29 November 2008, At Sea.

After the small frontal system that brought rain over Costa Maya, we had a good day at sea. The Wind was from the South East so partly on the stern and that meant that there was not that much wind on deck. Also it was not slowing the ship down, something we had gotten used to with the North Westerly winds that normally blow against us. It looks like it that the cold front currently laying over the USA will reach Tampa in the morning hours so we might we able to dock before it really starts to blow.

This was the last day of our Thanks Giving Cruise and it ended with a nice day as we had this following wind. The highlight for most guests was of course the Thanks Giving Dinner that was served both in the dining room and in Lido in the evening. For the children there was also the hamburger pizza stand available until late in the evening and the reports about the amount consumed at that outlet indicated that not every young person on board was focused on turkey. Unless they went for a double dinner……………….

My day today was completely booked out. First the morning with reviewing and giving appraisals, then two Mariners parties as we had well over 600 mariners onboard again and
in between those two parties, the handing out of the CPSC certificates. As mentioned a few days ago, we had the lifeboat handler training course onboard the ship in the past weeks and that culminated in the handing out of the certificates today. For this purpose I always throw a little party, with snacks and drinks. Also each crewmember will receive a photo of the handing out of his/her certificate and a group photo as a reminder of the training period. The certificate remains valid for as long as the crewmembers sails, as the constant training onboard counts as an proficiency endorsement. I always emphazise to the crew that the certificate is worth more than gold, because if you loose it, you have to take the course again.

Appraisals are another standard item onboard that mark the end of a period and in this case the end of a sailing period of an officer. Crew and petty officers have rating cards, which are filled out every month. Officers have a start of contract discussion during which objectives are set and what the officer has to pay special attention to, and then there is a mid term evaluation and an end of term appraisal. The objectives can be anything from a task that will enrich the knowledge of the officer and/or improve his work, or a special project that needs to be completed before a certain date. Now with the company being so big, the appraisals are for the head office in Seattle almost the only way of assessing where an officer stands in regards to promotion or quality of work delivered. In the days that we had only three ships, HR would know everybody’s reputation without too much paperwork needed. Now with over a 1500 officers in the fleet, spread over three departments, proper documentation is of the essence.

Every appraisal made ends up on my desk, to sign off on. Apart from that I make the appraisals for the four staff officers and as the chief officer is going home tomorrow, his had to be finalized as well. I normally make these appraisals a week before hand, and then leave them for a few days, after which I have another look. This to make sure that the appraisal is objective. Then follows the discussion with the Officer concerned and then on the last day I have a final look and we sign off on it. It is a time consuming exercise if you want to do it well but it is the only way which documents the current status, highlight points that need to be worked on during the next contract and to praise, motivate and where applicable suggest promotion.

Thus the last day of the cruise, was one of shuffling papers again. Tonight at midnight I will get my wake up call and then we will see where the frontal system is sitting and whether it will make my life difficult on arrival.