Where do they store all that food and wine?
Cruises are divisive. Travelers either love them and can’t get enough, or they hate the idea of staying in a floating hotel (or city). No matter which side you fall on, there are always questions that come to mind about this mode of travel. Interestingly, I was wondering about some of these things while I was on a cruise myself, while others popped up as I discussed the experience and spoke to others about their cruise vacations.
Related: It Was an Odd Feeling Being a Young Woman of Color on This Luxury Cruise
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Why don’t more people not fall overboard?
There are decks and balconies—all with high guardrails and glass—but an accidental stumble, a drunken shove, or a deliberate push can plunge you in the water. Since cruise ships rely on CCTV that may not be monitored, it requires someone witnessing the fall to trigger rescue. If it were to happen in the dark without people milling around, the chances of someone raising alarms would be minimal. Like this 2022 story of a man who fell overboard around midnight and his sister reported him missing the next day at noon. Spoiler alert: he survived 20+ hours in the Gulf of Mexico, but he was one of the lucky few.
Around 19 people fall overboard each year, and only four of those are successfully rescued. Survival depends on where they fell from, the impact with the cruise or the water, and the weather and water conditions. Truly, it is quite rare for this to happen. But with free-flowing alcohol in all-inclusive packages or just reckless behavior, it is a surprise that these incidents are not happening more frequently.
Related: Do Not Take This Book With You on a Cruise
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Where do they store all that food and wine?
There’s a lot of food and wine onboard ships, more than you can imagine. It is all stored in rooms, freezers and refrigerators under passenger areas and staff use hallways and service lifts to transport this. On a 5,600-person cruise, such as MSC Bellissima, there are 1,500 crew members. People consume 36,000 eggs per week, 800 pizzas per day, 6,800 bottles of wine per week, and 15,000 croissants are baked per day. This cruise requires 15 trucks full of food for its Mediterranean itineraries.
Dry provisions and shelf products are bought in bulk before journeys, while ships also source fresh ingredients locally. It’s an enormous operation to feed thousands of people day after day on a cruise and really commendable how they do this without passengers knowing what’s happening right under their noses.
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And come to think of it, where does all the waste go?
Depending on the size of the cruise, there is a lot of waste—solid and sewage—produced on board. A one-week cruise can generate about 50 tons of solid waste, including plastic and paper. A 3,000-person cruise generates 150,000 gallons of sewage per week (enough to fill 10 swimming pools). Cruise ships have water treatment plants on board to treat this water and release it into the ocean at least three nautical miles away from land. Solid waste is also separated and disposed off at shores, while there may also be incinerators on board to dispose of waste. However, cruise ships are known to pollute waters and have been fined millions for breaking laws.
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Why can’t you just leave?
Naively, I thought on my first international cruise that you could just leave if you hated it. Turns out, that’s not as easy as packing up and taking a flight home. Unless there’s an emergency or someone is sick, disembarking permanently from a port of call midway through the cruise is a long process. In some cases, depending on local laws, it may not be allowed. Passengers are not allowed to cut short their trip on a whim; in fact, on many cruises, you don’t even have your passport on hand to just take off.
Related: I Want to End My Cruise at a Port on the Itinerary. Is That Allowed?
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How many clothes do people pack?
There are shorter itineraries from the U.S., but if you’re going on an international multi-week journey, you need to be prepared. Some cruises are informal and chill, but many have dress codes, formal restaurants, and upscale events, and you need appropriate attire for them. If you’re going to be at sea for weeks, you either need to bring a massive suitcase (or two) with essentials, or go shopping at each port and lug everything home. I did the latter because I did not realize dress codes would apply. And then I did laundry every few days to keep up!
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Why are so many crew members from the Philippines?
Cruise ships run like well-oiled machines, and their success is due to hundreds of staff members who work tirelessly for weeks or months at a time—some hidden from the guests. But the disparity on cruises can’t be ignored: Americans account for more than half of the cruise market, while one-third of the global cruise work force is from the Philippines. Other nationalities that dominate the workforce are Indian, Indonesian, and Eastern European.
On a typical cruise, there’s one crew for every 2-3 passengers; this ratio becomes 1:1 on luxury cruises. A major objection that people have against cruises—apart from the environmental concerns—is its treatment of its workforce. Those at the bottom of the food chain have harsh living and working conditions (with 10-12 hour-workdays seven days a week for months). They are also not as handsomely paid as captains or managers, who are typically from wealthier nations.
Even if you enjoy cruises—no judgment, they are lovely for many reasons—you should still question why companies hire from countries where people may have fewer reasons to turn them down.
Related: Cruise Line Threatens $70 Fines Over Common Buffet Habit
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Where do the crew sleep, work, eat, and chill?
There are neighborhoods on deck that guests are not aware of, and this is where you’ll find the employees. Crew cabins look very different from guest cabins. For one, they are windowless. There are no balconies either because they are below deck. Moreover, most staffers share their tiny rooms with bunk beds. Crew members have their own rest and chill areas away from the guests’ eyes—there is a hallway called I-95 (named after the American highway) where carts and crew run around. The mess has a wide variety of options and the dishes reflect the multinational and multicultural employees. Some cruise ships have dedicated areas for crew to lounge around, including pools, gym, cafes, and bars.
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Is there a morgue and a jail?
Hopefully, most guests will not see either, but all cruises have a morgue and a jail. Millions of passengers travel on cruises each year, including those with illness and the elderly. Accidents can happen, while the pandemic has proved that infections spread quickly in close quarters. So, a morgue has its place on board. It’s a stainless steel room, which keeps a body safe until it can be repatriated, which may not be until the end of the journey.
Jails, similarly, are a necessity when these vessels spend days at sea. With no local authorities or jail, the brig is the next best thing for unruly passengers or those who may have committed serious crimes. It’s just a room with a bathroom that may be used by the crew, on the captain’s advice, to detain a passenger until law enforcement can take charge.
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What do sober people do?
Cruises have a reputation for their drinks packages. When it’s all-inclusive, it is part of every meal and activity. When I was cruising, we went to see performances with flutes of champagne offered at the door. Servers dutifully filled up wine glasses at dinner, and pre-dinner drinks were also planned onboard. But the kicker was: I rarely drink. When so many experiences are centered around alcohol, it’s easy to indulge. Especially when the destination is promoted as a party hub. Which means that teetotalers might find themselves to be the odd ones out.
Sober travel has picked up steam in recent years, and millennials and Gen Z are not drinking as much as the previous generations. In fact, there are also sober cruises being offered to small groups, and there are wellness-focused cruises that cater to a mindful clientele. Also good to know that many cruises also host AA meetings to support guests.
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Why don’t cruises stay docked for longer?
Port calls are infuriatingly short. Even when the cruise is docked early in the morning, port authorities perform inspections and only then allow you to disembark for your day out. You get a few hours at a destination if you’re not staying overnight because the cruise has an all aboard time, which is at least an hour before departure. On days I did not have excursions and wanted to go out, I found myself rushing to see the sights, and wished that there were at least a few days to see some places.
But this involves logistics. On port days, cruises have to close shopping and casinos, so people spend less money onboard. Staying on a port costs cruise companies money (taxes to local governments, too), and they need busy ports to offer them space to dock. Plus, fuel is expensive, and cruises will burn through a lot of it—even with just auxiliary power—when docked. In general, it’s more lucrative to be on the go.