This week, Claudine Pohl is joined by industry trailblazer Russell Benford, VP Government Relations at Royal Caribbean Group.

Claudine & Russell discuss celebrating Black History Month in the US this February and taking the opportunity to reflect and tell the stories of generations that came before. Russell shares a truly inspirational story with Claudine about his great grandparents and how their story has shaped who he is today.

Turning to Russell's career in cruise, Russell and Claudine discuss why he chose to work at Royal Caribbean Group after spending 23 years working in local governments across South Florida. Claudine and Russell talk about some of the reasons to cruise with Royal Caribbean and the continual innovation that happens behind the scenes to make their new ship Icon of the Seas come to life!

As always, Claudine asks Russell what advice he would give to his younger self... Tune in to find out how Russell responded!

What is currently happening in our cruise industry today? Join me for Cruise Convos as we discover and learn from cruise industry leaders across the globe, all within 28 minutes! I'm

Claudine Pohl, and I'm the host for Cruise Convos and today we're speaking with Russell Benford, Vice President of Government Relations at Royal Caribbean. Welcome to the podcast Russell. What an

honor.

Good morning, Claudine. Thank you so much for having me. I'm happy to be here. I have to say, Claudine, you're one of my favorite people. So this is an extra special treat for me. I

really just admire the work that you do love your energy. And just happy to be here with you this morning. Thank you for the invitation.

Oh, thank you so much, Russell, and it's an honor to have you, you're definitely a person that I look up to in the industry. Everybody speaks so highly of you. If I ask anybody about

you, they only say good things. So I know. You're an amazing epic person.

Thank you, Claudine.

So welcome. We're celebrating this month, Black History Month. Tell me what that means to you. Russell, I know you're so involved in the community. And I think if I had to pick someone

who in our industry is so involved in different things in their community, it would have to be you. So tell me, what does Black History Month mean to you?

Well, it means a lot of things. So that I mean, that's a that's a sort of a multifaceted question. But you know, the first thing that comes to my mind, Claudine is, to me, Black

History Month is a very personal thing for me. And it's a very personal time of reflection. My great grandfather, his name was Alfred Young, and he was actually a slave. He was a an emancipated slave.

And a few years ago, I was lucky enough to find this really old photograph. It's about 100 years old, in the photograph, this little tiny old guy surrounded by eight sons. And we think that picture

was probably taken some time in the 20s or 30s. So it's about 90 to 100 years old. And along with this picture of Alfred and his sons was a story about his life. And he was born into slavery, Alfred

actually served in the Civil War, he was a horseback messenger. And after the war, after he was emancipated, he became an entrepreneur. He had a mule and a wagon, and he sort of went from plantation

to plantation, doing animal husbandry repairs, etc, as a blacksmith he did like a jack of all trades, you know, he actually ended up at one point is like buying a house, he started a church, which is

called Young's chapel, he just had this amazing life, or my family keeps this picture in our living room in a very prominent place. So I get to see the picture every single day, but especially during

Black History Month, I really take the time to think about his life and what he sacrificed. First of all, you know, just the odds of him surviving slavery, a war reconstruction, Jim Crow are a million

to one, right. So I'm very fortunate to be here. And his story is just inspirational, the fact that he started his life as property. And he ended his life actually owning property, owning a business,

starting this amazing family with these kids who went on to do all kinds of things all over the place. And I just think about his life, with really a lot of gratitude, just in awe of his resiliency of

his will to survive something like that. So it's just a very personal time of reflection for me and my family. So that's half of it. And the second half of it is his wife was a woman named Easter

Russell. You know, as you know, my name is Russell. And so I found out in kind of going through my family history that this name, Russell has been handed down to several generations of boys in the

families as a way to honor Easter. So I feel a particular sense of pride that I carry this name of this woman who was the patriarch of our family. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of her she

wasn't in the photograph. But they thought enough of her to make sure that her name lived on in our family, and that we're able to tell the story of her life, Easter and Alfred, and how we got here

today. So when I think about it, it's just I try to just wonder what their lives were like what they went through on a daily basis what they had to survive. And if they could think about the future

and what family could be, would they imagine us here today doing this? I mean, it's an incredible story and I'm so fortunate, and so for me Black History Month is a time for reflection is a great time

of gratitude as well

Russell I did not know any of this wow. It's a story Wow. It's, it's, it's touching and at same time, I think you must feel a responsibility as well. Right?

