Miyaco San/Carlos Pueblo

Miyaco San/Carlos Pueblo

First day afternoon on board at deck 12 Garden Café, I saw a familiar face cleaning

the table. It’s Miyaco San of the Jade, a Filipino with a Japanese surname yet doesn’t

speak a word of Japanese. He immediately recognized me from the old spring days

of 2016 from the port of Houston across the Atlantic. The last farewell was at the

shuttle bus of Barcelona port to the Columbus Circle. I was worried that he wore

so little at a cold spring day. Ever since, I have been trying to track him down from

every cruise that I have been on board. My last one was on Jade, Michael of the

Jasmine Restaurant told me that he was with the Star in Europe. He told me that

Star was his previous contract.

I was at deck 8 24 hours restaurant with my brother-in-law and his friends to have

buffalo wings and fish chips. A young man from Oklahoma spoke Japanese to answer

my Spanish and I responded in Japanese accordingly and made a lot of fun. Suddenly,

the waiter from behind push another shy waiter forward. His last name was Miyaco

and I immediately greeted him Miyaco San and conbanwa. The other waiter explained

that this man couldn’t speak a word of Japanese even though he had had a Japanese

name. He explained that was his grandfather’s surname and I guessed based on his out

look that his grandfather should be in the Japanese Army went in to Philippine in 1942.

After the war, he stayed in Philippine and married a local girl who was Miyaco San’s

grandmother. He used to work at another cruise liner in Europe and just joined this

company for its European operation. He has a son aged 16 under his brother’s care

at home and will go to college next year. This work is all for his son.

I remember him very well, a very polite manners and hardworking youngster. I even

attempted to be a match maker for him, he is a widower. I carried my cameras all the

time on board and one day he was on duty at deck 12 pools area, I asked a fellow

passenger to take photo for both of us together and explained how hard I had tried to

locate him and the passenger appreciated.

My daughter on board Raquel asked me if I adopted him as my son, I replied that if

any of my daughter married him later, he could become my son-in-law. I have had such

a good time to be associated with so many hardworking and polite nature staff on board

and I feel so much kinship with the ship; therefore, I am going back this ship on Sunday

on the 28^th. 

都君/莊峻華

都君/莊峻華

花園十二層花園餐廳，一人面熟，正在收拾餐盤，原來是都君，我親切的日

語招呼，這是上船首日，我一直追蹤都君，終於在寶玉號，獲得消息，他說

原在歐洲星號服務，剛調此船，我認識都君在前年春天，寶玉號從休士頓港

，橫跨大西洋，許多美憶，之後經常郵輪旅行，偶遇當年船員，當然繼續認

識新朋友，現在之女兒，最多再見是在西班牙巴塞隆納港，都君和同事們先

上小巴士，往哥倫布廣塲，見其天寒單衣，甚是不忍。

先是在八層藍海灣餐廳，賣弄日語，侍者推出一靦腆男侍者，姓都，米亞口

，但不能日語，倒是一位好學印尼侍者，敢言幾句，我甚好奇，原來祖父在

1942年隨日軍攻入菲律賓，戰後滯留娶妻，到都君已是第三代，家有長子，

由兄弟家庭照顧，明年上大學，我在船上遇見許多動人故事，船員離鄉背井

，為了家境生活，為了下一代，我比較認同如此環境。

一日我在十二層游泳池三溫暖，遇見都君，請乘客幫忙拍照留念，我解釋，一

年多前在寶玉號見面之往事，美國人也珍貴如此友誼，下船前，詢問契約期

滿期，他說還早，其實下午，郵輪代理，寄來廣告，我在一週後又要上黎明

號，將再見都君。

我的日語進展牛步，都君雖幼於我，但足夠稱呼為桑，就是結婚成家之男女

敬語，君係少年通稱，或曰樣，音又，也不很對稱，請熟練日語讀者原諒。

我問都君，是否與日本政府討論過，日本國籍問題，他說先祖父一直無意重

返日本，一直未留下日本故鄉資料，雖談過但依法無據，我看他是有日本人

之輪構。愛女蕾克列兒曰，都君是我兒子，我說妳嫁他，他就是我女婿。

Second dinner with voucher at La Cucina/Carlos Pueblo

Second dinner with voucher at La Cucina/Carlos Pueblo

With the experience of the first dinner at Cagney’s, I invited the second set of

daughters, Angelica of Philippine and Ani of Indonesia, for a dinner at an Italian

