Tonight’s Mega Shippers on Science Channel gives an incredible insight into how on earth you go about loading a mega cruise ship with all the groceries it needs for a voyage.
Think you’re weekly shopping list is a pain to buy? How about 7,397lbs of cheese, 4,800 dozen eggs, 330 cases of pineapple, 6,944lbs of lettuce, 62,000lbs of vegetables, and 45,000lbs of fruit.
The 110,000 Oasis of the Seas, which is featured on tonight’s episode, carries 6,124 passengers and over 2,000 crew as it cruises the Caribbean.
As a result, during a turnaround between sailings it has to be loaded with $1.2million of food and drink, as the army of chefs prepare to serve up 200,000 meals during their next voyage.
On tonight’s Mega Shippers, watch as loading boss Keith and his team load up the ship, which is currently the joint second largest cruise ship in the world.
The 1,100ft vessel is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just a few hours before heads on a cruise around the Caribbean — with the loading process taking at least six hours.
Perishables for the “floating city” arrive first from refrigerated trucks — and they’ve got to be loaded quick because of Florida’s high temperatures which could damage the food if they’re left out in the heat too long.
Everything has to be checked by sniffer dog Wolfie to make sure there’s nothing illicit going on board, but once a pallet has passed his smell test it can be taken on board.
At one point on tonight’s episode there’s a tense moment when a container of 5,400 lobster tails goes missing — just an hour before departure. Team leader Keith says: “If I don’t get lobster, then we have a problem. There is no substitute for lobster.”
Luckily it turns up an hour before departure.
Watch the preview clip for tonight’s episode of Mega Shippers on Science Channel below.
Mega Shippers preview clip
Also on the show, watch as shippers in Virginia attempt to load 5,700 tons of cargo on to a barge in just 17 hours — as a massive storm puts their deadline at risk.
Watch another similar case below as crews attempt to unload 27,000 tons of cane sugar in under ten hours while a thunder storm threatens to close in.
Mega Shippers airs Mondays at 10/9c on Science Channel.