I heard this morning (Tuesday) that our cabin attendent, a rather morose Roumanian, jumped ship in Port Canaveral. They say he took about $4000 of his cabinmate's money with him. This prompted us all to check our cabins for missing funds or other items. I seem to have all my stuff.

Jumping ship is highly frowned upon by the US immigration authorities, and they went out immediately to track him down, which they did successfully. He was holed up in a motel on the strip in Cocoa Beach. He could have done better than that.

The immigration authorities are very strict. In fact, we have a semi-annual immigration check in St Thomas tomorrow (Wednesday, my day off this week). The immigration cops come on board and don't leave until each crew member's ID and working permit (I-95) or US passport has been checked. Nobody can leave the ship until this is finished.

I'm in the last group to be checked (they let the entertainers and casino staff go last so they can sleep in a bit, being night workers).

I present myself to these guys as a Canadian, because I accepted employment as a Canadian. When I was called for this gig last year, I was specifically asked if I were a Canadian citizen and I answered yes. They didn't ask if I was American.

As an American, I'm entitled to work in the US without the I-95 work permit or a green card, but I have to go through the check as a Canadian because that's how I signed on. The last time I went through the official looked at me and asked, “Do you know that you are an American citizen?” I told him I do know this. He just looked at me for a couple of seconds, handed me back my I-95, and said I could go.

I've learned that when you talk to border or immigration authorities you should say you are either a Canadian or an American. Don't tell them you're a dual citizen – it just complicates things. They're apt to get a little edgy and say something like, “Well, what are you today?!”.

So I'm one citizen at a time. When I cross into the US from Canada I'm an American. When I cross back into Canada, I'm a Canadian. I carry both passports always. Crossing the border is much easier this way, and doesn't entail answering a lot of questions about where you're going and what you'll be doing in the country you're crossing into.

I am a man with two countries, but my cabinmate last time, Daniel (you remember him – the indiscriminate pisser), was the proverbial man without a country. He arrived in the US from Cuba on a raft. He and a few others were picked up by the coast guard after five days at sea on a jerry-built raft they assembled themselves in Cuba and hid from the authorities there.

He was allowed into the US, but never got his citizenship. Now he's been working on the ships for about 7 years, and, because he burnt some bridges onshore – little things like declaring personal bankruptcy and becoming a homeless person – I think they revoked his green card. He's stuck in “limbo” working on ships and able to go ashore in the US only as a visitor. And, of course, he can't return to Cuba without facing imprisonment.

Actually, Daniel screwed up pretty bad. He's also locked himslef out of further work on this cruise line because of something that happened few months back – I don't know exactly what. He had better be careful he doesn't run out of cruise lines the way he's run out of countries. Fortunately for him, he has landed a gig with Max, my former bandleader on the Mariner, working on the Princess line. If he's careful, he may find a home on the Princess line for awhile.

Good luck, Daniel.