AN INTERVIEW WITH DAN HANRAHAN, PRESIDENT OF CELEBRITY CRUISES

*originally published in Cruise and Travel Lifestyles, Winter/Spring 2011
By Tin Thomas

Celebrity’s Solstice Class ships have attracted a great deal of favorable attention. Now that you have three in service can you sum up what they have brought to Celebrity?

We are constantly dedicated to building every aspect of the Celebrity vacation experience around what vacationers want most during their precious time away, and the greatest validation of that commitment has been the response to our stunning Solstice Class ships. They’re the perfect manifestation of what the Celebrity brand is all about: innovative hardware, exceptional service, exquisite dining and fun and unique onboard entertainment and activities.

What was the process that brought all of the innovations you have on these ships into play?

Basically, we threw out the ‘rule book’. We convened a group of some of the world’s best designers and architects – many of whom had never designed a space on a cruise ship – and told them to forget anything they knew about cruise ship design, forget about industry norms, and to truly think out of the box.

You have fine tuned-each of the ships in this class as they come on line, like adding Qsine restaurant to Eclipse. Will there be more fine tuning on the next two ships? What, for example, can we expect on the final two ships in the class, Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection?

There will be many new features. Among them: On Celebrity Silhouette we will introduce our first 34 AquaClass suites offering 251 sq.ft. of luxurious interior space and 57 sq.ft. verandas, plus butler service. There will also be eight luxurious Sky Suites, 19 more ConciergeClass staterooms and 11 additional staterooms for a total stateroom/suite count of 1,515. There will be additional seating in the Celebrity Theater and various restaurants and our first flexible dining option for guests. We will also introduce the Lawn Club Grill, an industry first, where guests can grill their own meats or have a chef do it. The Art Studio at the Lawn Club will give guests an opportunity for hands-on instruction from experts on art and food. A ‘new’ Michael’s Club will offer more than 50 beers and various engaging experiences such as food and beer pairings.

You have entered into a program to install some of the more successful Solstice elements into the Millennium-class ships. What has been the reaction?

The newly ‘Solsticized’ Celebrity Constellation has received rave reviews from our guests. Our Millennium Class ships already are beloved by cruisers and have repeatedly ranked among the top ships in the world in a variety of prestigious polls and reviews. What we’re doing with this fabulous foursome now pairs what was already unique and special about the Millennium Class with what our guests love most about the Solstice Class.

Of the innovations you have brought into the industry on the Solstice ships, what are the three most popular?

We’ve broken the rules of cruise ship design with our Solstice Class, presenting vacationers with a design and ambience rivaling 5-star hotels, so the design is definitely one. The dining experience is another – with the combination of our glamorous main dining rooms to our global marketplace concept in the Oceanview Café on the lido deck to the luxurious, intimate specialty restaurants. And a third certainly would be the inviting, spacious staterooms, which were inspired by a panel of five women with unique insights into travel and hospitality.

Aboard Eclipse I was intrigued by the use of iPads in Qsine. Do you see this expanding into other areas of the Celebrity cruise experience?

That’s definitely a possibility. We’re constantly exploring new and unique experiences that will make our guests’ precious vacation time that much more meaningful and memorable. And the industry-first iPad-based menus and wine lists we introduced with the opening of Qsine on Celebrity Eclipse have certainly done that.

So, you will eventually have five Solstice Class ships, are there any plans to build more like them?

We have no plans for that at the present time.

When Mercury leaves your fleet next year, Century will be the smallest ship left. Is there still a future for her with Celebrity?

Absolutely. Celebrity Century is the platform for our incredible voyages in Australia and New Zealand in 2011, and it’s worth noting that we completed a major revitalization of the ship just four years ago, resulting in a remarkable 314 additional verandas, as well as the addition of an ‘icy’ new Martini Bar, the luxurious Murano specialty restaurant, and ConciergeClass accommodations, in addition to other upgrades.

A more general question: Do you think you are now past the most difficult period of the recession that’s haunted the industry for the past couple of years?

I sure hope so!