Cruise Crews

A few days ago I posted some travel tips. One of those tips stated that you should be friendly to the crew on your cruise ship. You may take that to mean you should be nice, say please and thank you a lot and to not treat them like your personal servants. While those things are important, I'm talking about something a little different. I stated you should talk to them and ask questions about where they are from or their families. We have done this in the past and I really believe it made for a better experience. Here are a two instances of what I'm referring to:

Richard: On our second cruise (aboard the Carnival Freedom), we met Richard. He was a small, Asian man with a smile as wide as the ocean. Richard worked on the deck collecting dirty dishes and delivering something if you ordered it. Here in the States he'd be considered a glorified busboy. Through numerous conversations we learned he was from the Philippines, was on this ship for 8 months (meaning he wouldn't see his family at all), he had a wife and children (it's important to note he literally lit up when he got to talk about his family) and was working on the ship in order to make money to send his daughter to school. Further responses to our questions revealed the public schools in the Philippines were horrible and expensive private schools were the only way to get a decent education for your children. Our hearts melted and we liked him immediately. Throughout the cruise we purposely looked for Richard so we could interact with him some more. We got to chat with him a few minutes almost every day. At the end of the cruise we sought out Richard in order to say goodbye and to give him a cash gift. I'm not telling you this to brag or to publicize our generosity. I'm telling you this to let you know that a small sum of cash could make a world of difference to a man like Richard. That was in 2007 and we still pray for him. We have no idea where he is or what became of him. I do pray Richard's daughter is getting the education he dreamed for her. My only regret is not getting Richard's address. I would have liked corresponding with him or the opportunity to send him more money. I am praying that by some miracle Richard will be on our upcoming cruise. It's about a million to one shot, but God can do it if it's His will. Either way, of all the fun we had on our first cruise, meeting Richard was one of the highest highlights of the whole vacation. Here's a photo of Michael and Abby with Richard.

Graham: On our third cruise (June 2011), we met Graham. He was from India. Graham was the assistant waiter at dinner. That meant he was responsible for bringing the bread, refilling drinks and taking care of the small stuff the head waiter couldn't be bothered with. Graham was quite possibly the nicest, most pleasant man I have ever met. You'd never have guessed he was away from his home for months on end or was working at a grueling job. We didn't have as much opportunity to talk with Graham. He was busy and couldn't afford the time to stop and talk. However, in the short chats we did have, we learned Graham had a serious girlfriend and had been away from her for many months. He told us when his contract was finished, he was going to go home and propose to his girlfriend. Of course we all cheered for him :-) Like Richard before him, Graham lit up when he got to talk about the girl he was in love with. I pray for Graham too. I wonder if he's married yet.

Here's a picture of Graham (center, with arms folded) with all the kids.

To conclude--- getting to know these people, if only for a brief moment in time can be very rewarding. Going on vacation is great, but remember to think about others too. You have no idea what your prayers for them will do.