Inside the 24/7 Operation to Feed the World's Largest Cruise Ship | WSJ Booked

Summary

The world's largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, offers an unparalleled dining experience for 7,600 passengers and 2,300 crew with a vast array of food options. The ship's 1,300 staff members work tirelessly to prepare and serve an astonishing amount of food, ensuring an all-you-can-eat experience while minimizing waste. From stocking up on ingredients through a main passageway to managing 22 inventory rooms and 37 kitchens, the ship's operation is a 24-hour endeavor. Despite the challenges of waste reduction, the cruise line has made significant strides, cutting waste by 24% since 2019 and aiming for a 50% reduction by 2025.

Takeaways

• 🛳️ The world's biggest cruise ship is a massive floating resort, with amenities like a waterpark and seven pools, but food is the main attraction.
• 🍽️ Guest's top priority is the variety and quality of food and drink options available on their vacation.
• 👨‍🍳 A staff of over 1,300 people works tirelessly to feed 7,600 passengers and 2,300 crew members, ensuring an all-you-can-eat experience with minimal waste.
• 📈 The ship's provisioning is based on historical data and can be adjusted based on the demographic of passengers, such as the number of children on board.
• 🚚 In cases of supply shortages, the company will go to great lengths, including air freighting, to ensure menu items remain available.
• 🧊 The ship has 22 inventory rooms, including fridges and freezers, to store the vast amounts of food required for its operations.
• 📝 Chefs place orders twice daily for anticipated needs, and inventory staff gather the ingredients, which are then sent to prep kitchens.
• 🔪 Prep kitchens process a significant amount of food, such as cutting 30,000 portions of produce per day and butchering beef.
• 🍰 Automation and staff work together to produce tens of thousands of desserts and baked goods, including 5,000 mini baguettes and 1,600 baked Alaskas daily.
• 👨‍🏫 The ship's executive chef approves all food before dinner to ensure adherence to recipes and maintain the quality of the massive-scale production.
• 🍴 The main dining room serves over 6,000 guests every evening with a la carte menus that change daily, alongside nearly 40 other food service venues.
• 🚮 The cruise line is committed to reducing waste, with a 24% reduction since 2019 and a goal of 50% by 2025, employing strategies such as weighing food before and after service.
• ♻️ There is an environmental impact of food waste, with cruise ships collectively dumping over a billion gallons of sewage into the oceans each year, which includes improperly treated food waste that can be toxic to marine life.

Q & A

What is the main amenity of the world's biggest cruise ship according to the script?

The main amenity of the world's biggest cruise ship is its food, as guests prioritize knowing what they will eat and drink before making a vacation decision.

How many people does the cruise ship need to feed and what is the staff size for this purpose?

The cruise ship needs to feed up to 7,600 passengers and 2,300 crew members, requiring a staff of more than 1,300 people to work around the clock in food preparation and service.

What is the significance of the main passageway called I-95 on the ship?

The main passageway called I-95 connects the stock rooms to the prep rooms and kitchens, allowing for the efficient movement of food from storage to preparation areas.

How does the cruise ship plan its food shipments?

The cruise ship plans its food shipments based on historical data of what passengers eat on certain routes and can adjust sourcing based on the number of children among the travelers.

What measures are taken if the company's projections on food demand miss the mark?

If the projections miss the mark, the company will go to significant lengths, such as air freighting special products from places like Miami, to ensure that everything on the menu remains in stock.

How are ingredients stored on the cruise ship?

Ingredients are stored in 22 inventory rooms, including fridges and freezers, to keep them fresh and ready for preparation.

How often do chefs from each restaurant place orders for ingredients and what happens after that?

Chefs from each restaurant place orders for ingredients twice a day, anticipating their needs for the rest of the day and the following day. Inventory staff then gather these ingredients and they are taken to prep kitchens.

What is the process like in the prep kitchens where produce is cut?

In the prep kitchens, staff cut all the produce needed for each meal, preparing at least 30,000 portions per day, ensuring that ingredients are ready for the 37 kitchens around the ship.

