43-Year Carnival Cruise Line Veteran Announces Retirement
It’s rare that an employee remains with the same company for decades, but with Carnival Cruise Line, employees truly are family, and families stick together.
Adolfo M. Perez, the cruise line’s senior vice president of global sales and trade marketing, is a family member many years over and has finally announced his plans to retire after 43 years with the company.
Perez joined Carnival Cruise Line in 1982 while still in high school (oh, if only I’d known how much I would love cruising back then!), serving first as a ticket agent in Miami when the cruise line was itself only 10 years old.
“Adolfo has been a valuable leader at Carnival for over four decades, and it’s hard to imagine Carnival without Adolfo,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.
Through his career, Perez has served in many different roles as he’s moved up the ranks in the Carnival family hierarchy. From vice president of Carnival’s contact center to vice president of Carnival UK & Ireland, he has played pivotal roles in the cruise line’s growth and global expansion, even opening Carnival’s London office.
In 2018, Perez reached his current role to lead the sales and trade team, strengthening and expanding relationships around the world with travel advisors and travel retailers.
“I’ve had the privilege of holding many different roles during my career with Carnival, but these last few years working with both the sales team and the travel advisor community has been a highlight,” Perez said.
“The passion of selling travel and giving guests and clients amazing vacations and experiences is really an invigorating way to spend your work day, and I’m thankful for all the terrific people that have made this job such a great way to finish my career with Carnival.”
Perez even shows that passion for working with travel agents by his “Travel Agents Rock” tattoo, not to mention his vivacious personality and dedication to ensuring every guest enjoys their Carnival cruise.
An Honored Family Member
Throughout his career, Perez has received numerous awards, honors, and accolades. Some notable awards have been directly to him – such as the Cruise Lines International Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 – while others are a testament to his hard work and dedication.
For example, travel advisors consistently rate Carnival Cruise Line as the best domestic US cruise line, and the company has won Cruise Hive’s own “Best Cruise Line” award for several years as well as “Best Booking Experience” (2023) and innumerable other awards.
Perez coordinated several unique and engaging programs with travel advisors, including the Agentpalooza summer bus tours as well as business education initiatives and website tools to help agents grow their businesses to greater success, always with the guests’ best experiences in mind.
Even more important, however, are the relationships Perez has built among the travel community and while he may be retiring from Carnival Cruise Line, he will always be a part of the family.
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“He retires from Carnival with many friends and admirers who wish him well, including myself,” said Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Corporation.
“We know this was a difficult decision for him to make but we are supportive of his personal plans and wish him only the best as he moves to a very well-deserved retirement,” added Duffy.
Carnival Cruise Line has not yet announced any replacements or promotions among the sales and leadership team in light of Perez’s departure, but plans to do so at a later time.