Yeah, certainly carrying her her name. And him, just knowing the fact that they survived an atrocity, you know, like slavery, and were able to build a life and actually have children

and a family. It certainly makes me appreciate every single day that I'm here. And you know, carrying Easter Russell's name, I do feel responsible, right, I want to, first of all be able to tell that

story. Because it's just her story is incredible. And I want her memory to live through these stories. And that's something that Black History Month gives us the opportunity to tell the stories about

people who came before us, and that keep their memory alive, keep their inspiration alive. And it just, it serves as like a fuel for us, you know, those days when you're tired, or you're kind of

frustrated, or you're wondering how to continue to progress in life, thinking about them makes it a lot easier, right? It's like, you gotta get up. I mean, people, I mean, they, they live so that we

can live. And so yeah, I do feel a responsibility and honor and, and I just, it's just a wonderful story. I just feel so connected to my pass through them. It is great to be able to look at that

picture every single day when I leave my house, and just think about them and just say thank you.

Definitely. Wow, you have that mean, like Russell. Wow. Now your name is even more meaningful to me, because I will think, you know, I'll think of your family, there's a story behind

it. And that it has been passed out, how many generations has it been passed down? Several,

oh, it's probably going on this four generation. And there's some younger kids to that habit as a sort of like a middle name. My grandfather's name was Joseph Russell. You know, my

name, my first name is Russell. So it's been in some version of somebody's name in the family for many generations, and a lot of us didn't really know the origin of it. And I found out a few years

ago, and I had never heard the story as a child. So I didn't know that until I actually found this picture with the story. And I thought it was just a great way to honor my grandmother and I, my great

grandmother, and I was raised by my mom, you know, also raised by my grandmother. And so these generations of strong women in my family, it's just a great story, I just have so much respect in that my

mother is my hero, my grandmother is my hero, and they the things that they had to overcome, you know, my family's from the south, and my mother would tell stories about she went to a segregated

school, right, she was the kids that were black, only, she tells stories about not being able to drink from certain water fountains about having to walk into a back door, she talks about the Klan

rallies and the marches and the fire hoses, they live that. And so to be able to pass that oral history down, I mean, just deepens the impact. And it just keeps that story alive. And so as they get

older, my grandmother passed away, and now my mother is in her 90s, it's just important for us to continue as younger generation to tell those stories, because just the context of our story in the

context of Black History Month through these experiences that are shared from generation to generation, it just makes me appreciate so much more, you know, what they did for us and for me, and just

make me appreciate my life and how blessed I am to, to just live in a wonderful place and, you know, have the freedom to enjoy my life and have a wonderful family and own a home and have a wife and

all that kind of stuff and just move freely without worrying about if I'm going to be safe or not. I just I just it's hard to imagine what types of things that they had to deal with in their lives. So

I appreciate them. Those women are superheroes like they just are and they and I think they they pass down the strength of conviction to be able to overcome anything in life. And that's one of the

lessons that I learned from all of them. From Easter to my grandmother Henrietta to my mother rose, is just the strength to be able to persevere, and to overcome and to become anything in life that

you want to be. I truly believe that because that's what they taught me. And that's what they showed me through their life story.

Thank you so much, Russell. You know, what it makes me think, is that we hear stories like this from people that we may not know. So we hear them. But once we hear a story, that, you

know, you're telling me this story, you're telling us a story, but it's happened to your family, your great grandmother, your great grandfather, there's a connection, and now there's a connection to

you. It just becomes even stronger and becomes even more real. It's not just a story. It's like wow, I know someone. So thank you so much for opening up and being vulnerable and sharing this with us

now.

