Gary, you are undoubtedly the undisputed czar of cruising information. You go beyond the obvious and seek to enlighten and educate prospective as well as experienced travelers about things that most of us overlook or simply never took the time to find out. It goes without saying, you are very knowledgeable in cruise matters and do a terrific job presenting it.
The reason pools are kept small, aside from the weight issue, is something called the ‘free surface effect’. Basically it means that as the water moves around when the ship is rolling, for example, it causes a pendulum effect. And it can become stronger as the motion increases, and in fact, will cause the rolling to increase. This is why any liquid tanks, for example fuel tanks in the ship’s double bottom, are subdivided into multiple compartments. So if the ship rolls, the liquid may slosh, but only within the confines of the tank. It’s not going to flow from one side of the ship to the other. There’s probably some videos online that will demonstrate this. This was all part of my education as a merchant mariner.
Until he brought it up in the video I hadn't thought about it, but you're absolutely right and it makes perfect sense! The more water in one place, the more powerful the force you have to contend with.
I went on a cruise in 1989 on a famous cruise line - I was the only young person on board aged 22 - the crew took me under their wing and invited me to cruise parties and to spend time in crew areas. It was great fun. We used hidden doors and staircases, parties were like those in the film Dirty Dancing. The crew had pet cockroaches and had great fun racing them. I had a brilliant holiday both in the passenger areas and crew areas. This would be absolutely forbidden now. 😁
You were very lucky you were not kidnapped and enslaved. Seriously, there have been some young women who were never seen again. They boarded with their family and then were no where to be found
@@chriswilliams6568 It may surprise you most ships have them and spend a great deal of time trying to keep them under control. Bed bugs are an issue as well
Often the elevator bell will ring twice for "Going Down" and once for "UP" knowing this can keep you from dashing to the bell sound when that car isn't going your way.
I’ve subscribed to your channel at the beginning of the pandemic. You are a great presenter. Your clips are most informative & enjoyable. Someday / one day I might take a cruise. I’m more interested in the European river cruises. However as a single traveller costs are an issue… lol.
I understand that South Western Railway - Seeing several cruise lines doing this at Southampton - Decided to try it out on their trains. Unfortunately, they forgot about that tunnel immediately „up“ from Southampton Central... 💥🚈🗼😋
The rat guards look utterly useless. There's a huge gap between the centre rope and the circumference on one side of the disc, and a handy small rope running from the disc centre, over the disc to the other side. The rats would have to be a bit on the stupid side to have their ingress blocked by such lame precautions.
Fascinating information, Gary. I knew a lot of the shiply stuff thanks to a Dad who took us on tour of every military ship or other open ship that stopped in New Orleans, where we grew up. He'd been in the Marines and loved being at sea. We also lived 1/2 a block from the Mississippi River and would watch ships go by from the levee. My favorite are the rat barriers, which were HUGE on the ships we saw in port. Thanks to doing primitive backpacking, I knew how heavy water was and realized immediately on my first cruise why pools were so small. I wish that ships would create indoor pools on the lowest decks with lighting that mimics daylight and video walls to create the impression of being outdoors. The first cruise I ever took was again, thanks to our Dad, who booked us on a freighter going to San Juan. He talked the crew into giving his kids a tour of the entire ship. My absolute favorite part was the hold where we saw the propeller shaft. It. Was. Gigantic.
First off, yet another excellent and very well presented video Mr. Bembridge! If you happen to be someone who's served in the national Navy of any country, mention that to someone in guest services and if you're lucky, you may find yourself getting an amazing behind the scenes tour of the vessel by their rightly proud staff officers. We were at a Captains cocktail party and I was explaining something somewhat obscure about navigation markers on the route map to my husband and a couple of other people and was overheard by one of the Captains staff Whilst on a sea day, we were both given a very long and delightful tour of the bridge, engine room (within limits of course) and other engineering areas and I received a hard hat from the ship with all of its specific logo stickers as a souvenir on our last night.
Carnival has a "behind the fun" tour which is great. It was suspended during the pandemic, but hopefully it makes its return soon. You can only book it on ship and it's very, very limited capacity, so it's best to inquire pretty soon after boarding once they start doing it again. Bonus, the galley chefs send some special goodies to your stateroom that await your return. You get to tour everything but the engine room, brig, morgue and crew quarters.
