'Tom has added tremendous value to our corporation over the years. He is a great person who is highly respected by everyone,' said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer, Carnival Corp. & plc.
Dow's successor is Tandy Bondi from Alcalde & Fay, a prominent lobbying firm whose clients include the Cruise Lines International Association.
Dow has represented Carnival Corp. in Washington since 2003, after a decade in a similar role with Princess Cruises and Tours in Seattle. He's been active in environmental, medical, security and legal issues.
Dow explained his work 'means showing up. You have to go to communities, listen to concerns and explain what you're doing. This is a great business and it really does bring a lot of benefits to communities but you have to be very engaged.'
Amy Powers, director of CruiseMaineUSA, said she's relied on Dow for 'support and guidance as it relates to issues management and public relations for over 15 years. He’s been a fantastic mentor in this complex and dynamic industry. I will miss him greatly.'
Powers views Dow as 'amusing to listen to and learn from,' and a font of what she calls 'Tom-isms.' Some favorite sayings of his that she's adopted include 'If you're not at the table, you could end up on the menu.'
Environmental issues have been some of the most compelling of Dow's career. He's seen great progress and technological advances, even when challenges first seemed insurmountable. Instead of giving up, the cruise industry has investigated new approaches and implemented innovative changes. That's been the case with shore power, scrubbers and, now, LNG.
Many of the industry's environmental issues first played out in Alaska, where Dow worked for 20 years before joining Princess in 1994. The evolution of wastewater treatment, for example, has been 'a great success story,' he said, adding that regulators and most people in the communities are satisfied with cruise ships' advanced wastewater treatment technology and practices.
Air emissions are another high-profile issue that first emerged in Alaska where communities were concerned about visible smoke from ship stacks. Having run an electrical utility in Alaska, Dow was versed enough to advocate for shore power, which debuted for cruise ships in Juneau 15 years ago. Since then, shore power has proliferated to key ports on the West Coast of the US and Canada and on the East Coast in Halifax and at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
More recently Dow's been involved with exhaust gas cleaning systems. Years ago Carnival Corp. piloted a scrubber on a Holland America Line ship that, ultimately, wasn't viable. But the company continued to study the technology.
When the North American Emission Control Area mandated ships use low sulfur fuel at a very high cost, that gave extra incentive for Carnival to press on, and a better scrubber system was found.
The Environmental Protection Agency granted an exemption from the distillate requirement so Carnival could trial its new exhaust gas cleaning system, which has proven effective. Today the company has 60 ships with more than 160 installations, and more are planned.
LNG is the latest focus by Carnival to drastically reduce harmful air emissions, with LNG-powered newbuilds ordered for several brands.
Besides his efforts at the federal level, in Alaska and Maine, Dow has worked with stakeholders in cities like Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco and Key West.
When San Francisco wanted to grow its cruise business and citizens were concerned about negative impacts, a community advisory committee was formed and Dow participated in numerous town hall meetings to address environmental standards. An awards incentive was created for ships that use shore power and advanced wastewater treatment systems.
As Dow put it, 'San Francisco went from marches at the cruise terminal 20 years ago to where ships are getting environmental awards.'
'If not for Tom Dow and his work, I doubt that San Francisco would have had the civic support to build our new Pier 27 cruise terminal,' according to Peter Dailey, maritime director, Port of San Francisco. 'For months he attended our community meetings and worked with port staff, environmental advocates, regulators and members of the public and patiently answered questions, offered insights and won trust in San Francisco.
'He’s a mentor and a hero in my book,' Dailey added. 'On top of all that, he’s a real nice guy.'
Dow's cruise work was informed by his 20 years in Alaska, where he began his career as a tour guide in Prudhoe Bay in 1974. At NANA Development Corp., one of the Alaska Native regional companies involved in hotel and tour operations, Dow's management positions included vp of statewide operations and tourism.
The year he became president of the Alaska Visitors Association (now the Alaska Travel Industry Association), the Exxon Valdez oil spill thrust him into crisis management. A campaign to inform travelers that Alaska was still a great place to visit made him visible to cruise operators.
Dow moved to Seattle in 1994 as vp Princess Tours, overseeing the cruise line's hotel operations in Alaska. Soon he was recruited to work on political affairs with the Alaska state legislature and switched to a public affairs job. Active on the government relations committee of the International Council of Cruise Lines (which later merged with CLIA), Dow gained expertise in Washington.
When Carnival Corp. acquired Princess in 2003, he was appointed vp public affairs for the expanded company, based in DC.
'I've been proud to work for two great companies, Princess and Carnival. I've had the opportunity to work with great brands ... first-rate organizations with a lot of great people who are dedicated professionals,' Dow said.
'It's been a great privilege,' he added. Despite economic and geopolitical issues and health scares, the cruise industry is flexible—ships can move—and Innovative, both with customer-facing advances and technical breakthroughs that 'allowed us to operate in this complicated regulatory environment.'
Dow will now live full time in California, where he and his wife, Gina Marie Lindsey—who retired in 2015 after serving as executive director of Los Angeles World Airports—have a ranch north of San Francisco in Mendocino County. There they tend 100 olive trees (their olive oil is a cherished gift for a select few) and a vegetable garden.
Dow plans to travel and get involved in local community organizations. And his cruise work isn't over. As a consultant for Carnival, reporting to Roger Frizzell, he'll 'continue to be as helpful as I can.'
Next month Dow will speak in an environmental session at the American Association of Port Authorities' Cruise Seminar in San Diego.
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