The sixth day of our cruise was an at sea day - very welcome after the last few hectic and hot days!
As usual, I woke early and ordered a pot of tea whilst my husband rolled over and tried stay asleep. Our lovely butler, Suresh, had obviously decided that we needed a little extra pampering because he included a delightful continental breakfast with the pot of tea. Though once again the milk was in the teapot!
However we couldn't linger too long because today we had booked our only MSC excursion - a behind the scenes tour of part of the ship and I was very excited about it. I love the documentaries that go into what it takes to plate up 4,000 dinners for an evening meal on a cruise ship and really happens in the bowels of the ship (spoiler - a LOT of laundry!)
We met Suresh at the Concierge desk at 8:30am and he escorted us to the theatre where the excursion groups were meeting. There weren't many people - maybe only 60 spread over two language groups? We felt a little self-conscious when Suresh insisted we take a seat and he queued for us with our tickets. But given that I hate queuing I managed to swiftly quell any discomfort at being treated like a first class passenger and simply settled back for a spot of people watching.
The tour was to be focussed on just one aspect of the ship. It was explained to us that the ship can be divided into three parts: Engineering, Bridge/Security, and the largest which is Hotel (which includes dining and entertainment). Our tour was solely Hotel focussed and we didn't get to see any of the other parts. It was fascinating nonetheless!
Soon we were split into an English speaking group and a German speaking group. I understand that in the afternoon there were tours for Italian and also Spanish. As the other group disappeared backstage, we were escorted up to the back of the theatre to where the magic happens.
I can't remember the gentleman's name, but he is responsible for all the lighting and sound for the shows and has four or five staff working with him for each show. He demonstrated the sound system and the lights and it really was very fascinating.
Then we were taken back across the stage, where a couple of performers were practising, and into the back stage area. This was really interesting. It is quite a small space, tucked into the bow of the ship, and it is very carefully and methodically PACKED with props and costumes. It also had quite a lot of movement up and down and apparently the captain increases the ships speed for the night as soon as the last show is finished. I don't think I could work in those small quarters with no windows and the constant up-down motion of the ship! Apparently the bow is the natural place for the ship's theatre because of its shape and the acoustical properties it imparts. Good to know for if I am ever designing a ship!
A few random facts that we gleaned along the way:
- According to our guide, the performers mend their own costumes themselves and when necessary, new costumes or more major repairs are done on land.
- The crew with the least number of working hours were the lead performers.
- Performances are changed every six months (usually one new show) and the 'lead' shows are different on each of the biggest ships. For instance, Preziosa has the Avatar show and Divina has the Michael Jackson one.
- Every few months the performance director spends a week on board viewing the shows and rehearsals and tweaking them as necessary.
Next we were taken a couple of decks further down and into the crew only area. All of a sudden the corridors got a lot plainer and the carpet vanished!
We were taken through to the laundry - first the crew laundry and then the extensive laundry that services the hotel side of the cruise ship. This was not just any items that guests sent down for cleaning - as we had earlier that morning - but the many thousands of towels, sheets, napkins, tablecloths and so on that are generated every day on a cruise ship. The machinery to deal with all this efficiently was massive! And I have nothing but sympathy and admiration for the people who spend their days feeding sheets into them!
After we had had our fill of watching the machines fold sheets, we were ushered back upstairs and into one of the main dining rooms where we were presented with a small plastic bag of 'stuff' to put over our clothes. Don't we look special!
We were then taken into the kitchens where the first thing we had to do was wash our hands.
Food safety and hygiene was a HUGE focus!
Some random photos:
Making pasta!
This room fascinated me. This is where they prepare the raw meat and each type of meat gets its own dedicated table. Here food hygiene is taken very VERY seriously!
And the smells coming from this section were divine!
But here....here I had died and gone to heaven!
Sadly we had to leave this divine section of the kitchens and were ushered into another wide corridor of which were the massive fridges, freezers and pantries used to store the six massive trucks of food loaded onto the ship every Saturday in Venice. Most of the fridges, freezers and pantries were a little on the low side as there were only a few days left in the cruise. Apparently they are packed full at the start!
Again, food safety was a major focus and in every area we saw racks of food marked 'first out' that showed a focus on keeping the inventory rotated and fresh.
