January 19, 2025 • 17 mins
Summary
With the most cruises in history, the legendary "Super Mario" (as he is affectionately known), shares his journey to becoming the most seasoned cruiser ever, having lived onboard Royal Caribbean ships for 25 years!
Episode Overview
Super Mario, the ultimate Royal Caribbean cruiser, joins us aboard Icon of the Seas to share his extraordinary journey through the world of cruising. Together with our host, Mitch, we explore Mario's unmatched loyalty and passion for cruising, having sailed on 150 ships across 10 different cruise lines before finding his true home on Royal Caribbean. Mario's impressive milestone of 11,300+ cruise points speaks volumes about his dedication and love for the brand. From nostalgic tales of the Voyager of the Seas to the groundbreaking Oasis and the revolutionary Icon of the Seas, Mario paints a vivid picture of Royal Caribbean's evolution and the pivotal role played by its devoted Crown and Anchor Society members.
Listeners will be captivated by the unique experiences of being Royal Caribbean's most tenured cruiser, including the story behind Mario's personal "office" on the pool deck—a charming tradition that began in 2007. As Mario reflects on the innovative ship designs and the camaraderie of the exceptional crew that makes him feel at home, we celebrate the spirit of loyalty that has made Royal Caribbean the leader in the cruise industry. With a nod to Mario's role as the unofficial brand ambassador, we promise an entertaining mix of nostalgia, fun, and inspiration, offering a glimpse into the life of the man behind the legend and inviting you to possibly meet him in his unique office on your next Royal Caribbean adventure.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, hey everybody, it's cruise director
Mitch.
Royal Caribbean Sails with theone and only the GOAT, the
greatest of all time cruiserwith Royal Caribbean Super Mario
.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Mitch, what a great pleasure to be with you on this
magnificent vessel.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We are live from Icon of the Seas, the biggest,
baddest cruise ship in the world, and, first of all, so happy to
have Super Mario here.
Thank you for spending a coupleof minutes of your time to
catch up.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
All the time you want Mitch.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
You know we go way back.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
I remember Majesty of the SeasCorrect 2012.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Even before that, I think 2011 or 2012.
Something like that.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, that's when I first was stepping up as a
cruise director Right.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I sailed with you your first contract as cruise
director on Majesty yes.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I think I did.
I think, so I'm pretty sure youdid.
You were always in Boleros.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
What a great venue, wasn't it?
I had my reserve table inBoleros, yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
You know, one of my favorite things is what we're
going to get to in a second isyour reserved area.
So we're going to get to that.
That's why the GOAT, thegreatest of all time, legendary
super mario, the longest, mosttenured cruiser at royal
caribbean international.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
That's a pretty big achievement and it's a pretty
big thing and it's pretty bigresponsibility too it is, you
know it is, it is responsibility, because I have to, I'm sure,
like a, like an unofficial brandambassador you are.
You know that's what theyconsider me.
I used to be the mascot untilRover came around.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
You did.
I'm taking your spotlight alittle bit right.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Now I delegated to Rover.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, good, some attention off you, you get to
relax a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Rover, by the way, Rover is the mascot Chief dog
officer On the ship.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yes, and she is adorable, yeah, yeah, you've met
her a hundred times, probablyno, a couple.
So people always want to know,like.
I had a post with you a coupledays ago and it's something like
thousands and thousands oflikes, and then random people
who don't know anything aboutcruising were commenting who is
this guy?
Why is this in my timeline?
What is going on?
Who is super mario?
What is this all about?
So can we just rewind a littlebit and talk about how you
(02:00):
started cruising and just tellus a little bit about it?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Sure, my passion for cruising began when I was in my
20s, many, many, many years ago.
I knew I wanted to live on acruise ship.
So I had 15 years, sort of, tosave money for it and get ready
for it.
And then, when the day came, Iwas in my mid-40s.
I said now, which cruise linedo I adopt, because I don't want
(02:26):
to move around like a gypsy.
Well, I didn't know.
So I did an experiment.
I sailed on 10 different cruiselines and did 150 cruises.
Wow, on 150 different ships, 10cruise lines, because I wanted
to get to learn the industry.
Well, by the time theexperiment was over in 1999, I
(02:46):
guess it was I was undecided.
I couldn't make up my mindwhich cruise line.
They were all good, all thecruise lines.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
That's one thing we always say.
We don't compete with othercruise lines.
We love each cruise line.
There's a cruise line foreverybody, and yeah so.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
So, yeah, we compete with Vegas and Orlando and
places like that.
