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Royal Caribbean's Captain Erik
Standal talks about commanding
Explorer of the Seas
By Richard H. Wagner
Captain Erik Standal is a soft-spoken native of Bergen,
Norway. He is the master of Royal Caribbean
International’s Explorer of the Seas, the popular Voyager-
class cruise ship that has been operating out of New York
Harbor (Bayonne, New Jersey) since 2007.
Announcements over the ship's public address system
start with a friendly and informal: "This is Captain Erik .
. ." His relaxed, easy-going manner indicates comfort
with command. At the same time, his youthful appearance
gives no clue as to his substantial experience or to the
perseverance it took to reach his position.
When he was at school, Captain Standal studied to
become a skilled workman in ventilation systems and
worked in that trade both before and after serving in
Norwegian Army. However, “one day, I looked around
me and I thought my world was very small and I really
wanted to do something else.”
He decided that he wanted to go to sea but changing from
one professions to another was not easy. First, before
enrolling in a maritime academy, he had to take a one year
correspondence course in preparation. He also had to
gain some experience at sea. “I spent a couple of years
on the North Sea fisheries. You learn something about
seamanship that you don’t do out here. You learn things
seamanship out here but in a different way. It is much
more hands on because you are in a small ship on rough
seas.”
After three years at the maritime academy, Standal
worked on the ferries that connect the Scandinavian
countries. That gave him the experience needed to join
Royal Caribbean in 1996. “I joined as a quartermaster,
making coffee, dusting on the bridge and doing the hand
steering. From there, I went to Second Officer, First
Officer, Chief Officer and Staff Captain.”
“Explorer is the first ship I am the permanent captain on.
I functioned as relief captain on the Voyager and on the
Rhapsody.” Standal believes that coming up through the
ranks gave him the experience required to become
captain. “Even if you have your captain’s license, it
doesn’t mean you can be captain on a cruise ship. If a
captain on a cargo ship came here, he wouldn’t have the
same understanding especially of the hotel operation.
[Because it is such a vital part of the cruise business,] you
have to have the interest in the hotel operation. When you
are going up the ranks [on a cruise ship] you can get a
pretty good understanding of that operation and if you do
not have it, you will not become captain. Through these
positions you have to work hand in hand with the hotel
side of the operation. Everything you do has an effect on
somebody else. It is like a very fine Swiss watch where
everything has to fall into place. For example, going into
Labadee where we transport our own ice cubes. One guy
is supposed to put ice on the tender. If it is not there and
you have to wait for him ten minutes, it will delay the
whole operation. It will delay the guests going ashore
because there is one less tender. This is part you have to
understand of the hotel operation. Of course, you also
have to learn the business side - - budgets and so on and
how to manage people, how to drive the human force in
the right direction.”
Managing the Ship
Ideas about how to manage people have evolved and
managing a crew on a service-oriented ship is not the
same as it used to be. “You can’t force people to be
happy, you can’t force them to smile. It has to come
naturally and you can only do that by making people
somehow enjoy what they are doing and being where they
are. The old style with a stick is not welcome anymore in
the culture we have now. The respect must be mutual
regardless of whether you have no stripes on your
shoulder or four and a half stripes on your shoulder. The
management has the duty to correct problems and
behavior issues with employees. If somebody is not
doing what is expected or required in a position, you
explain it in the best way and try to make them understand
it. If you don’t {make him or her understand], the whole
process is worthless. If you take someone in and make
them sign a paper that says they have done something
wrong and they don’t understand it or accept it
themselves, they will be back in very soon. You have to
get people to agree and willing and not try to force them.”
Still, even in a service oriented business, the traditional
military-style hierarchy on ships remains necessary. “At
sea, you need to have it in some ways. It is, of course, not
as strict as the military, but the system functions in the
same way. We are a small community and in a community
you have some order to control certain people - - the fire
department, the police station. Someone in society has to
make the decisions. [On a ship]. you have the ranking
system in order to make it clear who is making the
decisions - -.a certain degree of respect for the officers of
the ship.”
