First Turnaround in Venice

7/30/2012  

Once you’ve done it once, conducting a successful Turnaround is like riding a bike. I don’t mean to sound cocky, but if you are organized and know how to control crowds and teach people you can run these crew movements with great efficiency and effect. Even if you have done so in two months. On the fourth day of my return we had our Turnaround Day in Venice. For those who have forgotten what that is, it is the day when our ship ends one cruise and begins another. On that day we offload 3000 guests and onboard 3000 new ones. We do that while cleaning the ship top to bottom and provisioning her, and last but not least, the HR team processes all crew who are signing off for vacation or transfer and brings an equal number of crew back onboard. It is a fast-paced yet very precise ballet of people and parts, and it must happen successfully without delay so the cruise may begin on time. Even though it had been two months since I had let a part of this charge, it all came flooding back to me in our meeting the night before Turnaround and I already knew the day would go well.

The first set of departing crew, those with early flights, normally hit the gangway to leave by 8am. I am rarely involved with that part of the process as I am responsible for setting up our SKY B Conference Room for the in-processing of the new crew. This Turnaround would bring on just short of 100 new crew, so materials and furnishings were set per a plan that I had laid out to optimize traffic flow and effectiveness of task. I had just finished the setup when I received the call that Sign Ons were arriving. Early! They normally arrive between 9:15 and 9:30 but this group was here at 8:45. I spent five minutes transiting to the gangway on Deck 2 aft from the conference center on Deck 14 forward and as I strode down the gangway I saw the first of the line of little ducks with bags in tow walking the long pier at Venice. We had already arranged for a table to be in place in front of the ship and as they arrived we quickly processed their passports, visas, and letters of employment to assure they were good to go. Once this first main batch, which was over 60, had arrived, we called Security to give them their first of processing instructions and then took them up the gangway in groups of 20 to have their bags screened before they could enter the ship. My goal was to then herd them immediately to SKY B, do not pass go, do not greet old friends, and do not get lost on the ship.

By the time they reached SKY B I had an informational PowerPoint running and upbeat music playing to keep their energy up on what I know was the beginning of a long day. As the new crew assembled and took advantage of the food and beverage station we had provided for them, I called Payroll and Medical to send representatives up to distribute contracts and to collect their Medical records. The key to making this marathon of paperwork smooth is organization. When I first arrived on the ships for my initial contracts it was a bit of a mob scene.  Now, I insisted on polite queuing and patience as we moved as quickly as we could through the process. While we finished our assembly steps, twenty additional sign on crew members swelled our numbers. With all the parties in place I gathered their attention and discussed the simple but pragmatic flow which would lead the new hires through completing personal data sheets, receiving a welcome kit, taking the crew travel survey, submitting a health form and their medical records, receiving, reviewing and signing their contracts, and finally meeting their department representatives to receive their room keys and begin their ship tours.

In one hour and fifteen minutes all 80 crew members had completed these tasks and SKY B was once again empty. The Medical Secretary stared at me and wondered out loud how it had gone so quickly. She told me for the last couple of months things had not been nearly as smooth. We would actually have time to stop and take lunch before the afternoon Pre-Departure Safety Training would begin. She smiled as she left knowing that she would actually get a break on embarkation day.

Just like riding a bike.

And the adventure continues . . .

1st Birthday of Silhouette

July 29, 2012

With 1230 crew members, birthdays are being celebrated all the time onboard our ship. Today’s birthday was unique, however, as it was the first birthday party for Silhouette, herself. For many who opened her and who sailed with her from Europe to the US for the first time, they couldn’t believe that a year had already elapsed. For others of us, she is the only ship we have ever known and her permanence in our ship life means we cannot believe that she didn’t exist just a year ago. For guests, most of who are sailing with her for the first time, there is no sense of the passing of time. At most, it was simply the chance for another party.

