THE FEUD between Norwegian Cruise Line sales supremo Nick Sharps and marketing maestro Jim Millward has taken a new and disturbing turn.
Backchat readers will recall that up to now, their rivalry has been confined to relatively harmless bets and fantasy games (Travel Weekly January 27 and June 7).
Sharps upped the stakes a few weeks back, when the pair were staying with a bunch of cruise specialist agents at a reputedly haunted hotel in Warwick.
An anxious Millward had retired to bed early and gone to sleep with his bedside light on. Until, that is, Sharps placed a mannequin dressed in medieval costume outside his bedroom door and started making what he describes as ghost-like noises.
Screwing up his courage, Millward went out into the dark corridor, where the mannequin toppled over and fell on him. Naturally the bedroom door then shut itself behind him – as it invariably does in such cases – and he found himself locked out wearing only his underwear.
Meanwhile, news reaches Backchat that NCL’s board members are going to take jobs on their ships to get in touch with what frontline staff actually do on board. Chief executive officer Geir Aune will spend a cruise as hotel director, while chief financial officer Lamarr Cooler has opted to be a concierge and vice-president sales Andy Stuart a maitre d’hotel.
Sharps is keen for the UK team to get involved in the initiative.
“I would like to be master of the ship. I feel my experience sailing a 30ft yacht in the Greek islands would qualify me,” he claimed.
Sharps nominated Millward as an ideal children’s entertainer, but he was undecided about what job would suit UK executive director Bill Ellerington the best – MC, dancer and wine steward were allmooted.