Wait and Sea: cruising is fun

by Hans Rade

If you have been at sea for more than 26 years, you’re bound to have a lot of stories to tell! This is particularly true for a man who has worked as waiter aboard cruise liners for more than two decades! In this book Mr. Rade –Johannes in real life – allows us the luxury of participating in his various experiences over the years. He narrates in a very lively and vivid manner and is candid about what impressed him the most. No matter whether he is recounting an anecdote regarding his initial cruise employee application or taking us on a wild romp throughout his career, stories involving the world champion and record holder in eating lobsters, the ‘esteemed’ colleagues who are always good for a joke, the numerous international, sometimes bizarre guests – Johannes always strikes the right tone. He makes you feel as though you are actually at his side in the restaurants or on the various decks aboard the ship. You will frequently laugh out loud at his outlandish antics. And even when he refers to serious topics such as the ‘Man overboard’ alarm, he addresses these subjects with compassion. Let this book take you away on an imaginary cruise to Jamaica, through the Panama Canal, to the Cayman Islands and numerous other destinations. And who knows – maybe this autobiographical tale will inspire you to take a real cruise some day. In any case Johannes’s book will undoubtedly arouse your interest in a cruise and perhaps even tempt you to book one! A book, that should not be jugded by the first few pages, a book that offers more and more incredible true stories as you read on and on !!! 314

318 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2015

Reviews

[Claudia Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny book from a funny guy

We had the pleasure of meeting the author on our recent cruise ship, he's a head waiter on Liberty of the Seas as I write this. He absolutely nails Dangerfield, Laurel, and others of the great comedians. I love reading behind the scenes books, and it's even better when you can meet the author and talk about things.

One thing that's really neat about this book is that he wrote it to, in his own words, add some laughter to this world instead of the negative news.

It's definitely worth a read for the crazy things passengers do, and if you are ever on board look for a funny guy doing impersonations, you might just know him!

[Wendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meeting Hans is great. The book makes it even better.

I enjoyed this book. I met Hans, where else, on a cruise! As luck would have it, on my first one too. I experienced first hand the humor, magic tricks, and most importantly the outstanding service. This book adds details and a behind-the-scenes look at life on a cruise ship. And it answered many questions I was too embarrassed to ask. Definitely worth the read if you ever took, or are thinking about taking, a cruise.

[Betty Bullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book and a must read especially by anyone who enjoys cruising. I had the privilege of meeting Hanz on a 42 day cruise and he is not only talented but has a great sense of humour which is well reflected in the book. Thankyou Hanz for the laughs

[Susan Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was an entertaining book, involving personel on a cruise ship. All passengers are interested in what goes on behind the scenes. Hans is also a great guy.

[Cheryl Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Author

Very entertaining! As entertaining as the author is in real life! He is loved by everyone who has the pleasure to sail with him!

[Mark Zeitlin]

Great Read

After having met Hans on a Panama Cruise, I had to read his book. It is an interesting look at what goes on behind the scenes on a cruise liner.

[Carol R. Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Read!

What a fun time I had reading about all the funny things that happened on Johannes’ cruise ship adventures! Very witty, especially for a German! I come from a long line of very in-funny Germans and they were all Business! If you have time for laughing then you need to find another job!

[sherri guidish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

I love reading this, it's so interesting, so much we never knew, about cruising, met Hans in 22 on the Liberty, saw him this year on another ship , hope to see him on the newest ship in a couple if weeks bought a paper copy so he could sign it

[David San Filippo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny stories of cruise board life. If you are a cruiser, you should recognize some of these stories and get a chuckle and/or laugh.

[L.C. Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading a book written by a crew member from the cruise industry. I like learning about the perspective from a different department. I thought it was quite weird that the table of contents was on page 316 at the BACK of the book, which is generally not the norm in the publishing industry. Also, the formatting of each chapter starting at the top of the page and the title of the chapter is not indexed. I was wondering if this is a GERMAN publishing format or just the preference of the author because none of the paragraphs were indented. I enjoyed seeing the cartoon illustrations by Mrs. Eva Hoppe of the company Gruenanlage throughout the book.
The writing style and revelations of the scenarios were written tastefully and not crass or vulgar. The author shared some fascinating bits of information about the life of a waiter working in the dining room of the cruise ships. I was surprised to learn about the addictions of the staff regarding the casino. I enjoyed reading about Philipe, who worked so hard and eventually got his tip, the "sports car," from the passengers. That was a surprising delivery at the bottom of the gangway. Blessings always come in disguises. Poor Philipe, who worked to the bone and didn't get cash as a tip which is the norm at the end of the cruise, and instead had to endure the disappointment, and then in due time, a tip in the form of a sports car arrived unexpectedly on the next turnaround day.
Chapter 10: Porridge in Mexico This chapter is a good reminder for passengers not to behave as such.
Chapter 17: Chef Heinze This chapter was eye-opening to read about a crew member with erratic behaviour because of hardcoredrugs in his system.
Chapter 18: Philipe the Tip King I was surprised to read the part about the Captain coming into the dining room to investigate the damage from the ceiling.
Chapter 32: Thrifty Daridor I was again surprised to read that the Captain got involved with a crew member's financial situation and actually approached Daridor during lunch and took out money from his wallet for the crew member. This is totally out of the norm. Generally Captains don't care about nor involve themselves with a crew member' financially frugal behavior.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this publication. Well done Hans Rade!