Day Four: Service with a Smile

One of the most famous aspects of the Cunard transatlantic experience is supposed to be the exemplary service you receive from the crew. So far everything we have seen has confirmed that reputation, from the boarding staff to our waiters and waitress at the restaurant, and of course our Butler I mentioned yesterday. The butler service is something we get as Queen's Grill passengers, which is basically the upper tier of cabins available, with extra space and a whole host of such luxuries. This extra luxurious status (which they certainly make you pay for!) was necessary as there were no accessible standard grade cabins available when I made the booking, but is something you truly come to appreciate when spending a week in one place.

Anyway, back to the crew. Our Butler is called Elgin, who hails from the Philippines. He works in nine-month long stints, meaning he gets to spend only three months in the year with his family which includes two daughters. It makes you think that the pay must have to be a pretty good incentive, but short of asking questions that are none of my business I can't guarantee you of that!

Elgin is the only one of the crew we have really got to know, but they are all remarkably attentive and vigilant, keen to spot any way in which they can be of assistance. After the first night the restaurant staff, after seeing my father cutting up the food for me, asked us if it was okay for them to do it before they brought food out -- which was really great as they were both helpful and careful not to make assumptions. It got me to thinking whether or not the staff received disability awareness training, although I am doubtful as at other times their approach has been a little patchy in this regard, occasionally addressing my father instead of me. But evidently this is outweighed by their clear desire to be as helpful as they possibly can.

And talking of excellent service, this entry wouldn't be complete without recognising the wonderful job that my PA Jan has been doing to help us out. It makes me wonder how we will cope without him on the way back! This trip once again demonstrates how varied the role of PA can be, and hopefully this would be considered a perk, although the rather hit and miss nature of ship's activities may at times bring that into question! I refer here to the Cunard singers show we went to in the afternoon, which was of questionable quality - it started with a medley from the Osmonds which probably gives you some idea.

A nice short entry today, and not even a pretentious quote to finish it off. Tune in for more tomorrow!