It's almost impossible to walk away from a mega-sized cruise ship and not be impressed. These massive floating resorts/amusement parks/shopping malls carry thousands of guests at any given time, and the shear amount of labor, food, and fuel it takes to power one is mind-boggling. We recently set sail on the MSC Preziosa and learned about the big math that keeps a big ship sailing. Here’s how it adds up:

Ships: First, let’s start with the number of ships within MSC: There are 12 ships in three different classes. That's without counting the 11 ships that MSC has on order, which will set sail for the line before 2026. When it sails in 2017, one of them, the MSC Meraviglia, will be among the largest passenger ships in the world.

 

Sailings: MSC ships sail on 168 unique itineraries, making 3,463 calls at 199 ports in a year. Plus, it offers more than 2,000 excursions and custom tours in 73 countries worldwide.

Guests: The line welcomes 1,664,000 guests per year from more than 170 countries.

 

Staff: Between all of its ships, MSC is supported by 16,500 staff members from around the world. When you cruise with the line, you’ll hear announcements and can take tours in five different languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish, and English.

Dining: 48,931,044 meals are served throughout the fleet per year, and are created from 3,353 recipes. On a single ship, 147 dishes are served at any given time.

 

Drinking: You’ll see guests sipping on everything from celebratory bubbles to frozen pool drinks. On MSC, 5,878,980 beverages are served in a year; the most popular among them is the mojito.

Fun (bonus) fact: The MSC Preziosa is known for its staircase, where you’ll see guests snapping photos day and night. The reason: 33,000 Swarovski crystals line the steps.