The Chicago Flyhouse, Inc.

Fly Like an Eagle

Our work with Princess Cruises® started slowly about a year ago when they contacted Flyhouse to consult on aerial performances on their new Sphere Class ship, Sun and Star.

Princess recently introduced their new Sphere Class with liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion: the Sun Princess and Star Princess. Among other features, these ships include state-of-the-art theaters that can be configured in three different ways for immersive production shows.

Our contacts at Princess initially reached out last year about consulting around aerial performances on these new ships. We were able to identify ways to improve safety across all their entertainment spaces and unify the safety conversation across the fleet, bringing consistency to their safety policies and procedures.

We collaborated with Princess on a plan to upgrade training each stage worker receives from the venue manager. We developed scripts to train the venue managers on how to deliver the same content as before, but with a new context during the stage induction process for each new team member.

The goal was to contextualize policy through the lens of real risks on stage, and procedures designed to respond to those risks. This approach allows managers to explain why the policies are important, not just demand adherence to rules.

It has the additional benefit of giving workers tools to see and respond to risk without having been given specific instructions. And it lets the manager use their voice and experience to tell the story, which lays the groundwork for team building better than just reading a checklist to new staff.

The Princess sought input on the new approach from all entertainment department heads and received buy-in across the board for using these new tools as a way to refresh the safety conversation and build a stronger safety culture across the fleet.

 

Six Ships in Six Days

Flyhouse crew will visit every ship in the fleet between now and November to train venue managers on the new approach. The initiative kicked off last month in Juneau, where our team worked with a different ship every day.

While there, our Head Trainer made the most of his off hours focused on wildlife photography:

Along the way, I saw beautiful coastline, mountains, ponds, the Mendenhall glacier, a shrine to St Therese of Lisieux, a salmon hatchery, and the town dump. I got to watch about ten eagles figuring over a halibut not ten feet away from me. I got to see two eagles fighting mid-air. The sun came up before 4 am and set after 10 pm, so I used every scrap of daylight I could to find animals. I shot a little over 1,800 images.

Hope you enjoy a few of these photos as much as the rest of the Flyhouse team! We look forward to more Princess work in the months ahead, collaborating with and training additional crews—and enjoying even more of what Alaska has in store. That’s how we fly!