Le Meraviglia – Le palace flottant qui fait rêver tout le monde

Le Meraviglia c’est le plus gros paquebot européen, 315m de long pour une capacité de 5 700 passagers. Un bijou estimé à 800 millions d’euros. Avec une décoration digne de Las Vegas.
Pour cette première croisière, suivez les membres d’équipage de cette véritable ville flottante.

Réalisateur : RENAUD HETRU

Marseille, on June 10th. This morning, The Phocaean city is preparing to experience an exceptional event. The departure of the inaugural cruise of Europe’s largest liner, The Meraviglia, the wonder in Italian. Moored at the port of Marseille, This ship, 315 meters long, has a capacity of 5,700 passengers. Today… This new giant of the seas is expecting more than 500 French people. Have I forgotten anything? Left Istres at 7am this morning, Cathy and Costi wouldn’t have missed boarding for anything in the world. He is here. Ah, there you go. On a cruise, Costi applies himself to filming and photographing everything. And this is his wife, Cathy, who poses. Yes, Yes, Yes, come on,
the last one, the last. In love with cruise ships, Cathy and Costi followed every stage of the ship’s construction. They even went to see him at the STX shipyards in Saint-Nazaire. Do you remember you were up there? How many months ago did we go to visit the boat? STX Saint-Nazaire? Two months ago, STX invited us. We visited like this, like that, but there was still scaffolding, finishes, the painters, the seals there. But we already have a first glimpse of what will be inside. Very dearly, STX gave us the greatest gift. Here we go. From now on, the couple has only one idea in mind, climb aboard this brand new ship. Do you remember the number? Yes, 10-346 And even if they are at their 18th cruise, once on the pier, the emotion is always the same. “There,
you know you’re arriving on your boat. So there… » It’s starting to rise, You know, things start to move because we know what to expect, because it’s sure to be magnificent. But we’ll see the surprise they gave us. And me, things are starting to move there, you see. SO, that’s it, To attract more and more passengers. Cruise lines have embarked on a race for gigantism. Like the last nose built in Saint-Nazaire, inaugurated on May 31 by President Emmanuel Macron. And baptized by its godmother, Sophia Loren, during a very celebrity ceremony. The Meraviglia, It is the largest European cruise ship, 315 meters long, for a capacity of 5,700 passengers. A jewel estimated at 800 million euros, with a decor worthy of Las Vegas. Like this luminous ceiling more than 80 meters long, or this giant sculpture representing waves. But also a water park and its four giant slides. A treetop adventure course. At 60 meters above sea level, and even a Formula 1 simulator. For this first, We followed the crew members of this real floating city. Elodie, the master chocolatier. I will have 500 boats to be made every week. That’s part of the challenge. You will have to enjoy doing everything. Or Christophe, the head of the restaurants. It cuts cakes with a very powerful jet of water. There, we do incredible things, we can do whatever we want. In all, 1,800 crew members will work hard to make this inaugural cruise a success. But above all, so as not to disappoint the very first passengers. Like the Péfort family, come to try out all the activities on board. Where Cathy and Costi used to go on cruises. We are not taking a cruise, we saw it. Full throttle. Immediate boarding on the largest cruise ship in Europe. Freshly arrived from Albidon-le-Tarne, The Péfort family embarks on the Meravilia. With a mandatory passage through the promenade. An incredible commercial artery almost 100 meters long. It changes with the plan of the house. Ah, it’s not a renouillis! This ship, latest generation, was designed to attract a new clientele, families with children. SO, what’s your name Remi, 8 years old, and Alexis, 10 years old, will be equipped with these bracelets. An innovation that allows children to be located anywhere on the ship. What does the bracelet do? This is for the safety of children. Yes,
we have an app to find children. Detecting your children on a giant liner, It seems simple. Now all that remains is to locate his cabin. So where are we going? Where are we going? The Péfort family is going to embark on a real treasure hunt. Discovery of the crystal stairs, technical premises. We’re going to visit the engines. Then from the restaurant entrance. On the other side. It’s not possible! That’s it. Cyril and Sandrine seem completely disoriented. Okay, we’re in the center. Yeah. So, it’s not there. And where is it then? Ah, it’s over there. It’s over there. The pephorists will wander through endless corridors. Eh, no. We are not in the right place at all. Over several hundred meters. I think we should go there instead. To Bavour or to Starboard. Don’t forget to go through reception first. We go right through the middle, we are lost. Then turn back. Come on, let’s do it again. In all, The small family will take almost 20 minutes to find their room. The room, This is my pastry. It’s good, are you going, from here.
