安迪·斯图尔特(Andy Stuart)在挪威邮轮公司庆祝30周年
丹尼尔·麦卡锡(Daniel McCarthy)
安迪·斯图尔特(Andy Stuart)可能在1988年从未在挪威邮轮公司(Norwegian Cruise Line)担任过第一项工作,如果他不决定将毛衣借给一名女士,那时候他是一名垒球比赛,当时他是万豪酒店的雇员。
“There was a softball game between Marriott, Hertz, and British Airways, and I was sitting next to a lady who was cold and I lent her a sweater,” Stuart said. “A year later, she called me and said, ‘We have this position open at Norwegian.’”
At the time, Norwegian only had a team of 13 people or so working out of a small office in the U.K., and Stuart, two years after he finished his degree at Bournemouth University in Dorset, England, wasn’t all that familiar with the industry.
“当我接触工作时,我对巡航一无所知。对我来说,那是跨大西洋的班轮和年长的蓝头发女士。”他说。但是,尽管如此,他抓住了这个机会,这一决定使他进入了现在的三十年。
“I wish I could say it was a brilliant strategic move. In the interview, they said, ‘You’re going to have to be in the Caribbean a lot,’ and that sort of sold it to me,” he said. “It was one of those moves, by luck of judgment, that turned out to be a good decision.”
Stuart, the current president and chief executive officer, marked his 30th year with Norwegian this past August with a party with his team in Miami. The occasion gave him “a good opportunity to think back to some of the good times, some of the more challenging times. I can’t quite believe it’s been 30 years — it’s gone quick,” he said.
Stuart (center) and the cast of NCL's Jersey Boys production at CLIA 360 in 2017.
自由式巡航打破了新的地面
One of the things that sticks out during his 30 years at Norwegian, Stuart said, is the line’s introduction of Freestyle Cruising in 2001, something that has helped to develop the cruise industry into what it is today.
The heart of Freestyle Cruising was the dining — Norwegian lead the movement to let cruisers dine when they want, where they want, and with whom they want. Before that, cruising followed the schedule of coupling early dinners or late dinners with an early show or late show in the ship’s theatre.
“It was one of those moments of innovation and risk that changed the industry forever,” he said. “There were a lot of naysayers that said it couldn’t be done.”
您可以从自由式巡游到今天提供的直接线 - 从灵活的用餐到安装在大型船上的无数娱乐和娱乐选择,欢迎整个行业各个年龄段的客人。自由式巡游为行业开辟了一扇扩展大门,自从引入以来的过去17年左右的时间里,巡航比前50年的发展更多。
Travel agent outreach strengthened relationships
该系列的旅行社外展计划也首先还有合作伙伴。当斯图尔特(Stuart)于2015年被任命为总裁兼首席执行官时,挪威人发出了一份声明,称他为该计划的发展,并说他们对斯图尔特(Stuart)信任的部分原因是他如何帮助加强旅行伙伴与挪威之间的关系。
“我喜欢与旅行社合作。这就是我的职业生涯的开始。他说,我今天仍然与旅行伙伴花费大量时间。
“当我1997年搬到美国时,很多人对我说旅行社将被贬低,但我只是从未相信过。很久以来,这将是该行业的关键部分。”
纪律和平衡是关键
在办公室外,斯图尔特是两个孩子的父亲,他说两个孩子都“在挪威家庭长大”。抚养两个孩子并承担了他在挪威人的30年以来的所有责任并不容易 - 他说,旅行是最艰难的部分,但他“努力尽我所能,尽我所能。”
他管理该学科的一种方式是对小事,例如家庭晚餐。“我不是晚餐的好人。我不喜欢晚餐,因为我们作为一家人的宗教之一是坐着一起吃晚饭。我不喜欢公司晚餐。像这样的小事情有所帮助。”他说。
He and his wife are newly empty nesters, which he said will give them an opportunity to do a little more travel for pleasure. Stuart spends time in the Florida Keys to unwind, when he’s not busy at trade shows or attending to things in the Miami office. He likes to fish, to waterski, and to paddleboard.
“I’m a great believer in balance in life. You can’t spend 24 hours a day working. You have to figure out balance,” he said. “You have to try to keep all of those things in perspective.”
斯图尔特(Stuart)于2017年在挪威天空(Norwegian Sky)上,欢迎陷入困境的游客和流离失所的居民在飓风艾尔玛(Irma)和玛丽亚(Maria)期间。照片:NCL。
至于接下来的十年,斯图尔特是无关的。当被问及他是否会再次庆祝他的第四个十年时,他笑着说,弗兰克·德尔里奥(Frank del Rio)可能是与之交谈的人,但这并不是毫无疑问,斯图尔特(Stuart)在挪威语中会保持不变。
“I’m having fun, I don’t want to make any prediction,” he said. “Not every day has been fun, but most have. The culture in this company today has really been a culture I feel very comfortable in. As long as that’s the balance that I’m finding, you’ll have to pry me out of here.”