Cruise Control

At the other end of the town in Margao,Julio Fernandes walks around the ample grounds adjoining his colonial house,stopping every now and then to savour the reassuring feel of the earth beneath his feet. Fernandes was at the theatre aboard Concordia when it ran aground. “The cries for help are still ringing in my ears. We were initially informed of an electrical failure. I went to my cabin and waited for the fault to be rectified. When that didn’t happen,I went to the upper deck and was shocked to see people running around,trying to get into life boats,” he says.

Temudo and Fernandes were just two of the 50-odd Goans who worked on the Costa Concordia. The tradition of going out to the sea for work is not new to Goans. For decades,they have been at home on merchant ships as salon staff. The tide has now turned in favour of international cruise liners,with almost every other house in South Goa boasting of a member on an international cruise liner. Recruitments usually happen directly,through advertisements in major newspapers. The exodus has also given birth to a plethora of employment agencies that claim to facilitate placements and institutes that groom chefs for the cruise galleys.

A rough estimate indicates that about 60 per cent of the salon staff on luxury liners across the world comprises Goans. “They are definitely the most dominant community when it comes to cruise staff. If you line up youngsters between the age of 20 and 30 in South Goa,you’d find that at least 50 per cent of them work on cruise liners,” says Neeraj D’Aguiar,administrator at the Goa chapter of National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI),that gives pre-sea training to aspirants,many of whom opt for cruise liners over merchant ships. The reason is not hard to fathom. “Money,”says Jordon Fernandes,27,candidly. “After a couple of years,you start earning around Rs 50,000 per month,not counting the tips. With this kind of money,one can look after the family,pay off debts and get a decent house. In Goa this would remain a pipe dream for most of us,”says Fernandes,who works with the Disney Cruise Line. Shogul Aguiar,28,who finished his contract with the Concordia just three days before the tragedy struck,echoes the view. “Of course,you meet new people and see exotic places,but finally it all boils down to the kind of money one makes. It’s not comparable to what we would earn in Goa,” he says. There is also the ripple effect: as youngsters in their 20s end up making enough money to buy a house and a car and become viable suitors in the marriage market,others get inspired to follow suit.

Potential employees,says Hemant Bhangui,captain superintendent,NUSI,Goa,also prefer Goans for their proficiency in English and their amiability. “They usually don’t argue or fight much,” he says,“and most of them have a hospitality background,having worked in hotels after school. That experience works as a stepping stone.”

But seasoned Goans working on cruise liners say that the initial euphoria of earning aplenty is shortlived. “The glamour wears off very soon. The jobs are demanding,and the long separation from families takes its toll,” says Nigel Tereza,32,a buffet steward on Silversea Cruises,that plies on the Mediterranean Sea. Aguiar talks of passenger tantrums and discourtesy that are a regular occurrence on board: “You cannot ask them to do anything they don’t want to. Requests of not smoking or drinking in restricted areas go unheeded.”

Most of the staff works on the cruise liners on a nine-month contract after which they get about two months off. While they are governed by the rule of 70-hours-a-week work,it often goes far beyond,as is usual in the hospitality sector. The economic downturn in the West too has taken its toll. “Several companies have downsized salaries from euros to dollars. So our € 1,000 (Rs 65,247 approximately) salaries becoming $1,000 (Rs 49,757 approximately) has meant a pay cut for us. The passenger rates have also been slashed and that affects the quantum of tips we receive. Earlier,I would get as much as $100 to just get a bucket of ice to a table. Now,passengers are wary of even paying $2 for valet service,”says Tereza.

While security is hardly an issue,sometimes freak accidents,like the one Costa Concordia met with,can throw life off course. But for most seafarers,sitting and pondering over the uncertainty of life at sea is a luxury they can ill-afford. “You cannot stop working. Besides,what else will we do? I am yet to get married and need to save up. I also want to get a new car. The anxiety over what happened is there,but before we know it,our time ashore will be up,”says Temudo. As Marino Rodrigues,28,bar steward with Azura,which specialises in Caribbean cruises,says,“It’s a way of life for us. One incident cannot take the wind out of our sails.”