Mirror signal manoeuvre

Ok so I know it’s not exactly like this for a cruise ship but I sometimes truly wonder how one acquires the patience to be able to manoeuvre such a huge vessel into sometimes such very small spaces.

I cruised on Oriana back in 2008 and one port of call was quite a scary experience, well for me anyway. We had cruised over night to our next destination and I awoke from my slumber ready to greet the day and explore new shores. As I walked from the cabin to the Aft of the ship I wondered what sight I would see first, to my shock it was the intricate detail on the deck of a ship docked directly behind us. To fully appreciate what I am saying I suggest you look up at the image above.

I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was as though we were right on top of it. How on earth did we manage to squeeze into this space I kept asking myself. Surely this close we need to be paying some sort of rent to the other ship.

Leaving the port was even scarier as the ship behind was still firmly tied to the dock, I stood watching the crew of this ship running around with their radios shouting at each other clearly concerned over how close we were to them. There was also a similar exercise underway on board our ship as crew members watched closely as we slowly edged our way out.

Now this wasn’t as nerve wracking as I’m sure it was when a Carnival ship exchanged paint with a Royal Caribbean ship not too long ago but I was concerned at the time that we were going to be swapping insurance information.

Word to the wise, if you ever experience something similar then just don’t look, it’s far less traumatic!