The Cruise Begins

Back in port, we had the sewage system repaired, and were making final checks ahead of our next cruise, when we received some disappointing news. One of our Caribbean stops has experienced a small surge in coronavirus, brought in by tourists. Our friends in government there have warned us confidentially that before long they may shut down the island for all cruise ship visits. Still, that’s just one stop, and it leaves five more, so we decided not to tell the passengers about it just now. After all, who would want to hear bad news at the start of a vacation?

Today, the passengers have arrived ready for their luxury cruise. We had to fly them in from Florida, in what I must admit are quite old aircraft, making several trips. So some of them had a long wait to get their flight, and as might be expected, there was a certain amount of grumbling. Maybe they were slightly inconvenienced, but there’s no excuse for some of the comments that were made. After all, the cruise company is bearing the cost of the flights. And regarding complaints about the state of the aircraft, I’ve been assured by the Gamalia Airline that all the planes had been double-checked as to airworthiness.

Once they had eaten, and had complimentary rum cocktails, the dissent died down, and the mood improved. So by the time we cast off, I’d say it was a happy ship. Once I’d steered the ship out of the harbor, I passed command to my new senior officer, Joseph Negibi. It’s true that he’s a distant cousin of the President, but that had no bearing on his appointment, whatever some rascals have been hinting at. He’s done an intensive week-long study of maritime issues at the Gamalia University, and I myself have trained him fully in the controls of the ship, and the functions of technical devices like the compass.

So, after a couple of those large rum cocktails, I went to my cabin, at peace with the world.