Cruise ship food: 10,680 hot dogs just tip of the iceberg

(Photo courtesy of Royal Carribean)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—It’s still dark out at this industrial port. Most passengers aboard the Oasis of the Seas are sound asleep in their staterooms.

But below deck the crew of one of the world’s largest cruise ship is preparing to turn the vessel around. They have just ended a week-long voyage taking 6,222 people throughout the Caribbean. In just hours, another 6,114 will start their vacations.

Suitcases need to be unloaded and loaded. Piles of trash and recycling are removed and an entire week’s worth of food for the passengers—and 2,193 crew members—needs to be loaded onboard.

The clock is ticking. There are just 10 hours to essentially empty and restock a small town. If that weren’t enough, housekeeping needs to turn over 2,700 staterooms for the new guests.

“I’m amazed every single time you do it,” says Raimund Gschaider, associate vice-president for hotel operations at Royal Caribbean International. “It’s an orchestration of all different operations.

Everything needs to fine-tuned down to the last minute.”

By 6:30 a.m., the first of 25 trucks are lined up on the dock, ready to unload their goods.

The Oasis and its sister ships—the Allure of the Seas and the soon-to-sail Harmony of the Seas—are the three largest passenger ships in the world. While many passengers remember the zipline, the onboard surfing machine or the 25 different dining establishments, it’s really what happens below desk that amazes.

When the Oasis leaves for a week-long voyage to the Caribbean, it takes everything needed. The islands visited don’t have the quantity—or the quality—of supplies to meet the needs of the ship, Gschaider says.

“In a hotel, you get your supplies on a daily basis. You’re never tied into a limited timeframe,” he adds.

“For us, we only have one go at it.”

That means when the ship pulls away from the dock in Florida, it must have 10,272 new rolls of toilet paper, 7,397 pounds of cheese and 330 cases of pineapples onboard. Not to mention 1,000 new lightbulbs, 30 replacement TVs, 1,899 pounds of coffee and 23 gallons of hand sanitizer. Every week.

Orders are based on past trends and slightly adjusted each week to account for the age and nationalities of those sailing. If there is a big sporting event—say the college basketball championship tournament—more beer and hot dogs might be purchased.

Here’s a look at some of the items on one sailing:

Lobster tails: 5,400

Ice cream cones: 21,000

Tomatoes: 8,800 pounds

Lettuce: 9,000 pounds

Potatoes: 14,800 pounds

Apples: 2,600 pounds

Bananas: 5,400 pounds

Eggs: 46,800

Milk: 2,622 gallons

Chicken: 19,723 pounds

Beef: 18,314 pounds

Fish: 7,070 pounds

Hot dogs: 10,680

Beer: 31,900 bottles and 900 cans

Soda: 16,900 cans

Vodka: 820 bottles

Whiskey: 179 bottles

Scotch: 293 bottles

Rum: 765 bottles

White wine: 3,360 bottles

Red wine: 2,776 bottles