This week Beyondships features something different. In the past, we have brought you interviews ship officers, cruise line executives and people whose work involves them with ships such as marine artists and ship designers. This time, we bring you an interview with a passenger. But what a passenger - - Mario Salcedo has done over 500 cruises with more than 400 of them on Royal Caribbean ships.
Mario is a man living his dream. A successful businessman, Mario rose to hold a prominent position with a Fortune 500 company. Rather than just continue on that path, he turned his back on the corporate life before he turned 50 and dedicated himself to living the life he had always dreamed of. Now he essentially lives 52 weeks a year on cruise ships, mainly RCI’s Liberty of the Seas.
A friendly and outgoing person, Mario likes to chat with his fellow passengers. His is a unique story and he is often asked about how he manages to live at sea. People are also interested in tapping into his expertise and knowledge about cruising.
Beyond ships interview with Mr. Salcedo is at http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-Super-cruiser.html
In recent years, the tradition of having officer tables in the ship’s main dining room has all but vanished. A few lines still have a captain’s table on formal nights but with the exception of Cunard Line, one rarely finds tables hosted by the staff captain, the chief engineer, the hotel director or one of the junior officers.
It is a shame that this tradition is fading away. Dining at an officer’s table gives passengers a unique insight into the operations of the ship and personalizes the relationship between the cruise line and the passengers. Also, I have often found that people who sit down at an officer’s table as strangers often arise as friends. Indeed, I still hear from people who I dined with at an officer’s table years ago.
Somewhat surprisingly, Norwegian Cruise Line, which has a tradition of being non-traditional, is experimenting with reviving this tradition. Of course, various modifications had to be made in order for this tradition to fit with the modern cruising environment. However, the pilot program has been received very well on Norwegian Jewel with many more passengers signing up for it than can be accommodated.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in this program and was able to discuss it with Jewel’s Hotel Director Hugo Vanosmael. The article is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLJewel-officers.html
One of the dining venues on the Jewel is Mama’s Kitchen, a casual Italian restaurant. It could perhaps better be described as an American-style Italian restaurant, serving dishes that one is more likely to find in the States than in Tuscany. By this, I mean no slight. There is a reason that this type of cooking is popular not only in America but worldwide - - it is good. In any event, I have posted a review of Mama’s Kitchen that also looks at Canaletto, a similar concept on Holland America’s Zuiderdam. The review is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-Canaletto-Mamas-review.html
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