Carnival veteran Giora Israel hangs out his shingle and is writing a book

Israel plans to take on just three or four clients who can benefit from his analytical mind, strategic savvy, vision and expertise. He's particularly focused on the blue tech economy.

Decades-long 'joyride'

Israel called his 31 years with Carnival 'an exhilarating, amazing joyride ... I was pleased and humbled to be part of a journey, the creation of an amazing company.'

He was inspired to work with 'amazing leaders' like Micky Arison ('never seen anyone like him'), Howard Frank, Arnold Donald and Josh Weinstein, all the Carnival Cruise Line presidents (including 'the one and only Bob Dickinson, with his amazing marketing wisdom and brilliance') and Terry Thornton ('a visionary and expert. I learned so much from Terry').

And he leaves a strong team of Renata Ribeiro, Marie McKenzie, David Candib and Armando Corpas, all stalwarts and instrumental in reopening ports after COVID.

42 port projects

Israel was involved in 42 port projects, including the world's busiest cruise ports, on all continents but Antarctica. He's likely delivered more private cruise destinations than any other person.

Israel was a driving force behind iconic developments including Long Beach Cruise Terminal, Cozumel's Puerta Maya, Grand Turk Cruise Center, Mahogany Bay in Roatán, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, Helix Cruise Center in Barcelona and Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal.

When he spotted the need for a port in Honduras, the Carnival group had only 11 calls at Roatán. Legislation requiring environmental impact assessements existed but permits had never been issued; Carnival's were the first. Challenges during the building included a hurricane, earthquake and military coup.

'This is not for the faint of heart,' Israel said.

In his experience, it takes an average seven years to develop a greenfield port. So much is involved.

For the Carnival brand's first private destination, now under construction on the east side of Grand Bahama, the company secured 37 permits and licenses.

'We want to do it correctly,' Israel said. 'You build a strong foundation, then can be there for years.' He also insisted it be designed 15 feet above surge level to add resilience against hurricanes and climate change.

The Grand Port will be delivered by his Carnival Corp. successor, Ribeiro, and her team, and Israel said; 'I'm sure Renata will build an amazing port.'

Grand Turk and Amber Cove

Holland America Line first came up with the idea for a port in Grand Turk, only seven square miles, but the project was too big for one brand so Israel stepped up. He tried to interest Carnival Cruise Line but leaders initially felt 'there was nothing to do there.'

The first year saw just 18 calls. Then in 2008, when energy prices shot up, Grand Turk's proximity to Florida homeports became a huge plus. Today, it's Carnival Corp.'s third busiest transit port after Nassau and Cozumel.

In the Dominican Republic, Israel recognized the potential of the north coast for weeklong itineraries in the 1990s however Puerto Plata was not attractive then. He found a location nearby; it had no beach but ships would arrive from beach destinations and this offered something different: mountains and rivers.

Around 2010 Israel decided that port projects shouldn't just focus on a specific ship or deployment but take into account the largest cruise vessels in existence or planning. That process led to Amber Cove, whose pier was designed in 2012 and construction completed in 2014, being able to accommodate Carnival's Excel class with first ship Mardi Gras not arriving until a decade later.

After Amber Cove opened in 2015, the passenger count shot up 50% a year. When other cruise companies saw this success, ITM Group redeveloped Puerto Plata's port and now it's a huge draw, too.

'These two destinations may become as big as Cozumel,' Israel said.

The US West Coast's busiest cruise port remains the single-berth Long Beach Cruise Terminal, for which Israel negotiated the longest lease the city ever granted: 56 years.

Other port projects or long-term agreements included New York, Brooklyn, PortMiami Terminals D and E, San Juan's Terminal 8, Galveston, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Ensenada, Hamburg, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Japan's Sasebo, among many others. Israel also secured the land in Almere, Netherlands, to build the Arison Maritime Center, home to the Center for Simulator Maritime Training Academy (CSMART).

Early private destinations

Developing private destinations preceded his employment with Carnival when, running his own consulting firm, Israel advised Landquest, a subsidiary of Amway Corp. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on transforming land leased in southern Eleuthera in the Bahamas into Princess Cays for Princess Cruises. Even before that, he worked with Bruce Nierenberg to shape Great Guana Cay into Treasure Island for Premier Cruise Lines.

Though Israel focused on port and destination development for much of his time at Carnival, he had a role in many other initiatives.

Special projects

When Howard Frank was building out the Carnival brand into a corporation, he tapped Israel for special projects and they worked on deals with Club Med, Spanish ferry operator Trasmediterranea and the Greek shipping scion George Poulides. None transpired. Still, Carnival didn't give up on its European ambitions.

After Carnival and Epirotiki formed a partnership, Israel went to Greece to support Carnival-appointed Epirotiki President Pamela Conover. The Greek business didn’t continue but it led to Carnival’s joint venture with Airtours and, eventually, acquiring Europe’s crown jewel, Costa. Israel helped carry out the due diligence. He also worked with Hyundai on a short-lived Korean cruise venture.

