By Virginia López Valiente
Managing Director of Cruises News Media Group and Editor of CruisesNews magazine
Roberto Martinoli is the President and CEO of Silversea Cruises. Martinoli joined the company in 2016. Currently, with Silversea now part of the Royal Caribbean Group, he oversees Project Invictus, a long-term plan to grow and upgrade Silversea's fleet of ultra-luxury ships. Following the launch of the Silver Dawn, the company will inaugurate two Evolution-class ships in 2023 and 2024.
Martinoli began his career in 1976 with his family's ship management and consulting business and has subsequently held various executive positions with several of the world's leading cruise and maritime companies. He served as president and CEO of Grandi Navi Veloci, president and COO of Norwegian Cruise Line, and advisor to Apollo Management. He also held the positions of Executive Vice President of Operations at Carnival Cruise Line and Senior Vice President at Costa Crociere.
The Silver Dawn is the third and final ship in the Muse class, incorporating the SALT program and the highly exclusive OTIVM program. The ship follows in the footsteps of its sister ships, Silver Muse and Silver Moon, in terms of service and design, but gives the impression of being even better. After all this, is there really any room for improvement?
Of course, there's always room for improvement and we're not going to stop here.
We started by focusing on the big things, but now the next step is entertainment. On these ships, entertainment is more challenging because we don't have the large spaces for Broadway-style shows. But the question was, what can we do after elevating the culinary and spa experiences? How can we somehow integrate entertainment into the experience?.
We are fortunate to work with a very interesting market segment, the ultra-luxury sector, and after the pandemic, it is probably the segment that has been able to travel again first and can do so at any time of year and several times a year. It may be an older clientele, but with greater purchasing power. This, combined with the fact that smaller ships are perceived as safer in terms of the pandemic and that we reach destinations where you don't encounter other ships, makes it a compelling option.
This segment has little competition and we have many loyal, repeat customers and we are growing a lot, therefore we have to continue offering excellence and, as I said, the next area to review and improve will be in-flight entertainment, also to attract new customers.
Cruise penetration is still low overall, what new markets are they targeting?
I think we're a bit ahead of others in terms of our dependence on the American market. The United States is certainly a significant market, accounting for 50% of our clients, followed by the United Kingdom, then Australia, Europe, and the rest of the world. We have four major in-house marketing and sales offices located in Miami, London, Sydney, and Frankfurt, covering the entire world, in addition to representatives in other countries.
Our brand is quite well-known worldwide, and we're very focused on reaching all markets. That said, we certainly want to grow in emerging markets like those in Asia, India, and China, where there are tremendous growth opportunities.
With the Silver Nova, which will be launched next year, your company is moving towards an even more sustainable product. What is the perfect balance between reaching small, remote, almost uninhabited places and respecting the environment?
We must be very respectful of destinations, especially these ones, and this is part of our very essence. We wouldn't exist today if we hadn't treated all these destinations we've brought to our clients with the utmost care and responsibility. We preserve the communities we visit. We work with various initiatives, one of which is sitting down with the local community and asking them what they need and how we can help, and another is exploring how they can participate in our activities there. I'm not worried about the environmental impact in these destinations because, truly, we know how to manage it.
We operate in even somewhat critical locations like the Arctic, Antarctica, the Kimberland Islands, and Bangladesh, where we don't touch anything, we don't create any impact, and we work with local communities. We don't want to change their lives, but rather improve them in small ways. For example, we operated in a small port in Chile and purchased mineral water from a small local producer.
Being small ships helps preserve destinations.
There's another point I'd like to emphasize. We're very predictable. This whole discussion about overcrowded destinations shouldn't apply to us. I have my plans for the next 30 months, and I can tell you precisely where we're going, the exact dates, how many of us will be going, the exact arrival and departure times, and the excursions we plan to take, along with their schedules.
This is an incredible advantage for planning tourism and destinations in the best possible way. So there's a terrible misconception about what cruises offer and entail, as they are the most planned and predictable part of the tourism industry, even down to the hour. Who else can do something like that? Including airlines that simply drop their passengers off at airports without them knowing where they're going or what they're going to do.
What are the main changes the company has experienced since joining Royal Caribbean?
It's been a fantastic journey and a very enriching experience. It was a very difficult decision for Manfredi to divide his "baby." But the company needed financial support because Manfredi was the sole owner, and these kinds of businesses often experience financial strain.
It turned out to be the best decision and at the right time, because we don't know what might have happened with the COVID shutdown situation.
One of the most important things that happened was receiving a call from Richard Fain immediately after the acquisition, saying, “Tell me what we can do to make sure everyone understands that we are in no way going to compromise the product.” It was easy to think that there would be synergies and cost cuts, but we did the exact opposite; we went out and strengthened the product.
Caviar, Champagne, fresh flowers, etc…
Of course, the biggest advantages came in financial security and the group's large support departments, such as design, projects, construction, legal, etc.
We have been able to immediately place orders for new ships and thus consolidate the company's sustained growth.
You are one of the most experienced senior executives in the sector, having worked for virtually all the major cruise lines. How has this tourism industry changed in terms of its relationship with people, both workers and passengers?.
This industry originated from passenger transport, particularly the transport of migrants between continents. Those large ships were converted into cruise ships, which was a brilliant idea. It took many years for it to become popular, and it has grown tremendously in a short time.
For the people who invented this new business, it was a great challenge.
Initially, the staff consisted mainly of people from the shipping industry, and there wasn't much of a structure. At a certain point, companies needed to expand their departments, become multilingual, and increase their workforce, and this was a somewhat conservative business, resistant to change. This major transformation was the most notable change. Royal Caribbean's merit lies in the fact that they made this transition the fastest, bringing in new talent and managing the growth by adapting and learning. Richard Fain and I both come from the shipping industry, and Richard is also a numbers person who has perfectly controlled this growth.
And to conclude this interesting discussion, how do you see the future of Silversea in 10 years?
My wish is to see Silversea with 20 ships and the largest operator in the ultra-luxury market, being a more global company with clients from all countries of the world.
To continue having both sides of the business, classic cruises and expedition cruises, probably in a 70% vs. 30% ratio. Yes, that would be my goal.
[…] We interviewed Roberto Martinoli aboard the Silver Dawn, on the occasion of… […]