What is a Cruise Director?

Preparing to marry a die hard boater many moons ago, I figured I’d better establish some boundaries. For all my young and unattached sisters out there, please realize that as negotiation positions go, they don’t get any better than BEFORE you say I do….

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the social life we have with our boat friends and I really enjoy being outdoors in the summer, in beautiful surroundings with the air blowing through my hair, my skin getting golden. However, owning a boat is a lot of work and I was not going to spend the rest of my life’s weekends scrubbing one.

After we married and boundaries were etched firmly in stone, I would sit in the back of the boat and read in the sun, frozen adult beverage in hand, when I realized I was getting ugly glances from the other wives in the marina. And the glances narrowed to tiny slits as the afternoons slipped away while they kept stripping paint off of sailboats, washing canvas or bleaching dinghy’s with their husbands. I kept reading and enjoying my drinks. So one day I came up with the following little saying which, my by then really good sailboat friend, asked to have a copy of. I printed and framed it for her to keep on her boat, but I am pretty sure her husband dropped it over board soon thereafter! (Let me know Bonnie).

“I am the Cruise Director. I am in charge of the galley and the chefs, the wine cellar and the wine stewards. In addition I oversee housekeeping, guest quarters, purchasing and entertainment. I am the Cruise Director – I don’t wash the boat”.

Back when we married, I agreed to take care of the inside of the boat. We had a 32 ft Carver then, but over the years the boats have grown and here we are with a 50 ft SeaRay. We both love to entertain, the Captain is an accomplished guitar, piano and banjo player and I enjoy cooking elaborate foods for cocktail parties and dinners, pair it all with wonderful wines and then watch our friends faces as they light up with pleasure over my efforts. If you think a Cruise Director sits around much, think again.