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.
This picture is, as most will recognize, taken from the Bridge over the Corinth Canal, in Greece. This transit was always a spectacular happening, for Passengers and crew alike. The picture was taken by our ship’s photographer. But I had the opportunity to be with him that time, which was the only time I was allowed to do that. The “towing lines” you see on … Continue reading Corinth Canal.
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.
Todays picture is called “Ship Handling”. A former Captain of mine and myself thought we should have some fun, and we made two pictures, and called them “Ship Handling training”. And he sent the pictures to the Main Office, where most people thought it was funny, except one person. His immediate superior shoreside. I guess, we cant make everyone laughing. Here is the other. Surely, … 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.
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.
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?
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.
Have collected so many pictures over a lifetime of travelling, and especially from work. So time to share some of them. A dream come through when we visited the Fiji Islands. It was exactly as I imagined it would be. When we did visit Fiji Islands, we had to anchor off the islands and beaches, and operate the ships tender boats to shuttle the Passengers … Continue reading Pictures from my travelling job, Cruise.
In parts one and two, I talked about the Engine Department and the Deck department. And in this part I will write about the by far biggest department onboard, the Hotel Department. After all, as already mentioned, it is a hotel on keel. With all the different types of jobs one can find in any hotel or resort ashore. The title picture (above) is the MV … Continue reading Jobs and departments on a cruise ship, part III – the Hotel Department
Continuing the information about the various departments onboard a cruise ship. The next department is the Deck Department. This department is where you can find all the Navigators and the sailors (deck hands). The Captain comes up via the ranks in this department since he/she must be a Navigator by trade, that’s the law. And he/she is per definition the Company’s representative onboard, thus not really a part … Continue reading Jobs and departments on a cruise ship, part II – the Deck Department
During all the years I have worked on cruise ships, one question which has come up again and again from friends and family members, is how it is possible to work on a cruise ship, and at the same time have time off to see the world. How is it that one can work full days, and still have the time and energy to be … Continue reading To see the world, while you work on a Cruise ship.
Blue ice. Seabourn Pride. Continuing the voyage. As already posted previously in series of blogs, I had signed on in Piraeus, Greece, and we sailed through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Malacca strait, Singapore Strait, Gulf of Thailand, and South East China Sea. Calling numerous of ports. We re-located to Alaska and BC for the spring and summer season. Sailing … Continue reading To Alaska
The Traveller 