Royal Caribbean — No Gamble Here

Employees in the cruise industry know you can go from the bottom to the top if you play your cards right, and nobody knows that better than Dean Bailey. He is part of the management team in Royal Caribbean, most recently as hotel director on Explorer of the Seas. In the beginning, he was a… Continue reading Royal Caribbean — No Gamble Here

Port Help for Cruise Passengers

We were in Bermuda. Standing on the dock waiting to catch a ferry from St. George's to Hamilton, we encountered Clarence Smith. He was wearing an orange jacket, which made him hard to miss, and since it said "Visitor Information" on the back and we were visitors… Clarence is an Ambassador — that's also on… Continue reading Port Help for Cruise Passengers

Starting With 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'

Athletes are athletic, educators are educated and cruise directors are…well, characters. It's part of the job description because within any given two-minute span they have to be entertaining, serious, funny, talented, spontaneous, thorough, athletic and fast on their feet, which are sometimes called upon to do the two-step, kick balloons and get them off a… Continue reading Starting With 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'

St. Thomas a Caribbean gem

ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands — On this day, there is a traffic jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What's a traffic jam in the Virgin Islands? Six cruise ships in port at the same time. Thirty thousand visitors on the roads of St. Thomas or the streets of its capital, Charlotte Amalie. In other words,… Continue reading St. Thomas a Caribbean gem

Explorer of the Seas…Changes

The Explorer of the Seas will be going in for a major refurbishing after Royal Caribbean introduces Quantum of the Seas near the end of 2014.  Having been on Explorer of the Seas, we have five unsolicited suggestions on what to change — and five on what not to change — when this beautiful, 13-year-old… Continue reading Explorer of the Seas…Changes