Our ships are beautiful, our food delicious and the scenery along Europe’s most iconic rivers is often breathtaking but what really leaves a lasting impression on our guests is the personal service they receive from our crew on board. The question I am most frequently asked is how do we manage to find such caring and professional Cruise Managers? Well, it all boils down to what we call “FLEPS”. Let me explain.
Cruise Manager recruitment usually involves a six-month interview and training process. Candidates are always interviewed in person as it’s the best way to truly detect whether someone has that “WOW” factor that we are looking for. While many of our Cruise Managers have previous tourism experience, some of our most successful ones were new to the industry. Regardless of previous experience, what we look for is an incredible level of knowledge, curiosity, creative problem solving, pride in providing service over and above what was expected, a deep empathy towards all, as well as the ability to work as part of a family. Combine all these factors and you get something our operations team has nicknamed “FLEPS” - Family, Love, Enthusiasm, Passion and Sparkle.
Intensive training extends over a three-month period leading up to our annual European Cruise Managers Meeting, which was held just last week in Austria! Rudi and I spent a few days with the whole operations team on board the beautiful AmaStella to put the final touches on the new season.
We are very proud of our Cruise Managers for their professionalism and the thoughtful and caring manner they take care of our guests. Whether it’s holding a guest’s hand through every lock because she was very nervous or driving all night from Munich to Prague to deliver a lost suitcase or maybe just having a different costume every day to delight and surprise our guests – love is truly at the heart of everything that they do. We couldn’t do what we do every day without them, and for that we say thank you…