Thursday, February 15, 2024 - 10:23 by ce-press
For many years Stavanger has been offering crew free entrance to its museums. In 2023, for example, about 170 crew visited the Norwegian Petroleum Museum.
Last year Visit Region Stavanger (VRS) decided to extend its offering to include, for example, free tickets to all hop-on/off buses and VR experience at the Viking House, as well as 25% discounts to for example, Stavanger Camping mini golf & karaoke, Fjordbuda souvenir shop and Chill Chocolate.
It will also be sending information to the cruiseships about just what the crew can do when visiting the Norwegian town.
Stavanger’s goal is to be “the best in Norway when it comes to taking care of crew from cruiseships”, says Line Murphy, cruise manager VRS. “Crew who work onboard are great ambassadors for the destination, and they talk to the guests and often recommend what to do when they are in port.
“They stay for many months onboard and that means that they visit the same port many times. Often they have time in port to spend for themselves and that’s a great opportunity for the destination to acknowledge them and to offer them stuff to do,” she adds.
Last year, for example, Murphy ‘the Viking Queen’ took crew from Costa Firenze on a two-hour tour of the town and also AIDA Cruises’ crew to play football at a local pitch. In addition the Seaman’s Mission, which offers free coffee/tea and WiFi, received 5,000 crew visits last year.
This year, the aim is “to talk to as many HR managers as possible to make sure the information reaches the crew,” says Murphy, who has high hopes that there will be more uptake in 2024 and the years ahead.
