NEW YORK, Jan. 30 -- Step onboard a cruise ship on embarkation
day and one of the first things you notice is the crew -- eager and ready to
assist you. They're polished, in uniform, smiling and completely at ease.

But behind the professional composure is an underlying excitement as crew
members take in the collective mood and energy of their newest charges. Their
adrenaline kicks in -- just about the time yours clicks off -- as they begin
their relentless pursuit of perfection.

Does the food surpass the passengers' expectations? Are the cabins
immaculate and comfortable? Are there enough activities to appeal to every
type of cruise passenger? Will children who are sailing find plenty to occupy
them while their parents recharge and reconnect? And perhaps most important,
will every passenger leave the ship feeling refreshed, pampered and eager to
return?

"All of these questions and many, many more go through the minds of the men
and women charged with making each cruise vacation -- whether it's a
passenger's first or 51st -- the best that it can be," said James G. Godsman,
president of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the non-profit
marketing organization representing the major North American cruise lines.

The cruise industry employs thousands of Americans -- the vast majority of
whom work in cruise line offices in the U.S. Some 65,000 individuals, who hail
from countries around the world, work onboard cruise ships.

"Their roles onboard cruise ships are wide-ranging," said Godsman. "In
addition to ensuring passenger comfort and a good time, many of these staff
and crew have a key role in safety and security procedures. It's not unusual,
for example, for a cruise director to have oversight during the frequent crew
and equipment safety drills that occur, or for an executive chef to be the
person in charge of the strict sanitation procedures followed by each vessel."
Still, guest enjoyment is always the "main event."
'Exhaust Every Effort'

On any given day, the people who work on a cruise ship are geared up to
perform whatever magic it takes to make someone's cruise memorable. And while
every day is a busy one, the first day of a cruise is the most important.
Noelle Sipos, until recently a cruise director with Royal Caribbean
International, explains that when the crew lines the gangway as new passengers
board, they are on a two-pronged mission: one, read the passengers' needs, and
two, smile, smile, smile.

"I've noticed that it takes a while to loosen people up, because they're so
not used to people being nice to them. So we're never offended if people don't
smile back right away," Sipos observed. "We know we'll soon win them over."

And while the first day of the cruise might be most important for setting a
positive tone, the others are equally important for maintaining the
experience.

"I always mingle with passengers to get feedback on the events we planned
for them," Sipos said, "and whenever possible, their suggestions are put into
immediate effect."

Each Cruise A Work in Progress

The cruise staff may leave the dock with a game plan in mind, but as Sipos
suggested, each cruise is a work in progress. Unexpected challenges are all in
a day's work. Let something happen to interrupt a passenger's game plan,
though, and cruise ship employees really get involved.

Pam Kern, guest relations manager aboard Holland America Line's Amsterdam,
once was assisting a couple planning to marry in Cozumel. When inclement
weather forced the ship to sail to Grand Cayman instead, Kern contacted that
port and subsequent ports of call to rearrange the happy event. However, it
just wasn't to be.

Never one to quit, Kern finally persuaded a young clergyman to celebrate a
commitment ceremony, which made the couple and their assembled families quite
happy. After the cruise ended, the couple had an official wedding ceremony on
land.

"What people don't often realize," said Kern, "is that behind the scenes,
crew members will exhaust every effort to make a cruise memorable." Kern has
set the scene for romantic marriage proposals; has set up backstage tours,
private shore excursions and meetings with the captain; and has helped plan
anniversary parties. Once, she even arranged to retrieve packages a couple
mistakenly left at a hotel.

Yes, It's A Glamorous Life, But ...

Just about anyone working on board a cruise ship acknowledges that their
lives have an element of glamour to them. But it's also a lot of hard work,
which the veterans say they love. No matter who you are, whether you're the
ship's captain or a deck hand, responsibilities are a seven-day-a-week matter.
Most crew members work three to four months, take a two-month vacation, and
return to the ship for another "tour" refreshed and rarin' to go.

For Capt. Dag Dvergastein of Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, it's a way of life
inspired by his upbringing in a Norwegian fishing village. At sea for months
at a time since his youth, Dvergastein is accustomed to the pace. A typical
day begins at dawn with the captain guiding the ship into port (an act which
can sometimes take hours of careful maneuvering), and a succession of meetings
with customs and immigrations officers, first officers, the captain's staff,
the social director and passengers.

"Our lives are not always so glamorous," said Dvergastein. "We may have
suntanned faces and white uniforms with gold bars, but our work is our
passion."

And the commitment pays off. Study after study shows that cruise vacations
consistently exceed a first-time passenger's expectations in nearly all
regards. As a result, nine out of 10 people who cruise plan to cruise again
and again. And, nearly 64 million people consider themselves prospects for a
cruise in the next five years.

For sure, positive word of mouth has helped fuel the industry's growth, from
fewer than a half million passengers in the early 1970s, to more than 7
million anticipated in 2001.

"You don't see growth like that unless you're doing something right," said
Godsman. "So often, 'customer satisfaction' is an over-used phrase, but not in
the cruise industry. On a cruise ship, pleasing every guest is the staff's
prime directive. Once that happens, everything else falls into place."

To learn more about cruise vacations, log on to CLIA's website at
http://www.cruising.org, or visit with a CLIA-affiliated travel agency.

/NOTE TO EDITORS: This is one of a series of features prepared for February
-- which is National Cruise Vacation Month./