On the weekend, we came across a story about “gentlemen hosts” on cruise ships. These are “jobs” for single men who pay $30 a day to go and have a good time on a cruise, with no romantic liaisons allowed.
In other words, they have to be, well, gentlemen.
The Gentleman Host Program and others like it aren’t new. They’ve been around for two decades but are not widely advertised, which might explain why most cruisers have never heard of it. It operates on several cruise lines — Cunard and Silversea are the best-known — and candidates are carefully screened before they’re accepted.
Among the requirements:
• Sociable with excellent manners
• Ability to dance, especially ballroom dancing
• From 40 to 68 years old and, yes, single
• Drink no more than moderately and maintain sobriety
• Good listener and able to “refrain from showing favoritism towards one lady”
• Fit enough to dance until the “music stops playing”
Their jobs — they are compensated for air fare and sometimes share in tips — are to socialize with, engage and interact like a crew member with the growing number of single women on cruise ships.
We have several friends who are single men who…never mind, none of them qualifies. No, we won’t tell you why.
DAILY DEAL:
Celebrity Summit
7 nights
March 3, 2012
San Juan (return): Barbados; St. Lucia; Antigua; St. Maarten; St. Thomas
Inside $589
www.celebritycruises.com