The Challenges of Running a Cruise Line in This Unstable Economy
By TOM GIUSTO
Portree, Scotland ? Aboard the Seven Seas Voyager: The worst part of Regent Seven Seas Cruises President Mark Conroy’s job is when the phone rings in the middle of the night. It happened at 1 am this past March 19th.
“Mark? This is Dag,” Conroy recalled the conversation beginning. The head of the highly rated small luxury cruise line knew it wasn’t going to be good news. Captain Dag Dvergastein was on the bridge of the line’s premier cruise ship the Voyager as it was departing Singapore on a segment of its world cruise.
Dag told Conroy that his ship had accidentally run over some unmarked fishing line which became caught in one of the propulsion pods. Later, Conroy would relate that the $12 worth of fishing line would cost his company $20 million.
An accident like that could have bankrupted other small cruise lines. But Conroy worked tirelessly to keep his customers satisfied and his cruise line above the water…..
…. The ship was on its way from Singapore to Dubai carrying 265 world
cruisers, the company’s best and highest paying customers, plus almost
another 300 passengers. Conroy personally took charge of damage
control. He authorized a full refund to all cruisers on that segment,
“Otherwise, they’d kill me,” he feared. Conroy personally flew to the
ship to explain the problem to the passengers. And he supervised
dealing with the logistical nightmare that was to follow.
Conroy had to come up with alternatives for the passengers on
board and those scheduled to join the ship in Dubai. He also had to
figure out how to get his crippled ship safely through the pirate
ridden Gulf of Aden. “It’s like putting up a sign that says ‘Hijack
me,'” he said.