How does the ship ensure the quality and consistency of the food being prepared?

Before dinner, food has to be approved by the ship's executive chef, who checks that dishes follow the recipes and are prepared on a massive scale, maintaining taste and quality.

What is the scale of food production in the main dining room and other restaurants on the ship?

The main dining room feeds over 6,000 guests every evening with a la carte menus that change daily. There are also nearly 40 other restaurants, bars, and lounges serving food, with large scale production of items like 4,000 lobster tails, 1000 New York strip steaks, and over 40,000 portions of dessert in a single night.

How does the cruise ship aim to reduce waste and what is the environmental impact of food waste?

The cruise ship aims to reduce waste by weighing certain foods before and after serving at self-serve locations like the main buffet, using the data to adjust orders and portion sizes. This helps to minimize food waste, which can be toxic to marine life if not treated properly and contributes to the cruise industry's annual dumping of more than a billion gallons of sewage into the oceans.

What is the current waste reduction target of the Royal Caribbean Group and how much waste did they produce in 2022?

The Royal Caribbean Group has reduced waste by 24% since 2019 and is aiming for a 50% reduction by 2025. In 2022, they produced over 50,000 cubic meters of waste, which is equivalent to filling about 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools with compressed trash.

How does the operation in the ship's kitchens work around the clock?

The kitchens operate 24 hours a day, with staff working in shifts. Some staff are in the butcher room as early as 4 am, while others work in the bakery at midnight to prepare for the next day, ensuring a continuous operation even while guests are asleep.

Outlines

00:00

🛳️ Cruise Ship Culinary Operations

The script introduces the world's largest cruise ship, emphasizing its vast size and amenities, with a focus on its food services. It discusses the importance of food to passengers and the logistical challenges of feeding over 7,600 passengers and 2,300 crew members. The ship employs over 1,300 staff to manage food preparation and service, aiming to provide an all-you-can-eat experience while minimizing waste. The process begins with stocking up on ingredients through a main passageway referred to as 'I-95', which connects stock rooms to prep rooms and kitchens. The company uses historical data to plan shipments and adjust sourcing based on the demographic of travelers, even resorting to air freighting special products when necessary. The script highlights the storage in 22 inventory rooms and the process of chefs placing orders for anticipated needs, followed by preparation in kitchens.

05:01

🍽️ Reducing Food Waste on Cruise Ships

This paragraph delves into the efforts of the cruise line to reduce food waste, which is a significant environmental and operational concern. The company has managed to reduce waste by 24% since 2019 and is targeting a 50% reduction by 2025. The script explains the process of weighing food before and after serving at buffets to gather data that helps in making decisions about food production and portion sizes. It also touches on the continuous operation of the kitchen, with staff working around the clock to prepare for meals, ensuring quality and freshness while managing waste. The environmental impact of food waste, including the dumping of sewage into the oceans, is mentioned, underlining the importance of these waste reduction efforts.

Keywords

💡Cruise Ship

A cruise ship is a large passenger vessel used for pleasure voyages, offering amenities and activities for guests. In the video, the world's biggest cruise ship is described, emphasizing its size and the variety of activities available, such as a waterpark and pools. The ship's main amenity, however, is its food offerings, which is central to the video's theme.

💡Decks

Decks refer to the levels or floors on a ship. The video mentions that the cruise ship has 20 decks, indicating its vastness and the extensive range of facilities and services available to passengers.

💡Passengers

Passengers are the individuals who travel on a ship or other mode of transport. The video highlights that the cruise ship can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, showcasing the scale of operations and the logistics involved in feeding and entertaining such a large number of guests.

💡Crew Members

Crew members are the staff working on the ship, responsible for various operations, including food service. The video mentions 2,300 crew members, emphasizing the size of the workforce needed to support the passengers on board.

💡Food Waste

Food waste refers to the leftovers or excess food that is discarded. The video discusses the environmental and operational impact of food waste, with the cruise line aiming to reduce it by 50% by 2025. The concept is integral to the video's exploration of sustainability and efficiency in large-scale food service.

