Earlier this month Baillie joined Cunard to lead its UK and EMEA sales team, with Mahoney joining P&O Cruises as its director of strategic planning around the same time. For more than three years, Mahoney had held the role of UK sales director at Cunard. 

Explaining the moves, McAlister told TTG: “We’ve had a really serendipitous moment here. The whole thing is a really good talent move within Carnival Corporation. 

“Iain and Tom are two really talented individuals so it is really good that we could orchestrate this opportunity. Iain’s a great guy who is really well known and super experienced. 

“He’s a great addition to the team. All the pieces just fell into place. Sometimes they do and that’s what happened.”

McAlister added: “With Tom, there are so many opportunities at Carnival Corp. When people are really talented, we really give them the opportunity to move around the different brands and different business areas."

While there are no immediate plans to bring Mahoney back, McAlister said: "Never say never if we have a great job that suits Tom’s skill set.”