“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.”  – Elizabeth Edwards

This inspirational quote could have been written about our CEO, Joyce Landry. When cruise lines abruptly ceased operations due to the pandemic in March 2020, Landry & Kling’s core business – cruise meetings and incentives – was also put on hold.

But Joyce was undeterred. Our visionary co-founder “adjusted the sails” to find new business opportunities and keep the company afloat. As a result, Landry & Kling Global Cruise Services has expanded its service capabilities beyond the corporate market to include workforce accommodations and specialized vessel charter projects. Our new tagline says it all: “If we can’t find a suitable vessel for you, no one can!”

When a writer from the Miami Herald began researching businesses for a story about how cruise industry professionals have been coping since ships stopped sailing, she naturally reached out to Joyce Landry.

Here is an excerpt from the Miami Herald article by Taylor Dolven, published April 26, 2021:

Cruise Industry Workers Ready for a Restart

While cruises have remained stalled, Joyce Landry, CEO of global cruise charter logistics company Landry & Kling, has been forced to pivot from her core business before the pandemic – organizing business conferences and meetings on cruise ships – to focus on organizing floating workforce housing contracts for a mix of uses including mining expeditions and government security training exercises.

We’ve been in ferries, barges, sightseeing boats, research vessels,” she said. “We’ve gotten involved in chartering all kinds of unusual vessels for unusual purposes.”

After all of her bookings for 2020 were canceled, Landry said she initially cut her staff of 10 people down to about four but has since been able to hire contractors in other countries as the company focuses more on international clients. She called a Paycheck Protection Program loan the company acquired from the federal government “a godsend;” she also received grant money from Miami-Dade County and deferments from her office landlord that helped her keep paying staff. She’s eager for U.S. cruises to restart, but says she won’t be giving up the new business the company has acquired in the meantime.

Anyone who is an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur for a reason,” she said. “You’re not going to throw in the towel because some outside circumstances changed your business. You shift, you change.”