Ask the Captain

Beautiful day today.  Sunny and warmer.  People were sunbathing and swimming.  Ocean was much smoother, and we are traveling at a much slower pace.  We started to see sea gulls flying around the ship, which means land must be getting closer.  The captain tells us that during the last two evenings they saw humpback whales, but we haven't seen them.  We will be in the Azores tomorrow (number 2 on the chart) and have scheduled an excursion to see one of the islands.


I attended an event today called "Ask the Captain".  The audience asked him questions and he gave us answers.  The captain is Noel O'Driscoll and he is from a small fishing village in Castletownbere, Ireland. Some of the highlights were:

  • How he modified the original route we were going to take due to a cold front north of our location.
  • The responsibility of leading 1000 crew members and taking care of 2500 guests.
  • How they can make their own fresh water from saltwater using reverse osmosis. 
  • How the ship uses Azipod propulsion.  This system is much more efficient and the motor actually sits outside the ship.
  • How his proudest moment was rescuing 14 refugees from the ocean.
  • What will happen to the ship when it goes for an overhaul in November and will be dry docked for 20 days.
  • How they recycle almost everything, even the sewage.  The money they get back from recycling the paper, aluminum and glass goes back to the crew.
  • His schedule is 3 months at sea, then 3 months off.
  • How the company is testing Starlink for internet access.


We love all the music on the ship.  The strings (Cello, Viola, Violin) played for us today.  (note: Katie Hedrick should do this)



Comments

  1. ktrporterApril 15, 2023 at 11:50 AM

    The q&a sounds fun! I can't believe they recycle sewage! Gross. Land ahoy! Have fun!!!❤️

    ReplyDelete

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