Behind the scenes of a Royal Caribbean cruise as captured by the iPhone 16 Pro
Have you ever been on a cruise? I recently went on my first cruise and it was one of the largest cruise ships you can find. The second ship in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class, Allure of the Seas was once the world’s largest cruise ship and was actually a floating town, with room for 5,400 passengers and 2,300 crew members.
In addition to the experience, this cruise also provides the opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Considering the logistics required to ensure a smooth sailing, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
From the galley that serves thousands of meals on a voyage, to how the ship handles supplies, to the engine control room and even a quick trip to the bridge, here’s a behind-the-scenes tour filmed aboard Allure of the Seas. iPhone 16 Pro.
Feeding more than 5,000 passengers
The tour started in the Main Dining Room 5, and due to a lack of clear instructions, Michael Fisher (aka MrMobile) scrambled to join the group before the tour started. It’s worth noting that if you book this tour, the operator will provide photos and cabin numbers for everyone on the reservation.
The following is the smallest of the three restaurants (more than 1,000 staff are needed to ensure passengers are fed every night).
After signing the waiver form, it was time to tour the kitchen, which has multiple floors. To say this is a business operation would be an understatement. The galley is essentially the heart of the ship and is responsible for all food served in the main dining room, specialty restaurants and various vendors on the ship.
It’s a massive effort involving hundreds of employees and a refined process where everything runs like clockwork. There are different grills for different types of meat to prevent cross-contamination and ensure cooking to the proper temperature. Meanwhile, the bakery will serve all breads, rolls, baked goods and cookies available on board. It’s worth noting, however, that the pizza dough is sourced externally, although the bakery can supply the dough if needed.
I’ve been to several commercial kitchens but none of this scale. Hundreds of assistants, cooks and executive chefs prepare meals around the clock. Huge vats hold thousands of liters of French onion soup and ketchup, and when that’s on the menu, they have to make a few more.
Providing food to more than 5,000 passengers (not to mention the thousands of crew members on board) requires extensive processes, specific systems and many supplies. The latter was the next step in our journey.
The infamous I-95 corridor
If you’ve been on a cruise ship, you know that the passenger stairs are wide, carpeted, and comfortable. As we walked through the galley and onto the bottom of the ship, I noticed that the crew stairs were completely opposite. This theme continues throughout the entire journey: as you’d expect, the passenger-facing areas are nicely decorated, while the crew-only areas are far less glamorous.
After going downstairs, we got on Interstate 95. No, not the highway you’re used to, but one similar to a cruise ship. Like its namesake on land in the United States, I-95 is a major thoroughfare for supplies and crews on ships. As you can imagine it can be a bit confusing if you’re not used to it, and the middle of day three was pretty hectic. Considering it was an unintentional day at sea, with 40+ mph winds preventing us from docking in Nassau, and the boat being nearly full, it felt far less chaotic than I imagined.
I-95 is also where all supplies are stored. There are separate boxes for different types of meat, vegetables, fish, poultry and other frozen foods. Each product is temperature controlled to ensure the product does not spoil. This appears to be a rare occurrence, as the ship typically stores only enough produce for a week’s cruise. As enjoyable as the fridge box was, I quickly lost interest in the details in this section and instead marveled at the sheer scale of the operation behind one of the largest cruise ships in the world.
Enter the engine control room
Heading left on I-95, we find ourselves in the engine control room, the mechanical heart of the ship. At sea, there is always at least one engineer in this room, monitoring the six engines that power the more than 200,000-ton ship.
As we cruised slowly back to Miami at 4 knots, we were using only two of the six engines. The alarm went off, and while some of us seemed concerned, the engineers were unfazed and quickly fixed the problem. The conference table in the center of the room and the walls were covered with technical drawings and charts, as well as a series of screens displaying various basic data indicators.
Any engineer knows the value of accurate data, and the engine control room is set up to provide it. I’m not much of a sailor, but listening to my tour group members, it was obvious this was an impressive setup. I love numbers and the engine control room has lots of important numbers such as boat speed, depth and wind speed.
all the way to the bridge
Have you ever wondered where the bridge is on a cruise ship? This is where the officers lived and sailed the ship, so you might think the bridge was in a secluded part of the ship. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. It is located behind the crew door at one end of the passenger deck. This door looks no different than any other door in the corridor, except that behind this door lies the sacred part of any ship. We have security guards around us who allow access to the bridge and there may be many precautions in place to prevent unwanted access.
The bridge is beautiful and a key reason why I booked this trip. The Captain calls it the greatest office in the world, and considering the impressive windows with stunning views directly ahead, I can see why someone would love this profession. Below us in front of the bridge we could see the helipad, as well as the deck area accessible only to the crew.
The window group makes sense because it is critical for visibility. At 1,181 feet long and weighing 225,000 tons, Allure of the Seas is a massive ship, so visibility is crucial. Turning around is not an easy task, and at a speed of about 3 degrees per minute, the ship takes about two hours to complete a turn.
bitten by the cruising bug
The bridge overall made the trip worthwhile – although I’m unlikely to do it again. But the icing on the cake was meeting the captain. Originally from Sweden, he has been with Royal Caribbean for 20 years. Petty Officers First Class and Second Class have also been with the company for many years.
In addition to this trip, there’s plenty to do on this 18-deck cruise ship. From the pool on deck 15 to the casino on deck 4 to the boardwalk on deck 6 to Central Park on deck 8, three days is not enough time to truly experience it all.
I’m already planning my next cruise. The only question is which ship it will be on and which of our calls best smartphone Do I want to make a list next?
2025-01-05 14:30:26