Happy Easter everyone! Today we decided to book something a little different for our at Sea Day and we booked Behind the Waves which is a all access behind the scenes tour. We met downstairs and checked in. We had to sign quite a lot of waivers for this tour and we also needed to make sure we were all in good health as we are heading into very important parts of the ship and we definelty dont want to get anyone sick,
Stop number 1 to our suprise was going to the Bridge. The bridge is the ship’s main control centre, located at the front of the vessel. It is where the captain and officers navigate and operate the ship using all their equiptment. To be allowed uo here we had to pick up our secruity detail and get scanned and checked by security.
Visiting the bridge on Anthem of the Seas was really interesting and something I won’t forget. It was amazing to see where the captain and crew actually control such a huge ship. They have 2 huge wings that stick out the side and glass floors so they can look straight down. There are 3 places that the can conrol the ship from.
The most interesting thing I learnt was when a large cruise ship like Anthem of the Seas is docking, a local harbor pilot usually comes on board. These pilots are experts in that specific port, so they know the local waters, tides, currents, and any tricky areas much better than the ship’s captain would. They typically board the ship just outside the port and guide the captain and crew during docking. Even though the captain is still in charge, they rely heavily on the pilot’s local knowledge to bring the ship in safely.
Our next stop was the Engine Room. The engine room is the part of the ship where all the power is generated to keep it moving and running. It contains large engines, generators, and complex systems that produce electricity and propulsion. This power is used not only to move the ship through the water but also to run everything onboard, like lights, air conditioning, and restaurants. We were in the engine control room where engineers work around the clock to make sure everything operates safely and efficiently.
Next it was into the kitchens we met up with Chok who walked us through the food side of things onboard. We looked where they make all the meals, the dishwashing areas, the taste testing. Listening to him talk about food service was crazy. The kitchen serves 3 course meals to over 1000 guests in 45 minutes and they do it for 3 dinner sittings. The organisation is crazy.
After dining we headed down to where the storage is. The ship has to have everything on board they could possibly need for the voyage. They store huge amounts of food, including meat, vegetables, dairy, and desserts, all kept at carefully controlled temperatures. Everything is organised and labelled so the kitchen staff can quickly find what they need. Matthew showed us through the fridges and exlpained that storage acts just like a big supermarket for the kitchen staff.
Next it was to the waste disposal part of the ship. All waste is carefully sorted into different types, like food waste, recyclables, and general rubbish. Special machines are used to process and reduce waste, such as compactors and incinerators. The crew follows strict environmental rules to make sure waste is handled safely and responsibly. All that talk of poo water being released off ships is technically true but all water is processed on board is treated very carefully It’s processed in special systems where bacteria are used to break down the waste naturally, similar to how sewage treatment plants work on land. These systems clean the water through several stages, removing harmful substances and killing germs. By the end of the process, the water is treated to meet strict environmental standards before it can be safely released or reused in certain systems on the ship. She said that water is clean enough to drink but they normally use it to cool down the engines and mechanical functions.
Our last stop for the tour was to the Laundry room. The laundry on a Royal Caribbean ship is a huge operation that runs almost all day. Industrial washing machines and dryers clean thousands of items daily, including sheets, towels, uniforms, and tablecloths. Everything is sorted carefully by type and colour before washing, and large pressing machines are used to iron items quickly. The large dryer machines are super impressive.
We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing. Its so nice to be able to just sit and watch the world go by.
Dinner was amazig again. Our servers Sydney and Raphael are absolutley amazing. Tonights show was Nick Nickolas who is an experienced international magician, comedian, and entertainer originally from London and now based in Australia.His show included sleight-of-hand magic, juggling, and comedy. He was seriously good and it was a very fun night.
