I work in the Crew Mess. The menu is very similar to Juvenile Hall! I laughed out loud when I saw chili mac, sloppy joe’s and mac-n-cheese on the menu.
My hours are 9-5 everyday. Which isn’t as bad as it sounds. “Weekends Off” is no longer your goal, instead you look forward to when your shift ends or when you can get off the ship for a few hours to see the islands. Down time on the ship is the limiting and potentially boring!!! So working long hours every day is best to help time pass. Saving $$ is a MAJOR motivating factor to working so many hours.
There are 8 total who cook in Crew Mess. I’m the only woman (sigh). We have daily scuffles as to the only way to make Pork Adobo, Teriyaki sauce and Fried Rice. But fried chicken is made by dipping the cooked meat in water, dredged in flour and then deep fried . . . . it’s pure shit, and I’m purple with rage!! So I’ve taken on frying 90# of chicken 3x’s a week, in order for it to be done the right way. Yeah, it’s a little work, but I get paid the same and I have the satisfaction of knowing its being done the right way!
Completely different departments clean the kitchen, and wash pots/pans. There are NO TOWELS to wipe down counters, your hands, or pick up hot items. We have hot pads, whew! Paper towels are used to swipe at shit slopped on counter tops. We have exactly 8 knives, the sharpest one can’t cut air! I’ve begged Chef to sharpen our knives, he looked at me like I’d sprouted two heads.
There are no robot coupes, blenders or cuisine arts! So, when I had to chop, by hand onions, peppers and parsley for fishcakes to feed 200+ people, I was nearly crippled by days end. There is ONE stick blender but it is kept under lock/key on the 5th Deck and ONLY the Executive Sous Chef can request its use. Sanitation buckets are ubiquitously placed, and are rarely used. Oh get this . . . EVERY DAMN DAY we have to order salt and pepper! The ordering is done by the Executive Sous Chef only, and when we get it someone promptly steals it out of our kitchen!! We have some times gone DAYS without either. In fact, every day, everyday supplies have to be ordered Weird!!
Several different departments contribute to a portion of each restaurant menu. The Production Dept. preps rices, mashed potatoes, soups, etc. The Produce Dept. provides chopped, sliced or diced veggies/fruits of several different varieties to the entire ship. The Bakery provides breads to the entire ship. Pastry Dept. desserts for each dept. Each restaurant has its own kitchen where they specially prepare the items for their menu. Let's say the restaurant Little Italy has Peppers & Sausage on their menu, they would order their meat from the Meat Dept. and prepare it but would have the peppers come pre-sliced from Produce and the marinara sauce would come from Production. A LOT OF TEAMWORK goes into each ones menus. It's mind boggling how it all happens so seamlessly.
I’m finally, finally, able to navigate my way from my cabin to Crew Mess without asking 6 people and still getting lost! This ship is HUGE and I am the most disoriented person to walk the face of the earth! I seriously considered buying a GPS to help me get around this damn ship.
Crew “hang out” areas on the ship are: a gym, game room with pool table (which is hard to play as the ship rocks back and forth) and an air hockey table, 3 flat screen TVs to play video games, and also watch TV, but you have to share these with 900+ other people. There is a Crew Bar open every evening from 8:30 - 1:30 a.m., there is a very strict drinking code, blood alcohol limit is .04. On the 12th Deck is an outside crew area, with spectacular views of the ocean, and islands, but no where to sit, unless you perch your ass directly on the deck, which some do. Not I! In your shared cabin you have a remote control TV with a DVD player, and a small refrigerator, not bad. I have the top bunk which suits me just fine.
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