Meeting Planner Careers

Cruise ships are best known for their luxurious amenities and travel to exotic locations. Although sometimes criticized for their actions by the media, the cruise industry continues to help people affected by natural disasters. The Celebrity Eclipse is the latest case in point.

This solstice class cruise ship canceled at least the first part of her launch festivities in order to help travelers stranded due to the effects of recent volcano activity in Iceland. Celebrity Cruises are working with UK tour operators to arrange passage back to England for travelers who have not been able to return due to flight cancelations and airport closings. At least 2000 people, some of whom have been stranded for seven days, will sail back to England and enjoy the amenities of this ship.

Cruise ships have a history of offering aid in times of crisis. In January 2009, the Royal Caribbean delivered desperately needed food and supplies to earthquake victims in Haiti. Carnival Cruise ships rented out three of their vessels to shelter victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Ecstasy, Holiday, and Sensation provided shelter for seven thousand weary people who lost everything to the hurricane. In 2009 when Typhoon Ketsana hit Manila, Star Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises of Australia, and others committed resources and money to help victims of this natural disaster and the subsequent tsunami.

Cruise ships are a marvelous way to take a vacation and employees rave about all-inclusive incentive cruises. The ships are more elegant, classier, and more fun than ever before. Here are a few things about cruise ships you may not have known:

• The biggest cruise ship is the Freedom of the Seas, part of the Royal Caribbean fleet. She weighs 160,000 tons, measures 1,112 feet long and 184 feet wide, and boasts 15 passenger decks.
• The Olympic Voyager travels on average at 27 knots, which puts this Royal Olympic ship at the head of the fast lane.
• Did you know that Disney cruise ships are painted black, white, yellow, and red? The color palette is based on none other than Mickey himself.
• The Royal Caribbean Freedom Class ships feature an ice rink. Can you imagine learning to ice skate at sea?
• The Queen Mary is considered the most haunted cruise ship ever to set sail. She is permanently docked in California, but staff and guests have reported wet footprints around the pool when it was completely empty. Some people heard an infant crying in an empty playroom; others saw a woman in a lovely evening gown dancing in the Queen’s Salon when it was empty.

At the recent 2009 Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Southeast Educational Conference at the Edon Roc in Miami Beach we had the opportunity to hear Brad Nickel, VP of Marketing for Landry & Kling, speak. He gave a presentation called “Find Yourself Online”  and agreed to let us publish that presentation here, for those meeting professionals who were unable to attend.

Here is the presentation – let us know if you have questions!

Brad was also excited to tell us a little about the upcoming launch of a new resource for meeting and incentive professionals: Seasite.com.

Seasite.com, a new Landry & Kling company, will be the industry’s first online cruise marketplace for global meetings and events. Mr. Nickel, explained, “Seasite.com puts cruise sourcing on par with hotel site selection along with easy RFP generation for multiple brands and ships.”

The site will be launching in late September but in the meantime they are running a contest to win an inaugural cruise aboard the new Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas, billed as the worlds largest and most innovative cruise ship. To enter simply go to their web site, Seasite.com, and sign up to recieve their newsletter and be notified of the official Seasite.com launch. The contest winner will be selected at random on Sept. 10, 2009.

2009 MPI Southeast Educational Conference was held at the Edon Roc Hotel, Miami Beach, August 13th-15th. For more information visit http://mpisec.org/

Our thanks again to Brad – and here’s his bio: