The staff on the ship — from the waiters on up — are “interchangeable,” in that they operate on several-month contracts. With cabin stewards, waiters, and such, they’re very interchangeable in that the roles are quite standardized, and if they’ve worked on any cruise ship in the past, their training transfers well and all they really need to learn is the policies of this particular ship, grasp the difference between Passenger and Resident, and they can drop into any open slot and get to work.
Higher ranking staff — particularly ship officers — tend to be much more specialized, more highly trained, and with years of experience. Typically, or perhaps always, there are two hired into each position, for example the captain and the chief engineer. They will alternate every few months, overlapping for a couple of days during the changeover. While it’s possible for someone to move on, those positions tend to be quite stable.
Q&As
Today is the 125th day of our journey, and we swapped captains a bit over 90 days ago. A few days ago we swapped captains again, in Ushuaia, Argentina. Capt. Zeljko Jurac, who was in command for our pre-sail sea trials, as well as when we left Belfast, returned, and Capt. Valentin Giuglea has gone home for a much-deserved rest. The handoff, Capt. Zeljko told us before lunch today, takes a full day, morning until night, to go over what the outgoing captain needs to show and tell the incoming captain.
A day before Capt. Zeljko arrived, Capt. Val sat for a Q&A session with the Residents. I only jotted down his reply to one question, since I was taken with his response.
He was asked, has he ever had to leave a passenger behind as they left a port? He only had to think about how to formulate his reply for a few seconds: “I have never left a passenger behind,” he said very carefully, “but sometimes a passenger has decided to arrive after we have left.” The Residents appreciated the point, and laughed well.
We have had a few instances, but only a few, where a Resident arrived after “Final Boarding” time, but no Resident has been left behind — er… arrived after departure — yet. Still, when those latecomers arrived, there was a crowd of us waiting for them at the entrance to greet them with applause, and that was uncomfortable enough that everyone(?) got the message: be back early! — so it hasn’t happened recently. Still, sometimes circumstances are beyond control, so it’ll probably happen at some point.
Aside: Your Own Qs, A’d
To answer the question now, as it has probably been raised in your mind: it’s then the passenger/Resident’s responsibility — including financial responsibility — to get back to the ship. The front desk will have retrieved the person’s passport and left it with authorities at the port.
Sometimes, due to cabotage laws, which vary from country to country, that means one cannot re-embark in the same country, and the passenger/Resident must make their way to the first port in the next country we’ll visit. Being left behind is a big deal, and a financial PITA.
Oh, to answer the other question raised: how did we know someone was late? As we leave the ship, we check out at the top of the gangway, and then check back in as we return. It’s a pretty sure process, since when they scan our card key, or punch in our cabin number, at either end of the process, our photo appears on their screen, and it had “better” match! So when it’s time to button things up, Security can tell at a glance whether someone is still checked out.
If someone is missing, part of the procedure is to page that person on the shipwide P.A. system to call the Service Desk immediately. So we all not only quickly get the idea someone is missing, we know exactly who!
One time when I arrived back late in the day, but not pushing it, I asked the Security officer how many more were behind me. “Two,” came the response, instantly. They absolutely know. It’s their job. And yes, Security and Residents absolutely do get to know each other!
Sendoff
With Val soon leaving, a Resident had an idea, which she took to Kit. Kit brought it to me: we needed some sort of Certificate of Appreciation for Capt. Val as he left. Kit took suggestions on what sort of things might be on it; one person, reflecting on the amazing time we had slowly navigating through the Chilean Fjords on our way to the tip of South America, suggested to Kit the title “Captain of the Fjords”. The originator of the idea wanted something about his “guidance and storytelling,” and I added in that it all added up to creating amazing experiences for us all.
Having the software needed for such a task, plus (a little) skill learned over the years, I put it all together with a photo I had taken. I tipped off Lauren, the Entertainment Director, that we wanted to give something to the captain at the end of the Q&A, and at the appropriate time, Lauren called me forward and handed me her microphone.
I introduced what I was doing with my own story about our time in Belfast — about how Kathy, then the company COO (and now CEO) refused to let Val meet or speak with the Residents until after he stopped calling us “passengers” (which, after all, was what we’re called on regular cruise ships, and the familiar term to him for his entire career), as he was to call us Residents instead. “You’ve done a great job of that,” I said to a lot of nods.
And as I lifted the certificate in front of me to read it to the audience, he jumped to his feet, almost at Attention. As I read the Certificate wording aloud, Val didn’t even let me attempt to pronounce his surname (I think I would have gotten it OK!)
