Behind the Scenes!

I was watching a programme the other day which I found really interesting.  We have all seen those documentaries about life on board a cruise ship but this was different.  It was called ‘Mighty Ships’ – this series delves deep into the heart of the running of the ships.  It is not always about cruise ships as also watched one about oil tankers.

This particular episode I watched was all about the Crystal Serenity, it was a couple of years old as was based on a 2012 sailing but was ever so interesting.  The ship was sailing from Sydney to Singapore on an 18 night itinerary.  Crystal are renowned for their 6 star luxury ships and offer an All Inclusive holiday so all drinks, meals & excursions are included.

She holds 1070 guests with 0.61  guest to staff ratio.
Crew 655
Cruising speed 20 knots
Registered in The Bahamas
13 Decks

The part of the programme I found most interesting was when she was docking in Bali, Indonesia.  No other ship had docked there until this day as it is quite a tight passage to get to the port and not suitable for large ocean liners.  As Serenity is not a big as other ships she could master the narrow entrance or so the captain thought…

The pilot boat pulled up along side and the pilot joined the Captain on the bridge – all I can say was he was as useful as a Chocolate Teapot – the Captain made all the decisions just from his navigation maps and knew how much room he had to get through. The obstacles he faced were tight turns as you can see from the map above and lots of coral reef underwater that can get tangled on the propellers. There were also lots of fishing boats in the way which should not have been there – the Captain just said ‘Move them’ – this caused the ship to dock 2 hours later than planned.

He remained very calm and made it to the dock travelling at 2 knots through the narrow passage.  The pilot had never guided such a large vessel into the dock so he didn’t really know what he was doing, thank goodness for the Captain who had studied his maps and knew exactly where to go.  He did say after that he as very nervous & worried but they managed it without the passengers even knowing there could have been a problem.

One phrase the Captain said has stuck in my mind – ‘ I may be the Captain but I am a human being, I do not know everything & cannot do tricky manoeuvres without the help of my team – we all work together’. I thought this was great way to work.  He prompts his officers & staff to say if they have a better idea of how to do something and he listens.

Bali is becoming more & more popular as a cruise destination. Cruise ships typically use two ports, Benoa Harbour or Padang Bay. For Benoa, most ships anchor offshore and passengers are tendered to a a small cruise terminal in the middle of nowhere. Smaller ships may dock alongside though the approach is tricky. Kuta Beach is 10km away.  After watching that documentary I think I would prefer this method.

The Shore Excursion manager was out and about looking for excursions to please the passengers for future visits to Bali as well as the Chef who had been asked by 2 passengers to locate local Indonesian fish for their dinner that evening.  That is the Crystal way, if the passenger wants it they will do their utmost to get it. The customers were very happy with their dinner that evening as after trekking around Bali the Chef found a small fish market.

So it just goes to show there are problems behind the scenes on board a cruise ship but we would never know as they just get on with it to ensure a safe & enjoyable holiday for their passengers.

I think I may get hooked on watching this programme now as love to see what goes on behind the scenes on board but do you?  Would you prefer not to know & just enjoy your cruise?

I’d be interested to know your thoughts.

Call me on 0800 408 6108 or email me at [email protected] to book your next cruise.