Just over a week ago Celebrity Cruises brought its new ship Celebrity Silhouette to the United States for the first time. The ship was built in Germany and was named there in July. Following that, she did a season of Mediterranean cruises. However, since the United States is still Celebrity’s biggest market, the ship’s arrival in the U.S. was reason to hold another celebration.
All of the top Celebrity executives were there for the American naming ceremony. I asked Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations to give us some thoughts that would introduce us to the ship. In her position, she is responsible for essentially all the services - - dining, accommodations, entertainment etc - - that guests onboard the Celebrity ships utilize and so she is able to talk about the ships from a unique vantage point.
Celebrity Silhouette is the fourth ship in a class of ships that begun with Celebrity Solstice. These ships have won many awards for their elegant design and innovative amenities. However, as good as the individual parts are, they come together into a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Consequently, I was interested in finding out what was the underlying philosophy that was used in creating these ships.
While the first ship in the class received the plaudits of the critics and passengers, Celebrity was not content to build four more (one more is coming in 2012) that were identical to the first. They are quite similar but with each ship the line has come up with new ideas. Lisa pointed out several of the changes that have been made on Silhouette and underlined some of the popular features that have been carried forward.
We also had the opportunity to discuss Celebrity Infinity. Infinity is one of Celebrity’s Millennium class ships and this month, she is going into drydock for three weeks in order to give her some of the features of the Solstice class ships. Lisa outlined some of the changes that will be made during this major revitalization of a popular ship.
My interview with Ms. Lutoff-Perlo is at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Silhouette-Lutoff-Perlo.html
Also posted this week is my interview with Bill Miller. Bill is one of the most popular onboard lecturers speaking on cruise ships today. Because of his expertise on the history of ocean liners and cruise ships - - 80 books and hundreds of articles - - he is known as “Mr. Ocean Liner.” Moreover, because of his dynamic and entertaining speaking style, his lectures are usually packed with many more guests watching via the onboard television systems.
I spoke with Bill about his background and the passion that drives his work. In addition, I asked him to give us some thoughts about the cruise industry today and the future of passenger ships.
My interview with Mr. Miller is at http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-people-miller.html
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