51, 07. A cabin of 18 square meters. It’s so beautiful. Paid 1900 euros per week for 4 people, with a sea view from this porthole. Cathy and Kosti, They go straight to the point of finding their room. Come on, let’s do this. We will discover the room, The cabin.
A surprise. Two, three. The colors are beautiful. To enjoy the scenery, The couple booked a balcony cabin for 1600 euros a week for two, more than six months ago. But for now, There is one detail that is sticking. An inaugural cruise seems to be prestige, but in fact, You’re on a plaster. There,
the fact that we don’t have the two little chairs and our little table, there is something wrong. I don’t understand. But we will have the explanation. These little things, After, They will get there. This is the start. The boat is still at the dock. That Rémi and Alexis are already enjoying this attraction. A treetop adventure course located at the top of the ship. For Cyril, the boys’ dad, It is also an opportunity to have a breathtaking view of Marseille. If you take advantage of it, for the view too, It’s great 5 p.m., The meraviglia sets sail, with this unique panorama of the Frioul Islands and the Calanques National Park. We’re off for 7 days in the Mediterranean. First destination, Genoa, in the north of Italy. Then Naples, Messines in Sicily, the valley in Malta, Barcelona in Spain, before returning to Marseille. From the first evening, on the promenade, sculptures do not go unnoticed. The Meraviglia is the first ocean liner in the world to have a chocolate bar on board. Elodie Boucher is one of four French people working on the ship. At 30 years old, The master chocolatier is responsible for this incredible boutique. Where chocolate flows freely, day and night. You think you can do this with just the two of you? Yes yes, Yes. It’s OK No problem. OK,
so, Alexandre, They will do it together and you, you’re going to do the fridge, please. Hello Elodie manages everything and takes care of everything. But tonight, she has a big problem. Maybe you can take a little off One of his refrigerators is malfunctioning. It produces too much humidity and the macarons take on water. She summoned an on-board technician to the rescue. Apparently, impossible to intervene immediately. I can come back tomorrow morning with my trolley and all the tools. But there, I won’t be able to, there are too many people. Just keep the counter door closed as often as possible. Okay. So,
at 7 o’clock and 7:30 Okay.
Elodie will finally store her pastries in another fridge for the night. During this first evening, she goes from disappointment to disappointment. In the laboratory, chocolate stocks are no longer in place. It’s hopeless, You. It’s hopeless. But you must not turn the plates over, Lucie.
Why? I had put everything away this morning. We make candy. I had put a plate and there, you had this chocolate, there,
you had this chocolate, There,
you had these chocolates. I had everything organized. Take the grates. No,
you don’t take the gates. I had put on plates because the girls, when they take, otherwise after, it slips. So you take everything out and rearrange it, just as it is, please. I spent an hour doing it this morning. It’s really very complicated. I had made a whole place this morning to tidy up, so that girls understand. And in fact, He took all the plates off and mixed everything up again. So you really have to be behind them. All the time, all the time. Despite these worries, the master chocolatier and her teams will have to work twice as hard, because orders are pouring in from the first day of the cruise. I will have 500 boats to make. In addition to production, that’s a lot of work, but that’s how it is. It’s part of the challenge, We will have to find the time to do everything. Elodie will work until late into the night making the next day’s chocolates. While the passengers, them, go wild by the pool, transformed into a discotheque. If the Meraviglia already has 3000 passengers on board, This figure will practically double from the first stopover. On the second day, The Meraviglia docks in the port of Genoa. In the north of Italy. Settled down for breakfast, Passengers watch the huge bay windows being cleaned. Always against the current, Costi, him, enjoys a completely different point of view. I went down here to the back of the boat, as I usually do, because the view is still quite awkward when the boat is docked. Look at, we are practically in the city. The scene is set, Cathy can enter the scene. Nestled, at a height of 65 meters, the equivalent of a 21-story building. The precious photo is in the box. During this time, The 171,000-ton ship is about to gain even more weight. At each stopover, new passengers climb aboard. This evening, There will be 5,700 of them on the Meraviglia. The maximum capacity of the vessel. And this morning, delivery stay. With its furniture, intended