Days before officially stepping into predecessor Ben Bouldin’s shoes at Royal Caribbean International, Gerard Nolan found himself in an unfamiliar situation.

He was racing up the steps of the tallest waterslide in North America – Daredevil’s Peak – with two screaming travel agents at Royal’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, in the Bahamas.

“I’d heard a lot about Perfect Day from my time at Celebrity [Cruises],” he recalls. “I went on the slide with Mark [Henderson, dnata Travel Group] and Olivia [Cairns, Creative Travel Company]. All the way up, they shouted about how they hated heights. When we got to the top, we were off!”

That thrilling moment came during Utopia of the Seas’ launch sailing, a month after Celebrity’s former commercial associate vice-president Nolan was officially named Royal’s new EMEA vice-president, succeeding Bouldin who is now, of course, in charge of Royal Caribbean’s China operation.

So what attracted Nolan to arguably one of the biggest roles in the UK cruise sector? “There were many reasons,” he explains. “The Royal Caribbean brand is hugely attractive – it’s an absolute ball of energy. It’s fun, bold and energetic. It’s got so much.”

First 100 days

Nolan has spent exactly 105 days leading Royal’s EMEA team when he sits down with TTG. It’s been a busy few months. He’s experienced the launch of Royal’s Oasis-class ship, Utopia of the Seas, spent a day exploring Symphony of the Seas and helped coordinate the UK launch of new trade loyalty programme, Upper Deck.

But perhaps most importantly, he’s listened to lots of UK and Irish travel agents. “I’ve been mindful of getting out on the road and spending time with our Scottish and Irish teams,” he says. “It’s been about listening to feedback and understanding how we can work more closely with our partners.”

Nolan says he first learnt about the Royal “psyche” several weeks before taking over from Bouldin during the President’s Cruise onboard Oasis of the Seas in June.

“At 6am, we would join [Royal president] Michael Bayley for a spin class, which shows the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality at Royal,” he says. “Internally, the focus is all about finding the next innovative idea that can change the cruise sector and bring us more into the holiday sector.”

Nolan says Royal’s upcoming wave campaign is “bigger and better than ever” and has “a partnership angle in mind”. “We’re being very creative,” he says.

Future deployment plans

Last month, Royal announced Liberty of the Seas would operate ex-UK cruises in 2026, replacing its sister Freedom-class vessel, Independence of the Seas.

Nolan reveals that while Independence, affectionately known as “Indy”, is a UK cruising favourite, he is looking forward to Liberty’s deployment. “Liberty has an opportunity to put down a marker in the UK market,” he says.

“People have been on Independence and know its quality. Liberty is the same class of ship.”

Liberty and Indy essentially have the same features. However, Royal’s incoming ex-UK vessel has the modern Mexican restaurant Sabor, the Tidal Wave waterslide and a different entertainment programme.

“We always have a very strong following for our ship in Southampton. I don’t see that being any different with Liberty,” Nolan adds.

Does he have a view on the rest of Royal’s fleet? And its future deployment plans? “There’s a desire on my side to grow the EMEA region,” he stresses. “There’s so much opportunity here.”

Royal will have five ships in Europe in 2026, one fewer than in 2025, with a revamped Allure of the Seas – which will undergo a $100 million upgrade next April – poised to be repositioned outside Europe.

“We know we’ve had more ships in Europe before,” Nolan acknowledges. “Our 2026 European deployment is to do with the exchange rate and the way the world ebbs and flows.

“Post-Covid, we have tended to focus on the Caribbean, which represents 64% of the brand’s capacity. Back in 2019, that was in the mid-50s. We’ve invested a lot in the Caribbean so we want to see a return with UK and European customers going to the Caribbean.”

Royal launched the hugely popular Icon of the Seas in Miami earlier this year. Asked when an Icon-class ship will come to Europe, Nolan replies: “We want one in Europe. We will definitely have one in Europe in the next couple of years.”

Upper Deck success

In September, Nolan and his team launched a new trade loyalty programme. Royal has already whisked off 12 agents to the Caribbean onboard Indy as part of a launch competition.

Furthermore, any agent who makes more than £100,000 worth of Royal bookings will join the Upper Deck 100 Club. Nolan explains the club will function as a steering committee.

Incredibly, given Upper Deck only launched in early September and our chat happens in early November, four agents have already joined.

Clearly, Nolan wants to maintain close ties with the trade. Picture those smiley faces you see everywhere as you travel through an airport asking for your feedback. “I’d love an app that allows us to communicate with travel agents like that,” Nolan continues.

“Through the app, we can say – ‘we’ve just rolled something out, how was that for you?’ We need to listen to the trade. They give us great initiatives and they help us shape our business.”

Despite his wish to create this app, Nolan is yet to flesh out the idea with his team. “It’s got to be easy and it has to be on our terms – and theirs. It’s got to have that synergy – that’s what makes it powerful,” he says.

“I’m ready to engage with the trade on a daily basis.”