Mimi Weisband, V.P. Public Relations, Crystal Cruises
Mimi Weisband & Cruise Strategy's
Vanessa Lee
Karen Scott Caplice, District Sales Manager, Eastern Canada, Crystal Cruises
A ship is a ship is a ship? Not according to Crystal Cruises' V.P. Public Relations, Mimi Weisband, who was passing through YTO recently and couldn’t resist inviting a group of industry colleagues to a sumptuous lunch on a gorgeous fall day. The scene was set at Canoe atop the 54 storey T-D Tower where Mimi wove the Crystal tale while we dined on local seasonal specialities.
Crystal frames their business on 4 pillars: Service; Space; Quality and Choice. Each of their programs, and every aspect of their offering stems from those pillars as part of Crystal’s dedication to being exceptional.
They certainly have an exceptional method of recruiting their onboard staff who hail from 40 different countries. During each port of call, interviews with potential employees are conducted so that candidates will have an opportunity to meet potential new colleagues and to understand the environment they will be living and working in. Crystal finds this methodology helps keep their staff turnover very low because it gives existing employees the opportunity to check out new recruits for compatibility.
According to Mimi, their ships’ space to guest ratio is among the highest in the industry and, of course, all that space allows Crystal to offer a very broad range of facilities and programs. One example is Crystal’s Waves and Fantasia areas exclusively for teens and children - not necessarily what you would expect on a luxury vessel. However, during holiday periods they may have as many as 200 kids on board and there is plenty for them to enjoy.
And, each cruise offers a voluntourism opportunity. While in port at Saint John, guests are offered the opportunity to help out at a local food kitchen.
Crystal’s passion for the joy of travelling comes through in their slogan... The voyage should take you further than the destination. In keeping with that, they have launched a story teller’s app which invites guests to share their special stories.
And, as Mimi likes to say... “The road less travelled isn’t a road.”
