Marcella, HAL's only female Hotel Manager

[JimVrhovac]

Ruth and I just returned from a seven day cruise on the Oosterda. During the cruise we had the opportunity to meet Marcella and we have written this thread to introduce her to the Cruise Critic members.

 

 

 

Marcella Himmelrich, Hotel Manager, MS Oosterdam

 

During our cruise on the Oosterdam I had the opportunity to sit down with Marcella Himmelrich, Hotel Manager of the MS Oosterdam.

 

She is the youngest hotel manager in the fleet and the first and only female hotel manager in the Holland America fleet. In our discussion it became obvious that she has paid her dues to get to this position.

 

Marcella was born in Heerhugowaard, Holland a town near the northern coast of Holland. Her father worked for Holland America in the 1980’s so early on she became familiar with life on the sea. Marcella attended college in Leeuwarden, Frysland and earned a Bachelors Degree in Hotel Management.

 

Marcella started on the MS Veendam as a Hotel Management trainee in 1998 and has served on most of the ships in the fleet in a variety of positions. I learned that while in this program she actually functioned in positions from cabin steward, laundry room worker, to assistant dining room manager. Holland America’s training program has their trainees serve in virtually every position that they will supervise. Like I said earlier she has paid her dues to get to her current position.

 

In April 2007 she was promoted to the Hotel Manager position on the Windsurf in the Windstar fleet. She eventually transferred over to the Holland America fleet as a Hotel Manager. She appears to be well liked by the crew of the Oosterdam and they respect her for her management skills and the manner in which she conducts herself as the hotel manager. She was involved in planning several of the activities for our group and everything was performed in a timely and very professional manner. Marcella has a very outgoing personality and is very easy and pleasant to deal with.

 

She has set high goals for her herself in the near and far future and we wish her the best of luck in obtaining these goals.

 

I wrote this piece to introduce the members of the Cruise Critic Boards to the only female and the youngest (32 years old) Hotel Manager in the Holland America fleet. This article is being published with Marcella’s permission

 

Ruth & Jim Vrhovac

 

PICTURES:

1 - At Mariners reception with Captain

2 - At Banner Wave with Liza

3 - Trying to get cought up in a quiet moment at the Banner Wave

[Northshorecruisers]

We had the pleasure of meeting her on our Oosterdam cruise last October.

Wonderful person. Professional with a sense of humor. Very well respected by the crew. She does a wonderful job and I hope this is the beginning of many women serving in the upper positions at HAL.

BRAVO!

[Flindy&Doc]

Thanks for the intro. We look forward to meeting her. We will board the Oosterdam Saturday. -Linda

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Jim, nice intro of Marcella :)

I have had the pleasure of sailing with her twice now and personally thinks she is great. The big difference I see is how the crew seem extremely happy and give her high compliments. I believe her confidense, management skills and knowing how to treat crew and passengers trickles down to all the other Officers and Crew and makes for one happy ship. :)

[wayzer]

Ask the crew of the Windsurf what thet thought of her:mad:

[AZjohn]

Thanks for the intro Jim,

Look forward to meeting Marcella 6 months from today (yes, still a long way away…lol).

I only met one other Hotel Manager before and that was James Deering (also on the Oosterdam). I hope Marcella takes time to read the CC boards like James did/does.

Thanks,

John

[localady]

We too have had the pleasure of sailing with Marcella 2x in the last few months. She is a joy, highly visible to the passengers and top notch with guests. More importantly the crew and staff genuinely seem to like her, something that is critical for a happy ship. Kudos to HAL for recognizing her talent.

[SakeDad]

I had the joy and pleasure of working with her briefly on the Eurodam Inaugural. She was onboard to help with everything. I can only say that everytime we met she was an absolutely lovely lady and I'm quite sure she was under alot of pressure. She gave "grace under pressure" a new meaning. I'm sure anyone sailing with her as a HotMan will be well taken care of.:D

[jrzebird]

I may be mis-remembering, but I do think she was the HM on the Noordam last January. I recall thinking how young she looked for such an awesome job.

 

I'm sure if I'm wrong, someone will let me know! I really need a secretary or someone to follow me around and take notes. :(:eek:

[Copper10-8]

I may be mis-remembering, but I do think she was the HM on the Noordam last January. I recall thinking how young she looked for such an awesome job.

 

I'm sure if I'm wrong, someone will let me know! I really need a secretary or someone to follow me around and take notes. :(:eek:

 

Nope, you're right-on with that info! Here's an article (translated from Dutch to English) that the Dutch newspaper, 'Het Noord Hollands Dagblad' did on her last year:

Interview in the “Noord Hollands Dagblad” (Dutch newspaper) with HAL Hotel Manager Marcella Himmelreich

MARCELLA HIMMELREICH IS NEVER STUCK IN A

TRAFFIC JAM AT WORK

FIRST WOMAN AT THE TOP ON A CRUISE SHIP

By Richard Zut

Heerhugowaard (town in the Dutch province of Noord-Holland)

“I’m never stuck in a traffic jam and when I open the curtains of my cabin, I usually have a terrific view that always looks different”

Looking at it that way, Marcella Himmelreich (31) appears to be a blessed human being. And that she is of course, because this Noord-Holland resident from Heerhugowaard is not stuck in some boring office setting but, as part of her profession, travels the world’s seas. She is doing this as the first female hotel manager on board the imposing cruise ships of the Holland America Line.

