"I got maybe 1.5 hours of sleep last night!"
Pam Kressley, director of corporate sales for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, dropped in for lunch today. Over butternut squash soup and gourmet mac & cheese, she described her hellish night stuck in Atlanta on a layover.
"When we finally left, Delta put me in the exit row, you know the row that doesn't lean back?" Pam made quick aborted reclining motions with her back, pretending to push a button on her arm rest. "There were so many people packed into that airport. All outbound flights were canceled, so as planes landed, people just kept pouring in without anyplace to go!"
Two weeks ago, Pam invited me to be a guest on the inaugural cruise of Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Allure of the Seas. I accepted. I fly down to Fort Lauderdale after Thanksgiving for a two night cruise and tour of the ship. The tour might take up two full days.
The Allure is the biggest cruise ship, ever. It has almost 2,800 rooms, and accommodates up to 5,400 guests at a time. In case you get board of your room, Allure has a full Broadway theater featuring the musical Chicago, An amphitheater with a dive and water acrobatics show on deck for 600, wave pools, standard pools, track, climbing wall, ice skating rink, shopping mall, casino, mini golf course, Rising Tide Bar ("The world's first levitating bar at sea"), and much, much more.
I wonder about getting lost on such a big boat.
"let's say you go on a cruise with your family. You can all rent special iPhones when you check in. They are loaded with maps and current activity schedules. The maps are great for getting around the ship, but the phone also shows you where your family members are at any given time."
If you don't rent an iPhone, apparently there are also interactive way-finding stations every 100 yards or so.
"And I guess you could always just ask the staff."
Pam nodded."The staff are truly part of the experience. My last waiter on Royal Caribbean spoke five languages!" Laugh. "The only foreign phrase I know is donde esta el bano."
Pam has been involved in the cruise industry for 15 years: first with Carnival, and most recently with Royal Caribbean. I ask her what changes she has seen over the years.
"Americans don't even care about excursions anymore. They want to be on that boat, and they want activities, activities, activities. And they want the newest and the best. We send all of our old boats to Europe." She pushed the boats from Caribbean to Mediterranean in the air with her hand. "The Europeans could care less about the age of a boat."
"How old are we talking?"
Pam crossed her legs. She was wearing black plaid pants. Very cosmopolitan."I am rarely dumbfounded. But last week at a sales presentation, a planner asked when we were going to replace the ship we were on. Good Grief! The boat was two years old! I just stood there looking at him. I couldn't think of anything to say."
We decide that it must have something to do with our national housing obsession.
Pam asks if I had ever wanted to live anywhere outside of Utah. I tell her I'd love to give a big city, like New York, a try.
"I was just in New York last week with my Husband." Pam leans back on the bench and sighs. "I don't think I'd want to live there permanently, though. But I could do a month at a time. New York is just so crowded, and so expensive!"
New York sounds a little like the Allure of the Seas. But perhaps for tourists, and taken in small doses, it turns into something like a memorable vacation.
Pam paid the bill. "After all, I invited you!" We walked outside in the cold October sunshine. We hug, and then Pam runs to her car. She has a 3:00 p.m. flight, and more sales calls in Minneapolis.
Pam Kressley, director of corporate sales for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, dropped in for lunch today. Over butternut squash soup and gourmet mac & cheese, she described her hellish night stuck in Atlanta on a layover.
"When we finally left, Delta put me in the exit row, you know the row that doesn't lean back?" Pam made quick aborted reclining motions with her back, pretending to push a button on her arm rest. "There were so many people packed into that airport. All outbound flights were canceled, so as planes landed, people just kept pouring in without anyplace to go!"
Two weeks ago, Pam invited me to be a guest on the inaugural cruise of Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Allure of the Seas. I accepted. I fly down to Fort Lauderdale after Thanksgiving for a two night cruise and tour of the ship. The tour might take up two full days.
The Allure is the biggest cruise ship, ever. It has almost 2,800 rooms, and accommodates up to 5,400 guests at a time. In case you get board of your room, Allure has a full Broadway theater featuring the musical Chicago, An amphitheater with a dive and water acrobatics show on deck for 600, wave pools, standard pools, track, climbing wall, ice skating rink, shopping mall, casino, mini golf course, Rising Tide Bar ("The world's first levitating bar at sea"), and much, much more.
I wonder about getting lost on such a big boat.
"let's say you go on a cruise with your family. You can all rent special iPhones when you check in. They are loaded with maps and current activity schedules. The maps are great for getting around the ship, but the phone also shows you where your family members are at any given time."
If you don't rent an iPhone, apparently there are also interactive way-finding stations every 100 yards or so.
"And I guess you could always just ask the staff."
Pam nodded."The staff are truly part of the experience. My last waiter on Royal Caribbean spoke five languages!" Laugh. "The only foreign phrase I know is donde esta el bano."
Pam has been involved in the cruise industry for 15 years: first with Carnival, and most recently with Royal Caribbean. I ask her what changes she has seen over the years.
"Americans don't even care about excursions anymore. They want to be on that boat, and they want activities, activities, activities. And they want the newest and the best. We send all of our old boats to Europe." She pushed the boats from Caribbean to Mediterranean in the air with her hand. "The Europeans could care less about the age of a boat."
"How old are we talking?"
Pam crossed her legs. She was wearing black plaid pants. Very cosmopolitan."I am rarely dumbfounded. But last week at a sales presentation, a planner asked when we were going to replace the ship we were on. Good Grief! The boat was two years old! I just stood there looking at him. I couldn't think of anything to say."
We decide that it must have something to do with our national housing obsession.
Pam asks if I had ever wanted to live anywhere outside of Utah. I tell her I'd love to give a big city, like New York, a try.
"I was just in New York last week with my Husband." Pam leans back on the bench and sighs. "I don't think I'd want to live there permanently, though. But I could do a month at a time. New York is just so crowded, and so expensive!"
New York sounds a little like the Allure of the Seas. But perhaps for tourists, and taken in small doses, it turns into something like a memorable vacation.
Pam paid the bill. "After all, I invited you!" We walked outside in the cold October sunshine. We hug, and then Pam runs to her car. She has a 3:00 p.m. flight, and more sales calls in Minneapolis.
This is sounding eerily like the Titanic memoirs. Please take your own flotation device- just in case ;)
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