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momentum in the previous decade as a measure to help mariners learn, under- stand, and more importantly, properly use the plethora of emerging bridge tech- nologies at their disposal, it was Captain Wright?s push for the maritime equivalent of the ?cockpit? ? taking bridge equip-ment that was stretched from port to star- board and placing it centered in a cockpitlayout, with all systems in reach of a cen-tral seat? and developing a similar bridge look and feel across the Royal Caribbean fleet. It was this philosophy taken in the creation of its simulation center nearly 12years ago, and a driving force in working with Resolve to develop a modern simu- lation center of its future.In 2011, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) selected Resolve to be its exclu- sive provider of all simulator-based train- ing courses, and formalized arrangementsto jointly develop the new programs. Be- ginning the second quarter of 2012, thetraining will be offered to personnel at three of RCL?s cruise brands ? Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises andRoyal Caribbean International The Simulation SolutionCaptain Wright is responsible for 24 ships, including the world?s largest and second largest cruise ships, the Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, as well as the Freedom class. Previous to its new deal with Resolve, Royal Caribbean had conducted simulation training for its crew at Star Center since 1999.?(When we worked with Resolve to create the new simulation center) it really wasn?t a blank slate, as in many ways we replicated what we did back in 1999 withStar Center,? said Captain Wright. In 1999 Royal Caribbean was introducing the Voyager class, which at the time was the world?s largest cruise ship. In addition to the sheer size, it offered a number of new technologies, such as the Azipod propulsion system. ?We figured that the ship was so different; it was so much larger than anything that had been built before and the fact that Azipods had never been used on a cruise ships, that we needed to build a simulator that was repli- cating the ship.? ?We wanted to replicate the airline model of simulation, in that it is modelbased, meaning when you?re in that sim- ulator, it?s exactly like the bridge of that ship,? said Captain Wright. ?We actually built a ship-specific simulator. We intro- duced with the Voyager Class the first cockpit type of formation where we actu-ally had pilot chairs. The old bridges went port to starboard, and the equipmentwas stretched out. So we built the simu- lator at STAR Center together with the help of not only STAR Center, but with the help of Sperry who is one of our mainnavigation providers, with the help of Kongsberg who provided out DP sys- tems, and we literally built a replica of the Voyager bridge. We tried to keep that same philosophy with Resolve.? Captain Wright called Star Center ?a world class facility,? but the relationship was ultimately cancelled by the training facility, as Star Center is a union funded and run system, and the membershipopted against accepting further commer- cial business. Enter Resolve and the ubiquitous Joe Farrell, who had long envisioned an ultra- modern simulation center as a center- piece of his growing company?s new headquarters. ?Joe Farrell had in the back of his mind to build a simulation training center long before Royal Caribbean crossed our path.? said Denise Johnston, Resolve Maritime Academy Director, who has more than 30 years experience in the maritime industry, with 23 years as a government contractor involved in man- ?Joe Farrell had in the back of his mind to build a simulation trainingcenter long before Royal Caribbean crossed our path,? said Denise Johnston, Resolve Maritime AcademyDirector. March 2012 www.marinelink.com 65MR March 12 # 9 (65-72):MR Template 3/6/2012 11:28 AM Page 65