Capt_BJ

did you try to search "zipline hamburg'? " Hamburg zipline The zipline in Hamburg is a huge success. It’s the longest zipline in Germany, and holds the record for being the biggest zipline in Europe! You can’t miss it on your zipline tour through this city. It’s just outside of town but only takes you 15 minutes to zipline through the beautiful surrounding countryside. It is located outside of town in the northern Hamburg district called Bergedorf. The zipline in Hamburg is open all year round and operates from 09:00 to 17:00. "

This is the primary purpose of the passenger muster: accountability. halleluiah ... someone gets it and this is something that annoys me with the new post covid procedures. The primary reason for the 'abandon ship drill' prior to your cruse was validating the muster list. If something bad happens you WANT the crew to have a very accurate muster list so they can determine you are missing or not. people knowing where to go and check in during an emergency is an important part of this process. SOLAS has decided the new procedure covers the bases ...... Don't mind my opinion .. I was only in the rescue at sea business for 30 years or so . .

it was asked when was the last time people were told to take to the boats ..... well we'll skip Costa Con' and the one in Greece and go back to 1998 ...... when Monarch of the Seas hit the reef not far from St Martin and made a BIG hole. The Captain called for all help possible and began to lower the boats as he turned to shore and ran the ship aground before it could sink . . . https://professionalmariner.com/crew-of-cruise-ship-that-hit-reef-faulted-for-failing-to-update-charts/ " Twelve minutes after impact, the master sounded the general emergency signal — seven short blasts followed by one prolonged blast — informing passengers of the contact with the reef. He requested that they get dressed, don life jackets and report to their muster stations to prepare to abandon ship. Damage-control teams, including specialists in fire, flooding and medical care, were dispersed throughout the ship by 0155, at which point the captain had already turned the vessel around with the intention of beaching the vessel on a sandbar at Great Bay, outside Philipsburg. He continued to inform the passengers of the situation and, after slowing the ship for a soft approach to the beach, ordered the stern anchor deployed at 0221. At 0233, the starboard anchor was dropped, and at 0235 the vessel grounded on a sandbar at Great Bay at a speed of 5 knots. Although damage-control teams had readied the ship’s lifeboats for launch, by 0515 all 2,557 passengers had been evacuated safely by vessels dispatched from St. Maarten.

there was one ... sort of: NS Savannah (WIKI) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_Savannah Savanah was a project of the US government to 'sell' nuclear power to the people. It was a combined cargo and pass' ship (30 pass' cabins). (President) "Eisenhower desired a "peace ship" that would serve as an ambassador for the peaceful use of atomic power. According to an Eisenhower administration statement to Congress, "The President seeks no return on this vessel except the goodwill of men everywhere ... Neither will the vessel be burdened by proving itself commercially feasible by carrying goods exclusively."" As a result of her design handicaps, training requirements, and additional crew members, Savannah cost approximately US$2 million a year more in operating subsidies than a similarly sized Mariner-class ship with a conventional oil-fired steam plant. The Maritime Administration placed her out of service in 1971 to save costs, a decision that made sense when fuel oil cost US$20 per ton. In 1974, however, when fuel oil cost $80 per ton, Savannah's operating costs would have been no greater than a conventional cargo ship. This figure does not factor maintenance and eventual disposal of the ship's nuclear power plant. The ship's namesake, SS Savannah, which in 1819 became the first steam powered ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, was also a commercial failure despite the innovation in marine propulsion technology. She was 'deactivated' in 1971 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> as a commercial vessel SAVANNAH was caught up in the politics of nuclear power: many countries refuse entry to nuc' vessels. Eventually deactivated there became a problem with disposal of the reactor and associated components. The Maritime Administration has not funded decommissioning and removal of the ship's nuclear systems. There are problems with scrapping the ship because of this ....... Savannah is presently located in the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, under a long-term layberth contract with Canton Marine Terminals. http://ns-savannah.org/ >>>>>>> btw ... in my last years with USCG I had an office that looked out over the Norfolk harbor and many of the dry docks and one day looking out saw tugs moving a ship .... "damn .... that's SAVANNAH"

snork' from 7 mile beach is kinda ugh ...... all you'll see is sand and maybe a few fish. For this reason you don't see many places trying to rent gear on 7 mile ..... shore snork' on the other hand IS GREAT on the other side of the port/tender landings. Leaving the tender area and turn LEFT and you are heading to 7 mile area. Turn RIGHT and you will encounter several great snorkel spots ...a couple with attached dive shops for rental gear ... but alas the first two have no beach . . . https://edenrockdivingcenter.com/ I prefer https://www.sunsethouse.com/the-shore-dive and there's Smith's Cove a lil past Sunset but no rentals there . . .

years ago we were at the precruise lifeboat drill on a 'small ship' - a WINDSTAR sailing ship I was wearing a hat that said I was USCG but doubt that mattered to anyone who was not crew ..... as we were about to be dismissed I said,WAIT ... there's something else, priority one ... When you go to your cabin to grab your life jacket. grab everything from the mini-bar . . .

p.s. EPass and EZ-Pass are NOT the same thing EPASS and SUNPASS are 'florida systems' (E is Orlando toll roads and SUN is State toll roads) while EZ is 'east coast' for tolls E-PASS and SUNPASS have joined EZ-PASS .... I'm not sure that applies to parking systems. if you still want to know specifics: Contact the Canaveral Port Authority at 321-783-7831 for the latest information.

