How do you solve a problem like Maria? You don’t. In fact, you let Maria solve your problems.
On my recent Avalon cruise, I sat down with Maria Pascual to ask her about what she’s learned in the 31(!!) years with Globus. She reflected on her career with Avalon, the evolving demographics of river cruise guests, and how her team goes above and beyond to create a welcoming and unforgettable experience for everyone on board.
Britton: I’m here with Maria now on Avalon Tranquility II and we’re sailing 14-day sailing from Amsterdam to Budapest on the Magnificent Europe itinerary. Maria, you have been one of the best cruise directors I’ve ever had. I know part of that is your personality, but a lot of that comes with experience. How long have you been a cruise director with Avalon?
Maria: The dates they blur, because I started with the Globus family of brands 31 years ago this year. I started on the road, on the buses with Globus. They’re emergency situations sometimes – high water, low water, deviations, where already I had already been called to the ships, and after that I decided, “Hm, I like this. I like what I’m seeing.” So I asked if I can come over to the ships. So, not from the very beginning. We started in 2005 with the Avalon ships. I started in maybe 2013 or 2014.
B: But you’ve been with Globus for a long time now and I’m curious, let’s say 2013 then, in the past 10 or 11 years, how do you feel that your role as a cruise director has changed over that time?
M: There are more ships now, for sure. Still, for cruise directors, we only take care of one ship at a time. It is true that the world is evolving, and we have to adapt to the times and to the guests, who come with different requests, like dietary restrictions and other accommodations we can now provide. The demographic is also changing. We are getting more young people now. Before, it seemed like cruises were only for elderly people who could not move much. But that’s not the case anymore. We have more and more active seniors, and we see how we interact with them and offer a different product. For example, the Active and Discovery Cruises. Originally, we are started with classical, just sightseeing cruises. Copying a little bit, the style of what came from the road. We have a completely different product nowadays than when we started with many more choices. We always offer the classic sightseeing, but there is always something on the side for these more active or younger guests.
B: Does the do those choices create more work for you?
M: Sure. Having more choices in place means more administration and more background paperwork but at the end if people are happy…happy guests are the result of this difference of choice.
B: Happy guests, happy Maria.
M: Yes. Yes.
B: That’s what you told me when we first met. When we first talked about this interview, I remember asking you, what’s your favorite excursion? You said, “Just the one that the guests liked the best,” because I can tell as we’ve talked about this, that the guest response and the kind of symbiosis and flow of the group reflect in your experience as well. So that’s a good segue. You’re very good at making everyone feel welcome and you’re very open and caring. How do you ensure that guests feel welcomed and feel like they’re taking care of during their trip?
M: Well, first of all, I have to recognize the whole crew and the whole team here onboard because, sure, I am the face, the person that is here to take care of the people, but I have a fantastic group working with me. They are able to learn the names of the guests within the two first days and approach them and ask them if they are comfortable. And to make them feel that no request is unheard. We say the Avalon way is a home away from home, so guests to feel we are there for them, no matter how big or small a request is, we take our time to listen and to try to make it happen. I’d say it happens 99.9 percent of the time.
B: You get mad at me, or you don’t get mad…but you tell me not to apologize so much when I make these requests, you know? Because I do sometimes feel like I’m asking a a lot from people. But I also know that you guys are here and you’re happy to please, and that’s part of, as you say, the Avalon way. You made that apparent on the first day that we arrived, you know, like you say, no request is too big or too small.
M: Thank you. I must say that first comers to Avalon, they may be a little bit shy to make those requests, but we welcome those requests, even before coming on the cruise. They can communicate with whoever they are booking the trip through, the travel agent or the Avalon representatives. We take note of everything, so we can prepare things ahead of time. A request like twin beds, or queen sized beds together if they are enjoying special celebration, birthdays, anniversaries, meal requests, anything that they need in their everyday life, we can fulfill. If we know it ahead of time, even better, but if they come here and they say it to us onboard, it will happen the same way.
B: What advice would you give to first time river cruisers to really enhance their experience on board?
M: So, like I said, don’t be shy. Make your requests known. Another thing that I could suggest is to prepare a little bit for the trip. I know that a vacation is not an exam at school, but we have an AvalonGO App that is available to download already before they come on the trip. I always advise to play around with it because it has lots of information about the places where we are going. Many people on this sailing were playing around with the App before they got on and they knew already ahead of time, what they wanted to do, which excursions, which directions to go, and then it’s less hustled for them to come on board and be exposed to all these choices. Some people are overwhelmed with some people are very pleased to have the choices. So, yeah. Prepare as much as you can, play around with the AvalonGO App and know what is coming ahead of you.
B: Great advice. You seem to always know what to say. I’m impressed at how well you’ve been able to communicate and bond with this group of various backgrounds and cultures. You’ve said that this group jives really well, so it makes your job easy. But when your job isn’t so easy, when guests are a little more reserved or difficult, how do you adapt your own approach to make guests feel more comfortable and to meet those diverse expectations?
M: All of us the, not only me, we read the people. Some people, they need a more personal contact, some people, as you say, they are more introverts. We just try to look each individual as what they are and not “this is a whole group and we are going from Amsterdam to Budapest”, no. Each individual has different likings, different personalities and everybody is respected as they are, no matter where they come from and what they want to do in their vacation. If they want to join the rest of the group, it’s perfectly fine. If they want to retire to a quieter place like the Club Lounge, or stay in the privacy of their cabin, it’s perfectly okay. There is no judgment, and we don’t make a difference about age, sex, country where they come from. They are all our people for this time they are on the cruise, and we just want to take care of them, make them have a great time. We enjoy making memories that are important for them, especially in the way that makes them want to come back again with us. That’s our purpose.