To celebrate we planned to take advantage of the beautiful night weather in the Mediterranean and have a brief ceremony on the pool deck followed by the high energy, interactive theme part Celebrity Rox! The plan was a good one and we were looking forward to it for the entire day until 30 minutes before the event was to begin. That’s when the wind picked up. We had a warm and gentle day but now an hour passed sunset, we encountered high winds whipping across the sea. The ship took on a gentle, but distinct, roll and the wind took the opportunity to begin to reorganize those lighter items that were set about on the deck. This begged the question as to whether the party should be moved to its alternate venue in the Grand Foyer. But with only 30 minutes to go until show time it was not deemed possible to make the switch. So, the show was scheduled to proceed as planned.

Those officers who arrived in advance took on the responsibility of securing those items, including free-standing Silhouette banners that would run the risk of becoming airborne. Others spent time talking with the guests, hoping that our engagement would distract them from the blustery inconvenience. The number of quick gusts that agitated many of the women’s hemlines was enough to make Marilyn Monroe blush. However, everyone stayed in good humor awaiting the ceremony. The signal was given and all the officers left the deck and headed for the prescribed staging area. While not all could be in attendance, there were well over 60 men and women in black who were ready to flank out Captain. The awaited introduction came and we processed out onto the pool deck in a half circle at the back of the stage. The executive committee of the ship took center stage just in front of us and last but not least, following his own personal introduction, the Master of the vessel strode to center stage. The Captain’s warm words of greeting to the guests and acknowledgement to the crew were partially obscured by the wind gusting through his microphone. Those of us trying to stand in a perfect arch behind him had to battle the buffeting wind and the rolling deck. But we held our own with minimal swaying as the Captain finished his birthday message and the Executive Chef rolled out a giant birthday cake. I was sure that every office would soon be decorated with white frosting, but fortunately the cake behaved. The cake was cut, a cheer was raised, and the music reached a crescendo as we cleared the floor for the dancers. The galley team made quick work of slicing the cake into several hundred pieces that were quickly dispatched to our guests and Celebrity Rox brought the energy of the ship to a fevered pitch.

Now, of course, our singers and dancers had to fight the elements, but they’ve shown they can do so in the worst of elements with perfect smiles on their faces. It wasn’t their best performance ever, as the rolling deck limited the crispness of the dance moves. And the wind snatched away the singers’ words often just as they left the casts’ lips. But that didn’t matter because it was truly time to celebrate.

Celebrity Silhouette was one year old!

And the adventure continues . . .

Oy!

July 28, 2012

“Oy” is simply a great word. It can denote a wide variety of emotions. By the end of my lunch on my first day back, that word was banging around in my brain. It was a very informative lunch with my new HR Manager, Peter, and Lavern, our Crew Admin. They caught me up on all the changes on the ship in the last two months. There had been complete turnover of the senior management on the ship. Change is always hard, and not all of it was perceived as positive. So, many of the crew were adapting to the change. The mood was definitely not as uplifting as it was when I left. Peter was here only as a vacation coverage between Tim and soon to be HR Manager, Becky. But now we were hearing that Becky was not even going to be permanent and a new HR Manager would join in late October. The net result was that significant transition for our HR department was still in the offing. Add that Lavern would be leaving for vacation soon and we didn’t know who her replacement would be and that our Crew Welfare Specialist was quite new . . . well, you get the picture.

Then there was the question of my uniforms. When I left, I asked that they be put into the laundry and then returned to my wardrobe to await my return. When I returned,  only one set of ‘days’ was left and no evening shirt, tie, or jacket. This would be a scramble as I had to acquire those uniform pieces in the right size, cleaned and pressed, or I was not able to enter a guest area after 6pm. As I explored this during the day I found that since I was off the ship they were returned to ship’s stores to be kept, but no one could now find where they were. A small problem but not one you wish to face when you need to hit the ground running.

When anyone else has been doing your job for the past two months you will also need to put things back into an order that works for your style. When someone has lived in your ‘home’ the same applies. There was no time to simply stop work and do this type of housekeeping as the pace of ships doesn’t allow. So, in between accomplishing the daily demands all of this reordering had to occur. As I explored I also discovered some ‘gaps’ in what had been accomplished, so catch up mode was going to be the order of the next couple of weeks.

