By
Cherie Rowlands |
For the most part, cruise lines are in business to make money, which means they are going to cater to the desires of the travelling public. But there is a great deal more to the industry – the world is opening up and presenting a challenge to some of the stalwart cruise destinations such as those covered by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA). Although the region remains popular, a slight dip in numbers indicates that Americans, at least, are starting to explore cruise destinations further afield.
FCCA president Michele Paige says: “A lot of Americans have already been to the Caribbean. So that’s our mandate – to put the wow back into the Caribbean and show people it’s not just a warm place to go when it’s cold, but that there’s more to see than they’ve seen before. So the ships are going to go where people want to go and the world is at our fingertips right now. The Caribbean is a place that has consistency for product and for safety but we are working diligently with our partners to put the wow back.
And that is a message that translates to the any destination wishing to attract more cruise traffic, according to Paige. “When passengers leave the ship they may think they have seen everything, but it’s about having so many options, so much information about the country, its history, culture and food, and making sure they are underlining who and what they are, with the passenger experience.
“Don’t be cookie-cutter shore excursions. Showcase what it is you are known for. Have a lot of different options so that even if the passengers know they can’t do all those things in eight hours, they want to come back.”
The Dominican Republic is an example. Its 100-year baseball history and major league players’ academies are included in shore excursions, along with a museum tour that gives visitors a glimpse into the sport’s history in the republic. Paige says: “Things like that that you really can’t do outside the Dominican Republic. And when you return home and tell your friends and family what you did while you were away, it is something that is Dominican Republic. You can say ‘I went to the beach’, but that could be anywhere.”
Other factors come into play too. Choosing Curacao to host the FCCA conference in October 2012 is not an expedient choice but one based on merit, Paige explains: “Our conference is in Curacao because it looks so positively on cruise tourism. Every cruise destination might want more ships and passengers but what are you doing to be able to facilitate those passengers and those ships? The prime minister of Curacao has taken a proactive approach and he is setting tours apart. He is hands-on when it comes to the port authority facilitating the vessels, which means the cruise industry is given first-class treatment with priority berthing and is looked upon as a partner. That doesn’t always exist. It’s about leadership and who’s orchestrating it, which is why we are in Curacao. We feel we have a lot to learn about the country so the growth potential is huge.”
FCCA conference opportunities to assist destinations how to increase cruise calls and passenger numbers on shore excursions are valued by the industry, says FCCA vice president Adam Ceserano: “Our trade show has become a major part of the conference – all destinations pavilions have sold out so the industry sees a lot of value in it.”
Paige says: “The FCCA conference is different from most because the stars are the cruise executives. These icons of the industry are sitting and just talking about what they believe sets their cruise line apart, what they’re looking for in destinations and giving insight as it relates mostly to Central America and the Caribbean region is the draw. People are coming to find out how to deal with the cruise industry – whether it’s a destination bringing in more ships or finding out what the cruise industry wants, or how they, as a destination, measure up. One of the questions we cover is how we elevate our product. It is very important that partners are looking at themselves in the right light and not comparing themselves to the island next door, but the world product.”
Workshops at this year’s FCCA conference include the CEO roundtable, which Ceserano describes as “standing room only this year”, while others focus on subjects such as cruise lines’ care teams and special needs travellers. Ceserano explains: “This is a huge and growing segment of the cruise industry. We bring in a lot of executives who work in that area, along with a person who has run a tour company just for special needs travellers.”
Paige adds: “We ran it a few years ago but we’ve now escalated it because it’s not just that there’s an awareness that we need to cater to special needs travellers, it’s now the nitty gritty such as where do you get the various buses and vans and how do you really facilitate things?”
Alongside conference exhibiting and workshops, the free FCCA training programmes, first set up by Paige 15 years ago and delivered by Ceserano, continue to underpin destinations’ initiatives to deliver increasingly good service, only now members are building on the base provided by the FCCA and developing their own. “We’ve visited about around 25 different destinations to complete training in our various partners’ countries but since then a lot of these nations have taken the lead from that and developed their own versions similar to ours,” Ceserano explains. “This is the beauty of the FCCA – we want to impart the best leadership and the best skills and the best opportunities that we can for all our partners to embrace it, take it, own it and run with it.”
Paige says it is about touches such as smiling, keeping staff presentable and vehicles clean – and greeting people when they come in to the store. “It sounds basic, but mostly it’s all it takes to set yourself apart. What sets the excursion apart is the quality of the guide.”
Ceserano continues: “One step beyond that, we’re working with Acquila Center for Cruise Excellence, which will be conducting a training programme in partnership with us for tour operators.”
It is little surprise that with all the training and support on offer, the FCCA’s associate membership programme numbers are growing with an increase of around 22 per cent over the past two and a half years. This coincides with Norwegian Cruise Lines’ CEO Kevin Sheehan taking over the role of chairman.
This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Autumn/ Winter 2012 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read the full article, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.