We don't go to sleep with othercruise lines.
So I was in a quandary At theend of the experiment.
I'm going, where do I go?
Which one do I want?
I like all of them.
At that time it just sohappened that Voyager was coming
out.
Yep, she came into the Port ofMiami and I have a condo in
Miami and I look out of my on mybalcony and I'm seeing this
(03:22):
massive ship, brand new ship,sailing to the fort.
I'm going oh, my god, I need tobook her.
I need to do one moreexperiment.
And he, I booked her.
I got on the voyager and said,oh man, this ship was made for
me.
Yeah, it was made for me.
That's it.
Contest over, over and donewith.
From that day on, loyal toWonderful.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
And you know that was the first revolutionary big
ship that came out with theRoyal Promenade, the rock
climbing wall, the ice skatingrink, exactly, and now with Icon
.
But 25 years later, it is thenext generation, the Evolution.
Royal Caribbean has been doingit for over 50 years.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I think there's been three key milestones in the
history of Royal Caribbean.
The voyage of the seas wasrevolutionary, obviously.
Then oasis, yes, and now icon.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Those are the three major yeah, and it's funny that
oasis, I was part, luckilyenough to be on the takeout team
as activities manager back inthe day, I remember, and luckily
after that it got promoted, andso it's a really amazing
feeling to be on the icon to seewhere, how far we've come.
But it really all is because ofyou as the top cruiser at Royal
Caribbean.
(04:32):
All the other pinnacle membersDiamond Plus, diamond, platinum,
emerald all Crown and Anchormembers that are loyal to Royal
Caribbean enable us to continueto innovate and be able to build
these ships, because withoutour loyal guests, we don't have
anything imagine.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
The crown of anchor society is now pushing 20
million members worldwide.
It's amazing that is the mostsuccessful loyalty program on
the in the industry yep, and weowe it to our amazing cruisers.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
You as the top pinnacle member, how?
Many points do you have?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I hit 11 300 last week.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Wow 11 300.
So what would that kind of bein an equivalent of how long
you've?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
okay, you know the cruise, cruise nights and cruise
points don't correlate.
Yeah, because they get doublepoints for swedes.
Yes, you're always going tohave more cruise points and
cruise nights.
I have a number of physicalcruises on royal, without
counting the other 150.
Yeah, it's just over a thousand.
Wow, a thousand cruises cruises, physical cruises wow.
(05:28):
Now I'll give you an averagemultiplied by eight.
Average per cruise, that's 8000 nights.
That's something.
Now they tell me the travelprofessionals in the media.
They tell me that's a worldrecord.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Whether it is or not, I don't know can we get you in
the guinness world record?
Well, have you looked at that I?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
talked to michael bailey about that and he said
you know, that is a great idea.
Why don't we get our names inthe guinness?
So he's he's going to work onit and let me know.
I love that.
Yeah, they're going to have toprovide the documentation you
know of course, yeah, but youcan get that because you have to
.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
We have to have records of that.
Anyway, you have all therecords.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I have all the records, so we're going to sort
of work together on that.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
That's amazing.
So people just wonder and soare you retired now or do you
still work?
No, I'm still running mybusiness from the ship.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So still running your business from the ship.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
The fact that we now have the the world boom powered
by Starlink doesn't hurt,because now you're able to stay
connected 24-7.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Absolutely.
Now my efficiency has gone up200% Amazing Because of Starlink
.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So, without getting too much into it, you're in
investing.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
I manage other people's money there, you go.
Yeah, opm.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So he's going with money.
That's why he can be on theships.
And you don't, do you stillhave a house in Florida.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I have my condo in Miami.
I've always had that condo.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
And you're just not there very often.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
No, it's a home base.
It's what it is really.
It's not.
I don't sleep there.
This is amazing.
I mean I cruise 50 weeks a year.
50 weeks a year, wow.
And guess what I do the othertwo weeks Laundry.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I'm on vacation.
My dream, my dream goals, lifegoals.
Hashtag life goals.
So you are living the dream.
You live in that life that youknow we would.
We thought we were living thedream as working on the ship,
but even better, your side.
What's your favorite benefit asa pinnacle member?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
well, once you get the pinnacle, you get certain
benefits that nobody else gets,for example, free internet.
That's a big benefit, freeinternet.
Then you get access to thesuite lounge and coastal kitchen
on oasis class and quantumclass.
And then you get the freecruises.
Once you reach pinnacle, youget a free cruise, and then
(07:42):
every 350 points or let's say 50cruises you get another one,
and then another one.
