Port & Shopping Presenter (Port Lecturer) Employment

[CEO]

http://www.ppigroup.com/Jobs/jobdescription.html
   
Port & Shopping Presenter Job Description

As a Port & Shopping Presenter onboard a luxury cruise ship, you will be responsible for conducting live Port & Shopping Presentations,as well as Gemstone, Watch, & Brand Seminars in order to promote the shore side shopping program in the various port destinations. Your role onboard will be to educate and assist the cruise ship guests about the fantastic shopping ashore, while also saving them valuable time and money in the ports of call.

Products that you will be responsible for promoting onboard include fine jewelry, diamonds and other gemstones, Swiss and brand name timepieces, sculptures and artwork, collectibles, souvenirs, liquor, and much more.
Sales training and product information is a key part of our training program before you head out to sea.

One of your most important selling and promoting tools will be the Recommended and Guaranteed Shopping Map that you will distribute, explain, and promote during your presentations and guest satisfaction hours onboard.
This map is produced by The PPI Group and highlights each of the stores in the ports of call that participate in the cruise line’s Shopping Program, and lists the key items and special offers sold in these stores.
 
When in the ports of call, the Port & Shopping Presenter will visit each of the recommended and guaranteed stores on the Shopping Program, and will meet with the store managers, owners, or marketing representatives to discuss sales, ongoing and future promotions, and to brainstorm strategies to increase foot traffic and revenue for future port calls.

Below are some key bullet points outlining the main aspects of working onboard as a Port & Shopping Presenter:

Live Port & Shopping Presentation

Present information for an audience of 500-1000 cruise ship guests
Duration of the talk is usually 45 minutes to one hour
Presentation is recorded and replayed on the stateroom televisions throughout the cruise
Depending on the itinerary, you may give anywhere from 1-3 presentations per cruise
Presentations should be entertaining and informative
Gemstone, Watch & Brand Seminars

Seminars should be given in a more intimate setting, targeting interested shoppers (usually smaller groups of people will attend, often under 100 guests)
Seminar focus should be on specific gemstones, designer timepieces, as well as PPI-promoted International Brands
Frequency of seminars depends on the itinerary, with a minimum of one per cruise

Guest Satisfaction Desk Hours

The Port & Shopping Presenter will have a specific desk location onboard the ship, and will conduct desk hours each day or evening as a guest service
You will be expected to assist guests with their questions about the ports of call, shopping ashore, and any other general information
Desk hours are key times to pre-qualify guests for specific purchases and identify serious shoppers
You should make recommendations for specific items and stores during desk hours, distribute VIP cards, and make appointments to meet interested guests in stores ashore to assist them with any major purchases
Desk hours are also held at the conclusion of the cruise at sea (after visiting all ports of call) to assist with any customer service questions and issues
Desk hours should normally be conducted for a minimum of 2 hours per day

Gangway Duty

Port & Shopping Presenters are positioned at the gangway just after arrival into each port of call, and should be available here for a minimum of 1-2 hours
As cruise ship guests disembark the ship for the day, you will be able to answer any last-minute shopping or port-related questions
Shopping maps, VIP cards, and brochures should be available at the gangway during these hours

Socializing Onboard the Ship

Socializing with cruise ship guests and appearing at key functions onboard will increase the exposure of the shopping program
Being available for guest assistance, questions, and guidance is an important part of the Port & Shopping Presenter’s role onboard

Merchant Visits Ashore

Building and maintaining relationships with the shore side merchants is key to the development of the Shopping Program as well as achieving sales targets
The Port & Shopping Presenter should discuss sales and promotional ideas for the store for future calls in order to increase revenue
The number of stores in each port vary, and can range in number from 1-40
It is imperative that the Port & Shopping Presenter visit each store on the Shopping Program in each port of call, as excellent time management skills are required for this position
When in the stores, the Port & Shopping Presenters will also be available to assist cruise ship guests with purchases and questions

Administration

There is a minimal amount of administration involved at the conclusion of each cruise, therefore organizational skills are a must
Port & Shopping Presenters are required to complete and submit an End of Voyage Package consisting of general paperwork and a video tape of your presentations
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and general email programs is required for daily communication with the PPI office

[emanema]

does anybody have any information about this job? what's the pay?

[CEO]

So you're interested in pay first. You have no problem talking in front of 1.000 people, trying to sell them staff?
What makes you think you're qualified so much that your contract signing depends on your satisfaction with the pay benefits only?

For all types of cruise ship lecturers / speakers contracts and salary vary depending on the cruise line.
For Port / Shopping Lecturers pay is usually base plus commission from various shops ashore.

