PROUDLY INDONESIAN: Crew member M. Hakim (right) greets President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono aboard the MSC Musica cruise ship Friday, wanting to take a picture with him with his mobile phone. (JP/Riyadi Suparno)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made an impromptu visit Friday evening (Saturday morning, Jakarta time) to the MSC Musica cruise ship docked at Dakar port to meet some of the 283 Indonesians working onboard.

Dozens of Indonesian workers who were off that day joined the ship's captain Marius Stiffa to greet the President, who was in Dakar attending the two-day Organization of the Islamic Conference summit (OIC).

The President was then taken on a tour of the five-star ship, where dozens of Indonesian workers on duty vied to shake his hand and take photographs with cellphone cameras.

"It was my first time onboard such a luxury ship. But more importantly, I was touched by the presence of so many Indonesians. The captain told me he was pleased with our workers, who worked hard and did not create problems," Yudhoyono told journalists after the visit.

The ship was especially hired by the Senegalese government to accommodate delegates from 57 countries at the OIC summit because Dakar does not have enough star-rated hotel rooms to accommodate them all.

Members of the Indonesian delegation and members of the media were also housed in the ship, with a total of 14 decks, 1,250 guest rooms and around 1,000 crew members, including 283 Indonesians.

"I was so happy to meet the President. It would not have been possible to meet him if I wasn't working on this ship," said I made Sudirka from Bali. The majority of Indonesian crew members come from Bali, while many others come from Java and Madura.

The ship has full five-star facilities, including a pool, mini golf, golf practice range, tennis area, fitness area, shopping area, restaurants, a cinema, casino, yoga and a spa. In fact, the ship's spa is named 'Bali'.

During the conference, however, the ship did not serve alcohol and its casino was closed.

Chief of the ship's hotel division, Marcello Monici, said his company would launch a bigger cruise ship in December and he would recruit more Indonesians to crew the new ship.

"We're really happy with Indonesian workers. They are reliable, trustworthy and, most importantly, hard workers," he said.

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