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Fostering crew welfare and an inclusive culture in cruise shipping

With eight global cruise lines, over 90 ships and a workforce of more than 160,000 people from practically every nation in the world, Carnival Corporation fosters a culture of inclusion and belonging that puts employee welfare and opportunities first. Carnival Corporation’s HR Chief Bettina A. Deynes offers a unique perspective on crew culture and wellbeing.
Carnival Corporation & plc and DNV have been collaborating closely for many years. Eleven ships across Carnival Corporation’s global cruise lines are DNV-classified, and beyond class services, the collaboration encompasses a wide range of improvement, innovation and digitalization initiatives in practically every discipline, from technical support to decarbonization, and from digitalization through to safety and human resources.
Providing support for crew training
“We certified the CSMART Academy, Carnival Corporation’s training centre in Almere, The Netherlands, to DNV standards, including assurance of various training programmes,” explains Antonio Prestigiacomo, Director of DNV’s Miami Cruise Center. “We’ve also trained hundreds of ship superintendents, technical managers and shipboard senior officers directly over the past few years.”
Bettina A. Deynes, Global Chief Human Resources Officer (GCHRO) of Carnival Corporation, says DNV has been a valued partner to Carnival Corporation. “I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many individuals at DNV, and I found the DNV team to be incredibly knowledgeable and experts in their field. DNV works directly with our technical and nautical operations teams who have always spoken very highly of them.”
Safety in particular must be deeply engrained in the culture on board. DNV helped Carnival Corporation establish its HESS Excellence programme (Health, Environment, Safety and Sustainability).
There is a certain cultural affinity between the two companies: as global enterprises, they both place great emphasis on employee engagement, advancement opportunities and inclusiveness as key success factors. In a world competing for skilled labour, knowing how to attract and train talented people is essential.
A personal success story
HR Chief Bettina Deynes’s personal development exemplifies this inclusive philosophy: having immigrated from Uruguay to the United States as a teenager, she first worked at a cleaning company, then climbed the career ladder while pursuing a degree in business management, to eventually arrive in her present position where she oversees more than 160,000 people. This success story has shaped her philosophy, she says: “From very early on in my career, I focused on the difference between being ordinary and extraordinary. That ‘extra’ was going to open opportunities for someone like me who started at the very bottom. It’s as simple as showing up, being there before everybody else, going the extra mile, being inquisitive, asking for challenges and opportunities, and being able to deliver. I believe that empowering people will help them grab the opportunities and make the most of them.”

Another key to her success: being herself and truly authentic. “Pretending to be someone that I’m not isn’t going to work in the long term. Being vulnerable and not knowing everything is okay. I strongly believe that everybody can learn, that it’s never too late, and that it’s important to have emotional intelligence and be willing to go the extra mile. It’ll pay off in the end,” she points out.
Safety, wellness and engagement as key principles
Ensuring health, safety and security, wellness and engagement for all staff members is at the forefront of the HR function, says Deynes, and safety in particular must be deeply engrained in the culture on board. DNV helped Carnival Corporation establish its HESS Excellence programme (Health, Environment, Safety and Sustainability) which was instrumental in expediting the company’s operational restart after the pandemic.
Finding the right way to interact with people has been essential for the successful implementation of this and other initiatives, which depend on people not only understanding the idea but fully embracing it and embodying it day after day. At Carnival Corporation, this is accomplished by creating ONE culture that transcends nationalities and all other ways people tend to categorize each other, says Deynes. “It’s a culture of inclusion and belonging, understanding that you can come in at any level and that we’ll provide you with opportunities to thrive and progress, and that this isn’t just a job but a potential career. We see multiple generations coming through; I was recently on a ship were somebody was retiring after 40 years with the organization and has sons and nieces who are now working for us, and there may be another generation coming across.”
This is attributable to a strong focus on employee wellness, Deynes continues. “We recently created minimum wellness standards for our crew. We identified best practices being offered on some of our ships and incorporated those in our common standards. Now every cruise line offers the same opportunities – how the crew live on board, their access points, the benefits, etc.”
Technology enhances communication
On the technology front, Carnival Corporation adopted a digital employee hub to share key information with crew members, including training and career opportunities and requirements. “We want our crew members to have opportunities across all positions, regardless of gender or origin. We make sure people understand how they can grow in their role, progress into leadership roles – including nautical or technical operations – or change departments. We have 152 nationalities on our ships and are aiming for a future where we’ll see female captains and chief engineers, and people from all kinds of nationalities and backgrounds being able to progress to the highest roles within the company,” says Deynes.
Ensuring a positive guest experience
Easy-to-remember principles referred to in key moments help embed a culture of trust and belonging in everyday routines. “We launched a campaign that has become a way of life, based on our culture essentials: Speak up – Listen – Respect and Protect – Empower – Improve – Communicate,” Deynes explains. “We hold everyone accountable to these concepts and measure compliance by doing a culture survey every year.”
It is particularly important to keep leaders accountable, the HR Chief points out. “What you do is no more important than how you do it – this idea has been championed from our senior management all the way down.” Understanding the business case behind it helps people embrace the concept, Deynes stresses: “By creating a culture where people feel they belong and know that they’re going to succeed, they’ll drive our success – after all, it’s our people who deliver the guest experience.” An approach that is clearly working, she says: “Our attrition rate is the lowest it’s ever been.”
The easiest part of her job is to be kind, says Deynes. “Treating people with dignity and respect, and maybe even care and love, is the highest form of intelligence, and I think that’s what’s needed today.”

DNV