At the start of every season, each of the 15 company river cruise ships, spread out across Europe, need to be set up and resupplied with new branded stock and equipment. This involved the receipt, cataloguing and the safe storage of everything from welcome packs and branded merchandise to the audio vox guides and associated chargers and headsets. Furthermore, much of the stock would arrive on the same day that the first clients would later be arriving on. There was therefore a significant urgency to complete the tasks and make the ship ready for their arrival.
In previous years, the operations team members had flown out in pairs to prepare each ship more efficiently before the first clients arrived. Due to an increased number of ships and tighter scheduling, this season each team member was tasked with setting up a ship alone.
After making all the preparations that I could in the office prior to departure (e.g. checking the contents of the pallet due for delivery to the ship and the contents of the laptop due to be left onboard), I booked flights from Birmingham airport to Lyon to set up the MS William Shakespeare and meet the ship's staff. Lyon airport is particularly large, and I had taken the time to assess the common client feedback and operation issues from previous seasons before I departed. This would then allow me to become familiar with the airport, and better equip me to handle any future queries or operational issues that might arise throughout the season. On arrival into Lyon airport I took many photos and made extensive notes for use by the team on my return.
On arriving at the ship, I joined the allocated company cruise director and cruise concierge and we introduced ourselves to the ship's permanent hotel manager. It was at this point that I realized that all of us were new to the MS William Shakespeare and therefore had no prior experience of preparing this ship for the season. To overcome this, we began by familiarizing ourselves with the ship’s layout and available storage facilities. The following morning, we worked as a team to swiftly account for the stock as it arrived and distribute or store it throughout the ship in a logical system for future use. As the first clients arrived later that afternoon all the tasks had successfully been completed and the ship had been prepared to welcome the new guests accordingly.
This experience grew my confidence in being able to recognize and adapt to a given situation presented to me, even if I have no prior direct experience to draw on. Furthermore, it tested my ability to effectively collaborate with new colleagues to establish a plan and utilize the time available effectively to achieve an objective. On returning to the office in the UK, I had a greater understanding of numerous aspects of the cruise including the airport, the ship, the crew and the itinerary.
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