for the balcony so long awaited by Costi. And nearly 700 tons of Big Try for a week of cruising. In the huge main buffet, we serve more than 9,000 meals a day, and no less than 6,000 slices of pizza. The chocolate bar, is also running at full speed, with its 250 chocolate boats, produced in two days. Victim of its success, at the shop, We are running out of bags for customers. Kimberley, I’m going to see Richie about your bike. What do you need? Little bags like that. Yes, boxes for macarons. No, we don’t have any. Since the start of the inaugural cruise, Elodie travels several dozen kilometers a day, with constant back and forth between the shop and the premises, of the reserves manager. Today, This must be the 8th time I’ve been there, that I’m going to see. Luigi. Elodie doesn’t have a second to herself. But for once, passing over the staff bridge, I know just how to look a little fresher and less tired, She takes a short break in her cabin. So, we left again. It’s small, but at the same time, as I am here, in the end, only for sleeping, because there is a television, And then I didn’t even have time to turn it on again. SO, it’s really… I come here to sleep, I wash and leave, etc. That,
every day. SO, it doesn’t necessarily have to be bigger. And then,
that’s enough for me. What is missing, it may be a dazzle, but it doesn’t matter. Five minutes later, Elodie has already left. She must now try to get her bags back from Luigi, the inventory manager. SO, we have this bag, It’s true. With this morning’s deliveries, difficult to find your way around the boxes. It’s okay. It’s good, We have the bags. You are so strong. I just have to get some bags. You can wear anything Yes. Are you strong enough? Yes. You see I can go. Okay, I’m pretty strong. See you later, lovers. You thought you had to do all this when you signed up No, I didn’t think so. And that’s exactly what I was talking about with my team. I had a meeting this afternoon because there were some problems. Everyone said, That’s not for me to do, That’s not for me to do. So,
I gathered them together to tell them, look at, I do things, I’m not necessarily supposed to do them as a manager. And that’s how it is. I told them, We need to pull together and move forward together. And then we need to help each other, so that there’s really a good atmosphere. Mission accomplished for Elodie. But once there, bad surprise. No, we don’t need that. We need the little ones. Serious Because we didn’t have the size below. It was just so you had the model. Yes,
I told you. Since the launch of this cruise, Elodie spends her life in the corridors of the ship, without even being able to go onto the decks of the ship. The next morning, The Meraviglia Rallie Naples, in the south of Italy. As in every port, The inaugural cruise is greeted by the water jets of the tugboats. On the lower side, as on the starboard side, no more room to admire the spectacle. Cathy and Costi. Found the best viewpoint, at the back of the liner. There, he slams on the brakes. We’ll get closer again. Look at, It’s impressive. Frankly. Look at, a letter to the post office, without tug. And there,
they cast off the mooring lines and gently, by pulling the moorings a little, All this, he settles down, he sticks. The couple, It’s a marvel of the spectacle that the boat offers. A passion they have shared for a very long time. Cathy and I, We are a family from Port-de-Bourg. It’s shipyard and kid. We witnessed the departure of the boats and we saw, after the shipyards, whether it is from Porte-Bouc, of the City, of the Seine, They closed one behind the other. But damn, It does something to me. This childlike side of a city that built boats, There you go. While Cathy and Costi enjoy the view of Naples, inside the Meraviglia, It’s the excitement. There are more than 3,000 passengers who want to enjoy the Dolce Vita. Cyril, Séverine and their two children will also enjoy the pleasure of a stopover in Naples. What are we doing? We want to have a coffee We want to have a coffee. A coffee, it’s clear. And he makes ice cream Yes,
there is ice cream. So, what do you want? A chocolate. A chocolate. And you,
then So, two chocolates. She looks delicious. It’s a real ice cream, there. So,
come to Italy and not taste Italian ice cream, It is sacrilege. THANKS. THANKS. Rémi and Alexis are over the moon. But while most passengers are in town, aboard the giant of the seas, absolute calm reigns. Cathy and Costi now have the ship all to themselves. They are welcomed like pashas in this spa. Hello, How are you Fine, thanks. So,
you can choose different programs. You can choose the blue route, the more tonic red, the green antitoxin course. Take the relax. Yes,
