RC OASIS: Article in the New Yorker

[appaloosa]

Did anyone read the fascinating article in the NOV 3/2014 issue of the New Yorker?

Floating Feasts: Gourmandism on the high seas

 

A very insightful behind-the-scenes read of what goes into managing and feeding over six thousand passengers and twenty-one hundred crew members, on the OASIS (the 2nd largest cruise ship in the world).

 

To quote from the article:

There is a maxim in the cruise-ship industry that the average passenger gains a pound a day while on board.

(Oasis passengers eat a metric ton of lobster during a typical seven-day cruise.)

One of the few exceptions to Royal Caribbean’s made-fresh policy is French fries. Guests in Opus consume roughly six hundred pounds of fries in an evening, Dearie said, and fry consumption rises with the number of Americans on board and the number of children—as does pizza consumption.

Good grief...who goes on a cruise to eat such boring foods as french fries and/or pizza? *meh*! I'll take international (Indian! French! Italian! Asian!) smorgasborg cuisine over bland North American food anyday!

All Royal Caribbean’s purchasing is handled by the company’s logistics office, in Weston, Florida, which makes adjustments based on cruise routes, passenger origins, and a variety of demographic factors.

Cruises that originate in Europe or Asia have different gastronomic profiles from ones that operate out of Fort Lauderdale, Dearie said. “The Spanish eat a lot more fruit, a lot more bread, a lot more cheeses,” he explained. “Brits like heavy foods, cold-weather foods.” Fruit consumption rises with air temperature. New Yorkers and people travelling without children are more likely to patronize the restaurants that require a surcharge. Australians drink the most. Americans like chewy cookies, but Europeans want crunchy, dunkable ones. Chinese travellers snack little, prefer set dining times, and usually want to sit with the other members of their tour group. They also drink less than people from most other countries, but shop and gamble more, and are highly unlikely to go dancing after dinner. On Asian cruises with large numbers of Chinese passengers, at least one of the ship’s night clubs will typically be converted into a high-stakes gaming room, to handle overflow from the casino.

 

 

Full article here: Floating Feasts: Gourmandism on the high seas

 

Enjoy!

[Wildcatfish]

Interesting article! Thanks for the link.