Princess Cruises has a new guest operations department that will bring together the hotel, food and beverage, onboard revenue and entertainment functions into one unified structure, according to a letter sent to the cruise line’s employees from President Gus Antorcha and obtained by Cruise Industry News.
Rodrigo Llaguna has been named the company’s new chief operating officer and will report to Antorcha. Prior to joining Princess earlier this month, he spent the last five years as group president for the Ultimate Vacation Club for Hyatt Hotels.
Antorcha said the changes support the brand’s corporate vision and strategic priorities by enhancing collaboration and operational efficiency.
“This is an exciting step forward for our organizational structure, helping us build a stronger company, positioning our teams for future growth and success, and completing the evolution of our Senior Leadership Team for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Princess has also taken the opportunity to separate its entertainment department from hotel operations and guest experience, promoting John Paul Lamb to vice president, entertainment.
Paul Lamb, along with Lorna Warren (vice president, hotel operations & guest experience), Sami Kohen (vice president, food & beverage), and Alfredo Jimenez (vice president, onboard revenue), will report to Llaguno in the new structure.
Other changes include promotions for Andreas Dymke, who is now senior director of culinary experience as well as Sarah Hancock, who has been promoted to director, beverage operations. In addition, Nick Shrives has been promoted to associate vice president, guest services and arrival experience.
More adjustments include personnel and reporting structure changes in the company’s ops platform and global connectivity teams, as well as cloud engineering and operations.