Catching up with John Delaney

Given the global circumstances, he ended up diving into nonprofit board work, lecturing to university students about hospitality careers, contributing to a forthcoming a cruise industry textbook and consulting for clients ranging from start-ups to well-established cruise companies.

'It's been quite fun. With the cruise- and management-related layoffs, the consultant work has been good and it's helped companies without them having to make a big hiring commitment,' Delaney said. Clients have included a residential cruise model, a luxury operator and private equity firms.

Delaney's consulting has addressed such areas as pricing, itinerary planning, ship design to maximize revenue and how to grow international distribution. Some of the work has been on branding. Helping lines tell their unique stories is something he loves.

Lecturing, curricula development, writing

He's most enjoyed being involved in building cruise curricula for hospitality colleges. 'It's such a good profession. The cruise industry needs to start tapping into the universities for the next generation of leaders,' he said.

While European hospitality training leading to cruise management careers is well-established, that hasn't been so common in the US, according to Delaney, though lines are starting to look at US talent and particularly seek candidates with four-year degrees.

Delaney lectured at his alma mater, California State University - Long Beach, and at Northern Arizona State University's College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Joining other cruise industry experts in contributing to Northern Arizona State Professor Fred DeMicco's cruise industry textbook, due out soon, he penned chapters on revenue management and small-ship cruising.

Cruise Ship Management & Leadership by Fred DeMicco and Kendall Wootten is published by Kendall Hunt Publishing Co.

'It's been really meaningful, a great way to give back,' Delaney said.

He's also going to participate in the judging panel for the 2022 Seatrade Cruise Awards, to be presented at Seatrade Cruise Med in Málaga on Sept. 14.

Reach the World advocacy

Seatrade Cruise News caught up with Delaney at the recent Reach the World fundraising benefit in honor of the Endurance22 expedition, which caused a global sensation by discovering Ernest Shackleton's historic shipwreck Endurance in March.

Delaney's a board member for Reach the World, a nonprofit that connects classrooms to global role models, making the benefits of travel and international engagement accessible to kids who may not have the opportunity to roam very far outside their own communities.

While at Windstar, he facilitated a Reach the World program that virtually engaged students in a 56-day ‘Grand Caribbean’ voyage.

Windstar accomplishments

Delaney led Windstar as president from 2016 until the beginning of March 2020.

'I had accomplished what I wanted to do: putting together a great team and repositioning the brand,' he said. He'd focused on creating authentic land-based experiences, expanding shore excursions from 600 to more than 2,400, and adding more than 300 ports.

UNESCO partnership

Earlier, during his time at Seabourn, ultimately as SVP global marketing and sales, one initiative was a partnership with UNESCO to help protect world heritage sites, support sustainable tourism and bring world heritage experts aboard to share insights.

In 2014, Delaney participated in UNESCO's first meeting to lay the foundations for its sustainable tourism program.

Before his Seabourn role, he'd served as VP revenue marketing at sister brand Holland America Line and directed special projects at Carnival Corp.

What's next

Though the Seattle-based Delaney's consulting work is ongoing, 'With hospitality and cruise operations finally starting to rebound, I may pop up in an exciting permanent full-time position soon,' he said.