Interview: Carnival President on Why ‘We Are America’s Cruise Line’
Photo Credit: Carnival President Christine Duffy during a visit to Carnival Vista when it was still under construction. Carnival Cruise Line
Skift Take
While many North American cruise lines have been ramping up their presence around the globe, Carnival has kept most of its focus on the U.S. That appears to be paying off for the brand.
Christine Duffy was just a couple weeks into her new job as president of Carnival Cruise Line last year, surrounded by members of the military and a country music star in Texas, when she had a realization: This cruise line was all about America.
It didn't hurt that she was on a ship named Freedom, outfitted like all Carnival ships in red, white, and blue.
"That’s when it really crystallized that we are America’s cruise line," said Duffy, who stepped into her role in February 2015 and spent the next year visiting every ship in the fleet of the world's largest cruise line.
Before joining Carnival, Duffy was president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association. She was in that position when fire disabled the Carnival Triumph in early 2013, leading to days of intense media coverage as the ship was towed to land. On occasion, she even commented on the incident's implications for the broader cruise industry.
The cruise line invested hundreds of millions of dollars i
