People & Culture
MS Island Sky crew
Our small ships sail to many remote corners of the world and our guests often visit communities that are only accessible by small ship or that receive little or no tourism. With the privilege of our visit comes great responsibility and we take care to ensure economic benefit to the community and to respect to the local people, traditions and ways of life. Another advantage of our small ships is that we can avoid the larger ports and places where overtourism is of concern to the local population and instead seek out the lesser-visited, off the beaten track destinations resulting in a more enjoyable experience for all.
We use local guides and experts from the places we visit and, where possible, include visits to community-based tourism initiatives and local socio-economic projects. We have also incorporated more free time into our itineraries so that our guests can also explore many destinations independently whether that be enjoying lunch in a local restaurant, shopping for handicrafts or interacting with the locals. This also gives our onboard chefs time to visit the local markets to take advantage of the days catch or stock up on fresh fruit until the next port of call.
It is not just the people in the places we visit that we aim to benefit; the wellbeing of our community aboard our fleet of vessels is also important to us. Our onboard crew hold the whole operation together, and we recognise that a life in the cruise industry can be tough. One of the challenges with our small ships is the limited space for berths and crew recreational areas but a trade-off for our long-standing crew is that they are known and respected by both senior management and our guests.
Our crew are the familiar and friendly faces that make our vessels homely, it is indeed their floating home. This culture takes years to develop, comes from the top down and aims create a crew lifestyle on board that is safe, relaxed, fulfilling and enjoyable. It aims to build camaraderie and trust among ranks and nationalities. This has resulted in a crew retention rate of over 90% of which we are proud. Many crew also enjoy being able to see the world, and a work schedule that enables them to take shore leave in unique destinations around the world.