FRANK WEBER
Sabine Muhlberger, senior director, new development and operations on-board revenue, who worked for Celebrity Cruises, Costa, Seabourn and Cunard; and Anders Karlsson, senior director, hotel operations, from Disney Cruise Line. Other close associates are Juanita Grant, medical operations; Charles Steadman, beverage and bar development/operations; and Chris Stubbs, sailor experience.
Virgin is a much ‘flatter’ organisation than many cruise lines, easing teamwork across departments.
Weber’s team is free to cross multiple areas without asking for permission every time.
The Apollo Group is providing hotel services, OneSpaWorld spa and beauty services and Harding Brothers, retail. ‘All bring a wealth of expertise, experience and high levels of quality, as well as infrastructure such as corporate support, purchasing, logistics, training, recruitment, systems, etc.,’ Weber says. ‘It made sense to bring in partners instead of operating these areas in-house.
When it comes to crewing, Virgin uses hiring partners but recruits differently. ‘We tell people “Come as you are,” not dressed in a suit and tie. This allows us to better understand their character and personality,’ Weber relates. On hiring trips, a group mingling period puts people at ease and gives them a chance to show their personalities.
Technical skills are a must, but Weber seeks talent who ‘genuinely care to do something different, to be part of the Virgin family.’ In interviews he asks how candidates spend their down time, which ‘speaks a lot about their character.’
Scarlet Lady hotel jobs are structured to make crew experts, not generalists – hence, sticking to one restaurant, not moving around. When it comes to housekeeping, cabin hosts focus on caring for the cabin; they don’t also collect linen. Runners do that.
An exception is the utility staff – cleaners, bar utility and dishwashers – who rotate through different jobs. Washing pots is hard, Weber knows, so people get a chance to switch out. And, unusually, women have utility jobs in the galley, which ‘changes the whole dynamic.’
seatrade-cruise.com
PROFILE
At the shipyard prior to Scarlet Lady’s delivery
The concept of experts extends to the cruise staff. The cruise director is the face of everything, while the entertainment director handles administration. Those involved in ‘happenings’ are experts in their areas. Instead of the chef hosting cooking classes, that’s done by a foodie adept at entertaining. The same goes for wine tastings. People were hired and cast for these roles, and Spark Cooperative helped to develop their personas.
Weber says working with ‘fantastic crew all over the industry’ is one of the best things about his job. Some on Scarlet Lady he knows from his time as sea 20 years ago.
Until Virgin, his peak accomplishment was leading Royal Caribbean’s F&B at the time of the Oasis-class conception and launch. ‘We did a lot of things that changed cruise ship dining for good,’ he says. Oasis was a ‘rule-breaker’ in variety, size and setup.
Born and raised in Trier in Germany’s Mosel Valley, Weber trained as a chef at the Bernkastel-Kues Hotel School and worked at European hotels and ski resorts. NCL hired him as a first cook for Seaward’s elegant Palm Tree, a French restaurant that was one of cruising’s early specialty dining venues. Then, at 24, he became executive chef of the Norway, an exciting job with a large kitchen on an iconic ship.
He went shoreside as corporate executive chef, returned to the Norway as F&B director, then became hotel director on the Windward.
After NCL, Weber worked for Sonesta Hotels in England and at Ligabue Catering in Switzerland as operations manager for Peter Deilmann. He returned to sea as hotel director for Radisson Seven Seas before signing on with Royal Caribbean then went shoreside to head F&B operations for a decade.
Following consulting, mainly for Viking Ocean Cruises, Weber returned to NCL in
Galley visit
2014 as vp product development, focused on dynamic concepts for newbuild Norwegian Escape. These included District Brewhouse, The Cellars with Michael Mondavi Family, Tobacco Road and partnerships with Pubbelly Restaurant Group and with ‘Iron Chef’ Jose Garces plus a license to operate Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and Landshark Bar & Grill.
In his youth, Weber aspired to run a mountain hotel where he could ski and snowboard. But when he joined the cruise industry, he saw its potential.
His early mentor, chef Harry Vernicker, taught him how to manage with ‘tough love,’ support his team and let them shine. ‘It cannot be all about me-me-me,’ Weber says. ‘It’s about the team. You have to inspire them but it’s the team that develops and makes things happen. It’s important to give credit where credit is due.’
It’s a big task to get Scarlet Lady underway, but Weber still makes time for interests off the job. He enjoys cooking with his wife Molly Brandt, who was chef de cuisine for 150 Central Park on Allure of the Seas. They like to travel and ski. Weber also rides a motorcycle and he’s a big motorsports fan. He builds ship models, too.
‘It brings a lot of pleasure being part of a growing, innovative industry that delivers some of the highest levels of hospitality,’ he says.
What would he still like to achieve? ‘With Oasis, I thought what can top this? Then Virgin came along. I’m very, very happy here. Right now I’m focused on getting the first ship launched and all three in the water. What happens after that, I don’t need to plan these things too far ahead.’
* See also: 10 things that make Scarlet Lady different on pages 67-69.
Seatrade Cruise Review 15
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