Jim Van Fleet out at Royal, 1 down and 2 more need to go.

[outtoseacruise]

Royal has started to drain their swamp of useless positions & waste. 1 down and 2 (possibly 3) more to go. https://twitter.com/JamesVanFleet/status/1659161312776056832?s=20

[OCSC Mike]

I still remember when he was a local weatherman here in Orlando.

Edited May 18, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[kruzerci]

I don’t usually celebrate people losing their jobs. 
 

I thought he was great, but yes was probably expensive. 

[GlasgowCruiser01]

Feels like yesterday that he joined. All the best to him!

 

Hoping Jason Liberty is next. Boy do I miss Fain.

 

 

[mac_tlc]

Yah, a staff meteorologist in a company that has billion dollar assets sailing around the world seems excessive 🙄🙄🙄. 
 

I enjoyed his sailing briefings on Twitter, before I dumped Twitter……

 

mac_tlc

[Blauelini]

35 minutes ago, outtoseacruise said:

Royal has started to drain their swamp of useless positions & waste. 1 down and 2 (possibly 3) more to go. https://twitter.com/JamesVanFleet/status/1659161312776056832?s=20

Yes because forecasting weather and the close integration between an on staff meteorologist and the ships captains’ to ensure best possible outcomes for guest safety was a waste of money. Use that thing between your ears for once.

[GlasgowCruiser01]

He's confirmed that there is no replacement and also liked this tweet - doesn't suggest a particularly amicable parting of ways. Seems like he was pushed:

Edited May 18, 2023 by GlasgowCruiser01

[little britain]

26 minutes ago, GlasgowCruiser01 said:

Feels like yesterday that he joined. All the best to him!

 

Hoping Jason Liberty is next. Boy do I miss Fain.

 

 

So do I. You should never put a bean counter in charge of a customer experience  programme…. Anyone who can cut a measly tin of coke from a guest benefit in order to save a dime needs to go! 

[outtoseacruise]

30 minutes ago, Blauelini said:

Yes because forecasting weather and the close integration between an on staff meteorologist and the ships captains’ to ensure best possible outcomes for guest safety was a waste of money. Use that thing between your ears for once.

Jim Van Fleet was just a face to give guest the warm fuzzy feeling to those that need a therapy pony. The Captain gets all of the same information and also sees the present conditions at sea. With all the technology the Captain has to review he doesn't need someone sitting behind a desk telling him and a local pilot about local conditions. If a Captain with 20+/- years experience in some of the worst areas of the world is capable I don't think a failed Fox Orlando & Tampa Meteorologist will make a difference? Don't believe it Google it.

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by outtoseacruise

[BND]

9 minutes ago, outtoseacruise said:

Jim Van Fleet was just a face to give guest the warm fuzzy feeling to those that need a therapy pony. The Captain gets all of the same information and also sees the present conditions at sea. With all the technology the Captain has to review he doesn't need someone sitting behind a desk telling him and a local pilot about local conditions. 

Problem is, coming from the Captain, some people think it's not real.  We were just on EN in April and when we left Baltimore there was a low forming on the front south of us so RCI decided to hold us off the coast of VA for a day.  People were blaming the Captain for all kinds of crap, but once they heard Van Fleet on tv, they believed what he said. It was crazy.  I already knew the morning we boarded that we prob weren't going to head straight south and miss our first port, which we did, due to the weather and wave forecasts that I watched.    Both easy to find online.

[Blauelini]

15 minutes ago, outtoseacruise said:

Jim Van Fleet was just a face to give guest the warm fuzzy feeling to those that need a therapy pony. The Captain gets all of the same information and also sees the present conditions at sea. With all the technology the Captain has to review he doesn't need someone sitting behind a desk telling him and a local pilot about local conditions. If a Captain with 20+/- years experience in some of the worst areas of the world is capable I don't think a failed Fox Orlando & Tampa Meteorologist will make a difference? Don't believe it Google it.

 

Tell me you have no clue how it actually worked without telling me.

[BecciBoo]

Wow, people actually concern themselves with corporate politics in RCCL....ha ha we just cruise.  Couldn't care less about what they spend on their own company, who they hire or fire.  None of my business...and I'm a stockholder.

[BecciBoo]

27 minutes ago, outtoseacruise said:

Don't believe it Google it.

Really  don't care nor have time to Google it.

