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 . . .