SHE IS the smiling receptionist that swipes your card soon as you board ship.
He is the IT technician that fixes the “error in the system” when your card won’t register.
He is the waiter serving you your welcome drink at the Grand Piazza, or taking your orders at Buena Vista.
They are the trio by the piazza staircase serenading you with “cocktail melodies.” They are the quartet belting out rock and country at the poolside party. They are the strings trio performing at the gala dinner. He is the pianist by the bar. They are the “divas” in some comedy shows.
He is the bellhop who takes your bags to your cabin, “the best, Sir, with an ocean view and a balcony.” He is the executive housekeeper.
He too is the ship’s hotel manager that makes sure all 1,200 guests find comfort in their accommodations.
He is the sous chef that helps create all those dishes, and the pastry chef that makes your sweet tooth even sweeter.
He is the bartender, adept at flairing and, but naturally, in some spirituous alchemy of gin, rum, cola, juices, and what have you to concoct all those wonderful cocktails. He too is the barista, that needed neither Starbucks nor Seattle’s Best to serve you the best coffee you shall ever taste.
She is the dealer at the mini-casino. The usherette at The Lido too. The mistress of ceremonies at every show in that little theater, and happens to be the cruise director too.
She is the front office manager, to whom the littlest inconvenience is addressed.
He is the lifeguard at the pool. And the assistant at the engine room.
She is the senior HR Fleet manager.
He is Dodie Rosacay or Anselmo Eme, Michael Edwin Miranda or Archie Cuesta, Allan Bernardino or Khristopherson Cajucom. She is Myla Zinampan or Key Ann Barbosa, Anna Llamas or Ma. Vanessa Tumambang. They, names we have forgotten but faces we shall ever remember – Filipinos all – comprise 35 percent of Superstar Virgo’s some 1,000 officers and crew, more than any nationality in the international mix of Chinese, Indians, Nepalese, Indonesians, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Vietnamese, and a sprinkling of Finns, Swedes, and Austrians.
Yes, as our favorite Mayor Boking Morales is won’t to say, “with strong conviction and without any fear of contradiction,” Filipinos are the dynamo that runs the engine of the cruise industry.
He is the IT technician that fixes the “error in the system” when your card won’t register.
He is the waiter serving you your welcome drink at the Grand Piazza, or taking your orders at Buena Vista.
They are the trio by the piazza staircase serenading you with “cocktail melodies.” They are the quartet belting out rock and country at the poolside party. They are the strings trio performing at the gala dinner. He is the pianist by the bar. They are the “divas” in some comedy shows.
He is the bellhop who takes your bags to your cabin, “the best, Sir, with an ocean view and a balcony.” He is the executive housekeeper.
He too is the ship’s hotel manager that makes sure all 1,200 guests find comfort in their accommodations.
He is the sous chef that helps create all those dishes, and the pastry chef that makes your sweet tooth even sweeter.
He is the bartender, adept at flairing and, but naturally, in some spirituous alchemy of gin, rum, cola, juices, and what have you to concoct all those wonderful cocktails. He too is the barista, that needed neither Starbucks nor Seattle’s Best to serve you the best coffee you shall ever taste.
She is the dealer at the mini-casino. The usherette at The Lido too. The mistress of ceremonies at every show in that little theater, and happens to be the cruise director too.
She is the front office manager, to whom the littlest inconvenience is addressed.
He is the lifeguard at the pool. And the assistant at the engine room.
She is the senior HR Fleet manager.
He is Dodie Rosacay or Anselmo Eme, Michael Edwin Miranda or Archie Cuesta, Allan Bernardino or Khristopherson Cajucom. She is Myla Zinampan or Key Ann Barbosa, Anna Llamas or Ma. Vanessa Tumambang. They, names we have forgotten but faces we shall ever remember – Filipinos all – comprise 35 percent of Superstar Virgo’s some 1,000 officers and crew, more than any nationality in the international mix of Chinese, Indians, Nepalese, Indonesians, Malaysians, Singaporeans, Vietnamese, and a sprinkling of Finns, Swedes, and Austrians.
Yes, as our favorite Mayor Boking Morales is won’t to say, “with strong conviction and without any fear of contradiction,” Filipinos are the dynamo that runs the engine of the cruise industry.
