08 April 2008, At Sea.

Today we spend the day at sea, while sailing from Key West to Belize. Blue skies galore and sun streaming on the decks. It was a beautiful day at sea.

My day was filled with paperwork. While the Chief Officer and the Chief Engineer are busy with the yearly inspections, I am already halfway up the Trans canal to Alaska. It seems that the reporting requirements get more extensive each year. Every port and every country is developing their own pre reporting requirements and of course nothing is standard. The USA wants this, Mexico wants that and Canada wants something else. Then, once you figured out what the FEDERAL requirements are, up pop local requirements, either by State or port. The office sends us all the information that we need, but it is up to the ship to have it prepared and sent off on time and as each port has a different reporting window and it takes a lot of puzzling and coordination to get it right.

The pursers department on board is in charge of preparing all this paperwork but relies on all three departments to provide the information it needs to submit. The chief engineer needs to know, what fuel to burn where (there are special requirements for the State of California) but is not a Navigator so he need the times and speeds for planning properly. The EO will take care of all the environmental issues that we have to comply with but relies on deck and engine for the proper information and guidance. The Captain’s job is then to try to manage all these interactions in the best way possible so that the most get accomplished in the least amount of time. Thus I am already sailing past the California Coast with reviewing what has been done, what still needs to be done and what has to be remembered for enroute. Once I make it (on the computer) to Vancouver I will start my Alaska cruise in the same way.

The hotel department is busy with rolling out the As You Wish dining concept. It has been rolled out ship by ship all over the fleet and now it is our turn. We had trainers on board for the dining room stewards, as the mechanics of how it works are different compared with the old system. With two fixed sittings, the tables would be set in one go, first before the first sitting would start and then again in between the two sittings for the second sitting. Now that the dining room period of service is more fluid, tables have to be set more quickly and in between guests coming in, so the dynamics of the dining room operation is changing and also dining room stewards will move around more between sections.

The way it works now is as follows: The upper level of the dining room has the fixed sitting, at 17.45 and 20.00 hrs. If you like a set time, you can reserve that when booking your ticket. The earlier you book a cruise, the better chance you stand that your preferred sitting and table have not been taken yet.

The Lower dining room is the open sitting, which start at 17.15 hrs. and the doors close at 21.00 hrs. You will be seated at the first available table. If you want a specific table, (for two, four six or eight) you can reserve that during the day, for that SAME day evening. If you do not book and find on arrival that a table of your liking is not free yet, you have the option to either be seated at the first available table or you will get a beeper and the Dining room manager will beep you as soon as that table is available.

Tomorrow we will be in Belize and it looks like another sunny day.