Cruise

Full safety ahead

(Bild: e-motion SRL)

As the largest cruise company in the world, the Carnival Group sails vacationers across the world's oceans every year. Safety for guests and crew is a top priority. Regular training on simulators is part of this.

At the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg, they can be admired in all sizes, the wooden steering wheels whose invention once represented groundbreaking progress for shipping. While Columbus and Magellan used compasses and quadrants to determine the positions of celestial bodies as they made their way through the world's oceans, today's navigators use radar and GPS. And the nostalgic steering wheel has mostly been replaced by a joystick, especially on large ships.

Exploring the world's oceans is no longer the preserve of sailors; for many, it is the preferred way to travel. It is a versatile and comfortable way to discover the world. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first ocean liners set sail from Europe to North America - at that time, however, to transport emigrants seeking their fortune in America. In 1891, the steamship "Augusta Victoria" set sail from Cuxhaven on the first "pure pleasure trip" to the Mediterranean. The tour would later go down in history as the first cruise.

INFO

Costa Cruises is part of the Carnival Corporation & plc Group, which operates around 90 ships worldwide.

Tip: New from/to Hamburg: "Fascinating Europe": From May to September 2024, the Costa "Favolosa" will be sailing three different routes with long cruises to the Lofoten Islands, the North Cape and Iceland & Greenland.

An 8-day route calls at the most beautiful destinations in Scotland. General information & bookings at www.costakreuzfahrten.at

What was once only possible for a select society with the necessary small change is now affordable for almost everyone. The ships are worlds of their own, some are even floating palaces. Falling asleep in one port in the evening and waking up somewhere else the next morning - that's the appeal for many.

Since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, the cruise industry has picked up speed again. Carnival Corporation alone, the largest in the industry, carried 12 million guests in 2023 on its more than 90 ships of nine different brands, including Costa, AIDA and Princess.

700 ports of call
Every port has its own special features. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, it is not just the captain who is needed, as he rarely steers the ship alone. He is assisted by several officers who can also steer the ship safely - teamwork is required. Safety for the guests and crew is the top priority. And as Andrea Bardi, captain of the Costa "Favolosa", puts it: "A ship is like a body, it can only run if the heart and brain interact perfectly."

The Costa "Favolosa" offers space for 3800 guests

(Bild: StefanoBellamoliPhotography_2021)

In this case, the brain is the bridge and the heart is the engine room that provides energy. Of course, this "body" also requires regular care and maintenance, and Carnival Cruise has the Arison Maritime Center with the CSMART Academy in Almere in the Netherlands for this purpose. This has the most advanced bridge and engine room simulator technology currently available on the market and offers simulation solutions for cruise ships of all sizes and at the highest level.

"Every officer on a Carnival Corporation ship must attend training once a year," explains Mark Jackson, Managing Director. Around 6000 deck, engineering and environmental officers go through the state-of-the-art maritime training every year to continuously improve industry-wide standards.

Detailed bridge and engine rooms
Four bridge and engine room simulators are available for this purpose, which can simulate a wide variety of scenarios and sea conditions such as ship traffic or weather events on the high seas with numerous programs and exercises. Above all, teamwork is also trained.

"Experience and practice are needed on the high seas," says Leonardo Mileto, First Engineer.

(Bild: Diana Krulei)

"It takes experience and practice to work on ships. You learn how to deal with emergencies here, are better prepared for such eventualities and also learn how to avoid mistakes," says Leonardo Mileto, summing up his course. The 34-year-old is the first engineer on the Costa ships, where he started as a cadet at the age of 18.

Collecting, viewing & evaluating data
The ships are also constantly monitored on land, or rather on the screen. With the Fleet Operations Center (FOC), which is in constant contact with the ships via satellite and can identify and react to functions, routes, radar data and special situations in real time. What happens if a ship cannot enter the port within the specified corridor? Or if a storm is approaching? At the Hamburg FOC, Director Marcin Banach and his team keep an eye on the

The Fleet Operation Center in Hamburg watches over ships on the high seas.

(Bild: Diana Krulei)

Simulations on the detailed bridge at the CSMART Center in Almere

(Bild: Diana Krulei)

(Bild: @renatachede)

(Bild: Diana Krulei)

fleets belonging to the Carnival Group, including the ships of AIDA Cruises and Costa Crociere. Around the clock, two to three employees sit in front of the huge screens and follow and support the ships. "The biggest risks are the weather and wind conditions," says Banach, who was a captain himself for many years. "We collect all the weather reports, analyze them and pass on recommendations for any route changes."

Once on the high seas, always on the high seas. This applies not only to cruise-loving guests, but above all to the crew. Most of them have spent their entire working lives on ships. One of them is Tyrolean Manfred Jaud, who has been longing for the sea for 42 years. The 64-year-old Executive Chief is currently sailing on the Costa "Favolosa". With a total of 230 employees in the kitchen, around 15,000 plates go from the belly of the ship to the various restaurants for dinner alone. Hopefully they can be enjoyed in calm seas.