Day 7--At Sea

Day 7—At Sea

Today was the most enjoyable of all the days on the cruise and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!  

Last night, the ship was actually rocking a bit more than any other time on the cruise—I loved it!  The ship really wasn’t moving that much (especially compared to my Circle Hawaii cruise), but there were folks who don’t think the ship should move at all.  I found that I really like the rolling and pitching and feeling the ship move (although I wouldn’t want to go through a really bad storm).  Guess I only want the ship to move the “right” amount—enough to feel like I’m on a ship, but not so much that things start falling over.

The Ultimate Ship’s Tour was absolutely fantastic and one of the highlights of the cruise.  Although a bit expensive, I wouldn’t hesitate to do this again.  The 12 people selected to go on the tour met outside the Princess Theater at 8:00 in the morning.  We were met by the assistant cruise director who would be our guide.  One of the security personnel on board also escorted our group since we would be going into areas where passengers were not normally allowed.  A photographer accompanied the group and took group photos at each stop.  We started out seeing the Princess Theater backstage, met a couple of the dancers and saw the costumes. 

The next stop was the forward mooring room (where they keep the huge anchor).  We were met by the Staff Captain, who told us a little about the ship, the different anchors used, the weight of the anchors, the fuel consumption used, storage capabilities of the ship, and a bunch of other facts.  The Staff Captain is a senior officer who is second in command under the Captain, and obviously very knowledgeable about the ship’s operations.  I asked a question about how concerned were they with weight and balance considerations and did they switch fuel tanks back and forth to maintain even horizontal distribution, and about vertical weight distribution.  He said that yes, they did switch between the fuel tanks and in the event of heavy seas or a storm, they could empty all the swimming pools, if necessary, at the touch of a button to reduce the weight at the top of ship to keep it from keeling over. 

We then walked through the crew living areas, passed several crew quarters (although we obviously didn’t go into anyone’s room), passed by the crew mess, and on to the kitchen area.  The head chef had refreshments prepared for us (which of course were wonderful), and told us about the food preparation on board the Sapphire.  He said everything on board is prepared fresh.  The ship had its own bakery where all the bread is prepared.  Nothing is brought on board frozen or pre-prepared.  We met several of the cooks, saw the food storage areas (you wouldn’t believe the size of the refrigerators and freezers—all were walk-in types that were larger than my house and there were several of them with separate storage areas for the vegetables, meat, and dairy!).

After leaving the kitchen areas, we went to the medical center where we were given a tour of the medical center by the ship’s doctor.  The ship had two doctors, three nurses, and other medical personnel.  The medical center had a waiting room, several exam rooms, it’s own x-ray room, laboratory for blood and urine tests which they can do on site, rooms for those passengers who needed to be admitted, and even an ICU.  The doctor said they could even do surgery on board if necessary and had a qualified anesthetist.  He then explained that they prefer to evacuate serious trauma cases if possible, but that they were prepared to handle almost any contingency.

The engine control room was our next stop.  The officer there explained all the computer screens and showed how they controlled everything from the engines to the desalinization plant to the wastewater treatment plant.  The ship has four diesel electric and one back-up gas turbine.  These turbines provide all electricity for propulsion, air-conditioning, the ovens, and of course lighting and other electrical needs.  The various electrical needs of the ship have to be balanced.  When the kitchen ovens are going full blast (early in the mornings when the bakery is running at its peak), the ship sacrifices some propulsion which of course affects speed, or air conditioning.  If the ship needs to increase speed, then the air conditioning usage must be lowered, or oven electrical usage lowered.  All water on board comes from the ship’s desalinization plant which converts sea water to potable water and even supplies the water for the ship’s swimming pools.  The Sapphire Princess doesn’t dump anything into the ocean and has its own wastewater treatment plant that treats both gray water (from the sinks and showers, etc.) and black water (from the toilets).  We were shown all the different screens on the computers where they monitor all the various functions on the ship.  The officer then told us that although the bridge may be in command, they were the ones in control (but that we shouldn’t tell the captain that) .

We then toured the laundry facilities—they had huge machines that folded towels, folded sheets, and folded table cloths.  The printing room was next where the various advertisements were printed along with the daily Princess Patter (which was like the ship’s “newspaper” delivered each evening and listed the next day’s activities and events).  The photo shop followed where all the photographs were printed.

