The excitement of waking up in a new port almost every morning, together with an infinite variety of activities, entertainments and excursions, makes cruising a truly memorable holiday, but have you ever wondered what it takes to keep your ship afloat?
Food, Glorious Food
One of the pleasures of a cruise holiday, apart from the constantly changing scenery, is the delicious variety of food. The average passenger is said to gain 1 pound in weight for every two days aboard. To support such healthy appetites, kitchens are manned by several chefs supported by an army of international assistants working in shifts throughout the day, and night.
This certainly gave me food for thought. During one week on a smaller cruise ship, approximately 1,700 passengers and 540 crew will munch their way through 17 tons of fruit, vegetables and potatoes. They will also consume two-and-half tons of chicken, not to mention several thousand litres of that so-called kosher penicillin, chicken soup.
Nothing is more popular with the British traveller than traditional roast beef or lamb with all the trimmings. In one week we’ll savour 1,500 kilos of beef, 600 kilos of lamb, and more than 7,000 Yorkshire Puddings. It’s a good job that today’s modern cruise ships have huge storage space for frozen food, unlike the ships of 200 years ago. Just imagine all those chickens, pigs, lambs and cows roaming around the sun deck!
The traditional highlight on most cruise ships is Baked Alaska. This meringue-covered ice cream dessert is paraded through the dining room, usually towards the end of the cruise, by the waiters. Many of the waiters are extremely talented and will often entertain diners with singing and musical instruments.
A Baker's Dozen
Every meal is accompanied by a range of breads, all prepared on board, including rye, sesame, poppy seed, focaccia, focaccia with onion, focaccia with olives, focaccia with everything, plus at least 7,000 bread rolls of every conceivable shape and flavour. Also prepared daily are at least 4,000 scones for afternoon tea, and several hundred crème brûlées. Satisfying our fresh-air-driven appetites throughout the week will require more than 2,000 kilos of flour, a similar amount of sugar and butter, plus 140 kilos of nuts and 500 kilos of chocolate.
To wash it all down we’ll drink 5,000 litres of milk and a similar amount of fruit juice. Several thousand litres of beer and bottled water will keep us hydrated in the mid-day sun.
Widow Twankey's Laundry
With food available 24/7 there is a constant demand for clean table cloths and napkins. In the course of one week the equivalent of 8,000 tablecloths and 16,000 linen napkins will be used. All this linen must be laundered and the ship’s laundry works almost non-stop to keep up with the never-ending demand for clean linen. It doesn’t stop there; the laundry will also wash the equivalent of 4,000 sheets and 8,000 pillow cases every week. It's somewhat more frenetic than Widow Twankey's Laundry!
Cabin Stewards Always at the Ready
Seventeen hundred beds have to be made up every day and it sometimes seems as if the cabin stewards are always available to satisfy your every whim – well almost! Many passengers joke that if you leave your bed during the night to visit the bathroom the steward will immediately re-make the bed!
Entertainment on Board Your Cruise Ship
When it comes to entertainment, cruise ships are renowned for staging some of the finest extravaganzas. Up to 300 colourful feathered and sequined costumes can take to the stage during any one week.
If you prefer something a little quieter there are always duos, trios and quartets performing well into the night on deck, or in bars, lounges and cafes. The casino, with its flashing lights and the constant jingle of coins, provides an exciting flutter, or the nightly bingo session could help boost your pocket money. Up to 4,000 bingo books are sold in any one week.
The Ocean's Largest Omelette?
One last fact. During the week passengers consume 24,000 eggs – could this be the ocean’s largest omelette?
- Frances Spiegel spent a week aboard the Island Escape (Island Cruises) gathering this information from senior staff. These facts also apply to most ships of a comparable size.
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
