NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: UNK
Date: 2017 Oct 21, 05:37 -0700
Hi Norm
1. An extra watch set to UT! I tried CN on a Disney cruise and there were no clocks visible anywhere and I had reset my watch. I had to ask Customer Service to get ship time and UT. They were very nice and I had my answer in a few hours. Not good for setting a watch.
2. I’d take H.O. 249 Vol 1 - Selected Stars - or some selected pages. The sky will be really dark and, depending on where you go, you may see a LOT of stars that you’re not familiar with.
On some ships the TV in the room has course, speed, and position all the time. On some, you are in a metal box dropped in an unknown spot and moving at 18 knots. 8 hours and a course change can be disorienting.
There are some inspiring stories on this site of members using a sextant, being invited to the bridge, and teaching CN to the ship officers. I was just the crazy old guy in a long sleeved shirt and hat hanging around all the slow-roasting sunbathers with some kind of strange brass thing ( box sextant).
Regards, Noell