Leo P. Olobia
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About the CD
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I have un upcoming CD eintitled "Piano
Potpourri", a selection of my favorite classical, broadway and
standard music. It is currently being edited and mastered in Vancouver,
Canada. As soon as the final product is released it will be posted here for
your listening enjoyment.
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life in the high seas
My friends frequently ask about my life aboard a luxury ship. They probably
picture a tanker or cargo ship that has no sense of aesthetics. Certainly
not. Because it is a cruise ship, luxury is the name of the game.
The amenities we have are just as innovative and hi-tech as they are on land. The highly computerized view of navigation has certainly eased operations. The bridge is seldom manned because computers lead the vessel from point A to B. There is lavish display of fine art everywhere. Dining rooms are grandly decorated with massive architectural designs that overwhelm you. A great showcase of specialty boutiques line up in a mall-inspired Promenade deck where colorful lights dance. It is the heartbeat of the ship because everyone gathers around for formal parties with the captain, theme parties and much more. If you are into gambling, you can certainly try your luck at the Las Vegas- style casino. Lounges are innumerable and of course the Ice Rink will surely tickle your senses. Yes, we have ice shows aboard an ocean liner. Ten wordclass skaters from Russia, Canada, USA and Japan come to perform a breathtaking Ice Show while the ship cruises around the Caribbean. In the main theater, Broadway productions are shown along with comedians and other theatrical performers.
On the crew side, we are a family of 1200 crewmembers coming from over 60 different nationalities. There are over 200 crewmembers from the Philippines so we are a bit of an active one. Unfortunately, I am a lone Filipino musician over 30 others who play in bands, orchestras and as solo performers.
If you think it is a job, you may be right because we work 2 to 3 hours a day and we have the rest of the time hopping around the islands. Well, not the entire team because some of us have to feed the guests all the time. Only musicians have that privilege. But, think of it as a lifetime devotion to learning your instrument. If you think we perform few hours a day, add all the hours of training we did just to reach that level of playing and you might be discouraged to study music.
Our ship docks in Miami, Florida to pick up guests then we go around the Western and Eastern Caribbean. On the Western side, the ports include Belize, Costa Maya in Mexico and Cozumel, Mexico as well. On the Eastern side we go to Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and the Bahamas. It is a seven-day adventure for each side. On a typical port day, we dock in the morning just after breakfast where the guests rush to the gangway to catch that morning sun as they stroll around the island. Most of the ports are right in the downtown area while a few can be reached by taxi.
While these guests bargain for cheap jewelry as they are duty-free, the crew has their share of adventure as we go out and vanish out of the tourist sight. My friends and I would go straight to the beach and start the day with a shot of tequila or dine at our favorite restaurants. Because we come here all the time, we know our favorite places already. Some of us spend the day at the phone stations and internet or yet another would just have a quite lunch and head back to the ship. We are temporary visitors, basically and each time we are in port is like a golden moment for us. Miami is our home port where most of the errands are done. America is still favored for shopping toiletries and money-wire services.
My beloved Filipinos love to accumulate heavy and expensive electronics from St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We like to update our collection of BOSE stereo systems, for example, or if one wears a new Omega watch, everybody tries to imitate. This proud culture of ostentatious people are certainly not to be forgotten.
Services onboard are fast and efficient. Because we come from different nations, there is always a chance of misconstrued policies or something. Our diverse culture allows us to be more sensitive when in public places such as the mess hall. Speaking about the mess, we mess in different ways. Indians with their oily, curried chicken love to eat with bare hands for everyone else to see. Europeans see this as an affront to their dining etiquette. What can you do? Well, sometimes it is an eyesore but I really don't care much so long as I don't share the same plate with them.
Chinese people are so exclusive probably because of the language barrier. They are mostly concentrated in the laundry services. If you want to send something for pressing, you have to learn their English-Chinese accents which can be so hilarious. They are not so sociable with the rest of the crew as evident in their poor attendance at social gatherings. But when you want to catch a glimpse of their uniform eyes, they queue up in the mess at 11:00 AM chattering in their own tongue. Believe me it's a treat.
Safety is the prime business for each of us so in such case, boat drills are countless. We have one for the guests when they embark and another tiresome drill for the crew mastering all the ins and outs of the ship. Though it is sometimes way too much, it gives me a sense of comfort and confidence in case of emergencies.
And finally our day-to-day conduct is always under a microscope with the idea that all of us must deliver the perfect vacation in this competitive world. We have trainings on how to greet and smile that can impact a walking guest, for instance. Grooming must be at par with company's policy. All these things are being scrutinized while the rest of us including me always make sure we don't let go of a day without at least playing billiards or bathing at the top deck.
These are just some of the things we do. We always find time to enjoy ourselves because it can be a lonely world to be away from friends and families. I am quite lucky my family lives in Florida but for most of us, it is a struggle to finish a contract.
In my own way of cruising, I go out and savor each moment of my stay. There are no boundaries to my adventures because I am a free spirit. I let go. I swim in the blue waters of the Caribbean. I drink Corona beer and dance with Mexican senoritas. I read my favorite pocketbooks in a quite, lazy day at sea. At times I practice my scales but nobody forces me to do so for 4 hours. I have my own time in the world because in here, I am the world.