The party and fun started even before the Italian cruise ship MSC Sinfonia pulled out of Durban harbour.
As the luxury liner headed for a new holiday destination, a voice from the nearby tugboat boomed: “Have a good cruise.” However, the 2 000 passengers bound for Bazaruto Island needed no bidding.
Although the weather was not the best, hundreds of people of all ages from all over the country were already on the pool deck in party mode. And the music and the entertainment that got under way, set the tone for the four-night cruise that followed.
Helping to rock the boat with laughter was Stephen Cloete, of Hillcrest, Durban; the cruise director who has been “at sea for 15 years.”
After several years in the hospitality industry, rising to general manager of a top-notch Joburg hotel, Cloete decided it was time to move to a floating hotel. Since then, he has worked on seven different MSC cruise ships and says it is a lifestyle that “gets into your blood.”
He is responsible for all the entertainment activities as well as the 60-strong cast: the dancers, the speciality acts and the Dream Team of 20-something guys who keep the audience laughing at their antics during the quizzes and game shows. Five junior staff also take care of the children on board.
Cloete is also responsible for the social hostesses, who run various activities; one hostess is his wife, Scherice, whom he married at the famous Little White Chapel in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Scherice was once a passenger, and shipboard romances happen “more often than you would think,” Cloete confided.
He comperes the shows, keeps the packed audiences spellbound with his jokes and banter and gets everyone geared up for the glitz and glamour that follows, when the curtain goes up on the evening extravaganzas.
He says that one of the challenges is to stage a variety-styled show that appeals to a wide range of passengers from different backgrounds and he works with a production team to conceptualise what is needed.
Come the peak holiday season, there will be a shift to more family-styled entertainment, with pantomimes and clowns and balloon artists on board.
Cloete is also the author of a book called “Scam’d” and one of the most popular sessions, was his fascinating presentation on the history of scams.
He tells the audience how to spot scams and a gasp went up when he said that the balance bangles that have taken the world by storm are also a scam.
He has a background as a magician and has spotted some of the tricks that are used, he explained.
Cloete and the Italian crew responsible for the navigation and the hotels side of MSC Starlight Cruises, have seen cruises grow in popularity.
The recession, far from hindering business, has helped, as people are now looking for affordable value-for-money local holidays.
Cruising is the fastest growing segment of the travel industry worldwide and MSC’s 11 ships cruising all over the world, carried more than one million passengers last year.
Last year’s South African cruise season was very successful and advance bookings for this season are said to be looking good.
There are many repeat passengers and organisers say that it is possible for some South Africans to cruise up to three times in a season. One Cape Town man has cruised 80 times in 15 years.
And 150 couples had symbolic wedding ceremonies on the ship last year. Five couples tied the knot on the recent Bazaruto cruise.
Some passengers do not even care where they go: for them, the ship is the destination.
Meals on board MSC cruise liners are all-inclusive and passengers can eat as much as they want. Children under 18, who are with two paying adults, cruise and eat for free.
Great emphasis is placed on hygiene and food can only be used within four hours of being prepared. Biodegradable left-overs are compacted and discharged into the sea.
Behind the scenes, a staggering 36 000 pieces of crockery have to be washed every day.
Just as South Africans love cruising, the Italians love coming to South African waters.
Hotel director Antonio Volpicelli said this is because South Africans go on cruises to enjoy themselves. They’re friendly and don’t complain, like some European passengers who moan about the weather.
“It’s paradise here,” said Volpicelli.
Naturally, the captain, Ciro Pinco, is the big favourite and there are many female passengers who try to catch his eye to dance with him at the welcome cocktail function.
Pinto enjoys making his passengers happy and recalls seeing a 90-something woman dancing the night away.
“It was a beautiful thing to see,” said Pinto, who became a captain at 33 and says he has the best job in the world.
The ship travelled 591 nautical miles to Bazaruto Island, the largest in the Bazaruto Archipelago, along the Mozambican Channel opposite Vilanculos. It is in the midst of a marine reserve and boasts a 100-year-old lighthouse.
The island was always a popular port-of-call for MSC cruises, but was withdrawn as a destination two years ago as a five-star hotel was planned for the pristine beach that was used by the landing passengers. But the global economic downturn put paid to the project and as a result, the island was re-opened as a destination again.
We donned our lifejackets and were ferried to the island by Zodiacs, with our skipper, Andy Bagguley of Durban, safely depositing us on the island after a short trip from the mother ship.
The ship will set sail for Bazaruto again on January 18.
If you get to stay in one of the suites with a balcony, the hairdryer and safe are behind the mirror. And if you find a novelty luggage label that says HANDS OFF, it’s mine. - Independent on Saturday