restaurant La Cucina on deck 7 mid-ship. Angelica told me that Ani was also

gladly accepted the invitation. The approving procedure went smoothly with

my credit score was high with the ship management. Their assistant manager of

housekeeping, Apolonio a fine gentleman, came up to the Garden Café to meet

me upon a pass on request from Nigel of the restaurant manager. We chat about

the Cebu Islands where my former professor Liu’s hometown. Mr. Liu was a friend

of my father in the 60’s in Taiwan and came to visit me at Taiwan Normal to deliver

several lectures of Buddhism. He went to school at Amoy University, a private institute

financed by a successful Chinese Filipino Chin and a public university now in Amoy, China.

He told me that with his family’s background, he helped to build several Buddhist high

Schools and at least a Buddhist college in Cebu. I was attempted to go over there at that

time in order to leave Taiwan yet I lost contact with him when I finished my army service.

I was very closed at Quemoy frontier about 4 kilometers away from Amoy, China. If I

have an opportunity to visit Philippine, I like to visit his hometown. He became a Buddhist

monk and moved to Singapore to be a head monk of a temple until his death in 1993.

I just google it that his Filipino name is William Correa.

Again, we were all waiting for their coming at 9:00 pm on the dinner date, hostess, waitress

, manager, and myself. Like the Cinderella story, both daughters wore lovely civilian dresses

and appeared very happy. Zimih, a Burmese waitress and my daughter on board, helped us

to take photo. Angelica and I ordered steaks while Ani, just out of cold, ordered chicken yet

both of us gave small pieces of our steaks to her. Mine was a special Angus while Angelica’s

was a full T-bone which she couldn’t finish like those two at Cagney’s. They didn’t drink and

I almost sang a Japanese nursey rhyme Momotaro san, the peach boy to them after finish

that bottle of champagne. I have found so much happiness to think of this cruise experience.

Ani’s boyfriend, a bartender, was passing by approaching the restaurant window with a big

smile.

After the dinner, Angelica was switched to Bliss, a big bar and Ani was on deck 7 atrium duty.

I saw Ani quite often and had had opportunity to chat about dogs, our mutual favorite pet

story. I missed my dog friends at home.

第二次與愛女晚餐/莊峻華

第二次與愛女晚餐/莊峻華

還剩免費餐券一張，於是邀請清潔部兩愛女晚餐，時間也在晚上九時整，我

先請兩位先向上級報告，又在花園餐廳遇見餐廳總經理奈吉耳，他電話連絡

到助理管家阿波洛尼歐，前來面會，此為一菲律賓紳士，他滿口答應，並與

我談到其故鄉宿霧市，這也是故覺生老和尚之故鄉，老和尚出家前，曾來台

北，先父要我到基青會旅館拜望，我邀他到學校中道社演講幾次，他是夏門

大學出身，拜師弘一大師，在宿霧創辦幾家佛學高中和學院，晚年剃髮出家

，應星洲寺院所聘，約八年前圓寂，我若能訪菲律賓，必拜訪宿霧市。

拉庫其娜餐廳侍者叫曰，兩小姐來也，就像傳說中之辛徳瑞拉姑娘一般美麗

，連忙拍照留念，義大利餐廳晚上最後一節，愛女點菜，印尼之安妮感冒初

癒，選擇雞肉，菲律賓之安琪莉佳，和我均選牛排，安選大塊梯骨牛排，牛

排端上桌，香氣噴鼻，於是我們各切一小塊給安妮，小姐食量小，不久就投

降，而且滴酒不沾，我喝下整瓶香檳，差一點唱桃太郎童歌，給兩愛女欣賞。

安妮之男友，一位調酒師，從窗外經過，近窗招呼，非常高興。

晚餐後，管家部工作安排異動，安妮常見於七層大廳，安琪莉佳調到船前布

莉斯大酒吧，不常見面，但是管家部，仍就有許多位愛女，和餐廳愛女一段

忙碌不堪，一位新進中國貴州姑娘，劉莉娜，也在十二層工作，我隨時提醒

其他愛女，或是長官，要多加照顧，不想老年後，變得婆婆媽媽。

Invitation of dinners through ship’s chain of command/Carlos Pueblo

Invitation of dinners through ship’s chain of command/Carlos Pueblo

It would be wonderful for me to invite two of my daughters on board of the cruise

ship Dawn to have a dinner with me one at a time to utilize two voucher from the

cruise liner for my platinum status. They both gladly accepted and I asked them to

apply though their direct supervisor for approval and proper time. I was a solo

passenger; therefore, a voucher would cover two person and would not cost me a

penny. Both did request through their managers yet there were no definite answers

