ALL ABOARD!

Can I just say this?

O. M. G!

We have been on a cruise before. Remember last year? Alaska? At the time Sarah was a little critical of how that company handled the whole embarkation thing. A bit too much figuring it out for ourselves for our liking, thanks. The rest was good. Just the getting onboard part.

Not here! No comparison.

Before we even got out of the shuttle I saw our bags going up the conveyer belt into the ship.

We head to the gangplank, get the obligatory photo taken, and step aboard with a moist towel. I know, right?

X-ray the hand luggage, and directed to the elevator. 5th floor, please.

Go over there into the auditorium, take this glass of bubbly, go to the nice lady at that desk and give her your passports.

Here's your room keys, and this young lady will show you to your room. On the way, this is where you come for your evacuation exercise at 5.30 this afternoon

As an aside, what is the fastest way to get off an Italian cruise ship? Answer? Follow the captain. Sorry about that. Now back to today.

The cabin is very nice. Lots of space, lots of storage. After the last cabin we had on a cruise ship, space is definitely important.

Unpack. So little luggage, so many cupboards. Bowl of fruit on the table. Nice.

Took a wander around the ship. All staff are so welcoming. "Welcome aboard" every time we pass somebody in uniform. Reminds Sarah of the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. This kind of genuine customer service is lost in those places where everyone is in such a hurry.
Most waiting staff here seem to be Filipino, so they will all have good English.

Cruises always seem to have a photographer. I don't remember one appearing on any episode of The Love Boat, but they exist all right.
The one on this boat is an Indian. The only other one onboard. Sarah is not impressed. 
As you may know from the dire lack of photos of Sarah anywhere, that she's not a fan of being photographed. Now there is this guy who will spot her a mile off, and hunt her out, camera in hand.
As you can imagine, she will also be saying "Bloody Indians" more than once on this cruise. She started taking detours to avoid him. The more she avoided him, the more he hunted. It became a game of cat and mouse between them.

By the way, I'm not going to mention any of the islands we stop at. There's no point. Either I won't get it right, or you won't have heard of it. Suffice it to say that most have names with more "a's" than is healthy, and the odd apostrophe for good measure.

Lets just think about this customer service comment for a moment. Both Sarah and I have been immersed in the Customer Service machine for years. The airline industry fits squarely into that category.

I think the difference is this. Airlines have escalating costs. The cost of fuel seems to double every 12 minutes. Landing charges seem to be linked to fuel costs as well. Almost without exception, airlines really struggle to remain profitable. As a result, they focus on the one cost they feel able to control. Wages. They cut wages, and cut staffing numbers. Fewer people doing more work for less money.

The result is that everybody who works for an airline is buzzing around like the mad hatter. I was going to say that they look as if they are in an ant farm, but that would require a few more staff than are currently found at an airport.
"I'm late! I'm late! For a very important..."
No time to stop and greet passengers. 
People complain about the stress of passengers at airports, but maybe the dearth of staff to help is a major contributor to that. 
I’m just saying!