Captain Carlo Queirolo
Senior cruise director, and all-around Carnival historian, John Heald takes a cruise down memory lane with Captain Carlo Queirolo. John and the man who will be at the helm of the brand new CARNIVAL DREAM talk about the past, present and what the future holds aboard this phenomenal floating resort. Enjoy.
Captain. Very soon you will be the master of our largest vessel. What a wonderful journey you must have been on to get this far.....so, I wonder if you can tell us about your life at sea? I graduated from Camogli Nautical Institute "Cristoforo Colombo" in 1977 and spent a few years on a cargo ship as deck officer. In 1985, I started as junior officer on the former Carnival ship, the TSS Festivale. Then my career moved quite fast with this great company. I was promoted staff captain in 1991 on the Jubilee, since retired. In 1994, I was the staff captain and helped launch the Fascination in Helsinki. In 1996, I was promoted captain on the Ecstasy and in 1997 I commanded the world’s first Azipod-equipped cruise ship, the Elation. As captain, I was also in charge of the Paradise and Carnival Glory. Therefore, this magnificent ship, the Carnival Dream will be my fourth newbuilding for Carnival.
Captain Carlo Queirolo (circa 1985) as seen in his credentials from the TSS Festivale.
You and I have been friends for a long time and together we have seen many changes. Can you tell us what it was like to be a young deck officer and some of the duties and experiences you remember? When I step on board the TSS Festivale, I was assigned right away on duty at the gangway in Miami during embarkation. And with my poor English at that time, what I learned right away was the words "pursers’ office,” which was my answer to almost all answers from the passengers. I had many different experiences, I’ve worked hard but I have also a lot of fun.
And so on to today. Can you tell us where you are currently serving as captain and the ports you visit? I heard cruise with some bad weather and a missed port......can you share with us what happened and what decisions you had to make. Right now I'm the captain of the Carnival Freedom, and her itinerary is simple beautiful. I love the eight-day eastern Caribbean run from Port Everglades to San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, Tortola, and Nassau. The six-day western Caribbean run includes Key West, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios. Then we do an eight-day exotic western Caribbean run featuring Cozumel, Limon (Costa Rica) and Colon, Panama. Yes, sometimes during hurricane season we have to change the itinerary or skip a port for the safety of our passengers, crew and ship. It is not an easy decision for a captain, because we always try to give the best to our guests. But I can tell you by experience that when I take this type of decision with professionalism. I always take some of my time to personally explain it to our guests, they are always are understanding and they support it, because their safety is my number one priority.
Once again congratulations on being chosen to be the master of the Carnival Dream. .......so, a simple question........how do you feel? I'm simply proud to be the first captain of the largest ship of our Carnival fleet. There are still many dreams which I want to fulfill, but for sure the Carnival Dream is one of those.
From what you have seen about the ship what are you most excited about from a Captain's perspective? The whirlpools on deck 5 -- just kidding. There are many features which I like about this ship. The Carnival Dream has a beautiful stern, the size and the dimension of the ship are a nice challenge, but with the new power plant, thrusters and new steering system I cannot wait to park this magnificent ship in some beautiful port.
You will soon be heading to the shipyard and therefore I thought it would be great for the bloggers to read about what a captain's involvement is during the ship's construction? The captain is fully involved with the last stage of construction. We have newbuilding team working on site all the time, but already captain and chief engineer (my friend Stefano Gazzolo) are reviewing ship's plans. A few months before the delivery of the ship, the captain and chief engineer move near the shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy with their team and start to follow the last inspections of the ship and prepare the ship for our guests and crew. Furthermore during the construction our team goes through many different training classes to familiarize themselves to the latest technology on board.
In April the ship will start her sea trials. Can you explain what this involves and what your involvement will be? The sea trials are the most interest side for me of the entire new building process. Why? Because it is the only time you can test everything of the ship, and test each equipment at the extreme condition. As a sample, the Crash Stop, which means we run the ship at maximum speed ahead and then stop to check to see how much time and distance we need to stop the ship. Our team is also checking all of the different equipments on the bridge, fire suppression system, life saving equipment, etc.
This may sound a silly question but I am sure its one that many of us don't know the answer to. What are the challenges to navigating and docking a 130,000-ton ship like the Carnival Dream compared say to a Spirit class or Fantasy class ship. It is only a matter of experience. For sure, the first few maneuver I'll be little bit more slower than normal, because I have to learn and memorize the size of the new ship and the response of the new power plant.
And now............as is tradition here on the blog thingy, it is time for you to choose your ultimate Captain’s Table. Let’s start with the menu using your favorite items from our brilliant dining experience.
APPETIZER: Shrimp salad
CHOICE OF two MAIN COURSES: Surf and Turf - Lobster
DESERT: Tiramisu
THEN YOUR TABLE
Someone from the cruise industry: Micky Arison
Someone to make you laugh: John Heald
Your favorite actress: the one who John always promised to me as godmother in the past: Sharon Stone
Your favorite actor: Richard Gere
A musical guest: Madonna
Someone from history you wished you had met: Pope John Paul II
Thanks Captain.