We started our tour at the galley, which is slightly aft of the middle of the ship and spans the full width of the ship. It is flanked at either end by a dining room. The Carnivale Dining Room was nearer the stern and we never ate there. It was for passengers who did not choose a consistent seating for early or late dining. The Mardi Gras Dining Room, closer to the bow, was where we ate each evening at the earlier of two seatings. The Mardi Gras Dining room seats 650 and has full-length windows on either side. There is a raised center section which is where we sat each evening at our personal table for six. We had the same waiting staff each night who learned our preferences and anticipated them such as having a plate of fruit and cheeses set out at our table pre-dinner.
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| Sitting in the central raised section we had a view out the windows of both sides. The peach and black rimmed plates with the marbleized borders were really quite pretty up close. |
We passed through a dining room to enter the galley area. Just upon entry is a long counter that is for food prep only; e.g., chopping, slicing, peeling. The hot foods are prepared in a totally separate area. The head chef spoke with us about how he orders the food for the cruise. For example, at the starting port, three lots of bananas are taken on board – ripe, green tip, and green – so there are always some at the correct stage for eating. We saw meat and beverage storage too. The quantities to feed over 2000 passengers plus a crew of about 800 is staggering. I thought a very interesting part of the galley tour was the logistics of the waiters. There are revolving doors between the galley and each dining room to muffle any kitchen noise that might disturb the dining experience. Waiters walk along a cafeteria like pickup railing that extends about two thirds the width of the ship to pick up their orders. Part of their training is speed trials. They have only three minutes to enter the revolving door, pick up the entrees for their table (as many as twelve) and go back out the revolving door. If timing is not synchronized an entire tray of entrees can wind up crashing to the floor. If this occurs the galley staff all yell out "Happy Birthday!"
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| Carrying a tray of twelve loaded dinner plates at one time is quite a skill. |
The chef held a large round tray, about three feet in diameter loaded with twelve plates and their domed lid covers similar to the previous picture above except it was configured as four stacks of three plates each. He singled me out and handed it to me. Then he had me hoist it over my head and support it on the palm of one hand. There was no food on those plates and it was pretty heavy. He then had me hand it to Frank who did the same thing. The chef then pointed out that if we got our dinner plate without our steak on it, it could be hanging from one of the light fixtures if the waiter were as tall as Frank. Carnival only hires short waiters because the ceilings are so low.
Our next stop was the laundry facilities. There is a lot more linens on a ship than just those cute towel animals. Here were the creations from our stateroom each day. I was collecting the menagerie on our window sill for a group shot but our stateroom staff was too quick for us and whisked them away.
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| First night towel friend was a frog. |
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| Our second night towel companion was a teddy bear. |
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| We were welcomed to bed our third final night by a towel sea turtle |
The laundry room is so noisy! Our tour guide needed to yell over the din. We saw huge commercial washers for the sheets but the most fascinating machinery were the huge roller type machines that dried and folded the sheets as one process. Wet sheets were fed horizontally into a set of rollers similar to those on a wringer type washing machine but these rollers were spaced apart and connected by webbing. The sheets were transported along on these parallel straps of webbing while hot air was blown over them to dry them. The two outer thirds of webbing dropped away so those parts of the sheets fall vertical. Air jets blew them inward so they fold and are dropped onto the next narrower set of webbing straps. This drop, blow, fold sequence was repeated and out the far end came dry, folded sheets. Towels were pre-dried before being folded but both Frank and I got to feed towels into the machine just so and watch them drop out the far end folded. Frank laughed at me when my towel got sucked in crooked and the fold was very lopsided. He was sufficiently chagrined when it took him two tries, since his first try caused the machine to come to a halt. His towel need to be retrieved and fed in again.
We saw the ship control room with each system's flow diagram silk-screened on metal wall panels. There was the desalination system, the propeller system, the heating-cooling system, the water piping system, and others. I asked how long it would take the ship to stop if they had a man overboard alert and was told they do not stop but immediately begin a circle maneuver similar to the next diagram. I asked the head engineer if he had ever had to do this maneuver and he said yes but did not elaborate other than saying it varies slightly with the condition of the person who fell over – whatever that means. Was the person inebriated or deceased? How do you tell from a distance? Thinking about it gave me the shivers.
On a lighter note our next stop on the tour was backstage of the theatre for the shows. We learned the Carnival has changed from a large cast of specialized singers or dancers to a smaller cast of dual talented dancer-singers and singer-dancers. We got to see the lounge area for the cast and learned that they have their own gym facilities. The lighting and sound control panels for the stage had two versions, an old fashioned low tech version that had never been removed and right beside it, a newer digital version where cues for lights and music are pre-programmed in. I guess if someone makes a mistake or misses a cue, the remaining performers must just adjust on the fly and not merely "get with the program" but also keep up with it!
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| The Paris Lounge was the stage for the shows and games we enjoyed during our cruise. |
Our final stop was the bridge. Unlike our Duck Boat adventure in Boston (see October 23, 2013 post), I was not allowed to steer this ship. In fact, lest any member of the tour touch any critical controls, a plexiglas box was strategically placed over them as a precautionary measure. Although he is not positioned in a "crow's nest", the ship always has a person in the bridge dedicated as a lookout. The panoramic view from the bridge was impressive. Also, as a low tech detail, part of the floor on each side was outfitted with a thick glass window. The purpose was to provide a fail safe visual method of assessing the proximity of the dock wall at port.
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| At the end of the tour we posed for a picture on the bridge with the captain. |
The rest of the day was pretty low key. We packed in the afternoon. In the evening we had dinner with John and Marita and Janet and Dave and then went on to see the energetic stage production titled Motor City featuring music, dancing, and costumes from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Some of us took in a final comedy show. Frank and I watched a debarkation video in our stateroom. The logistics of moving over 2000 people and their luggage off a ship was well thought out. Each range of staterooms was assigned a suggested 15 minute time window to leave in order to spread out the people traffic. There were different waiting areas and instructions depending on if you took your own luggage with you or had the cruise ship personnel handle it.
Debarkation the following morning, Friday, went very smoothly. We carried our own luggage off, were back on shore, to our car, and on our way before the end of our fifteen minute time, ready to start off the New Year back on land.
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