I was sleeping soundly in my cabin early one morning when the shrill ring of the telephone jolted me awake. I hadn't requested a wake-up call, so I was a bit startled.

The Chief Purser was calling to inform me there was a problem with my credit card. When they tried to run my intermediate cruise charges through, it had been declined (too many casino charges, I imagine) and I was asked to come to the Guest Relations Desk to deal with the matter.

Mrs. Kuki swore she hadn't used the credit card to buy a four-carat stone anywhere, and I could only remember buying one round of drinks for the house in the casino. After several phone calls to my credit card company, we still couldn't get the matter resolved.

Then came the bad news: I was informed that because the ship was sailing a bit understaffed, I would have to work off the debt.

It was a bit embarrassing, but I had little choice. I went from being a passenger to being part of the crew in an instant.... And here are the photos to prove it.

Service with a smile		Bar Tender
Serving Pizza	Dish Washing	Doing Laundry	Tour Bus Guide

If this had been a true story, it probably wouldn't have been my worst nightmare, but the Captain and his crew's--having me there working among them.