On a recent flight from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando, a group of travelers who had just disembarked from the Celebrity Equinox were raving about the ship -- an experience they described as flawless -- and their "over-the-top" travel agent, Judy Bradford, owner of Expedia CruiseShipCenters in Cambridge, Ontario. It just so happened that overhearing their conversation was Vicki Freed, the senior vice president of sales for Celebrity's sister line, Royal Caribbean International. Freed made sure to pass on details of the conversation to the top brass at Celebrity as well as to Bradford.
Silversea recently proved that it listens to its customers. During an early sailing on its new ship, the Silver Spirit, passengers in one of the Grand Suites told Silversea COO Ken Watson that the cabin didn't have forward-facing, wraparound balconies like the other Grand Suite category cabins did, and that that alone made it seem like it belonged in a lesser category. Watson agreed. Two Grand Suite cabins were knocked down to Royal Suites and repriced accordingly.
Speaking of Watson, TC hears that his being back in New York, where he once lived, may have brought out his wilder side. The normally very proper Watson was spotted on the Spirit when it was recently docked in New York, sporting a long, blond wig. Turns out he was merely sporting a 1960s, flower-power look to welcome travel agents onboard the ship for a night to Silversea's newest stage production, "Aquarius," which is all about the 1960s.