Of MSC Fantasy, the ship that recently hosted All-Stars of the Sea, the event of the year of MSC Cruises (which as you know I have followed as sent de The Travel Agency), I will not tell you the excellent gastronomic offer of the 6 restaurants, the sophisticated atmosphere of the 21 bars and lounges, the water games of the 150 fountains of Aqua Park. And not even the treatments of the MSC Aurea SPA, worthy of the best beauty farm.
I will lead you instead in a tour behind the scenes of MSC Fantasia, to discover the areas usually off-limits to passengers, often hidden in the belly of the ship, but that are of fundamental importance to ensure the operation of that perfect gear that is a cruise ship.
As curious as I am, while I was on board I did not miss the opportunity to give a peek to the bridges of the crew, where it stopped the technical and logistic activity of the ship. What you can do anyway if you are on MSC Fantasy, since the "Behind the scenes tour" is regularly proposed to passengers as an excursion during the cruises of at least one week, usually on days of navigation.
The appointment is at the meeting point of the Teatro L’Avanguardia, which with its 1600 seats is among the largest on a cruise ship and, nomen omen, also one of the most technological, with a direction cabin that reminds a little of the control plan. From here you automatically manage the lights, recorded at the beginning of the cruise for each show, and the accompanying music. No playback, however, because singers always perform live.
But the most fascinating part is undoubtedly the backstage, where are the waiters, masks, tricks and imaginative scene costumes of artists of all nationalities. Although, we are told, usually singers are Italian, Ukrainian dancers, while acrobats and contortionists come from Mongolia, where it seems there are the best schools in the world of circus arts.
We leave lustrini and sequins to reach theMSC Yacht Club, the exclusive area members only (so not accessible to other passengers) at deck 15 Splendid, with reception with concierge, gourmet restaurant, panoramic sea lounge and the most luxurious and expensive suites. The most ambitious? The 16007, dedicated to Sophia Loren, maid of inauguration of all MSC ships, furnished in red tones, the favorite color of the diva.
With a leap of 11 bridges we descend to Bridge 4 Magic, the true belly of the ship, entirely run from stern to bow from the safety corridor, perhaps the busiest place of the boat. Practically an internal highway reserved for crew, crossed night and day by thousands of people, from which goods, crew members and officers transit for service, security or when they must move quickly from one end to the other of the ship.
And it is here that from the various bridges also the trolleys loaded with linens direct to the laundry, located aft, where a team of 31 people work no-stop to wash something like 3 tons of sheets per day and 2.5 tons of tablecloths every night.
It would seem a mission impossible, not for the 200 kg mega-washers and the Automatic ironing machines that would be the dream of every housewife.
But the true heart of bridge 4 is the Main Galley, i.e. the main of the 9 kitchens in which 11 brigades of 248 cooks prepare up to 27,000 dishes per day, under the guidance and organization of the executive chef Ciro D’Agostino.
From record, of course, it is also the cambusa, which contains the beauty of 350 tonnes of products, largely Italian. In order to make you an idea, in a week of navigation you consume 32.000 kg of fruit and vegetables, 32.000 eggs, 8.000 kg of potatoes, 6.000 kg of flour, 1750 kg of pasta and 500 kg of coffee.
"And the beauty is that leftovers are practically zero, – says the chef, – because the daily quantities are calibrated on statistical estimates also based on the nationality of passengers. More Italians on board? It increases the consumption of pasta. If there is a high percentage of German passengers, they cook more potatoes, and so on. Genius!
It is no exception El Sombrero Tex-Mex, the only thematic restaurant on the ship and the terminus of our tour behind the scenes of MSC Fantasia.
