It’s “just another sea day”, en route to Bilbao, and I was going to take a day off from journalling… but then there was a Behind the Seas talk with the Chief Engineer in the morning, the Princess Pop Choir of passengers in the afternoon, and a really tasty birthday dinner (turning 68 isn’t all that bad after all when you can do it with the person you love and in an amazing location) at Sabatini’s, the Italian specialty restaurant included in our Princess Plus package.

First, my morning activity. Chief Engineer Neil Graham, from Newcastle, has been at sea since joining P&O as a cadet in 1985. He’s been a Chief Engineer since 2012, but this is the first time he’s ever been on stage for a Question & Answer period. Neil oversees both the engineering and technical departments on the ship, the latter of which encompasses plumbers, welders, woodworkers, and more. He meets with the Captain daily, discussing weather conditions, speed, and routes which all impact fuel economy and engine performance.

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Things quickly got technical.

The Regal Princess has two V12 diesel engines, plus two V14s, producing 11000 volts of energy at 60 Hertz AC. The diesel engines power electric motors – this is considered a “dual power” ship. The engines are huge, with 18” diameter pistons having a 22” stroke. The engines are physically massive: about 14 metres long and 8 metres high. (Yup, Neil just swapped willy-nilly between metric and imperial measurement systems). The Regal runs on “heavy fuel” (almost solid) and marine gas oil. The new Princess ships will run on liquid natural gas (LNG) and marine gas, the combination of which is more environmentally friendly. Heavy fuel is cheapest, but also dirtiest, emitting sulphur that must be “scrubbed” from emissions.

With all the information coming so fast, I missedhow many horsepower are generated, but it was a big number!

One gallon of fuel moves our hotel-sized ship between 56 and 68 FEET. We’re not talking miles or kilometres per gallon!! In Fort Lauderdale we bunkered about 1900 metric tonnes (983,000 US gallons/2,375,000 litres!!) of heavy fuel and 800 metric tonnes of marine gas oil, which is enough for about 21 days of cruising. Of course, faster speeds use more fuel. Neil very obviously prefers moving slowly. The Regal’s top speed is 24 knots (for instance during a medical evacuation), but Neil said he’d be crying the whole time as the fuel gauge dropped. When asked how long a cruise-ship would take to stop when moving at that speed, Neil quipped “it depends on what it hits”.

The engines are “started” using a compressed air system as “ignition”.

We learned that the Port of Vancouver, and a few others, can provide shore power to which ships can connect to avoid the ship “polluting” the port waters with fuel. Even when not sailing, a cruise ship requires a lot of power to keep onboard systems running.

Water production on a ship is a big deal. Sea water can be boiled and evaporated to desalinate it (and then it gets re-mineralized, since distilled water isn’t healthy to drink), OR processed in reverse osmosis processes. The first method uses waste heat from the engine, which makes it basically “free” when the ship is moving. Both methods work to create drinkable water. The second method costs slightly more. Water can also be “bunkered”, or brought on board in ports, as yet another backup system. Overall, about 200 litres of water per person per day is allocated – obviously not just for drinking, but prorated per person for the laundry and dishwashing systems, and of course the swimming pools!

Black and grey water is run through semi-permeable membranes that is analogous to the reverse osmosis system. The end product is drinkable water – but we don’t! It is released back into deep water.

Rough seas were on everyone’s minds. In addition to stabilizers, the ship is kept level (“trim”) by keeping track of which fuel tanks are emptied, which water tanks are filled, and with the possibility of filling “ballast” tanks with sea water (although that has its own issues with introducing tiny marine life – “bugs” – into the ballast tanks.

Some of the questions got very specific. Clearly there were not only cruising/boating enthusiasts on board, but also some engineers.

So much information.

So hungry after skipping breakfast to make it to the talk.

Off to the buffet to put together a salami sandwich.

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Our time change meant losing an hour mid-day (11:59 became 1:00 instead of 12:00), so the afternoon activities came next. What fun!! At 3:00 pm, the “Princess Pop Choir” of about 60 people – representing over 100 countries (not true), over 200 years of combined singing experience (probably true), and all dressed in black and white – took the stage in the Piazza, backed by the house band. Their set of Oh What A Night, Stand by Me, Hit the Road Jack, and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – complete with Allie on cowbell! – was described as a journey through a relationship, or maybe a cruise, using the song titles as a chronology.

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Of course, there was an encore call! Oh, dear…. another rendition of Sweet Caroline. By this time in our lives, how many times do you suppose we’ve all joined in with “so good! so good! so good!” ?

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After heading to our room to change for dinner, we headed to Sabatini’s on deck 5. What an absolutely perfect dinner experience they gave us!

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Was there room for a liqueur? Of course! Sambuca, properly served with 3 coffee beans and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday from Sabatini’s stellar maître d’ and our waiters.

As if all that wasn’t already the perfect way to spend my birthday, there was also a terrific production in the theatre: BRAVO!, featuring the full vocal and dance cast, the stage band, Viennese string duo, extra pianist, and a guest soprano flown in from the UK. Incredible!

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