it’s blue. Shape, toxin. Thank you, so much. You are nice. We need to eliminate it. Yes. This is my thing. Yes. Once in a bathrobe, Kosti, fan of Louis de Funès, is transformed. To amuse his wife, he launches into a reprise of the famous Turkish bath scene from the film La Grande Vadrouille. One, two, three, four. T For you and t for me. Tidididi. Big mustache. You are. Are you? Tidididididi. You are. I am. For 30 years they have been together, Cathy and Costi love each other and have fun like the first day. Their secret Enjoy every moment. We are fine. Your room, you get up, you’re going to have lunch, you come back, It’s done. There are no dishes, there is no bed to make, there is nothing. They are all here. To make you happy and enjoy. Today, We had a great day. Far from the spa atmosphere, The passengers of the Meraviglia have all returned from their excursion. A lot, like Cyril and the boys, enjoy the swimming pools and the water park. 6 p.m., The stopover in Naples ends with a final visit to Mount Vesuvius. While inside the ship, Gerardo, 36-year-old Mexican, is preparing to launch one of the events of this inaugural cruise. In just under 3 minutes, I’m going to start the show from the Dome. Now,
There’s less than a minute left. I will launch it with my computer, because the performance must start on time. The show is about to begin. Showtime The roof of the promenade will immerse passengers in a virtual world. And that’s already the end of the show. Nobody saw anything. But Gerardo spotted one detail that was amiss. Look, There is a problem with one of the dome panels. We have a second show in an hour. I have some time to try to fix the problem. I’ll try. But if it’s too complicated a breakdown, The men from my team will have to intervene on the promenade, tonight or tomorrow morning, very early. Let’s go. Gerardo has worked for the world’s largest cruise lines. He is the boat’s video specialist. But this kind of breakdown, he had never seen one. There,
we will go above the dome. And we’re going to check these panels before the next show starts. NOW, We will go to the technical part of the dome. And here is the entrance. Let’s go. We enter one of the most secret places on the ship. Above us, There are the passenger cabins. They don’t know that below them, there is this dome and we are there under their feet. The passengers don’t suspect anything. They don’t know what’s really going on here. Above the dome, The technician guides us through this strange corridor that looks like a space shuttle. It’s not really the ideal place to work, but I love it. With his 1.90 meter, It’s not easy to squeeze inside the tunnel. The LED ceiling is made up of 80 light panels. Gerardo knows exactly where the problem lies. When I was down there, The computer told me that it was panel 41 that had a problem. And as you can see, each panel is numbered. The slightest misstep is forbidden. There, you really have to be very, very careful. We must never forget that we are 10 meters above the void. I’ll try to reconnect the power. I can’t see from here if it works. I have to go back down. Come on, here we go again. This is the moment of truth. We’ll see if I fixed the problem. Well, that’s good, Everything works perfectly. This evening, Gérardot will perform two more performances before dinner begins. 8 p.m., Most of the passengers meet at the same time in front of the restaurant. That’s nearly 6,000 cruise passengers who need to be fed every evening. Objective, provide service. So that the customer does not have to queue for too long. In the kitchens, Christophe Locra, the chief of the company’s chiefs, came especially on the meraviglia. To put everything in place. Originally from Quimper, in Brittany, This Frenchman designed more than 4,000 recipes for the company’s 13 ships. In this kitchen, Christophe’s teams nearly 15,000 dishes must come out every evening. A race against time. The cooks prepare everything possible before the rush hour, in order to ensure service in record time. The waiters come this way and take what they need. They are doing this path. First,
they are in the hot kitchen. They take their hot meal, they arrive there, they take their salad, their entry, and after, They come up here. So this, These are the servers who go to the bottom number 6. On the ship, like in the subway, A double escalator was designed to speed up the flow of 250 servers. An ultra-modern kitchen. And besides, Christophe. And the pastry chefs are very proud to present this amazing machine to us. It’s not just cut, round or square or rectangle. There,
we do incredible things, We can do whatever we want in the end. Thanks to this high pressure gun, The cakes are cut in the blink of an eye. That’s what we do for buffets, precisely, because we have large quantities of cakes to cut. They put it in the machine and then they let the machine cut and they all have the same shape. That’s what’s interesting. In less than two minutes, There are more than 15 puzzle-shaped slices ready to be served. In total, nearly 10,000 pastries are produced every day. And that’s not counting birthdays. In French, Very good. This is for a favor for now. So,
