Last week I was away on the 7k cruise with some others in our MKE (Master Key Experience) group. It was so nice to meet some of them and felt a real bond.
I had so many things I could have blogged on this week like scroll V… Wow!!! I was in tears reading that one. Or the movie “Finding Joe” with the Hero’s Journey or even week 18 in Haanel, but I think I will tell you about our cruise and what I experienced.
We sailed out on the Symphony of the Seas which is the second to largest cruise ship in the world until this past Sunday when the largest one just launched making Symphony now the third in size.
My husband and I signed up to take a tour of the ship which was really interesting. We got to see all the behind the scene prep work. like the laundry room where they wash the bedding and towels. Two guys stand in one spot all day long just feeding the sheets into a machine one after another. This machine dries, irons and then folds the sheets.
It was something to see. We saw where they iron the workers’ uniforms all run by males because the machines are too heavy for women to maneuver.
We were able to go to the area where they refrigerate the food and take inventory on how much they will need for the 7 days out at sea. 30,000 meals are made per day with a budget of 1 million dollars a week for food alone.
We toured what in the airlines is the ‘control tower’, (I’m not sure if it is called the same on a ship) and we got to meet the Captain.
Every worker on the ship was so happy, so incredibly nice to us and went way out of their way to please the passengers from the waiters to our room attendant, the chefs, the service center, the restaurants, the shops, the shows, etc. I wish I had internet on the ship because I could have posted all day long on acts of Kindness… everywhere!!!
Even though the workers all appear to be very happy, my heart constantly went out to these workers. To work on the ship they sign a 7 month contract, have 2 months off and then sign another contract.
Depending on where they are needed it may be on the same ship or a different one at a different location throughout the world. Our head waitress has worked for the ship for 14 years was out to sea on this contract for 10 months with 2 grown boys at home. She worked the ship throughout her boys growing up.
The workers will work 6 hour shifts, 2 hour break and then another 6 hour shift. All of them spoke perfect English which was not any of their first languages.
Our waiter for dinner was from India. He was a young guy who just got married. He did not want to leave on this trip and be gone for 7 months with his new bride back home. His two sisters live in the United States.
I asked why he doesn’t move to the US and he replied “I never got a college education”. This is all he felt he could do to make a living. My heart just broke knowing he could be anything he wants to be.
Many I spoke with are happy they have jobs on the ship so they can support their families. Even though they only get home 2 months a year this is well worth it for them to avoid their governments taking everything from them.
The whole week I felt I was living in the battleship exercise. I really got to look at things differently on the ship and really appreciated what the workers do to give others a great experience.
After I got home these past few days I felt so different and it’s not because I was rested after a vacation. I have had this amazing feeling come over me where I am bursting with happiness. I am so excited about something I have no idea what it is, and every person I see just brings me joy.
What an amazing journey we are on transforming our lives through acts of kindness and an appreciation for others like we would have never known. My wish is for all around the world to learn to manifest their dreams and desires so they can live their lives with their loved ones.
That is what life is all about.
Hey Cheryl thanks for sharing your experience on the cruise ship in a great blog. Breaking out in happiness how cool is that
Thanks for sharing about your beautiful joy and appreciations! Sounds like a lovely blessing for you to have experienced with the new insights you have been learning and applying.😊👏
Hi Cheryl, Thank you for sharing this beautiful experience on the cruise ship. I enjoyed hearing how you related the battleship exercise to your trip.
What an amazing experience, Cheryl. Thank you for sharing how it added to your battleship exercise, and how you see what a blessing this class and the material is for ALL of us!