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'Earth is 71 per cent water – we’re confident that cruise travel will persevere'

The new president of Seabourn is confident about the future of cruise
The new president of Seabourn is confident about the future of cruise

Some people like a challenge. Josh Leibowitz, the man charged with steering Seattle-based Seabourn Cruise Line through the choppy waters of the coronavirus crisis, is clearly one of them.

The pandemic has devastated the cruise industry which is worth around £115 billion per year – £10bn in the UK and Ireland alone – and supports some 1.2 million jobs worldwide, according to the industry body Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

With travel bans being enforced across the world and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing a ‘no-sail’ order through October, ships have been left to float empty when they should have been full of people enjoying holidays at sea.

What a time then, to accept the position of president of a major cruise line. Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph, Leibowitz, who took the reigns at Seabourn in June, said: “The favourite note I received when I took on the job was from a former partner of mine at [consulting firm] McKinsey, whom I hadn’t spoke to in a while, and it said ‘congratulations’ – the congratulations was followed by question mark and an exclamation point.”

Leibowitz acknowledged that it’s an “unusual time to be leading any business [...] You take on a significant amount of debt to find operations, reduce costs and keep people motivated.”

Yet despite facing quite the in-tray, there’s no sense that Leibowitz secretly wishes someone else was at the helm of Seabourn in 2020. Rather he appears to relish the task at hand: “Right now we are in an unusual mode where we have the opportunity to have everything on pause – everything is on pause – and revisit everything. What’s working, what would we change?

Cruise lines are slowly resuming operations in Europe
Cruise lines are slowly resuming operations in Europe

“I will tell you that the one thing [past passengers] emphasises, is that our guest experience is the number one experience in travel. That’s a strength that’s unmatched, so we’re going to stick with that strength and deliver extraordinary experiences.”

We spoke late last week, just hours before the new boss of Seabourn donned his “safety goggles [and] hard hat for a virtual steel cutting for our second Venture ship.”

“Our Venture ships are polar class ships featuring two onboard submarines and, of course, every great ship starts with a piece of steel,” he explained.

“So today we have a virtual ceremony – normally we’d be there in person – to cut the first piece of steel. We’re still keeping that sense of occasion and tradition of doing that. I am very pleased that the shipyard continues to work. We have the industry back at work, providing for families, continuing to get those ships built.”

Josh Leibowitz became the president of Seabourn three months after the cruise industry paused all sailing
Josh Leibowitz became the president of Seabourn three months after the cruise industry paused all sailing

It’s evident that Leibowitz sees the reopening of the T Mariotti shipyard in Italy, where Seabourn’s second expedition ship is being built, as a huge boost for both the cruise industry and for the economy – and believes that Seabourn’s journey back from the coronavirus pandemic is nearly complete. “There are sailings in November and certainly December available to purchase on our website,” he shared.

The brand’s comprehensive new health and safety protocols should go some way to re-building passenger trust in an industry that, fairly or not, became synonymous with the pandemic – following pictures of passengers confined to their cabins onboard the coronavirus-struck Diamond Princess during the early days of Covid-19.

Leibowitz told Telegraph Travel: “We recruited an advisory group of leading scientists, epidemiologists and public health experts around the world. They are advising us and we are working very closely, as an industry, on a set of protocols to minimise risk.

“Tell me: what other venue around the world, as you walk in through its gate, gives you a test to find out whether you have this virus or not. That’s the venue I want to be on.”

Seabourn’s new president is confident that the demand to cruise is there. “I talk a lot to people in their 60s, 70s and 80s and they all tell me the same thing: ‘These are my peak travel years,’’’ revealed Leibowitz. “And if they have 20 years of peak travel from 60 to 80, then one year represents five per cent of that and they don’t want to give up another year.

Asked who he would most like to see back onboard a Seabourn ship, Leibowitz replied without hesitation: “Brits. We have a tremendous opportunity to invite more Brits onto our ships. Seabourn is under-penetrated in the British market.”

British nationals are currently advised against all ocean-going cruises by the Government – though river cruises are exempt. When questioned about the effective ban, Seabourn’s president was uncharacteristically tight-lipped and only said: “In order to restart operations, it will take a collaborative effort – business leaders, public health leaders for people to be on the same page around risk mitigation.”

It’s clear that Leibowitz, who prior to joining Seabourn served as senior vice president of Cunard North America and chief strategy officer of the Carnival Corporation (whose stable includes Holland America Line, P&O and Princess as well as Seabourn and Cunard), has a genuine affinity for cruise. “I have enjoyed taking cruise vacations since I was 10 years old,” he revealed.

“As a family, I think our first cruise was on a Princess ship way-back-when and we all just loved it. It’s a wonderful form of holiday.”

To anyone still wary of setting sail, Leibowitz had a message: “Look ahead to summer or fall next year. Put something in the books, have something to look forward to. Be confident. [Coronavirus] is our generation’s challenge and we will get through it.”