At the second annual Summit at Sea, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) welcomed 175 cruise industry delegates from four continents aboard Cunard's magnificent Queen Elizabeth. Sailing from Hamburg to Southampton between May 9 and 12, the attendees included members of Executive Partner , representing cruise lines, port authorities, destinations, manufacturers, shipyards, operators, and even medical and legal services.
Following a first day of visits to the Carnival Maritime Fleet Operations Center and the Airbus factory, Arnold Donald, CLIA Global Chairman and President and CEO of Carnival Corporation & Plc, and Kerry Anastassiadis, CLIA Europe Chairman and CEO of Celestyal, hosted a welcome reception followed by dinner. The next day, the Summit commenced at the new Westin Hamburg, with the Presidents Panel focusing on current industry issues. This was followed by a high-level forum centered on the future of port infrastructure for the next decade to accommodate the more than 70 ships expected to be built by 2025.
After boarding the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, the participants were welcomed by their host, David Dingle, Chairman of Carnival UK, with a traditional afternoon tea. A networking dinner at the prestigious Britannia restaurant followed the celebration of the voyage's commencement.
The third and final day of the summit featured workshop sessions on security-related technology, shore excursions in congested environments, environmental policy, and effectively connecting source markets with different cruise itineraries. Procurement was the focus of the final session before further networking activities, a CLIA competition on the cruise industry, a farewell reception, and a fascinating tour of the ocean liner's interior.
The ocean liner reached the Southampton coast early on the final day, encouraging attendees to continue sightseeing in British locations and attend the morning session on 'wider port development and opportunities for the future of the rapidly growing cruise industry', which Port Director Alastair Welch delivered at ABP Southampton.
For Kyriacos Anastassiadis, CLIA's Executive Partner program is important for the industry, "as we need to continue building a relationship of trust between cruise lines and stakeholders through frequent communication between them, to ensure the future for all workers in the industry . "
