Broward Blog

SUNsational Porter Program Continues to Shine at Port Everglades

July 4th, 2008

The new SUNsational Professional Porter Program, a customer service training program completed by 650 baggage handlers at Port Everglades, has garnered a national communications award recognizing the program’s benefits.

SUNsational Training for Professional Porters, a series of training sessions launched in time for the 2008 cruise season, received an Award of Merit from the prestigious 2008 Communications Awards of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

“Over the past decade, the cruise industry has grown exponentially at Port Everglades,” said Port Everglades Director Phillip C. Allen. “The course teaches customer service excellence and is designed specifically for porters at Port Everglades. An idea to better manage customer contact as demand for cruise vacations increases is a no-brainer.” Port Everglades is one of the world’s busiest cruise ports, handling 40 cruise ships from 15 cruise lines and more than 3 million passengers passing through the Port each year.

The purpose of this program was to enhance guest relations with cruise customers and, ultimately, to enhance a cruise passenger’s experience. The key messages conveyed were that Port Everglades values customer service and that Greater Fort Lauderdale is a friendly destination place to visit.

This program was adapted from Broward County, Florida’s SUNsational Service model developed for local hotel workers in 1999 by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. The trainers revised the existing program to incorporate specific exercises for porters at Port Everglades.

“The plan is to make every cruise guest’s stay more enjoyable so that they will come back for another cruise vacation and even stay a few extra days in their first port of call to enjoy our Blue Wave certified beaches and diverse attractions from the seagrass to the sawgrass,” said Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau President, Nicki Grossman. “A warm smile and courteous attention go a long way to make a guest feel welcome.”

Approximately 650 cruise ship baggage handlers from the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local ’1526 participated in this two-hour training course. Recommendations have been to continue the program annually and even to add refresher courses for those who already completed the training.

The South Florida cruise port teamed up with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Southeast Florida Employers Port Association, cruise stevedoring companies Eller & Co., Ceres Terminals and Hallmark Stevedoring at the Port and the International Longshoremen’s Association to launch this customized training course for baggage handlers. The course was taught by the guest service training firm, Hospitality Excellence, Inc.

Port Everglades is the cruise ship capital of the world with more than 3 million passengers during 2008. More cruise ships, 40, are homeported at Port Everglades than any cruise port worldwide. Fifteen cruise lines sail from the South Florida seaport including: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, Discovery Cruises, Holland America Line, Imperial Majesty Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, The Yachts of Seabourn, SeaEscape Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. And, coming in Fall 2009, Port Everglades will be the home of Royal Caribbean International’s new Oasis-class ships, the largest cruise ships in the world.

The Port’s ever-expanding fleet of cruise ships provides guests with an array of cruise vacation choices from the sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale area including everything from sampler-size day cruises to around-the-world cruises. Details on the latest cruise offerings are available on the Internet at www.broward.org/port.

Entry Filed under: Broward News