All World Cruise, Suite and Elite passengers eventually get a special invitation for an Exclusive Bridge Visit. We were fortunate to receive our invitation shortly after the arrival of Carlo Sevillo, our new captain. We met at the forward elevator foyer on Deck 8 and were led through a door marked Crew Only, through the hallway of suites for the senior officers and the plaques the Pacific Princess has received from many ports to the door opening to the Navigational Bridge. The first thing that we noticed in looking out the windows was a red-footed booby bird, who our guide had told us had been there since noon decorating the deck.
Two officers, a pilot (officer of the watch) and a copilot (junior officer of the watch), and a lookout (able seaman), who would actually steer the ship is necessary, are on each watch. The average cruise speed is 20-21 knots per hour. Four diesel generators produce 10,000 horsepower. The cost of fuel is $470 per ton. Every day, the ship burns about $42,000 of fuel.
Most of the charting is done with electronic charts with the red line showing our track. On the Chart Table is a paper chart kept for navigation because the ship is required to keep a folio of paper charts. Most of the time, the ship is on autopilot, except when hand steering is needed in heavy traffic, foggy conditions, shallow water or on final approaches to a port.
For comfort and safety, the ship has two folding stabilizer fins that work like aircraft wings and can stabilize the ship in even the roughest conditions. At a speed of 18 knots, the rolling motion of the ship is reduced by up to 90 percent. Longer, larger, heavier ships usually ride more smoothly through the water.
We also had the opportunity to tour the wing bridge and even take a picture of our captain on the wing bridge. This is where the captain drives the ship when it is going in or out of port. A yellow retractable canopy shades him from the sun.
At every port, local pilots come on board from pilot boats through the shell door. This is often a local requirement for the ship to use local pilots who can offer local advice and information to our crew.
One passenger asked what the ship uses to deter pirates. You will be happy to know that the ship has a long-range acoustic device to warn pirates that can even shatter their ear drums if necessary.
As for waste management, the ship has a system that is compact, efficient and totally green. On an average day, the passengers and crew consume about five tons of food and 400 tons of fresh water. Biological sewage treatment plants on the ship use a combination of aeration and bacterial systems to break down waste. The food wastes are ground in a disposal unit to a fine pulp and then either dried out and burned at a high temperature or recycled to the sea when we are far enough from land to do so.
Fascinating!
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