Premium Crew: Training for Excellence

The ms Nieuw Jakarta school in Indonesia

ENB recently sat down with Lance Camarena, director of corporate training and development, to learn how Holland America Line gets new employees ready to hit the high seas and provide the HAL premium experience.

Holland America Line operates two service-staff training schools, one in Jakarta, Indonesia — where 60 percent of crew originate — and one in Manila, the Philippines, which accounts for 30 percent of crewmembers.

The school in Jakarta, known as ms Nieuw Jakarta, was started 26 years ago and has continued to expand over the years. In a year when a newbuild will be delivered, more than a thousand trainees pass through the school to meet the increased demand for crew.

When applying to the school, Camarena explained, new students are given an English test to assess their level of competence. If they pass the test and meet other recruiting requirements, such as having previous hotel experience, they are admitted to an intense program that lasts a minimum of eight weeks.

All newbies spend the first five weeks in English classes making sure they can communicate effectively with Holland America Line guests. Once that course is passed, students move on to train in a specific area, such as housekeeping or dining room wait staff.

Students mastering dining room wait staff skills attend classes in uniform to authenticate the experience

At the ms Nieuw Jakarta school, everything is set up to emulate the shipboard milieu so crew can become familiar with the smallest details. Mock cabins have HAL linens and layouts, and dining room tables are set with HAL china, crystal and flatware, according to Camarena.

During a class, students are exposed to actual HAL food and beverage accessories

Once the crew have mastered their new skills and passed a final English exam, they are distributed among Holland America Line’s 13 ships. The class’ top performers earn the distinction of crewing on the newbuild.

The training doesn’t stop once they leave school, though. Employees are required to return to school in order to move up the promotion ladder, for refresher courses and to polish their skills. They also serve as mentors to new students.

The school in Manila opened its doors in February 2007. Currently offering dining room and front office training for new hires and refresher courses for repeaters, the school plans to offer a galley program by the end of the year. English courses aren’t offered in Manila, as English is widely spoken and the Filipinos’ language skills usually meet or exceed HAL’s requirements.

Next we’ll tell you what Camarena will do on board Eurodam to get the crew passenger-ready in time for the ship to welcome its first guest.

How Does All that Stuff Get on the Ship?

Stan Kuppens

Eurodam Hotel Manager and Blog Board member Stan Kuppens has given us additional insight into what goes into preparing a brand new premium cruise ship for deployment. As he explained in another post, the ship receives about 100 40-foot containers of equipment and supplies that must be unloaded and distributed throughout the vessel.

“The shipyard provides the structure, and the Hotel Department provides the loose items such as the mattresses, towels, sheets, housekeeping cleaning machines, kitchen utensils, pots, pans, dishes, napkins, entertainment supplies, medical supplies, fitness equipment, massage beds, etc.,” Kuppens told ENB. “Basically, all supplies for the Housekeeping Department (including all guest and crew cabins), the Culinary Department (including all kitchens, restaurants and store facilities), the Beverage Department (including all bars), the Administration Department (including Front Office and Shore Excursions), Entertainment Department, Medical Department and Spa Department (including all sauna, massage and fitness equipment).”

Kuppens said that there are about 4,600 general supply items, plus a thousand special-order items: “That would be the recycle bins, trollies, coffee makers, etc.,” he said. “Other items include toilet paper, thousands of clothes hangers and about a thousand medial supplies.”

“Containers are staged so they arrive every day,” Kuppens explained. “We get about 10 per week. They have to be unloaded and the goods moved by hand, with crews having to work around all the wires and construction equipment and materials.”

New crew members mean new uniforms. Kuppens says he orders about 500 uniform sets for newbies. In May, several tailors come aboard to perform alterations. Staff transferring from other vessels bring their uniforms with them.

Starting around April 1, nearly $500,000 worth of food orders begin to arrive. In mid-May, $50,000 in beverages start coming on board and stocking of the bars begins.

