Carnival UK senior sales manager Paul Ludlow has been promoted to the newly created position of UK director for Princess Cruises.
He takes responsibility for the US brand in the UK from Peter Shanks who has overseen Princess Cruises alongside his role as president and managing director of Cunard Line.
Ludlow will oversee sales, marketing and customer service for Princess Cruises in the UK and become the boss of UK head of brand marketing Pieter van der Schee.
He takes up the new position in July and will be responsible for UK marketing, public relations and a new, dedicated Princess Cruises reservations unit. Ludlow, who has been with the company since 2002, will also work closely with umbrella sales brand Complete Cruise Solution’s sales and yield management teams.
He has held several sales and marketing positions, first with P&O/Princess Cruises, and later with Carnival UK.
Ludlow has managed office and field sales staff across the country and worked with a full range of agents, from independently-owned and start-up agencies to some of Carnival UK’s largest travel agency partners.
Carnival UKchief executive David Dingle, announcing the appointment on the first day of the UK Cruise Convention in Southampton, said: “Princess Cruises’ business in the UK has achieved a significant scale – with over 100,000 passengers per year – and now is an appropriate time to appoint a senior executive dedicated exclusively to providing the highest level of focus on the brand as business continues to grow.
“Meanwhile, I am very grateful to Peter Shanks who until now has overseen Princess Cruises in the UK alongside his main role as managing director and president of Cunard Line. Peter will now be able to dedicate all his time to the expanded Cunard brand.”