Wow, I've gotten many, manyfree cruises.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, that's not to mention the six free drinks a
day.
And the six free drinks a day,I'm trying to get to diamond
status pretty quick.
All right, you want some?
Points that would be amazing,you could share some, yeah, I'll
give you some.
There's always another level.
They're gonna get.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
They're gonna have to add perks for you.
Well, I, that's what they say.
But now I say I'm I'm keepingPinnacle.
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I'm happy with Pinnacle, maybe you'll be like
Pinnacle Plus or something.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
That's what they're trying to do.
They're trying to carve out thetop, top, top, creme de la
creme and say let's make that aPinnacle Plus.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Do you know how many Pinnacle members we have?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
We have approximately and this is an unofficial
number around 6,000.
And that's over 700 cruisepoints.
Yeah, but keep in mind you have20 million members.
That's a rounding error.
Wow, you know, really it's aminuscule number.
It is very small, very small.
The only problem is, as thepinnacle population grows, you
(08:45):
start to get crowding in thecoastal kitchen.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
True, in the sweet lounges so that's why they're
going to need a top, another toplevel eventually, keep cruising
.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Eventually they're going to need another top level.
Eventually, keep cruising.
Eventually, they probably dohave to do something.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Wow, eventually, yeah , yeah.
So let me ask you a questionhere.
I would just say, really, onething that I was going to think
about is when you were offcruising for a couple of years,
we were off 30, 40, 50,000 crewmembers were home.
What was that like for you?
Obviously it was pretty prettyit was miserable.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, the day I had to get off march of uh 2020, out
of oasis.
I was doing oasis and they toldme I had to get off.
I said, come on, guys, I'm hereback to back for another three
months.
What do you mean, get off?
You don't understand.
This is a real touchy situation.
You have to get off, you haveto pack and leave.
So I'm, I'm, I'm lost.
You don't understand.
This is a real touchy situation.
You have to get off, you haveto pack and leave.
So I'm, I'm, I'm lost.
(09:36):
I don't know what to do.
You know, I'm in terminal, alooking up in the sky saying,
you know where am I going?
Well, I decided I don't knowhow long this is gonna last.
Nobody knew.
So I decided right away I'mgonna leave miami and fly to the
caribbean.
Yeah, which is what I like.
So I found a through friends, atimeshare in aruba yes so I went
(09:58):
to aruba and I spent 15 monthsin aruba and then we restarted
15 months later, yeah, so it wasa 15 month sort of dry period
for me.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, you know it's uh, we're back.
We're so excited and again wantto say something really special
to our crowded anchor members,to you, because of our
incredible loyalty guests.
We were the first to be fullyback, the first industry and a
lot of people.
You know there was a little bitof uh stuff on the news about
cruising, and cruising is backwith a bang.
It is the fastest growingsegment in travel.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So, thanks to the likes of you and all of our
other loyal guests, matter offact, when cruises restarted
again, the first people to comeon the ship and they limited the
number of people at thebeginning, you could only have
four or five hundred yeah, wherethe crown of anchormen, 100
that were dying to come back,you know, and I, I jumped on the
first ship out of miami, thefreedom, and uh, I said, well,
thank god I'm here and I wasjust unbelievable, I was so
(10:52):
emotional just coming back, youknow, yeah, yeah yeah, I was
very fortunate to be on thequantum sailing out of Singapore
as the only ship sailing forRoyal Caribbean at the time.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So I can put that feather in my hat and say at one
point I was the only cruisedirector sailing you were.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
That was the first ship to restart in Singapore in
December.
Yeah, I joined.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
December 28th.
Yeah, so very interesting stuff.
I would two quick things beforewe finish.
One, a little bit about youroffice.
Everyone's just enthralled andloves the fact that you have
your own little area and you do.
You have your office becauseyou're Super Mario, you're the
top.
You have to have your own space.
And how did that come about?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Okay.
So that came about because, uh,all the officers and captains
and hotel directors got to knowme, of course, got to know me.
I've been on all ships,everything, and they know that I
run my business from the shipand they always see me working
on my computer.
So I said you need an office.
People are coming by youlooking at your screen and
interrupting you.
(11:48):
So they started the officestarted as a thing that they
gave to me on the pool deck.
Now I smoke cigars, I like tosmoke, so they gave me an office
in the smoking area of the poolbank and so that has evolved as
a sort of a tradition.
So every ship now gives me anoffice with a sign and I'm roped
off.
But people come over and theysay what's the meaning of this?
(12:11):
Of course, we've never seenanything like this in our lives,
you know.
