Heidi13

Affirmative, we did experience this with a couple of countries. In those situations, Viking's Visa procurement vendor agreed to submit the application when the window opened and transmit the information to the ship. If completing the process personally, we would have had to advise the cruise line that pre-cruise acquiring of Visas wasn't possible and to get confirmation we could submit the application from aboard the vessel.

Thanks, that was when I had about a 10 yr gap between working, then as a pax.

Not sure what you consider the good old days, as when I started cruising Alaska in the 1970's with Princess, we never went North of Icy Straight, as all cruises were R/T Vancouver. Every subsequent cruise, as a pax with Princess the ships used Whittier as the turnaround port. I am aware that additional Carnival brands are now switching to Whittier, sharing the docks with Princess, so not all Carnival brands have always used Seward. Spent the day in Whittier many times. As previously mentioned, the Phillips 26 Glacier tour is an exceptional day and is an easy walk from the ship. Walking around the town is also enjoyable, but it certainly isn't the tourist trap of SE Alaska.

You have a couple of options with respect to acquiring the necessary Visas for a World Cruise. I have completed the process for UK & Canadian passports, so a a Sri Lankan passport holder, you may require additional Visas, but the process should be similar. Easiest method is hiring a Visa procurement agency. You complete the application form, providing your personal details, provide your passport, a copy of the itinerary and they do the rest. However, some Visa applications may require you to complete a more detailed form, such as China, which included about a dozen pages. The downside of this option is high cost, especially if it includes multiple Visas. You can also complete the process yourself, just takes lots of time and research. I normally start with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Officer website and the Canadian equivalent. They have very well updated and detailed information on Visa requirements based on your type of visit. Your Sri Lankan Govt may provide a similar service. In addition, some Travel Agents may be able to assist. The eVisas are generally an online application and payment that are quickly approved. Some need to be printed and affixed to your passport, while others are provided to the border authorities for your arrival. Unfortunately, some countries still require personal visits to their Embassy, to apply for, and then return a few days later to collect your passport and Visa. If you require a number of these Visas, it can be very time consuming.

If you were boarding in Hawaii and disembarking from the same ship in Whittier, the US PVSA would be applicable. Unless you stopped at a distant foreign port, you would be in violation of the Act. Unfortunately, no ports on your itinerary meet this requirement. However, you are sailing on 2 separate ships and cruise lines. Cruise # 1 is Hawaii to Vancouver, so is an International voyage, therefore the US Cabotage Act does not apply. Your 2nd cruise is on a different ship, boarding in Vancouver and disembarking in Whittier. This is also an International voyage, so the Canadian Cabotage Act does not apply. Enjoy both of your cruises.

It may vary by company, especially now with many cruise lines and large ferry operations having a 24/7 operations centre. Back in my day (pre-Ops Centre) once I Tx a "Mayday" the Coast Radio Station/Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) contacted the vessel directly requesting details of the situation and any assistance required. As Master, I would also call the DPA, who would activate the shore response and liaise with the Coast Guard. All ship/shore radio communications were with RCC, not the Coast Guard. Once resolved, if it was a reportable incident, as per the Shipping Casualty Reporting Regulations, I had 24 hrs to make a verbal report to a Coast Radio Station and then complete a written report on the prescribed form.

The Costa Concordia incident sadly proves the negative issues with your expectations. Had the incident been effectively managed the vessel would have been safely beached or all pax and crew safely evacuated by survival craft. Due to the incompetence of the person masquerading as the vessel's Master, who departed the vessel early, a number of people sadly lost their lives. If you were aboard that vessel, you may have been one of the lucky pax that got into a survival craft or entered the water. However, you could just as easily have been one of the ones that perished. If the vessel had a competent Master, there should not have been any requirement for any crew or pax to enter the water. They should all have been safely evacuated by survival craft. Personally, when I am aboard a vessel, I prefer a competent Master that will effectively manage any emergency situation. In the unlikely event of an "Abandon Ship" order being required, the pax have a significantly higher chance of being safely evacuated when the Master oversees the operation from the Bridge and is one of the last, if not the last person off the ship. Don't forget, a ship is a hierarchical command structure and when you remove the "Leader" the subordinates may flounder. This is more common in a well drilled emergency situation, where crew perform as they trained in drills. Therefore, every pax should prefer the Master to be aboard until every pax is evacuated.

