Change At Norwegian and Regal Princess Part Two

In my experience, it does not usually make much difference who is the CEO of a large corporation. Most of the time, the corporation just proceeds along much as it did in the past despite changes in the CEO. Perhaps there is some change in the corporate slogans or some acquisitions or spin offs but no meaningful changes.

This general rule, however, has not been true in the cruise industry. The three major lines have all had leaders who not only made a visible mark but who became synonymous with their companies. This has certainly been true at Norwegian Cruise Line.

Since coming to Norwegian Cruise Line seven years ago, Kevin Sheehan has turned things around. Prior to his arrival, the line had some quite creative ideas but you only had to go on its ships to see that there were execution problems and poor morale. When Sheehan arrived, he gave the line new direction and released the talent of its executives and employees.

Just about a year ago, I was on a press cruise on Norwegian Getaway. Mr. Sheehan made a short presentation to the assembled journalists. The charts and Powerpoint slides that he presented told a good story of growth and profitability. But what was interesting was the charismatic style of leadership. Sheehan was not the stereotypical MBA executive but rather delighted in playing the street-wise New Yorker, energetic, fun to listen to and likable.

He told us to talk to the crew about how they felt about the company, confident that we would find them solidly behind him. At that time, Getaway had just come into service and the cruise lines usually use their best people to bring a ship into service. Naturally, they were going to support the boss. But the next week, I was sailing on Norwegian Sky, one of the line's older ships. How did its crew feel about Norwegian? I found that not only did those people enthusiastically support Norwegian but that they loved the CEO. To hear them talk, you'd think that Sheehan was a popular athlete or television personality.

As a result, it was disappointing to learn that Mr. Sheehan has now left Norwegian. When a person has done so much to change a company (or any organization for that matter), you have to wonder how it will fare without him. Hopefully, the corporate culture he created will endure but without his dynamic leadership, the future is clouded in mystery.

Mr. Sheehan's successor is Frank Del Rio from Prestige Holdings, the luxury cruise company (Oceania and Regent Seven Seas) that was recently acquired by Norwegian. We wish Mr. Del Rio success in his new job.

This week on Beyondships, we have part two of our profile of Princess Cruises' latest ship, Regal Princess. This includes interviews with the captain, http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-captain.html the hotel general manager http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-hotel-general-manager.html and the cruise director http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-cruise-director.html. We also have a review of the Crown Grill specialty restaurant. http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-crown-grill.html Finally, we present a collection of menus from the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants on Regal Princess. http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-menus.html

Explorer of the Seas - Talking With Captain Olav

Captain Olav Nyseter likes to point out that he has been with his company for nearly 50 years. This may be somewhat startling to some as Royal Caribbean is only 43 years old. However, Captain Olav counts from when he went to work as a deck hand on a freighter for I.M. Skaugen Company, one of the three original investors that came together to form Royal Caribbean in 1969.




During his time with company, Captain Olav has seen cruising grow from being “a little bit wild west” to the polished component of the vacation industry that it is today. In addition to commanding such important ships as Song of America, sovereign, Monarch, Legend, Splendor and Rhapsody of the Seas, he has been involved in bringing 11 of the line’s ships into service. He has also been fleet captain, doing the shoreside management of all of the ships in Royal’s fleet.

These days, he is once again captain of Explorer of the Seas, a ship that he brought into service in 2000. Explorer remains a very popular ship and Captain Olaf is one of the reasons for the ship’s continuing success. Beyond his credentials as a seaman, Captain Olav is personable with a dry Nordic sense of humor that makes him a favorite with the guests.

When I was on Explorer recently, I had the opportunity to Captain Olav about what makes Explorer successful and where he see the ship headed in the future. During the course of our conversation, we also touched upon some aspects of his life that underscore that he is an extraordinary individual. The interview is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/explorer-of-the-seas-captain-interview.html

Explorer of the Seas - Profile, Photo Tour, Captain's Interview

Explorer of the Seas is one of five Voyager class ships that were built for Royal Caribbean. Although she has been in service for 11 years now, she remains one of the largest cruise ships. More importantly, she has been able to survive in the very competitive New York area cruise market for five years on a year-round basis while other ships have come and gone.




