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Event Management alumnus celebrates new management opportunity aboard cruise ship

Daniel Verfaillie, an Event Management alumnus of Eastleigh College, has had the exciting opportunity to take on the role of Loyalty and Sales Manager aboard a 5,000 passenger capacity cruise ship.

Daniel has worked as a team leader for seven months at Carnival UK, having worked for the Carnival Corporation for a total of three years. Situated in the contact centre, he manages seven to twelve people on a daily basis, helping to provide a first-rate customer service experience for Carnival consumers. In November he was offered the role of Loyalty and Sales Manager aboard a five-week cruise on MS Iona, giving him the chance to put his event management training into practice.

Some of Daniel’s responsibilities in his new role have included hosting on-board welcome lunches for suite gusts, overseeing inter-department events, operating the Loyalty and Sales desk to assist passengers with any enquiries and managing the doors of the theatre welcoming 900 guests to their seats for on-board entertainment. Daniel commented: “Cruises were my childhood passion and after three years working in this industry I haven’t looked back. We are there to share our knowledge and experience to guide guests to make the right choices and create unforgettable holiday happiness”.

Daniel studied Event Management at Eastleigh College from 2016-2018, where he routinely engaged in business oriented exercises that helped nurture the skillset he now uses in his everyday role. This included creating entrepreneurial business plans, simulating financial and marketing logistics and running events for a live audience.

Daniel looked back at his time at Eastleigh: “I believe my course set the foundation for my success in my profession as well as providing valuable life lessons from the people I met along the way. It equipped me with a more business-minded mentality, expanded my knowledge of the field and gave me the confidence to make executive decisions that have helped me grow my career. Thank you to Caroline and her team for helping me become the best version of myself!”

Caroline Perrett, Daniel’s lecturer in Event Management, said: “Dan was a very enthusiastic learner who embraced every opportunity given to him. Due to his dedication to succeed he has been able to put all his skills learnt into practice and implement them into his new role. We wish him all the best as his career continues to grow.”

More information on our Event Management courses at the College can be found here. For further information, please contact us at BeBetter@eastleigh.ac.uk