You're welcome. Claudine. It's a it's an honor for me to tell that story. And I, I will always tell that story and I hope my nieces and nephews and I hope 100 years from now somebody

will tell that story. Just because it's important. You know, Black history is American history. Slavery is a part of our history, emancipation. All of this is part of what makes us as Americans just

sell braid our history. And it's important to remember that and tell stories. And I just love again, the fact that I have that picture makes it so real for me. And there's times when I literally sit

there and just stare at this picture, this man is just wonder just him being a horseback messenger in a civil war riding back and forth in the middle of the night, in the Deep South, and people

shooting at him or not knowing if he's going to be lynched tomorrow, or murdered or hanged. And he actually did this. And that's a sacrifice that he made, because maybe in his mind, he had a vision of

what life could be for us. 100 years from now, maybe that's what gave him the strength to get up and do that every single day. And for Easter to be a woman living in those times without the same

rights and abilities that women today have. For our family, even though she wasn't in the photograph is very rare to find women and photographs, but they thought enough of her to pass her name along.

So it just makes me wonder if they were thinking about the future, and thinking about what their lives could be through their families, through generations. And it just, it's just a lot to think

about. But I'm just I'm just really thankful. It's a wonderful story. And I'm very, very lucky to be here and have such a great story to tell.

Amazing. Thank you. Russell, I want to ask you, you're in the cruise industry. Tell me how you became involved in the cruise industry. What fascinated sell that like what made you say,

Hey, I like the cruise industry.

It is fascinating. You know, I know, Connie, you've you've been in the industry for a long time. It is it's a wonderful industry. So my background, Bobby and I actually spent most of

my life working in public service working in government. Before I came to Royal Caribbean group, I spent 23 years working in local government. Most recently, I was the deputy mayor of Miami Dade

County, I was the city manager for several cities for years and years. But I was at Miami Dade County for six years. And that's when I really had the opportunity to start to learn about the Royal

Caribbean group, from a corporate side, right sort of what this company was not necessarily as a cruiser, but just what the company meant to South Florida. And when it was time for me to transition

out of government, I sort of did an inventory of sort of the places I would want to work, the people who I want to work with. And you know, this company, Royal Caribbean group, has such a great

reputation in South Florida, for being an ethical company for doing the right thing for giving back to the community and these amazing leaders. And so as I went through my decision making process, I

sort of thought about not just the place where I could work and have an income. But where could I go to continue to improve myself as a professional, where could I go to work with other professionals

that can mentor me, that I can look up to that I can emulate that I can grow professionally. And you know, Royal Caribbean group was was a perfect place. I mean, our CEO of the group are CEOs of the

brands are sort of these transcendent leaders, as you know, have these amazing stories, and lead this global company of 80,000 employees. And we come from 8590 different countries and we deliver these

spectacular vacations responsibly. But it was really for me, how can I get to a place where I can actually spend time with these leaders. So when I'm in the office, and I get to see them a lot, and I

get to work with them every single time I'm with them as an opportunity for me to learn from you to grow, for me to develop as a professional. And that was a huge part of why I came to Royal Caribbean

group because I wanted to have that challenge. And I wanted to work in an industry that had an incredible upside in terms of future growth potential. And we make people have, you know, like, I was

Friday and I was working from home and I had my broker be insured. And over lunch, I had to run an ad to run to the grocery store. And when I got out of my car, there was a gentleman that was in the

parking lot. He looked at my shirt, he said, Oh my god, bro Caribbean group, I'm going on a cruise tomorrow. You know, I'm taking my family, I'm so hot. And he had this huge smile on his face. And he

was just like just beaming about how happy he was about his family coming together and taking this great vacation. And then when I was inside the grocery store, it was a lady who was going on the

cruise later that day and she yelled across the aisle, Royal Caribbean, that's my favorite company has love cruising. And so it's really rewarding to be able to work in an industry that, you know,

just gives so much happiness to people. We bring families together. We take people on great vacations, we help them create memories of a lifetime. And so it's just really rewarding to see the looks on

people's faces. And know that we actually can be something positive in people's lives or when they think about cruise or think about Royal Caribbean group. They typically have some type of happy

reaction where they share a story about their personal experience and that really, really makes me happy.

