Back in 2013 a grumble running through my life was that mornings would be so much better if they started later. The morning of 29 August was no exception, in fact that particular morning started in what felt like the middle of the night. Getting up in summer when it’s still dark is never a great beginning to any day I find, especially if this precedes a dash to get ready in double quick time and a day of flitting around like a hyperactive butterfly. It was time for the last ship visit of the summer. Little did I know, this would be my last ever time on board. Within a few short months the ship, the entertainers, my wonderful colleagues and even Arabella would seem like a beautiful dream.
It was turnaround day. The last UK turnaround this year where so much needed to be achieved in such a short time I might as well have been climbing The Himalayas in my bikini and flip flops, I had that much chance of doing it all. Gail and I were in a taxi as dawn was breaking and at the port before anyone else had arrived. Unfortunately, our arrival coincided with the most talkative member of crew walking through the terminal. By the time I’d got away my head was swimming with even more things to add to my to do list and a great deal of superfluous information.
For some reason my name had been left off the visitors list which was not exactly the most auspicious of starts. Luckily they know me on reception and just added me on with no question. And there was me thinking I’d have to go back to the office for a nice relaxing day answering emails too!
Eventually I found Arabella in the restaurant sorting out a problem with the new table tops which were being fitted in a mad rush in the two hours before the visitors arrived. We had a brief meeting which added another couple of things to the list, then I dashed off to take some books and magazines to the library, check all the cupboards, straighten the books, magazines and chairs and throw out the old newspapers.
There were supposed to be four boxes of new books in the library and some unlocked cupboards for me to put them in, after taking out the guidebooks for the river cruises which needed to go back to the office. Not only were there no boxes, there were no unlocked cupboards either! So that was problem number one, but there was little I could do about it right then.
Then came my favourite part of the day, the part when I get to walk around on my own trying to channel Arabella’s eye for detail to make sure chairs and cushions are straight, curtains are open or closed (depending on which curtains they are) and picking up on any problems. Today, with the CEO and all the Big Wigs on board this was more important than ever.
The reason I like this part so much is that it’s just me, walking around, looking at the ship and enjoying how lovely she is. There is no one to be entertained, no questions to answer, no boxes to move. The walk around the deck outside is especially lovely. Today the sky was blue and the sun shining. It made me smile. The towels made into swans by the pool made me smile too. So did the sun shining off of the water and the polished wood of the handrails.
Up on the promenade deck I looked longingly at the row of loungers and wished I could just sit for a while and look at the view. It may only have been of the port, full of containers and cranes but, if I half closed my eyes, I could almost pretend the string of flags were fluttering in a Mediterranean sky or maybe somewhere even more exotic. Sadly, I found myself at the door to the observation lounge all too soon, steeling myself to face the onslaught of visitors and tours.
This was when my second problem came up. The pianist who was supposed to be playing until the guests had gone off on their tours told me he could only stay until the end of the first group! It was not what I’d expected or wanted to hear. Some quick thinking had me dashing down to the piano bar to ask the pianist there if she would take over until the last talk started then dash back to the piano bar! Whew, this job is all about hitting the ground running.
By this time I’d had a call to say my guests were in reception waiting for me so it was a dash down the stairs to meet them. My guests today were quite exciting, Basia Zarzycka, a wonderfully eccentric designer who makes the most amazing jewellery, shoes, hats, bags and countless other things. Arabella and I met her in her Sloane Square shop a while ago and I was blown away by it, her creations and her. She was so full of life and enthusiasm. In a different world I think we could have been good friends. Most amazingly she is interested in running workshops on our ships. Really our passengers don’t know how lucky they are.
Showing her and her husband around the ship was an absolute pleasure. Better still she seemed to like the ship. We talked our way through lunch, which had the added advantage of me not eating too much. As usual, Arabella didn’t get to eat anything at all. She was too busy being pulled this way and that by people needed to speak to her.
Once my guests had gone it was back to the library where the books had miraculously turned up. Unfortunately the cupboards remained locked but I did find two elsewhere I could use. My next problem was getting the boxes open. They were tightly bound with parcel tape and I had nothing to hand to cut through it. Necessity is the mother of invention, or so they say, and I eventually managed to saw through it with the house keys in my bag. Then I had to move the boxes. Who knew books were so heavy!
Just as I was hefting the last one, Arabella’s voice rang out, “I didn’t expect you to lift the boxes!” Hmm, a little late and also how those boxes were going to get moved if I didn’t was a mystery. Then it was trying to work out which were the odd books out. Actually that was slightly easier than expected. They were all guide books and the river cruise ones were pretty obvious once I had the boxes open.
Eventually, after much more dashing about and some quite sad goodbyes to the crew, it was time to go. Alice gave me a lift back to the office and helped me with all the boxes I had to take back. You would not believe the amount of junk that had to come off the ship. Lost property, paintings, the books, films and several unidentified items. Sometimes I feel like a removals man.
The final job of the day was answering a call from a journalist. A deadline looms and copies of menus, spa prices, wine lists and goodness knows what else were needed. Why do journalists always leave everything to the last minute? Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!
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