The Marine Hotel Association (MHA) has announced its 2019 Conference at Sea, sailing aboard the MSC Divina in December.

The three-night voyage offers MHA members a unique opportunity to be part of small niche group that will get a firsthand look at the onboard cruise product aboard MSC Cruises’ Divina, which will visit the company’s new private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, on a roundtrip sailing from Miami.

Calendared every other year, this will be the association’s third onboard event, with previous events held with Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line

Proposed topics for the seminars and workshop discussions will include an insider’s perspective on supply chain issues within the cruise industry; organized private tours behind the scenes; a global sourcing and logistics overview; a seminar on quality and innovation in hotel sourcing; a focus on sustainability and renewable sourcing; as well as a look at culinary innovations and food and beverage concept development.

The cruise is open to MHA members and will also feature cruise line guest speakers.

Contributors to the program content will include management from supply chain, hotel operations and culinary departments.

Members will get an opportunity to get to know first-hand the individuals who are directly involved in the decision-making process for culinary products while also realizing an opportunity of understanding the “today” of cruise line operations and culinary interests relative to their specific product field. 

The small number of participants at this conference, as well as the relative parity of supplier vs. cruise line attendees, means there will be real possibility for in-depth discussions on issues of interest at no additional cost to participants.