The preference sheet, and how to fill it in properly

What it actually decides

• The provisioning list, bought and stowed before you board. The APA pays for it.
• The drinks aboard. Be specific: naming a gin is not fussy, it is the entire point of the form.
• The meal pattern. Three courses at a laid table, or lunch when people are hungry.
• The daily rhythm. Whether you want to be under way at eight or at eleven changes the whole itinerary.
• Diving. Certification levels and last dive dates decide whether the crew arrange a dive operation at all.

Where people underfill it

The two most common failures are politeness and vagueness. Writing that you are easy about food produces a week of competent, generic cooking. Writing that you would rather eat Thai than European, that nobody wants a formal dinner, and that one person does not eat dairy produces a completely different and much better week.

The sections that cannot be fixed later

Allergies and dietary requirements. Write them down, name the person, and be exact about severity. A chef provisioning for seven days cannot resolve an unmentioned shellfish allergy in the Similans, and the nearest hospital to most of these anchorages is several hours away.

Halal, kosher, vegan and coeliac provisioning are all straightforward in Phuket with notice and all difficult without it. Notice means the preference sheet, not the pontoon.

One line worth adding

If there is a birthday, an anniversary or a proposal in the week, say so. Crews do this well and they need to know before the provisioning run, not on the morning.