I love it. I have a friend Susie and she's a Travel Advisor and she was just invited on one of your newest ships because she has the highest sales in her entire group, but she loves

Royal Caribbean. And she really talks about how Royal Caribbean is great as a multi generational brand. She said, You know, when planning you can bring the grandparents, the parents, the kids, and

there's something for everybody. And she says it's the easiest way to connect people together. And she loves brands so much. And I think it's so true, right? I think you just did it. You just said

some things there. I love it.

If Suzy is listening, thank you. We appreciate the work. Listen, our travel partners are so incredibly important. I mean, there are so many people in sort of this cruise ecosystem

that make all work. And it's really fascinating. And, you know, I sort of compare it to a symphony, though, it's just you have lots of different people all working together to create a beautiful

product that we get to share with the world. And I get that reaction a lot from people. And it really I mean, we really do bring families together. It's a great way to vacation, it's a great value

proposition. And just having a whole family, we get family reunions on trips, there's all kinds of groups that spend time together. And it's just a really good way for people to deepen their

relationships, reconnect, especially, you know, after went through for the last few years where people were isolated and separated from their families, it's a good way for people to come together and

just enjoy each other. And, you know, Royal Caribbean group, it no matter what we do, whether we're in government relations, or we're in the marine team, or procurement. You know, the message from

leadership is always about the customer, every single thing we do, how are we enhancing the experience for our customer? How do we deliver great vacations is about the guests on the ships and just

making sure that it is the experience because some people do say for lifetime to take their family to Alaska or Europe. And we just want to make sure that when they do it is the actual experience of a

lifetime. And I love the reaction that I get from people is so positive. And the personal stories, just bring it all home. And so you know, the folks that work in the industry, as you know, we all

very passionate about our jobs, the crew members, I can never say enough about them, because that's sort of the heart and the face of what we do. It's just an amazing group of people the symphony of

people from our travel partners, to the people that work in a building to our crew members, to the marine professionals, all with this one mindset of delivering great vacations responsibly, and all

about the customer and making sure our guests have an experience of a lifetime. And it's like that orchestra that just plays that beautiful music. And when you leave you feel this emotional

connection. And you remember for a lifetime, I think to me is how it all sort of works in my mind.

Love it so true. Last year, our online community, we had about 25 people, we actually went on a cruise and we did our whole week of training that we had on there with our online

community. And we went on Royal so and it was perfect. And we had a great time. So yeah, there's a new ship coming out. Give me a couple of details. And then we'll jump into our last question.

One of the things that one of the executives here would always I would always hear him say, was, it's about continuous improvement. And so I think there are a few things that roll is

known for. Certainly one of those are the innovations in terms of our hardware. I mean, I think all three brands that are based here in South Florida, Royal Caribbean, international celebrity and

Silversea, you know, in 2022 had new ships that came out, and they're not just a new ship and the line of 20 or 30, or 40 ships that are there. Every single, you know, new build is an opportunity to

innovate, it's an opportunity to get better. You know, I've heard people describe them as works of art. I mean, if you if you're on the New Celebrity heads, Class ships, you can feel the ship design

is different. The amenities are different, we were just always trying to elevate, and just push the boundaries. I mean, certainly, there's a television show making up an icon, which is our next class

of ships, that Royal Caribbean International, which are the icon Class ships. And as much as people love the big ships icon is even bigger, as bolder, is better, more guests. And just if you look at

the amenities onboard the ship and miss at first of all their technological marvel, you know, you can actually build a cruise ship of this size. And then the level of detail. I mean, everywhere your

eye takes you there's something to look at, there's a different feature. There's something there for the youngest of kids to the oldest of adults, whether you're a foodie or you like thrill or you're

like chill, the celebrity brand ships or I mean just spectacular. I just love them. Silversea is is he has these new ships, and they're pushing the boundaries in terms of the whole experience of

culture and food. And I mean, it's just we offer something not just the individual brand that offers, you know, multigenerational experiences. But I think the Royal Caribbean group through each of the

various companies that make the group, we offer different products, different types, chips, different size chips, I mean, there's something for everyone. But certainly the most excitement that we get

is typically around the new chips, so 2022 You know, there were a couple new ships that were amazing. And I think everybody's really excited, really about icon you know of the seas and what she's

gonna bring to the marketplace, how she's gonna sort of, again, the oh, he's a Oasis sort of broke the mold. And you know, the group didn't rest on his laurels, you know where and always in the mood

of continuous improvement. And so icon I think is going to be something that is hard to visualize, but I encourage everybody to see it, because she is just going to be an incredible ship, and an

incredible experience and different than anything you've ever experienced to see before.

