Piloting One of the Largest Cruise Ships In the World

Captain Ivanna Seymour Brooks pilots Royal Caribbean’s new massive cruise ship Utopia of the Seas, the second largest cruise ship in the world.

It’s the maritime dream of a young lady who has been preparing for this opportunity since the age of 18.

Captain Brooks’s maritime career spans two decades, during most of which she has been the only woman amongst many all-male crews aboard massive cargo ships. Her love of math, her determination to learn celestial navigation, her instinctual understanding of a ship’s stability, cargo loading, ship husbandry, meteorology, and loading factors—all these were maritime experiences that compelled her to continue her academic studies and knowledge of navigating the seas.

“Sometimes we were out at sea for months on end, and the voyages were worldwide; we sailed all over the world. One day we’d be sailing from China to Vancouver and the next we’d be sailing from South America to Europe,” said Seymour Brooks.

With hard work, determination, and skills, Brooks earned her maritime licenses from South Tyneside College in the United Kingdom, among other licensures and certifications. As a master mariner, she became the fifth-highest ranking bridge officer on Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship, Navigator of the Seas.

Now, Captain Ivanna Seymour Brooks will command the bridge of the Utopia of the Seas on July 19, 2024, piloting from Port Canaveral in Florida and arriving at her homeland of Roatan, Bay, Bahamas on Sunday, July 21. Her journey, dedication, and hard work—from being a crewmember of a mail ship to the prestigious helm of a massive cruise ship—shows the world that you can achieve big things.

Show her some love!