4. How are hotel operations on a ship different from those at a land-based hotel? On any given day, Celebrity Cruises, Inc. has tens of thousands of passengers at sea on more than a dozen spectacular ships, spanning 7 continents and 75 countries. With this level of capital investment along with the responsibility for the happiness and safety of so many passengers, excellence in operations is required.

To make it all work, the 10 operations management decisions must be executed flawlessly. From product design (which encompasses the ship’s layout, the food, and 300 destinations), to scheduling, supply chain, inventory, personnel, maintenance, and the processes that hold them together, OM is critical.

Cruise lines require precise scheduling of ships, with downto-

the-minute docking and departure times. In addition to ship and port scheduling, some 2,000 plus crew members must be scheduled. And there are many schedule variations. Entertainers may arrive and leave at each port, while officers may have a schedule of 10 weeks on and 10 weeks off. Other crew members have onboard commitments varying from 4 to 9 months.

With $400 million invested in a ship and more than 5,000 lives involved in a cruise, detailed processes to ensure maintenance and reliability are vital. The modern ship is a technological marvel with hundreds of electronic monitors operating 24/7 to track everything from ship speed and location, to sea depth, to shipboard power demand and cabin temperature.

Celebrity’s ship layout, destinations, and routing are adjusted to meet seasonal demands and the expectations of its premium market segment. With destinations from Alaska to Europe to Asia, crews are recruited worldwide, with as many as 70 nationalities represented. Instilling a quality culture requires an aggressive quality service orientation and, of course, meticulous cleanliness and attention to detail. Processes for food preparation, laundry, quality, and maintenance are complete and detailed.

A cruise ship, as a moving city, requires a comprehensive and precise supply chain that replenishes everything from food to fuel to soap and water. Land-based buyers support Celebrity’s annual food and beverage purchases that exceed $110 million. Included in these expenditures are weekly shipments of 6 to 10 containers from the Miami headquarters destined for ships in European ports. An onboard staff organizes inventories to support this massive operation. The logistics effort includes hedging the weekly use of 24,000 gallons of fuel per ship with purchases 6 years into the future. Reliable global supply chains have been developed that deliver the required inventory on a tight time frame.

These crucial shipboard systems typically represent the best of operations management. Such is the case at Celebrity Cruises.