“If you work in a business shoreside, you are there for
eight hours a day and then go home. Here, the people are
together 24/7 365. If you took everyone from a
[community] and put them in a city hall and said from now
on you are going to live here for the next three months, I
am sure that you would have to establish some extra new
additional rules and so on to make it work. It is not to
make life difficult for anyone. In fact, the crew appreciate
having rules and regulations in general as long as they
understand them. As long as they know what is expected
and what is allowed and not allowed, that makes people
comfortable.”
The management system on a cruise ship must also
recognize that crews today are composed of many
nationalities and that there is considerable cultural
diversity. “The books of rules and regulations can seem
very big sometimes but we all come from different
backgrounds and what is obvious to me is not obvious to
the one working next to me. Like when I came to Royal
Caribbean, I was handed this book in the office in Oslo
when I started. [One thing it said] was that I would have
to shower once a day. Do you really need to tell people
that? It took me a short time to figure out that for me it is
obvious but maybe not for everybody else.”
Another reason for having rules, regulations and written
policies “is standardization so when [a crew member]
comes on one ship so we are able to operate similarly.
Crew members like to know what is expected.”
Standardization is also viewed as important in marketing
cruises. If a person has a good time on one Royal
Caribbean ship and knows that they all operate similarly,
he or she is more likely to try another Royal Caribbean
ship. Nonetheless, guests sometimes favor one ship over
another. “For some reason, you always get comments
from guests saying this ship is so much fun and this one is
not so fun. There can be specific situations that can drive
things. Maybe the crew is more happy on one itinerary
than on another, maybe it is the management on board that
has a slightly different style. Even if they follow the
policies, it can be a different way of running things. [For
example] we have an executive team on board Explorer
that works very well together and is very open to
discussing ideas. The crew can feel this and it reflects on
their performance.”
Along the same lines, differences can emerge out of the
natural competitive streak in people. “Just as in society
in general, people want to work for the best company and
the best ship.”
Some thoughts on cruising
"I think it would be very difficult to say that there is a
typical passenger on Royal Caribbean. We see people of
all ages, from all parts of society, and from different
nationalities. So, I can’t say that there is a typical group
of people. What we offer today in cruising is so different
than some years ago, there are so many things that you can
do. It is no longer about sitting in a deck chair with a
blanket over your knees reading a good book and
watching the sunset. By all means, if you choose to do
that, I salute you too because relaxing is absolutely part of
cruising but there is so much more.”
“I think it is a very good form of vacation. You look at
the price and compare it with staying in a decent hotel
[where] you have to buy in addition the food and all the
other things. If you haven’t been to the Caribbean and you
go on a ship, you go to three, four, maybe five different
places and spend a little bit of time there. You come back
onboard, have a nice evening, shows, a good dinner and
you wake up in a new place, a new island. If you find a
favorite, a place you really like, then you can go back. If
you go somewhere you have only read about in the
brochures [to spend] a whole week, [you may find on] the
second day it is not what you want and you want to go
home.”
“Some people just use us as a method of transportation.
Okay, it takes more time but at least you did not have to
go through the airport. Flying today is not very
pleasant.”
“There are many choices. Like I said, if you want to stay
on board and sit in a deck chair and relax when everyone
else goes ashore you can. That is exactly what you
should do. You want to sit on a horse or on a beach, you
can go do that. Then, you have the other ones who want to
see as much as possible. They realize you can still have
the evening onboard. What better form of vacation can
you have?”
BEYONDSHIPS HOME
CRUISE SHIPS HOME
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FREEDOM OF THE SEAS PROFILE
LIBERTY OF THE SEAS PROFILE
ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS PROFILE
EXPLORER OF THE SEAS PROFILE
A Man, A
Company, and
A Ship
An Interview with
Captain Herman Zini
Master of LIBERTY
OF THE SEAS
By
Richard H. Wagner
One might well expect that the first captain of the world’s largest passenger ship would be a white-
bearded mariner who, nearing retirement, was bringing the ship into service as a fitting climax to an
illustrious career. However, reflecting the youthful and active image that Royal Caribbean International
seeks to engender, tall, athletic-looking Captain Herman Zini, the first master of LIBERTY OF THE
SEAS, is still under 40. Indeed, he was the youngest captain in the Royal Caribbean fleet when he took
command of GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS at the age of 34 in 2002. When LIBERTY was in New
York for her maiden call, I had the opportunity to talk with RCI’s young prodigy about his career, Royal
Caribbean, and his ship.
