Fostering Culture from Day One
At Carnival Corporation, the belief that a strong first impression shapes the entire employee experience has been core to how the company thinks about bringing new team members on board.
Where It Started
That philosophy took its first organized shape in 2023 with the launch of New Hire Immersion, a structured, three-day onsite program held at the company’s Doral headquarters in Florida. Over two years, it welcomed more than 600 shoreside team members into the fold.
The program was built to help new hires develop meaningful connections, understand the company’s culture and see how their work contributes to the broader business. New hires came together for department meetings, cross-functional breakouts, a networking dinner with directors and above, and a ship visit at PortMiami. Hearing directly from leaders quickly emerged as a defining element of the experience, giving new hires confidence and connection early in their careers.
The results speak for themselves. Carnival Corporation boasts an employee retention rate of over 80%, compared to a 30% average across the hospitality industry. From the first New Hire Immersion experience several years ago to today, the company has seen overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Across all survey responses, the program maintains an overall satisfaction score of 8.96 out of 10, with leadership engagement rating highest at 9.55 out of 10.
A Tailored Approach
Now, that spirit lives on in a more personalized form. Rather than a single company-wide program, onboarding has evolved into a series of location-based and cruise-line-specific experiences. Each cruise line and office has its own unique traditions and attributes, and the company wanted onboarding programs to reflect that.
At the Doral and Fort Lauderdale offices, ice cream socials bring new and established team members together informally, grounded in the company’s “Better Together” value focused on teamwork and collaboration.
Ship visits, a “Guest Obsessed” initiative, remain a fun, educational way for Carnival Cruise Line new hires to learn about the customer-facing side of the business.
These programs don’t only apply to cruise line hiring; Carnival Corporation offers lunches with leadership, giving new hires their first taste of the “Listen & Learn” value through specialized sessions with higher-ups that highlight both successes and failures. Volunteering events, rooted in the “Respect & Protect” value, give team members an early, hands-on opportunity to give back.
In Seattle, Holland America Line, Seabourn and Holland America Princess (HAP) hold joint events to extend a sense of connection and integration across several sister cruise lines.
A Princess Touch
At Princess Cruises, the marketing team developed one of the most distinctive examples in the portfolio.
New hires receive a travel-themed “Passport” that acts as an interactive onboarding guide written in the language of the cruise industry: embarkation, home port, muster station. They’re paired with a buddy, introduced to department ambassadors and welcomed with branded gifts. New team members are even met with a personalized decorated desk to make them feel like they belong right away.
“My onboarding experience here at Princess Cruises has been amazing so far. Walking into a personalized decorated desk with a ‘Welcome Helen Lazo’ message on my first day immediately made me feel valued and excited to be part of the team,” said Helen Lazo, specialist of consumer marketing activation at Princess Cruises. “The lead Ambassador did a wonderful job introducing me to our Marketing Hub website, and everyone has been incredibly welcoming, supportive, and generous with their time. I’m especially excited for the opportunity to tour our ships as part of our onboarding program. It’s been such a positive start, and I’m grateful for the warm welcome from everyone. I am so happy to be part of the Princess team!”
Monthly “Brown Bag” learning sessions, peer-to-peer kudos cards and a culture calendar of team celebrations round out an experience designed to make employees, new or otherwise, feel like a valued part of the team.
The Throughline
For some, appreciation for this warm welcome grows into a calling to do the same for others. Joshua Erazo joined Carnival Cruise Line in January 2023, advanced within his first year into Guest Access, the team that supports guests with disabilities, and was later promoted to training specialist, a role in which he now leads new hire classes himself. Being able to go from a welcomed newcomer to a trusted guide is exactly what these programs were built to make possible.
Across cruise lines and locations, the common thread is the same: people do their best work when they feel genuinely welcomed into it. At Carnival Corporation, that work begins on day one.
