FORT LAUDERDALE — Asked what he was looking for in a replacement for retiring Carnival Cruise Lines chief executive Gerry Cahill, Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said he wanted to find someone who personifies the company’s flagship brand.
Speaking at Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld conference here, Donald told an audience of travel agents that Carnival Cruise Lines has a particular identity and appeals most to people who enjoy socializing.
“The ideal candidate is someone who resonates with the brand,” Donald said.
A key challenge for the cruise industry, he said, is to “not chase some common denominator.” If each cruise line understands its segment and works it well, he said, success should follow.
Cahill late last month announced that he would retire as CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines at the end of November after seven years as the brand’s chief executive and 20 years at Carnival Corp.
He also said “there’s a lot of positive momentum going” at the cruise line now, and that the new chief executive would be hired to “build on a great foundation” and not to “change or redirect things.”
On another topic, Donald said Carnival was working hard to raise prices so that it can reap profit from the value in a cruise and travel agents can get rewarded with higher commissions.
“Trust me, I’m well aware that earning commissions on cruises priced at $259 is not a get-rich-quick plan,” he said.
Another initiative to boost profits at Carnival Corp. took a step forward this week when the company issued a request for proposal to leverage its buying power with airlines.
Donald said that although Carnival Corp. is the fifth-largest buyer of airfares in the world, historically it has not cashed in on that volume because each of its cruise lines buys air separately.
Donald also said he expects that at least one and probably more domestic cruise lines will spring up in China and that Carnival would like to be a partner in such a venture.
He predicted that Chinese growth will force international cruise lines to devote more ships to the area, which would slow already-measured capacity growth elsewhere but could be a boon for pricing.
“China source demand will create relative scarcity in other world markets, providing opportunity for improved pricing and better commissions,” Donald said.
He added that while Asia is gaining in importance, “the commitment to continue to build and strengthen our North American markets is stronger than ever.”
View a video recap of Day 1 of CruiseWorld.