How long does it take for a cruise ship to get ready for a new group of passengers? Here's what a hotel director has to say.

How does a cruise ship rotate 9,000 passengers and 20 trucks of provisions over the course of 8 hours?

If you’ve ever taken a cruise before, you might find yourself wondering how the ship gets ready for a sailing.

Most cruises happen back-to-back, meaning passengers disembark on the same day new passengers arrive.

Between sailings, cruise ships have a single “turnaround day,” when the guests from the previous sailing are disembarking and the new guests are entering.

At a Captain’s Corner event on a recent Anthem of the Seas cruise, a passenger asked how staff prepare for all the logistics of a turnaround day.

Captain’s Corner is an informal Q&A, usually held with the ship’s captain, activities director, and hotel director. 

Guests can pose all their pressing questions, and have them answered directly.

The author with Captain Srecko Ban.

This 2024 Captain’s Corner event was attended by Captain Srecko Ban, hotel director Adrian Gheorghe, and cruise activities director Katie Knowles.

What goes on behind the scenes to get all the logistics in place?

The author with hotel director Adrian Gheorghe.

A guest asked what goes on behind the scenes to get the ship ready for sailing. 

“It seems like a huge undertaking with all the logistics to get stuff onboard,” they said. 

Anthem of the Seas’ hotel director, Adrian Gheorghe, answered this question. 

Hailing from Romania, he started out as a cleaner and worked his way up through guest services over the past 21.

Gheorghe has served as Anthem’s hotel director for the past 6 years.

Anthem of the Seas is a large Quantum Class ship, measuring 1,138 feet in length, 136 feet in width, and 168,367 gross tons. 

“Originally, when we started building our big, big ships, the discussion was around how many guests we [can] have on board our ship,” Gheorghe said.

Anthem is capable of holding 4,905 passengers and 1,500 crew members.

The ship has 2,090 staterooms and 16 guest decks, so that’s a lot of space to prepare for a sailing!

“But it’s all about how you never feel that you’re sharing with so many guests onboard.”

Gheorghe explained that the ships are designed so that you never feel overwhelmed by the amount of other people onboard. 

Through various spaces and lines, guests are moved around so that there are never too many people in one area at a time.

On turnaround day, you’d never guess that almost 9,000 passengers are rotating off and on the cruise ship!

Read more: What’s the earliest time I can get off my cruise ship when it’s over?

Cruise ships go straight from one cruise to the next 

Gheorghe said that turn-around day takes place over 8 hours, over which the cruise ship rotates about 9,000 passengers.

During this time period, the ship’s staff only have about one to 1.5 hours without guests onboard. 

It is “quite an intense operation.”

Several strategies ensure that guests aren’t packed together.

On disembarkation day, you’ll notice that departure times are usually very staggered.

Royal Caribbean divides guests into groups, depending on whether they are bringing luggage with them or receiving luggage assistance. 

Guests who are bringing their luggage off themselves usually receive the earliest disembarkation time, starting around 7:30 A.M.

With over 50 different groups departing at different times, Royal Caribbean can stagger guests and prevent a mass departure of almost 5,000 people at once.

Read more: 8 reasons to get off your ship as early as possible on disembarkation day

The cruise line also asks guests to wait for their departure out of the stateroom, so that staff has time to clean and get ready for the next guests.

On embarkation day, the ship arrives at port very early in the morning and usually allows guests to enter the cruise terminal around 10 A.M.

Arrivals into the ship are also staggered over 3-4 hours, usually starting around 11 A.M.

Guests who arrive earlier than their scheduled arrival time may be turned away. This ensures that guests don’t arrive at the cruise terminal or enter the ship all at once.

Staterooms are usually opened for incoming guests at about 1 P.M. on embarkation day, allowing enough time for staff to thoroughly clean and prepare every cabin.

Read more: 15 Royal Caribbean boarding process tips for a fast embarkation

The ship also needs new provisions loaded on

Gheorghe called turnaround day “one of our most intense experiences,” saying that it’s a huge accomplishment that crew members can make the day move along efficiently.

“Over the years, we learned the secrets of how to be effective in rotating the ship and preparing it for our guests.” 

Gheorghe explained that they work in four major steps, prioritizing preparation in order of which areas guests see first.

First, they start by preparing the main public areas like the pool decks and Royal Esplanade, making sure the spaces are empty and clear.

Then, the staff focuses on the staterooms: cleaning the room and bathroom and replacing linens, like sheets and towels. Everything is sanitized in preparation for the incoming guests.

Read more: 30 cruise ship embarkation day do’s and don’ts

The third focus is on back-of-the-house operations, loading trucks full of supplies and provisions.

The cruise ship will load all the supplies needed to operate over the length of the next sailing, such as provisions, alcohol, technical equipment, and supplies like toilet paper. 

A fact sheet passed out during the Captain’s Corner event had information on how many supplies Anthem of the Seas uses in a week.

In an average week, guests and crew members consume:

• 15,600 pounds of beef
• 16,000 pounds of chicken 
• 10,517 pounds of pork
• 1,800 pounds of lobster
• 11,000 pounds of seafood
• 4,000 pounds of salmon
• 86,400 fresh eggs

• 16,500 pounds of flour
• 3,500 pounds of sugar
• 1,500 pounds of coffee
• 45,000 pounds of fresh fruit
• 62,000 pounds of fresh vegetables
• 600 pounds of fresh berries

• 18,000 pounds of potatoes
• 8,000 gallons of ice cream
• 8,000 gallons of milk
• 5,800 pounds of cheese
• 10,200 bottles of beer
• 11,500 cans of soda
• 2,225 bottles of wine
• 175 bottles of whiskey
• 550 bottles of vodka
• 18,000 slices of pizza

Gheorghe said these provisions require delivery from 15 to 20 full trucks.

“Why is it that we always load booze first? Quality control. We have to open all the bottles and make sure they taste good,” he joked.

Lastly, staff loads all the luggage from the arriving guests. Luggage arrivals are also staggered, and delivery can stretch into the afternoon. 

Gheorghe shared that a high number of trolleys are moving the luggage, at the same time that cleaning, sanitation, and other preparation is going on.