LYNDSEY Gordon is the General Manager at PEPR Agency, and was formerly Head of Communications for P&O Australia.
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A quiet but powerful tide is reshaping the cruise industry, and it is being steered by women.
From the bridge to the boardroom, more female leaders are taking command of major cruise lines, signalling not just progress but a fundamental shift in how leadership itself is defined.
According to CLIA’s 2024 An Ocean of Opportunities report, 40% of senior leadership roles in the cruise industry are held by women.
While cruise was once traditionally considered a man’s world, the winds have now changed; today’s most successful cruise executives, many of which are women, are leading with “soft skills”, including transparency, connection and collaboration, which are now recognised as strategic assets.
I spent seven years working at Carnival Australia under the leadership of Ann Sherry and Sandy Olsen.
Here, I saw first-hand how management built on consideration, and courage could transform not only a business, but an entire industry.
Their approach inspired the career paths of myself and a generation of female professionals to see possibility, in place of where gender stereotypes once stood.
Sherry paved the way, and today’s leaders such as Celebrity Cruises’ Laura Hodges Bethge, Cunard Line’s Katie McAlister, and Explora Journeys’ Anna Nash are building on that legacy.
Their visibility has normalised women leading billion-dollar cruise brands and inspired a mentorship culture that continues to ripple through the ranks on both ship and shore.
While at Carnival, I enjoyed cruise’s golden era, and battled the pandemic, which forced an unprecedented reset.
With ships docked and operations paused, cruise lines had to rethink what, and who, would define their recovery.
Much of that recovery and rebranding was driven by the largely female corporate affairs and communications teams, who reassured crews and guests through complex challenges.
Today, as cruise lines continue to appeal to new types of customers, they are positioning themselves as lifestyle and experience brands, and that cultural realignment has opened space for different kinds of leaders to thrive.
The modern cruise guest values storytelling, community and authenticity, and the industry now values leaders who can embody those ideals.
Women who once thrived in marketing, customer experience, and hospitality are now crossing into executive and maritime command roles.
Many bring expertise from luxury and tourism, injecting fresh thinking, as reinvention is critical.
This approach makes sound business sense; Skift recently reported 82% of all travel decisions are made by women, so having females at all levels of an organisation makes it easier to relate to customers.
For young professionals entering the cruise world today, the view from the bridge looks different.
Leadership is no longer defined by legacy or stereotype, but by vision, skill, and resilience.
With more women at the helm, the next generation of cruising will be shaped by inclusion, and by leaders who understand that connection will steer the industry to navigate the world it sails in.
