Excursions with top local guides are key says Royal Caribbean International

“We have to be careful not to have too many tours, so when we add tours we also take away,” explains Jacoby.

“Some ports may have three tours, and some 15, it really depends.

“There is an optimal number of offerings for guests to go through without getting overwhelmed.”

Among the developments has been a “cruise global, eat local” programme, where the company found off-the-beaten path restaurants for excursions.

“We were after where the locals went, and we rely on our local operators to help figure that out,” adds Jacoby.

In the meantime, her job is the ensure excursions have the right tour operator with the right tour guide.

“It is really all about the guest experience,” she says, “if the guests aren’t enjoying themselves then it wasn’t a success.

“The guest experience trumps everything.”