On our last day aboard Freedom of the Seas, all four of us (along with about 10 other passengers) were invited to tour the Bridge – a rare treat in the post-9/11 era.
After a very thorough security screening, we were led into the Bridge and greeted by the Captain, who showed us all the high-tech equipment and answered questions about everything from navigation to waste disposal.
It reminded me a lot of Star Trek, with lots of blinking lights and high-tech screens, tons of levers and knobs and buttons – although if I understood correctly, almost all the actual driving is done by computer, controlled by one little knob and a trackball. The ship’s First Officer and Quartermaster were on duty, but they seemed to just be standing there in case something went wrong. Every now and then, one of them would pick up some binoculars and scan the horizon, but I think they were just doing that to look busy. Seems like a pretty boring job. Nice view, though!
The Bridge is also the command center for the ship, where all the fire and security systems are monitored.
For some reason, all the monitors were focused on the pool deck.
Amid all the high-tech displays, a small dry-erase board listed the people count for the cruise:
No wonder it feels so crowded!
At the end of the tour, the Captain posed for a picture with us:
“I hear you’ve been on this ship for quite a while,” he said, “and that you’re going to be doing a lot more cruising – but not with us.” We didn’t know what to say to that – it was kinda weird to think that the senior officers have actually talked about us. Cool, but weird.
{ 4 comments }
How cool was that!!
I’m jealous.
How much better can it get ?? I think your right on , it is star treck ” of the high seas . I don ‘t think you would get a tour of the flight deck on any of the jumbo jets . Did they mention what type of navigation they used & did the ships computer steer the ship from this input. untillllll next blog . DAD
I’m glad you’re having a great time
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