A Meteoric Rise
Although Captain Zini is a young man, he has had more than 25 years nautical experience. Born in San
Fernando, Argentina, which is often referred to as the “Nautical Capital” of Argentina, Zini developed an
early affinity for the sea and water-borne activities such as competitive sailing and rowing. “At the age of
12, I joined the high school that belongs to the navy in Argentina [Liceo Naval Miltar Almirante
Guillermo Brown]. I did five years at the school and at the same time that I was getting my [scholastic]
education, I was training to be an Argentinean [naval] officer. So, I became a reserve officer at the age
of 17. During those five years, we were going to sea a lot on navy ships.”
Zini continued his education at the Escuela Nacional de Nautica Manuel Belgrano, the merchant marine
academy in Buenos Aires. “There we had three years of education about navigation. By the time that I
went to the merchant marine college, all of the things that I was learning there, I had already learned
before - - the sextant, navigation skills and in general being a ship’s captain.”
Upon graduation, Zini received his Third Officer’s license and went to work on cargo ships operating out
of Argentina. While he received valuable experience in navigation and handling ships in confined waters,
“I was not really satisfied with the standard of the shipping in Argentina, the owners, how they keep their
ships, things like that. Really, I was a bit disappointed with the career. So, I was about to make a
change.”
Having put so much time and effort into training for a career at sea, Zini decided to give the sea one more
chance before “I put my feet finally on land.” He thought about what would be an ideal career and “so, I
took my suitcases to Miami to find a cruise line. I knocked on every single company’s door and here I
am.”
Zini started with Royal Caribbean in 1991 as Second Officer on NORDIC EMPRESS and received his
master’s license two years later. Since then he has served as Staff Captain on VIKING SERENADE,
LEGEND OF THE SEAS, VISION OF THE SEAS and ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS. He has
commanded GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS, SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS, ADVENTURE OF THE
SEAS, and RADIANCE OF THE SEAS. In addition, he has participated in the building of LEGEND
OF THE SEAS, VOYAGER OF THE SEAS and most recently, LIBERTY OF THE SEAS. Thus, not
only has Captain Zini developed a substantial amount of sea experience in a short time, he also has had
wide experience within the Royal Caribbean fleet.
With his roots in naval and cargo ships, one might expect that guest relations would not be a high priority
for Captain Zini. However, “I spend quite a bit of time with the guests. I walk around the ship a lot
during a cruise. It is something I like to do because it is great to meet a lot of people and for me, it is a
great way to know how the ship is doing. You hear right away when something is not up to our standard
because people will come up and tell you. It is a great way to feel the ship, walking around.”
An International Company
Like Captain Zini, Royal Caribbean is a young company. In fact, when Captain Zini joined Royal
Caribbean, the company had been in business only for some 22 years. Although an American, Ed
Stephens, is usually credited with the idea for the company, the original owners were three Norwegian
investors, I.M. Skaugen, S/A, Anders Wilelmson and Company and Gotas Larsen Shipping
Corporation. As a result, although the firm was headquartered in Miami, the ships were operated by
Norwegians and there was a strong Scandinavian influence, which is reflected in the names of the line’s
early ships: SONG OF NORWAY, NORDIC PRINCE and SUN VIKING.
The original idea for the line was to operate ships that were built for the purpose of doing Caribbean
cruises out of Miami. At the time, most of the firms providing Caribbean cruises were doing so using
former ocean liners that had been retired from the transatlantic market because they were too old or
because the market for crossings had evaporated with the advent of commercial jet service between the
United States and Europe. Stephens saw that ships cruising in the calm waters of the Caribbean had no
need for the long bows, low superstructures and deep drafts needed for handling the stormy North
Atlantic. Rather, they could be built with blunt bows and larger superstructures so as to maximize the
amount of passenger (i.e. revenue-producing) space on the ship. He also saw that if the cruises were
sold in packages that combined the cruise with airline tickets to and from Miami, the cruises could be
marketed nationwide rather than just to the residents of Florida. Thus, the company started as a
Norwegian business focusing on the American market for Caribbean cruises.
