Officers social

As the son of a Merchant Marine officer who spent a good deal of my youth on and around merchant vessels, one thing I miss on the larger passenger vessels is the casual interaction between the professionals and interested passengers. I know we have receiving lines and all that, but I was wondering if occasionally on the voyages there might be a chance for those interested in the Sea and all her aspects to mingle in a casual way with a few of the ship's officers.

For example, when I look out on the bridge, it's almost a foreign land, no wheel, no telegraph, and I wonder how it's changed bridge life. When we were aboard during the Meeting of the Queens last year, I would have loved to talk with someone knowledgeable about the handling problems the pleasure boats created and how, for example, useful the thrusters were in dealing with this.

I'm not suggesting formal lectures or such, but just sort of a few times when officers might want to gather in one of the bars and allow us to treat them to a few drinks in exchange for some insights.

[quote name='124C41']As the son of a Merchant Marine officer who spent a good deal of my youth on and around merchant vessels, one thing I miss on the larger passenger vessels is the casual interaction between the professionals and interested passengers. I know we have receiving lines and all that, but I was wondering if occasionally on the voyages there might be a chance for those interested in the Sea and all her aspects to mingle in a casual way with a few of the ship's officers.

For example, when I look out on the bridge, it's almost a foreign land, no wheel, no telegraph, and I wonder how it's changed bridge life. When we were aboard during the Meeting of the Queens last year, I would have loved to talk with someone knowledgeable about the handling problems the pleasure boats created and how, for example, useful the thrusters were in dealing with this.

I'm not suggesting formal lectures or such, but just sort of a few times when officers might want to gather in one of the bars and allow us to treat them to a few drinks in exchange for some insights.[/quote]

Officers gathered in a bar with passengers is highly unlikely for obvious reasons. Perhaps you might enjoy this video titled [I]Inside the QM2.[/I] It was filmed years ago, and several things have changed, but the basics remain [URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsp8b5JYJxY[/URL]

Regards,
Salacia

P.S. Sorry, I know your good question was directed to Peter Shanks. I would also like to hear his answer to this question and other questions - but there has been no response from Peter Shanks for weeks. Why do we keep asking Peter Shanks questions?