So what's the capacity on that?

7500? Guest capacity? Yeah, so she's gonna be with her full crew complement over 10,000. You know, people are see, but you know, one of the most amazing things about the big ships is

when you're on them, you don't feel like they're that many people. And there's some people that are just loyal to like that brand of ships, they just enjoy it, just because there's something to do for

everyone restaurants to the onboard entertainment. I mean, the the cabins are innovative. And we we specifically designed, you know, rooms, suites for families and slides. And I mean, it's all kinds

of stuff that's going on, you know, in the ships. And not to mention, we also push the boundaries with respect to sustainability, right? I mean, they're environmentally friendly, we are constantly

moving the needle with respect to our fuels that we use, paying attention to our oceans. And so it's not just about the entertainment on the ship, but the actual ship itself, the new designs, push the

boundaries, and continue to innovate with respect to the marine industry. So there's a gentleman named Jay Schneider that leads our innovation team, I'm always amazed that the work he and his team

does to just continue to bring new ideas and concepts to the marketplace and actually be able to develop them on a cruise ship in a way that nobody else does. And so we're really fortunate to have

this great leadership team here that just they're just always breaking barriers and doing something new. And it keeps the product fraction. And you know, we want younger cruisers that haven't

experienced it to be able to make that choice and join us. And we hope that it's something that people will continue to do most folks once they take a cruise there kind of cruises for life. And so,

yeah, but the new ships are exciting, and they're brand new, also, just beautiful.

Congratulations to the entire team. That is absolutely remarkable. I can't wait to check this out the icon of the seas, it's gonna be amazing, Russell, but tell me, what do you think

our industry can do to better engage with the black community? What can we do? Is there something additional that we could do?

That's a great question, Claudia, I appreciate you asking it. My answer is really from sort of the business side of what we do. I mean, you know, as you know, the cruise industry is a

multi billion dollar a year industry. And I think whenever we're doing business, especially in destinations, we have the the ability to partner, you know, with, with businesses in those destinations,

we have the ability to empower communities economically, I think that's something that, you know, I'm really proud of the work that we've done here. And there's always room for growth. I mean, so, you

know, I just, I think that, you know, whether it's through procurement, you know, where we buy our things from, whether it's food, or whatever it is on a ship, you know, when we have the ability to

partner with people, and you'll see some announcements coming down the pike from Royal Caribbean soon, we're going even further in terms of the partnership, you know, people have really expressed a

desire to be able to do that. So I think there's a lot of room, you know, for us to continue to do that. And we want to innovate in that space. But I just for me, I think economic empowerment, you

know, a large percentage of the cruise industry is in the Caribbean. And we do have the ability through partnerships to empower those communities, just by making the decisions of you know, how we

spend our money, where we spend it, and then do we have the ability to help create new businesses, can we help grow businesses, and I think that's something that I just really am excited about. And

you'll see some of those things, you know, be announced in the coming months. And we've done that in a lot of places before, but we're going to continue to do it in a bigger way. And I'm just thrilled

to be able to do that. And our partners are thrilled. And I think it just helps deepen their relationships with the communities that we sell from and sail to when we have this type of economic

empowerment mindset, when we're partnering with the folks that live in those communities, and certainly, there are a lot of businesses that can benefit greatly from being a partner of Royal Caribbean

group, and we want to continue to do that and, and hopefully we're successful in doing that. And we we really gained some great partners and develop some great relationships.