So I have to explain, you know,but that's fun, yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
What was the first ship?
Do you remember that happenedon?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Sure, it was on Liberty Liberty In 2007.
Wow yeah, captain Charles.
I don't know if you rememberhim, charles, I don't know if
you remember him, captainCharles, on.
Liberty and Staff Captain HenryHenryk Sorensen.
No, henryk Loy.
Oh, henryk Loy, he was StaffCaptain on the Liberty.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Oh, this Captain, yeah, yeah, wow, he's come a
long way.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
He certainly has.
Yeah, so it started in 07 onthe Liberty with Captain Charles
and he and I became really,really close.
I sailed the Liberty threeyears back to back Three years
back to back so I had apermanent office there.
And then the other shipsstarted to catch on because
people put the office on them onYouTube and everything.
(13:03):
And then the other hoteldirectors decided, yeah, we
gotta give them an office.
So when I get on a ship let'ssay I got on Odyssey last week I
had an office already.
When I get on a ship let's sayI got on uh odyssey last week uh
, I had an office already.
They already have my office setup.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
It's part of the preparation for day one of the
cruise, yeah, so, uh, I thinkit's just amazing, and I think
the last thing I want to ask youabout is a lot of people wonder
well, how and why are you atroyal caribbean?
What is it about royalcaribbean?
Now?
What I think is someone who'sactually in February next month,
in just a couple dayscelebrating 20 years at Royal
Caribbean, which is a pretty bigachievement for me, but I spent
(13:36):
18 and a half years working onboard the ships.
I loved every minute of it,with all the incredible crew
from up to 75 differentcountries.
So what would it's?
What would you say to someonethat asks you why Royal
Caribbean?
What is it about you?
Like, ships are incredible, butI think you know where I'm
going with this.
We just our crew and the peoplethat work on board and the
guests that we have.
(13:56):
This just something special,right?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
well, let me take you back to my experiment, when I
did my you know, four-yearexperiment on 150 cruise ships
and 10 different cruise lines.
What made me decide to adoptroyal?
I think that's the answer toyour question, and to me there
were three big things.
Three big things that made theuh, that made the cut for royal.
(14:19):
Number one is the innovation,the creativity, the uh
tremendous, you know uhimagination that goes into
building and designing theirships.
Yeah, I think they're the mostinnovative in the whole industry
.
I don't think anybody disputesthat right.
So that was number one, and theVoyager, of course, displayed
that for me.
It gave me the proof rightthere.
(14:40):
Number two, mitch the amazingcrew, the friendliness, their
professionalism, their service,their camaraderie, because I
mean, to me the crew is myfamily.
I don't have any friends onland.
I lost them all.
Same, the crew, they're myfriends.
Every ship I go to, I know allthe crew, not all of them, but
(15:01):
most of the crew members.
I know pretty much all thecaptains, all the hotel
directors, all the cruisedirectors, the activities
managers hey, you know.
So the crew was number two,without a doubt.
And number three, the loyaltyprogram, the crown and anchor
society, the most popular, bestprogram in the industry, yeah, a
lot of people ask why doesn'treal caribbean have packages
(15:23):
that the the drink packagescombined with the prices?
because we have so many loyaltyguests who get free drinks,
there's no point exactly so,yeah, those are the three big
things that made made it for menumber one, being the real
driver, the innovation factoryeah, and you know what?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
all these years later , we are still doing it, ever
since the smallest ships,sovereign of the seas, the first
cruise line to have balconies,and we keep pushing the envelope
.
So you will see it, if you are,uh, you know, able to come and
cruise on icon of the seas, andmaybe you will find super mario
up on the pool deck in hisoffice and say hello, so any, uh
, any, I know you get asked thisa lot, so I, when people ask me
(16:00):
if I have a favorite ship, Isay I really don't think I do.
But do you have one?
Speaker 2 (16:04):
I'm like you, mitch, I've sailed on the.
Uh, there's right now 27 shipson royal.
Of those 27, I've sailed on 26.
I'm missing the spectrumbecause it never hit north
america.
Yeah, it went straight to asia.
So I've done 26 and plus fivethat have been sold out majesty,
empress, legend, splendor, somonarch, yeah, so I think it's
(16:28):
31, 31, 31, 32 ships there andyou know I have to mention not
only the crew but the shoresidepeople at Royal.
You know I've gotten to knowall the executives and all the
managers and directors.
