Neil Palomba is back at MSC Cruises USA as EVP, Josef Jungwirth joins

Palomba will lead operations for MSC's US-based ships and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, reporting to Rubén Rodríguez, president, MSC Cruises USA. Earlier, he had a long association with MSC. Positions from 1996 to 2013 included chief operating officer for MSC Cruises USA from 2006 to 2010, then subsequently corporate roles in Geneva.

Recently Palomba had been building up a consultancy with a number of clients after leaving Carnival Cruise Line in late 2022. At Carnival, he was EVP and chief operations officer. Before that, he was with Costa Cruises in Genoa, becoming president in 2015.

Josef Jungwirth

In his new VP food and beverage operations role, Jungwirth will report to Palomba.

Jungwirth brings more than 25 years of food and beverage operations experience including 11 as the corporate executive chef at Sandals Resorts International and 14 years at Royal Caribbean International where he ultimately directed culinary operations. 

Testament to US growth

The added roles are a testatment to MSC Cruises' continued US growth and its focus on providing an exceptional on-board experience, a company spokesperson told Seatrade Cruise News. 

See the latest issue of Seatrade Cruise Review for a feature on MSC Cruises' North American expansion