$12 for a pack of FOUR ..... I used these snorkeling for several hours taking video and NO PROBLEMS ... all together we had 3 different phones in them ..... smartlle Waterproof Phone Pouch, Universal Waterproof Phone Case, Dry Bag Outdoor Beach Bag for iPhone 13 12 11 Pro Max XR SE XS 8 7 6S Plus, Samsung Galaxy... amazon p.s. each comes with a lanyard I took this video with an XR in this case

port website: " Parking Rates Parking is $17.00 per day for vehicles & RVs, including day of arrival and day of departure. *Rates are subject to change without notice. Contact the Canaveral Port Authority at 321-783-7831 for the latest information. Acceptable Payment Methods • No cash accepted • Major credit cards (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) • Presently, EPASS and SunPass accepted ONLY at the Cruise Terminal 3 parking garage"

cell phone or nice sunglasses will disappear in a flash ...... if you MUST bring phone to the pool consider pack of four on amazon $12 ..... it works, I used for a trip to discovery cove and shot snorkeling video for an hour . . . smartlle Waterproof Phone Pouch ice water? hint, bring a water bottle - on Royal IME there's been plenty of places to fill 'er up.

NEW! Iceland & Norway’s Arctic Explorer

a little reality check about rescue capability ..... remember this one? this was Carnival Ecstasy 1998 Port Miami. Minutes after departing the pier heading out for a cruise with a full load, they passed the Coast Guard Base at the mouth of the port who called the Master and asked if he knew he was on fire ....... at the time I was Captain of the 210 foot cutter that operated from this base. Shortly after exiting the very narrow entrance channel the fire burned thru control cables and the ship anchored with no propulsion or steering and fire fighting efforts kicked into high gear. The ship was still within sight of the CG Base! I was contacted to get underway and assist - we were in a maintenance period with limited capability - the majority of the crew had seen what was happening on TV reports and returned to the ship 'just in case'. I told the rescue coordination center we were ready - with limited capability - and asked "what do you want me to do?" And here comes my point or reality check .... We may need you to evacuate people. OK, 'we' know from migrant operations that my cutter has a safe capacity of around 250 - 300 .... don't you think you should be looking for MORE ... like some of the ferries and tour boats .... They may want to land helo's on you. OK, but then I can't take people off the ship as the deck is needed AND we both know the pilots always prefer to land on LAND over a cutter - when they take off from the airstation they can SEE the fire ..... where do you think they'll prefer to land? We may need you to tow. OK, the cruise ship exceeds my max towing capacity by a factor of 10+ and that's when I have both engines working - I have ONE and you know that (reported daily). Maybe you should call the half dozen tugs parked near me, who also have fire fighting capability. Look if you want me to go out and be a pretty picture 'helping' and maybe escorting back in under tow from tugs that's fine but in reality I'm pretty limited in what I can do to help. No I took NO heat from this discussion and we never left the pier. Had this fire happened elsewhere and we were first on scene, different story for sure but there is not a lot a 1000 ton cutter can do when a cruise ship is in trouble ..... I subsequently was Captain of an even larger cutter and frankly the possibility of a real problem at sea out of helo range with a mega ship is something to give folks like me in the sea recue business pause. In a worst case 3000 + persons in lifeboats - first rescue vessel could be DAYS away and has no where NEAR capacity for everyone .... Houston we have a problem . . .

casino boat departed on schedule 😎

OASIS class required creation of a new higher capacity lifeboat - which in term required a new lifting (davit) system and loading process ..... a short article here .... the new design had to be approved by SOLAS ..... https://www.rina.org.uk/mega-lifeboat.html

according to USCG HOMEPORT site at 7AM Tampa St Pete open Marine Traffic shows Carn' Paradise just leaving the anchorage and inbound (sunrise) Port Canaveral open with restrictions: The Captain of the Port (COTP) has set Port Condition FOUR with restrictions in Port Canaveral. ... Unless authorized by the COTP, all vessels with a draft of 35ft or greater, are prohibited from transiting in the regulated area until a full assessment of the waterway and port infrastructure is conducted. marine traffic shows SIX cruise ships parked or heading to the pier .... (boat ramps remain closed)

couple of my pics

stumbled on this today ... have you ever wondered???

skip the ship excursion and take a taxi you pay a DAY fee to get in ... stay as long as you'd like ..... climb first time with a guide then set off on your own <an excursion will have you climb one time on a well known path then reboard the bus ....> when I go we climb up / down / and sideways ...... don't plan to climb? there are places where you can use steps to get in the water ...... see the folks holding hands? EXCURSION!!!!!!

https://www.destination.ky/directory/government-directory/postal-services-hell-post-office/ The postal service conducts the full range of local and international posting services. Open Monday – Friday, 8.30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. to mail something from Cayman you must use Cayman postage (just as you must use US stamps in the US ...) Note the price above is CAYMAN DOLLAR .... a US dollar is exchanged on the street and in stores for 80 cents typically so a post card is gonna run about a US buck

old topic but .... I completed my renewal on line the 26th - two days ago I rec'd approval this morning - no interview I would have expired March 2023 - new expire date March 2028 . . . don't need a new card ....

wrt the 'plan' being pretty standard from port to port ....

this link will take to the the port's hurricane plan as maintained and executed by the USCG Captain of the Port. This copy is from 2012 but they don't change much and the basic timeline is driven by expected wind speeds ..... https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/Attachments/2537/PCIB 03-12 Port Hurricane Condition IV_2.pdf in general the plan for most any commercial port calls for condition YANKEE when gale force winds are expected within 24 hours and calls for closure to inbound traffic and all vessels over 500 gross tons to have departed unless they have a specific plan to stay approved by COTP. The port stays closed until the storm is past and clear and the port has been inspected for damage and condition of channels and aids to navigation.

https://www.expresstransportationnow.com/orlando-attractions-shuttle-services/transportation-from-tampa-to-orlando.html never used it ....