, then one morning I caught up with a senior manager of the restaurant Nigel of

Croatia and asked for a favor. He indicated that he was aware of it and invited me to

attend a latitude party sponsored by the Cruise Next office to meet his boss Tony,

the Hotel Director of the ship. I know that is a chain of command process that I must

follow. I had had such reminder severely about a half of century ago while serving at

the Army in Taiwan, as a matter of fact, at the frontier post of Quemoy offshore of

Amoy, China. My request of teaching at a local middle school was rejected by the

Battalion commander due to my directly went up to the approval from a one star

deputy Division commander through the middle school principal’s introduction. I

have learned that lesson very well and it has been a great help for my career.

I was worried after all of this difficulty and still not having the approval; therefore I

skipped at the end of an art class to go directly to the latitude party and met Tony.

He said to write a Dear Tony letter at the front of customer service desk to him and

would be processed accordingly. I am a writer now and should have no problem to

issue a brief note to him. The next morning, my high ranking daughter Clarita smiled

at me at the Garden Café that she managed and indicated the request had been

approved out of my sincerity and following the chain of command. I just needed to

call her colleague Nigel to get an OK. After the front desk called him, the reservation

desk registered my reservation, instead of one daughter at a time, it was two at the

same time. I figured that was for the safety of these two lovely daughters of mine.

We had had such wonderful time at the steak house. First, I went in early and waiting

at the table at a corner, it was late at night at 9:00 pm, then, there was a turmoil at the

front and the waiters got excited saying that they were here. Two hostess daughters

brought them in, they were in night gown with fully expressed lovely figure, yet both

could not handle the 15 ounces rip eyes steak only half of them. It is one of the best

dinner which I have had with Cagney’s because they ordered side dishes. Raquel was very

considerate that she pulled out her card to pay the additional cost and I stopped the waiter

and she again slipped a tip to him for his service. I saw it and paid her back the next morning

when she offered me coffee. I had had such a wonderful time with them.