The final stop was the bridge which was located forward on Deck 14 (just down the hall from my room).  The bridge is of course in a very controlled access area (like the cockpit of an aircraft).  Before entering, we were told not to touch anything, and not to disturb or distract the officers who are on duty.  The first thing you notice on entering is the view—it was absolutely incredible!  The Staff Captain was on the bridge and provided the briefing.  He explained that the bridge is manned 24/7 by four member of the ship’s company:  the Senior Officer of the Watch who has overall responsibility, the Second Officer of the Watch, and two Able Seamen.  The two officers make up the navigation and conning team, and the seamen maintain continuous lookout.  During port approaches or in high traffic, the Captain, Staff Captain, and additional officers man the bridge as well. 

The Staff Captain explained the various screens on the bridge including the radios, navigation system, and radar system.  The Captain then joined us and we all met him.  Of course everyone wanted to talk with the Captain, but I was more interested in the ship’s operations, so I asked The Staff Captain more questions about the radar system and navigation and how they change headings and whether they have complete control or are vectored (like aircraft are controlled by air traffic controllers).  He said, “Come here, and I’ll show you” (in his Italian accent) and walked me over closer to the consoles.  He told me they are in complete control, how they plotted a course and inlaid the course, and how once the course is laid, how they change headings at the various waypoints—he started to explain what waypoints were when I told him I already knew.  He then said that when they reached a waypoint they had to confirm the course change.  And I said I was surprised that the navigation system didn’t just assume the course change and executed without confirmation.  He admitted that some systems do that, but that on the Sapphire they maintain complete control with the system requesting confirmation prior to any heading change. 

JJ then told us that this was the end of the tour and we all shook hands with the Captain, I shook hands with The Staff Captain and thanked him for spending time with us.  The tour lasted 4 hours and was the most incredible experience—I’d definitely do it again if I could and enjoyed it much more than any of the excursions!

After the Ultimate’s Ship Tour, I went aft to the Horizon Court (Lido buffet) for the Oriental buffet.  The place was busy with all the Japanese tour groups finally getting sushi, but the line moved quickly and the food was good.

After lunch, relaxed on deck with my Kindle.  Although the weather was getting colder and there was a breeze blowing, there were still people getting in the pool (how they could stand it I’ll never know, but I guess that some of the people think that anything above 60 is warm).

I finally decided I’d better go back to my room to pack since our luggage with the exception of our handcarry bags needed to be outside the cabin by 10:00 pm that evening for disembarkation the next morning.  I also needed to get ready for the final dinner in the dining room.  When I got to my room, there were two envelopes in my “mailbox” (a slot outside the cabin where advertisements were placed along with any messages or other “mail”).  The first was a preprinted, typed note from the Captain saying he enjoyed meeting everyone on the Ultimate Ships Tour and hoped we enjoyed the tour as well as the cruise.  It ended with him saying he hoped we would come back and cruise with Princess again. 

The second letter was a handwritten note from the Staff Captain.  He said it was a pleasure to meet me this morning on the Ultimate Ship’s Tour and that he hoped I had enjoyed it.  He then said that if it wasn’t too late and if it was OK, he would like to invite me to dine with him along with possibly another couple at 2000 (8:00 pm for my civilian friends) in the Savoy Dining Room.  He asked if I could let him know and gave me his office phone number as well as his pager number.  I called his office and since there was no answer, called his pager.  He returned my call within 2 minutes and when I answered he thanked me for calling and asked if I would be able to join him for dinner.  I told him I would be honored to have dinner with him and he gallantly said it would be his pleasure and looked forward to seeing me again.  He said he would meet me just outside the dining room at 8:00 and we hung up.

I was excited and looked forward to dinner with the Staff Captain.  I know that on a cruise the Captain occasionally has dinner with passengers and assumed that the Staff Captain also occasionally does the same as part of the “social” duties on board.  Usually the passengers invited are ones who have sailed with the cruise line repeatedly, or those who have booked a suite and paid quite a lot.  Since this was my first Princess cruise and I had an inside cabin, I was surprised to be invited.

I finished packing and since this was a last minute invitation, and I hadn’t told my waiter or tablemates that I wouldn’t be there for dinner, I decided to go to the International Dining Room to at least give them the courtesy of letting them know.  When I got there, I told both Ryan and Riza (my waiter and assistant waiter) that I wouldn’t be staying for dinner.  Ryan and Riza asked if anything was wrong and I said no, but that I had an invitation to have dinner with the Staff Captain.  I apologized for not letting them know earlier, but that I had just received the invitation that afternoon.  I hugged them both and thanked them.  I then told my tablemates I wouldn’t be joining them, explained why, and said I had enjoyed having dinner with them.

