4. Conversations with Pinoy crew members.
‘Tis true that travelling can get lonely. You’re basically put inside a giant can of sardines with a hundred people you don’t know.
But on a cruise ship—where everyone on the crew is mostly Pinoy—you can strike up a conversation about the latest on President Duterte or ask them where to buy taro-flavored Kitkats. There’s really nothing like true-blue Pinoy service, is there?
3. The seafarers are mostly Nordic.
Days before the cruise, I must admit I was having visions of the Grim Reaper tickling my feet at night. Typhoon Meranti had just swept across Taiwan and left destruction in its wake.
Luckily, the storm had died down the night we set sail. But apparently, the typhoon was still alive in the waters. And like JGL in Inception, I had to do some mystical Parkour moves to get back into my cabin.
Thank heavens the crew manning the bridge turned out to be mostly Scandinavians, blue-eyed Chris Hemsworth-analogs, who had Viking DNA in their blood,who knew how to negotiate the rough seas. Color me impressed and slightly turned gay.
2. Pinoy-style butler service.
Now, being the Batman fan that I am, I’ve always had dreams of having my own Alfred. And it turned out that I had been assigned a personal butler while I was on the ship. He was much younger than Michael Caine though, and he spoke in Filipino.
His name was Vince. He made everything convenient for me, from doing all the boring paperwork to helping out with the Wi-Fi connection. I kid you not, it was the kind of service that made you feel like an aristocrat.
1. The beautiful sea.
A poet once said that God is the greatest painter. And on my first time on a cruise ship that was the thing I came to know.
At night, I went to the jogging track. I brought my headphones and listened to my favorite songs.
As the evening breeze swept my hair, I stared at the moon’s reflection on the diamond sea. It was beautiful. I felt that life was good to me.
Special thanks to Star Cruises, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong. A pioneer in the Asia Pacific cruise industry, you can check out Star Cruises’ fleet: SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Libra, SuperStar Gemini, SuperStar Aquarius, Star Pisces and The Taipan. To learn more, go to http://www.starcruises.com.
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