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Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

06 December 2007, At sea.

Today was meeting day. The ship was merrily on its way to Grand Cayman and making good speed for a timely arrival. That gave time to get a number of “end of the month” things done. We have several monthly committee meetings, where representatives from the various departments on board come together. There is the environmental meeting which is shared by the Environmental Officer. In this meeting various aspects of improving environmental procedures on board are discussed which include recycling, better garbage separation at source and ideas about how to reduce waste etc. Then there is the Safety meeting shared by the Chief Officer, which pertains to on the job safety. How to reduce accidents, if any, how to improve procedures, have any un-safe situations being seen and are there contradictions in the company’s safety procedures. The theory on paper versus the reality of real life.

Then there is the Unit meeting, which is shared by the Captain. “Unit” means groups from the Indonesian and Philipino community who meet to discuss various issues at hand. The crew is hired via unions in Djakarta and Manila and they nominate for each group on board a person who can represent each faction when there are issues. The persons nominated as representatives have all worked for a number of years for the company, so they can advise their group about how things work and will also know where to go when there is an issue. If there are more persons who fit the selection criteria, then the faction on board votes for their representative. Minutes are kept of the meeting by a lady from the front office and the ships staff ensures that items that do come up are resolved as soon as possible.

These are all monthly meetings. Then there are weekly meetings, such as the Health & Sanitation meeting, the ships staff meeting and the Crew Activity Committee. As everywhere else in a big organization there are also a large number of departmental meetings on a daily basis. If I would get a dollar for each time, that a meeting is taking place somewhere on the ship, I would drive a much bigger car.

All these meetings ensure that information is shared with all involved. Information needed to make the ships operation run more smoothly and daily life on board more pleasant. One of the things that I try to keep a very good eye on is the trickle down effect of this information through the various layers. As every manager knows; at each level of an operation information and context gets lost. As a result the person at the end of the chain can sometimes make neither head nor tail of the order that has been handed down. This is on a ship an even bigger challenge due to the many nationalities involved. If a message is given by a Dutch captain, in his English and it goes via a German chef to a Philipino cook and is discussed in their English, than there are bound to be variations in the way the message is brought forward from one layer to the other. Thus when something does not happen or happens in different way then anticipated, I always try to find out, the why. And the why is quite often very puzzling and sometimes mind boggling.

One of the biggest hiccups in the trickle down system is the perception of time that various nationalities and races have. If a Dutchman says that something has to be done, he really means it should already have happened yesterday. For a German now is now, but for a philipino, now, is when he/she gets round to doing it and that might not be “yesterday” or “now”. So when a message is passed on, it is important that the time frame is explained as well as the reason fir it. Something might have to be done directly or today but it might also have a time frame of several days before it has to be accomplished.

For me this is still one of the most fascinating parts of managing. How to anticipate this trickle down effect through the layers and to get that message across on each level exactly as it was meant.

Therefore there are these meetings that bypass the various levels on operation and the message reaches directly the representatives of all groups. It creates better understanding of the issues at hand and there is better and more direct feedback to the senior ships management for follow up.

Tomorrow we are in Grand Cayman and the weather forecast promises us a very nice day without a cold front in sight. Last cruise it was a sudden cold front that forced me to cancel the call at Grand Cayman but now it looks very good.

3 Comments

  1. Captain Albert
    Thank you for taking the time to enlighten us on the inner workings of your ship and crew. It’s been a pleasure reading your blog on a daily basis and your reports will be missed during your well deserved time off. I follow Cruise Critic and am aware of all the mechanical problems you have had to endure in the last few weeks hopefully by the time you again take command all will be well. Enjoy your time off and I hope to read your blog again when you are again in command. I will be on the Amsterdam 12/11 for a 10 day, hopefully the seas are smooth, the rum is flowing and the other passengers are in a good mood (I hate whiners)

  2. Highly enjoy your daily blog.

    Was reading on a cruise chat web site and came across this “interesting” request by this lady.

    Bet this is the first time you have heard this request from a passenger.

    Quote: “While we prefer cruising on the sea, for the last year or so, we have started taking land cruises in an RV. The toilets in RV’s are marine toilets and small like those on a ship. However, I noticed on my last cruise that the seat on a cruiseship toilet wraps around the interior of the bowl maximizing the opening. In the RV, the seat intrudes into the opening decreasing the size of the bowl. Would someone please tell me where can I get one of those seats? Better yet, could you just squeeze one into your suitcase and mail it to me?”

    Now that has to be one of the oddest request to receive.

    Enjoy your up coming vacation.

    Will be on the Zuiderdam for our anniversary on January 19th cruise. We love HAL.

    Charles

  3. I smiled when I read about the difficulties with the trickle down system and various interpretations of ‘now’! I lived in the Middle East for several years, as the project director’s wife on a huge project, and I know how that goes! Everyone speaks English, but no one understands the other. I was often the interpreter in conversations. And, for sure, NOW doesn’t exist in most of the vocabulary. Tomorrow, G-d Willing, is more like it. One thing I really DID love about living in another country and traveling extensively was learing about the various cultures and habits in each country.

    I’ve enjoyed reading your blog the past couple months, and look forward to more. I am enlightened and entertained by them.

    Have a wonderful holiday and Blessed and Happy New Year!

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