Karmana our head waiter and his assistant David were practicing the art of making a pleasurable dinning experience. They were not just placing the food before us but gently sculpting the dinning experience. I am surprised that I find the semi-formal and formal dinners pleasurable when the history of the five course dinner comes from an imperialist history where the white people used people of color in a horrible shameful way.
Karmana and David work under 6 month contracts and then go home to their families for 2 months bring money home mostly from tips.
There were other food artists - 200 cooks to serve about 1,800 people on the ship.
The ship had a collection of fine art including this Dale Chihuly complimenting the total design of the ship.
Here at the aft of the ship my husband and I enjoyed taking pictures hoping that we might be creative with the camera.
We had a great time photographing special moments of nature from the cruise ship.
Some say the cruise ship industry is at risk. I had a feeling that the ship was having financial problems. So I only hope the cruise ship continues to be a work of art bringing good feelings that will spread from port to port.
6 comments:
It's good you had so much fun. I would imagine that given the world situation the cruise ship industry might be cut back some as it seems to have expanded tremendously during the 'seemingly' more prosperous years. There have been such experiences though for a long time and maybe will always be for those lucky ones who can afford such. Your photos are fun.
I hope the Celebrity Cruise Line knows what they are doing in making yet another cruise ship - the largest of their line. The new ship is now on her test voyage. We know because of our Greek Captain. Before being promoted to the new ship, our Captain was on his last voyage on the Infinity.
Who knows what new role cruise sips might take? Is it possible when the oceans rise and whole countries are drown, people would want to live on huge pleasure ships? Would larger sized ships be economical?
The rich might like that if we end up with a world of have and have nots. Let the poor drown and then pick back up the world when the seas go back down. That's a scary thought as it would make the rich not care much what happened to the world. The ultimate escape from what they have helped create through their greed. I wonder what kind of world they would then create?
There are more and more people in the world. Off shore habitation could become more common for rich and poor. It might be worth thinking about. I am sure it is not necessary to wash bed linens every three days and to have a different knife for each course of a meal except dessert. And a bed made several times a day! But then what would poorer people do? It is pleasureable surving and being served.
That sounded a lot like let them eat cake. *s* All of what you listed, the rich could do for themselves. I wonder if people really enjoy cleaning up the waste of others or if they would prefer more meaningful lives but can't get there because of the culture of the world. Is there enough for all to have more while some have less to even it out? We came from such a world but we are sure heading back into the have and have-nots. That often leads to revolutions or piracy or a lot of other less than desirable alternatives...
I have no reason to believe that Karmana was less than truthful about his enjoying his work right now. I do believe at some point in the future as his language, social and technology computer skills improve he will want to climb the vocational ladder. And in this world economy it is uncertain if there willbe openings for people like him.
It is awkward to allow people to do for you what you can do as in the cruise ship. And the joke we made of it amused the assistant waiter, David from Brazil, who may already be thinking of climbing the ladder by learning many languages on the cruise ship.
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