Crystal River Cruises will be the first river cruise line whose captains will complete their training in a high-tech simulator, according to a press release issued by Dutch company Simwave, which will execute the training.
As part of an agreement between Simwave and Crystal's parent company Genting Hong Kong, the simulator-based training will begin once the simulator is completed in November.
In addition to the simulator technology, an experienced captain is overseeing the training programs, including creating and executing the training curriculum for Crystal's river captains.
In a statement, Crystal CEO and president Edie Rodriguez said that innovation and technology have been integral in the building of the company's forthcoming river cruise vessels.
"And we're thrilled to extend that innovation to the training of our officers," she added.
The simulator's model was designed by Simwave using precise specs from the Crystal vessels to implement characteristics for real-world situation training. The simulator also incorporates a 240-degree horizontal field of view and a 47-degree vertical field of view with a high-density pixel count.
"Due to the details in the visual scene like ropes, navigation objects, etcetera, it is of great importance that the sharpness and details in the visual system be high quality," stated Joost van Ree, co-founder of Simwave.