Today, Royal Caribbean is much different. “We are an international cruise line. We have 21 ships in our
fleet and this year I think we are going to 144 different countries. To have a large variety of classes of
ships is very important to us. Some people prefer itinerary versus size, some prefer the larger ships
because there is so much to do. There are people who like to go to Alaska or the Panama Canal. They
cannot go on [LIBERTY OF THE SEAS] because this ship is not Panamax, so we have the other
beautiful ships, the Radiance-class, the Vision-class. If they like to make three or four day cruises, we
have just finished the renovation of all the Sovereign-class ships, the SOVEREIGN, MAJESTY and
MONARCH.”
While Royal Caribbean still maintains a sizable presence in the Caribbean, the company is expanding into
other areas as well. “There are going to be seven ships altogether between [RCI affiliate] Celebrity
[Cruises] and Royal Caribbean [in Europe], next year. Europe is our biggest growing market right now.
We are growing in Europe at a rate higher than the travel industry. Basically, we are not just competing
with other cruise lines, we are also showing that cruising can be a better vacation experience than
something else. So, we are really competing with all the shoreside land-based resorts.”
“When I was, on the GRANDEUR in 2002, the demographics were like 60 % Americans and 40%
Europeans. I would think now it is more like 50/50. So, the European market is growing a lot. You
see a lot more Europeans cruising altogether whether it is at home or on this side [of the Atlantic].”
Although Royal Caribbean’s style of cruising remains distinctly American, marketing the cruises
internationally means that the line must make some adjustments in order to accommodate passengers
from different nations. “We have a position onboard that is called International Ambassador. We
support five core languages onboard our ship. All our programs, communication flyers, TV
advertisements for the daily activities, the safety announcements include five core languages. Then, of
course, we have crew members aboard from all over the world and it is very rare that any one of our
crew members will speak only one language. They all have to speak English, which is the working
language [onboard], and coming from all over the world they already speak another language. When we
position a ship in a particular market where we know a particular language will have a strong presence,
we take some crew members [from other ships] that have that skill. So, when we go to the
Mediterranean and we know that we have a lot of Spanish speaking guests there, we try to take some of
our Spanish-speaking crew members to be there.”
Indeed, Royal Caribbean has an international work force. “We have hiring departments all over the
world. We are a very international company. I think the last time I checked we had 200 nationalities in
the company. On the ships, we cover 60 to 65 different nationalities. Having said that, a couple of
nationalities are very strong amongst the crew - - the Philippines is one; India, we have quite a few; a
growing number from South Africa; the Caribbean, Jamaica, and we have a lot of people from eastern
European countries. South America is growing more and more. We need to expand all over the world,
not only in our market but also in our recruitment. That is the truly international part of the company.”
This includes the ship’s officers as well. “It started as a Norwegian company. From there, we have
always had a strong Scandinavian presence. But, more and more, we have expanded into other places in
the world. We have officers from Canada, from other parts of Scandinavia - - Sweden, Poland,
Croatia, and Eastern Europe again. We have a few from South America.”
The Biggest Ship
LIBERTY OF THE SEAS is 154,000 gross tons making her the largest cruise ship in terms of tonnage -
- a record she shares with her fleetmate FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. However, at 1,414 feet long and
185 feet wide, she is slightly smaller than Cunard’s QUEEN MARY 2 in physical space. This disparity
is explained by the fact that gross tonnage is not a measure of weight but rather of revenue producing
space. Consequently, since LIBERTY is more box-like in shape than QM2, which requires a more
streamlined shape in order to do fast North Atlantic crossings, LIBERTY has a larger gross tonnage than
QM2. A similar situation occurred in the late 1980s when SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS (73,100
gross tons) became the world’s largest cruise ship even though her physical dimensions were smaller than
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 (70,000 gross tons). In any event, since gross tonnage is the accepted
standard for measuring cruise ships, LIBERTY and FREEDOM now hold the title.
“We can carry about 5,700 people. Then, 1,400 of those are crew members so that leaves you with a
capacity of 4,300 passengers.” This includes upper berths. The double occupancy passenger capacity
is 3,634.