The ONLY privacy you have on a cruise ship is the inside of your cabin (and head of course) and the inside of public rest rooms. Don't assume privacy on your balcony... lol
The fact that you can tell which direction of the ship you’re walking based on the carpet or the room tag design is pretty cool ! I always loved that feature
Our very first cruise (2008) was with P&O Australia on the their former ship Pacific Sun. I noticed that the hallway carpet outside the passenger cabins was a different colour dependant on the deck (ie red, green, blue)
I was interested in your explanation of the funnels. Many years ago I travelled as wife of an officer on a cargo ship, and the story was that the funnel design was also used by crew to find their way back to the quayside after a big night on the town!
Only knew about 1/2 of these things. Thank you for this video. Taking a behind the scenes tour that includes some of the crew areas, bridge, laundry, engine control room, etc. was fascinating! Highly recommend for anyone who is interested to know about some of these "hidden" areas.
You can occasionally find some interesting extras! Norwegian Pearl has a dedicated “Bridge Viewing Room,” where you can watch the crew performing their bridge duties, any time of day or night.
That shallow water rim around the pool is being used now by so many lines. As a non-swimmer, I love it - the newer Princess ships do it particularly well, especially the aft pools - a great spot to chill with a drink in the sun without needing to be in the pool!
I highly recommend taking a behind-the-scenes tour when you have the chance. I've really enjoyed Carnival's "Behind the Fun" tours, as you see more crew-only areas than on Royal's tour and it's slightly cheaper. :) I've learned something new -- and sometimes gotten to see a previously unseen area, like the Captain's private dining room, an unoccupied crew cabin, or the Captain's cabin (!) -- on EVERY Carnival tour I've done (ten so far).
One of my favorite nautical 'jokes' is on the Puttgarden-Rødbyhavn ferry. One of the lounges is named the "North" Lounge and the other is the "South" Lounge. Since you can theoretically sail a ship in whatever direction you want, that would seem like a silly way to name something on a ship. It turns out that the ferry landing in Puttgarden, Germany is shaped differently than the one in Rødbyhavn, Denmark and each end of the ship is shaped to match one or the other. That being the case, while the ship is in service, one end always points north toward Denmark and the other always points south towards Germany. Sadly, they are currently building a tunnel to replace the ferry. It will be faster but not as much fun. :-(
When I see a camera I wave to it. The rat guard is not 100%, because I saw on one a passenger deck in 2015 on Carnival Glory. I went to guest services, they didn't believe me till later that night my cabin steward said they found one in a closet. I was given a large onboard credit I used to by lots of perfume.
Wow !! Interesting facts, yep, i thought cameras were 4 security....but alot more🎉❤ i find intriguing. How alot of 🚢🛳️find their staff, 3rd world countries. Teach them English. Customer Serving. Etc !!
Talk about something staring me in the face for all my 40yrs of driving, was the small arrow on every car's fuel gauge that tells you which side of the vehicle your filler port is on.
Another mark on the hull is a circle with what looks like a strange F. It's the Plimsoll Mark. It indicates the maximum depth that the hull ca be submerged in different conditions, Summer, Winter, fresh water etc. It also indicates who inspected the vessel for documentation, AB for the American Bureau of Shipping and LL for Lloyds of London etc.
A genuinely informative video, Gary. I especially appreciate the examples of the funnels and the symbols on the side of the ship. I'll be much more observant on my next cruise!
Regarding the letter “X” on the blue funnel of Celebrity ships. It is actually not X, but the Greek letter pronounced “Chi” of Chandris Lines, which Celebrity used to be. Back in the 1970s when I worked on Chandris ships as a photographer, when we were ashore and rushing back to the ship by taxi to avoid missing it, so that the driver would not be too confused about which ship of the many in harbor, we used to tell him the one with the kisses on the funnels.
Would love to see a behind the scenes video, going into all those secret spaces, im sure a man of your influence could get an all access pass, maybe when a ship is in dry Dock or something? Likely make a fourth part serial. I'm surprised you don't go up to the bridge? Engine room. Sick bay. Crew quarters, bar, other crew areas.
My Dad was in the Marines, loved ships, and always took us to any open houses that came to New Orleans in the 50's and 60's.. We learned a lot of that from those visits - the rat guards, the depth measurements. We watched ships going up and down the Mississippi and could tell if they were loaded or empty.
