On average, 13 million passengers cruise globally, on cruise ship which have evolved from just a mode of transport. The ship itself has become the destination and this is the largest of them all. Symphony of the Seas. Constructed in 2018, costing over a billion pounds, she weighs 228,000 tonnes. It’s just the wow factor when you walk onboard. Second, to none, the is 1,188 feet in length longer than the shard on its side. Its 18 Decks stand at 238 feet in height, making it taller than nelson’s Column.
With six engines, each the size of a double-decker bus totaling 128,600 horsepower. It’s a marvel of technique and engineering. They even constructed a park that contains 20,700 tropical plants and 52 trees. This epic piece of engineering carries 2,200 crew members, who look after 6,680 guests, accommodated in 2,759 staterooms.
Everything will be picture-perfect. Below deck, the kitchens produce over 40,000 meals per day and have a shopping bill of just under a million dollars per week, catering for a guest that can seat 5,200 guests in on sitting.
Welcome aboard the Billion Pound Cruise. The activities onboard the world’s largest cruise ship is endless. Including a slide ten decks high, towering 150 feet above sea level, two 43 feet signature climbing walls, and a zipline, 9 decks above a carousel that can tilt five degrees in any direction to counter choppy conditions at sea.
If you happen to be a VIP guest on the busiest operational day in the cruise ship industry, it doesn’t have to be hectic, thanks to their butler service role referred to as a “Royal Genie”. The Royal Genie is exclusive to the luxury suites on the ship. Well then, here we are in the Royal Loft Suite. The Royal Loft Suite can accommodate six guests, has two bedrooms, a dining area, and its very own grand piano, these room costs 75,000/ euro for seven nights.
Another premium accommodation that comes with a Royal Genie is the Ultimate Family Suite, spanning over two decks and with its very own slide. Initially, guests are greeted by the ship’s centerpiece, the promenade, which spans two decks and is home to shops, restaurants, and bars.
One of them is a feat of engineering in its own right; The Rising Tide, the cruise ship world’s first elevating bar. You wouldn’t realize it was on a ship. It could be a world-class hotel, being on a ship just adds to it. We have 35,000 bottles and cans of beer in seven days. Right here, if you want to come. We have champagne selections. You have something to celebrate, you can buy champagne. You have something that you want to forget, you can buy champagne. If nothing happens, buy champagne, something will come up. But Emmanuel has no time for champagne because he has one of the most responsible roles on the ship.
On the symphony, we have 2,200 crew members; half of them work under me for F&B. Let’s start with the waiters; I have 530 people working in the dining room. The galley, I have 99 people washing and cleaning for the whole ship 257 chefs, producing over 40,000 meals every day. The only downtime that there is in my operation is between 4:00 am and 5:00 am.
That’s about it. Otherwise, it’s always busy. The staff members that Emmanuel need not worry about are the two robotic bartenders, which took 41,600 hours to create. Each robot servers on average 100 drinks a day. So the beauty of it is you don’t have an annoying bartender that wants to talk to you all the time, you know?
