If you've ever doubted that crew members and passengers on a cruise ship become like family, look to Steve and Janet Randall, who spearheaded a fund-raiser to help Silversea Cruises employees not working due to the pandemic.
The Randalls - longtime Silversea guests who have sailed with the ultra-luxury line for 21 years, including seven consecutive World Cruises - launched a GoFundMe campaign with their own $500 donation on Dec. 21.
"We hit $10,000 in just six hours! Initially, we set the fundraising goal at $80,000 and we recently raised it to $100,000, having already surpassed that benchmark," Randall said in a Silversea blog post on Jan. 25.
Since then, though, the amount raised increased to $105,311 from 362 donors, so the goal was raised as well to $125,000.
What's more, Silversea Cruises has pledged to support guests' efforts, donating an additional $70,000 to the cause.
"Silversea's crew is the lifeblood of our cruising experience," Randall said. "I feel there is a unique relationship that has always existed between the guests and the crew; we are a huge extended family.
"During the 21 years that my wife and I have been sailing with Silversea, we've formed very personal relationships with many crew members. I relate Silversea and its crew to a family business. One of the things we've probably all experienced is being a customer or a patron of a family business. The way the crew conducts itself, it's like everybody is a stakeholder and they always foster a 'welcome home' environment. The longevity of some of the people that have worked with Silversea is astounding; some of them are second-generation crew members. I've always felt that there is a unique relationship that has always existed between the guests and the crew."
Randall wants to make sure the effort helps not only the crew members seen every day - the butlers, waitstaff, bartenders, suite stewards and the like - but also those who toil behind the scenes, like the dishwashers and laundry workers.
Silversea is working with Randall on a system to fairly allocate the money raised.
"One of the approaches I used to try to stimulate the donors was to send them out information about what $250 buys in the Philippines, for example," Randall said. "With the current exchange rate, you get approximately 12,000 Philippine pesos. And for a little over 400 pesos, they can get a bus transportation pass for an entire month."
The Randalls have heard back from grateful crew members. "We've received a tremendous amount of text messages thanking us for this effort, and not just from people that have received aid," he said. "One person said they went to the church and told the monsignor about the effort, and they are saying a special prayer. Another one sent me a message saying that they are working on a T-shirt for my wife and myself. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't get a thank-you note. And I tell them, don't thank us. My wife and I may be the campaign organizers, but the people to thank are the people that you have served for all of these years, and that's the Venetian Society members."
How long will the campaign continue? "As of right now, I have absolutely no desire to end the campaign," Randall said. "I have to relate it to what my best guess is to a return to normal operations. It may be six months from now, maybe a little less. So as far as I'm concerned, this will go on as long as it needs to."
Some of the past passengers who donated left comments on GoFundMe about the Silversea crew.
One donor wrote: "The Silversea crews are ALWAYS working to make every day aboard ship the best it can be for each passenger. In tough times, help the people who have helped you to the extent possible. The crews live in countries with few support programs for themselves and their families. I have learned a lot of the details of how this money will be disbursed by Steve Randall and the process is scrupulously fair and ethical and includes all crew, not just the passenger-facing crew."
Another commented: "This is a very small contribution to say, 'thank you.' Greg and I have only been able to afford one cruise so far. We traveled from Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles aboard the Silver Whisper. We loved every second of that voyage. We enjoyed every person we met, crewmember or guest. We hope to start traveling again soon when the world becomes a safer place."
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