Related to the odd/even cabin numbering, many ships have different carpet on the port and starboard sides aisles. Even if it's as simple as the color of the margin... teal on starboard, dark navy on port for example on the last cruise we were on. This can allow you to get your bearings trivially when exiting a lift or staircase to know which side you want to be on.
My wife and I took a cruise, years ago, and when they found out that I was a marine engineer and naval architect, they upgraded "our" cabin and sent me down into the bowels of the ship to fix things that were broken. Many of these were components of redundant systems, but the cruise line had difficulty finding competent experts, particular in command and control systems, which was my specialty. My wife had a wonderful time and lots of free perks of a first class fare instead of our bargain basement fare we had paid for. I didn't see much of her for the next ten days.
And everyone clapped and cheered, when you got away from the pirates all on your own, saving the entire ship....riiiiiight, because this comment is totally not fabricated. People aren't that dumb dude. A company can't legally just have you do work for "free" because idk "The convienently unnamed cruise ship company, would actually have to vet your background and idk... hire you!" Unless you own your own company and did some under the table deal? in which case, you are not a professional in your field.... because the liability would be enough to ruin your entire career and the company. Just stop.
Very interesting. I didn’t know a lot of this either! When you go on the Disney cruise, ask about the “hidden Mickeys.” Also, the stateroom doors have starfish on them if they are on the starboard side (that word has the same number of letters as starboard) and fish on the port side (both words have four letters). There are also compass motifs in the carpet in corridors that point in one direction. I HAVE noticed that you cross paths with a lot of the retail areas going from main dining rooms to the theater or an observation lounge and suspected the bottom few decks were hiding a small city. I also noticed that facial software recognition was being used on Regent in May, my first cruise since the pandemic began.
Great video. I haven't been on a cruise in about twenty years or so, and previously had been on a half dozen at least. Your channel has me thinking about it again. Many thanks.
Fun fact: Those symbols are primarily for the dockworkers, not the ships crew. It allows the dockworkers to tell, at a glance, a lot of very important information.
Thanks, Gary! Some I knew, some I didn't', but all will come in handy for my partner and me as we begin two years of many cruises! (Caught a glimpse of our stateroom's balcony on the port side of the Oceania MARINA that you showed in passing...a great month in the Baltic!)
The numbering of the rooms reminded me of the way Navy ships number their spaces. Deck or level, frame number, relation to centerline and use. Took a little bit to get used to but once you had it you could find anywhere on the ship by just knowing the number assigned to the space.
This is incredibly interesting! I knew about some of these, such as the rat guards on the ropes and the crew areas, but I've always wondered what the symbols on the hull mean.
9:17 More funnels not just because more funnels = an impression of more speed, but for reasons of symmetry, e.g., the SS Norway, when converted from an ocean liner (SS France), saw several of her boilers removed, as her high speed wasn't needed puttering around the Caribbean. But they kept her now non-functional forward funnel, as to delete it would ruin her lines (and also cost money that NCL was loath to invest in the ship, a loathing that ultimate cost the lives of 8 crew and the destruction of the ship, but that's another story). 9:49 Not incorrect to refer to it as a "wing tail" funnel but most (including CCL itself) refer to it as a whale tail 13:11 It's interesting isn't, it that some lines will mark the landing pad with the traditional large H, while others disguise this, as they don't want to perturb their guests with thoughts of an emergency aboard - happy thoughts only!
Oh how fun! I love learning about ship facts. And you saved the most practical for last. Follow the swimming upstream fish to the bow, the numbers will be descending. To the port side; even numbers (4 letters in port and even with 4 being an even number itself, so super easy to remember). When in doubt the ship will point the way forward. 🙂⚓🚢
@@matthewalker very true it would be needed if that 9k passenger capacity ship was built that Gary mentioned in his live stream on Saturday did you hear him talking about it?
The draft markings and the Plimsoll markings are two different things. The Plimsoll markings are calculated by the classification society based on their rules. They consist of a circle with a horizontal line with the initials of the society (e.g. A---B = American Bureau of Shipping) and a ladder showing the maximum load level for a variety of conditions. (summer, winter, winter north atlantic, fresh water etc.). There is one on each side amidships. The draft marks, usually 6, fore-midships-aft, port and starboard, let the crew determine exactly how the vessel is sitting in the water. Is the ship listing to port or starboard? Is it trimmed down by the head or the stern? Is it hogging or sagging? Depending how extreme a condition exists, it can require restowing cargo or maybe just altering the order in which fuel tanks are emptied.
