to the hilt for that.
Today, being a day at sea, a smorgasbord of activities is on offer. But I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the ship’s crew, whose jobs range from plumbers and electricians, to engineers and navigators, to chefs, to cabin attendants and drink and food waiters, to medical staff, to staging our shows, to accounting . . . the list goes on. This is really a floating city and they are highly trained and work together like well-oiled machinery to meet all of our needs. The crew to passenger ratio is very high, and the crew members hail from all over the world. I have chatted to crew members from as diverse places as Croatia and India, Africa and Russia.
Once on a tender boat I chatted to a young Irish electrician from the crew who was having a ball seeing the world. He was off to shore to chat to his family using the free WiFi at the port. The majority of the huge number of chefs, waiters and cabin attendants, however, are family men who are just so proud of their jobs and of how they are supporting their families back home, even though it is hard to be away from them. This work gives them the opportunity to be respected community and family members, and to give their children a chance to be well-educated and to find satisfying jobs. I have talked about this at length with my lovely cabin attendant, who has worked on the ship for over 20 years and comes from the Phillipines. He is a reader and thinker too, and we have had good conversations about many things, including world affairs and the human condition. How lucky am I!
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