From Shore to Sea: Simon, Manager, Fleet Operations Training
Speaking with Simon, a Fleet Operations Training Manager with Disney Cruise Line, it’s easy to be inspired by his passion for safety at sea and feel how much the maritime industry means to him.
As a third-generation seafarer following in his father and grandfather’s wake, his exposure to sailing began in South Shields in the northeast of England, what he describes as a maritime heritage town. His father worked on tankers, and young Simon was sailing with him as early as the age of six, a unique experience for anyone yet alone someone so young.
As Simon grew up, he started his own journey to making a career in the industry by attending maritime school before joining a cruise line as a deck cadet. He traveled the world gaining experience, and one day found himself on a ship in Key West, Florida, where he quite literally saw his future. He was on the forward mooring deck of a ship and looked across the water to see a Disney Cruise Line ship on the horizon. “And I just thought, that is a very cool looking ship.”
Simon joined Disney Cruise Line soon after in 2012 and has been creating magic at sea or shoreside ever since. Today, as a Manager for Fleet Operations Training he focuses on safety onboard and ensuring all crew and officers are properly trained for a variety of situations.
“We partner heavily with certain shoreside facilities to send our officers for professional development training and other ongoing training. But the bulk of the work that we do is primarily with the onboard safety operational training and supporting the deck team to provide the best quality training at sea for our shipboard crew.”
Simon emphasized that all crew and officers are made aware from the very start of their career with Disney Cruise Line that safety is key onboard and everyone will have safety duties.
“Our deck officers are responsible for the management and training of every crew member onboard when it comes to their personal safety as well as their role in the overall safety for all guests and crew.”
Simon’s team supports the deck officers with equipment, initiatives and documentation which enables the ship to provide accurate training and maintain the high quality of guest service that Disney Cruise Line is known for. “Safety training is absolutely paramount. In addition to all of that, we have to be able to make sure that the operation can still run and deliver the kind of guest services and quality of product that we’re known for…We work closely with the ship teams. We do a lot of cross-collaboration with hotel and entertainment to make sure that when we deliver initiatives we do so meeting and exceeding the requirements while still providing the kind of balance that allows our partners to do what they do.”
In approaching his work, Simon has a philosophy of inclusion and looking at each person he is training as an individual, and he instills this same philosophy in his team. “What I need all training Cast or Crew who train on behalf of the Marine Operation Department to understand is that we want each and every person to leave that training feeling like they’ve taken something away from it. That their goal, the goal, as the trainers should be to make sure that everybody leaves with their questions answered and confident that they’ve learned a new skill, learned a new fact, learned something - that they’ve gone away from that training richer than when they arrived.”
His safety philosophy also extends beyond the training he provides to crew and officers. It’s a mindset he hopes to instill in everyone. “…And it’s just that care for people, you know? I think [maybe it’s cliché], but being a parent also kind of changes your outlook on safety for other people.”
In a full circle moment, Simon’s wife and daughters sailed with him while he was working onboard with Disney Cruise Line, similar to how he grew up at sea with his father. He says that, as a parent, he has an even wider perspective of the importance of his role with Disney Cruise Line and the training his team provides.
Simon’s care is evident in the way he speaks about his work, family and the maritime industry. He’s proud to be a part of an industry that “has been around for hundreds of years. My profession is as old as going to sea…It’s an industry defined by tradition that is starting to take the steps to look forward to the future as well. And I love that.”
He’s celebrating World Maritime Day this year looking forward to that future and recognizing the people who sail the seas. “You look at everything from the roles that exist now to, at Disney, pretty much any line of work you could ever want to do is represented there. The possibilities are almost endless at this point.”
On this World Maritime Day, we thank everyone on Simon’s team and our crew and officers for navigating the magic and keeping safe at sea! The magic starts with you!
