I'll throw in another vote for Neil Broomhall. We sailed with him twice on the Diamond, one of which was his and the Diamond's final cruise, from Venice to Athens. He was always gracious and charming, took time to chat with passengers, and with the Diamond's open bridge, was very accessible.

And he had a great sense of humor. I spent many early mornings and evenings up on the bridge wing next to him as we pulled into and out of ports, and with a twinkle in his eye, he always had quick quips and funny asides to whatever passengers had joined him -- usually about the local pilots -- which kept me constantly grinning.

I hope to have many more cruises in my life, but I don't think I'll ever forget the man we refer to as Captain Neil. On our trip in the western Caribbean, it was his first visit to several ports. As we left the ship for a bus trip in Mexico to the ruins in Chichen Itza, we were surprised to see him come bounding down the ramp in shorts and a t-shirt and joining us on the tour bus -- just another of us first-time tourists! When we disembarked on the last cruise, he came down on the pier and took time to shake hands and say goodbye to most of the passengers. And on our recent PG cruise, I realized how much I missed his poetry readings and jokes at the welcome and farewell receptions.

I hope he's happy with Saga, the British line he went to after the demise of the Diamond in order to be based closer to his family in England. (Hmmfff, the Saga web site has bios of their captains, but his blurb doesn't even mention his years commanding the Diamond for Radisson!) Regent would be wise to try to lure him back someday, as he made many favorable, memorable impressions on us during our cruises with him at the helm.

-- Eric