💡Inventory Rooms

Inventory rooms are storage spaces where supplies and goods are kept. The script mentions 22 inventory rooms on the ship, including fridges and freezers, which are crucial for storing the massive amounts of food required for the ship's operations.

💡Prep Kitchens

Prep kitchens are areas where food is prepared before cooking. The video describes how staff in prep kitchens cut produce and butcher meat, preparing ingredients for the various meals served on the ship.

💡Galleys

Galleys are the kitchens on a ship where food is cooked for the crew and passengers. The script refers to the kitchens as galleys, indicating the professional culinary environment where meals for thousands are prepared.

💡Buffet

A buffet is a style of meal service where guests serve themselves from a variety of dishes. The video discusses the main buffet on the ship, where staff weigh food to manage portion sizes and reduce waste, illustrating the operational challenges of large-scale self-service dining.

💡Portions

Portions refer to the individual servings of food provided to guests. The video mentions managing portions to minimize waste, such as deciding how much of each item to put out at different times, which is a key strategy in the ship's food service operations.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in this context refers to the efforts to reduce environmental impact, particularly waste. The video discusses the cruise line's goal to reduce food waste by 50%, highlighting the company's commitment to more sustainable practices in its food service operations.

Highlights

The world's biggest cruise ship is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

The ship features 20 decks, a waterpark, and seven pools, with food being the main amenity.

Guests prioritize knowing the food and drink options before making a vacation decision.

Feeding 7,600 passengers and 2,300 crew requires a staff of over 1,300 working around the clock.

The company aims to provide an all-you-can-eat experience while minimizing waste.

Food preparation on the ship begins with stocking up on massive amounts of ingredients before each voyage.

Ingredients enter the ship through a main passageway called I-95, connecting stock rooms to kitchens.

Shipments are planned based on historical data and can be adjusted for the number of children on board.

The company goes to significant lengths to keep the menu in stock, even air freighting special products.

There are 22 inventory rooms, including fridges and freezers, for storing ingredients.

Chefs from each restaurant order ingredients twice a day, anticipating their needs for the day and the next.

Produce for each meal is prepared in advance, with staff cutting at least 30,000 portions per day.

The ship's kitchens include specialized areas for preparing desserts, baked goods, and other dishes.

Staff in the dessert kitchen can produce 1,600 Baked Alaskas and 5,000 mini baguettes daily.

The executive chef approves food before dinner, ensuring dishes follow recipes and are made on a massive scale.

The main dining room serves over 6,000 guests nightly with a la carte menus that change daily.

There are nearly 40 other restaurants, bars, and lounges offering a variety of food options.

The company has reduced waste by 24% since 2019 and aims for a 50% reduction by 2025.

Staff weigh food at self-serve locations to determine portion sizes and reduce waste.

Cruise ships collectively dump over a billion gallons of sewage into the oceans each year, including food waste.

The kitchen operates 24 hours a day, with staff working at various times to prepare for meals.

Transcripts

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The world's biggest cruise ship

is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

It's got 20 decks, a waterpark, and seven pools.

But it's main amenity is it's food.

- Our research tells us that our guest's number one priority

before they make a vacation decision

is they want to know what they're gonna eat and drink.

- [Narrator] Feeding up to 7,600 passengers

and 2,300 crew members

means a staff of more than 1,300 people

work around the clock,

stocking, preparing, and serving

an incredible amount of food.

So guests get an all you can eat experience,

all while the company tries to minimize waste.

and the complicated process of food prep--

- Right, let's go, let's go.

- [Narrator] All starts here.

(mellow music)

Before every voyage, Icon of the Seas

stocks up with massive amounts of ingredients.

Everything from flour to butter, fresh produce, and meat.

Food enters on deck two of the ship

through a main passageway they call I-95, after the highway.

It goes all the way from the front

to the back end of the ship,

connecting the stock rooms to the prep rooms, to kitchens,

also known as galleys.

- Every week when we turn our ships around,

a truck will deliver the amount of beef we order.

That may be a truckload that shows up.

It gets put into the inventory,

which is our large storage system.