Unlike most ships who have celebrities or spouses of government officials as the “godmother” or
“sponsor”, the godmother of LIBERTY is Donnalea Madeley, a Canadian travel agent. Ms. Madeley
was selected by Royal Caribbean from 2,500 nominations of women travel agents because of her
philanthropic work. However, the fact that Royal Caribbean limited the universe of nominees to travel
agents underscores their importance to the line. “We do our business through travel agents. We really
value their work. I see more and more the travel agents having a very vital role in our operations. We
have provided the industry and market with wonderful ships and wonderful well-trained crews. I think
we have a very good product and we very much depend upon them to tell the world what we have.”
LIBERTY is the second ship in the Freedom-class, which “is a continuation of the successful Voyager-
class,” with an extra section that lengthens the ship and adds extra space. As a result, the ship is similar
in layout and amenities not only to FREEDOM OF THE SEAS but to the five-ship series that began
with VOYAGER OF THE SEAS. “Different parts of the ships have different colors - - we do that
purposely so as to have a unique feeling. Within that, there are certain areas that we know are working
so well that we don’t want to touch them. For instance, the dining room; all the ships since
EXPLORER, which was the second one, it is pretty much the same - - the same colors, the same look,
it works pretty well. But the theater, it is all different - - all different colors. The Royal Promenade, is
the same but the décor, the walls, the lounges along the Promenade changed slightly. Without changing
too much the layout, we do change the finished product and the colors.”
Indeed, the change in artwork and color give LIBERTY a more restrained feel than her older sister.
While FREEDOM featured statues of giant swimmers and jet aircraft hanging from the ceiling, on
LIBERTY there is “a different theme to the art work: Illusion and Reality.” Developed by French artist
Miguel Chevalier, the artwork features installations in long ribbon-like shapes upon which are projected
lights that vary with the amount of traffic in the area. In addition, the use of muted yellows and ochre give
the ship a pleasant atmosphere. “I like the feeling of the ship walking around. She feels fresh.”
Having had the benefit of building and sailing a nearly identical ship, Royal Caribbean was able to
incorporate some technical improvements into LIBERTY. “The main difference was in the refinement of
the waste plant - - re-routing some of the pipes and equipment. And basically, it is working extremely
well. Not only that but we have gone to a closed loop system. We had some issues before with smell
going out and now we have no smells. We are very pleased with the progress. There was some
experimentation with the engine utilization and fuel with fuel hoses. Those are the two main technical
issues and there were very small details here and there.”
Royal Caribbean is also sharing the experience it gained during FREEDOM’S first season to ensure the
success of LIBERTY’S first season. “I think we have about 7 or 8 percent of crew members from the
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. We also have about 30 or 35 percent with Voyager-class experience, so
the environment is not completely different to them. On the management side, I would say that 80
percent of our managers have start-up team experience. Some of the core team members are part of the
[company’s] start-up team. They move from ship to ship to ship in order to get the ship out. Then they
hand it over. It is not involved in every position but we try to have at least a degree of that because the
learning curve is very fast. You don’t really have time to find out what is happening. You need to fit in
and be doing it right away.”
Inasmuch as the amenities on LIBERTY such as the Flow-rider surf simulator, the boxing ring, the ice
skating rink, and the hot tubs cantilevered out over the sea from the upper deck are on FREEDOM,
Royal Caribbean decided to make LIBERTY the platform for debuting several new passenger
programs. These included a new “Vitality” program which includes counseling about food, physical
training and themes shore excursions, an enhanced wedding-at-sea program, and additional programs for
young cruisers and children..
Even leaving aside what other cruise lines may do, LIBERTY and FREEDOM will not remain the world’
s largest ships for long. Already under construction at the Aker Yard in Finland is the first ship in Royal
Caribbean’s Genesis-class. This ship will be 220,000 gross tons and have a passenger capacity of
5,400. She scheduled to go into service in 2009. Royal Caribbean has also exercised its option for a
second Genesis-class ship.
In order to grow, Royal Caribbean, however, must do more than just build larger ships. It must also
work to ensure that there are port facilities that can handle such megaships. Captain Zini pointed out that
this presents two sets of issues for the line. “One is where you are using the port for embarkations and
disembarkations - - sending 4,000 guests ashore with their luggage with another 4,000 coming onboard
with their luggage in a short period of time, clear customs, immigration and everything. That requires a
very good facility and co-ordination. Because of this, the turn-around terminal is critical for us. Before
we open up a new terminal for turn around, we need to do a lot of ground work. We know what we
need and we look very closely before we select any turn around ports.”
