While sailing on the Celebrity Summit in August, we were lucky enough to go to a place that few passengers ever get to see: the navigational bridge. This isn’t my first time on the bridge, having seen it as part of the Behind the Scenes Tour on the Celebrity Equinox, but the experience is no less impressive.
The view from the bridge is amazing. Endless amounts of blue ocean surround you in every direction. The day we were there, a few flying fish jumped at the bow of the boat while birds flew overhead (a sign that we were still relatively close to land). As we walked around the fairly large space, chatting with the officers, I was struck by how quiet, clean & sparse the area was: they were definitely taking their jobs seriously.
Despite all the gadgets & expanding technology that fill the bridge, one simple item took me by surprise. There, laying on the desk next to the wheel, was a paper map, a pencil & a straight edge: they were plotting our position by hand; little dots lead from Bermuda straight across the Atlantic back to New Jersey.
That’s kind of comforting, isn’t it?
On a cruise & interested in touring the bridge? Stop by Guest Relations & see if they have any tours planned. It’s really up to each captain what they’re comfortable with. One our tour, we were joined by several frequent cruisers & a few people who were just curious about how the whole thing worked. Be prepared to show photo ID several times & go through a metal detector/pat down with security.
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