Long before the arrival of the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to Wollongong local resident Belinda Hughes had an idea.
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When she heard the fastest growing sector of the travel industry had put the Illawarra on its radar as a destination she decided she wanted to do something to welcome passengers.
Then when she heard Destination Wollongong was launching an ambassador program she was one of the first to put up her hand. She liked it so much she the first time when Radiance of the Seas arrived she is coming back to do it again on Tuesday when Voyager of the Seas visits Wollongong between 7am and 5pm. Mrs Hughes will then join all 200 volunteer ambassadors at Wollongong Golf Club as the giant ship with 4000 passengers and 12 crew sails out.
“When I went on a cruise in early March we got off at Airlie Beach and when I saw the welcomers I said to my husband “I would love to do something like this..if only cruise ships would come to Port Kembla”. Then a few months later I saw this advertised,” she said.
Mrs Hughes, who has a background in hospitality and retail, said it was great to be able to show off the beautiful place where she lived.
“We have got so much to offer. We live in such a great place. I was a welcomer at Lang Park last time and it was absolutely fantastic. I met so many people from all over the world. It was just awesome. I will be doing this with every ship that comes in if I can,” she said.
Destination Wollongong general manager Mark Sleigh said with people such as Mrs Hughes so passionately involved the volunteer program was going to be another enormous success. He said half the volunteers had done it before while the other half were first timers. They include some Wollongong people, such as Glenda Papac, who were passengers on the Radiance when it arrived on October 30.
Mrs Hughes will start her day around 7am and lead a team of 16 in the Arts Precinct where the first passengers should start to arrive between 8.30 and 9am. Volunteers will greet them with information to help them decided what they might like to see or do. The idea is to make passengers from around Australia and the world feel really welcome.
Mr Sleigh said the Arts Precinct was effectively a welcoming point.
“The welcomers will be here and on the shuttle buses coming into the city. The advantage of being here is that four buses can drop off at any one time which means we can move more people through quickly. What we want to do is bring people further up to the CBD.”
Ms Sleigh said Mrs Hughes had actually written to him proposing an ambassador program even before she knew one existed.
Steve Melchior, of Just Cruisin’ Harley Tours, will have several trikes on hand to take any interested passengers, including the captain, for a ride around the city. It is also an easy point to do a city look on the Gong Shuttle.
Destination Wollongong chair Tania Brown said it was great to see people with such enthusiasm wanting to be involved.
“We want everyone in this town to feel like ambassadors whether they are wearing a shirt or not. Excitement is contageous,” she said.
Post your photos and videos on Tuesday to #cruisewollongong.
Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
