Talking with the Captain of Enchantment; Chops Grille Review

This week, some of the members of the senior management team talk about what makes Enhantment of the Seas work.

First, we have Captain Gus Andersson, the master of the vessel. Captain Gus clearly enjoys his role. He can be seen out and about in the passenger areas of the ship, walking about and keeping his eye on how things are going and also participating in light-hearted activities such as a cake making competition. His announcements from the bridge inform the guests of the usual nautical information such as the ship's position and the weather but also about places of interest the ship is passing and some relevant history. The announcements always end with “words of wisdom” - - little sayings that elecit a smile but also have a lesson embedded in them.

Enchantment is Captain Gus' first permanent command. However, his resume includes expereience as an officer on several Royal Caribbean ships. Especially noteworthy is that he was First Officer on the team that brought Allure of the Seas into service. I sailed on Allure's maiden voyage and was struck by how incredibly motivated the crew of that ship was.

Micael Landry is the Hotel Director on Enchantment. One of the few American hotel directors in the cruise industry, his experience in hospitality includes both land-based hotels and ships. On Enchantment, he is in charge of the ship's largest department including such things as the dining, the entertainment and the accommodation. Like Captain Gus, he is not one to hide in his office. Rather, he too gets out and about amongst the guests and passengers. His forays are low key and designed to ensure that the operation is running smoothly.

Snezana Katic is the Guest Relations Manager. Included in her area of responsibily is management of the Guest Relations Desk. Equivalent to the reception desk at a hotel, the Guest Relations Desk is where passengers go when they have a question or a problem. On too many ships, the attitude of the people manning the desk is quite defensive. They seem to regard questions and reports of problems as a personal criticism. This, of course, is not very helpful.

On Enchantment, the Guest Relations Desk is just the opposite. The people behind the desk are friendly and endeavor to be problem solvers.

Enchantment is now 15 years old, which makes her approaching middle age. Yet, she still provides a good vacation experience and has a legion of followers who sail on her regularly. I asked these members of the senior team why that is. Their answer is posted at: http://www.beyondships2.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-interview.html

In addition, this week we have my review of the Chops Grille on Enchantment. Chops is Royal Caribbean's urban-style steakhouse. The menu of this specialty restaurant is the same on each of the Royal Caribbean ships that has a Chops. However, just as the same brand of restaurant can differ in different cities, so do the Chops. The review is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/enchantment-of-the-seas-chops-grille-review.html

Talking with Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Chairman Richard Fain

Richard Fain has certainly made this an exciting time in the cruise industry. As chairman and CEO of the world’s largest cruise company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., he could have grown the company gradually and in small increments. Instead, its Royal Caribbean International brand recently introduced the largest cruise ship ever built, Oasis of the Seas, and is building a second one just as large. Meanwhile, he has propelled Celebrity Cruises to the front ranks of the premium cruise line brands by building five new ships (collectively referred to as the “Solstice class”) that not only are larger than any cruise ship serving the premium cruise market but which are full of innovative new features. These ships are setting set new standards and thus are placing competitive pressure on all cruise providers to enhance their guests’ cruise experience.


What makes Fain’s actions dramatic is that there was no guarantee that these multi-billion dollar investments would succeed. As Fain has admitted it was a gamble and one what went against the common wisdom of the industry.

On the occasion of the naming of Celebrity Cruises latest Solstice-class ship, Celebrity Eclipse, I had a chance to talk with Mr. Fain about the Celebrity part of this gamble. We also discussed the reasons for stationing Eclipse in England and dedicating her to the British/Irish market. My interview with Mr. Fain appears at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-art-Fain.html

Speaking of the Royal Caribbean family, I have also posted a new photo essay on Freedom of the Seas in St. Thomas. Freedom is a large cruise ship - - indeed, until Oasis of the Seas came along, Freedom was the world’s largest cruise ship. However, she does not look cumbersome or ungainly. In fact her nicely curved bow, the long lines of her superstructure and her curved sloping stern make her rather photogenic. The nice thing about St. Thomas is that there are a number of good places to take photos of the ships. Also, the light changes over the course of the day, which adds variety to the photos. My photo essay on Freedom is at: http://www.beyondships.com/FOS-Photos-1.html

Talking with the Captain and Hotel Director of Oasis of the Seas

Many ships have held the title of world’s largest cruise ship in recent years. With numerous new ships coming out of the shipyards, the title has changed hands seemingly every few years. However, it is unlikely that any ship will take the title away from Oasis of the Seas for some time. She is half again larger than the ships that held the title before her and aside from her sister ship Allure of the Seas now under construction in Finland, there is nothing being built that will come anywhere near to her in size.

However, for Captain Thore Thorolvsen, master of the Oasis, size is the wrong focus. A reflective man who has been with Royal Caribbean began, the Captain considers all the talk about Oasis’ size to be almost a distraction from what makes the ship unique. To him, the contents of the ship are what makes it great.

Having served with Royal Caribbean so long, Captain Thorolvsen was also able to place Oasis in context. Yes, Oasis is a revolutionary ship. However, that does not mean that the rest of the ships in Royal’s fleet are now obsolete.

My conversation with Captain Thrololvsen appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-art-captain.html

Raimund Gschaider, the Hotel Director of Oasis, was intimately involved in the construction of Oasis of the Seas. As a result, he is able to talk about what Royal Caribbean was seeking to achieve when it built this ship.

In addition, as the Hotel Director, he is involved in the actual operation of the ship. He knows who the ship appeals to. He can also explain how a ship that carries 6,000 passengers - - more than a thousand more than any other cruise ship - - is able to operate with no significant lines or crowding.

