Still Cruising the High Seas

By Danny Leone

Still Cruising the High Seas is a sequel to Danny Leones first autobiographical travel escape Once Upon a Cruise. This story chronicles his experiences employed in an interim position at a second rate cruise line while his company was building new deluxe ships in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It details the contrast between his temporary fill-in job and his stellar career with Moore-McCormack Lines, including the harrowing catastrophe at sea which nearly cost him his life and those off all on board.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491840139

Danny Leone

Danny Leone’s career as a Cruise Director followed his years in Show Business as an actor and singer on Broadway in “the Man Who Came to Dinner,” which had a two year run, “The Hickory Stick,” and a revival of “They Knew What They Wanted,” which starred the accomplished actor Paul Muni. During this string of performances he had contracts with summer stock companies in “Watch on the Rhine,” “The Damask Creek,” “Three Men on a Horse,” and “The Rainmaker.” After the legitimate theatre slowed down for him, he worked up an act singing and accompanying himself on the piano and was booked into numerous supper clubs and cocktail lounges. When the Korean War broke out he was drafted into the US Army and was assigned to Special Services where he produced his own “Red Diamond Revue” radio show and organized a men’s choral group. From there it was sailing the high seas as one of the most respected Cruise Directors in the business.

Book preview

STILL

CRUISING

THE

HIGH SEAS

Danny Leone

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2014 Danny Leone. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/20/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4014-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4012-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4013-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922149

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

XIII

XIV

XV

XVI

XVII

XVIII

XIX

XX

XXI

XXII

XXIII

XXIV

XXV

XXVI

XXVII

Edited by Dominick Forte

Front cover design and art by Emmy Louvaris

I

The conclusion of my first cruise on the high seas as a Cruise Director marked the realization of a longtime career pursuit—the fulfillment of a dream. It was the culmination of a life spent chasing that elusive adventure called Show Business Success. After years of knocking around as a lounge singer and straight man in a comedy duo, I had finally secured employment as an assistant CD on two cruise ships and was offered a position as a Cruise Director for a cruise line called Moore McCormack Lines. My first cruise as a Cruise Director was jam-packed with beautiful, albeit challenging experiences. Some of the people I came into contact with were intriguing, beautiful, and in some instances, exasperating. There were times I butted heads with co-workers and passengers. There were times I thought I was on the verge of being fired, or even worse loosing my mind.

But I can tell you I am grateful for the experiences of my chosen career. Over the years I have seen places and done things others could not even dream of. I have established long enduring friendships which I cherish. With that first cruise under my belt I was now embarked on a dream career as a world traveler, entertainer, and Cruise Director which has endured for forty-three years.

This narrative is the continuation of my career story with the start of my second cruise. Off we were again southbound on another Good Neighbor Fleet’s Cruise to the Caribbean and South America. That first day at sea passengers were already caught up in the contagious Promenade Deck hustle and bustle of a cruise on the high seas. As I was making my rounds a hyper lady was doing her jogging laps and annoying the hell out of those people who were relaxing on their deck chairs. As she passed by she taunted them. Come on you lazy bones. Get up and feel good. At this she gets answers like, Get lost! and Keep going until you hit that short diving board—and then jump! I nick-named this enthusiast Miss Riseandshine, but I kept this little gag to myself.

The sumptuous luncheon buffet had every kind of delicacy you could savor from lamb and pork to chicken, turkey and squab. There was every salad mix imaginable and all sorts of combinations of fresh tropical fruits. Nothing was missing, but wouldn’t you know one of the women, toting a plate overflowing with food, remarked, Yes, but you haven’t any grits! This caused a ripple of chuckling among the passengers with in earshot. The chef took it rather personally, removing his chef’s hat, whirling it around and casting down on the deck in complete disgust. How could anyone see all I’ve prepared and still want grits? he mumbled.