In late May, the F&B crew comes aboard and spends five days cleaning the galley before they start preparing meals on board.

“In early June, with less than a month before the maiden voyage, the crew tests everything on the ship,” said Kuppens. “They test the cabins and dine in the dining rooms, filling out a checklist of what works, what needs to be fixed and any items that are missing or need to be replaced.”

A Busy Time Ahead for the Hotel Department

Stan Kuppens

From February to July, while Eurodam is being built and finished, the Hotel Department plays a major role in getting the ship ready. The schedule begins Feb. 15, 2008, when I relocate to Venice.

Much will be decided at the shipyard; however, we have made various decisions already, like choosing the laundry equipment, for instance. Actually, the entire supply order for all equipment — housekeeping, kitchens, restaurants, entertainment, medical — as well as the crew arrival timeline and crew cabin assignments have been completed.

I bring two staff with me in February to set up our yard office. About one week later a team of 10 from the housekeeping and F&B departments arrives to start inspecting their areas. On April 1, the loading team arrives to bring on board about 100 40-foot containers of supplies. The containers have to be unloaded by June 1.

Shortly thereafter, other essential teams arrive to open up the areas of the ship that have been turned over to HAL by the Fincantieri Shipyard. Then the laundry team joins us to start washing the mountains of linen, and the cabin team starts getting the crew and guest cabins ready.

In May, the kitchen, restaurant, bar, housekeeping and public area teams come to Eurodam to start cleaning and setting up their areas. Then the production cast arrives in Italy to begin show rehearsals, and we’ll rent theater space in Venice for them to use until the ship’s theater is ready.

Around June 1 we all move on board (till then we stay in apartments) and the rest of the crew arrives. Starting June 8, drills and training will take place. By the time we start our first cruise on July 5, we will have done so many “dry runs” that we will be a well-oiled machine ready to serve our maiden voyage guests.

Meet the Hotel Manager

Hotel Manager Stan Kuppens with Miss American Samoa on a recent call to the island

As hotel manager on ms Eurodam, Stan Kuppens will be responsible for almost everything except the bridge and the engine room. His purview includes the restaurants, kitchens, bars, Housekeeping Department (guest and crew cabins, laundry, tailor shop and public areas), front office (guest relations, controller, human resources, night manager and purser), shore excursions, concessionaires, entertainment and medical services.

It’s a big job, but it is a position that Kuppens has been preparing for his entire life.

Growing up in the town of Nijmegen, in the eastern Netherlands, Kuppens enjoyed sailing and watching boats on the Waal and Rhine rivers. A precocious world traveler, his parents had taken him to more than 10 countries before he was 10 years old. Through his early travel experiences, Kuppens developed a fascination with other cultures and a desire to meet people from around the globe.

He recognized that the hospitality industry would enable him to combine his love of travel and his affinity for people into a career. While studying at the University of Hotel Management, Kuppens managed a company that catered conventions and entertainment functions.

“My proudest moment was having the distinct honor of personally serving Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands,” said Kuppens.

After graduation, he entered Holland America Line’s multiyear management training program.

Kuppens has sailed with Holland America Line and Windstar Cruises for 16 years, and has prepared for and sailed multiple Grand World Voyages. After completing the 2002 world cruise as food and beverage manager, Kuppens was promoted to hotel manager on the line’s flagship, ms Rotterdam.

In 2004, he transferred to the new Vista Class of ships to oversee the introduction of ms Westerdam. Following that successful inaugural, Kuppens was asked to move to Venice, Italy, to oversee construction of ms Noordam.

He is moving back to Venice in 2008 to oversee construction of Eurodam, the first Signature Class ship. He will report in February with a staff of 10 to start daily shipboard inspections that will continue until Eurodam is ready to sail.

Kuppens and his wife live in the small town of Oosterbeek (close to Arnhem), in eastern Netherlands. When on vacation, he says he enjoys traveling and participating in an occasional game of soccer.