Cruise Industry News reported that Princess Cruises’ new Majestic Princess, set to launch this spring, recently completed its sea trials, but you may be wondering exactly what are sea trials.

In short, sea trials are a period in which a new cruise ship is taken out into the ocean to put it through its paces and to confirm that it meets specifications. You can think of it as a sort of proving grounds where the ship must meet certain expectations before it is deemed ready to be delivered from the shipyard to the cruise line. The process can take anywhere from hours to days depending on complexities.

Onboard during sea trials are typically its contractors, certification officials and owner representatives to test a vessel’s seaworthiness first and foremost but also its overall performance.

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To delve deeper, there was a great documentary produced years ago featuring the design, construction and delivery of Royal Caribbean International’s then new Voyager of the Seas, the first of the originally dubbed Eagle-class, now Voyager-Class. In it, 350 people, including five Royal Caribbean captains, boarded the ship to put it through hundreds of tests. All the while, craftsmen were still onboard finishing their work.

The very first test was a simple but crucial verification of the anchors to ensure they would function properly even if the ship was disabled. Then after it was powered up, every last sensor, alarm and system were checked and rechecked, from the auto-pilot to the fire doors because, in the end, safety is more important than performance.

Other testing includes speed trials in various wind and sea conditions under different loads onboard, various power settings and ballasting. In the case of the Voyager of the Seas, the contracted speed that needed to be met had to be achieved at only 75 percent power under its azipod propulsion, motors that can be spun 360 degrees around below the keel. In the documentary, it was said that if a certain cruising speed was not attained at a given power, then the shipyard would have to pay a penalty.

On the flip side, ships are also tested with a crash stop to see how quickly they can essentially brake. Meanwhile, load testing puts everything to their maximum levels to see how well things behave and handle onboard, something that is done periodically on existing ships as well. Among maneuvering trials, are taking zig-zagging paths and testing lateral thrusters, bow, stern or otherwise.

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Roll testing is also conducted at this time to see how well the ship will stabilize. The Voyager was remarkably designed to be able to recover from a maximum roll of 49.5 degrees, which seems contrary to a perceived point of no return existing at 45 degrees, but there it still exists for certification purposes. The maximum degree for guest comfort is generally set at 5 degrees for comparison. So, Voyager was tested at that in either direction and then the stabilizers were deployed to see how quickly they righted the ship.

Of course, after so many tests and trials, it can be expected that not everything will pass immediately, and several adjustments must be made to reach that end goal. It’s up to the shipyard to meet the objective, and doing so on time is indeed a challenge.

Historically, the RMS Lusitania, for example, exhibited such dramatic stern vibrations at high speeds during its sea trials that the John Brown & Company shipbuilder had to make reinforcements before Cunard Line would accept delivery of the ship. That’s how crucial this stage of final conduction is and why it’s significant when a new ship like the Majestic Princess passes with flying colors.

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