Flashback to Embarkation Day - the only time we saw any other ship either at sea or in port-
First we hook the Carnival Sunshine off the starboard balcony:
And then we caught a double whale tail:
And then we caught the biggest fish of all:
I remember one day we were standing there waiting for an elevator to arrive and we noticed one coming up super slowly. Once it reached us, we saw it was full of 3 crewmen scrubbing the inside of the door as it rode up. It was a really cool effect to be standing in front of an elevator but the clear doors made it look like there was nothing behind the door enabling you to see through to the other side of the ship. In case you've ever wondered how they clean the outside of the walkway railings and the tops of the elevators:
I'd also like to say thank you to whomever brought along this whiteboard for their cabin door. It was hilarious to follow along with the continuous narrative that showcased the #36 over and over with someone who seemed very upset that people were erasing their #36 and making changes. Way to commit to the shtick with adding the #36 on the magnets as well.
And for some total randomness - the way the elevator buttons are displayed drove me nuts! Could never tell what was really already pushed and lit up. In the below picture, can you tell which is the only deck actually lit up? We did find a couple times that we'd push for a certain deck and it would show lit but skip the deck totally as we were going up. Most notably was our attempts to go to deck 6. Hmm, signs of a haunting?
A second sea day meant the chance to wake up fresh and start a new day. Prior to the cruise, we had asked Smitha to make sure we were included in all behind the scenes tour opportunities. Our first time on Carnival, we booked and paid for the "Behind the Fun" tour which showed us the galley, the bridge, the engine control room, laundry, food storage, backstage at the theater etc. On Princess, they offer a tour of the galley following a very funny comedic cooking presentation. On Grandeur, I paid to attend a pasta making class at Giovanni's Table that included lunch and a tour of the galley. However, we'd learned after staying in the Royal Suite on Celebrity that you can request to be included on certain parts of the same behind the scenes tours for free as part of staying in the higher end suites. On Celebrity we got invited along with a small group for a bridge tour that was limited to just the station on the bridge wing where they can control everything they can control on the main bridge station in the center. This time, Smitha added us to the list of a bridge tour for all Star Class guests scheduled to meet up at 9:50AM.
To be quick, we hit the Suite Lounge for our own version of an instant breakfast. I did have more than just donuts (pro tip - the lemon one was the best and I already mentioned how I don't like lemon) but Dad mixed up the meeting time and rushed me away before I could finish my non sugar part of breakfast.
The rare sighting of my own camera photo bombing my picture:
We didn't even realize that this was scheduled specifically for Star Class guests until the people who greeted our group in the elevator lobby was all of our genies. One of the genies circulated the sign in sheet and completely skipped over us even after Smitha came over to chat with us. She called him back over so we could sign. Then we got freshly frisked, I mean wanded, by security staff. Since they had brought a female security officer and a male security officer, they split us up by gender to be wanded. The ladies line was about as long as a ship excursion bathroom stop so I joked that of course the ladies line is the longest! Everyone of course passed the wand test (insert your own Harry Potter joke here) and we were led down the hallway to the first most important part of the bridge - the Purell station!
The Oasis bridge is much larger obviously than we saw on Celebrity and our tour guide Markus from Sweden gave a much more in depth tour. We were allowed to take as many pictures as we wanted but no video. Markus showed us the smaller station in the bridge wing, the portrait wall of captains, and the little side space behind the center of the bridge that houses a control center of sorts allowing them to view cameras all over the ship and control each door and section. He took the time to show us what happens if there is a fire or emergency on board by using the control center to set off an alarm and close the water tight door leading off of the bridge. While there, an alarm triggered by a passenger requesting potential medical assistance in their cabin went off and one of the security officers rushed off to check it out. Markus joked that a lot of passengers end up bumping that alert button when they "are taking a leak, pardon my French."
Markus brought up the engine room camera to show us how they could get a view on any section at any moment but then joked that the engine room crew were invisible ghosts.
I tried to ask about the significance of that red square of carpet but didn't get an answer. So I made up my own explanation - it's the Bridge's naughty spot.
The genies all offered to take pictures for their passengers:
And then we had Israel (or "Izzy" as Smitha called him) take a photo of us with Smitha:
It was a much nicer bridge tour than we've had in the past. We got to see more of the bridge and didn't feel rushed through. While I was absorbing all the information, Smitha quietly asked Dad to let her know once we decided where we'd be eating lunch today as the Food & Beverage manager wanted to speak with us.
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