A Tale of Two Bells

Keen-eyed reader PJ from cruisesavvy.com sent us this photo along with a question: Why is there a bell on the forecastle as well as a bell at the Eurodam dedication ceremony? She, like most of us, assumed that there was only one ship’s bell. So, we asked Captain Jeroen von Donselaar, and here’s his answer:

This is a very good observation. The Eurodam actually came with two bells, one spare and one to wear, so to speak. Since seamen are very superstitious, and the fact that it is considered to cause bad luck when the bell is removed from the bow, we decided to
use the spare bell for the inaugural ceremony.

The spare bell has since been brought back on board and is crated up and put in our boatswain store for whenever it is needed.

Best regards,

Jeroen