體驗郵輪餐廳指揮系統/莊峻華

體驗郵輪餐廳指揮系統/莊峻華

因我是郵輪鉑金級乘客，郵輪贈送兩餐券，可在兩餐廳用餐，我經常選擇

十三層凱格尼，和義大利餐廳拉庫其納，都選牛排，都在二十元免費額範

圍內，餐券一張可招待兩位，平常我是單身旅行，所以可邀同伴，這次上

船，立即詢問兩愛女，八層奧西安娜餐廳之瑞克蕾兒，和十三層巴西餐廳

茉徳諾之凱瑟琳，兩位都欣然答應，我請彼等分別請示經理，尋妥時間。

翌晨我在奧西安娜早餐，兩愛女同時在餐廳值勤，詢問結果，兩位均已報

告直接上司，大概需要更上層主管之批准，郵輪主管均海軍制服，令我想

起軍中之指揮系統制度，半世紀前服役軍中之經驗。

每日均在船上下探親，不聞愛女之答案，於是我攔下一位餐廳高官，歐洲

克洛也西亞之奈及耳，請示可否？他曰已有聽聞，應無問題，希望我參加

郵輪酒會，和郵輪旅館部長同尼見面，我固知滋事體大，若無批准，餐廳

無法預約，酒會中同尼與我碰拳招呼曰，寫信申請，就是在七層大廳櫃台

之投訴箱，寫信是我專門，於是我就簡短寫下親愛的同尼。翌晨，在十二

層花園餐廳吃水果，又找愛女克拉莉妲寒暄，克是餐廳經理，兩線半官階

，彼笑曰我之申請已經批准，因為同尼裁示彼處理，彼閱該信，原與公司

體制不符，也無慣例，但我們均按指揮系統作業，合理合情也合法。

批准前，其實愛女瑞克蕾兒，已來視探我之意見，她說凱瑟琳急欲參加我

們，我下意識覺察，這需要花錢，愛女笑曰無慮，然後又說我不需出錢，她

倆負責，我想一夜始通，原來郵輪有安全顧慮，我這老頭不知為何方神聖？

小心這些如花似玉之員工，是為公司之謹慎策略。還有一張餐券，我就安排

邀請兩位清潔部愛女，安琪莉卡和安妮，因有首次經驗，我已有信用，公司

很快就批准，我習知原因，這是愛女長官克拉莉妲之解釋，有些愛女職位忙

碌，無法應酬，一離開餐廳就癱瘓，即使下班後，也是休息時間，對郵輪餐

廳操作，非常重要。

兩餐會均非常成功，給我留下美憶，我先到餐廳等候，時間到，都是晚上九

時整，愛女到均引起小騷動，門口帶位同事愛女，這次認收五十位以上，將

平民美飾之愛女，帶到座位，我連忙不停拍照，四位愛女均食量不大，而且

也節制飲酒，安妮甚至滴酒不沾，她之男友窗外經過，笑容滿面。回家後，

愛美審查相片紀錄，說我都在注目愛女胸部，我說這也不是你所能管，要管

需要還我財產。

Traveling crisis management/Carlos Pueblo

Traveling crisis management/Carlos Pueblo

There was crisis during my cruise trip to the Eastern Caribbean this past two

Weeks, one getting on to the ship terminal from San Juan International Airport

and the other one getting home from Houston Intercontinental Airport. Both

crisis required management.

I thought that getting to the old San Juan ship terminal from the airport was easy

because I was there in October, 2016 with Epic disembark and marched toward

two castles easily and San Juan should have some kinds of buses to and from the

old town of the city to the airport. Before the trip, I did Google it and there was

a brief message to take a bus on the second floor bus stop to take a bus to town.

I arrived at 1:00 am with plenty of time to figure out the trip. At 5:00 am, I walked

out from the airport terminal toward right direction and did find a bus stop and a

pretty young lady came by to confirm that there was a bus at 6:30 am. We both

waited until 7:15 am for the upcoming bus in between there was an old van taxi

driver soliciting business and said that it was Sunday therefore the bus was not

coming. She said that what he said. The morning bus did come to take three of us

to some place in town. The transferring bus station was closed and lucky me that

she kindly offered a ride to take me to a light rail station. Her driver took us to pick

up another routine passenger and she explained the new passenger that I was here

to take a cruise in Spanish which I knew few. She explained to me the fare of the light

rail and then the connecting bus to the old San Juan. A lady employee helped me to

get a token to get on the light rail, then I met another senior lady on the train. She

offered me to guide me to the old town. At the final station, she found his friend was

taking a bus to where I wanted to go and explained to him to help me and left with a

waiting taxi.

We were on the city bus toward the old San Juan. After a while we were approaching

the port area and I saw two giant ships standing there and I could read Dawn, then I

thought that was it finally and I could get on the ship early and took a shower and a nap

in my stateroom. It was another problem that I was on the other side of the land with a gulf

separated from the ship. I had to swim across it that what the employees inside the

gates told me. A coast guard gate man told me to march on one direction while at

the Mcdonald’s another uniform worker corrected the direction. I marched toward the

later one till I found that was impossible. On my way back to the other direction, another

employees inside the gate witnessed my struggle and one of them offered to take me

to the ship. He drove me to a freeway and exit to a small airfield with abandoned planes

and I could see vehicles were pulling in and moving out from the ship. He left me in front of

the entrance because he didn’t have the permit to enter.

At the end of the cruise trip, we disembark at the lovely Tampa Bay ship terminal. I did call

the city bus authority before the trip and got the information to take route 8 and transferred

at Meridian Avenue to get on route 60 to the airport; however, I couldn’t locate the bus stop.

To avoid the crisis, I settle with a private shuttle bus with a slightly higher fare, $8 versus $4,

and I learned that I should really learn how to get easy on my money not like a miser.

Arriving at Houston, while waiting at the bus stop outside of the terminal C at a sub zero

temperature, we found out there was no bus scheduled due to the weather, as a matter of

fact all Houston bound flight was cancelled a day before. I was in panic and without a phone

and no coins to dial for help. A gentleman from Seattle kindly allowed me to use his phone to

call Amy for help. I was out on the passenger pick-up area for three hours and after a night

recovering, I looked at the mirror and noticed that I was aging a lot after that suffering.