I returned to Explorer recently to see if I could uncover the secret of her longevity in New York. Although she does not have all of the features of her giant fleetmates Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, as a large ship, she still has quite a lot. There is always something happening on the Royal Promenade and as I discussed in an earlier posting, her Portofino specialty restaurant is the best that I have sampled in the Royal Caribbean fleet.



Furthermore, you do not have to travel all the way to Florida to get on the ship. If the destination is the Caribbean, you get there by sea. There is also the option of just going to Bermuda or up to Canada and New England. It is very convenient if you live in the northeastern United States or are in New York for a visit.



Another thing I noticed was the friendliness of the staff. Captain Henrik Loy, master of the Explorer, told me that he sees the bond that forms between the crew and the guests as one of his ship’s greatest strengths. As proof, he pointed out that half of the guests that cruise on Explorer are repeat guests. Hotel Director Benny Weidecker added that Royal Caribbean is very much focusing on personalized service in order to create such connections.



My interview with Captain Loy and Mr. Weidecker is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/EOS--Captain-HD.html



Also while I was onboard, I re-photographed the ship. As a result, the Beyondships photo tour of Explorer of the Seas has many new photographs. It begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Explorer-tour.html



Similarly, the Explorer profile has been updated with new Cruise Compasses, menus and various informational handouts that were distributed onboard. There are also many new exterior photos of the ship. The profile page is at http://www.beyondships.com/Explorer.html

Norwegian Gem - - Profile, Photos and Interviews

Norwegian Gem has certainly matured in the less than four years since she entered service in late 2007. Gone is the “It Girl” hype that surrounded her launch. In its place is a very solid cruise experience at a reasonable price.

The first thing that I noticed about the Gem when I sailed on her recently was how happy the crew seemed to be. Everyone was friendly and seemed to enjoy going about their work. Both Gem’s captain Roger Gustavsen and her Hotel Director Steve Jacobsen confided to me that ensuring that the crew is happy is a top priority. A happy crew makes for happy guests. They clearly seemed to be right.

Another thing that was underscored during my cruise on Gem was just how good the ship is technologically. Gem cruises out of New York in the winter. For many years, the common wisdom was that the sea conditions off the East Coast of the United States were just too difficult for a cruise ship in the winter. NCL proved the common wisdom wrong when it based Norwegian Dawn in New York year round in the early years of this century. The Gem, which was built by the same shipyard as the Dawn and which is a more advanced design had no difficulty.

Gem gave another example of her abilities while we were in the Bahamas. The itinerary called for the ship to go overnight from NCL’s private island Great Stirrup Cay to Nassau on New Providence island - - not a great distance. The plan had been for the ship to drift slowly overnight from one island to the next. However, a medical emergency arose and Captain Gustavsen put the Gem up to full speed. In the public rooms, one could not feel a thing. However, standing on the outdoor promenade, one could see the water whipping by. The ship can do more than 26 knots. Gem arrived in Nassau at 11 that night rather than her scheduled time of eight the next morning.

Several guests mentioned to me during the cruise, how impressed they were with the food on the Gem. This was not just in the specialty restaurants but also in the complimentary venues as well. More about the food on the Gem in a subsequent posting.
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NCL has two ships based in New York. However, I could detect no rivalry between them. While Gem’s officers were able to articulate why their product was better than other cruise lines ships, they said the experience was just the same on the Jewel.

Beyondships’ profile of the Gem has been updated and expanded with new daily programs, new menus and other new information about the Gem. It is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-Profile.html The photo tour of the ship has also been expanded with many new photos of the ship’s interior. http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-Tour-1.html There is also a new photo essay with new exterior photos of Gem. http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-Photos-Bahamas.html Finally, there are interviews with Captain Gustavsen http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-captain.html and Hotel Director Jacobsen. http://www.beyondships.com/NCLGem-interview-HD.html