Such a tight family, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
It really is a family company, a family brand and an
amazing group of people that areso passionate about it, with
not just the people that work atRoyal Caribbean, but our guests
as well, and you're known asSuper Mario, the top guest whose
crews the most, and people lookup to you so I, we all do, as
well as a staff and crew whoworked on board.
(17:05):
So thank you for your loyaltyto Royal Caribbean and thank you
for spending a couple ofminutes here to say hello and
talk a little bit about yourselfwith our guests.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Okay, well, thank you , mitch, and I've always
regarded you as a very goodfriend, and over the years I've
seen you on Majesty, then onOdyssey, now on Icon, so I keep
following your career, eventhough you're on sales now.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, yeah, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It's great to have you All right, thanks.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Super Mario the legend, the greatest of all time
cruiser.
Thanks for tuning in theex-mascot.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
The ex-mascot.
See you next time.
All right, ciao for now.
All right, hey everybody, it's cruise director
Mitch.
Royal Caribbean Sails with theone and only the GOAT, the
greatest of all time cruiserwith Royal Caribbean Super Mario
.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Mitch, what a great pleasure to be with you on this
magnificent vessel.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We are live from Icon of the Seas, the biggest,
baddest cruise ship in the world, and, first of all, so happy to
have Super Mario here.
Thank you for spending a coupleof minutes of your time to
catch up.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
All the time you want Mitch.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
You know we go way back.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
I remember Majesty of the SeasCorrect 2012.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Even before that, I think 2011 or 2012.
Something like that.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, that's when I first was stepping up as a
cruise director Right.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I sailed with you your first contract as cruise
director on Majesty yes.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I think I did.
I think, so I'm pretty sure youdid.
You were always in Boleros.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
What a great venue, wasn't it?
I had my reserve table inBoleros, yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
You know, one of my favorite things is what we're
going to get to in a second isyour reserved area.
So we're going to get to that.
That's why the GOAT, thegreatest of all time, legendary
super mario, the longest, mosttenured cruiser at royal
caribbean international.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
That's a pretty big achievement and it's a pretty
big thing and it's pretty bigresponsibility too it is, you
know it is, it is responsibility, because I have to, I'm sure,
like a, like an unofficial brandambassador you are.
You know that's what theyconsider me.
I used to be the mascot untilRover came around.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
You did.
I'm taking your spotlight alittle bit right.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Now I delegated to Rover.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, good, some attention off you, you get to
relax a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Rover, by the way, Rover is the mascot Chief dog
officer On the ship.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yes, and she is adorable, yeah, yeah, you've met
her a hundred times, probablyno, a couple.
So people always want to know,like.
I had a post with you a coupledays ago and it's something like
thousands and thousands oflikes, and then random people
who don't know anything aboutcruising were commenting who is
this guy?
Why is this in my timeline?
What is going on?
Who is super mario?
What is this all about?
So can we just rewind a littlebit and talk about how you
(02:00):
started cruising and just tellus a little bit about it?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Sure, my passion for cruising began when I was in my
20s, many, many, many years ago.
I knew I wanted to live on acruise ship.
So I had 15 years, sort of, tosave money for it and get ready
for it.
And then, when the day came, Iwas in my mid-40s.
I said now, which cruise linedo I adopt, because I don't want
(02:26):
to move around like a gypsy.
Well, I didn't know.
So I did an experiment.
I sailed on 10 different cruiselines and did 150 cruises.
Wow, on 150 different ships, 10cruise lines, because I wanted
to get to learn the industry.
Well, by the time theexperiment was over in 1999, I
(02:46):
guess it was I was undecided.
I couldn't make up my mindwhich cruise line.
They were all good, all thecruise lines.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
That's one thing we always say.
We don't compete with othercruise lines.
We love each cruise line.
There's a cruise line foreverybody, and yeah so.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
So, yeah, we compete with Vegas and Orlando and
places like that.
We don't go to sleep with othercruise lines.
So I was in a quandary At theend of the experiment.
I'm going, where do I go?
Which one do I want?
I like all of them.
At that time it just sohappened that Voyager was coming
out.
Yep, she came into the Port ofMiami and I have a condo in
Miami and I look out of my on mybalcony and I'm seeing this
(03:22):
massive ship, brand new ship,sailing to the fort.
I'm going oh, my god, I need tobook her.
I need to do one moreexperiment.
And he, I booked her.
I got on the voyager and said,oh man, this ship was made for
me.
Yeah, it was made for me.
That's it.
Contest over, over and donewith.
From that day on, loyal toWonderful.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
And you know that was the first revolutionary big
ship that came out with theRoyal Promenade, the rock
climbing wall, the ice skatingrink, exactly, and now with Icon
.
