Bow of the Ship

[meyer4two]

Watching all the web cams, I see alot of people standing at the front of the ship (where the helicopers land). I read on one site that that area is reserved only for the crew but when a ship goes through the Panama Canal it seems like all the passengers are there watching the views. If we are allowed to go there, how do you get to that area of the ship. I can't figure it out from any of the pictures or layouts.

[TEXASMUNK]

let folks up front.

[TPKeller]

I know it's the sister line, but the open bow was one of my favorite things about the Explorer of the Seas (A Voyager class ship). They left it open all the time except for when the wind across the deck was greater than 40 or 50 knots. Since it is in front of and below the bridge (and must be kept dark), it is an excellent place to look at the night sky.

 

Theron

[bcruzin]

meyer4two

Go out on the promenade and walk forward. If the gates are open it's open. On our Caribbean cruise they only had it open while in port. It's my favorite spot on ships that have them open.

[cranky]

Last year on our Alaska cruise the bow on the Summit was accesible while we were at Hubbard Glacier. It was a great spot to watch the glacier, but was very crowded.

[meyer4two]

Thank you all for your comments. I'll check it out when we cruise in April. Never have been to that part of the ship on all my cruises, so will be interesting to see if it is open.

Thank you.

[lambcom]

On some ships (HAL's are a case in point) the doors to the bow deck are not marked in any way. It's as if the philosophy is "we aren't encouraging you and we aren't discouraging you. If you can find the door and it's unlocked, go ahead."

 

An interesting aside. When my wife and I were cruising newbees, we found the door late one night opened it and stepped out, but left the door open and light streamed out. A window opened on the bridge and we were told in no uncertain terms to shut the *#%& door!" Any light interferes with navigation.