It was June and the weather was very warm. Most of the passengers were dressed in very casual sun outfits. A man approached wearing a gold bathing suit, wearing gold sandals, and carrying a matching gold satchel. He looked lame and was quite a sight to behold. To my surprise he approached. I am Reverend Dennis Martin and I’m your Protestant Chaplain. You could have decked me with a feather. All I could think was, Well here’s another man of the cloth giving the passengers something to talk about! Where do they get these guys? I rationalized that they felt coming aboard ship was a chance to escape the world and a chance to be themselves rather than what was expected of them by their congregations. But, I thought, what could be more restricting than being in the fishbowl of a cruise ship subjected to the scrutiny of people who look to you as an example?

But I decided not to judge the book until I had at least read a few pages and so I’d wait until I had observed him function in his role as a cleric. Still I had to walk away to avoid laughing out loud. Maybe, in spite of show business career and my two years in the army I was still somewhat of a prude.

Next approaching the buffet table with a tall Tom Collins in her hand was an outlandishly dressed lady what you could think of as an Ostentatious Fashion Plate. She was clad in a red and yellow slack outfit with a very tight top and slacks that looked as though they had been spray painted on. She wore more jewelry than I had every seen on one person ever before. Her sunglasses were bejeweled and were so wide that they extended far beyond her hairline. Her hair was colored a strange flaming red and done up in curlers. Her shoes were red paten leather and from her ears dangled long hanging earrings which reached her shoulder. It was like Halloween in the summer. I couldn’t wait to see what she’d look like at tonight’s formal welcome.

This cruise was different from my first cruise and already I was adapting myself to all the varied types in the cavalcade of passengers. Once again there was a large group of Brazilians and a smaller group of Argentineans and Uruguayans. The largest segment was always the folks from the USA, some of whom were returning to their assigned posts in South America after a holiday in the States. Others were reporting for new assignments and, of course, there were a hundred or so round-trippers or what we call Cruise Passengers.

This cruise had among its passenger population a number of single or unattached women who were taking advantage of the opportunity to meet an available man, age no consideration. Tally ho! Let the hunt begin. The ratio was as high as ten single women for every one male of interest, eliminating those males with no inclination to heterosexuality.

There were no gay bars on the ship so the gay guys had to rely on their own instincts and personal resourcefulness. One such passenger was quite young and traveling alone. From what I could surmise he was from a wealthy family living in Rio. He was an active participant in our recreational activities and was a smash hit at the Costume Party where he came dressed as Marilyn Monroe. In our talent show he sang a few ballads and had a very pleasant voice. He was popular with a number of passengers but from time to time I would see him in the company of Reverend Martin or some of the other gay passengers on board.

At our singles party, in which only five straight men were in attendance, it was comical watching thirty-five ladies on the prowl stalking their prey with such gusto. If these guys had been on a large platter the gals would have eaten them alive. The orchestra played for the party and one of these men was good enough to attempt to dance with most of the gals. I also joined in trying to keep some of the ladies happy. By the end of the party the poor other fellow was exhausted. He had danced every dance from the Fox Trot to the Cha-Cha to the Polka. By party’s end he just sat there with his legs extended holding a tall glass of beer trying to catch his breath.

I approached him and asked, Are you okay? You look a little flushed. Do you need help getting down to the dining room?

Oh, I’m okay. I haven’t danced that much since my wife died nearly ten years ago, so I’m a little out of shape. But I had a lot of fun!

You know something, I laughed, we should put you on the payroll. You deserve a medal for all your hard work; some of those women were on the plump side and you really knocked yourself out pushing them around the dance floor. I want you to know that the ladies really appreciated you. Watch and see. You’re going to be a very popular item with these single women."

He laughed, caught his breath, and took a swig of beer before moving on to the dining Room. I was right behind him when he was met at the door by Angelo, the Maître D.

Good evening Mr. Gray. I know you have a table assignment but in the last fifteen minutes I’ve had several requests from females traveling alone requesting that you join them at their table. I have a table with five of these ladies and I know it would make them very happy if you’d join them.

I intervened, Hey you know what Mr. Gray, why don’t you do just that and I will get permission for you to receive a complimentary bottle of wine each evening at dinner. What do you say?

Yes, sure, okay. Sounds good. Go ahead Angelo show me to the swingers.