But 25 years later, it is thenext generation, the Evolution.
Royal Caribbean has been doingit for over 50 years.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I think there's been three key milestones in the
history of Royal Caribbean.
The voyage of the seas wasrevolutionary, obviously.
Then oasis, yes, and now icon.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Those are the three major yeah, and it's funny that
oasis, I was part, luckilyenough to be on the takeout team
as activities manager back inthe day, I remember, and luckily
after that it got promoted, andso it's a really amazing
feeling to be on the icon to seewhere, how far we've come.
But it really all is because ofyou as the top cruiser at Royal
Caribbean.
(04:32):
All the other pinnacle membersDiamond Plus, diamond, platinum,
emerald all Crown and Anchormembers that are loyal to Royal
Caribbean enable us to continueto innovate and be able to build
these ships, because withoutour loyal guests, we don't have
anything imagine.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
The crown of anchor society is now pushing 20
million members worldwide.
It's amazing that is the mostsuccessful loyalty program on
the in the industry yep, and weowe it to our amazing cruisers.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
You as the top pinnacle member, how?
Many points do you have?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I hit 11 300 last week.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Wow 11 300.
So what would that kind of bein an equivalent of how long
you've?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
okay, you know the cruise, cruise nights and cruise
points don't correlate.
Yeah, because they get doublepoints for swedes.
Yes, you're always going tohave more cruise points and
cruise nights.
I have a number of physicalcruises on royal, without
counting the other 150.
Yeah, it's just over a thousand.
Wow, a thousand cruises cruises, physical cruises wow.
(05:28):
Now I'll give you an averagemultiplied by eight.
Average per cruise, that's 8000 nights.
That's something.
Now they tell me the travelprofessionals in the media.
They tell me that's a worldrecord.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Whether it is or not, I don't know can we get you in
the guinness world record?
Well, have you looked at that I?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
talked to michael bailey about that and he said
you know, that is a great idea.
Why don't we get our names inthe guinness?
So he's he's going to work onit and let me know.
I love that.
Yeah, they're going to have toprovide the documentation you
know of course, yeah, but youcan get that because you have to
.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
We have to have records of that.
Anyway, you have all therecords.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I have all the records, so we're going to sort
of work together on that.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
That's amazing.
So people just wonder and soare you retired now or do you
still work?
No, I'm still running mybusiness from the ship.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So still running your business from the ship.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
The fact that we now have the the world boom powered
by Starlink doesn't hurt,because now you're able to stay
connected 24-7.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Absolutely.
Now my efficiency has gone up200% Amazing Because of Starlink
.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So, without getting too much into it, you're in
investing.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
I manage other people's money there, you go.
Yeah, opm.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
So he's going with money.
That's why he can be on theships.
And you don't, do you stillhave a house in Florida.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I have my condo in Miami.
I've always had that condo.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
And you're just not there very often.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
No, it's a home base.
It's what it is really.
It's not.
I don't sleep there.
This is amazing.
I mean I cruise 50 weeks a year.
50 weeks a year, wow.
And guess what I do the othertwo weeks Laundry.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I'm on vacation.
My dream, my dream goals, lifegoals.
Hashtag life goals.
So you are living the dream.
You live in that life that youknow we would.
We thought we were living thedream as working on the ship,
but even better, your side.
What's your favorite benefit asa pinnacle member?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
well, once you get the pinnacle, you get certain
benefits that nobody else gets,for example, free internet.
That's a big benefit, freeinternet.
Then you get access to thesuite lounge and coastal kitchen
on oasis class and quantumclass.
And then you get the freecruises.
Once you reach pinnacle, youget a free cruise, and then
(07:42):
every 350 points or let's say 50cruises you get another one,
and then another one.
Wow, I've gotten many, manyfree cruises.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, that's not to mention the six free drinks a
day.
And the six free drinks a day,I'm trying to get to diamond
status pretty quick.
All right, you want some?
Points that would be amazing,you could share some, yeah, I'll
give you some.
There's always another level.
They're gonna get.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
They're gonna have to add perks for you.
Well, I, that's what they say.
But now I say I'm I'm keepingPinnacle.
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I'm happy with Pinnacle, maybe you'll be like
Pinnacle Plus or something.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
That's what they're trying to do.
They're trying to carve out thetop, top, top, creme de la
creme and say let's make that aPinnacle Plus.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Do you know how many Pinnacle members we have?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
We have approximately and this is an unofficial
number around 6,000.
And that's over 700 cruisepoints.