“When you go to the ports-of-call during a cruise, the facilities that we need are different. The process
of getting guests on and off the ship is much simplified because you do not need to do any immigration or
customs and there is no luggage handling. We don’t have to do any loading because we do all our
loading of supplies normally in our U.S. ports. But, ports of call have other issues. You are sending
people ashore and you want to make sure that they have a good time and that there are facilities there to
receive them. We work very closely with our different business partners around the world to make sure
that they can accommodate us so we can grow together. When we grow the capacity here, it is
important that we grow the infrastructure.”
“Some places in the world, it is easier than others. When you are in Europe, the cruise industry is a very
small percentage of the total travel industry. If we go there and duplicate our volume, it is nothing for the
whole infrastructure ashore [to absorb] because we are a small percentage. But, when you go to the
Caribbean, and you increase by 10 percent [it is a major population increase for some islands]. So,
there we have to work very closely with our business partners to be sure that they are growing their
infrastructure at the same rate to accommodate us.”
Last April, LIBERTY emerged from the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Turku, Finland where she was built in
“in great condition.” Crossing the Atlantic, she encountered some rough weather but “she is a big ship,
so six and a half meter waves, she makes them look small.” Indeed, even though the LIBERTY has
been in service for only a short time, “the ship is like we have been at sea forever. We have wondered
what we have missed and where it is going to come from because it is really totally good.”
Captain Herman
Zini (Photo courtesy
of Royal Caribbean).
THE NEW TITLE
HOLDER
an interview of Captain Carlos Perdicini, master of
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
By Richard H. Wagner
(Originally published in The Log, Navy League of the
United States, New York Council, (Summer 2006).
On 10 May 2006, FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
entered New York harbor for the first time. In
succeeding days, she was the location for the
"Today Show" and various other events, tying-up at
the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New
Jersey, and at the Passenger Ship Terminal in
Manhattan. Dwarfing the 50,764 gross ton
NORWEGIAN DAWN, which was in the next slip
when the ship was in New York, FREEDOM OF
THE SEAS is now the world's largest passenger
ship, taking that title from Cunard's QUEEN MARY
2. Captain Carlos Perdicini, formerly of the
Argentine Navy, who stood by FREEDOM while
she was being built in Finland, discussed his ship
with THE LOG.
FREEDOM's statistics are impressive. She is
approximately 154,407 gross tons, 1,112 feet long,
and has a beam of 127 feet at the waterline. Thus,
she is longer than and has about the same beam as
USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76). Like an
aircraft carrier, she towers 208 feet above the water.
The owner of FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is
Royal Caribbean International, one of two cruise
ship lines of Royal Caribbean Ltd.. The number two
cruise ship company, RCL's two "brands," Royal
Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises,
currently operate 28 ships in competition with
industry leader Carnival Corporation, which
operates 81 ships through 12 brands. Captain
Perdicini noted that his line is not content to sit still.
"I have been with this company 16 years and we
have gone far, far. We needed to do that. When I
joined this company [Royal Caribbean International]
I was a second officer and back then, we had only
six ships. Now, we have 20. We should continue.
We have two more ships of this same class within
the next couple of years. Then, we have a new class
called Genesis in three years time. So, we are not
going to stay here. We are going to continue to add
ships to our fleet."
Known for building big ships, Royal Caribbean's
new ships will be as big or bigger than FREEDOM
OF THE SEAS. In addition to two Freedom-class
ships, Royal Caribbean has placed an order for a
6,900 passenger ship, which will be the lead ship in
its Genesis class. Even larger ships may well follow.
Captain Pedericini recalled that when he was an
officer on NORDIC EMPRESS, a not
inconsiderable size ship of 48,533 tons, and he
heard that his company was building the
VOYAGER OF THE SEAS, 138,000 tons, "we
had a lot of questions back then. Are we going to
manage to do that and maintain the same standards,
the safety standards and all our procedures? And
the answer was 'Yes' because of the technology we
have. But, I don't really know when and where we
are going to end. But, it seems we are not going
smaller. We are going bigger. That is the way the
market goes, I think. [Other] major corporations
[i.e. Carnival Corp] also are building big ships. Not
as big as this is but still, 110,000 gross tons [i.e.
