FORT LAUDERDALE -- For a rollicking 45 minutes during the Sales and Marketing Masterminds panel at CruiseWorld here, senior execs from seven of the biggest cruise lines answered rapid-fire questions and played true-or-false games, prompting inter-line teasing but also answers that were insightful and earnest.
"We're going to have a little fun onstage today," declared Mary Pat Sullivan, Northstar Travel Group executive vice president of marketing partnerships, who along with group vice president and editorial director Ken Shapiro moderated the panel.
Who thinks Perfect Day at CocoCay is the prime example of a port that feels new each time they visit? (It's Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales and trade relations at Royal Caribbean International).
Who wore a t-shirt celebrating its line's Travel Weekly Readers Choice win for Alaska cruises, complete with a QR code on the back? (Carmen Roig, senior vice president of sales for Princess.)
Which participant, when asked to recommend the best destination or ship for romance travel, answered: "Amalfi Coast. It's amore"? (Answer: MSC Cruises' senior vice president of trade sales Erin Douglas).
Participants were also given auction-style paddles to vote on whether stories about their colleagues were true or false. Was Katina Athanasiou, Celebrity's senior vice president of sales and services, a barista on a cruise ship, or did she become an Internet star after running down the pier to catch a ship?
Is Rob Coleman, the senior vice president of sales for Seabourn and Holland America Line, a main-dining-room devotee? True story. In fact, he posited, "you learn everything, the authenticity of a brand, by their main dining. Their operational excellence, how they deliver culinary experiences, and logistics."
The paddles were also used by participants, like Athanasiou, to shield the audience from Roig's Alaska t-shirt, to much laughter from panelists and audience.
In a lightning round, panelists were asked to pick a ship or destination that represented ....
A cruise vacation for foodies
Douglas: "This one's easy, because Forbes just recommended the MSC World America as a cruise ship for foodies."
Coleman: "Japan."
Katie Kania senior director agency of North America sales, Norwegian Cruise Line: "Any of the Norwegian Prima or Prima-plus ships, because we have the Indulge food hall. You can try a little bit of everything."
Janet Wygert, senior vice president of sales and trade marketing for Carnival Cruise Line: "Our Chef's Table, best at sea."
Best ship or destination for romance travelers
Roig: "Any Princess ship, right!?"
Freed: "We have the best beds at sea. So, I would say any of our ships, on any of our beds." (Sullivan, deadpan: "I don't understand, Vicki. Why does that matter?" Freed: "It matters.")
Athanasiou: "Our Edge-class vessels, any of them, because we recently created a new experience called Date Night All Day Long ... It's all about people reconnecting with each other."
A cruise for clients who say 'I'm not a cruiser'
Wygert: "Europe."
Kania: "A three- or four-day out of Miami. And I tell you this because I took my mom against her will on a cruise, and three days later I had to pry her off. She's now done seven, in two years."
Douglas: "Any one of our itineraries in the Caribbean that has an overnight at Ocean Cay; it's the perfect mix for somebody that's not a cruiser, because you get that little bit of cruise and land all in one vacation."
Roig: "All joking aside, Alaska. More first-timers in Alaska, I kid you not, because of brand recognition."
Athanasiou: "One-thousand percent Celebrity River, starting in 2027."
Coleman: "I would say any expedition cruise ... what's interesting are the number of people who chose an expedition because it goes somewhere so unique, like Antarctica or the Arctic, and realize that they actually really enjoyed the [cruise] experience."
Freed: "I'm going to take a little different twist on this question. When you have somebody who says cruising is not for me, I think you need to ask them, 'what do you like in a vacation?' ... If they're looking for great food, beaches, sun, fun, Alaska, or if they're looking for entertainment, maybe they just want fabulous music, fabulous shows and entertainment. After you get all those answers, it's like a recipe.
"And then," she added, "you can recommend Royal Caribbean."