EC Un-Plugged:

Bartender to CEO. I’m living my version of the American Dream. I started out as a young bartender and am now fortunate enough to oversee Entertainment Cruises as CEO. As I enter my 22nd summer season in the Harbor Cruise industry, I find myself even more passionate about the aspects which initially attracted me to this industry back in 1988. The Harbor Cruise business is the fun business from which unforgettable memories are created every day.

Our passengers choose a cruise experience that helps them celebrate all of the special moments of life: an anniversary or birthday, a new product launch, showcasing the city for out-of-town guests, the annual summer church outing, a 20th class reunion – and the list goes on. To play an important role in creating these snapshots of life for our guests is something by which I will always be inspired. Being in the Harbor Cruise business is truly a privilege as Entertainment Cruises continually makes a positive impact on society and in the lives of our guests on each and every cruise.

Even in a challenging economic year like 2009, most of us will still celebrate personal and professional milestones and special occasions. Regardless of the type of celebration, I hope Entertainment Cruises has a chance to help you create unforgettable memories sometime very soon. Whether it be a Saturday Night Fireworks Dinner Cruise, a Speedboat Ride on the Potomac River, a Sunday Brunch Cruise, Architectural Tour down the Chicago River or a close-up view of the world’s most famous symbol of freedom, the Statue of Liberty, we hope to welcome you aboard one of our 24 unique vessels.

All the best in enjoying a great summer,
Michael

Michael Higgins
Bartender/CEO

Some companies are all about results. Others, looking good for the media. And some are focused on treating each other with respect. Here at EC, we take treating one another kindly to a whole other level.

Think it’s cheesy?

Maybe a little, in theory. But in actuality, it makes us better workers, better employees and mainly, better people. We live by a code here at Entertainment Cruises. It’s called OSS: Our Service System.

OSS is a set of practices we all try to live by, everywhere from in the corporate office, down to the docks. It consists of our identity statement, our shared values, our five hospitality behaviors and our level 10 “WOW” hospitality. Once we memorize this code, it’s a little easier to go out into the world and really make a difference in our guests’ lives.

Every week we have OSS heroes and every two weeks, WOW finalists and winners. An OSS hero is a shipmate who has been showing extra effort, has gone above and beyond their job duties, and someone who has really helped out their fellow shipmates! A WOW nominee is a shipmate going above and beyond for an external guest.

Allow me to share an OSS story with you (written by one of our shipmates):

“In October I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with 3 fellow shipmates. When we arrived in Nassau, we decided to take a cab over to Cable Beach. We made a lot of friends using 2 of our OSS Hospitality Behaviors; Speak first and last and speak in public areas. The cab driver asked us the standard “where are you from?” When we told him we were from Norfolk, VA he proceeded to tell us that Norfolk is his favorite city in the US. Of course, our reaction was, “Norfolk? Really?”

So he shared with us his unforgettable memory he experienced in Norfolk. He asked us if we had heard of this harbor tour ship, The Spirit of Norfolk. Apparently he cruised when he was in Norfolk several years ago. He couldn’t remember what year it was, but he could remember every detail of his cruise.

After he told us how much he loved the Spirit of Norfolk and commented that “that ship was off the chain,” we told him that The Spirit of Norfolk was what brought the 4 of us together as friends and that we all work for the company. You would have thought that he had just met 4 celebrities when we told him that. So remember, it is a small world after all, you never know what memory you will create for someone and how far that memory will go.

No matter where I go, I am always proud to tell people I meet along the way what company I work for and 9 times out of 10; that person can tell me about a time they cruised on one of our ships in one of our cities.”

We are in the business of creating unforgettable memories. That is what we do. That is what we love to do. And OSS, well, it helps us do that – better than anyone else.