Christine Duffy Marks 10 Years Leading Carnival Cruise Line

Posted onAuthorChris Owen

In early February 2015, Christine Duffy took an unconventional path to become president of Carnival Cruise Line – the world’s most popular cruise line – and her leadership of the namesake brand of Carnival Corporation’s suite of global cruise lines continues to bring impressive results as she celebrates her 10-year anniversary. To watch a video highlighting her accomplishments, click here.

Duffy came to Carnival after serving as CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) following a career in the travel agency and meeting planning sectors. Her first interaction with the cruise business was leading the industry’s trade association, but former Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald saw a unique set of leadership skills that could bring a new level of energy and focus to Carnival Cruise Line, which had helped make a cruise vacation accessible, affordable and fun for millions of Americans.

Since 2015, Duffy has brought a new level of engagement, enthusiasm, innovation and excitement to Carnival, counting amongst her accomplishments:

  • Adding nine ships to the Carnival fleet;
  • Operating 13,500 sailings;
  • Hosting 42.5 million guests;
  • Overseeing 70 dry dock ship refurbishments;
  • Hiring 15,780 new team members;
  • Making 253 visits to Carnival ships;
  • Taking 672 plane trips and flying 1.7 million miles;
  • Being honored by Forbes magazine, inducted into the CLIA Hall of Fame, served as national chair of the U.S. Travel Association, served on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Travel & Tourism Advisory Board and named one of the top 100 U.S. leaders in hospitality;
  • And along the way, she’s also taken to the skies in an airship, jumped out of an airplane for hurricane disaster relief, and led Carnival’s efforts to raise $27.3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.   

But Duffy’s not yet done. Carnival’s new exclusive destination Celebration Key is slated to open on Grand Bahama this July and additional expansion is in the works across the newly renamed RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, as well as other destinations. Five additional new ships are on order for delivery through 2033, and Carnival is about to become the biggest cruise operator in Australia when two P&O Australia ships join Carnival this March.

With Duffy at the helm, the Carnival fleet is always on the move, and the entire Carnival family joins in wishing her congratulations.

For additional information on Carnival Cruise Line and to book a cruise vacation on Carnival, call 1-800-CARNIVAL, visit http://carnival.com, or contact your favorite travel advisor or online travel site.

ABOUT CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE

Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is the first cruise line to sail over 100 million guests and is proud to be known as America’s Cruise Line, for carrying more Americans and serving more U.S. homeports than any other. Since its founding in 1972, Carnival has continually revolutionized the cruise industry and popularized the cruise vacation as an affordable and fun travel option. Carnival operates from 13 U.S. and two Australian homeports, as well as seasonally from Europe and employs more than 48,000 team members representing 120 nationalities.

Carnival’s fleet of 27 ships reflects an exciting period of growth that continues with the addition of seven ships through 2033: two ships joining in February 2025 when P&O Cruises Australia integrates into Carnival; a fourth and fifth Excel class ship scheduled for 2027 and 2028 respectively; followed by three additional new ships from an innovative new class currently under development. Carnival’s next new guest offering will be the all-new exclusive destination, Celebration Key, set to debut on Grand Bahama next summer.