[emanema]

well, i don't have problem with talking in front of many people, but selling them stAff, i might have :p (honest mistake boss :])

i am interested to know what is base pay on this job, so i can see what is more suitable job for me, and yes, pay is big issue

[CEO]

They don't want anybody who would be happy with the base pay. Who only earns base pay, he gets axed fast.
The real sellers don't care about the base pay, they make money selling.
I know one Australian girl, met her at both companies I worked for, she makes $8.000-10.000/month.
The video of her presenting/selling abilities goes live every cruise, so that people who don't go to the theater for presentation, see it on TV in their rooms.
If I say that I watched that video (of 60 min) over & over again, every cruise, for months, and probably have seen it about 30-40 times, does that tell you anything? She has hypnotizing powers I guess.
What I think is, if you're not a native English speaker, you have no chance of getting the job.

RCCL Port Lecturer application

[Seaman]

As far as I've been told, i.e Onboard Media, the company with their reps all over the cruise lines, regarding the ''base'' pay, they had only 1500$ sign on bonus and flights. That's it.
You need to promote and sell, in order to get commission from your company, as well as from the stores outside. Main sponsor is Diamonds International. At this moment of time, i think it's very tricky to apply for this company, because it's going to be very soon shut down, as of November 1st. There are different things that are going on right now, but i can't reveal it here since it's coming from a confidential source. Once the time comes, i will let everybody know about further happenings.

[emanema]

@seaman, how sure are you about company's closure?
because i contacted them few days ago, had some question, and they answered, and told me to send them my bio and sell presentation
why would they do that if they are thinking of closing down in just few months?

@big boss
of course i wouldn't be happy with only base price, but if base price is zero, and you have to pay all expenses of going to ship, and you get some "crazy cheap bastards' , than it's not so good
as for english speaking, we'll see :]

about that girl, she made that video once on some point of her x month job, and the same video was circulating, or was that always new video for new cruise guests?

[Seaman]

@emanema

This is 100% correct info, and as i mentioned earlier, i can't disclose it in public as yet. I can give you a hint, a much larger company is becoming owner of Onboard Media, and will organize things different way, so port shopping is not gonna be in spot light any longer. It's up to you, you can trust me or not, it's your call. My source is directly related to vice presidents of both companies.

[emanema]

okey, thank you
just to be clear, you are suggesting NOT to apply to this job application?


btw, on ppi group's site i didn't find any information regarding onboard media, to be more clear, no connection between two
lvmh is owner of onboard media, and ppi group is "group to itself" , so can you give me some link with all onboard media's ownership?

[Seaman]

Just wait, that's my advice.
I don't know about your public speaking skills, but you need to get ready.At the beginning i started with about 50-70 people, then 150-200, and after all i conquered the theater with nearly 1300 people. Once you do that, you broke the ice 

Good luck dude 

[CEO]

There is nothing pre-recorded about that job. If you have over 1.000 people with money in their pockets, you don't tell them to go & watch a video.
The cruise ship passengers are not interested in watching videos. You must convince them to buy.
She/He must capture their attention every cruise and put them in a shopping frenzy mood.

[emanema]

@boss, i misread it (didn't read "live" part ), mea culpa

@brodar, wait how long? 'till november ? it's only few months away, but long m.
also, waiting for other part, one about onboard media :]

thank you, cheers

[emanema]

hmm,for some reason i couldn't edit message above
i just wanted to add to seamen, if i understood correctly, you were doing this job? for how long? did you contact employer directly or trough some agency?

[Seaman]

i just wanted to add to seamen, if i understood correctly, you were doing this job? for how long? did you contact employer directly or trough some agency?

No, I haven't done this job exactly, but something similar. There is no agency involved and as i said, the info comes from top management.

[pomagac]

I can confirm that PPI as of 30th November will no longer have contract to work on all Carnival ships, they still don't know who is replacing them. Rumor is that it will be Onboard media which is currently on all Royall Caribbean ships. PPI still have contract with all Holland America ships.
Regarding the job itself you need to be proactive person and you must push people and make sales for all the stores you represent, main one is Diamond international, as that is from where your most commission out of sale is coming. If they think you can be ideal candidate for this job, you will need to fly to Florida for 2 weeks training on your own expense. After that training if they found you ready to do that job you will be sent to ship for 2 weeks training, and after completing it, you will be assigned ship.
I have to mention also that job is very stressful and it does require a lot of work, not much free time in ports, good side is you can make a lot of money if you are good in it.
My source was my good friend supper shopper(port and shopping lecture, we like to call them supper shopper as is shorter ), and my ex-girlfriend also a supper shopper.
Hope I helped a bit.