II

It was June and the slow season for passenger s cruising. Although the population on board was low, the cultural background ratio of our guess held pretty consistent with my first Cruise and the national personalities are understandably unchanging. The Brazilians on the southbound sailing were all very friendly and outgoing whereas the Argentines who numbered about thirty two and the twenty Uruguayans were very cool passengers who pretty much stayed in their own cliques. I was intent on learning Portuguese and so I continued my lessons with Professor Rupert, the very kind and patient language teacher assigned to the ship. He was diminutive in stature and had the features of the residents peculiar to Ecuador. His ancestors were probably the original Indians of the region.

When he spoke English he sounded like a British scholar. As a matter of fact he had attended college in England where he felt he could better master the English language. I had introduced him to passengers on our first evening at sea and plugged his services of classroom or one-on-one language instruction in both Spanish and Portuguese. He seemed to have a steady flow of students and appeared to do very well. There were always the one-way passengers who would be spending time in the various areas along the coast. Some would be working a new job in Foreign Service and would be remaining for at least two years. For them beginner lessons were a great benefit.

Professor Rupert was good enough to squeeze me in usually two to three times a week. We would cover conversational Spanish and Portuguese. With my ear for the romance languages I picked up things relatively quickly. Although Portuguese was challenging I found learning it an enjoyable experience. The sounds of the tongue were so very close to Italian with the mixture of Spanish. Each time we met the professor would give me a few important phrases to use at the microphone. This met the approval of the people from Brazil and Argentina who were pleased to see me making an attempt to speak their language. During the cruise some of the passengers themselves would teach me some of their local songs. I remember the first one I learned was a Brazilian Carnival song called Morena, and I would whenever the occasion lent itself, be it cocktail gatherings or after an activity in the Main Lounge. It was a good way of ingratiating myself with this very important segment of the guests.

Happily on this second cruise Nikki was back working with me as my Hostess. She made no secret of how pleased I was to be trying so hard to learn as much as I could to improve my job performance. One day as we were carrying up supplies for the distribution of costume materials she remarked to me, Hey Mister, you’re catching on very quick; I’m surprised at how much of the languages you’ve learned already. Keep it up and you’ll have a long and wonderful career in this business.

On this cruise I devoted a lot more time to my travel talks on the ports where I would give some of the historical background and promote the tours in the ports. These talks gave me the chance to plug the shopping opportunities for the passengers and soft sell the retail businesses of H. Stern and the furrier in Buenos Aires that I had met through Mauricio. I tried to be subtle in pitching for my friends and demonstrate a helpful attitude for the benefit of the passengers.

I took great delight in talking about my two favorite cities in South America, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. These are two entirely unalike cities with environmental differences and very unique cultures. Rio’s Carioca were happy and carefree. They enjoyed life to the fullest while the natives of Buenos Aires are more serious and reserved. When walking the streets of Rio de Janeiro you observe a light-hearted population where smiling faces are a way of life while in Buenos Aires the people pass each other with complete indifference and an air of aristocracy pervades.

Immediately following my orientation to the passengers Nikki and I would situate ourselves at a table near the Main Lounge to sell tour tickets. Nikki was always right on the ball. She was able to take names, collect money and make change, and issue tickets a lot faster than me. She was very experienced at this aspect of the job while I was a relative novice.

On the way back to the office we saw the Chief Purser Ernie approaching and the expression on his face betrayed his latent hostility so I braced myself for another of his usual scathing remarks. Bracing myself I took a deep breath and calmly forced a smile. Well, hello Ernie. What a pleasure to see you so early into this cruise. Anything wrong?

His face tensing, as he looked over his half lens spectacles at me he said in his normally crusty voice, Listen Mister. You may think that just because you’ve made it to your second cruise, you’re ‘in like Flynn.’ But let me tell you. I’ve seen guys like you come and go in this business. So don’t get too cocky. I’ll be watching you. You better just keep your nose clean, do your job, and don’t try to pull any fast ones. I’ll have my eyes on your every move, Buddy Boy!

"What the hell does that mean? We’ve just started out and you’re already putting me on notice. Are you