Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy received the Cruise Lines International Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024 for her contributions to cruise travel.

Duffy was honored at the 2024 CLIA Hall of Fame Cruise Industry Awards, where she was inducted into CLIA’s Hall of Fame and introduced by Josh Weinstein, president, chief executive officer and chief climate officer of Carnival Corporation, the company said in a statement.

“I’ve felt my whole life that travel is the industry for me and while I may have missed the height requirement when I applied to become a flight attendant early in my career, I’m delighted and grateful that my work in the cruise industry has taken me to heights I never imagined,” said Duffy. “I share this honor with my Carnival family and remind everyone in our industry that our work has a great impact and contributes to what are often the most memorable moments in people’s lives. Our industry generates tens of billions of dollars of economic activity and innovation every year, and we have great momentum that makes me very optimistic for our future.”

The cruise line’s first woman president, Duffy leads over 48,000 Carnival Cruise Line team members who deliver memorable cruises to more than 5.5 million guests annually. Duffy is at the helm of all operations across Carnival’s fleet of 27 ships sailing from 14 U.S. homeports and two homeports in Australia, where she also oversees the operations of three ships that sail for P&O Cruises Australia.

Duffy has been in this role since 2015 and has also supported the entire cruise industry. This includes being appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and serving as Chair of the U.S. Travel Association from 2020 to 2022. 

Prior to joining Carnival, she served as president and CEO of CLIA. Duffy also spent 10 years at Maritz Travel Company where she became the company’s first woman president and CEO.