Consumption of food on a cruise

Food and drink during a cruise - overview

• Anyone who has ever taken a cruise knows that delicious food, small snacks and delicious desserts await you on every corner. At your floating hotel you dine "all inclusive"!
• The ship offers a wide range of different foods at any time of the day - for small and large appetites. Regardless of whether you are on board the Aida or traveling on an Italian luxury ship - for example MSC or Costa.
• A large breakfast buffet awaits you at breakfast with various rolls, eggs, ham, sausage, cheese, jam, cereals and hot dishes. For lunch and dinner you can enjoy meat, fish, vegetables and pasta; A delicious piece of cake tastes good in the afternoon.
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• Even the offer for a single meal a day is immense; In the restaurants there are usually a few dishes of the day that are served at the table in the evening. Usually a regional dish is included.
• A large selection of different dishes awaits you in the evening in the buffet restaurant; Meat dishes such as schnitzel, ragout, chicken legs or turkey breast as well as numerous fish dishes are the main components. As a side dish you can choose pasta, rice, potatoes, French fries or croquettes; In addition, different salads and different types of bread are offered.


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• Fresh and steamed vegetables, gratinated vegetable dishes and fully vegetarian dishes and various soups complete the offer.
• Ice cream, pudding, countless small cakes, cream dishes and lots of fresh fruit taste great with dessert.
• As you can see, the consumption of food and drinks on board the ship is immense. A look behind the scenes shows that tons of food have to be carried with you during the cruise.

Tons of food - consumption on the Aida

• The consumption of food naturally varies on each cruise ship. Nevertheless, an approximate value can be given.
• The following example is based on a ship in the Aida fleet. This feeds 2000 passengers and around 650 crew members during a one-week cruise.
• During this period, the on-board cooks process around 8 tons of meat, for example pork or beef. Just think of the delicious steaks and small schnitzels that are served during dinner. Poultry meat is also processed.
• Different fish dishes are offered on each cruise. With 4.8 t, the kitchen staff gets along well during the cruise.
• Delicious vegetables are served with meat and fish, some of which you can enjoy as raw vegetables. The chefs have to plan around 10t of the vitamin bombs for the cruise, and again the same amount of fresh fruit. 3 tons of pineapples alone are processed during this period!
• So that you can enjoy your daily breakfast egg, but also freshly baked cakes and desserts, the cruise chefs need a sufficient amount of eggs. Almost 40,000 of them are stored in the feed tanks.
• A wonderfully sweet ice cream bomb tastes great as dessert. Would you have thought that you would find 2500L of this sweet treat in the cooling chamber?
• Bread and pasta are also processed in large quantities. For example, 15 kg of spaghetti is cooked in huge pots in the galley every day, and over 5,000 rolls are served for breakfast every day.
• An additional 600 tons of drinking water are consumed on a cruise ship in one day.

Delivery and storage of meals on the Aida

• Numerous food and drinks are obtained from permanent suppliers. These are usually embarked directly at the port of departure and taken on the cruise. The food and drinks are delivered in large containers.
• Drinks such as red wine, white wine or beer are also delivered in large tanks. These hold up to 1200L.
• For the preparation of regional dishes, the basic range is often replenished on site. Then the cooks buy the food in addition.
• The food is stored separately from one another and sorted into different groups in various refrigerated and freezer rooms. Special elevators in the ship are intended exclusively for the transport of food.

Disposal of meat and other waste on the ship

• It is obvious: where such large amounts of the most varied of foods are consumed, a lot of waste is created. Any residue that remains on the plate must be disposed of properly. But where do the leftovers actually end up?
• First, the garbage - still on board - is separated. After the waste has also been dried, it is pressed.
• Many ships have their own on-board waste incineration system, which can be used to properly dispose of waste. So the leftovers do not have to be taken back to the port of destination.
• The leftovers are then either burned in special ovens or taken to the next port of destination. The incineration takes place there on site.
• Many ships also have special water treatment systems. After clarification, the water is then fed back through the pipes to the restaurants, bars and cabins.

As you can see, the amount of food consumed on board a cruise ship is immense - a real achievement by the on-board chefs to serve you the most delicious dishes from these raw materials every day conjure up!