Yeah, but keep in mind you have20 million members.
That's a rounding error.
Wow, you know, really it's aminuscule number.
It is very small, very small.
The only problem is, as thepinnacle population grows, you
(08:45):
start to get crowding in thecoastal kitchen.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
True, in the sweet lounges so that's why they're
going to need a top, another toplevel eventually, keep cruising
.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Eventually they're going to need another top level.
Eventually, keep cruising.
Eventually, they probably dohave to do something.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Wow, eventually, yeah , yeah.
So let me ask you a questionhere.
I would just say, really, onething that I was going to think
about is when you were offcruising for a couple of years,
we were off 30, 40, 50,000 crewmembers were home.
What was that like for you?
Obviously it was pretty prettyit was miserable.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, the day I had to get off march of uh 2020, out
of oasis.
I was doing oasis and they toldme I had to get off.
I said, come on, guys, I'm hereback to back for another three
months.
What do you mean, get off?
You don't understand.
This is a real touchy situation.
You have to get off, you haveto pack and leave.
So I'm, I'm, I'm lost.
You don't understand.
This is a real touchy situation.
You have to get off, you haveto pack and leave.
So I'm, I'm, I'm lost.
(09:36):
I don't know what to do.
You know, I'm in terminal, alooking up in the sky saying,
you know where am I going?
Well, I decided I don't knowhow long this is gonna last.
Nobody knew.
So I decided right away I'mgonna leave miami and fly to the
caribbean.
Yeah, which is what I like.
So I found a through friends, atimeshare in aruba yes so I went
(09:58):
to aruba and I spent 15 monthsin aruba and then we restarted
15 months later, yeah, so it wasa 15 month sort of dry period
for me.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, you know it's uh, we're back.
We're so excited and again wantto say something really special
to our crowded anchor members,to you, because of our
incredible loyalty guests.
We were the first to be fullyback, the first industry and a
lot of people.
You know there was a little bitof uh stuff on the news about
cruising, and cruising is backwith a bang.
It is the fastest growingsegment in travel.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So, thanks to the likes of you and all of our
other loyal guests, matter offact, when cruises restarted
again, the first people to comeon the ship and they limited the
number of people at thebeginning, you could only have
four or five hundred yeah, wherethe crown of anchormen, 100
that were dying to come back,you know, and I, I jumped on the
first ship out of miami, thefreedom, and uh, I said, well,
thank god I'm here and I wasjust unbelievable, I was so
(10:52):
emotional just coming back, youknow, yeah, yeah yeah, I was
very fortunate to be on thequantum sailing out of Singapore
as the only ship sailing forRoyal Caribbean at the time.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So I can put that feather in my hat and say at one
point I was the only cruisedirector sailing you were.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
That was the first ship to restart in Singapore in
December.
Yeah, I joined.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
December 28th.
Yeah, so very interesting stuff.
I would two quick things beforewe finish.
One, a little bit about youroffice.
Everyone's just enthralled andloves the fact that you have
your own little area and you do.
You have your office becauseyou're Super Mario, you're the
top.
You have to have your own space.
And how did that come about?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Okay.
So that came about because, uh,all the officers and captains
and hotel directors got to knowme, of course, got to know me.
I've been on all ships,everything, and they know that I
run my business from the shipand they always see me working
on my computer.
So I said you need an office.
People are coming by youlooking at your screen and
interrupting you.
(11:48):
So they started the officestarted as a thing that they
gave to me on the pool deck.
Now I smoke cigars, I like tosmoke, so they gave me an office
in the smoking area of the poolbank and so that has evolved as
a sort of a tradition.
So every ship now gives me anoffice with a sign and I'm roped
off.
But people come over and theysay what's the meaning of this?
(12:11):
Of course, we've never seenanything like this in our lives,
you know.
So I have to explain, you know,but that's fun, yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
What was the first ship?
Do you remember that happenedon?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Sure, it was on Liberty Liberty In 2007.
Wow yeah, captain Charles.
I don't know if you rememberhim, charles, I don't know if
you remember him, captainCharles, on.
Liberty and Staff Captain HenryHenryk Sorensen.
No, henryk Loy.
Oh, henryk Loy, he was StaffCaptain on the Liberty.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Oh, this Captain, yeah, yeah, wow, he's come a
long way.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
He certainly has.
Yeah, so it started in 07 onthe Liberty with Captain Charles
and he and I became really,really close.
I sailed the Liberty threeyears back to back Three years
back to back so I had apermanent office there.
And then the other shipsstarted to catch on because
people put the office on them onYouTube and everything.
