Today we are enjoying another sunny and beautiful day in the shipyard and without it being too cold. We are now moving from a period of “controlled mayhem” to a period of “controlled confusion”. This does not mean the people do not know what they are doing, but they just have a hard time finding out when to do it.
The fitting out of a cruise ship is similar to a pyramid model. In the beginning (the wide base) everybody can do their own thing and work progresses on multiple fronts. Then more and more items are completed but not everything. Nowadays everything is interconnected and it all revolves around electricity, Wi-Fi and networks and when one item is not available, the other one cannot work or progress with work. Thus the whole Sr. Management is busy with managing the 1000 and one little things; sometimes it all hinges on a misplaced key for one door and are thus busy with “putting out little fires” as they call it. A lot of people are now waiting for each other so each and every one can add the final touch to an area to make the delivery complete.
The liferafts for the crew are being installed. This had to wait until all the welding and painting was completed.
One of all these Top of the Pyramid items is the final connection of all Audio and Visual equipment. For a TV / monitor you need brackets, Cabling, a Control location, Software and finally the people who will operate it. Today all those items came together in the Queens Lounge and the big screen above the dance floor went on for the first time. Somebody had connected it to the surveillance camera for the dance floor and so you could see yourself walking around. Quite a nifty idea, seeing yourself dancing during cocktail hour.
The big screen above the Queens Lounge Dance Floor. Scaffolding is still in place as they are cleaning the lamps.
One item which is not so obvious but which is an intrinsic part of our security, are piracy gates. Ever since the troubles in Somalia started the aft mooring deck has always been considered a danger area. It is a little bit lower that the other access decks and thus the logic was for pirates to use this area to board a ship. With cruise ships this chance is remote as it is still too high above water to just jump over and the ship travels too fast to try for a skiff to come alongside and climb on board but it is still a lower deck. Thus to close the whole mooring deck area off, while at sea but also in port, we now have piracy gates. When the ship is docking and undocking they are hinged open and the rest of the time they close off the mooring deck.
Piracy Gates. On the aft mooring deck. These are made of stainless steel but not yet painted and thus easy to recognize.
We now have nearly all our crew on board, there are still new people boarding but it is down to a trickle, and training is in full swing plus the movement and collecting of Stores, Provisions, Spare Parts and Inventory. We have at least 10 trainers running around varying from USPH to Firefighting to Lifesaving and a plethora of other items. With much more to come. In between the crew goes back to storing and cleaning. Our Italian shipyard men are getting quite a kick out of seeing all the small Filipina Ladies carrying big boxes and or pushing big trolley’s, while wearing a safety helmet at the same time of course.
Nearly all the Gym Equipment has arrived and only needs securing and assembling.
All through the night the delivery of pallets and equipment has continued and then during the day time it can be put in place. Either by the Shipyard or by the ships complement. The logic which is followed here is mostly, if it needs a screw or a clamp or a nail, then the ship yard does it, if I can just be placed in place, then it is normally company stuff and the crew are doing it. And thus the regular crew is mainly in action with three things. Cleaning the various areas completed, carrying boxes from one place to another or (especially today) moving cabin. All the crew who came on board last week went into guest cabins, now the crew cabins are finished, so they can move and the Guest cabins can be prepared for the first voyage.
Not everybody is involved with loading. The catering for a 1000 crew goes on as well. Here the Sr. Butcher is supervising the preparation of the meat for tonights dinner.
For the wine lovers I can report that all the wine displays and the Wine Experience have now been completed apart from the TV monitors. They will be installed at the last minute to reduce the chance of getting damaged.
The Wine Barrels are in place from where you will be able to Tap & Mix your own blend.
March 22, 2016 at 3:58 pm
Thank you, Captain Albert, for bringing to our attention that we didn’t always have “piracy gates” at the stern. When I checked my photo’s made in 2007 of HAL ships docked in downtown the aft mooring deck simply had open windows! Today, when the ships leave for the year, the sailors usually stick their fingers through the holes of the “traliehekjes” hanging on as if imprisoned and needing to be released … Seeing the ships leaving one after another is already a rather dramatic sight. Then, watching the crew on the aft deck amplifies the sadness of departures 🙁