Cruise ship employees put on a show behind scenes

The numbers are staggering. More than 5,900 meals are prepared daily for 1,988 passengers plus 2,650 more meals for a staff and crew of 882. The preparation, cooking and cleanup goes on 24 hours during a cruise.

Taking part in a recent behind-the-scenes tour on Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Norwegian Spirit, a visit to the food-preparation galleys, laundry, environmental and trash areas and meeting Swedish Capt. Kenneth Harstrom at the bridge of the ship, the $55 per person tour gave new insight into what goes on that most passengers never see.

The preparation galleys

One of two main dining rooms, Windows, seats 600; The Garden Room seats 500. Located between the two are 10 production galleys where meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables and baked goods are prepared and plated daily.

For the main dining rooms alone, there are 140 chefs from 52 countries. Add to that 220 service personnel and 67 bartenders and the well-organized kitchen galleys are a place of managed pandemonium — especially at dinner time.

Food and Beverage Director Helmut Spitzbart of Austria said that in addition to the two main dining rooms and large cafeteria-style buffet the ship has six alternative restaurants and each has its own kitchen with five chefs.

“We have about 2,000 guests onboard. We know how much we have to order... we always have too much on board,” he told the small tour group of 10.

A huge board displays 10 days of menus so that once today’s meals are served the staff can start thawing, cutting, chopping and portioning the next day’s meals.

Some of the facts shared are fascinating, but one was disappointing.

Absolutely no leftover food can be re-used or saved. All remaining buffet and plated food goes through a “pulper” that transforms bulk into a powderized form that’s released into approved waterways.

“The fish never had it so good,” Spitzbart said.

All cartons and packaged foods are dated and food is used on a “first in, first out” basis.

The lobster served was OK but not outstanding. Although Spitzbart said, “We buy fresh items wherever we are,” this isn’t true for the lobster. It comes from NCL’s own lobster farm in Kingston, Jamaica.

Departing from Boston and sailing to Bar Harbor, Maine, and five Canadian ports where sweet lobster is plentiful it was especially disappointing to learn the lobster had been farmed and frozen.

Sanitation was said to be on a par with hospitals. There are “clean elevators” for delivering fresh food from storerooms to galleys and “dirty elevators” for transporting leftovers and trash.

Dishes are washed, rinsed and sanitized and the ship goes through 6,000 pairs of plastic gloves daily.

“The Board of Health in the U.S. in the toughest,” Spitzbart said. They come aboard unannounced about twice a year and a ship must get a score of at least 85 of 100. We usually earn 99 points.”

Environmentally conscious

Aluminum, plastics, glass and paper are separated for recycling. Environmental officer Ioonnis Kollaros of Greece told the tour group that NCL is environmentally conscious.

Paper is shredded. Batteries, electronics and fluorescents are separated. Glass is crushed then delivered on land for recycling.

The laundry

The washing machines and dryers are enormous as are the sheer numbers, and the busy laundry area operates around the clock.

Each washing machine has programs for towels and sheets and automatically dispenses detergent based on weight of the load. On average, 8,000 towels and between 5,000 and 6,000 napkins are washed daily.

A flat press machine presses, folds and stacks sheets and linens in seconds — too fast for a point-and-shoot camera to catch. There’s a steam press for crew uniforms and passengers’ clothing.

A visit with the captain

For security reasons the tour group met with Capt. Harstrom behind a secure glass area but in view of the pilot. There’s one pilot and one co-pilot and a crew of 12.

“The voyage is planned on the computer. Weather forecasts are gathered along the way; we may have to change course,” he said.

“We can push a button on the computer and the ship will turn... there’s one panel for emergency planning,” Harstrom explained.

All fire doors are numbered for maintenance and all fire doors can be closed from the bridge within 60 seconds.

Harstrom, who has captained ships for 39 years, said he’s been lucky when it comes to emergencies.

“There was one small fire but nothing where passengers had to go into lifeboats,” he said.

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley and most enjoyed stops in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Contact her at ellen 2414@cox.net.

CRUISES HELP VETS

“Voyages for Veterans” is a new cruise program being offered by Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Services cruise agency, and Royal Caribbean International to raise funds for the Fisher House Foundation for veterans, according to Chris Silman, owner of a Cruise Planners franchise in Sahuarita.

For each individual taking a cruise on a designated Fisher House date, Royal Caribbean will make a direct donation to Fisher House.

Fisher House Foundation builds homes on the grounds of Veterans Administration medical centers throughout the U.S. to provide free housing for families of veterans who are undergoing extended medical treatment. Fisher House is rated as a four-star charity and has provided free housing for the families of more than 120,000 veterans since its inception in 1990.

To learn more about “Voyages for Veterans,” go to www.cantwaittocruise.com under “hot topics.” For additional information about Fisher House Foundation, go to www.FisherHouse.org.

— Jeannie Applegate