153 Machado and her team have procured all the furniture and other products for all areas onboard Icon of the Seas says Machado. “We must put the right piece of furniture made from the right material in the right place onboard the ship – for instance, a velvet chair wouldn’t work on an open pool deck where it will be exposed to the sun, salt spray and fluctuating temperatures, but it might be perfect for a luxurious cocktail lounge,” she explains. “We collaborate with vendors to understand the properties of their products, identify how best to use them and test prototypes in situ onboard one of our vessels to ensure they perform as expected. If necessary, we also work with them to adapt and customise their products to meet our specific requirements.” Machado and her team continue to evaluate the performance of all products once vessels are in service too. “We constantly seek feedback from our onboard teams to find out what is and isn’t working and understand how our guests are reacting to the different products. If a product fails, we work with the manufacturer to identify why and develop a solution to improve it for future use. For instance, if we find that chair fabrics are fading too quickly or ripping easily, we might switch the material to prolong its lifecycle. We transfer the lessons we learn to our next newbuild project.” Reflecting on the procurement process for her current newbuild project, Icon of the Seas, Machado says: “Building and outfitting a new ship is a very emotional process. We spend so many months finding the perfect products to deliver the most comfortable and impressive onboard experience for our guests, so we get increasingly excited and nervous the closer we get to completion. Icon of the Seas is the first in a new class, so it’s been a particularly challenging project but we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved and we’re confident that it will set new standards that exceed our own and our guests’ expectations.” “ We must strike a delicate balance between multiple factors when procuring commodities for a cruise ship”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=