He is a sommelier on board and a favorite member of staff. And not just because he always has a bottle of bubbles at the ready!

He cuts quite the figure in his tailored suit and winklepicker shoes.

And just look at those muscles.

And those teeth.

Have you ever seen so many perfect teeth in one mouth – and they are all so white and they are all the same size. However much those teeth cost, they were worth it. He readily admits to having been quite the lad when he was young and his smile and personality always got him out of trouble. We suspect he is still quite the lad. Don’t tell me those teeth were purchased on a sommelier’s salary!

You have to admit, he looks like a gangster.

We call him Super Fly.

But he is Brilliant.

Really. I mean it. He is Brilliant. Not brilliant, but Brilliant

That is his name.

Seriously! His name is Brilliant.

He comes from South Africa and he works with a very attractive young woman who is also from South Africa. She too has a wonderful smile and her name is Marvelous.

She tells us that in South Africa and some other African countries it is common for a mother to name her child by the first words that come out of her mouth when she gazes down at her new born baby. Hence Brilliant and Marvelous.

Seabourn has been going to South Africa for a while now looking for suitable staff for their ship and a high percentage of the staff on board are from Africa and it is always fun to read their name tags.

Gracious is another favourite of ours. Again the lovely smile is delightful.

She is always laughing which is useful as someone at Seabourn is not good at spelling.When she first got her name tag her name was spelled Gracias. If you read it as an English word it sounds like Gracious. But if you know a little Spanish, as most people do, then its pronunciation is nothing like Gracious. Translated into English it means “thank you”. Of course there is always the possibility that is exactly what her mother meant when she first saw her baby

And then there is Precious, who I must say is anything but, though presumably her mother would disagree with me.

Brilliant! Gracious! Marvelous! Precious! It is a charming tradition.

But much as I like this idea, I am very grateful that it never caught on in England. My father is famous for saying when he saw me for the very first time

“Good Lord! We have given birth to the missing link”

I assume “Good Lord” would not be suitable, although some might think otherwise! So presumably I would have been christened “Missing Link”.