I was sleeping soundly in my cabin early one morning when the shrill ring
of the telephone jolted me awake. I hadn't requested a wake-up call, so I was
a bit startled.
The Chief Purser was calling to inform me there was a problem with my credit
card. When they tried to run my intermediate cruise charges through, it had been
declined (too many casino charges, I imagine) and I was asked to come to the Guest
Relations Desk to deal with the matter.
Mrs. Kuki swore she hadn't used the credit card to buy a four-carat stone anywhere,
and I could only remember buying one round of drinks for the house in the casino.
After several phone calls to my credit card company, we still couldn't get the
matter resolved.
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Then came the bad news: I was informed that because the ship was sailing a
bit understaffed, I would have to work off the debt.
It was a bit embarrassing, but I had little choice. I went from being a passenger
to being part of the crew in an instant.... And here are the photos to prove it.
Service with a smile
Bar Tender
Serving Pizza
Dish Washing
Doing Laundry
Tour Bus Guide
If this had been a true story, it probably wouldn't have been my worst nightmare,
but the Captain and his crew's--having me there working among them.
