Apparently he has accepted a CEO role at ferry operator Grandi Navi Veloci based in Genoa, and he will be relocating to Italy.

Frankly I am a little disappointed as this continues the trend of senior level executive management changes at NCL. I was hoping that Martinoli would stick around a little longer as NCL really needs the stability. They have probably had more management changes over the past 15 years compared to any other cruise line.

One senior executive that has been with NCL for the long term is Andy Stuart. I have always admired him and perhaps he will be able to move into the President and COO role?

I don't know what it is about the culture at NCL, but they sure have trouble retaining talent.

I work in the aviation industry and our landscape is fraught with failures from those with little experience in aviation who thought they could make an impact the industry and ultimately never could (Vern Raeburn and Eclipse as a recent example). I wonder if this is the case with NCL senior management right now.

I understand the need for best practices, and a great deal of the experience brought to a cruise line from outside the industry, however; in a company's most key positions, I always wonder why there isn't a heavy emphasis on industry experience. As an example, Honda by any measure is a successful company. They build a quality product and probably sink more dollars into R&D than most companies in their industry(s). A little known fact about the corporate culture is that no CEO of the company has ever been appointed that wasn't an engineer for Honda. This is a proven leadership model which has worked for one company and might translate to others.

As we look at companies like RCI and Richard Fain, here is a guy who has been with the company since 1979. Whether you love RCI or hate them, you have to give them kudos for building towards the future and being on the cutting edge of new products and services to the industry. I suspect the senior leadership team of RCI 'gets it', and the constant changes at NCL keeps them floundering.

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Originally posted by JohnHJ:
EI don't think they can afford not to hit a home-run with Mr. Sheehan's replacement.

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Originally posted by eroller:
Seatrade Insider has reported that NCL President and COO Roberto Martinoli will be leaving his day to day role leading Norwegian Cruise Line, and take on a consultant role effective August 1.

Apparently he has accepted a CEO role at ferry operator Grandi Navi Veloci based in Genoa, and he will be relocating to Italy.

Frankly I am a little disappointed as this continues the trend of senior level executive management changes at NCL. I was hoping that Martinoli would stick around a little longer as NCL really needs the stability. They have probably had more management changes over the past 15 years compared to any other cruise line.

One senior executive that has been with NCL for the long term is Andy Stuart. I have always admired him and perhaps he will be able to move into the President and COO role?

I don't know what it is about the culture at NCL, but they sure have trouble retaining talent.

Ernie

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His wife just accepted a senior role with MSC, so that was a huge factor in the decision to leave as it will allow them both to live in Italy, together, for the first time in a long time.

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Originally posted by Tim in 'Lauderdale:

His wife just accepted a senior role with MSC, so that was a huge factor in the decision to leave as it will allow them both to live in Italy, together, for the first time in a long time.

Tim

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Thanks for the info Tim. Unfortunately it doesn't change the fact that NCL has been a victim of far too many senior level management changes over the years. Mr. Martinoli seemed like a great fit for NCL and he had a lot of cruise line experience. I'm happy for him but I think it's a definite loss for NCL.

NCL's newly promoted SVP Hotel Operations comes from a background at Dave & Busters. I found this rather amusing, it helps explain some of the onboard entertainment choices offered on EPIC.

Don't get me wrong, I think entertainment is going to be a key driver of EPIC's success and all of NCL. The type of entertainment being offered on EPIC is absolutely perfect for the demographic the ship is marketed to. Blue Man Group and Cirque Dreams are not shows I would personally go see on land, but I think the majority of those booking EPIC would go see these type of shows.

Anyway, as almost all cruise lines are offering some type of "freestyle" program, NCL needs something else to set it apart. The entertainment program might be just that.

Also, if anyone wants to sail on the EPIC inaugural Caribbean cruise this Saturday, there are still multiple categories available and even comp upgrades and onboard credits are being offered. I'm actually a little surprised at just how much space is available on EPIC on almost any sailing date.

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Originally posted by eroller:
I don't know what it is about the culture at NCL, but they sure have trouble retaining talent.

