Thursday 23rd May At Sea heading for Copenhagen

 During our cruise, we decided that it might be interesting to do a “Behind the Scenes” tour of the ship and this was booked for today, our day at sea! We thought we might be able to sleep in a little but this tour started at 8.30am so we up at the normal time to ensure we were ready for the excursion. The tour started in the theatre area of the ship, where we went backstage, behind the curtains and met one of the performers who was also the production director and manager. We have seen a 6 of the 7 different shows put on by the company and will see the final one tonight. They have been exceptional in all aspects of costume design, singing, dancing etc. Backstage, we learnt about the group and where they come from and all the rehearsing that goes on before the show is complete. The backstage area was tiny and it was hard to imagine how the performers can all fit in the area between their items to change. They are apparently like a well-oiled machine and would need to be. We learnt about the intricate lighting and sound systems used in the theatre as well. From here we were taken to the ship’s laundry where the ships, linens, towels, guest’s clothes etc are washed and pressed. We could not believe the size of the machines here that were used for washing. One of the washing machines had the capacity to take 100kg of sheets and towels. The manager of this area proudly showed us all the washing and pressing machines etc. From here we walked through the main area, where the staff facilities are, including their own cabins, mess rooms, bar, kitchen etc. We also visit the food storage area where all the food and beverage supplies are kept and met the manager of this area. He showed us some of the supplies in the cold rooms and answered the many questions we had around food. One of the interesting things he said was that the amount and type of food that is ordered can depend on the groups of people who are on board and their nationalities. He has a huge spread-sheet to do all this ordering on and also consults with the chefs. On our cruise, there are many Germans, a few English speaking groups (Aust. NZ. USA, UK) a few Chinese and quite a few Spanish and Italians too. From here we moved to one of the main food galleys on the same level as the main dinner dining restaurant. We had to don special protective clothing to visit this area but it was pristine. Some staff were busy preparing things for dinner, seasoning, fish, cooking eggplant etc. There is so much bread on board and it is all baked here. They also make all their own pasta and ice-cream, along with cakes and desserts. The dough mixers could also prepare and knead up to 100kg of dough at a time.

After lunch we started to repack our suitcases, ready for disembarkation tomorrow. 









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