Today, after four weeks of traveling and putting on shows for more than 3,000 Disney Cruise Line team members, I’m one satisfied dude.
With the assistance of many, many others, I’ve been supporting crew assemblies on all four of our Disney ships. They’re essentially business updates hosted by our president and each ship’s respective captain, accompanied by live Disney entertainment, lots of video clips and fun giveaways. These shipboard town halls make our oceangoing teams feel a stronger kinship with our larger Disney organization.
“It’s wonderful to come together like this and get excited about the future,” one of our entertainers, Kristina, told me this morning on the Disney Wonder in Nassau.
I’m not going to say these shows weren’t taxing. We took a lot of flights. We packed up and sailed at sea. We took ubers and hailed cabs and did rehearsals in the wee hours. And of course we had to continuously update scripts and slides and incorporate ship-specific details into each program.
But the outcome, while not absolutely perfect, has been everything I’d hoped it would be. Most of all, I’ll remember the cheers during certain parts of the show and the smiles and thank-yous from the housekeeping staff and the dining room servers and the engine room crew.
“I love it when we do these events,” said Jo, a member of the Disney Magic team, in her charming British lilt. “It energizes me and makes me proud to be part of this great company."