Carnival UK has named cruise industry stalwart Stuart Allison as the new Chief Commercial Officer of P&O Cruises.
Allison, who has plied his trade within the Carnival Corporation for over 25 years, will join the Carnival UK executive team in mid-October 2024, reporting to Carnival UK & P&O Cruises President Paul Ludlow.
Allison began his career with Carnival in a UK-based position at Princess Cruises.
After five years, he moved on to Sydney-based roles at Carnival Australia for nearly a decade before rejoining Princess Cruises in 2013, first as Vice President of Australia and New Zealand and then as Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific.
In early 2022, Stuart’s remit was extended to include the UK and Europe, leading all of Princess’ non-domestic commercial teams around the world.
As P&O Cruises’ Chief Commercial Officer, Allison will help steer the brand’s growth plans, especially within a booming UK market.
“We are delighted to be welcoming Stuart back to the UK, where he started his career with Carnival Corporation over 25 years ago,” Ludlow said.
“Stuart’s knowledge of and passion for our brands is going to be a huge asset to Carnival UK and he will be instrumental in our progress towards achieving our goals.
“Through 2024, with our new Excel class ships in operation, we’ve been able to bring holiday happiness to more guests than ever before. With Stuart on board, I’m confident we can continue this strong trajectory.”
Allison said he is thrilled to join P&O “at a time of such potential for the UK cruise market”.
“Whilst a record number of Brits cruised last year, there were tens of millions who chose other holidays,” he stated.
“Working with the team and alongside all our partners, I’m confident that we have every opportunity to bring cruising to life for a wider audience and to reaffirm our position as Britain’s favourite cruise line.”
Earlier this year, Carnival Corporation revealed that the P&O Cruises Australia brand will be merged into Carnival Cruise Line in March 2025.
But Aussie P&O Cruises aficionados need not fear the coming changes, Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy told Karryon in an interview as she moved to allay fears that the merging of the famous brand into CCL would see an end to P&O-like cruising for Australians.