The symbols on the hull that show the location of things serve a very important purpose. They are there to inform vessels coming alongside of potential danger. Tugs avoid these places as not to damage the bow thrusters, stabilization fins etc.
I do love when a relatively simple thing, like those rat guards, are all it takes to solve a big problem. Thanks for sharing, the whole video is great!
That “key” on the hull is in fact a bottle on its side. It shows where you wack the ship with a bottle of champagne during the launching ceremony. That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it :)
In one of the clips regarding the helicopter pads, there's one with 'WINCH ONLY' on it - functionally it still serves as an evacuation point via helicopters, but there isn't enough clearance for one to land so the helicopter lowers a rescuer with a winch to carry out operations. Love your videos btw, even if I don't cruise often. Living vicariously through others!
I once was able to witness a helicopter evacuation drill the ship at the time (can´t exactly remember which one, but I think it was Holland America Line) was asked to participate in by the scottish RNLI station we were close to after they got a new helicopter. What many underestimate is the amount of work that goes into using those heli pads or winch pads. for one, usually there are still some lines, cables, antennas, flag poles, fences around that have to be lowered to be out of the way. For winch pads you may have to clear half of the sundeck in the rear from chairs, tables etc. not to mention the cable with lights you still finde often across the ship from bow to stern. Anything either the helicopter or the winch cable can get snagged in will be cleared. In the picture of the actual heli pad (the one with the H) you could see a number of doors and panels in the floor under which for example masts and poles could be stowed, sometimes even more or less automatically. Then comes quite an amount of personell involved. Usually you will find a number of the ships firefighters in standby positions with charged fire hoses, just in case something goes down and bursts into flames. Also the small life and rescue boats, or at least one of them, may be prepared with crew standing by in survival suits, so they can jump into the craft and be lowered to the water immediately, in case something goes down or someone falls into the drink. Also you might sometimes find someone with a rod grounded to the ships hull awaiting anyone or anything winched down. Helicopter rotors create quite an amount of electrostatic charge and sometimes it is tried to ground the cable first, to avoid anyone getting zapped on contact with the ship. Although this is something that is not always done and they can do the winch operation without as well.
Talking in pounds, shillings, bushels, feet, cups, gas marks, F deg and furlongs says everything about cruising. The US patrons usually can't visualize anything except in football fields (Gridiron) or Empire State Buildings usually redeveloped horizontally. Got to love Retro.
This was very interesting. I have noticed helipads, cameras, and I didn't;t know some smoke stacks were just for marketing. Some day I will see Homer Simpson. Thank you for pointing out the room numbers. I have logged miles aboard ship getting lost.
Often your Room Steward has their 'room and board' deducted from their stingy base salary and end up working for tips. While you do have mandatory 'tips' in your package, those get divided up between the steward, their assistant, and dining room steward. So the steward won't see much of that. However don't remove the autotips...as it's just bad style. Bring some additional cash and tip your steward on arrival...and again at disembarking.
Thanks Gary. INTERESTING STUFF, AS ALWAYS! I asked my nautical hubby if he knew about the round disks on the ropes to prevent the rats, and you even has him stumped!
One of my favorite things to do on the Regent Explorer was to look for things other people wouldn’t notice. The sconces in the library were in the shapes of llamas which amused me greatly, there’s a painting of a lady in a giant hot pink dress that really fun that if you turn, you see the jigsaw puzzle (I call it the “jigsaw lady”)
Those Rat Guards did not look very effective - they seem to have been installed in the wrong place - allowing an easy bypass - unless it was just the angle of view? Hope it wasn't a case of welcome aboard...
It's a confined building floating on the ocean and every incident needs to be tracked for legal liability... of course surveillance will and should be extremely high, but outside of that nothing else should be that much of a mystery
Another interesting and useful video. Other than the rat guards and funnels, I had no idea of these features. Really like the spare propeller art objects.
