The Marine Hotel Association’s (MHA) Conference at Sea is set to sail on Tuesday aboard the MSC Divina as the event is sold out and features a wide range of cruise line decision makers as well as a select group of vendors.
Attendees can look forward to an opening Tuesday lunch with a keynote presentation delivered by MSC Cruises USA’s Ken Muskat, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
The four-day cruise on the Divina will offer the group multiple panel sessions and question and answer periods with decision makers, behind the scenes access aboard, hosted group dinners as well as speed networking sessions.
For the first time in cruise industry history, cruise lines with a strong focus on environmental initiatives will participate in a panel touching on sustainability and renewable sourcing in the supply chain.
A large team of hotel, food and beverage and procurement executives from host cruise line MSC Cruises are joining the event alongside counterparts from major cruise operators including Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Niche brands joining the event include Lindblad, Windstar, The World, Alaskan Dream Cruises and Mystic Cruises, which recently announced a new U.S. brand in Atlas Ocean Voyages which will grow to four ships by 2022. Earlier this year, Mystic launched the World Explorer which sails for Quark Expeditions and Nicko Cruises on a charter deal, and has an additional five ships on order with West Sea shipyard in Portugal.
Vendors can also expect to meet with representatives from Apollo Group and CMI Leisure, both representing multiple cruise brands, with Apollo’s client list including Regent, Oceania, Marella, Virgin Voyages and Jalesh Cruises.
CMI Leisure oversees hotel operations and food and beverage management on a number of expedition operators, including Aurora Expeditions, which recently christened the new Greg Mortimer from SunStone Ships as the company plans to triple capacity.
The MHA is a not-for-profit international organization run by and for the cruise line industry and dedicated to enhancing the overall quality of the cruise experience.
