A REPORT ON THE SECURITY AND SAFETY OF

“THE LEGENDS OF THE SEAS” (by first year Tourism Academy student Martin Jason Alan)

The much celebrated “Legends of the Seas” arrived on 31 Jan 2009. Despite its gigantic structure and towering presence at the Singapore Cruise Centre, it was but a mere preview of the middle class ships owned by Royal Caribbean International. Being the first vessel of the Vision Class, the 14 year-old vessel has proven to be a reliable and powerful ship. To have made its way to the waters of South East Asia from the Republic required the vessel to be in pristine condition to wrestle its way through the Indian Ocean. 

For us, being invited on board to be exposed to the “behind-the-scenes” action in managing the ship was a privilege and an offer difficult to refuse. However it was not as simple as a walk-in visit at one’s convenience. With their very own team of security personnel LGS was making sure to keep all threats at bay.

When asked with more specific questions about security matters, the ships representatives, Mr Samuel Manalo and Ms Sharon Haridas, immediately informed that this information could not be disclosed for the security and safety of the vessel and its occupants. However they reassured us that they were well equipped, trained and prepared to face any threats to their passengers and crew.

Moving on from security, the safety of the crew and passengers in the “Legends of the Seas” was a number one priority for the operations on board this mega ship. All guests were required to arrive 90 minutes before their departure time so as to attend a 30-minutes safety drill on board the ship.

To further elaborate, some basic instructions for the safety drill were as follows:

1. All the passengers were needed to retrieve their life jackets from the room.
2. All passengers were to then gather at the starboard side of the ship on Deck 5.
3. Everyone would then be divided into four large groups with safety coordinators assigned to each group.
4. Passengers would then be given a crash course on the safety procedures on board the ship.

Even with all these safety procedures in place, it was still not enough! A 30-minute video was also played and was always available to passengers for revision; therefore it was hard not to be well informed of the things to do in an emergency on board the vessel.

Many expensive equipments were also readily available to handle any potential crisis during any voyage. The range of equipments and tools could be anything from emergency window hammers, to rescue floats and 14 lifeboats the size of small yachts. Safety doors were also hidden along the corridors of the ship that shut tight to localise major damages to the vessel, giving the ship time to head for shore to seek assistance.

Health issues were also covered to maintain a biologically-healthy environment within the ship. From the management of food and the medical facilities to the specialised teams of professionals were always around to keep biological hazards at bay.

In just four hours, the inside tour of the “Legend of the Seas” was enough to convince an inexperienced cruise tourist such as myself to plan for a trip as soon as my holidays begin. To work on a mega ship like this seemed like yet another exciting career opportunity to consider.