Out of the 23 cruises I have done, I couldn't do a better explanation you've cover. My first cruise was 1972 but it was my second cruise with Holland America on Rotterdam that if found the pool was down toward the haul center along with the gym, this ship was lot older then Stardancer that took on first cruise, but both are long gone and my present goal is to board the now present Rotterdamn expecting to note a major difference, Size alone would make the first look like a ferry boat. Since I'm a early riser I take guiet stroll thru ship int.& ext. taking note of what can be purpose objects, codes, patterns, etc., and inguire to confirm my belief. Most of what you cover I had learned over the years. You did confirm my belief of employees "short cuts" thur ship as I would call it.. I give you credit for you gave a better presentation than I could ever have and did share information that I let to learn THANKS FOR THE INPUT.
@@JulieWallis1963 1st cruise was 1972. 2nd in 1983 ,93, 96 97, 2 in 98, etc . After pandemic sail 3 trips ,2in Oct. 1 Alaska in May. First 2 founded by what saved in gas since travel and trips were restricted ($200 month drop to $20). Sail with 8 different lines, and found that Celibrity and Princess to be favorite. #24 BEEN BOOKED THIS SEPTEMPER. All ships in Alaska are being rerouted to their winter locations and I had opportunity offord to board Celeb. mellem. In Vancover to San Diego, as this ship is to be located to Carabean by way of Panama. Unfortunately, (sadly) my schedule won't allow me to be gone this long 😞. YESSS I'M ADDICTED AND GLAD OF IT. (Being single make it easy to drop & go) it the pricing that hampers the drips .
This Gary, great info. On Princess I have seen red in the corridor carpets denoting the port side, and green on the starboard side. So that is the way we knew which way the ship was going. Also which side our cabin was on. In the UK we used to say “There is no more port left in the bottle”
I love that this guy is shocked that the crew have places to sleep. Or that there are cameras on the ship. And that the cabin numbers are laid out as "1, 3, 5, 7"... Yeah.. Room numbers generally go up in hotels, apartments and the like. They start at one end and go up toward the other.
Thank you for the great tip about the cabin numbering and the “direction” of the ship symbol on room doors! I tend to get lost easily too, and your tip helps a great deal!
Wow, thank you for this video. Yes, I have seen many dome CCTV camera thought out the cruise ship. Your video and full explanation "Hiding in Plain Sight" is very interesting indeed. TY
After 15...+ ...on ALL the major cruise lines...I loved appreciate your balanced observation... Looking forward to a princess... East US / Canada . You are so 👍 xx
This was fascinating!! I have, indeed, wondered about a number of these things, especially that "C" symbol on the hull along with the other markings. Simply outstanding!! Bravo!!!
Happy Saturday Gary ✌️ I enjoyed these little nuggets of information, esp seeing as I've yet to cruise but do like to feel orientated when I'm out anywhere.
Why is the general direction of travel on walking circuits anti-clockwise? Well I can tell you that in the US Navy, when moving from place to place, esp. in an emergency you go Down and Aft on the Port side, and up and Forward on the Starboard side. It makes for easy traffic flow. David
General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battle stations. Go up and forward on the starboard side, down and aft to port. I'll never forget those words as long as I live. Especially the time in the Persian Gulf when Central Control accidentally activated the general alarm at 12:30a. I never thought CBS Berting could empty out that quickly.
I also loved at 8:12 the "artwork" explanation - very clever to store spares so creatively, it's presented so beautifully perhaps technically it is also art afterall! =)
I just read through a Princess cruise contract yesterday and facial recognition is noted with other tracking methods (CCTV and medallion). The facial recognition data, it states, is deleted after disembarkation, but photographs are retained for two years for the guest’s benefit (later purchase).
Hi Gary, It may have been on the original Royal Princess, but back in the day, the carpets were infused with red on the port and green on the starboard. It really helped when getting off an elevator to glance over at a hallway and know on which side was your room!
Gary your videos are amazing. I'm planning my Mediterranean cruise for October 2023. It's my 50th birthday and my mother's 77th. Which line can you recommend? thank you
Fascinating video, thank you. I always remember Alan Wicker on the QE2, visiting the gay bars for the crew etc. Wickers World I think it was , in the early 1980s. Whilst not a Cruise ship, the Pont Aven has a Heli pad and on two of our crossings to Spain it has been used for a medivac. Quite impressive to watch.
I'm sure it would be both fascinating and popular if cruise ships did "hidden ship" tours of the kitchens and laundry rooms, even the engine room etc. No invasion of crew privacy, of course. They could also do treasure hunts; a list of hidden items, such as Homer Simpson, that passengers have to find and tick off a list during their cruise. A good way to explore the ship, too.