- [Narrator] Staff plan the shipments

based on historical data

of what passengers eat on certain routes.

It can adjust sourcing based on

how many of it's travelers are children.

When it's projections miss the mark,

the company will go to significant lengths

to keep everything on the menu in stock.

- You know, it's not like a shore side restaurant or hotel

where if you don't have the product,

you can go to the convenience store next door

or the supermarket and pick it up.

Once we're at sea, we're at sea.

Just a couple of days ago,

there was a special product we needed for a ship

and we air freighted that from Miami

to make sure that we had it on board the ship.

- [Narrator] But usually there's plenty of food

because the company knows it's one of the main reasons

guests are on the ship.

(mellow music)

Ingredients are stored in 22 inventory rooms,

including fridges and freezers.

Twice a day, chefs from each restaurant

put in orders for what they'll anticipate

they'll need later that day and the next day.

And inventory staff gather the ingredients.

Then they're taken to prep kitchens..

Here, staff cut all the produce they'll need for each meal,

at least 30,000 per day.

There are other prep kitchens for butchering beef

and cutting seafood.

Staff work hours in advance,

so these ingredients will have time

to go to the 37 kitchens around the ship.

Like this one where a team prepares

tens of thousands of desserts and baked goods.

Staff mix, roll, cut and bake

with machines to automate a lot of the process.

So they end up with about 5,000 mini baguettes.

- We have 32 first year to manage the operation.

We have a night team and we have a day team.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Staff in this kitchen

go through about 250 pounds of sugar every day,

making items like baked Alaska.

1,600 of them.

Before dinner, food has to be approved

by the ship's executive chef,

who checks that dishes follow the recipes.

(mellow music)

It's important to get them right

because these dishes are being made on a massive scale.

4,000 lobster tails, 1000 New York strip steaks

and over 40,000 portions of dessert for just one night.

- How many pounds onion you use for this?

- I use almost 100 pounds.

- Good job.

Thank you, Chef.

(mellow music)

- Our main dining room feeds over

6,000 guests every single evening

with a la carte menus that change every single day.

- [Narrator] There are also nearly 40 other restaurants,

bars, and lounges serving food.

From sit down supper clubs to buffets,

a pizza shop that's open late and a 24 hour cafe,

the goal is to cook enough

that guests can eat whatever they want,

but also to reduce waste.

Every year, Royal Caribbean Group ships

produce a huge amount of waste.

Over 50,000 cubic meters in 2022.

That's enough to fill about 13 Olympic sized swimming pools

with compressed trash.

Leftovers mean Royal Caribbean

is paying for too many ingredients and wasting labor.

And it also means the ship has to deal with more trash.

There's also an environmental impact.

Cruise ships collectively dump

more than a billion gallons of sewage

into the oceans each year,

according to environmental non-profit, Friends of the Earth.

That includes food waste that can be toxic to marine life

if it's not treated properly.

(upbeat music)

To reduce waste, staff at some self-serve locations,

like the main buffet, have started weighing certain foods

before they're brought out

and then weighing what comes back.

It uses this data to decide how much of each item to order

and put out at different times

and how large to make portions.

- At the beginning of the shift, we measure all of the items

that go out to the buffet

and as they come back, at the end of the day,

we measure all of the wasted items.

That allows us to provide an actual versus theoretical,

what was produced versus what we should have used.

That allows our chefs

to provide better information to their teams

to make decisions about production

and how much food to make every single day for our guests.

- [Narrator] The company says it's reduced waste

by 24% since 2019,

and it's aiming for a 50% reduction by 2025.

There will always be some waste.

(mellow music)

Food can stay on buffet lines for up to four hours,

though some items need to be replaced sooner

to maintain taste and quality.

But staff clear and dispose of everything

when the meal window ends,

giving them time to set up for the next meal.

- To be completely honest, our kitchen never sleeps,

so we've got people getting to the butcher room

at four in the morning.

We've got people at the bakery at midnight,

baking bread for the next morning.

It's a significant 24 hour day operation

that continues while our guests are asleep as well.

(upbeat music)