South African web site IOL took a behind scenes look at Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas to get an idea of how this mega ship operates on a day-to-day basis.
Voyager of the Seas Captain Frank Martensen characterized the ship as, "We're a small town. Well, we're not quite that small. We have employees from 60 countries around the world. Every culture, every religion, every one of the major languages is represented here.”
In terms of the food served, sous-chef Martin Jordan has opinions on what people like, "Americans like large portions with a lot of meat. Germans need to have vegetables. Spaniards only take very little, but go to the buffet half a dozen times. With them, the meal lasts forever."
Stocking Voyager of the Seas for longer cruises can be a challenge according to Simon Wiig, “On trans-Atlantic trips it is a challenge. On the Mediterranean we have at most one full day at sea, but if we run out of cheese in the middle of the Atlantic, who is to get some more?”
Wiig did jest about what could be the biggest problem to run out of, “It would be a small catastrophe to run out of beer or wine in the middle of the Atlantic. That never happened so far though".
Voyager of the Seas stocks 16 tons of beef and almost as much chicken for trans-Atlantic cruises, along with 70 tons of pork. In addition, more than 3 tons of lobster, 10 tonnes of mussels and oysters and 3 tons of salmon are needed.
Esther Nagel is responsible for the laundry needs of the staterooms on Voyager of the Seas and claims "About 15,000 pieces of clothing, everyday,” are laundered by her staff.
Wondering how much a server makes on Voyager of the Seas? Captain Martensen says, “A good waiter makes $4,000 a month. Tax free!”
