Shann-anigans

Shann and baby Hatim

I will never forget my first cruise. It was on Holland America Line’s Volendam. It left from my home city of Vancouver. My friend, Sarah dropped me off and I embarked on an adventure of Oceanic proportions. Cruising toward Alaska I was full of excitement and angst. I was a fish out water. A fish on the highest mountain peak…the moon!… I was a fish on the moon.

The only thing I remember about the first few hours of my seagoing career is sailing under the lions gate bridge and throwing up over board on account of my apparent sea sickness. And that’s all I remember. I do remember my first night however…

Gary was my first Cruise Director. He was British and the best Cruise Director I ever worked for during my time at Holland America. As the dancers finished the opening number of “Rock the Boat” at the welcome aboard show, Gary took the stage and asked his host team to come out. There we were, the four of us standing behind him smiling like complete morons… boring…so I decided to pose. Every 20 seconds or so I would switch to another catalogue pose: tennis pose, golf pose, there's something in the distance pose, you know, the regular catalogue poses. When the audience began to laugh, Gary turned around to see what was happening, I faced the front and became a smiling moron again as if nothing was happening. He was clearly confused and I, along with the audience, was clearly amused. 

After we left the stage, this crew member from the kids program caught up with me. I remember thinking how stunningly beautiful she was. She had this smile that showcased her teeth and freckles... she actually made me a little nervous.

Shann: I cannot believe you catalogued posed on stage. That was awesome

Me: I can’t believe you know what catalogue posing is.

Shann: Are you kidding, I invented it!

Me: Mmmm… I don’t think you did.

Shann: My name is Shann.

Me: Short for Shenanigans?

Shann: Good one.

As she walked off, I thought to myself: “what a snob” – and she did not invent catalogue posing.

I am so glad to say that Shann Ross became my first ship friend. I fell in love with her free spirit,  her laugh and her quirky sense of self. How lucky was I? My first week onboard I make a friend with a girl who was only on a two week contract (on account of schooling) and I have beat all odds to still have her as a close friend today. You see it is rare that a friendship, a ship friendship that is, translates onto land even after spending an intense 6 months together.

People who work on ships live parallel lives. We have land friends and we have ship friends and rarely do the two cross. Although land friends are constant, it doesn’t make ship friends any less valuable. Ship friends have a special bond. They are with you every single day for six months. They are responsible for making your birthdays special, and if your birthday doesn’t fall within the time you are together, they will celebrate your ½ birthday and they understand what it is like when you are homesick or when you can’t get a phone line out to call your family.  With Shann, she is both. As a land friend she would prefer more communication as would I (I have to become a better emailer), but as a former ship friend she understands… I hope…

A gracious daughter, a mother, and a brilliant wife, is what makes Shann a great human being. Her laughter, loyalty and amazing sense of fun are what make her a great friend.

Hey Shann, do you remember what I said to you when you came into my cabin and asked me who I lived with?