Behind the scenes of a Cruise Ship.....

One look at this picture, and you may be forgiven for thinking that you are looking at the controls of the Star Ship Enterprise. Now look closer, believe it or not this is the bridge deck of P and O's latest ship Azura. If your expecting a large wooden ship's wheel think again, the German made navigation systems are so sophisticated that the entire 115,000 ton vessel can be controlled by a two inch joystick. That means something the width of a football field is controlled only by a thumb and index finger.....

The bridge is on the 14th deck and extends out over both sides to allow officers full views of the ship, only four men work there, with another four-man watch below decks overseeing the ship's six diesel engines. That means it only takes 8 people to get passengers from A to B.  As you are probably aware, due to security reasons, passengers are not allowed on the Bridge, however, many vessels like the Norwegian Gem allow passengers to view the Bridge from behind the safety of a glass shield.

So what do you need to do to become an officer on a cruise ship? You could join a sailing academy (if they accept you) and go through a cadet course. If you're lucky enough to pass, you would need to train on a Cargo Ship and after getting your qualifications, you will spend several years sailing on various commercial ships before transferring onto a Cruise ship. By this time you have already spent 15 years getting to the Bridge, so standing behind a glass shield maybe a easier task!

In the extremely unlikely event of the ship's navigation system failing all Officers are still instructed in the basics of navigation, including the use of a sextant. The chance of it coming to this is slim to none, the Azura has a system on board called Track Pilot. This is basically autopilot and will maintain it's course to within ten metres at all times, no matter what the wind, the seas, the current or the tide is doing.

So there you have it, if any other interesting facts come to light I will let you know, but if you have read the above at least you now know what you need to do to become an Officer on a Cruise ship!