Tony Roberts was named as a replacement for Paul Ludlow this week, in the newly titled position of vice-president for UK and Europe. The 40-year-old has worked for Carnival UK for the past 15 years, most recently as director of technology partnering. In his first trade interview, Roberts admitted he was “hugely excited about the new position”, but that he had a lot to learn.

“I applied a few weeks ago,” he said. “I’ve been in the business for a number of years and had good relations with the UK and US. As with any new role, there’s a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to learning [about the new role]. I’ve spent the last two years working with the technology team, so it’s not all completely new to me though,” he added. Roberts said he would be spending the immediate future “listening and observing”, with conversations also planned with the cruise line’s head of European operations, “to understand the potential for growth within the continent”.

But he added: “We’re absolutely committed to the UK market – we’re in a great position at the moment. “Over the coming months, I will be spending time with trade partners, looking at how we can support them in the future. I’ll make sure we’re well connected to parties with the trade. “There’s always been a case for agents and there’s no reason for that to change,” he added.