Hold on to your mast there is a doctor on board
“I worked aboard the Monarch of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas, with both ships being wonderful but Jewel of the Seas was absolutely beautiful and very opulent.”
DR Lydia van der Merwe was the guest speaker at the September meeting of Eikenhof Women’s Institute, where she shared her memories of the cruise liners she worked on between 2003 and 2007.
Lydia is a general practitioner in Alberton.
“I worked aboard the Monarch of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas, with both ships being wonderful but Jewel of the Seas was absolutely beautiful and very opulent.
“The liners carry between 3 000 and 4 000 passengers, as well as staff of about 2 000, you can imagine how huge the ships are. There are always doctors on board (three medical doctors and three nurses) and there was an ICU with two beds and high care with three beds, as well as medical supplies. The only time a patient will be taken off a ship is if surgery is required.
“As a team we worked one day on and one off, so we had time to enjoy the cruise as well as working,” Lydia said.
According to Lydia as well as doctors there are always electricians, plumbers, carpenters, dancers and entertainers, apart from the huge staff who cater to the passengers’ every whim.
“One of the memories I’ll never forget was when the captain aboard the ship I was working on, died at sea. The ship went into dock and all the passengers were allowed to disembark but the staff had to remain on board and we were actually questioned about the captain’s death by the FBI! It was routine but all the same, I’d never have thought I would ever be interviewed by the FBI,” she laughed.
Lydia had the chance to visit Hollywood while on one of the cruises and saw Madame Tussauds as well as the Walk of Fame and with a visit to San Francisco she saw the Golden Gate Bridge and rode on the cable car system.
“Another cruise was to the Baltic Islands, where we visited St Petersburg. It was really wonderful and we saw the Winter Palace, known as the Hermitage Museum, the main residence of the Russian Tsars. It’s truly a magnificent baroque-style palace and could even be St Petersburg’s most impressive attraction. We also saw the Church of Spilled Blood, another main attraction.”
The members all enjoyed her talk and the slide show accompanying it and ended the morning with tea and cakes.
Related Articles:
Eikenhof WI celebrates end of the year
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can also email our offices on cvdwalt@caxton.co.za, juliem@caxton.co.za or luckyt@caxton.co.za
Add us on WhatsApp today! Comaro Chronicle: 079 427 8074 and Southern Courier: 079 404 5789.
