The Tribune

Royal Caribbean International yesterday said it has more job fairs planned for 2020 in a bid to increase its Bahamian workforce beyond the more than 300 currently employed.

These Bahamians are either working on the cruise line’s ships or at its land-based destinations. “We are extremely pleased by the response of Bahamians who attended the job fairs we had in Nassau and Grand Bahama throughout this past year, and the follow-through with completion of applications, documentation, references and an eager attitude,” said Cindy Williams-Johnson, Royal Caribbean’s senior manager of global talent attraction.

“What is most rewarding is knowing that Bahamians are excited at the prospect of joining the world’s largest and most innovative cruise line, and seeing the world.”

Russell Benford, Royal Caribbean’s vice-president of government affairs for the Americas, added: “Royal Caribbean prides itself on our commitment to diversity. We are 73,000 employees-strong representing 126 nationalities.

“The irony of those statistics is that while The Bahamas was our very first port of call 50 years ago, and remains our number one destination today, we had very few Bahamians working directly for the company until recently, thanks now to the intense talent acquisition campaign.”

While many Bahamians benefited from entrepreneurial opportunities and engagement with Royal Caribbean, Mr Benford said attracting locals to work on board cruise ships was not always easy.

“It seems natural that Bahamians whose history is so closely tied to the sea take to the ships like second nature, so we are so pleased to see the interest now,” he said. “Two things stand out and are outstanding when it comes to Bahamians. The first is a warmth, like a sense of hospitality that comes naturally and can never be duplicated no matter how much training you do.

“The second thing is Bahamians find each other and gather on breaks as if they were meeting up at Fish Fry on a Friday night. It’s just like they were back home, but they can be a thousand miles away at a port they never even dreamed of landing in before they joined Royal Caribbean.”

Abaco native Brittany Smith said: “During Dorian, I couldn’t get any word about my family for five days, and the company did everything to comfort me, urging me to take time off, go home, try to find out what was happening. They used their resources to try to get information, too.”

Her family survived despite losing their home, while other relatives in Grand Bahama also suffered extensive damage to their property. “There are times when it is hard being away from home, but everyone is always so nice and so understanding, and it’s like we have our own family on board. It’s a great privilege to work for Royal Caribbean. I feel very honoured,” Ms Smith added.