He was clearly very touched, and accepted it with great appreciation. By then Val already well understood the difference between Passenger and Resident, but this drove it home in a way I don’t think he’ll ever forget. He said he very much looks forward to coming back, that this is such a different and wonderful experience for a captain. There’s nothing else exactly like Residential Cruising.
Transfer of Command
Just a few days after taking over, this morning Captain Zeljko sat for another Q&A, also bringing along his Chief Engineer, and the Hotel Manager, who is the head of not just accommodations, but other amenities such as the bars and restaurants.
Again Lauren had a set of questions for them all, and then opened it up to Residents, who wondered why sometimes in open water we’ll feel a big “thump” that makes the ship shudder — we joke that we “hit a whale.”
No whale strikes, the captain emphasized. It is, simply, when a swell hits us at a certain phase of the impacted portion of the ship hull being exposed in that direction.*
What about vibration? We had one case of vibration being so intense during a dinnertime departure that we all had to grab our plates and glasses to keep them from sliding off the dining room tables. At the time, several Residents had insisted that couldn’t possibly be “normal,” as they had never experienced it before (and we haven’t since).
That was a rare situation, he explained: as we were pulling away from the pier there was a strong wind that was pushing us back toward the pier, so they pretty much had to use maximum thruster power to push us away. At the same time, the tide was coming in, compounding the effect. And it happened to be a fairly shallow port, so water that was being thrust away from the ship was bouncing back off the bottom, and impacting us.*
*(The caveat to these explanations: it’s how I understood the answers, including some explanation at the time, which may be somewhat different from how Capt. Zeljko explained them, so “ship experts” don’t need to criticize the captain’s explanations should I have understood something a tad incorrectly.)
I whipped out my phone during the vibration to get 40 seconds of video. The sound was amazing, much like what you hear here. The very tall gent (in black) bowing at the end? That’s Michael, the staff music/sound/lighting tech for any entertainment event, who jumped up to keep juice dispensers from crashing to the floor. This happened 27 October 2024 as we left Arrecife on Lanzarote, Grand Canaria.
The Final Question
And here, finally, after all this introduction, is what prompted me to jot all this down for you today. The final question that Lauren asked all three officers at the end: with all their decades of experience at sea, what is their favorite port to visit?
They were unanimous in their answer: “The next one.” Rodrigo, the hotel manager, put it this way: our world is just so beautiful that there is something to strike awe everywhere. Something different, something profound, something wonderful that you often can’t see in other places, so every place is a place to look around, to experience, to be, to appreciate.
In a very profound way, people who don’t travel just don’t know what they’re missing.
We’re glad to get Capt. Zeljko back, and we’ll later be glad to get Capt. Val back. And isn’t that absolutely the best thing, to have two captains that we absolutely love having in command?
I think Lauren is taking her break pretty soon too. We look forward to having her back, and meeting her alternate in the meantime.
Originally Published February 2, 2025 — Last Updated February 4, 2025
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One relatively famous story of a passenger arriving after the ship has left is the time Gavin fell down a volcano….
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That’s one long story! -rc
Fabulous story! Thanks for sharing. 😀🙌
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I’m glad someone had the time to read it and “review” it! -rc
Thank you for continuing to tell us how Residential Cruising differs from anything else we have experienced.
I know some firefighters stations do a 3 days on, 3 days off schedule. This is first I have heard of anybody on a 4 month on, 4 month off schedule. Is that common in the cruise ship industry?
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Very. It’s easy for a firefighter to drive an hour to go home after a long shift. It’s much, much harder — and many times more expensive — for a ship employee to fly home, especially when we’re talking many thousands of miles. Contracts can be for varying terms, but the shortest I’ve heard is 3 months, longest is 6 months. On the other hand, I’ve also heard of asking for, or accepting an offer for, an extension. -rc
I understand how a cabotage law can block moving a person or cargo from one port in country X to another, but I don’t understand how it could block somebody getting off at one port and getting back on at another. What protectionist goal does it achieve? You’d think that they would love having you spend more money.
Do you know more?
I’m not doubting that it’s an issue; I’m just trying to understand the rationale and how cabotage applies, since on its face cabotage is exactly the opposite. I do see why you couldn’t do it *twice*, because the middle segment would be cabotage.
(Maybe it’s really a visa requirement?)
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In general, right. My understanding is, Brazil is an example of a country where it is prohibited to disembark from one port and board again in another port in the country. Perhaps Visas are part of the issue, but I did read about someone who tried it, and instead had to fly out of the country to reboard. I don’t recall when it was, or which cruise line. -rc
Update
I don’t have much time since I’m on deadline, so I asked PerplexityAI about it. The relevant portion of the response:
Perhaps the cabotage thing is similar (identical?) to the US Jones Act requirement, which says that if you’re going from one US port to another, you must be US flagged?