The culture shift into Bridge Resource Management was a process that really interested me, so I bought into it fairly early. Overall, as a Master it made my job easier, as the officers were more alert and motivated. Having been brought up in the P&O system on their cruise ships, in my experience, nobody questioned the Captain. On SS Oriana, I recall one day walking along a pax alleyway and noted the Captain coming the opposite direction. He didn't miss a step, barreled down the middle of the alleyway and never even acknowledged the lowly Cadet, who had to dive into an alcove. On the Bridge, Junior Officers and Cadets were to be seen but not heard. The marine industry Bridge Resource Management (BRM) was taken from the airline industry CRM, which was developed after the Pan-Am/KLM runway disaster in Tenerife. My first knowledge of the marine BRM was from Princess/P&O/Cunard in early 2000's. I still knew a number of the Masters and then our son joined Princess in 2002, as a Deck Cadet. I was provided a copy of their latest Bridge Team Command and Control (BTCC) draft. When I assumed the management of one of the company's largest vessels, I discussed the BTCC with my 3 Masters, and they were all happy to give it a try. I slowly introduced the BTCC program and it worked well. It included closed-loop communications, eliminated the potential for single person errors, encouraged the Master to oversee navigation and dockings and created an environment, where even the ratings could respectfully question the officers or Master. The company then bought into the process and hired a British company, who also worked for P&O/Princess. We received Human Factors and Risk Management training, which confirmed and expanded the knowledge I had received from extensive research. I was then tasked by the VP Ops to develop new Level 2 ISM Deck Operations procedures incorporating the latest BRM standards. I completed this project just before I retired, but note it is still in use, 12 years later. From my first command in 1985 to when I retired in 2012, the culture change was enormous. In 1985 I personally docked the ship 16 times per day. In 2012, when I relieved as Master for a shift, I never did a docking or departure. All ship handling was completed by the Deck Officers, some who needed no mentoring and others that needed considerable mentoring.

With the detailed procedures in the Safety Management System, it is certainly easier to determine that the Master is in non-compliance. Although many decisions are still highly subjective, when 3 compartments are compromised on a 2-compartment vessel, the vessel must be beached or it will sink. Therefore, the Master must take the required actions to ensure pax and crew safety. First and foremost this would be calling all pax to the Assembly Stations, where preparations can commence for abandoning the vessel. The Staff Captain should review the SMS requirements with the Master, and suggest the correct actions. If the Master is unable/unwilling to act, then the Staff Captain should act. Yes, it is a tough situation, especially with Costa, who allegedly had not bought into the Bridge Resource Management procedures used by other Carnival Brands. Back in my days as a Chief Officer, I had 2 issues where the Master was unsure of the waters departing a shipyard. Both Masters accepted my more recent experience and willingly accepted my suggestions.

That is also my understanding.

You may want to consider the age of the article you quoted, as Mark Collins was fired by BC Ferries almost 2 years ago - cant remember the exact month, but recall early summer 2022. As I posted earlier today, Transport Canada has eased the requirements for some foreign CoC holders to acquire a Canadian CoC, but foreign CoC's still cannot work on Canadian tonnage. They have also reduced the citizenship requirements from landed immigrant to a work permit. However, Mark Collins didn't discuss the BC Ferries familiarisation requirements, which to the best of my knowledge, have not changed and are quite onerous. The HR department can hire them, but operations may not deem them suitable for vessel operations. Since BC Ferries sailings are still being cancelled due to lack of crew, I'll suggest the Mark Collins statement was no more than PR propoganda.

Yes, foreign-flagged tonnage sail in coastal waters, as permitted by UNCLOS, but they all have local coastal pilots aboard the vessel when the route is more challenging. Foreign certificates of competency are NOT permitted aboard a Canadian flagged vessel. Until recently, Transport Canada did not recognise any foreign CoC and required those with foreign certificates to acquire a Canadian CoC. To address the mariner shortage, Transport Canada are now simplifying the process of acquiring a Canadian CoC. Our son is a classic example. As a dual citizen of Canada and UK, he opted for the vastly superior UK FG Master CoC. This permits him to sail worldwide on any tonnage, but even as a Canadian citizen, he cannot sail on a Canadian flagged vessel. Until recently, he would have to take all of the exams to acquire a Canadian certificate. Now they are reducing the number of exams required.

Once it was confirmed more than 2 compartments were compromised, the Master should have issued a "Mayday", at which time a Coast Radio Station would have responded to determine the assistance required.

In the event the Master is unable to command, the Staff Captain assumes Command. Another consideration is that although ships retain a hierarchical structure, modern Bridge Team Command & Control procedures encourage all officers to question any decision, if they are unsure. Unfortunately, at the time of the Concordia incident, I do not believe the Costa Bridge Teams had bought into the Bridge Resource Management procedures developed by, and in use on the P&O/Princess/Cunard ships. Even if junior officers were not comfortable questioning the Master, the Staff Captain most certainly should have. When aware the hull was compromised and the Master did not sound the GES, I would have expected the Staff Captain and Senior Bridge Watchkeepers to at least provide suggestions on mustering pax at the Assembly Stations. When advised 3 compartments were compromised, the Staff Captain and Senior Bridge Watchkeepers should have been increasingly insistent on both mustering pax and transmitting a "Mayday". If no safe beaching location was identified and 3 compartments were holed, the Staff Captain would be well within his professional responsibilities to assume Command, if the Master was clearly not providing the required leadership.

I used to work for Princess, having completed 2 Alaska seasons as navigator. However, you could not pay me now to suffer a Princess Cruise, since the standards have significantly eroded. However, you are not comparing apples to apples, as Princess is a mega ship mainstream cruise line, while Viking is a smaller vessel premium cruise line. May I suggest you to need to determine your preferences for cruising, by developing a Statement of Requirements, and then conduct some research on which cruise line and itinerary best meets your needs.