I finished the last of my packing, then put my suitcase outside my cabin with the appropriate disembarkation tag on it—I was in the “Orange 6” group and was scheduled to meet in the Explorers Lounge and disembark at 9:50 then next morning.  I got ready for dinner and headed for the Savoy Dining Room.

When I got there, the Staff Captain was standing right outside (still in uniform).  He greeted me with a handshake and said that unfortunately, the other couple would not be joining us and if it would be OK, it would just be the two of us.  I said of course that would be fine.  He said we had a very nice table and the maître de led us to a table along the window so we could look out over the sea. 

The Staff Captain asked if I liked red wine and ordered a very good bottle (I know nothing about wine and I have no idea what kind it was, but I do know it was very good).  We both had sparkling water and both ordered an appetizer, salad, and the New York strip steak.  I asked if he frequently dined with passengers and he said no, very rarely.  When he had first become Staff Captain, he made it a point to do so once on every cruise, but that as he had been with Princess for some time, he has come to guard the little personal free time he has.  He said that he had very much enjoyed our conversation during the ships tour that morning, and then went on to say that while it is important to have good food and good wine at dinner, it is the company of the dinner guests that make the evening enjoyable (which I agreed with).

This really was beginning to appear to be a date, which made me nervous, but then I decided since it could never go anywhere (after all, he was at sea and I lived in the desert) I could relax and simply enjoy the conversation and company.  I learned that he was younger than me by a few years, his parents still lived in northern Italy where he had grown up, had a younger sister who lived in the United Kingdom, and an older brother who was a Captain on another ship.  He had moved to Nuremburg, Germany a few years ago since he said he appreciated the efficiency of the German government and that the Italian bureaucracy drove him crazy, that he appreciated things in Germany like the timeliness of the trains and the orderly way people drove.  I told him about my life and having been to Italy many times when we lived in Germany.  We talked about all the different countries we had been to and lived in and how we both loved to travel.  I also teased him about being a very detailed, meticulous person; he was surprised and asked how I would know that; I told him it was obvious since he moved to a country he thought was operated more efficiently, and that he had chosen a career that was very structured and very orderly.  (Seems we had quite a bit in common despite the differences in nationality.)

We both ordered cappuccino after dinner and I said I had missed having cappuccino in the morning as I did whenever I was in Italy.  He asked if I had been to Italy on vacation or on business and I said both on vacation around the country and on business to Aviano Air Base, which he was familiar with.

We also talked a lot about the ship’s operations and I compared it to aircraft operations.  He said when he was young, he was in the Italian Navy and had wanted to be a naval aviator as he was passionate about both the sea and about aircraft, but that it hadn’t worked out.  He said he enjoyed his career and looked forward to every day at sea, but that he was still passionate about aircraft and read all he could about it.  I then gave him my business card and told him that if he ever found himself in Las Vegas that he should let me know and that I would be happy to arrange a tour of the base.  He thanked me and said he would consider it a serious invitation and I said I hoped so since it was a sincere invitation and I hoped to be able to reciprocate since I had so much enjoyed myself on the Ultimate Ships Tour, but that I wouldn’t charge him anything for the tour of the base .  He laughed and said that unfortunately, Las Vegas does not have a port and it would be difficult for him to go there, but since aircraft is one of his passions, he hoped to be able to visit some day.

The three hours we spent at dinner seemed to go by very quickly, but at a little before 11:00 pm, he apologized and said that he would have to excuse himself since he was required to have 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep before resuming his duties the next morning since he was responsible for docking the ship in Los Angeles.  As we walked out of the dining room, he asked when I was scheduled to disembark and I said was scheduled to disembark from the Explorers Lounge at 9:50.  He shook my hand, thanked me for joining him for dinner, and said that if his duties allowed, he would try to find me the next morning before I left, but that he couldn’t be sure and hoped I would not be upset if he was not able to see me.  I thanked him for the dinner, told him how much I had enjoyed his company, and that I understood duties and responsibilities.

Was this a date?  I don’t think so; it felt more like a very nice dinner with someone easy to talk to.  The Staff Captain behaved professionally, and was a perfect gentlemen. 

Unfortunately, tomorrow morning is disembarkation and time to return home.