She has just returned (a couple of days ago) from her last cruise in the Caribbean area. That was on ms Noordam, built in Venice, and definitely not child’s play, such a powerful floating work area.

A floating village with everything on it, a luxurious hotel with almost two thousand passengers and a crew of 800. A giant ship like that which departs New York and which, in ten-eleven days, will take you to exotic ports like Grand Turk, Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and San Juan. Or which, in the summer time, cruises to Alaska’s ports. What does such a “jaunt” cost: Between 800 to 2,800 Euro’s.

As hotel manager/officer Marcella Himmelreich is part of the upper management staff (top) aboard Noordam. Primarily responsible for the way things are run in the casino, shops, bars as well as the trendy/exquisite restaurants onboard such as those serving Italian, Asian, Mexican and American specialties.

She dines regularly at the captain’s table but if all seats are taken there, she has her own table with the officers. “I don’t always realize how special my position (job) really is” “To me wherever we may find ourselves in the world, the customer always comes first (the customer is king)” says brunette Himmelreich, petite with “lively piercing” dark brown eyes. “Nope, I don’t “make a big deal out of it” but I am definitely proud that I was named first female officer (hotel manager) for a company which has been in existence for 135 years. That was in 2006. I was working in management on the ms Zuiderdam and, to be honest at the time, I was about to look for a job on shore. However, I was then given the opportunity to go to Windstar (Cruises) onboard the Wind Spirit, a large luxury sail vessel with 150 passengers. I did that for about a year when Holland America offered me to become one of their hotel managers. I was flabbergasted. I started in November (2007).”

Marcella’s experience of working in more or less exotic locations has been “fantastic”, but eventually she longs for solid ground under her feet. “I have dreams now and then of starting something on my own. Or to work in a hotel in the Heerhugowaard area where I live with my parents. Something with a bit more regularity.”

As of now, she is always at sea for four months at home for two months. “The ship is also something like a home and you work onboard in a very amicable atmosphere. However, I have been “on the road” for ten years. This always makes for long times from home so I do miss my social life, my family and my friends. But as of right now, I am enjoying my work at sea wholeheartedly and it doesn’t matter to me to which ship (I am assigned). “

On March 22nd, her presence is expected in San Diego where she will be in charge of ms Oosterdam for two months during the Mexican Riviera cruise season. Smiling: “Before I leave I will cook a six-course dinner for my family and friends. That’s tradition and I will continue that while I can.”

FIRST LADY ON MS NOORDAM”

Officers on cruise ships world wide are, with few exceptions” male. Marcella Himmelreich is the first Dutch female officer of the Holland America Line. Her father, Willem Himmelreich, also worked for Holland America Line from 1971 until 1974 as “chef de partie”. “He always spoke about that time full of enthusiasm” she says “When my brother Rob and were little, we used to always visit many ports where we saw all kinds of cruise ships. When Statendam was in Amsterdam once we received a tour and that made a big impression on me”.

After Marcella finished her VWO (Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs or pre-university secondary) education, she studied at the Hotel Management School Leeuwarden (Leeuwarden is the capitol of the northern Dutch province of Friesland). “Not even really with the goal of eventually starting work on cruise ships, but as faith would have it, in 1998 I was able to do an internship onboard ms Veendam.”

After finishing her education she started/gained employment (with HAL) and was exposed to all facets of the hotel management at Holland America Line. She was appointed hotel manager in November (2007). Her first trip in that capacity was onboard ms Noordam from New York to the Caribbean area and back.

Photo captions:

“As of right now, I am enjoying my work at sea wholeheartedly” says Marcella Himmelreich.

The Noordam passing Gibraltar “The ship is also something like a home” says Marcella Himmelreich.

[arlenez]

I look forward to meeting Marcella in May on the Oosterdam.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[fcorey]

John, thanks for posting the newspaper article. I had heard she was quite famous in Holland and deservedly so. She conducts herself with grace and class. She is very approachable and as Jim said genuinely liked by the crew. Reminds me of another hotel manager I have had the pleasure to meet. Anyone sailing with Marcella should take the time to seek her out and introduce yourself. She is a credit to Holland America.

[jrzebird]

Thank you, John! Great story! And, I am soooooo glad to know that not all of my brain cells are gone. Whew!

 

She really is amazing. Heck, I'm twice her age and I'm still wondering what I want to be when I grow up!

[localady]

What a lovely article John, thanks for the translation. :D

She is a very impressive young woman and so friendly making one feel at ease immediately. I hope to sail with her again very soon!

[neilb]

We were on her first cruise as Hotel Manager on the Noordam. She attended our CC'ers 'meet and greet' and they announced that it was her first cruise as Hotel Manager.. She was very nice and everything on that cruise went very smoothly.

[firewealls]

really enjoy working with her on wind spirit.she is really COOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL................!how re u marcella?hope u r doing good.leave me a message into my email,campofdavid@ymail.com

 

dvd