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NCL clearly try new ideas and take big risks, which is to be commended. However if those gambles go wrong, heads will inevitable roll.

Just look at the NCL America debacle. US staffing issues, three ships, down to one, and an unwanted rusty Ocean liner!

Look at the F3 debacle. Two newbuilds, down to one and a big penalty to pay.

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Originally posted by miamicruiser:
But the Epic and her cancelled sisters and again with the management changes just reeks of the old NCL of the late 80's and 90's all over again. Perhaps Epic will be a huge hit with the public and bring about some stability for this company that so many people (both in the industry and out) would love to see. Time will tell.

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Originally posted by LeBarryboat:

I think NCL is clearly on the road to building a very solid brand.

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The sad thing is, you would think a company that has been in business 44 years would have already built a solid brand.

I do agree that NCL has come a long way in the last few years. Even so, the "new" NCL still seems prone to some poor decisions and the consequences that come with them. The SSUS, INDEPENDENCE, NORWAY boiler explosion, NCL America, and even NORWEGIAN EPIC to a certain extent. I'm fairly certain that NCL would have canceled EPIC if they could have, and instead developed an entirely different ship. As it turns out, they were only successful in canceling the sister ship to EPIC. Even all the shipyard mishaps (ie: fires, sabotage, etc) seem to gravitate towards NCL. MSC Cruises builds ships at STX Europe in France all the time, and you never hear of anything bad happening to their ships at the yard. Something about NCL always seems to bring on a bit of bad karma, and whether that stems from just poor management or a variety of circumstances, I don't know?

Anyway, I do wish NCL well and I think they are on the right track, but they still have a ways to go. I also have to wonder what happens when the company eventually goes public? My guess is that is an exit strategy for Apollo and if Apollo leaves, with Sheehan go with them?

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Originally posted by eroller:
Also, if anyone wants to sail on the EPIC inaugural Caribbean cruise this Saturday, there are still multiple categories available and even comp upgrades and onboard credits are being offered. I'm actually a little surprised at just how much space is available on EPIC on almost any sailing date.

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Ouch.

Piling on the idle internet speculation here, I'll take a wild guess that NCL has problems retaining top-level talent because the pay is low enough that this talent is easily wooed elsewhere.

We all know that disinvestment is a common theme at NCL. Tangible examples include the poor condition of ships leaving their fleet, including SS Norway and NCL Dream. Less tangible examples revolve around the way NCL always has great concepts that never seem to be executed well. Bear with me on this:

I've been told crew morale aboard their ships is low because their contracts are lousy compared to other lines. One friend of mine was a stage lighting tech on Carnival and HAL. Once his last contract ended, my understanding is his options at that time came down to working for NCL-- for less money, worse shifts, sharing a cramped cabin when he used to get his own, generally not beaing treated as well-- or staying home and working local theater jobs. He works where I used to work, so I know how bad his wages must be. A Facebook friend of his is resigned to taking an NCL contract because he needs the work, but to him it's a crap job. Under these conditions, you can pretty much draw your own conclusions.

In this light, it only stands to reason that NCL passengers will only get a level of service you'd expect from a disgruntled crew riding out the remainder of their contracts. This pretty much guarantees the best laid plans of mice, men and Colin Veitch will often go awry.

So, back to upper management. I can only assume they're not paid as well as their peers either-- which would explain why so many new hires are green-- and they leave when their lofty ideas never seem to work out.

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Originally posted by miamicruiser:
Perhaps Epic will be a huge hit with the public and bring about some stability for this company...

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
It's very easy for NCL to now blame Colin Veitch for their past mistakes, but he was of course only one member of a management team.

I'd love to know what the ship-yard 'row' was about over the F3's and what changes were made to the design.

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Yes, it's very easy because he is truly responsible for many of the flaws. When Colin ran the company, it was his way or the...

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Originally posted by Tim in 'Lauderdale:
Yes, it's very easy because he is truly responsible for many of the flaws. When Colin ran the company, it was his way or the...

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Interesting!

NCL are certainly taking their billion dollar investment VERY seriously, but then so would I.

[ 07-18-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]