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Dear Friends, As we cruise through life we frequently get to crossroads -- in nautical terms we call it way points, where we have to decide the proper course to continue on. After 45 years of plowing the seven seas I have reached one of those way points and I have decided to select a course that will allow me to spend more time at home with my family. Effective February 7th I am retiring from Crystal Cruises after 16 years with the company. Reflecting on my life at sea, I must say I have had an interesting and diversified life and in spite of some stormy days in between, I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. Since I joined my first freighter M/S Bandeirante, in Amsterdam, a rainy September day in 1961 I have seen many changes within the shipping industry and I feel fortunate to have been a part of it. I spent several years on freighters all over the world, but when the Oil boom started in the North Sea, the still young and adventurous Maalen decided to be a part of that too. For five years I worked (at least most of the time!) on oil rigs, diving support vessels and supply ships. However, in 1981 an urge that I have had since my childhood days emerged strongly on the surface again. I have always had a dream of working on a cruise ship. I applied for a one year leave of absence with the company I worked for and landed a job with the, at that time, very prestigious Royal Viking Line. My leave of absence period came and went -- I had found a dream job. After about 8 years with Royal Viking Line, I was approached by a cruise line in the making, Crystal Cruises. Having the opportunity to be part of the launch of a new cruise line was too good to pass up and in April 1989 I signed on with Crystal Cruises in Los Angeles. This would be almost a year and a half before the launch of Crystals first ship the Crystal Harmony, and the beginning of the most fascinating and rewarding time in my life. There I was - part of a team that consisted of the finest professionals in the Cruise Industry, and the team work that took place, created the finest cruise product in the world. Now, signing off for good, it is with a wealth of good memories -- the thousands of fine people that I have had the pleasure of either sailing with as guests, or working with as part of the crew. The friendships that were established are too many to mention, except for one -- it was on Crystal I met my wife of now 12 years, Terry. This beautiful, blond, dynamic California girl with a golden voice that swept an audience off their feet, certainly swept this innocent Norwegian sea captain off his feet before he even knew what was going on. Crystal also gave us the opportunity to sail together, even after our daughter Cortney was launched in 1995. The time we had together as a family on board endowed us with unimaginable amount of fine memories. Let me take this opportunity to say thank you to all the fine people that I have come to know during my life at sea. To all the crew I have sailed with, thank you for your support. I am, and always will be, proud to be a part of such a fine group. To all the guests I have had the pleasure of having on board, thanks for all the memories and I hope you will continue to enjoy the Crystal Family in years to come. I would love to stay in touch, and in the mean time, I wish you all the best life has to offer - calm seas and a following wind, and my thanks and appreciation for sixteen great years. Warmest regards, Captain Reidulf Maalen |
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