Maiden voyage: How a cruise ship crew comes together

For instance, there are mock cabins for the stewards to practice cleaning. Just before the waiters graduate, they serve meals to staff from the American Embassy in each of the two capital cities.

Most of Holland America’s 25,000 or so seagoing employees below the top officers have “graduated” from these two academies. 

The vast majority of HAL’s onboard crew are from the Philippines or Indonesia, nations in which English is commonly spoken and where the service industry is considered a rewarding career. 

All told, the 1,053 crew members aboard the line’s newest and largest vessel, the Nieuw Statendam, come from about 45 countries. For comparison, sister Carnival Corp. brands Princess and Carnival might have onboard employees from about 100 nations.

Holland America has long concentrated on crew from the Philippines and Indonesia to reinforce the image of the Netherlands’ centuries-old trade routes to the Far East.