Here at Seasite, we’re passionate about cruising and are committed to spreading the good news about meetings at sea. Like, how a cruise meeting can save up to 40% over a comparable hotel program. Or how cruise ships are great for families, with built-in kids programs and areas just for adults.  What about all the amazing onboard facilities and dining options? Oh, and don’t forget the excitement of visiting multiple destinations and only unpacking once.

So imagine our delight when Convene Magazine, the leading meetings industry trade publication from Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) chose a cruise meeting as one of the “Meetings We Like” in the December issue. In fact, this event at sea was one of three 2009 meetings the editors picked as “Just Plain Cool.”

The meeting in question was Microsoft’s Fourth International Conference of the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) 2009, which was held on the  Disney Wonder as the ship sailed through the Bahamas. And, we just have to mention that the entire cruise event was planned and managed by our own sister company, Landry & Kling.

Just Plain Cool
by Barbara Palmer and Chris Durso

Cruise Control
Meeting: Fourth International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG 2009), April 26-30, aboard the Disney Wonder

Why We Like It: FDG 2009 convened a rigorously scientific meeting about the technology and culture of computer games – on a family-friendly cruise ship.

“It sounds counterintuitive that the Society for the Advancement of the Study of Digital Games (SASDG) would hold an in-depth technology conference on a cruise ship – until you consider that sessions such as “Exploring 3D Gestural Interfaces for Music Creation in Video Games” and “Blending the Real and Virtual in Games: The Model of Fantasy Sports” someday could translate into hundreds of millions of dollars for the meeting’s primary sponsor, Microsoft, and the other software companies in attendance. Suddenly, the appeal of an easily controllable environment in the middle of the ocean becomes obvious.”

- Christopher Durso

Read the full Convene article here.

Filed under: Cruise News, Meeting & Incentive News