Cruise ship buffets dish up hundreds of pounds of food each day to cater to different taste preferences and dietary restrictions, but have you ever wondered what happens to the uneaten food?
Bryan James, an entertainer for Royal Caribbean, revealed what happens to uneaten food once the passenger buffet closes for the night.
James has worked on numerous ships in Royal Caribbean's fleet, including Odyssey of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, and, most recently, Allure of the Seas in Europe.
He regularly shares vlogs and short videos across multiple social media platforms, showing what life is like as a crew member aboard a cruise ship. His content has attracted a large audience, with more than 835,000 followers on TikTok alone.
In one recent video, James explained that uneaten food doesn't necessarily get thrown away at the end of the night.
"If there's something really good leftover, it winds up downstairs at something that we call 'midnight mess,'" he explains, "And the sooner you get there, the better the food is. I'd say after an hour, it ends up just being normal crew mess food."
On this particular night, James shows a few special dishes available for crew members, including grilled pork chops, shrimp curry, and sautéed spinach.
Part of a larger effort to reduce food waste onboard
There's no denying that food waste is a major problem on cruise ships. From multi-course meals in the Main Dining Room to massive all-you-can-eat buffets and quick-service options scattered throughout the ship, the volume of food prepared each day is staggering.
That said, once food is served — whether in the dining room or placed in the buffet — it can't be returned to the ship's kitchen to be reused later. So, it's either eaten or thrown away.
To help combat the issue, Royal Caribbean Group created a new initiative dubbed "Win on Waste." As of early 2024, Royal Caribbean Group reported a reduction in food waste of about 33%.
This milestone marked significant progress toward their goal of reducing food waste across its fleet by 50% by 2025 — as well as saving tens of millions of dollars a year.
To help reach its goal, the company has implemented programs to track food consumption, introduced food waste awareness campaigns, assigned new onboard roles, and begun tracking guest demand for specific menu items.
Another major advancement is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to adjust food production in real time. For example, AI helps chefs estimate how much food should be ordered, prepped, thawed, and produced on a given day.
It's been successful, too. When the world's largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, began sailing in January 2024, the AI system helped ensure the vessel was utilizing 86% of the onboard food supply.
In the same video, James reveals other facts about life onboard a cruise ship
Depending on the cruise ship, guests might be able to travel as low as Deck 3, 2, or 1. For example, Allure of the Seas' lowest passenger deck is 3, whereas Carnival Luminosa's is Deck 1.
Regardless, there's a whole different world below the public decks. These lower levels are hidden from guests and are where many ship operations take place, as well as where most crew members live, eat, and relax.
"Deck 1 is not the lowest deck on a cruise ship," James says, "Below that is Deck 0 [and] below that is Deck -1. We call it 'Tween Deck.'"
The lowest decks of a cruise ship don't look the same as the upper levels, with carpeted hallways and nicely decorated lounges.
Instead, the industrial spaces, which are often below the waterline, are bare with non-slip tile and fluorescent lighting. James claims that they look more like "a submarine."
Below deck is also where a lot of crew members live. The compact cabins aren't as luxurious as standard staterooms. Plus, many crew members have to share rooms with other employees.
"Did you know that pretty much everyone [who] works on a cruise ship has a roommate?" James asks in the video.
"It's either going to look a little bit like this, where you've got bunk beds...or it'll look like this, where you have your own room but you share a bathroom with somebody."
He goes on to add that the shared walls are thin, meaning you can hear everything that your neighbor is doing.
Read more: Dancer reveals her tiny crew-only cabin she lives in on a cruise ship
"If you wanna have your own room, you have to work your way up the pecking order, either being an engineer [or] running a department," says James.
Two roles on a cruise ship that typically come with private cabins are the Captain and the Cruise Director.
