Captain Serena Melani will helm the Seven Seas Splendor, making her the first woman in cruise industry history to captain a new ocean cruise ship at launch.X
Telegraph.co.uk., published an article on Captain Melani’s maritime career. Here’s an excerpt from it.
First Woman to Captain New Cruise Launch
“To captain a new ship, to bring her out from the shipyard, is some achievement, regardless of gender,” says Captain Serena Melani, when asked about her new role on Regent Seven Seas’ latest luxury cruise ship, Seven Seas Splendor, which is due to launch in 2020.
It earns her the title of the first woman in the cruise industry’s history to captain a new cruise ship at launch. She’ll be there to mark each milestone, including the all-important christening and maiden voyages, and helping to shape the development of the ship while it’s still in the yard.
Melani’s Journey from Cadet to Captain
Captain Melani was a prime candidate for this role with almost 30 years of nautical experience. Melani’s maritime career began aged 16, as a cadet.
For the last nine years she’s been with Regent Seven Seas, working her way up from bridge officer to the line’s first female captain. She’s now captained Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Navigator and Seven Seas Mariner.
It’s quite a change from the oil, cargo and container vessels Melani worked on before moving into cruises. “I always liked travelling and, when it was came to the time to choose for high school, I thought that I could combine this love for travelling with some kind of career,” said Melani.
Melani graduated from nautical college in 1993 at a time when, she says, finding a job in the industry wasn’t easy. But she landed a cadet position on a tanker and, from there, continued to grow her responsibilities in a very male-dominated environment.
What Helped Her to Achieve Such Success?
She says, she got to meet several captains who gave good guidance and she tried to get from each of them the best part, to captain the ship.
She added, “I never felt that someone was telling me what to do or how to do it”.
It’s also vital to have a crew you can rely upon. “You can be the best captain, but without the support of the corporate office or your crew you’d never reach anything”, she adds.
As for her achievements, she says they grew from passion for what she does, rather than a rigid career plan.
“Whichever job I was covering, I was interested in, I really liked. I strongly believe that more than to have a big goal for the future, you need to enjoy what you are doing on a daily basis – that brought me to this position” Melani added.
Getting Accepted is Hard
Not everyone Melani encountered throughout her maritime career has been open to the idea of women in the industry, particularly in senior roles.
“Sometimes [some] people were not happy about my position as an officer or a captain”, she said. But she did not get fazed by such attitudes.
“You cannot look to be the person that everybody likes, you just need to do your job. There will always be people that don’t appreciate women in command, but you have to see that as not your problem”. With the full support of the captains she’s worked with and the managers in the office, she’s excelled.
Onboard Life is Challenging
She says life can be challenging on board, for a man or woman, but would still recommend the captain’s job to anyone.
But, she adds – on a practical note – women who want to have children will have to take some time out to do so. Of course, this is the case for any job. But, as a cruise captain, after parental leave, one need to be prepared to spend several months at a time away from their children.
The Structure of Cruise Ship Roles
In Melani’s case a contract with 10 weeks on a ship, 10 weeks off – means preparing to spend long periods away from family. This is something Melani and her husband (a ship engineer who she met while working for another company) have navigated well.
“My husband (Renato) is from Dubrovnik, so we decided to build a house on an island close to Dubrovnik [Korcula]. But I was born and grew up in Tuscany, so we divide our time between our two families in Croatia and Italy”.
Melani : A Role Model
Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas, has said of her appointment: “Captain Melani has distinguished herself as a trailblazer in the maritime and cruise industries. She is an international role model and admired by our guests and crew.”
As a trailblazing female captain, she has some pointers for the next generation. Confidence is key, but there are many useful qualities to have once you’ve earned your professional skills: “You need to be open towards people, you need a bit of a sense of humour as there’s a new challenge every day as you change port and you need to be positive – the passengers will notice that,” Melani said.
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Source: telegraph.co.uk
