Tucked away in a spa near the bow of the new Eurodam cruise ship is a single barber's chair.
Behind it stands Nicholas of Australia, who will give you a haircut or a beard trim while the Holland America Line ship plies the waters of Northern Europe this summer.
Other cruise ships offer haircuts for men and women in their spas, but few give the barber's chair even a modicum of privacy.
Eurodam’s barber's chair sits beside a big picture window. Some 9 decks below, the ocean rushes by. I sat for Nicholas, right, as the sea churned a steely green between Hamburg, Germany, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
While a mere mirror and a folding room divider separated us from the chatter of the women's hair salon, Nicholas and I had a private and manly chat. He spritzed and cut, washed and dried my long hair made even more unruly during the past week by the sea air. I also have a new beard, and he gave it a first professional trim so that it no longer looks combed with a garden rake.
We never ventured into the unsafe waters of politics or women. Instead, we discussed skin tones, facial moisturizing and beards that fit faces. Though cruise ship spa folk are required by their employer to encourage the sale of skin care products, Nicholas was affably informative but not pushy.
I paid $25 for the haircut, an extra $15 for the beard trim, all of which was accomplished by the Barber of Eurodam in 45 minutes in a chair with an ocean view.
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Molyneaux is editor of TravelMavens.net. CLICK for articles on cruising, golf, Florida, Europe, adventure and travel gear and gadgets.
