The conference portion of the annual Cruise Shipping Miami event, slated for March 11-14, has been revamped for its 29th edition. There will be more concurrent sessions Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday and Thursday, and the panels will be just 90 minutes long.

Developed to be more in-depth and content-rich, the revamped conference lineup is the result of solid research and feedback from Cruise Shipping Miami attendees, cruise lines and industry organisations. Conference sessions are organised into four “streams” that will thematically link sessions daily Tuesday through Thursday. The streams are Shipbuilding, Operations and Technology; Destinations and Ports; Market Segments, and Product Development.

Monday, March 11, will see the return of the annual World Cruise Tourism Summit, with expert panels conducted from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Organised in cooperation with Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, the summit will feature a series of round-table discussions by cruise experts and Cruise Lines International Association representatives on pertinent industry topics.

Tuesday, March 12, the State of the Industry session will run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., followed by four concurrent panels in each of the streams: “The Newbuilding Outlook,” “The Caribbean and Mexico,” “Upscale Cruising” and “Marketing and Distribution.”

Wednesday, March 13, morning sessions will run from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and will include “Revitalisation and Repair,” “Europe,” “Expedition Cruising” and “Social Media.” Afternoon sessions will include “The Low-Energy Ship and the Green Agenda,” “Expanding Markets,” “National Brands” and “Maximising On-Board Revenue” from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 14, will see the return of the popular Travel Agent Thursday training classes conducted by Cruise Lines International Association. Morning conference sessions will include “Safety in Shipping,” “The Cruise Line/Port Interface,” “Shorex Programs” and “Human Resources at Sea” from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Afternoon sessions from 3 to 4:30 p.m. will include “The Ship of the Future,” “Terminal Development and Security in Port and On Board,” “River Cruise” and “Hotel and Catering Procurement.”

Cruise Shipping Miami is organised by UBM Live and exclusively supported by Cruise Lines International Association and Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association to provide a one-stop global resource for cruise lines and their suppliers.