B: One example you also gave me is that sometimes during the port talks, you know when people don’t want the long port talk. They don’t want all the jokes, they just want the information. So even just tweaking little things as far as like, okay, well, I’m going to hold off on saying this joke to this group or, oh, this group really thinks I’m funny, I’m gonna play that up. You are really great at reading the room, reading the guests and adapting to those experiences.
M: Thank you.
B: Let’s switch gears. Earlier, we talked about active cruises and that younger guests are kind of more of the recent trends that you’re seeing. Are there any other trends that you’re seeing on the rivers?
M: Just more people wanting to experience this and move from the ocean to the river. People see so many river cruises passing by, they see them from outside, they don’t know what to expect. People have been on big ocean liners and they have no idea that this is a completely different experience. So we have to give them the chance of as an introduction to see how river cruises can be enjoyable in a different way than what they have experienced before. Once people have done a short sailing, or maybe a week, there is a trend toward longer stays. Normally returning guests will add on the extensions to discover the cities where the cruises start and finish. Once they know they are going to love it and then they book longer cruises.
B: So you have mentioned that you do see a trend toward younger guests and active excursions, though. How young of passengers are you seeing on board these days? Is like people my age and their 20s or are you seeing younger children as well?
M: Well we have a policy with Avalon where we don’t welcome anybody younger than eight years old. Just for the dynamic of the cruise.
B: No screaming babies?
M: No screaming babies, only screaming cruise directors.
B: Haha.
M: No, it’s because the product that we have is enjoyable from certain age. The youngest that I have had is eight years old, and we have many families traveling during the summer breaks. So you see when they have a school holidays, we have more families and sometimes parents with children, teenagers. And then they are surprised to see more teenagers or more young people, their age, they can mix some mingle with them. they’re having a great time. Sometimes three generations, because we can offer activities choices for all of them. The kayaks, the hiking for the younger people, we have the discovery, for the ones that wants to do pottery or bake sweets or a paint, and then the classical for that generation that was to enjoy the history and the architecture of the places. So, depends on the time of the year and depends on the cruise.
B: I was surprised to see as many people kind of my age (30s) as I saw on this trip, so it’s a pleasant surprise for me.
M: I’m very glad, as I said, the demographics are changing, and the product is getting adapted as well.
B: So you mentioned a trend toward longer trips. This is longer than a typical itinerary at 14 days. What do you think makes this itinerary different than the other itineraries that Avalon sales?
M: Well, it’s amazingly complete. The rivers that we do we do – the Rhine, The Main, the [Main- Danube] Canal and the Danube. So really, the major arteries of Europe are covered. So, really in 15 days, you have time for everything.
B: Yeah, and I really like that stretch between the Rhine and the Danube when you go on the Main, I had never done those cities before, Bamberg, Würzburg, all of those towns. And they were really special stops, and I think a lot of cruises miss those. And so I think it was a very nice addition to have those on here as well. But I like what you said that it’s a very complete itinerary.
M: I agree with that. It doesn’t feel like you’re missing anything. No, and that gives as well the chance in 15 days for the people to get to know each other. To find somebody who shares their interests and likings and enjoys conversations, and it’s in the longer cruises where people connect, and they stay connected. How many times do I have families or friends growing on cruises, adopting other passengers and planning the next cruise together?
B: I definitely have felt that on this trip. So many new friends. I highlighted Bamberg and Wurzbürg as some of my favorite ports on this trip, but are there any hidden gems or like lesser known excursions on this itinerary that you think people should not miss?
M: Oh my goodness. All of them!
B: Haha. They’re all so good.
M: My motto is to follow your heart because really in these 15 days we have a variety of offers that to match any interest, any liking. It’s very difficult for me to say, this is one that you shouldn’t miss. All of them if you have the energy. That’s a question I actually cannot answer. The one that you enjoy the most, that is the one that you shouldn’t miss.
B: Fair enough. I noticed that you all ask for a lot of feedback on excursions, on the cruise itself. What is some feedback that you’ve heard from guests that influenced you to do things differently on the next cruise or in the future?
M: Well, here there are two parts. One is the general Avalon feedback and my personal cruise director feedback. From the Avalon side at the end of the cruise, we have an online survey, that is very important, very important. Give us suggestions because you go around with your own personal likings that we don’t know about and whatever is written down in the survey is really read and taking into account. And I see how the cruises they change. They evolve implementing some things or erasing what apparently is not that enjoyable. From my personal point of view, I always ask when people comes back from the excursions. I’m always there to ask, how did you enjoy it? How did you like it? And mostly is always a positive answer, if there is an eh, I request, “Do you have one minute time to tell me?” Because I want to know, and then I can pass over the world throughout a different channel to change that to a wonderful tour.
B: Do you have a specific example of a way that the cruises have changed from a guest feedback that you can think of?
M: We are implementing plenty of included excursions. We also started Active and Discovery cruises because people ask for more activities. We have since a few years, had the new position on board of the adventure host. We have the bikes. So you see, those are fine tuning things that happen only reading the surveys. In Rüdesheim, we redesigned the cable car excursion and the sausages in Nuremberg. So really, we read every single survey.
B: And that’s what I tell people when they come back from an excursion and say, “oh, well, that was the best guide ever”. Write it down, you know? Or that that guy wasn’t so great. Write it down. That’s how they know who to bring back and who to…okay, maybe not you for the next trip.
M: Exactly.
B: Well, thank you very much, Maria. Sorry to keep you, I know you’re a busy lady.
M: Don’t say sorry! It was my pleasure.
This article was originally published at River Cruise Advisor.
