Although Carnival Cruise Line refers to itself as America’s cruise line, the company is proud to have a workforce that’s made up of people from all around the world.
Along with fostering diversity in its operation, the cruise line creates an environment on board its ships that welcomes passengers from all over the globe and all walks of life to come together to enjoy a fun vacation at sea.
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When it comes to championing diversity in its workforce, Carnival Corporation was named one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes in 2024.
But these days, being well known for diversity as a U.S. employer can lead to backlash. And Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, is finding that out as he responds to passengers’ questions and concerns on his popular Facebook page.
Heald doesn’t shy away from controversial topics and recently confronted bias concerns head-on when one passenger wrote to him to insist that Carnival isn’t giving Americans a fair chance when hiring for its highest shipboard positions.
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Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
Carnival passenger says cruise line “slams door” on American talent
“John, if Carnival is an American company with an American CEO, why are none of the Captains or his 1st officers American? It is disgraceful that Carnival will not hire Americans,” the unidentified passenger wrote to the brand ambassador.
According to this passenger, Carnival should be recruiting captains and senior officers from the U.S. Navy.
“The U.S. has the largest and best Navy in the entire world. Certainly there is a lot of talent getting out of the U.S. Navy that have experience operating large ships like aircraft carriers and such. Yet Carnival slams the door in their face.”
The passenger demanded an explanation from Carnival’s brand ambassador.
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Heald shared the passenger’s message in a post on his Facebook page in order to address the concern publicly and set the record straight on the cruise line’s hiring practices.
“Thank you and please let me tell you what I know. The door is not slammed to anyone,” the brand ambassador stressed.
“On the bridges of our ships now we have so many different nationalities. [Off] the top of my head, I can say we have Italian and Croatian captains. In the bridge and engine positions, we have Italian, Croatian, Bahamian, Romanian and many other nationalities,” Heald noted.
The brand ambassador also pointed out that a number of women hold marine operations positions with the cruise line.
“And yes, we proudly have many lady officers on the bridge and in the engine control room who are rising through the ranks.”
Carnival brand ambassador promises jobs are open to all nationalities
The brand ambassador also explained that Americans do hold some other senior positions on board its ships.
“In the senior manager positions, we have Hotel Directors and other department heads from the United States including of course some of our best Cruise Directors,” Heald noted.
The bottom line: Carnival’s employment opportunities are open to all nationalities.
“My point here is that every job is open to everyone if you have the right qualifications and the desire to work for the most FUN cruise line in the world,” Carnival’s brand ambassador emphasized.
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What really matters is that each person hired by the cruise line is qualified and capable to do the job, as other passengers pointed out in comments on the post.
“I don’t care about the nationality of the captain; I care that he knows how to maneuver the ship properly. I don’t know how many Americans have the door ‘slammed in their face’ but I would guess this is not true,” Dorlee Kreitzer wrote. “When cruising, I appreciate all crew members and I don’t give their nationality much thought nor do I concern myself with the amount of each nationality in the crew positions, I just relax and appreciate their service.”
As you enjoy your next cruise vacation, don’t forget to show some appreciation for all the skilled, hard-working crew members from all over the world who make it possible.
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