PH Embassy Visits Filipino Crew of the Royal Carribean Cruises’ Explorer of the Seas

Ambassador to Norway Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia and Embassy officers with Filipino crew of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship. (Oslo PE photo)

OSLO 09 August 2019 – With the number of cruise ships docking at the Oslo harbor every day, especially during the summer peak season, and with approximately 25,000 Filipino seafarers onboard Norwegian owned or controlled vessels, the Philippine Embassy in Oslo personally met a number of the hardworking and respected Filipino crew at the Oslo harbor on 06 August 2019.

Through the invitation of Royal Carribean Cruises’ Explorer of the Sea personnel Brylle Tristan Nuñez and Donnie Ray Marasigan, Ambassador to Norway Batoon-Garcia, Deputy Chief of Mission Mariel Algabre, and Third Secretaries and Vice Consuls Christiansen Cabahug and Josel Mostajo were able to meet Filipino crew members onboard the cruise ship.

Filipinos compose around a third of all foreign nationals onboard the Explorer of the Sea, and are involved in vital operations of the ship as engineers, security officers, environmental officers, chefs and kitchen staff, deck and maintenance crew, entertainers, and hotel managers.

Ambassador Batoon-Garcia expressed her appreciation for the resilience of the Filipino crew despite the challenges of being away from their families and encouraged them to stay true to the good image of the Filipino seafarer – dedicated, reliable, hardworking, and trustworthy. END

For more information, visit https://www.oslope.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinNorway/.