Your ship is not flagged in most of the countries you visit, I would assume….
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The U.S.’s Jones Act (actual law title, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) is an example of a cabotoge law which, as in most cases, specifically relates to cargo. The passenger equivalent in the U.S. is the PVSA (Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886). Ships are “flagged” in *a* country. Ours, along with very many other cruise ships, is flagged by the Bahamas. -rc
Interesting. I’ve seen several different sources note the Jones Act as the reason why cruise lines own islands: so they don’t run afoul of it if passengers aren’t round-tripping.
As for “Ships are “flagged” in *a* country.”
Sure. But — not to be That Guy — that’s not actually incompatible with “Your ship is not flagged in most of the countries you visit, I would assume….”. 🙂
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I thought they owned islands so they could scrape the profits from “shore” calls. What clears them from PVSA violations is calling on a “distant foreign port”, and IIRC, Canada isn’t one, so when we went to Alaska from Seattle, stopping in Vancouver wasn’t enough: we had to get off there, and find our own way back to Seattle (which we did, by train). And to be That Guy back: NO ship is flagged in most of the countries they visit, if the plural is absolute. 🙂 -rc
Very interesting, thank you. And thanks for the link to ‘cabotage’; I had never heard that term before.
Yet again another great article about life aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey.
My question is: Whenever you disembark do you get briefed beforehand on the next Port Of Call should you not make it back in time? (This includes updating contact numbers, alternative Ports Of Call should the original not be viable etc).
On an even more uplifting note is the Residents now starting to use proper date format like the rest of the world ie. your Certificate Of Appreciation using DD/MM/YYYY. Lets hope it spreads LOL.
Have even more fun as you explore and experience more wonders yet to be unveiled during your travels.
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I’ll just say all of the information you suggest is made available to us. It’s up to each Resident to take note of information if they intend to go ashore at a port. I do it the easy way: by taking a quick photo of the information screen where it’s displayed. Happily I’ve never needed the info, and I just delete the photo after I’ve returned.
As for the date format, I don’t know that any of the Residents (who are overwhelmingly, but not exclusively, American) have updated their concepts of date formats. I do know they tend to have trouble understanding the temperature when it’s stated in Celsius, and wave heights when it’s mentioned in meters, so the crew tries to remember to say those in F and feet also. But when I was making the certificate, I chose to present the date in a format that the Captain, as a professional in the field (and a European) would feel at home with, though that’s also the format that tends to be used on formal documents in the U.S. -rc
Another fascinating article. I love these “behind the scenes” stories and appreciate you taking the time to write and post them.
Actually, I did experience the vibrations you describe, on our first cruise. It happened during dinner (of course) when everyone was seated at the very stern of the ship. As a retired US Navy deck officer, I was *very* interested in what was going on. We had been leaving port, which I always enjoy watching, but alas, dinner time intervened — no choice on that. The vibrations went on a long time (long time) and sometimes felt almost like the stern of the ship was shaking up and down by an inch or more. That might be an exaggeration, but that’s certainly what if felt like.
We received our explanation the next day when our Captain took the intercom to explain to all on board. Leaving the pier we were supposed to pivot — rotate 180 degrees — but the appearance of a sudden squall and the ship’s enormous sail area, meant it was more than the side thrusters could handle. After trying for several moments to twist, the Captain gave up and simply backed down the whole channel. I do remember watching the lights on shore slide past the dining room windows and wondering why they weren’t on the other side. I remember the Captain giving credit over and over to “our very powerful engines” (in his delightful accent) but what impressed me much more was the feat of shiphandling. It had taken quite a bit of skill to back a ship that large for over two miles, around a few gentle turns, with a strong wind on the beam the whole time … and remain in the channel! I was very impressed.
As to the “Final Question,” allow me to toss in a quote from a friend — “The world is a buffet and most people are starving.” Travel is so broadening!
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Good quote. I guess it was too late to get a tug in to help if it was a sudden squall; takes them a bit to get on station. We have done a few such pivots, and it IS interesting to be on deck (or at the window) to watch. -rc
I guess you have already left Ushuaia and transited the Beagle Channel into the South Atlantic. If you saw a rusting hulk lying on its side after running aground in 1988 (assuming it’s still there), that was the M[otor] V[essel] Logos. I used to work on that ship.
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Hopefully not when it ran aground! I see there were no injuries in the incident. A good boat trip is one you can walk away from, much like an airplane flight. I didn’t happen to notice it, though, and didn’t hear anyone mention it. -rc