Cruise Day 2- Behind the Scenes Tour on the Norwegian Dawn

Our second full day on the Norwegian Dawn, we did not have any stops, and we were at sea the entire day.  There was still plenty to do on the ship...  and we ended up taking a "Behind the Scenes" tour of the ship!

Our guide for this tour was a very nice fellow named Kim, who we would bump in to several more times on our trip, and who would be very helpful.  Anyway, this tour started with a short presentation on Norwegian Cruise Lines.  We were told about several ships used in the past, and we were told about their current fleet.

After that, Kim took us to several different departments, and introduced us to the person in charge.  Each of those people explained how things worked in their department, and they toured us around.

I think the most exciting part of this for many was in the kitchen.  We got to see several prep and cleaning areas.  There were photos on the wall showing how dishes were supposed to look.  The staff in this area seemed friendly and aware of food prep procedures.  Of interest were two elevators used.  One was for soiled and dirty items, and the other was for clean, uncontaminated items.

As there are many meals served each day on the ship, there seemed to be almost an infinite amount of prep, cleaning and other areas.  I did enjoy this part of the tour very much, and after going through here, I felt very confident about eating on the ship.  They obviously take their food prep seriously.

Also, at the end of the kitchen tour, a cruise ship photographer took a photo of each person on the tour wearing a bakers hat and holding some oversized kitchen utensils.  A complimentary photo was given to each participant (along with a nice 8x10 photo of the ship) at the end of our tour!

After this we talked to a staff person in charge of getting rid of waste.  This was very interesting too, as incinerators are used in compressing the waste down.

Another interesting area we visited dealt with the budgeting issues of getting supplies for the ship.

This was simply a fun part of the tour, as the guys in this area seemed to have a great sense of humor, and they obviously enjoyed working together on their job.  They cracked jokes left and right as they showed us around.


One fellow talked about all of the eggs needed on the cruise.  He said people ask him about where all of those eggs go (as he asked that, he reached over and patted me on the stomach- EVERYONE cracked up).

These guys let us look into the various freezers and cool storage areas, at the eggs, meats, etc.

They talked about getting their meats and other items before the cruises go out.  They also mentioned that they are able to plan, with 98% accuracy, how much food will be needed.

I was pleased to hear that a lot of consideration goes into the food purchases.  They even admitted that they had to consider nationalities and ethnic groups that will be on the cruises, as different groups like different kinds of foods.

After this, we were taken to the laundry area.  MANY machines are used in the laundering process on the Norwegian Dawn.  I was VERY impressed with the huge washing machines, and the various machines that could straighten and fold towels and sheets quickly!

Lastly, we had the very cool opportunity to see the impressive theater on the ship, and to peak at the backstage area.


This was a real treat, especially after seeing the Haines magic show here.