we see all the people who have birthdays. And that’s for the second service. Just now, there will be even more. This evening, in the main restaurant, The Péfort family celebrates Alexis’s 11th birthday, with this inaugural cruise and a baptism as a gift. In this Formula 1 simulator, on the children’s floor, Alexis and his little brother enter the ring. At some point, You need to slow down a little. And on this boat that never sleeps, It’s a white party. Cathy and Posty are there. They won’t be in bed until 3am, even if tomorrow, Their schedule promises to be busy. 8am, The Meraviglia docks on the island of Malta, in the legendary port of Valletta. This jewel of the Mediterranean is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for Cathy and Costi. If there is an excursion to do, This is the one. This is our first outing of the week. Malta, This is a priority stopover. Once on the platform, Kosti will be able to photograph the bow of the liner. I’m going to settle down. Cathy, go ahead! All the conditions are there to take excellent pictures. They will come to feed his blog, intended for family and friends. I need to back up a little bit more. But there,
really, the light, She’s great. We’re not bad. I’ll be happy if he succeeds in his photo. It’s good You see, a wonderful one. Yes yes, Yes. Yes, yes. On an excursion, Cathy sometimes has a hard time. To move her husband forward. Is it okay there? It stops every 5 minutes, you need the stamp, you need it hot. I’m taking the name of the boat with part of the palm tree. That’s great, I am happy. We can see clearly. But if Costi went down to Valletta, It’s not just for taking pictures of the boat. He also wants to visit the local branch of the MSC company, owner of the ship. This is the MSC headquarters. To the briefcase, There. The boat, the wonder, it is registered here. MSC, leading cruise company in Europe, has offices worldwide. Kosti wants to send a message to his leaders based in Geneva. Ouch, Awayo. Thank you so much. I would like to send a message to CEO, Mr. Gianni Onorato, and to the Executive President, Pierre-François Vago. You can write my message, Please ? It’s very personal. I am sending you this message for my happiness. I am very happy to have purchased your new boat from you. Wow We are, I would say, That’s it. Come on, It’s over. And now, the visit to Ferrer, Yes. And your best alliance with STX France for that French touch. And what is it? The French touch. French. French. French. Touch. What’s touching? Touch, touch. Touch, touch. Touch, touch. Touch,
from the verb, to touch. Touch. I touch, you touch, I touch. You know the word in Italian perhaps? French touch. French touch. French touch. OK, agreed, That’s it, I get it. There is the verb to touch. I touch, you touch, he touches. Okay, that’s all You have my blog. This is my channel, YouTube. I am the manager. Come on, thanks. Thank you, Hello. Costi’s little note will be well received by the bosses of this company, which is worth 2 billion euros. She has been working on the Meraviglia for a month. Wow, it’s sunny. Elodie, the master chocolatier, disembarks from the liner for the first time. I’m going to give myself a vacation from 1:20 p.m., we’ll be back in two hours. I’m not going to leave them too long though. We are almost earth sick, it feels weird, because it doesn’t move anymore. So it feels the opposite, actually, but it feels good. A visit to the capital of Malta is a must on cruises. But after a quick detour into town, She will quickly seek calm. That,
on the other hand, it’s good,
silence, because that, it’s missing on the boat. The boat is still in operation, day and night, there is always noise. So, there, just the sound of the waves, It’s relaxing. He is super imposing. So yes, It does something to me. But it mostly makes me think it’s time to go home. Elodie leaves to return to her chocolate factory. She signed a three-month contract. On the sea, Avelia. 6 p.m., The sea giant leaves Valletta with a final breathtaking passage in front of its monuments. The journey comes to an end with a final day at sea, a stopover in Barcelona before returning to Marseille. This morning, It’s time for nearly 500 French people to leave, like the Péfort family. Cathy and Costi also leave the ship, but take it philosophically. He is the great Italian philosopher Don Vito Di Carlo. He had this terrible quote. When it’s over, Well, that’s it. Marseille marks the end of the inaugural cruise In less than two hours, new passengers will board. It was a bit of a sad day for us, but we know we’ll come back. It’s not that sad. For Costi, The time has come to say goodbye to his boat and perform his famous totem. Don’t move, wait. Don’t move. I feel like I see Meraviglia It’s over.