Final Sea Day - Feb 8, 2009 - Christchurch, New Zealand

Today is our final sea day...no port calls today. We were treated to a wonderful culinary demonstration by the head chef and then we were given a special tour of one of the ship's galleys. The Diamond Princess carries a little over 2600 passengers and more than 1100 crew members. Here are some staggering statistics for an average day on the Diamond Princess: average amount of assorted pastries prepared daily - 6,000; average amount of ice cream prepared daily - 90 gallons; average amount of coffee consumed daily - 470 gallons; average amount of beef prepared daily - 2100 lbs; average amount of dishes washed daily - 70,000! It is quite an operation! Tonight is also our last formal night and the Captain's Gala Cocktail party which some plan on attending. We took pictures of our wait staff that took such great care of us each evening in the dining room. They were wonderful. Everyone looked nice as we sailed on toward our last port of call before reaching Auckland on the 10th.