Down the Memory Line….. Entering Halong Bay in Northen Vietnam back in the mid 90s. Sunrise as we sail in to the bay. Quite a spectacular sight. An amazing sight is opening up in front of us as we sail further in, to anchor off the town of Hon Gai, for an overnight stay. At anchor for the night, with Hon Gai town in … Continue reading Entering Halong Bay, Vietnam.
Remember when we sailed up this river, using 3-4 hours. Starting around 5 AM. All the twist and turns as the river snakes and bends? Then it turns out it is still another hour before we are there. Again, because of the river is not straight up and down.😁 rgds Sailor Kai Ståle Ødegård Continue reading Up Saigon river….
Today’s picture is just a bragging picture. It always looks so glamorous to work on a cruise ship and walk around in the fancy uniform when one is a Senior Officer on a cruise ship. The fact is, the fun working on the cruise industry disappeared a long time ago. Sure it is still interesting and one can see the world if working on the … Continue reading At work on a Cruise ship.
Working on a cruise ship, is more than just pretty uniforms with a lot of gold stripes on your shoulders. The days can be very busy with a lot of stuff happening. And contrary to what urban myths tell you, Cruise ship offices need to take part in dozens of various job activities, which is not always that fancy. The pictures in this little blog … Continue reading A regular day on a cruise ship.
Relax, it was just a drill. The weekly drill all ships in the world must conduct, according to international maritime law. And the kind of drill should be fairly easy to guess. Yep, it was a Biohazard drill (or chemicals). It goes back to early 2000s when this was a real deal around the globe. Especially the scare and fear for these kinds of attacks. … Continue reading When the alarm bells are sounding.
I have over the years been asked many times about how it is to work on a cruise ship when bad weather sets in. Well, as I always would reply, it kind of depends of the ship’s size and how bad the weather is. But regardless of this we will notice the weather one way or another. It might only be some slight rolling (side … Continue reading When bad weather sets in.
The date is 19th of October, 1995 As I walked up the gangway on M/V Seabourn Pride, in Piraeus, I was greeted by the Second Officer whom I was supposed to replace (relieve) as he was soon going on vacation. But first we needed an overlap, or a “handover period” in order for me to understand what my new job on this particular type of … Continue reading The journey begins.
In March 2020, the cruise industry shut down. There are no qualifiers to that sentence– it’s not that certain ships from certain companies in certain countries shut down, it’s that every ship from every company in every country stopped accepting passengers in March 2020. That’s unprecedented! Never before, in modern times, has there been such a complete, global shut down of an industry of this size. … Continue reading The Insane Logistics of Shutting Down the Cruise Industry.
We see it in movies and tv-series. Many people still think that the ship’s Captains can marry people. This is not really true anymore. It was possible in the past, depending upon what company and the flag the ship was flying (the flag state). But these days, I have not heard about anyone giving this “power” to a ship’s captain. I guess the Legal stuff … Continue reading Blessing on the Bridge.
Today’s picture reminds me of a simpler time. A simpler time for us who work in the Cruise Industry. The picture here is in the end of the so called Good old days, where customer satisfaction was the highest priority, before it slowly started to change. These days, the most important is to prevent lawsuits and other issues which might be of negative impact. Report … Continue reading Today’s picture.
To spend Christmas and New year onboard a ship as a crew member, is a very special time. This is something which only must be experienced to fully understand, because it is really something different. I will try to explain this feeling many crew members have during the holidays onboard, and post some pics from the years I spent onboard, far away from the family … Continue reading When the ship’s crew celebrate Christmas onboard.
I have been several times to Alaska with my job onboard cruise vessels. And one thing is for sure, when you look at the mega ships in the fjords and bays, you get a feeling you really are part of mass tourism. You observe the small towns from the deck and it is like a moving blanket over the town, which actually are 1000s of … Continue reading Alaska, worth visiting with smaller vessels.
So when we say the word cruise ships or luxury yachts, what color will it be in your imagination? Probably white, right? It is so because we’re used to seeing big white cruise ships. Now the question is whether white color is necessary, fancy or just a tradition? Different people comes out with different reasons, but are all of them true? Let’s have a look … Continue reading Why Cruise Ships And Yachts Are Mostly Painted White.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marella Dream is being retired by Marella Cruises and now faces an unknown future. The 54,760-ton vessel launched in 1986 under he Home Lines banner and also spent time in the Holland America Line and Costa Cruises fleets before sailing for Thomson Cruises in 2010. Early 1980s: Home Lines orders a new ship at Meyer Werft . Named the … Continue reading A Cruise Ship History: Marella Dream.
The newly stretched Star Breeze for Windstar Cruises is undergoing her first set of sea trials for Windstar Cruises having become the first of three ships to undergo the company’s $250 Million Star Plus Initiative. The stretching job at Fincantieri saw the addition of a new mid-section with 50 new suites, two new restaurants, new engines, and additional upgrades. The total capacity of the expanded ships will … Continue reading First Look As Newly-Stretched Star Breeze Leaves for Sea Trials
The Titanic’s only voyage ended in tragedy on April fifteenth, 1912. At the time of the disaster, it was the largest and most advanced ship ever constructed. Designed to carry more than 2,400 passengers and almost 900 crew members, the Titanic had certainly earned its name. But with over a century of advancement, how are today’s cruise ships different from those of Titanic’s day? Sure, … Continue reading How are today’s cruise ships different from those of Titanic’s day?
Thought I should write little bit about how the crewmembers socialize onboard a cruise ship when they are away from their homes for several months at the time. By the way, the feature picture in the Heading is a group of us crew members who signed off the ship in San Diego, California. We decided to take some holiday away from home, before we went home … Continue reading When a cruise Ship’s crew are socializing.
If you ever have been on a cruise, you will most likely know about the phrase “Tender Operation”. And you will remember this with not always the most happy memories. Although, many can find it interesting, by observing how the Crew perform this service. This can be the most smooth operation ever, or a very rough operation which will sometimes be stopped due to the … Continue reading When a cruise ship use the tender boats – Tender Operation.
Anyone who has been transiting through the Suez canal, will remember it for some time. And anyone who does it a second time will think, ahhhhh not again. Because this is one of those operations which can be exciting at first, and then very boring after a while. For me, it was exactly like that. So my pictures are from the first time many years … Continue reading Transit through the Suez Canal.
Just a little listing of the ships I have worked on, over the past decades. They have been my homes away from home, and I have the last 25+ years probably spent 15 years away (onboard) and 10 years home (ashore). First one out, was the M/V Seabourn Pride, working for Seabourn Cruise Line. Next one out was the M/V Seabourn Legend. A ship that … Continue reading My homes away from home, my ships in my career.
The Traveller 