Planning your next cruise – or just curious about what goes on behind the scenes at sea? One of the most fascinating (and often mysterious) parts of any cruise ship is the bridge – the nerve centre where the magic of navigation happens.
You might be wondering: Where is it? What does it look like? Can you actually go inside?
I’ve been lucky enough to step onto the bridge of several cruise ships, and in this guide, I’ll reveal everything you’ve ever wanted to know – including what most guests never get to see.
Where The Bridge is Located
The bridge on a cruise ship is usually on an upper deck, at the front (fore) of the ship, which gives the captain and crew the best visibility of the waters and where they’re heading.
The bridge is where the command centre is located, where the crew will have nautical charts to navigate the ship, controls to set the speed and directions, and other essential parts of the ship, such as controls for lighting and machinery.
My friend John, who is a ship pilot, often working from the bridge of cruise ships, sent me this photo of the conning display he uses to monitor the ship…
The bridge is the ship’s safety centre. If there is a potential hazard or emergency, the cruise ship’s vital signals can be monitored, and quick decisions can be made.
The term ‘bridge’ has historical roots dating back to the era of paddle steamers, when a raised walkway was constructed across the paddle houses, thereby ‘bridging’ the two sides of the ship.
This design innovation provided the captain with a panoramic vantage point from the quarter-deck, allowing for a view of both paddle wheels and sides of the ship.
The bridge is also sometimes known as a pilothouse or wheelhouse, derived from early ship designs where the pilot would steer the ship using a wheel within a designated house-like structure on the deck. This is more common on river cruise ships.
Touring the Bridge
Some cruise lines allow you to book a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship, including the bridge. There is usually a fee to take a tour, although some offer it for free if you are part of their loyalty schemes. Otherwise, the bridge is not a place that can be accessed by passengers.
On our recent cruise on Fred. Olsen’s Bolette, the children enjoyed a visit to the bridge as one of the activities in the kids’ club.
Other smaller cruise lines, or expedition cruise ships, have an open bridge policy where passengers can visit during quieter times, such as Windstar. Although if the ship is coming into the dock or there is bad weather, it will be off-limits.
Occasionally, on some cruise ships, there is a Bridge Viewing Room where you can peer down at the crew at work. However, many of them have been removed due to health and safety.
What a Cruise Ship Bridge Looks Like
A cruise ship bridge is often curved in the central cockpit portion. Windows are slanted to reduce reflected light, as a bridge is unlit apart from instrument lighting
This robust design with reinforced glass ensures the bridge can withstand high winds and bad weather while having a panoramic view.
On most modern cruise ships, on either side, there are extensions which look like wings. These are known as Bridge Wings and give the crew better visibility right to the back of the ship. Here, there is a manoeuvring console which allows control of all the manoeuvring aids like propellers, rudders and thrusters.
They also sometimes have a section that has a glass floor so that the crew can see beneath them, down to the water. This gives an excellent view when docking in a port.
Inside the Bridge
A bridge on a cruise ship has some things that you would expect and some that you might not. Below are some photos which I took inside the bridge on Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition, so you can see…
Seats for the navigation crew
The captain sits in the back seat. In the image below, you can see that it says ‘Master’, which is another word for captain. That’s because the captain’s job isn’t to drive the ship! Instead, he or she is responsible for everybody on board and has overall command.
Usually, on the bridge of a cruise ship, you will always have two deck officers and two lookouts, of which one is designated helmsman. The steering is set to automatic when in open waters.
The captain can take control and ‘drive’ the ship, and he will state when he is doing this so that the rest of the bridge team knows.
The Pilot Station
When arriving at and leaving ports, a port pilot will be taken on board. He will be responsible for navigating the ship safely into the port of call. Cruise ship pilots are experts in their particular port, and their role is vital in all countries except Denmark, where taking a port pilot is optional.
The Ship’s Wheel
You’d be forgiven for thinking that cruise ships have huge wheels. After all, pirate ships in movies do, right?
A cruise ship’s steering wheel is actually smaller in size than a car steering wheel, as you can see from the image below…
Indicators
If there’s a fire or a flood, the bridge team needs to know exactly where it is and which doors have been closed to contain it. There are displays for this, as well as a whole host of other things that are to be monitored.
There are various screens to be monitored, such as the one below, which is the engine monitor on a ship…
Meeting Area
Sometimes, the crew need to get together to discuss their plan and communicate with each other. There’s usually a table they can gather around to facilitate these meetings. The discussions most often involve navigation plans, such as arrival and departure briefings.
All conversations are recorded, as are the electronic charts and radar readings.
Coffee Machine
Ask any seaman what’s the difference between working on cruise ships and other large vessels like cargo ships, and they’ll tell you – the coffee!
Cruise ship coffee is great, especially when the crew have their own barista-style coffee machine, like this. And an endless supply of cookies!
How to Watch Cruise Ship Bridge Cameras
Some cruise ships have bridge cameras with live feeds, meaning you can see what is happening in real time. These feeds can be accessed from your stateroom on the ship’s in-room television service.
Cruise lines often make these live feeds publicly available on their websites or their YouTube channels. If you’re considering going on a cruise, this is a great way to get a feel of the captain’s view, regardless of your location. Or if your friends and family are on the cruise, you can see whereabouts they are in the world.
You can read my article to see a list of all the cruise ship webcams.
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