Twitter chat at CruiseWorld touches on dream trips, ‘travel addiction’

Twitter chat at CruiseWorld touches on dream trips, ‘travel addiction’

By Rebecca Tobin
2013CruiseWorld_logo200x115FORT LAUDERDALE — The #TWchats on Twitter held in conjunction with CruiseWorld was one of the biggest TWchats to date, with 227 active contributors and a reach of more than 16 million impressions.

The chat played off of a concurrent session at CruiseWorld titled “Travel: An Addictive Industry,” and the chat asked tweeters when they had been bitten by the travel bug — and common warning signs that they were “addicted to travel.”

Ken Muskat of MSC Cruises and one of the participants on the CruiseWorld panel tweeted that you might be addicted to travel if “a half-packed suitcase lives permanently in your bedroom.”

“You’ve exhausted the pages of your passport with dozens of stamps,” tweeted @AtlasTrav_Molly. “Striving to get every page in your passport fully stamped,” Seabourn tweeted (the line later tweeted another sign: “booking a future cruise while you’re on a cruise!”)

Azamara Club Cruises CEO Larry Pimentel, one of the co-hosts of the chat, said he’d been bitten by the travel bug when his grandmother introduced him to National Geographic. “It wasn’t about going distances, but turning pages,” he tweeted.

@TravelMaestro tweeted that she inherited the travel gene from her mother, @ICoachTravel. “She opened [a travel agency] when I was in college, and I was hooked for life.”

Chats screen shotParticipants were asked to pick one ship for a ship inspection. Some participants found it hard to choose: “With so many new, exciting and innovative new ships debuting, who can choose just one?” tweeted Cruise Planners. And @avidcruiser wrote, “I’ve been on more than 100 ships. Maybe I’d opt to see more river cruise vessels.”

From the river cruise segment, both Guy Young, the CEO of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, and Viking Cruiseswere active on the chat.

When participants were asked to name their dream job in the travel industry, @uniworld_guy tweeted, “I already have my dream job working at @uniworldcruises.”

Many, if not most, of the participants seemed satisfied with their career path, another of the CruiseWorld panel discussion topics. “Like everyone else — living my dream job — except wish all my flights were first class — dreaming!” joked @JeanNewmanGlock.

The chat referenced the #FoodieChats community during a tweet that asked participants to name their favorite bar or restaurant at sea: @foodiechats retweeted @CruiseNorwegian‘s comment that “Ocean Blue by @GZchef on #NorwegianBreakaway is pretty spectacular.”

Sometimes the chat was serious, as when tweeters were debating locations for a dream cruise, land vacation or river voyage. (“Cruising through the South Pacific for months stopping at tons of tropical islands, then ending with New Zealand & Australia,” suggested @kidtravel.)

Or why booking through a travel agent was a smart idea. “Travel planning keeps getting more complicated, which is why the advice of an expert agent can make all the difference,” said Travel and Leisure. “Because of the added value and personalized service,” said @AvoyaTravel.

“We care,” @travellori tweeted. “That’s why.”

But often the chat took a lighthearted turn, such as a conversation between @AtlasTrav_Molly and @PrincessCruises, where the cruise line sought to convince the agent: “Haven’t you heard that calories don’t count on cruises?” “Gamechanger,” she tweeted back.

And in response to the question about a “dream cruise,” Holland America Line retweeted a comment from @VikingRiver: “Isn’t every cruise a dream cruise?”

“We agree!” @HALcruises said.

Port Everglades slip to be lengthened

Port Everglades slip to be lengthened

By Tom Stieghorst

 

Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale said it was awarded a $1.85 million allocation to lengthen Slip 2 by 250 feet to accommodate larger cruise ships.

The award from the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council becomes part of a budget that goes before the Florida legislature next spring.

The slip will be extended west and will be 1,150 feet long and 42 feet deep when completed in September 2016.

The engineering firm Bermello Ajamil & Partner was awarded the planning and design contract.

The work coincides with a $13.4 million renovation of Terminal 4 set to be finished by the fall cruise season in 2014.

In keynote, Norwegian’s Sheehan to share success strategies

In keynote, Norwegian’s Sheehan to share success strategies

2013 CruiseWorldKevin Sheehan, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, has accomplished a lot in the relatively short time that he has held that title, and creating and executing a business strategy will be the focus of his address when he gives the keynote speech at Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld on Nov. 8 in Fort Lauderdale.

Putting plans into action is the theme for that day, the final day of the three-day conference, and Sheehan will share not only what he had to do at Norwegian, but also the lessons he learned that apply to businesses of any size, from a one-person, home-based operation to an agency with tens of millions of dollars in annual sales.

When he arrived at the cruise line in 2007, “We had the right assets and proposition, but we didn’t communicate well, and we didn’t execute well,” he said in a recent interview at his office at Norwegian’s Miami headquarters. “We put in the right management team that could really demonstrate what the brand stood for. And what it didn’t.”

Kevin SheehanIn his keynote, Sheehan will stress the importance of relationships in execution, including the importance of team building and nurturing supplier/retailer relations.

“When the recession hit, we held onto every single employee,” he continued. “We rode through it together. Getting the team behind the culture with passion and the belief that they can get things done is critical.

“I’m not the guy who makes it happen, but I’m on ships every month, connecting with the crew. We have all-hands meetings, and we talk about what we’re doing. I meet with senior officers and then with all the officers. And we follow that with a series of meetings with crew that officers aren’t allowed to attend and discuss what’s good, bad and what can improve.”

Sheehan also focused on relations with travel agents, initiating the Partners First program.

“At the end of the day, [relationships] are why we have best-in-class margins and return on investor capital,” he said. “We had none of that before.”

Following the address, Sheehan will sit down onstage for an interview with Travel Weekly Editor in Chief Arnie Weissmann. The two will explore the decision-making processes in business and look at why, for instance, Norwegian, unlike its competitors, has so far stuck with a single brand. They will also look at what opportunities are ahead for the line and for agents.

Sheehan is one of three top cruise line executives who will be addressing agents. On Nov. 6, delegates will hear from Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald, and on Nov. 7, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman Richard Fain will address attendees.

Each will also sit for an onstage interview with Weissmann.

The conference, which also features seminars, a trade show and networking opportunities, will be held at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center Nov. 6 through 8; ship inspections of vessels such as the Royal Princess, the Carnival Breeze, the Oasis of the Seas, the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Norwegian Epic will bookend the show on Nov. 5 and Nov. 9 and 10. Registration for ship inspections closes Oct. 18.