The pessimist complains about the wind
The optimist expects it to change
The realist adjusts the sails
~ William Arthur Ward
It’s been a while since I did an actual proper update. But that’s because the truth is there hasn’t been anything to update about. We’re still basically in the same place as we were yesterday…and the day before…and the day before that. Life out here hasn’t really changed much in the last ten days.
Well, I say ‘hasn’t changed much’.
Yesterday, the corporate office rolled out a not-entirely-unexpected social distancing policy, which is being enforced fleet wide. So, healthy or not, it’s now set dining times for each department, and only two to a table (the extra chairs have all been removed) and waiting in line for meals feels like standing on a conveyor belt in a strange sci-fi tv-show as we are all carefully aligned to markers 6 feet apart on the floor. Oddly, as of today the pool and gym both remained open, but that may not last much longer as it would be logical to enforce their closing. That said, we are – very fortunately – a completely healthy vessel, so perhaps that’s why we are still permitted that particular luxury (and don’t get me wrong here, we know it’s a luxury). All crew that previously had bunk mates have been separated out into single cabins, with one person remaining in the original room and the other (drawn by lottery) moving to a guest cabin. Amras and I remain in our A-deck single crew cabin as they are (thankfully) not separating the few married couples on board so there was no reason to move us. Luckily we are at least not in the bunk cabin anymore! Because that…stopped being fun even before all this strangeness.
Our “provincial government” (what Amras and I have taken to calling the management of the ship, whereas corporate is now referred to in my head as “federal level”) continues to treat us extremely well. We have an amazing Captain who goes out of his way to interact with every crew member he sees no matter what rank or station and always has a genuine smile and hello for everyone. I imagine he wants to go home as much of the rest of us, but I’ve never seen him be without a smile or a word of encouragement for all of us. And while I could do without his 9am wake-up call every morning, I appreciate the spirit in which it is meant.
You’ve all doubtlessly read on the news that two of the ships in our fleet are in more than a spot of trouble. We are all terribly worried about them while at the same time being grateful we aren’t on them. And rest assured, we are not. The ship Amras and I are on remains totally healthy, and since we are now 18 days passed out final port of call, we are highly likely to remain so. Still, my heart breaks for my stranded colleagues, several of whom I know, all of whom I hurt for. Please, send your thoughts out of them that they can get home and get home quickly. For all that we are stressed and scared and homesick, they are 1000 times more so and they need your prayers more than we do.
This morning we all trooped into the main theatre (spread across two seatings, social distancing means 600 people can’t be in the theatre at once), and watched the presentation on the history of the company that is normally shown to the guests every voyage. At first, I was more than a little non-enthusiastic about being required to attend such a thing, but …I ended up being extremely glad I did so. For one thing, the show – and it is a show- is incredibly well put together, and I am in awe of the amount of time and effort that must have gone into creating it. For another…well, I am not one for the big swell of company pride, I’m not really always a good company girl. There are a lot of things that I have not always been happy about; but learning where we came from? What we’ve been through? What we have genuinely done for people in our 100+ history? I felt pride. A surprisingly strong amount of it. We have been through so much. Survived the war, the depression, the advent of the jet liner (which should have destroyed us), been pressed into service as military ships, been symbols of an entire country. We even have a connection to the Titanic, which I – of all people – had no idea about.
We got through all that, and I left the theatre with a hope that yes…we will get through this as well. I’m not quite sure how just yet, but we’ll get there.
Till Next
Shaughnessy