Wrapping it up

180 days around the world - San Francisco to San Francisco

 

Can you imagine what all is involved in providing 3 meals a day, clean facilities, laundry, personal clothing, enrichment and entertainment for a huge number of people each and every day for 180 days? Me neither. But perhaps you will find some of the following statistics interesting.

Below are a few facts about this particular ship. Keep in mind that the Insignia is considered a small ship by cruise ship standards. We have docked near ships that were 3 times its size! The average cruise ship these days carries around 3,000 guests. I just learned that Royal Caribbean's Oasis can accommodate as many as 7,084 guests along with 2,204 crew members. So yes, Insignia is small compared to many cruise ships today.

And with all this leisure time, what do we do? We eat! Here's a rundown of the WEEKLY food consumption on this ship. How would you like for your grocery list to look like this one?

FOOD:

• 738 lbs. lobster
• 3,895 lbs. beef
• 8982 eggs
• 713 lbs. butter
• 2,196 lbs. flour
• 1810 liters milk
• 6,773 lbs. veggies
• 1,200 pieces of chocolate left on pillows
  

BEVERAGES (excluding tea, water, lemonade, etc) are consumed in a single week:

• 822 bottles of wine
• 240 bottles of champagne
• 347 bottles of spirits
• 2,992 bottles of beer
• 182 cases of sodas
  

One thing we like about Oceania is that one has the option of whether or not to purchase a drink package. In other words, we teetotalers don't have to pay for others drinks (meaning drinks are not automatically included in overall price).

BREAD AND PASTRIES:

61 members of the Galley team work in 5 galleys with 13 ovens and 11 stoves. The 4 bakers work around the clock to produce a variety of fresh bread, Danish pastries, croissant and muffins. One baker begins at midnight and two at 1 a.m. to bake fresh for the morning. The shifts are then “split” with another baker working a day shift to ensure fresh baked products throughout the day. Of course it's always served with real butter (no substitutes).

And how do they satisfy so many different tastes? Well, they have to come up with lots of different ways of preparing different foods. On this ship, they have:

• 37 different ways to prepare shrimp
• 28 methods of cooking potatoes
• 35 recipes for chicken
• 5 ways to serve escargot
• 18 recipes for pasta
• 14 types of foie gras
• 19 types of vinegar
• 16 types of olive oil
• 8 types of specialty oiled (walnut, hazelnut, etc)
• 48 types of cheese
• 21 types of chocolate
• 20 types of flour
• 61 different spices
• 10 different yogurts
• 11 types of milk
• 15 different cereals
• 13 types of rice

BUSTED! The ship also keeps records of how much china and glass is broken every month.

• 300 plates
• 90 coffee cups
• 20 buffet china
• 24 egg cups
• 250 water glasses
• 200 hi ball glasses
• 150 juice glasses
• 200 wine glasses

Additionally, 600 napkins and 50 tablecloths get ruined each month.

While some of the ship staff are cooking meals and doing dishes every day, others are working to keep you clean. EVERY DAY there are 1,400 towels, 800 linens and 3,000 pounds of guest and crew clothing - that's 21 tons of laundry each week!!

All in all, it's safe to say that it takes a lot of hard work by a lot of people to keep even the smallest cruise ship up and running. Overall, I think Oceania does an excellent job of it. 

GASOLINE - Fuel tanks hold 280,000 gallons. At 18 knots with 4 engines running, they burn 12 gallons a mile per engine. That's 48 gallons a mile! Aren't we glad we don't have to fill up that tank each week!? 

If any of this has interested you, try to watch this fascinating documentary we saw awhile back. Here's the synopsis: A floating city on the sea, the MSC Seaside is one of the biggest cruise ships in the world. With privileged access to every part of the cruise’s operation, this 90 minute special uncovers the army of people, amazing technology and complex systems that keep this extraordinary ship at the top of its game. Full of surprising facts and engaging characters, this captivating program reveals life on board in a way that the viewer has never seen before.

https://www.brinkworth.tv/shows/secret-life-of-the-cruise/