World Yacht To Mtg. Planners: Smooth Sailing In N.Y. - 2001-01-29
<B>World Yacht To Mtg. Planners: Smooth Sailing In N.Y.</B>
By Frank Rosci
Meeting planners and destination management professionals in search of a different setting for either a small meeting or special event in New York will find strong candidates in the boats of World Yacht.
"An outing on one of our boats, which certainly are not usual meeting venues, helps build esprit de corps within a company," said Peter Cavrell, senior vice president of sales and marketing at New York Cruise Lines Inc. and general manager of World Yacht. "The group is in an exclusive setting, not competing with other groups for space and service, as they would be usually in a hotel or conference center. This tends to lessen distractions and helps to facilitate participation, conversation and fully focusing on the agenda and business at hand."
NYCL is the parent company of World Yacht and Circle Line Sightseeing & Entertainment Cruises. World Yacht is comprised of five climate-controlled yachts that sail year-round. Each boat may be privately chartered for corporate and social functions for groups ranging in size from 50 to 500 attendees.
The company provides a professional meetings and conference environment aboard World Yacht's Duchess, a 160-ft.-long ship that offers classroom-style and theater-style seating and is electrically equipped to handle all types of audiovisual equipment.
"The Duchess is ideal for three-to-five-hour corporate events," Cavrell said. "The yacht can be outfitted with AV and computer presentation equipment, and we can plan everything from a 40-ft. video wall at Liberty State Park to fireworks. Our newest boat (yet to be named), coming online this spring, is a more than 370-ft. vessel that will have two ballrooms accommodating up to 700 guests each and extensive outdoor space."
Other ships in the World Yacht fleet include: the 147-ft.-long flagship Inamorata, capacity from 100 to 200 attendees; 160-ft.-long Princess, capacity from 150 to 500; 160-ft.-long Empress, capacity from 100 to 275; and 98-ft.-long Cabaret, capacity from 50 to 150.
A typical cruise itinerary includes sailing down the Hudson River, around the tip of Manhattan, up the East River, under the Brooklyn Bridge and then heading far enough north to see the United Nations building before turning around and passing the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline on the route back to Pier 81.
World Yacht charters are popular with corporate groups that include banks, other financial institutions and sales organizations, Cavrell said. Charter prices depend on the menu, number of people in attendance and time of year, with deals available during the slower winter months, especially in February and March. Charter rates are "fairly comparable," Cavrell said, to prices at land-based meeting venues in New York.
"We have used World Yacht for group dining for incentive groups, which can number anywhere from 50 to 450 people, and we book the boats year-round, even for groups who come to town in the colder months," said Anthony Napoli, president and owner of Briggs Red Carpet Associates in New York. "Groups need to see New York from two vantage points especially, from above in one of the city's skyscrapers and from the water."
Independent insurance agent Vince Madlinger has held meetings aboard for 80 sales agents from two regional offices in the New York area, and said the ambiance and service "worked extremely well to support and augment our program and its goals.