Ransoms …. on The Bay of Bengal

I continue to be amazed with the capability of Apple products and how those products can make an amature like me produce quality images. Take for instance:

This beautiful sea and sky can become this ….

…. or this rather ordinary scene of a ship passing, can become this ….

…. can become this!

The Maasdam has 569 Staff and Crew, from 35 countries to serve 1153 guests/passengers from 35 different countries (see the list at the end of this post)

I have chosen three of the crew to represent the 569, these are three crew members that work long hours and are never caught just standing around:

Salt water is no friend to metal and must be continuously be protected – something that has to be done either at sea or in port – sometimes hard for guests to understand.

Brass is everywhere on a ship this magnificent and has to be polished/cleaned – everyday!

Glass, glass, glass, it seems endless and all those “finger marks” must be removed daily.

Fresh cut flowers don’t last forever and must be refreshed often – we are fortunate to have a Master Florist on board – only one! And this person plies their craft so seamlessly, its almost magic.

Last evening we had a special theme night where guests were asked to wear clothing that represents the countries we are visiting – and of course the entrance to the main dining room had to dressed as well.

Remember that list I told you about?

Obviously, English isn’t the only language we hear. Yet for our fantastic crew they are all required to speak English, and they love engaging guests as often as they can, not only to improve their language skills, but to make us feel welcome.

In our “plan of the Day” for this EXC voyage the cultural presentations are identified by these icons:

This presentation was about History and Perspective:

I’ll close this randomness with this lovely and unusual “stairway landing art”:

That’s floor to ceiling!

Bye for now – keep on sailing with us …. and I do appreciate all the comments I have received on this cruise and I attempt to answer any questions by email.