The Sea as Teacher: Captain Pietro Sinisi on a Career Guided by the Horizon

My job as a captain is to create an environment where the entire team can work with passion and to the best of their ability. When our crew embarks, I remind them that we are the main actors in the dreams of our guests and our role is to make their time onboard unforgettable. I have two kids — they’re now 26 and 24, so not really kids anymore! But the parents’ job is to create moments that our kids that can remember forever. We must do the same with our guests. We do so by creating memorable moments that help them disconnect from the stress of real life, leaving them to enjoy the Ocean State of Mind: a moment in which they are fully connected with the ocean, fully enjoying the fantastic service and relishing the quality of all the experiences aboard. That’s something unique.

Whether I’m in the crew area or the guest area, my behaviour must be exemplary — I need to be a role model. Saying hello and smiling in the elevator does not cost much, but it makes a big difference. If I see something on the deck or a piece of litter, I pick it up and maybe next time a Host will do the same. I tell the Hosts to treat the ship as their home, because it will be for the next few months, and treat your colleagues as friends and family. It’s important to create an environment where we always help each other. 

We keep fresh garlic and sea salt onto the Bridge of every Explora Journeys ship because we believe it brings fair weather. The Aponte-Vago family has been celebrating this tradition at sea for many years and we love it. Another superstition is that we cannot whistle on the Bridge — if we do, the wind will blow. When I was in the Italian Navy, we would avoid eating soup at sea, because if the sea is rough, the soup might spill. Fortunately, we don’t uphold that one aboard Explora Journeys ships! 

It’s strange, passing from ship mode to home mode. When I go home, my wife, who is a lawyer, continues to work, my grown-up children have their own lives and my friends are usually working. When my wife or children come on board to visit, that’s when I take the opportunity to visit the ports. But when onboard alone, I never step out. My kids came for a week when we were in the Caribbean, and they quickly tuned into the Ocean State of Mind! They understood immediately from the moment they stepped aboard exactly what it means. 

Yes, it is incredible. As soon as you step aboard, there is something magical in the air, something unique to our brand. Guests who come aboard want to relax and forget their stress; to not think about what’s going on in the world, the geopolitical situation and what the future will look like for our kids. As soon as they are aboard, they can forget about all of that and embrace the Ocean State of Mind. That’s another thing that I love about my job: I live in a cloud where everyone is enjoying themselves. Sometimes when I return home, I forget that I am living in a dream world that’s far from reality. When guests disembark and I’m on the gangway with our team, I see the guests smiling and that’s the result of hard work and passion from every single crew member and Host.

When I started in 1995, there were no mobile phones or internet connections. To call my wife, I had to go to a call station with a charge card, scratch off 15 numbers and then chat to her with a long line of sailors listening to my conversation. Today, it's much easier! We can see our families on video calls and of course we have free Starlink Wi-Fi onboard, so we’re always connected. That is really important for new generations. 

Many years ago, when my kids were young, I remember returning home and one of my children was preparing the table for dinner. They only placed three settings, and I had to remind them that I was there. This is the other side of the coin of my job, and it’s the same for all the team onboard. In our minds, when we leave home, time stops and then starts again when we return. But we cannot stop time — it’s always moving forwards. I absolutely love my job and I wouldn’t do anything different. But it’s human to have felt sad that I was not always present in the lives of my family. When my kids were 10 or 12, they didn’t understand why their dad always had to leave and didn’t come to pick them up at school and wasn’t there during the summer on the beach. When they got a little older, they began to understand. My father was an airplane pilot and when the luggage was beside the door, it didn’t mean we were going on vacation it meant my father had to leave. So I really hate luggage and packing — to this day, when I go home, I hide the suitcases in a cupboard.