Already in 1998, Carnival had looked at AIDA, a deal where Israel was involved. The company didn’t end up buying the German brand, but eventually got it as part of the P&O Princess acquisition.

Israel also created long-term contracts and relationships for on-board revenue generators like satellite communications, spas and retail, and brought art auctions to sea. He was involved in the formation of Grand Bahama Shipyard, which created a vital repair and refurbishment facilty close to cruising's epicenter.

Helping others think outside the box

Now, having set up Giora Israel LLC, a Florida company, he intends to work with a handful of clients such as governments or port authorities, to 'help them think outside the box.

'I'm an expert at looking at things in different directions and I have connections with many people in different aspects of the sea and cruising. I can help people meet and interact,' Israel said. 'A lot of people need help. Some don't understand the opportunity or the challenges.'

Giora Israel can be a connector of people and ideas

Israel's not looking to represent ports or destinations to cruise lines, which he considers important work, but others do that and it's not where his interest lies.

He'd prefer to sit with governments and port authorities to be 'part of their think-tank as we grow this fascinating industry.' He can explain what drives itinerary planning and how ports are considered from a more philosophical, high-level perspective and can develop a strategy for a government or a region.

Shore power considerations

An example of something where Israel can provide insight and guidance is shore power.

'Every Caribbean country wants to have shore power,' he noted, but many lack adequate electrical supply.

One large cruise ship may require up to 11MW for electrical needs in port. 'Many islands don't have this capacity for three or four ships,' Israel said, pointing to one major cruise destination that has just 60MW island-wide.

Even a metropolis like Miami-Dade County, whose mayor has vowed to bring shore power to cruise berths at PortMiami, initially expects to support only three of a potential 10 ships. And managing the power grid is complicated.

Israel also hopes to help cruise lines but he's not looking to be employed by one fulltime. At Carnival, he was proud of finding ways to work with other lines in noncompetitive areas such as developing the Marseille Provence Cruise Terminal with MSC Cruises and taking a stake in Grand Bahama Shipyard with Royal Caribbean Group.

The blue tech economy

Other areas Israel enjoys participating in are academic settings and conferences.

'Intellectual stimulation is why I live,' he said. Just this month he spoke at a blue tech conference in Haifa, giving a primer on the cruise industry, future fuels and promising technologies and discussing some areas in which he's deeply engaged, including queen conch aquaculture and mangrove restoration.

He sees queen conch as a promising source for protein that, unlike cows and chickens, doesn't generate methane and can boost economic livelihood for local Caribbean communities and play a role in regenerating sensitive marine areas.

His greatest interest is fostering blue technology around the world.

'The blue economy now needs the push of technology,' he said. 'What we can do there is exploding.'

Innovation and technology are needed to disrupt the status quo and create value-added, data-driven economic opportunities and solutions to pressing societal needs.

The book

Israel's book, whose working title is 'Back to the Future,' looks at what the industry may be like 50 years from now. As the basis for that, he reflects on modern cruising's approximately 50-year history, starting in Miami in the late 1960s. He begins by looking backward 'because if you don't, how do you know where you're going, what failed and what didn't?'

Israel observed how characteristically modest cruise industry forecasts have been, from Royal Caribbean's owners considering their 1970s ships the perfect size to how cruise terminal needs for many years were focused on specific ships or deployments and often even the rosiest growth projections were repeatedly surpassed so facilities frequently needed to be redesigned.

In other words, though cruising's been very successful, there's also been a 'lack of vision' as to the extent it can grow and develop. 'We need to think bolder,' he said.

Israel's writing the book 'to get more people involved in this business, more innovation.'

And he's willing to go out on a limb to imagine what cruising will look like, adding: 'I may be wrong 90% of the time because, in 2000, who could have imagined the iPhone?'

Warp speed

Things are speeding up and who knows what's in store for future fuels and technology to foster decarbonization? It took thousands of years from the first sail-powered boat to the first coal-powered steamship in 1819 then just 90 years to oil-fueled diesel vessels.

In 2018, Carnival Corp. took delivery of cruising's first LNG-propelled ship and ordered 11 of these before it had worked out how and where to bunker the LNG. The last delivery, Star Princess, is scheduled in 2025.

Even as the ships are still being introduced, 'the beginning of the end of LNG is just ahead of us,' Israel said. The quest is on for bioLNG or renewable synthetic LNG and other future fuels. Already batteries, hydrogen-powered fuel cells and methanol are being used or piloted.

'We're suddenly moving very fast so I'm fascinated by the opportunity,' Israel said.

Yet he's 'not for growth by revolution. I'm for growth by evolution.'

Cruising has come a long way in 50 years however its people-pleasing qualities remain the same, tied in to marketing's premise of 'identifying the needs and wants of your customer and satisfying them' and 'making some money along the way.'

'Can I understand the needs and wants of the customer 25 years from now? I can't. That's an ever-changing process,' Israel said. For that reason, his book will 'almost be a work of science fiction.'

He hopes to have it finished by year's end or early 2024.