Whether they work on ship or shore, whether they work in a kitchen, an engine room or an office, we rely on brilliant people to create unforgettable holiday happiness for our Guests, and unforgettable careers for our people.
From saving lives, to acts of safety and delivering exceptional service, our award-winning colleagues for January have all gone above and beyond while at work.
Queen Elizabeth – Joefrene Taneo, Technical Rating
To fix water pipe failures we normally repair them during the night to cause minimum disruption to services. This means the plumbers involved need to take their rest during the day so aren’t able to attend to other issues.
To help with this problem and to maintain the service our Guests and colleagues expect, we have had one of our engine room wipers learn some of the basic plumbing jobs and routines to be able to assist during busy periods. Joefrene showed such enthusiasm to assist his colleagues and willingness to learn a new skill, which can include some rather unpleasant jobs as you can imagine! His performance has been well above that expected and we would gladly have him permanently on the plumbing team.
Queen Mary 2 – Adam Ritchin, Guest Computer Services Manager
Adam did a great job in assisting colleagues and Guests in applying for the Indian e-Visa and the Sri Lanka Visa. He always ensures that he is familiar with the process of applying for the different visas and has all necessary information on hand to share with Guests. In challenging situations such as the World Voyage it is a pleasure knowing that we can count on Adam’s help and support.
Queen Victoria – Vicky Lee Stopforth, Reception Manager
During a helicopter evacuation, Vicky spent the majority of the night and early hours with the evacuated Guest’s wife, who was not able to accompany her husband in the helicopter. The following day, in the port of Aruba, Vicky gave up her time off in port to take the Guest’s wife to the hospital where she spent the whole day liaising between the ship, the hospital and the Guests.
Vicky has been in continuous contact with the Guests, receiving updates from them and their family since they disembarked in Aruba, extending her duty of care and truly showing her commitment to White Star Service. Her charismatic and thoughtful personality shone through when she assisted our Guests in their time of need. Vicky was a friendly, familiar face and we are proud to nominate her for her dedication and hard work.
Arcadia – Paul Murphy, Hotel Auditor
With little notice, Paul left the ship on a CARE deployment with a particularly challenging Guest following their medical disembarkation. Paul was there to offer support and assistance during their first couple of days in Panama.
Aurora – Nicolette Van Der Merwe, Communications Manager
Nicolette has been a star in supporting the F&B department with last minute marketing requests. She created two different wine package flyers at short notice to adress a number of Guest queries. Furthermore, Nicolette created other flyers to support new initiatives to drive revenue in Select Dining.
Azura – Habib Khan, Leading Seaman
In his own time, Habib took the initiative to fix two items in the Crew Gym. He stitched up the punching bag, and also fixed one of the benches. Habib has received three cruise nominations for doing this. Habib has proven to be a quiet achiever, proactive in his work, and with an eye for detail. He works with his team with professionalism and proficiency.
Britannia – Jeoffrey Colinares, Assistant Waiter
A Guest broke their arm at the start of their holiday and Jeff supported them at mealtime by cutting up their food. The Guest said, “Jeff was so attentive and so friendly.”
Oceana – Reky Montes, Ice Carver
Reky created a camel from Styrofoam for our embarkation season in the Arabian Gulf. The Guests loved this and the photography team used it in their embarkation photos. This was so successful that Reky spent his spare time creating two more camels which are now all used in the atrium on our turnaround days, attracting many positive Guest comments and helping to generate revenue.
Oriana – Paresh Amonkar, Assistant Crew Manager
Paresh goes the extra mile to look after ship’s company funds and welfare. He returned £50 to a bartender who had misplaced it and helped out a colleague who was struggling financially during his first contract. He inspires others to be honest and take pride in their work. He’s also spent his spare time organising table tennis and cricket for the Crew Olympics which Guests enjoyed too as they were held in Guest areas. Paresh received four nominations which shows how much his effort is appreciated.
Ventura – Marius Badarau, Casino Manager
Marius has opened the Arcade for colleagues to have gaming nights for free to offer an activity to improve crew welfare and assist with teambuilding. Marius hosts these evenings himself and stays to operate the machines for everyone.
Carnival House – Lisanne Porath, Representative, International Cruise
Lisanne was nominated after a colleague received an email from a Platinum Cunard World Club member. Lisanne is always extremely ‘Guest obsessed’ and ‘Passionate about happiness’ and this was once again proof of it 🙂
“I’m writing to appraise the above member of your staff for the excellent customer service i received from her when i inquired about transatlantic crossings to New York and return from Southampton. Lisanne is very polite and well mannered and knows her subject very well. It was a real pleasure talking to her!”