SeoulCanadian, Eh -- Captain and Crew

Being the only Caucasian passenger on a luxury cruise ship certainly has its perks! Not only did 90% of the crew seem to know and greet me by name, but I was also honored with a formal invitation (as shown on the left) to dine at the Captain's table on the last evening of the cruise. Talk about feeling like a VIP!! And, for a proud Leo like me, that's a huge bonus!!

I didn't bring my camera to the formal dinner because the ship's photographer was going to be there. But I wish I would have. The only photo I have of the actual dinner is the one that was taken by that photographer. It's the one that is on the first page of this website and it's also the last photograph on this page. I think he did an excellent job with the shot and wish he had taken more.

These pics also include some treasured shots of the very fine people who pampered me so much for those four glorious days. It's interesting to note that members of the ship's crew come from all over the world--more than 80 different countries, including Sweden (Captain Pennonen), Australia, England, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, and numerous other Asian countries.

One more thing that must be mentioned is that the ship's captain, Steve Pennonen, is a truly classy gentleman. The day before "officially" meeting him at

the formal dinner, I went for a workout in the ship's gymnasium. There were a couple of crew members there, wearing shorts and T-shirts, also enjoying some exercise. One of them helped me out with getting a towel and some water; and we chatted a bit. When I asked him where he was from, the crewman--who thought I had assumed that he was another passenger--said to me, "Well, I work here on this ship. But I come from Sweden." The next time I bumped into this same crew member, he was wearing his dress uniform and sitting at the head of the captain's table. It was Captain Steve Pennonen, the guy from Sweden who just works on the ship. A very class act!


Ship Musicians The trio in the middle serenaded me during my first meal on the ship. They're from the Philippines, excellent singers & super guys.	The Concierge Girls The two girls in the red blazers are from Japan, and the lady in blue is from Korea. Happily, most of the crew can speak English

More Fantastic Crew Note the lovely staircase. It's not quite as glorious as the Titanic's spiral one but that's OK. The Taurus's elevators are great, too!	Gary's Asian Angels I didn't realize that I had such long arms!

More Fantastic Crew! The girl on the left was so helpful! She provided English interpretation and great advice on how to avoid getting ripped off.	Sharp-dressed Dinner Guest???? Because I forgot to pack dress shoes, I wore sneakers to the formal dinner. So did some OTHER "distinguished guests." LOL!

Food note:
The formal dinner menu was particularly exciting! For the first time in my life, I ate--and thoroughly enjoyed--raw shrimp, fish and other delicacies. The main course was Porterhouse steak. And, because we were eating with chopsticks, the steaks were served in pre-cut bite-sized pieces. An interesting experience, indeed!