After we left the kitchens, we were taken upstairs to a very special and exclusive area of the ship. Here we were told that we must NOT take any photos - it was absolutely not permitted - for the privacy of the guests!
It was the Yacht Club!
The problem was that the woman guiding us couldn't get her pass to work in the lift. We politely stood there for a while whilst she grew more desperate in her swiping. But after a few minutes it got too much so I stepped forward and pulled out my card - which worked because I knew to swipe THEN press - and we were able to get in the lift and head up to the 15th deck. Not everyone could fit in the lift so she sent my husband and I up in one lift, since we had cards and knew what to do, and then she bought the rest up in the next lift. I suspect she might have had trouble again as it took her a little while to arrive!
It was funny though - everyone started looking at us curiously. We were definitely the youngest in the group and dressed very casually yet we were obviously travelling in this special area.
When we arrived in the Yacht Club reception the concierge thought this was a hilarious joke - as did several passing butlers - and my husband and I were warmly 'welcomed' to the Yacht Club for our little tour!
After the TopSail Lounge, we were then taken up to the OnePool and OneBar on the 18th deck for a very quick tour. Quite a few people were sunbathing and we were greeted by many who had become familiar faces over the week.
It was interesting seeing all this spacious splendour from the perspective of people who hadn't been travelling in it all week. The others in our tour were VERY impressed and I think MSC was successful in generating quite a bit of new interest and business for this section of the ship. We ended up fielding a lot of questions from the others who were absolutely fascinated with what it was like.
After this we were taken through to Eataly, one of the speciality restaurants on the ship, where we were greeted with the very welcome sight of a glass of wine each. Here, one of the chefs did a strangely random demonstration 
After this we decided to skip La Palmeraie for lunch and head up to the OneBar for drinks and maybe a bit of buffet lunch. This was a sensational plan and we had a very relaxing time. Later we returned to the cabin to download our photos and my husband took a snooze. I was feeling restless so I went and checked out the spa and ended up getting a lovely relaxing massage. Bliss!
This night was Gala night and so when we had got dressed we headed down to the TopSail Lounge where we found our friends H&M and spent a very pleasant half hour comparing notes.
We decided to head to La Palmeraie together and the wait staff were able to accommodate us in a table for four. It was really nice sharing a meal with them, especially since it was their honeymoon and we didn't want to encroach. But we had had some wonderful experiences together and it was great fun to sit and chat and enjoy the time together.
At dinner, I made sure to try some of the delectable treats that we had seen being prepared in the kitchens earlier.
On the menu for the gala was also lobster - which I ordered but didn't enjoy as much as I hoped I would. Apologies for not taking a menu photo. The wine was free flowing and the conversation was wonderful so photos took a distant second place. I do have photos of the lobster and the baked alaska.
After dinner we walked along the deck to the show
Nutella crepes anyone?
Tonight was the Avatar show and the production guy in the booth during the morning tour had promised us that it would be something SPECIAL!!!!
And that it certainly was - very 'special'...! I have never seen a weirder and more disjointed show in my life - and as the eldest of six children and mother of three, I have seen some weird productions in my life!
The premise of the show was loosely based around the Avatar movie - I say loosely because they started it with the music from the opening credits of the 2009 Star Trek movie. Whoever had that bright idea should have been hung, drawn and quartered right then and there. I was gobsmacked!
There was no coherency to the production. I have watched the Avatar movies several times so I know the plot - and this wasn't it! I sat there with my jaw dropping further and further as my poor alcohol fuzzed brain tried desperately to make sense of what was going on - and utterly failed.
Nevertheless, it was received with rapturous applause and multiple standing ovations. I wonder if it was just me, but my husband uses words such as 'bizarre' and 'poetic license' to describe it so maybe it wasn't just me. Anyway, I just think that if they are going to base a production on a movie then they should probably try and base it on the movie...you think?
At the end they paraded representatives from all the members of staff on stage and we applauded them also - and they definitely deserved it!
Then we had our photo taken with two of the performers as we left. I didn't want to as I was still trying to work out what the hell had just happened, but darling husband was keen so we did.
After this it was time for a limoncello then bed!
No comments:
Post a Comment