HR Florida Sets Sail for “This Is a New Day” – On The HR Conference Cruisesm
By Michael G Medoro
HR professionals from HR Florida embarked on a 5-night Human Resource Conference Cruise with two ports of call in Falmouth, Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti (Royal Caribbean’s private destination) and re-energized! Nearly 100 HR professionals joined the conference and earned SHRM Professional Development Credits and recertification credits from HRCI. The conference continued with the “Surf and Turf” option – preconference webinars prior to the sailing (TURF) and on-board sessions (SURF) held in the conference center of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Voyager of the Seas.
Held last March, this unique HR educational conference was coordinated by Aspect Marketing in partnership with HR Florida, the NY SHRM State Council, and the Ohio SHRM State Council. The conference was the twelfth HR Conference Cruise and HR Florida partnered in three of those sailings.
The entire HR Conference Cruise schedule was pre-approved for 16.25 SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) and an equal number of recertification credits from the HR Certification Institute. The conference even earned both business credits and global HR credits!
The HR Conference Cruise continues the goal of combining a robust human resource conference centered on learning and networking, while sailing to tropical islands and gorgeous getaways. The conference is like other conferences and provides a good number of credits, multiple opportunities for networking, and having fun. Of course the major difference is that HR professionals are on a venue that moves!
The conference kicked off with four preconference webinars featuring speakers Christie Engler, Mallory Herrin, Ben McCall, and Julie Develin. Attendees can learn virtually from HR Conference Cruise speakers prior to meeting them face-to-face on board the ship. Another benefit is that attendees can meet virtually each other as well.
All on-board sessions were held in the ship’s conference center – a first class venue with all the amenities one would expect at a hotel conference center or convention center. There were eight on-board sessions (including a workshop) from speakers, Dorice Horenstein, Christie Engler, Mallory Herrin, Michael Butler, George Rogers, Julie Develin, and Ben McCall.
New this year was the introduction of a DEMO Room where several sponsors were able to showcase a variety of HR products and services. In addition, UKG sponsored an excursion while in Falmouth Jamaica for twenty lucky HR Conference Cruise attendees.
Life on board offers HR Conference Cruise attendees many opportunities to experience fun on the high seas. The ships offer Broadway shows, live bands and house orchestras, comedians, team games, and places to simply relax with friends and colleagues. The entire group – attendees and guests – were able to meet the HR Director for the cruise ship!
HR Florida is partnering for a 2025 HR Conference Cruise on March 3-8, 2025, on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas. The program committee is expecting to offer 15 credit hours with a goal of 50% to be pre-approved for Business Credit from HRCI. The sailing has two ports of call – Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico.
There is always room on board for HR professionals of all levels. Continuous learning and education are just that – continuous and ongoing. The HR Conference Cruise represents a rare opportunity to combine superior learning, national and local speakers, loads of credits, and great networking opportunities. Our hope is that you will join us next year. Visit hrcruise.com for more information.
Michael G Medoro is an award-winning, senior marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in marketing, advertising and communications. He has a proven record in positively impacting sales and brand awareness, while driving cross-functional teams. Mike can be reached at [email protected]. Visit us on the web at: www.aspect-marketing.com