Regent Seven Seas Cruises is expected to roll out a comprehensive new training program for crew in the first quarter of 2024, according to Franco Semeraro, senior vice president of hotel operations.

Speaking on the new Regent Seven Seas Grandeur, Semeraro said the new program was being tailored to a new generation of crew members.
“This new generation of crew is different than the old generation of crew,” said Semeraro. “The trick is adapting. We are reformulating our training program for the new generation to address how they want to work and how they see the working environment on a ship.”

The training program will get shorter and more powerful, he continued, noting that the company was seeing some crew retire after decades at sea.

“We don’t want them to spend multiple hours of training aboard when they are working so many hours,” Semeraro said.

“In the past you started with hotel crew and training shoreside,” he added. “There was a culture of hospitality. In today’s world the new generation looks at this as an opportunity to come and see the world. Before it was different, it was an opportunity to take care of your family.
“We have to adapt … they need a bit of time to go out in port, but they still need the skills to take care of the guests and deliver the experience they are expecting.”

“When they come aboard, we try to hire first in the lower ranking positions, so they can come up through the ranks on the ship. We assign them a buddy, so they stay together with someone that is more experienced. The most important thing they must have … is the attitude, it’s all about attitude.”

Helping new crew and coming in the second quarter of 2024 will be a second phase of an app for crew, where the wait staff taking an order can see details on every guest, from a photo to their name, food and beverage preferences and even order history from previous cruises.