CROWN PRINCESS] is a big ship. So, I don't
think we are going to go smaller. But, when we are
going to stop or where, I don't know."
The rationale for building large cruise ships is
straight forward. Just as the airlines achieved
economies of scale when they introduced the jumbo
jets, the cruise lines can reduce overhead by having
more passengers per ship. It is less costly to
operate a 4,000 passenger ship, for example, than
two 2,000 passenger ships. Thus, as long as the
technology exists to build bigger ships and local
authorities are willing to build port facilities to
accommodate them, it makes economic sense to
build bigger. Also, the large ships have the space to
allow the line to install features such as the full size
boxing ring and onboard surfing facility on
FREEDOM. Such features can only used by a
small percentage of the passengers but they make
the ship more interesting and thus generate publicity.
Having so many passengers on a single ship
does pose problems, however. For example, how
do you embark and disembark thousands of
passengers in comfort and within a reasonable time?
Royal Caribbean is taking an incremental approach
to such questions, building upon past experience.
"[FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is] going to be based
in Miami. We have had four Voyager-class ships
based in Miami for the last five years. We have
learned from that experience and we know we can
handle 3,600 guests off and on every time we are in
Miami. Within three and a half hours, 3,600 people
are off the ship [along with] 12,000 pieces of
luggage. Then, we have a couple of hours to get
ready for the next group. We then start
embarkation which takes four hours. We are going
to begin with the FREEDOM having, for a certain
period of time, 3,600 guests only because we know
we can manage that. Every week, we will add
approximately 100 people. Because the difference
between the Voyager-class and the Freedom-class
would be about 600 to 800 people, within one
month to two months time we will be up there to
[FREEDOM's maximum capacity of] 4,300 to
4,400 guests."
Captain Perdicini pointed out that there will be
more people on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS than
live in some of the ports that she will be visiting.
Consequently, a large number of people "are
required to make things happen." At the head of the
1,500-member crew is the captain who acts like the
head of a good size corporation. Reporting directly
to him are: the staff captain, who heads the deck
department, the hotel manager who is responsible
for the passenger services, and the chief engineer,
who is in charge of the ship's engines and operating
systems. Below the department heads are managers
and officers who are in charge of such things as
security, environmental compliance, the ship's
computer systems, the ship's onboard finances,
safety, marketing, and maintenance, as well as the
other duties normally performed by a ship's officers
or by the managers of a large hotel. Accordingly, if
he or she aspires to advancement, a deck officer
must know "not only how to drive a ship but also
how to manage a team. . . ,We do a lot of training
and coaching because you become the leader of a
large team. You have to handle people [so]
management skills are a large part of our training
process."
With modern communications, a ship is no longer
isolated at sea. "We have quite a few of what we
call 'shore side employees' - - former captains, chief
engineers, hotel people. They support the ships
from the shore side. Those people have experience
and a good understanding of what we need, of what
we do every day onboard."
Driving the Hotel
The bridge on FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is a
spacious area 187 feet across with floor to ceiling
windows on three sides. What is immediately
striking about it is how little there is in it. Situated in
the middle of a vast expanse of blue carpeting are
two leather chairs separated by a console. In front
of the chairs is another console with a series of
computer screens. Immediately in front of this
console and directly in front of the windows is a
small helmsman's position with a child-sized wheel.
Except for the docking controls situated on each of
the enclosed bridge wings, that is all the operating
equipment on the bridge. Captain Perdicini joked
that one could play soccer in all of the open space
on the bridge.
During a normal day at sea, the two leather chairs
are occupied by two watch officers, the first officer
and a second officer. Coming in and out of port,
these positions are occupied by the captain and the
pilot. Similarly, during times of more severe weather
or of greater traffic, the watch officers must yield their
chairs to the captain and the staff captain.
These chairs are not simply recliners designed to
prevent the ship's officers from getting sore feet.
