James Deering has a vast experience in the cruise industry coming from having worked for a series of major names in cruise industry including NCL, Star Cruises, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Renaissance Cruises, and now Princess Cruises. He also has a keen intelligence and is quite articulate. Consequently, each time I have interview James, I have walked away with large amounts of material. Indeed, there was so much material this time, that there is too much for just one article.
Most recently, I encountered James on Caribbean Princess where he was the Passenger Services Director, which is equivalent to the hotel manager or hotel director on the other major lines. The ship was on a Caribbean cruise out of New York.
It is a time of transition for Caribbean Princess, one of the mega-cruise ships of the Grand (Princess) class. Caribbean Princess is taking over the itineraries previously done by her younger sister Crown Princess. In addition, in January, she will undergo an extensive refit which will give her all of the amenities and facilities that are on the more recent Grand class ships.
While it may seem a no-brainer to add features that have been successful on other ships, there is risk in change. The service, the food and the activities on Caribbean Princess were all working well on this cruise. In addition, there were numerous repeat passengers on this voyage, many of whom had come because they liked Caribbean Princess the best of all of the Grand class ships. If things are working well, why change?
James agreed that each ship develops its own character and that leads to a ship having its own following. However, based upon his experience on the Crown Princess and the Emerald Princess, he felt that the features planned for Caribbean Princess would enhance the Caribbean Princess experience without changing the ship’s basic character.
My most recent interview with James Deering is at: http://beyondships.com/Princess-CB-Deering.html
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