Baby on board!

The daughter of two cruise line officers was the first baby born at Alberlito Hospital on New Years Day.

Pietermaritzburg-born James Logan and his wife Alena, who both serve aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet, welcomed their daughter Sasha just after midnight on January 1 at Alberlito Hospital.

Shipboard IT and communications officer James met Belarus-native Alena, the shipboard accountant, when they served together on the Carnival Valor in 2008. He proposed at the Kruger National Park in 2012 and they were married last year in the Cayman Islands.

“Carnival has been very good to us and helped our relationship by assigning us the same ships whenever possible. As crew members we work on board each ship for six months and then return home for six weeks vacation.”

The couple found out Alena was pregnant in April last year, during their South African wedding, and chose Alberlito for her delivery.

“We could have chosen any hospital in several countries for the birth but I wanted only the best treatment for my wife and daughter. We also liked the idea of Sasha being born in Africa. Dr Candice Roberts and Alberlito hospital were recommended to me and they have surpassed my expectations every time,” said James.

James said the Alberlito staff was fantastic and friendly, from the cleaners to the doctors, putting them on par with the best hotels in the world.

Sasha will not join her parents on the ship just yet, as children of crew members may not be on board for more than a few weeks in the year.

The couple plans to relocate to Miami, where James has a new shore-side position at the Carnival Cruise Lines Miami headquarters.

Sasha’s parents plan to raise her as a “citizen of the world”.

“We will show her that countries are just lines drawn on a map and that in reality, even though her parents are from opposite sides of the world, we are all just humans who want the same things – freedom, happiness, and the love of a family.”