110 |NORTH&SOUTH|JUNE 2019
information about the next day’s
activities or shore-visit requirements.
We join a group for a “sail-away” on
the bridge one evening. Captain Tasos
Kafetzis has that combination of charm,
waggishness and steely professionalism
that seems ideally suited for Master of
the Vessel on a cruise ship. “Captain Ta-
sos”, as he introduces himself daily over
the intercom, was the Celebrity fleet’s
youngest-ever captain. He’s only 41 now,
and is in charge of 1250 crew embracing
more than 70 dierent nationalities. “It’s
a mini-UN,” he says, “but more harmo-
nious. Everyone is treated with respect.
Any bad apples – they get sent o.”
Many decks below, the multicultural
galley crew produces a staggering
number of meals. Executive chef Victor
Mancilla, from Panama, takes us on a
tour of this gleaming, stainless-steel
hive just ahead of the lunch rush. He
wears a tall chef’s hat, crisp white jack-
et and stylish plaid pants. A pen and a
tiny egg whisk poke out of the top of his
shoulder pocket. We inspect the walk-in
fridge, and ogle the vast board pinned
with details on today’s 14 dierent men-
us across 11 dining venues. We linger at
the bakery, chef Victor’s favourite sta-
tion, perhaps because it smells so good.
The ship bakes all its own bread; there
are eight bread bakers, four on days,
four on nights; 23 in total in the special-
ist baking/dessert section, counting the
pastry chefs. They knead, shape, cake
and bake their way through 540kg of
flour a day.
Behind the bakery is the dishwashing
and waste-management area. Another
big, shiny machine chomps and filters
the food waste, which is then dis-
charged into the ocean outside coun-
tries’ 12-mile limits. We’re told the
kitchen aims for minimal wastage; the
filtered food residue essentially “feeds
the fish”, and there’s an environmental
ocer on board monitoring waste and
recycling. Cruise lines have come under
increasing scrutiny for their sustaina-
bility practices, but cognisant that their
lifeblood – clean water – is in peril, most
are beefing up their waste-reduction,
recycling and exhaust-cleaning systems.
How and where the ship’s 1250 crew
keep themselves busy quickly becomes
apparent. Besides the ocers, there are
phalanxes of kitchen, restaurant, “ho-
tel” and ship’s maintenance sta (in-
cluding whoever tends the half-acre of
real lawn on the top deck). There are allTop: Passengers really do dress up for “Evening Chic” nights, if not
quite as glamorously as the diners pictured in the Murano restaurant
(centre). Even the ship can turn on the bling (above).