- Tell us a little bit about yourself and Adora Magic City.
I’m 3E of Adora Magic City, Wang Qianquan. I am honored to be working on China’s first domestically-built large cruise ship: Adora Magic City. Adora Magic City has a total length of 323.6 meters and 24 floors high, with a total of 2,826 cabins, including 2,125 cabins for passengers and a maximum capacity of 5,246 passengers. The name of the ship reflects its Shanghai manufacturing identity and emphasizes the importance of product design, art design, and experience design for the first domestically-built large cruise ship.
Magic City has14 restaurants, each with its own unique style and flavors. There are multiple duty-free shops, gyms, chess rooms, theaters, a mini golf course, basketball courts, game rooms, children’s playgrounds, various swimming pools, a spa center, and various other leisure and entertainment facilities, This truly makes Adora Magic City a “five-star hotel at sea.”
- As a Chinese senior officer, work for China’s first domestically-built large cruise Adora Magic City, how are you feeling?
As the first Chinese senior seafarer of the first domestically-built large luxury cruise ship, I feel incredibly honored and proud. First and foremost, I would like to thank Columbia Group & Singhai for providing me with an excellent platform, as well as the support of my colleagues. Although there are only three Chinese and one Swedish Chinese among the 75 seafarers in the engine department, we quickly integrated into this large team through our own efforts and excellent technical skills. I believe that more and more Chinese seafarers will join this big family soon.
- Tell us about a fond memory on Adora Magic City.
From taking over the ship from the shipyard to the maiden voyage, the most impressive thing for me was how busy everyone was every day, looking for different equipment, pipelines, and valves in the engine room and deck areas. Every day, technical officer from the shipyard would explain the operation methods of various equipment to us, and we would attentively listen and take notes. The three essentials we carried with us were flashlights, notebooks, and pens. In less than two weeks, everyone became familiar with the basic operation of all important equipment in the engine room, as well as the locations of all crucial pipelines and valves.
- How did it feel to join Columbia Group?
If it weren’t for the platform provided by Singhai, I might not have had the opportunity to get in touch with the cruise ship industry, and perhaps not even the chance to join Columbia Ship Management. Both CSM & Singhai are excellent ship and crew management companies. They both have their own excellent management teams and company cultures, as well as shipowners from worldwide. They can provide seafarers with better job opportunities, so I chose them.
- What is the most important personality trait for a seafarer to have?
Compared to the land, the working environment on board is more enclosed, dull, and oppressive. Therefore, I believe that seafarers must be cheerful, optimistic, strong, and quick-witted. As seafarers, we must have a firm will and a healthy mental state, so that we can maintain clear thinking and rational actions even under pressure. We should maintain an open and constructive mindset, actively cooperate with colleagues, maintain good interpersonal relationships, and have a spirit of teamwork. We should constantly improve our skills and knowledge reserves in our careers.
- Some people consider that senior officers on Cruise are always non-Chinese, what do you think and do you have any bless or words to other seafarer?
Since the majority of large luxury cruise companies and shipyards are from European and American countries, 90% of the senior officers on cruise are foreign seafarers, and they only provide junior officers positions and a small number of senior positions for Asian seafarers. Despite serving the Chinese market, foreign seafarers are still everywhere on cruise ships, especially in senior officers. In fact, Chinese seafarers are very hardworking and intelligent in their work. Our senior officers have strong management skills, as well as strong work abilities and knowledge reserves. Chinese seafarers have now gained recognition from the world, and I believe that in the near future, we will become the world’s best ship operation and management team. I hope we will not forget our intention, fear no challenge, and move forward courageously. May our ship sail like an eagle in the sky and swim like a fish in shallow waters, safe and smooth. Finally, I wish everyone good health and all the best.
