The picture I want to show today, without to much explanation, is one of my absolute favorites. The picture was taken when we were in Alaska with my job, a cruise ship. This is what one call a perfect shot. Look at that color on the ice which was floating in the bay, in front of the glacier. Ice blue! Pictures like this, always remind … Continue reading Today’s picture.
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.
Today’s picture is to illustrate that when you are an Officer on a cruise ship, you have a lot of roles to fill. Doesnt matter if you are educated and employed as one of the Navigators, you need to do other parts as well. I was part of one of the ship’s Fireteams for a few years as well. The picture of myself with this … Continue reading Today’s picture.
Today’s picture, is of myself, the very first time I visited Yangon in Myanmar. Or, as som maybe still call it, Rangoon in Burma. I believe the picture was taken in December 1995. Nice shorts. 🙂 We stopped sailing to Myanmar, after a few seasons. This due to the increased tension in the country, and the fact it was not political correct to bring money … Continue reading Today’s picture.
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.
Although most cruise ships always seek out the areas with the best weather, and the best seasons as well, bad weather will once in a while be unavoidable. When that happens, it can become a really bad experience for many of the passengers and crew members as well. Some will be put off in regards to cruising, for the rest of their life, and some … Continue reading When a cruise ship experience bad weather.
Sharing some more pics from my career on cruise ships. This time a couple of pictures from a place which really brought out the tears in my eyes, since I am a former navy man. We visited Pearl harbour, and did a short harbour cruise there with mainly American passengers. Listen to the guide talking was amazing. Did not have too much time to take … Continue reading My pics from cruising, to places far away as Pearl Harbour and Corinth Canal.
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
After a series of stories about my first years in the cruise industry, with a lot of positive comments. I thought it might be time to write something about the various jobs and departments one will find on a cruise ship. If you have no experience at all with cruise ships whether it is as a crewmember (or shoreside staff), passenger, or travel agent, you will … Continue reading Jobs and departments on a cruise ship, part I.
The picture you see above is by me, and it is taken in Yangon, Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma) back in the mid 90s. I had just started out in the Cruise Industry, after 11 years in the Navy. I was very excited about this new job. And little did I know where this new job would bring me the next 25 years. Let’s have a look … Continue reading Sharing some cruise related pictures.
The South Pacific and other tropical areas created some memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. Of course this was not only fun and games, because in the end of the day we were there to work and provide a service for the passengers. Let’s have a look at some pictures. A deckhand and myself, in Vanuatu, prox 1996. Moorea, … Continue reading South Pacific islands.
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 