Captain of world's biggest cruise ship explains how he manages to dock it

The captain of the world’s biggest cruise ship has explained how he docks it.

The Wonder of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world – five times bigger than the Titanic.

Captain Rob Hempstead said there was a very small margin of error when it comes to docking such a large vessel.

So when it comes time to dock at Florida’s Port Canaveral, how does he do it?

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Docking the world’s biggest cruise ship is no easy feat

Many drivers will know the struggle of parking a car in a tight spot.

Now imagine taking that tricky process and attempting it with the world’s biggest cruise ship.

Doesn’t sound like fun, does it?

Well, for Captain Rob Hempstead and his crew, docking the Wonder of the Seas is just part of the job.

This cruise ship is 1,188 feet long and 210 feet wide, containing 18 decks and accommodating up to 6,988 passengers.

In short…there’s nothing short about this boat.

And docking it takes a lot of precision.

When it comes to docking at Port Canaveral, the process begins when the ship is five miles offshore.

Captain Hempstead allowed a film crew from The Wall Street Journal to get a behind-the-scenes look at the docking.

How did Captain Hempstead and his crew manage to dock this giant boat?

At 4am, Captain Hempstead briefed his crew on the docking plan.

As the ship traveled down the canal, it slowed its speed.

Three 360°-rotatable azipods were used to precisely manoeuvre the vessel, allowing turning and lateral movement, also known as ‘crabbing’ in tight spaces.

The ship would need to turn 180 degrees in order to fit into the designated space.

It’s essentially like parallel parking times a thousand.

Cameras and radars helped the captain assess the distance between the ship and the dock.

Weather and wind can have a huge impact, and the captain will monitor the surface wave patterns.

If whitecaps appear, this indicates that 20 knots of speed will be needed to avoid drift.

Shallow water is particularly tricky to contend with – at the shallowest point of Port Canaveral, there’s only about 10 feet between the hull and the seabed.

When it gets to this point, early braking and turning are crucial.

Every bridge command requires a two-person check to avoid miscommunication.

After all, the safety of the passengers and crew is the top priority, outranking speed or efficiency.

So there you have it – the behind-the-scenes of managing a cruise ship whilst passengers sleep blissfully in their cabins.

Some people will be more used to that than others.

In fact, there are some who have taken to living their lives on board cruise ships.

One Tennessee couple retired at the age of 32 to live out their lives at sea.

It was a similar story for these Australian retirees.

And this woman, who claimed it was cheaper than living in California.

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