So What Exactly Do You See On a Bridge Tour?

I’ve always wondered…… Up there, at the front of the ship, all those officers in their uniforms, taking command, knowledgeable men in their prime kind of thing…. looking after all us passengers…  Its the stuff of dreams….. Hero’s on their Chargers kind of dreams…

Its been an ambition of mine for quite some time now to see where ‘All the Magic Happens’   either in the Cockpit of a plane or on a passenger ship.  So imagine my delight when I was ‘cordially invited’ on a tour of the Magellan bridge, on my recent Baltics cruise!

Giddy with excitement at the thought of rubbing epaulettes with some officers, and feeling very ‘nautical’, I dressed appropriately and made my way promptly to Deck 10 forward and waited for the fun to begin!  I was not alone…… which was a little disappointing, but still..

Around 25 of us passengers squeezed onto the Bridge, and were warmly greeted by the ships officers.  Who huddled us away from the business end of the Bridge and away from all the dials, buttons and controls!  With strict instructions ‘Do Not Touch Anything!’

Our Bridge Guide then started to explain the workings of the Bridge, which to be honest went over my head, but the male passengers were enthralled.  Me?  I was looking for an Officer’s cap to wear and a photo opportunity!

The tour lasted a good 40 minutes and there was plenty of time for questions.  As it was all far too technical for me to get handle on, I asked, ‘What is the most frequently asked question you are asked’?  Which threw him slightly, but with a rather endearing boyish grin, he replied, ‘Good question, and the answer is ‘how quickly can you get the ship to stop?’ and the 2nd most asked question was ‘What’s the worse port of call?’  (The answer being, that there are no bad ports, they are all built to accommodate all ships, however their biggest obstacle when entering and leaving a port, is the weather conditions.)  He went on to explain the workings of the Bridge, who is responsible for what, their shift patterns (4hours on 4 hours off), How far the Horizon is in Nautical miles, and of course how fast we were going, what are the biggest challenges they face, how they measure this and how they monitor that….  and before I knew it, the tour had finished and the First Officer thanked us for our time and ushered us out the door.

But…..not before I got my photo!  Unfortunately minus a white cap, but what I lacked in headgear I more than made up for in headcount!

So if you are invited up to the Bridge, you are in for a treat – highly recommended, oh and you might learn something too!