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Cristian Arghinoiu, left, crew payroll manager for Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas, and Roger Salim, stateroom attendant, help unload huge bags of black beans at the port of Cozumel. Royal Caribbean diverted the ship from its usual Western Caribbean itinerary to deliver relief supplies to Cozumel, which was severely damaged in October by Hurricane Wilma. | |
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Enough supplies were carried on Enchantment to fill five 40-foot trucks from floor-to-ceiling. Among the cargo was 40,000 liters of bottled water. Part of that is shown at left. | |
| Because all of the large docks on Cozumel had been severely damaged or destroyed, the 125 pallets of supplies were broken down into packaging which could be moved by hand and placed on tenders to get to shore. Enchantment's crewmembers formed a human chain to efficiently offload bottled water. Here you see water starting its hand-carried journey from the ship to the pier. | |
| All of the supplies had to be handled twice, once onto the tenders and once when the tender reached shore. Here the cargo is finally being unloaded from one of the tenders on shore. | |
| Because the local tenders were larger than the ship's they were used to ferry the supplies to shore. | |
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In this operation everyone worked, and everyone broke a sweat, even the bosses. Shown here is Capt. Bill Wright, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of Marine Operations, who oversaw relief efforts on behalf of the cruise line; and Mike Ronan (right), regional vice president of Government & Community Relations, who had been on the island for two days prior to Enchantment's arrival to make sure all the arrangements were in place. | |
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During the trip to Cozumel, the crew organized themselves into eight teams of about 25 each to unload the cargo. They psyched themselves up for the gargantuan task by making it into a competition. They had only 7 hours to complete the whole task from the time the ship arrived until the time it had to be on its way back to Florida in time for its next sailing. Among the crew shown here are Christophe Poitevin, the ship’s food and beverage manager; Cristian Arghinoiu, crew payroll manager; Oscar Bryan, stateroom attendant; Devon Hall, bar manager; Sergio Porcasi, casino manager; Jomar Ungriano, photographer; and Dexter Ruiz, facilities cleaner. | |
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The Mexican military stood guard on shore to make sure everything remained orderly. Ronan said they were very much in evidence in town during his stay before the ship arrived, and they gave the city a very secure and orderly feeling, not a threatening one. | |
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As much as was unloaded, it seemed there was still more. The crew ultimately completed the task in a bit less than the 7 hours allotted. | |
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Royal Caribbean employees signal their enthusiasm about assisting
residents of Cozumel in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma. From left are
Ole Barstad, staff captain; Israel Suarez of the Mexican government; Capt.
Bill Wright, Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of Marine
Operations, who oversaw relief efforts on behalf of the cruise line;
Siegfried Konetzny, hotel director; Michael Ronan, regional vice president
of Government & Community Relations; Tony Lima, media relations
adviser; and Peter Taylor, provisions master.
On the return trip, which also carried 80 stranded tourists, the captain rewarded the crew with a special afternoon presentation of one of the production shows. Most had never had the opportunity to sit in the theater and see one. After the show, there was a barbeque held by the pool as another reward for the crew members who had worked so hard. |
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