Rather, in the armrests of each chair is a joystick and
a series of controls that allow the officers to
maneuver the ship. On the console in front of the
chairs and within arms reach are electronic charts, a
GPS positioning system display, communications
equipment, autopilot, and controls for the engines.
The ship's computers allow the officers to shift
seamlessly from autopilot to manual to satellite-
guided operation. "There is a lot of sophistication.
But, the human beings need to be here. We train our
officers to be prepared because things may happen.
What we do is we train everybody to know what to
do in the event of an emergency, such as a loss of
power. Then, we go back to basics. The
computers provide information but the final decisions
are by human beings. Also, computers make
mistakes. So, what we end up doing is monitoring
the systems. The fact that we have two officers,
allows us, for example, in something so basic but so
important, to know where we are at a certain period
of time. One officer can take a position by using one
particular way to do it, by one means. The other can
double check it by a completely different means."
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS is propelled by six
diesel engines feeding power to a fixed pod (i.e., a
conventional propeller shaft arrangement) and two
Azipods. As on QUEEN MARY 2, the pods pull
the ship through the water just as an airplane
propeller pulls a plane through the sky. This is more
efficient than pushing the ship through the water
because the blades are turning in undisturbed water,
which allows the full force of the blade to go to
propulsion. During her sea trials, FREEDOM
achieved 23 knots. "We don't need that much. We
don't make our itineraries to require 23 knots."
The Azipods, which can rotate 360 degrees,
along with four bow thrusters, also give the ship great
maneuverability. As a result, FREEDOM does not
need tugs even when docking in places where there is
a substantial current such as at Cozemel, Mexico or
at the Passenger Ship Terminal.
Life Onboard
Royal Caribbean International targets the
"contemporary" cruise markets. What this means is
that its ships are more informal than lines such as
Holland America, Cunard, or even its sister brand,
Celebrity Cruises. However, because the line also
seeks to serve the “premium” market, it does not
dispense with luxury altogether.
This dual approach can be seen in the décor of
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. Some of the rooms
such as the 445-foot long, multi-story Royal
Promenade - - a shopping mall which runs down the
center of the ship - - were designed to be as
spectacular as a Las Vegas casino. In sharp
contrast, the three story main dining room is elegant
and sedate. The alternative dining establishments
range from a Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop to a
wood paneled grill room taken from an English
gentlemen's club.
The same dichotomy is found outside the public
rooms. The cabins are sleekly contemporary with
luxurious touches such as flat panel televisions and
deluxe beds. In the stairways, there is art work but it
is large photographs rather than the oil paintings
found on NOORDAM or QUEEN MARY 2.
According to Royal Caribbean, the art collection on
FREEDOM is valued at over $7 million but it is a
whimsical modern art as typified by the sculptures of
F-18 and F-16 fighters soaring toward the skies at
the top of the central stairway leading to the Royal
Promenade.
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS was designed with
Caribbean cruising in mind. As a result, the upper
deck is devoted to warm weather activities. Indeed,
the top deck appeared to have enough deck chairs to
accommodate the entire passenger list at maximum
capacity. In amongst the deck chairs are three large
pool areas. One area, designed with children in
mind, has a number of brightly colored sculptures and
water spraying in different directions. The next is a
more traditional pool area. The final area is part of
an adult's only "oasis".
While most other lines tolerate families with
children, Royal Caribbean International has made an
effort to reach out to such families. In addition to the
aforementioned pool area, there is a large area for
children and teens with arcade games and loud
music. There are also suites designed for multi-
generational family get-aways. The rock climbing
wall, the surfing simulator, the boxing ring, the sports
pool, and the ice skating rink, all underscore the
effort to reach out to a younger, more active market
than has been traditionally associated with cruising.
Indeed, there is even a wedding chapel onboard.
Dining on FREEDOM is done in the traditional
manner with each passenger being assigned to a table
and a seating. However, there are several alternative
venues, some of which charge an additional fee. The
food in the main dining room was tasty and inventive.
Similarly, there was a wide variety of pizza in
Sorrento's pizzeria that was perfectly satisfactory.
Like most cruise ships these days, FREEDOM
OF THE SEAS has an international crew. During
THE LOG's visit, everyone was courteous and eager
to please. To Captain Perdicini, this is the key to
success: "The element that actually makes people
return to Royal Caribbean
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