[robmtx]

1 hour ago, outtoseacruise said:

Royal has started to drain their swamp of useless positions & waste. 1 down and 2 (possibly 3) more to go. https://twitter.com/JamesVanFleet/status/1659161312776056832?s=20

 

I forgot about this guy after I followed him on Twitter and he'd occasionally spew political tweets. I asked him if his Twitter acct was part of RCCL official messaging or his own personal soap box, and recommended that he create a dedicated Twitter acct for Royal's Meteorology. I fully support his right to give his opinions on the political climate, but that wasn't why I followed him on Twitter. It felt like a bait-n-switch "hey follow me for Royal weather and as a bonus, I'll tell you how I feel about xyz"

 

Oh and I don't use twitter any more so I guess that's also why I forgot about him.

 

 

[orville99]

2 hours ago, GlasgowCruiser01 said:

He's confirmed that there is no replacement and also liked this tweet - doesn't suggest a particularly amicable parting of ways. Seems like he was pushed:

I have known Jim for years, and he is a true professional. A bit of selective editing of the tweet stream on your part. Jim was responding to the tweet above his "correct" tweet, not to the one below it.

 

[PWP-001]

So was there a corporate meteorologist on staff when the captain sailed a new ship into a hurricane a number of years ago?

 

Perhaps part of the reason some passengers feel safe cruising without caring about corporate affairs is because they trust Royal to keep them safe.

 

Start asking yourself “what other cuts is Royal making that may impact my health & safety?”

[notscb]

3 hours ago, outtoseacruise said:

drain their swamp of useless positions & waste

So you're telling me they fired their CEO?

 

Oh no, wait, they fired the guy who helps protect their billion dollar+ assets from extreme weather events. Y'all are using "drain the swam" loosey and goosey these days.

[orville99]

34 minutes ago, PWP-001 said:

So was there a corporate meteorologist on staff when the captain sailed a new ship into a hurricane a number of years ago?

Don't know, but Jim was on Board for the Total Eclipse cruise on Oasis and he found the perfect spot in the Atlantic where there were no clouds (even though there were clouds everywhere else) so we could enjoy "totality" from the helicopter deck without dealing with any obstructions.

[robmtx]

1 hour ago, PWP-001 said:

So was there a corporate meteorologist on staff when the captain sailed a new ship into a hurricane a number of years ago?

 

Perhaps part of the reason some passengers feel safe cruising without caring about corporate affairs is because they trust Royal to keep them safe.

 

Start asking yourself “what other cuts is Royal making that may impact my health & safety?”

Heh I was on that cruise and I always suspected that Jim's position was added as an action-item after that cruise! I also used to think that's why the "wind speed" isn't shown on the Navigation channel on tv anymore...but that thought was debunked on my past couple of sailings as it's there again.

 

But how many passengers, especially 1st timers, even know that there was a chief meteorologist? Is RCI the only company with a staff meteorologist? I don't know if NCL or Carnival have one, but I'd feel safe traveling with them without knowing.

[smokeybandit]

JVF's value was as the face of cruise weather. All they need is someone else to create that slide deck during storm season.

[nelblu]

Aren't weathermen half right and half wrong in most of their forecasts.🤣

[PWP-001]

I don't think it's coincidence that Royal made the move below within a year of two weather incidents in 2016 that damaged what I think was their newest ship, Anthem of the Seas.

 

May 22, 2017 Royal published this video available on YouTube:

(Enjoy it, as I'll bet Royal takes it down very soon.)

 

Keeping an Eye on the Radar: Royal Caribbean Signs on First Chief Meteorologist

 

 

[PWP-001]

12 minutes ago, robmtx said:

Heh I was on that cruise and I always suspected that Jim's position was added as an action-item after that cruise!

 

Typically, when there's a large insurance claim, either the insurance company requires or the company making the claim does some changes/improvements to show "good faith" and help to avoid a repeat incident.  As I researched this, it turns out the hurricane was the second weather event and not as damaging as a February 2016 incident.

[not-enough-cruising]

11 minutes ago, robmtx said:

Heh I was on that cruise and I always suspected that Jim's position was added as an action-item after that cruise! I also used to think that's why the "wind speed" isn't shown on the Navigation channel on tv anymore...but that thought was debunked on my past couple of sailings as it's there again.

 

But how many passengers, especially 1st timers, even know that there was a chief meteorologist? Is RCI the only company with a staff meteorologist? I don't know if NCL or Carnival have one, but I'd feel safe traveling with them without knowing.

not to mention every airline in the world that relies on the weather reports available to us all.  The position of "staff meteorologist" was always just a public facing window dressing type of post anyway

[robmtx]

34 minutes ago, PWP-001 said:

 

Typically, when there's a large insurance claim, either the insurance company requires or the company making the claim does some changes/improvements to show "good faith" and help to avoid a repeat incident.  As I researched this, it turns out the hurricane was the second weather event and not as damaging as a February 2016 incident.

You mean this Feb 2016 Incident?