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IHSM students had an amazing opportunity to visit the Norwegian Jade cruise ship in Dubrovnik on Sunday, September 27, as a part of the Hotel Management and Operations class taught by professor Mario Matković.

There were over 2500 guests aboard on that day, with 1049 members of the crew coming from 69 various countries.

The purpose of this visit was to introduce IHSM students to the ways of organizing hotel operations, starting from boarding, check-in, baggage handling, field trip sales, entertainment on board, food and beverage department, ship supply purchasing, ship maintenance and security.

Students were welcomed by the Hotel Director. After students went through the security check, like all other passengers do, they were given a lecture by Hotel Director, Guest Relation Director, Cruise Director, Executive Housekeeper, as well as the Director of F&B, who all explained their roles and the way their departments function. Afterwards, students were given a tour of the cruise ship, where they could see how employees live and work on cruise ships. Students also saw all guest related content, as well as the "back of the house" actions, which are crucial for all operations to function. The tour ended with a nice dinner organized for the students.

"Students were impressed with the intricate and massive system of operations present at a cruise ship of this size. It is important for them to understand that all departments within a hotel (or in this case a cruise ship) need to have a strong communication and clear operating procedures in order to deliver a high level of service to the customer. I am very thankful that the Norwegian Jade crew managed to take so much time and effort to show us so much during this visit", says professor Matković.