(13:03):
And then the other hoteldirectors decided, yeah, we
gotta give them an office.
So when I get on a ship let'ssay I got on Odyssey last week I
had an office already.
When I get on a ship let's sayI got on uh odyssey last week uh
, I had an office already.
They already have my office setup.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
It's part of the preparation for day one of the
cruise, yeah, so, uh, I thinkit's just amazing, and I think
the last thing I want to ask youabout is a lot of people wonder
well, how and why are you atroyal caribbean?
What is it about royalcaribbean?
Now?
What I think is someone who'sactually in February next month,
in just a couple dayscelebrating 20 years at Royal
Caribbean, which is a pretty bigachievement for me, but I spent
(13:36):
18 and a half years working onboard the ships.
I loved every minute of it,with all the incredible crew
from up to 75 differentcountries.
So what would it's?
What would you say to someonethat asks you why Royal
Caribbean?
What is it about you?
Like, ships are incredible, butI think you know where I'm
going with this.
We just our crew and the peoplethat work on board and the
guests that we have.
(13:56):
This just something special,right?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
well, let me take you back to my experiment, when I
did my you know, four-yearexperiment on 150 cruise ships
and 10 different cruise lines.
What made me decide to adoptroyal?
I think that's the answer toyour question, and to me there
were three big things.
Three big things that made theuh, that made the cut for royal.
(14:19):
Number one is the innovation,the creativity, the uh
tremendous, you know uhimagination that goes into
building and designing theirships.
Yeah, I think they're the mostinnovative in the whole industry
.
I don't think anybody disputesthat right.
So that was number one, and theVoyager, of course, displayed
that for me.
It gave me the proof rightthere.
(14:40):
Number two, mitch the amazingcrew, the friendliness, their
professionalism, their service,their camaraderie, because I
mean, to me the crew is myfamily.
I don't have any friends onland.
I lost them all.
Same, the crew, they're myfriends.
Every ship I go to, I know allthe crew, not all of them, but
(15:01):
most of the crew members.
I know pretty much all thecaptains, all the hotel
directors, all the cruisedirectors, the activities
managers hey, you know.
So the crew was number two,without a doubt.
And number three, the loyaltyprogram, the crown and anchor
society, the most popular, bestprogram in the industry, yeah, a
lot of people ask why doesn'treal caribbean have packages
(15:23):
that the the drink packagescombined with the prices?
because we have so many loyaltyguests who get free drinks,
there's no point exactly so,yeah, those are the three big
things that made made it for menumber one, being the real
driver, the innovation factoryeah, and you know what?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
all these years later , we are still doing it, ever
since the smallest ships,sovereign of the seas, the first
cruise line to have balconies,and we keep pushing the envelope
.
So you will see it, if you are,uh, you know, able to come and
cruise on icon of the seas, andmaybe you will find super mario
up on the pool deck in hisoffice and say hello, so any, uh
, any, I know you get asked thisa lot, so I, when people ask me
(16:00):
if I have a favorite ship, Isay I really don't think I do.
But do you have one?
Speaker 2 (16:04):
I'm like you, mitch, I've sailed on the.
Uh, there's right now 27 shipson royal.
Of those 27, I've sailed on 26.
I'm missing the spectrumbecause it never hit north
america.
Yeah, it went straight to asia.
So I've done 26 and plus fivethat have been sold out majesty,
empress, legend, splendor, somonarch, yeah, so I think it's
(16:28):
31, 31, 31, 32 ships there andyou know I have to mention not
only the crew but the shoresidepeople at Royal.
You know I've gotten to knowall the executives and all the
managers and directors.
Such a tight family, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
It really is a family company, a family brand and an
amazing group of people that areso passionate about it, with
not just the people that work atRoyal Caribbean, but our guests
as well, and you're known asSuper Mario, the top guest whose
crews the most, and people lookup to you so I, we all do, as
well as a staff and crew whoworked on board.
(17:05):
So thank you for your loyaltyto Royal Caribbean and thank you
for spending a couple ofminutes here to say hello and
talk a little bit about yourselfwith our guests.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Okay, well, thank you , mitch, and I've always
regarded you as a very goodfriend, and over the years I've
seen you on Majesty, then onOdyssey, now on Icon, so I keep
following your career, eventhough you're on sales now.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, yeah, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It's great to have you All right, thanks.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Super Mario the legend, the greatest of all time
cruiser.
Thanks for tuning in theex-mascot.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
The ex-mascot.
See you next time.
All right, ciao for now.
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