My conversation with Mr. Gschaider is at: http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-art-HD.html

Inside Emerald Princess --Talking with the Hotel Director

The senior officer with the most direct responsibility for the things that most directly affect a passenger’s cruise experience is the hotel director (also called the hotel manager or passenger services director). He has responsibility for the accommodations, the dining, the entertainment, the activities, the shore excursions and much more. Therefore, the hotel manager is in a unique position to discuss the type of cruise experience that one will encounter on a particular ship.

Tony Becker is a Passenger Services Director for Princess Cruises. He is from Australia and has had experience with major land-based hotels as well as with other cruise lines, NCL being one of them. Thus, he is able to see the style of vacation experience that Princess offers in perspective.

When I spoke with Tony, he was Passenger Services Director of Emerald Princess. She is one of Princess’ newest ships (2007) and is practically identical to Princess’ newest ship. As Tony said, she is “a beautiful piece of hardware.” But a cruise is not just about interacting with the hardware. What type of cruise experience does a passenger encounter on Emerald Princess? Who does the ship attract? What enables Emerald Princess to sail full even in difficult economic times?

Tony is a very straightforward person and he answered these questions. In addition, he pointed out some features of Emerald Princess that often fail to appear on guest’s radar screens. My conversation with Tony Becker appears at: http://beyondships.com/Princess-EP-art-Becker.html

Cunard's Queen Victoria as seen by Captain Chris Rynd

I always feel that I have learned something after talking with Captain Christopher Rynd. His career has coincided with the development of the modern cruise industry and his commands have included the original Pacific Princess (i.e., the Love Boat), Princess’s small R-class ships, mega-cruise ships such as Sapphire Princess, the Queen Elizabeth 2, the Queen Mary 2 and most recently Cunard’s new Queen Victoria. With such a resume, Captain Rynd has a wide variety of experiences to talk about. Moreover, he had to have had great seamanship skills and ability to command in order to have obtained those positions.

Captain Rynd is one of the most hands-on captains I have seen. Standing alone at the bridge wing console of QM2 with his hands on the controls, he maneuvered the great ship away from the pier like a mater musician working the keyboards and stops of a pipe organ.

He does not lecture, however. Rather, an interview with him is a conversation. His officers tell me that that is the way he trains young officers. He sets a problem or task for them to complete and then converses with them in Socratic-style to let them work through the issue themselves.

When I interviewed him last year, we spoke about his career at Princess and then his experiences commanding QE2 and QM2. We spoke briefly about Queen Victoria. It had been announced that Captain Paul Wright and he would be commanding the new ship during her first year but at that point, she was still in the builder’s yard. Subsequently, Captain Rynd took command of Queen Victoria for a large portion of her first world cruise and later during part of her regular summer itinerary. Naturally, I wanted to get his views on the new ship.

Queen Victoria grew from the design of the Vista-class cruise ships used by Holland America Line, P&O Cruises and other lines. However, she is not just another cruise ship. Cunard made certain modifications to the design which, Captain Rynd explained, have affected her sea-going properties. Thus, while she is not an ocean greyhound like QE2 or QM2 designed for heavy seas, she does have unique abilities which set her apart.

What is of greater importance to most passengers is that Queen Victoria’s public spaces capture the feel of the great ocean liners of the past. As Captain Rynd pointed out, that was what her interior designer set out to do and through attention to detail and at considerable cost, Cunard succeeded. Thus, while Queen Victoria’s character is still forming, she already has an atmosphere that while different from QM2 and QE2 is one that past Cunard passengers recognize and approve.

My interview with Captain Rynd appears at http://beyondships.com/QV-Rynd-1.html. I have also added new photos, daily programs and menus to the Queen Victoria section of the Beyondships site. http://beyondships.com/QV.html

Captain Attilio Guerini of Caribbean Princess

The stereotypical image of a cruise ship captain is of a man who spends the bulk of his time standing on the bridge of the ship navigating the ship from one port to the next. However, while the captain is ultimately responsible for the safety of the ship, he is not merely a ship driver. Instead, his role can be thought of as more like that of the CEO of a business with other executives reporting to him. As ships become bigger and bigger, this role becomes more and more akin to the management of larger and larger enterprises.

On most ships today, the captain is at the top of a pyramid composed of three departments. The hotel department, which provides services to the passengers including the accommodations, entertainment and dining, is headed by the hotel director (sometimes called the passenger services director or the hotel manager) and has the largest number of people in it. The engineering department is concerned with making the ship go and the technology involved. It is headed by the chief engineer. The staff captain is responsible for navigation and actually sailing the ship. In addition to heading the deck department, he is also the second in command. All three of these officers report directly to the captain.

Captains still rise up through the ranks of the deck department. As such, their expertise is in navigation and sailing and they take a particular interest in that area. Indeed, many captains like to have their hands on the controls of the ship when docking or leaving a berth. They do not have direct knowledge of how to cook a dinner for a thousand people or of fixing the ship’s fresh water system. However, in order to become a captain, a deck officer must keep his eyes open while coming up through the ranks so that he knows the problems and issues that arise in the hotel department and the engineering department.

When I was on Caribbean Princess recently Captain Attilio Guerini spoke to me about his approach to being a captain of a mega-cruise ship. Beginning with Sitmar Cruises, he has gone on to command ships for Princess and its affiliate Ocean Village Cruises. His style is relaxed, affable and low key. Our conversation is at http://www.beyondships.com/Princess-CB-Guerrini.html

Caribbean Princess Passenger Services Director James Deering

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