George Traganis says he is excited, anticipating returning home to Athens, Greece, to be with his wife for the birth of their child. "I have arranged to be home for the birth because it is something very important," he said as we talked in his office onboard Celebrity Cruises' gts Millennium. As the ship's hotel manager, George is a master at arranging things, though usually not for himself. He is, after all, responsible for seeing that the nearly 2,000 passengers on the Millennium enjoy comfortable accommodations, excellent food and service and outstanding entertainment, while also seeing to the well being of the 1,000 crew and staff.
Nor is this the first birth in which George has been involved. He was among that cadre of Chandris company veterans who helped to launch Celebrity a decade ago. In those days, he was the first hotel manager on the new line's old ship, the Meridian. That was where I first encountered him, back in 1992, on my first cruise onboard a Celebrity ship.

     The Meridian, unfortunately, exists only as a fond memory for those who served and sailed on her. The ship, renamed Sun Vista after her sale to Singapore-based Sun Cruises, sank May 21, 1999, off the coast of Malaysia.

     That loss came as sad news to Traganis, but he was even more moved by this summer's sinking of the old Chandris liner ss Britanis. Launched in 1932 as Matson Line's Monterey, the ship sailed as the Matsonia and Luriline before being purchased by Chandris and named Britanis; in her final years she was by several years the world's oldest cruise ship in active service. The vessel sank as it was being towed to Pakistan to be broken up for scrap. George Traganis was her last hotel manager.

     "I started with Chandris family in 1981 when we had the older ships like the Britanis and the Amerikanis and the Victoria," he recalled. "I had the privilege to serve as the last hotel manager on the Britanis. That was back in 1995 when the ship was laid out in Cuba, in Guantanamo Bay. I was there for the last time. From there, she was towed to Tampa Bay and did not serve anymore.

     "I cried actually when I heard that the Britanis went down because I spent five years of my life on that ship. For me it was like hearing that a dear friend had passed away. But then I realized that I would rather see the ship sunk than to be cut into pieces. I thought it was a better thing for the Britanis to sink, because that ship had a long history, and it was a good ship."

     Life goes on, though, and when we met again this November, Traganis was savoring the successful inaugural season of one of the world's newest and grandest ships. Millennium, at 91,000 gross registered tons, is nearly three times the size of Meridian, his first Celebrity ship, and with its gas turbine power plant and sophisticated electronic entertainment systems, the new vessel represents the very latest in ship design. A three-week dry dock visit will, according to the engineers, correct the ship's one significant flaw, a slight bumping at slow speeds.

     Traganis has seen remarkable changes in cruise ships and the experience of cruise travel over the nearly two decades his career has spanned so far. Though much has been gained, he admitted that it's difficult today to duplicate the magic that the old ships possessed.

     "Today's cruise ships are more like floating hotels, where 10 years ago they were more vessels," he noted. "Of course the new technology — the Internet center, the I-TV (interactive television) — has come more into our lives and more into the cruise industry. The other thing I would say has changed is the expansion of the ports, especially with our line. We are trying to go globally. We started Alaska three years ago; we are doing Hawaii in a few months with Infinity; we are expanding to South America.

    "We see more Americans choosing these itineraries in Europe now. They want to have the best service; they want to know the product, and definitely they would like to experience Europe. The Caribbean gets a little crowded, and most of them have seen the Caribbean."

     The sheer size of today's ships, however, has changed the cruise experience and presented new challenges. "I think as the ships get bigger and bigger they lose personality," he reflected. "And of course, it's not the same to deal with 800 guests and to deal with 2,000 guests. You have more time to spend with people when you have only 800 or 1,000 guests.

"Living conditions for all staff and crew 
and officers have change dramatically
compared with 10 years ago."

     "I miss being out and about mingling with the guests, though I try to do that as much as I can. That is my main goal, really, is to be out and see what is going on and see what the guests feel and how the services are and how our crew is doing."

      Traganis makes up for not having more time to talk with passengers during the cruise in part by paying careful attention to the comments they make at the end of the sailing. "We always take comments very constructively. You have to live in the stateroom to find out the needs. I personally read almost every comment card at the end of each cruise, and I write down the suggestions."
One direct effect of those suggestions, he noted, will be the addition of more coat hooks in Millennium's passenger cabins.

     For the crew and staff who man the ships, however, the changes in the past decade have been particularly noteworthy, and almost entirely for the good. As the need — and the competition among cruise lines — for qualified personnel increases with the dozens of new ships slated to enter service in the next few years, crew conditions are likely to improve even more.

     "Living conditions for all staff and crew and officers have changed dramatically compared with 10 years ago," Traganis explained. "For example, now we have cabins occupied by only two crew members with very, very minimal exceptions. We try to keep two crewmembers in each cabin. They all have private bathrooms and showers. They all have TVs and mini-bars in their cabins. They all have safes in their cabins to keep their valuables.

     "We have much better standards for the dining room for the crew. We have a crew/staff bar to go to enjoy their free time. We have a special person onboard who takes care of the entertainment for the crew and staff and officers; they organize events such as excursions, activities for the crew while onboard, and things to keep them busy.

     "We have a crew library onboard. We have an Internet cafe for the crew. Every night the Internet cafe for the crew is packed; it's much easier for them to keep in touch with their families and friends this way.

     "We have to look after the crew very well. We need 1,000 crew, staff and officers for Millennium, and we have another three ships coming in the same class, the Millennium-Class. That means we will need 4,000 people to serve on these ships, plus more on standby (to replace those who are leaving the ship for vacations or at the end of their contracts).

     "With all the newbuildings, it's very tough to find staff and crew today. I would say in a few years, it will be tougher to find crew members than to find passengers for ships."

     As for Traganis, however, he has no plans to work anywhere else. After his new child is born and he has some time to enjoy life with his family on shore, he plans to return to his career at sea on a Celebrity ship. 

     "I haven't changed companies since I started," he said with some pride. "Celebrity is not only a great company for the guests, but also for the staff and the crew. They really take good care of us. There is no need for me to go to any other cruise line to work.

CR
Michael A. Brown

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