Excellent answer, and I know you've been doing a lot I read in the Bahamas, you were doing a big program and I can't wait to see what else Royal does amazing

Royal Caribbean group partners with an organization called the American Caribbean maritime Foundation. And basically, the Foundation provides scholarships for young people from the

Caribbean who want to pursue career professional careers in the maritime industry, whether it's cargo or cruise ships, and they had their gala, you know, in Fort Lauderdale a couple of years ago, and

Royal Caribbean has been a partner of this organization for years. And we fund scholarships for young people throughout the Caribbean. And, you know, our CEO was at this event, Michael Bailey, we had

one of our we had two students actually, who had gone through a class and had graduated, and we hired these kids on board. And they're actually part of the the bridge team. And they're professional

maritime people. And so one of the young man was in his dress uniform, and Michael Bailey was speaking. And Michael called this young man up, and he introduced him to the crowd. And he said, you know,

this young man from the Bahamas, has the potential one day to become our first ship captain from the Bahamas. And I'll never forget that experience. And I think everybody in the room, you know, kind

of had goose bumps and, you know, just this personal, very, very, very personal story of empowerment, you know, and Michael saying those words to that young man that I'm sure will live with Him

forever and inspire him, and to let him know that there's no ceiling to what he can become. And we certainly, not only do we expect him to achieve great things and become, you know, ship captain one

day if he wants to, but we're also going to be there to help him along the way to make sure he achieves that, whether it's empowerment through, you know, business partnerships, or, you know,

scholarships for young people or jobs, career opportunities, I think there's so many different ways that we can positively impact our community. And I'm just really proud of the work that we do here.

And I'll never forget that experience at the gala with the CEO of the company and a 22 year old Seafarer, fresh out of college. And now just imagine what his life is going to be like, knowing that

we're all behind him. And we all believe in Him. And we all will be there. Every step along the way, I think will make a difference in his life. I really hope he achieves whatever it is that he wants

to do, whether it's be a ship captain one day or CEO of the Royal Caribbean group, I have no doubt that he will do that.

Excellent story. Thank you, Russell, good to finish with the last question has to do with empowerment, what would you tell your younger self?

We can go in a lot of different directions there. You know, it was interesting, you know, cloudy, and I was in I was in the State Capitol in Florida. I was in Tallahassee last week.

And I was sitting next to a Crossman gentleman at the airport on the way home. And we used to work together years ago. And he told this story that he's African Americans from Miami, and he told the

story about how he first started working, he really struggled with his confidence and self esteem. And he told a story that, you know, he walked into a meeting one day, at a corporate event. And it

was he there was nobody else would look like him. You know, it was nobody else he thought, you know, was from where he was from. And he told the story of looking around the room and he actually left,

and he got back in his car and he drove home, he felt like he didn't belong. And he just felt very uncomfortable, very anxious. And, and I remember feeling that way. I mean, I remember walking into

job interviews or walking into a new place, and just feeling out of place or unsure of myself. And so if I had any advice to give my younger self, it would just be to be fearless to believe in

yourself, have self confidence, you know, you just don't know where people are from, you don't know their story. So a lot of times we assume, you know, people come from a different place or a better

place or they're supposed to be here. And we're not. But that's actually not the case. Most of the time. Everybody has their own individual journey in life. And just the whole affirmation, I do

exercises about the still, you know, I'm been working for almost 30 years now. Or from the time I was a kid to now there were times when I just have to go through a self affirmation exercise and just

remind myself to be confident to believe in myself that I belong, that I am part of a team that I'm welcome. And so yeah, so if I had advice, it would just be to be fearless. Believe in yourself. And

anything is possible with lots and lots of hard work.

Thank you, Russell. That was wonderful. What an honor to have you as a guest from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time today. Russell, keep shining.

Thank you for it. Thank you very much. I appreciate you and keep doing what you're doing.

What a great conversation with Russell Bamford, Vice President of Government Relations at Royal Caribbean. This has been one of my most heartfelt conversations I have ever had. Talking

about Black History Month sometimes, and I'll be honest to me, like how do I bring this up? How do I talk about this? And I talked to Russell and he said we just talked about it. And it makes me think

we need to talk more about this not just on Black History Month but all that time also made me think sometimes we think we know people because we interact with them. Interacting in a work setting is

one thing, but really getting to know someone is different. Thank you Russell for opening up and sharing your history and your past your family's past with us. Now, I have some homework for you. We