Does The Captain Matter

I wonder what the crew of the HMS Bounty thinks of that????:D

I will try to book a cruise on the Bounty and see for myself !!!! lol

We've sailed a couple of times with a senior captain who doesn't spend a lot of time chatting, but always does a morning tour of his ship asking a few questions of passengers.

All the time his eyes are working, checking on the state of his vessel....we've watched this several times, and believe that he will be calling his crew about the things he's noticed on his journey, because we don't think he misses a single thing.

Of course the captain matters. He is in charge of the operation of the ship, and if the fertilizer hits the ventilator, he is the one person you are going to rely on. If it is a question about the staff, that is the Hotel Director's area of responsibility, not the captain's.

But how would you possibly know which captain would be a good one in an emergency unless you knew he had done well in one once before? Captain Smith (Titanic) was very, very popular and people sought out his cruises because they thought he was excellent. I guess they were wrong.

Captain Calami (Andrea Doria) was very popular and passengers sought out his cruises as well. In a time of crisis, he turned the one way he should never have turned, and though only a few passengers were lost, the ship sunk.

I don't think many people sought out Captain Schettino (Costa Concordia) and now the only people looking for him will be his cellmate!

I have served with several skippers, and I doubt very much that you can tell one thing about them without serving with them on the bridge and seeing how they command, train, and how good they are at their operational tasks. Look above to see what the "loyal following" really knew from their dealings with him!

We just got off Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas and our Captain was very visible and all the crew seemed to be used to this. He even so much as went out of his way to pick up dirty plates from a table in the Promenade Café so someone could sit there, bring them in the back and came right out and went about his business. It was done so fast I don't even think the people working in the kitchen realize he was in and out of their area.

And he was great in keeping us informed about the weather conditions. Once a day, mid-morning, so he wouldn't wake anyone up early in the morning.

Last year on the Brilliance of the Seas repositioning the captain diverted the ship twice to avoid 2 rough patches of sea. In one case he shortened the port day in Boston by 3 hours. He did presentations with the Cruise Director Chloe that were shown on the stateroom televisions. We were able to see what he was seeing on this navigational equipment and how he was planning to avoid the weather. He showed the different scenarios with a yellow ship and a red ship. We found the presentations very interesting and more important everyone was back on the ship in time to leave and beat the storm. This North Atlantic crossing was very smooth. Interesting that speeding up to beat the first storm gave him the extra time to go south of the second storm.

I have no idea whether the program he was using to show us the different scenarios was new, but I do know it was nice to have a captain who spoke perfect English and was comfortable giving this talk which was probably about 15 minutes long. Of course it also did not hurt having Chloe as the Cruise Director.

The Captain certainly matters. Sometimes, people forget how very important the Staff Captain and the other Senior Officers are. :)

LuLu

I book a cruise for the itinerary first, then the dates that fit. I don't even consider who the captain is. If it is someone I have cruised with before and like - great. But I sure wouldn't change or cancel based on who is captain or Cruise Director.

...screw the Captain...I just care if I can find A BARTENDER with a heavy hand......by the talk of it the Captain of the Costa Concordia may have found such a person......or better yet a blonde with a body that didn't quit...or so it has been reported........:D