For the Record Gazette

If you said, “cruisin'” to Banning Chamber of Commerce executive director Jack Holden, it wouldn't take him long to start talking about “Cruisin' Ramsey, a very popular chamber event.

If you said cruising to me and to my friends Pat, Clare and Ted, you would immediately elicit happy remarks about the 7-day cruise we just took. I can personally attest to the fact that the economies of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta greatly improved after our visit.

Clare spent many years as a tour guide, so when she recommended Holland America restaurant, we all agreed. The service, the accommodations and the food (the food, food, food) were excellent.

Back on shore for just one day, I tried to resume my normal “land” routine. I took a shower, dressed and headed down the hall to my office to write this column. After a bit, I took a bathroom break and when I entered my bedroom, I was shocked that the cabin steward had not made my bed and tidied up! Welcome home Š reality bites!

I hadn't taken a cruise in years, so when this opportunity came up, the price was right and my friend Pat said she'd go with me, I thought, “Why not?” I wanted and needed a real vacation.

On the daY of departure, we embarked early and the first thing we had to prepare for was the mandatory fire drill. This was a huge ship - 11 stories tall, 82,000 tons, 935 feet in length and capable of tooling through the ocean at 23 knots, so I wanted to know where me and my life jacket would take me in case of an emergency. Drat - I knew I shouldn't have watched the movie Titanic the night before we left!



We were set to sail at 5 p.m. and that is exactly when we pulled out of the San Diego harbor. While the rest of the world was dealing with the crashing of stock markets, we only had to deal with dining.

Since I was a “newbie” to the entire procedure, it was nice that my reservations were taken care of by my capable and travel-worthy friend. When it came time to eat; we hadn't been tempted with food in at least a couple of hours.

I rarely sleep well on the first night in a new place. Couple that with going from the luxury of a king-size bed to the confines of a twin, I was holding on to the narrow bed for dear life. Once determining that my friend Pat was still awake, I asked her if her bed was moving.

She exhibited enormous patience and restraint when she said, “Gail, we're on a ship crossing an ocean. Of course we're moving and that includes rocking a bit.” Satisfied with her response and afraid to ask any more inane questions, I finally dozed off to sleep.

We spent the next day at sea and that was a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with the ship. I thought I would be thrown overboard when I had the indiscretion to call the vessel a “boat.” Never will I make that mistake again.

The next three days saw us docking in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. As I said earlier, we all helped out the economies of these cities. They were truly sorry to see us go!

By then, I had discovered the wonders of a daily art auction. I will now await receipt of the painting I bought and the one I won (framing not included). Without any wall space left in my house, it will now be a challenge to figure out where to hang my newly acquired treasures.

With no ports to visit for the next few days, I was at a bit of a loss as to what I wanted to do. Of course there was something scheduled every half hour or so (one could always eat) but I didn't want to lose my edge, so I found it necessary to conduct an interview.

My friend had invited me to a special cocktail party thrown by the ship's captain. While she railed on about the “as you wish dining,” I made an appointment for the next day with the Environmental Officer.

While others in the Crow's Nest practiced line dancing, I had a fascinating conversation with Jan Van Aalst. The Environmental Officer position is one of importance and the ship cannot sail without him.

After a few minutes of talking, it was obvious that his position was more than a job to him. He really cares about what he is doing. “We are a little city with nearly 3,000 inhabitants,” he said. “Protecting the environment and promoting environmental awareness is important not just to the passengers, but to the crew.” We spent the next couple of minutes watching a bunch of baby dolphins frolic in the ocean.

Van Aalst trains crew members to achieve varying degrees of environmental management. Each employee receives this training and receives certification upon completion. An employee is not allowed to work without this certification, which is valid for one year and then must be retaken. Hum. Do we do this in our cities on land?

There were approximately 1854 passengers plus a crew of 820. That translates into serving 11,000 meals daily, which generates 66,000-110,000 pounds of food and drink for a cruise of a week! That said, reuse, reduce and recycle are practiced onboard in usual and unusual ways.

Some inventive reuses include: old blankets become cleaning cloths and old towels are made into hats for the cooks. There are many items that cannot be reused or recycled and some are hazardous waste like needles, pins or anything that comes from the infirmary that needs to be disposed of as hazardous waste in those bright red bags.

The largest water discharge onboard is gray water, created through showers, water running in sinks, etc. and black water, which comes from toilets. You simply cannot, morally or legally, just dump this stuff into the ocean.There are strict international rules and laws applied to this waste disposal. Through AWWPS (Advanced Waste Water Purification system), the waste is vacuumed out of the toilets and placed in tanks. The waste receives physical, biological, chemical and ultimately, ultra-violet treatment. It creates bio-waste and is offloaded on shore, or discharged beyond 12 nautical miles at sea

Van Aalst told me about a pilot program on a sister ship that removed chemicals emitted into the air. Their innovative processing has succeeded in removing substantial amounts of the sulfur, nitrogen and carbon dioxide from the air.

By spraying the smoke stacks with fine water (and further processing), 98% of the sulfur is not emitted into the air. The sulfur is what produces acid rain which is what discolors and destroys statues on land. If they can do it on a ship, don't you think zero emissions should be achieved in cars and trucks?

Finally, I realized that I can take a vacation, free of guilt and enjoy myself in the process. Then again, I thrive on learning something new. Thanks to the very cooperative Jan Van Aalst, I have a better understanding, albeit it a slight one, of what it takes to run a floating city.

Gail and her husband Bill Paparian created a service called Writing Solutions in 1996. Gail has also written for a number of local and national magazines and newspapers over the years. Currently, she provides public relations consulting services for the Banning Unified School District. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .