Carnival Corporation has announced John Padgett will step into the role of president with Princess Cruises, effective immediately.
Padgett will oversee all performance and operational functions of Princess Cruises and its global fleet of 14 ships sailing cruise guests to nearly 400 destinations around the world annually.
He will report directly to Jan Swartz, group president of Holland America Group, which includes the company’s Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and P&O Cruises Australia brands.
Swartz has served as president of Princess Cruises since 2013.
Since July 2014, Padgett has served as chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, responsible for guest experience innovation, development, creation and operations integration.
Padgett has been a key player in the development and implementation of the Princess MedallionClass experience that is now available on the entire Princess fleet.
“John is the mastermind behind our state-of-the-art OCEAN platform and was a key player in our fleet transformation, working closely with Princess team members in virtually every area of our operation to enable the MedallionClass experience for all our guests,” said Swartz.
“John’s vision, drive and performance, combined with his commitment to providing the best guest experience in the industry, have helped position Princess for success well into the future.
“We warmly welcome John to the role and look forward to his stewardship as we navigate this fast-changing, dynamic environment.”
Prior to joining the Carnival Corporation, Padgett worked for 18 years with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where he spearheaded the invention, development and implementation of guest engagement innovations that include the MagicBand, FastPass+ and Disney’s Magical Express, among others.