Wouldn’t you know that tonight was Dancing With the Stripes. I had hoped to ease back into the routine of the ship and certainly had no intention of jumping into the most visible of officer and guest events. But my phone starting ringing two hours into being on board with the Activity Manager requesting my presence.  When I tried to defer he stated that he was seriously short of officers to participate and really needed me. So, the scramble to replace my uniform intensified. I was now seriously ‘on the clock.’ Before I knew it the clock had spun madly and it was 9pm. I had, in fact, retrieved sufficient uniform pieces to fulfill my evening obligations. We headed to Ocean View Café for dinner and then without much further ado, I presented myself to the poolside where Stripes was to be held. Without question, I really didn’t want to be there. However, this bizarre duty called, and I answered the bell. I will only say that I fulfilled my obligation, making it to the semi-finals, but there was not joy in Mudville that night.

Thirteen hours back on Silhouette and I was exhausted. Welcome back to ships!

And the adventure continues . . .

Back 'Home'

July 27, 2012

Ask me where my home is and I’m not sure where to answer. If home is where the heart is, then it is equal parts Colorado Springs, Richmond, Phoenix, San Francisco and Celebrity Silhouette. The home I pay for is in Colorado Springs, but it is essentially now a vacation home. Where I live most of the year is Celebrity Silhouette. Where I belong seems simply to be where I am at a given moment. In the past ten days it has been Miami, Athens, Skopje, Mykonos, and now the Silhouette.

So, I have come home to Silhouette, and, yes, it does feel like home. As I walked the last two hundred meters from where the taxi could drop me in Mykonos across the cobble stone walkway which bounced my roller bag to and fro, I stared at the gleaming white hull of my home across the water. As I approached the tender boat dock my attention was directed to those calling out a greeting, security guards, ship’s photographers, and assorted other ship’s personnel who were assisting guests on the dock. “Welcome Home,” was the cry and those words fit exactly. Within minutes I stepped onto the tender with my limited luggage from this brief trip and took a seat next to the entrance so I could chat with Blue, the security guard who was accompanying me back to my ship. It was odd to hear his transmission as he announced on the radio, ‘tender boat leaving the dock with one sign on.’ My department is the one which welcomes and processes all sign on crew, so it was strange to hear that designation applied to me.  The trip across the bay to Silhouette was short and soon her massive girth towered above me as the tender tied up to the platform. A few guests were also on the tender and I awaited their disembarkation before I grabbed my bags and officially crossed the threshold onto my second shipboard contract.

We entered on Deck 2 aft gangway which placed me only a few steps from my office. This was convenient as I needed to stop by my office to grab my cabin key and deck phone. Fortunately, my office was open and both were readily available. I peeked into the office next door to see if my new HR Manager was in, but he was not. It was my intent to head immediately to my cabin to unpack and change but the line already forming outside my office did not allow it. Some stopped in just to welcome me back. Others were crew members in need of assistance from their T&D or HR managers. Since there are no ‘spare people’ on a ship the moment you are onboard you are available for duty.  Duty called, and for the next two hours I was serving my crew still in my jeans, polo, running shoes, and sport coat. Now, that’s Modern Luxury!

With lunchtime looming, I knew it was time to change. When a lull in the parade of people appeared, I grabbed my bag and my key and headed straight to Deck 6 to become ‘official.’ Surprisingly, when I opened my wardrobe, I had only one day uniform hanging in place which was quite a surprise since when I left the ship three were there, including evening pieces. It would not be the last surprise of the day. No matter, there was enough to create a uniform and in fifteen minutes I was on the phone looking for HR team members to have lunch with to do a quick catch up on the ‘state of the ship.’ What I would learn would define my first few hours, my first few days, and perhaps first few weeks of my second contract.

And the adventure continues . . .