Day 211 At Sea

We had a great day at sea today.  The weather continues to be extremely hot which means a lot of time on the aft deck and in the pool.  As this voyage draws to  a close, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the experiences that we’ve had.  Of course, one of the things that really make a voyage are the people – the staff and crew that work on the ms Amsterdam.  A few years ago, I met a young man who worked on the 2009 voyage on the ms Rotterdam who impressed me so much that I wrote a blog post about how outstanding his performance was day in and day out.  He was the hardest working guy that I had seen on the ship and it was always with a smile.  He could never do enough for the guests on the World Voyage.  That individual was Manny Cabenella who, at that tiime, was the head deck steward.  Manny has since been promoted and is part of the Bar Staff and his performance hasn’t missed a beat.  Day and night Manny is there working hard, always with a smile, and provides the best service – in my opinion – that I have ever seen.  Over the last few years, Manny has been recognized by Holland America Line as the Employee of the Month – an award that Manny could earn each and every month.  It’s people like Manny Cabenella that really make a difference in my choosing HAL as my cruiseline of choice.  He certainly is worthy of Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year if they have such an award.  I just want to say ‘Thanks’ to Manny for representing HAL in such an outstanding fashion.