67 Carnival Venezia’s crew with the ship during its dry dock at the Navantia yard in Cádiz, Spain Photo: credit dining room enhancements to further indulge the senses of its cruise guests. “We recently expanded our partnership with chef Emeril Lagasse,” explains Duffy. “As our new chief culinary officer, Lagasse worked with our chefs to curate new creations that infuse some more international flavours, offer more variety and complement our Carnival classics guests love. I was with him onboard Carnival Venezia when he was working through taste-testing five dozen dishes, and as we roll out many of these new options across the fleet, I’m pleased that our guests are enjoying the new selections as well.” To deliver on its brand promise across multiple levels of the cruise offering, Carnival is also investing in continuous development for employees, starting with those at entry level. In 2023, it brought back its successful internship programme. “Our Internship at Sea programme is unique, and we are delighted by its success this summer,” says Duffy. “We welcomed 24 students from 24 different universities onboard. It’s important for us to create these special opportunities to inspire the next generation and invest in the fun and memorable cruise vacations of the future. Several past interns have gone on to start careers in the cruise industry, and so I hope to see some of this year’s class back here at Carnival someday soon.” The brand continues to invest in infrastructure to support its itineraries and its new port project in The Bahamas is well underway. “We broke ground on our new cruise port destination on Grand Bahama Island in May 2022,” says Duffy. “The cruise port includes a pier able to accommodate up to two Excelclass ships simultaneously, welcoming guests to a stunning white-sand beach The Bahamas are known for.” An important focus of this project will be ensuring convenient movement between the cruise port and Grand Bahama, which is just a few minutes away. The aim is to generate commercial activity that is of value to the entire island, beyond the local benefits of cruise calls. INTERVIEW
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