Cruise Exec Spotlight: Lisa Lutoff-Perlo

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo takes the helm of Celebrity Cruises

By Susan J. Young

Celebrity Cruises turns 25 this year with exciting developments under way. A letter of intent has been signed for Project Edge, the newbuild project that will bring two 117,000-grt, 2,900-passenger ships to set sail in 2018 and 2020; new Celebrity “City Stay” packages have debuted under the Celebrity Vacation Packages umbrella; and Luminae, a new exclusive restaurant solely for suite guests, launched fleetwide in April.

Most notably, however, is that the line has a new captain at the helm — Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, who was named Celebrity’s president and CEO in December. Tackling Project Edge with enthusiasm, Lutoff-Perlo told Porthole that creating new spaces and coming up with design and product innovations is a passion. “It’s absolutely the most fun part of my job,” she says.

An Experienced Leader
A 30-year Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. veteran, Lutoff-Perlo has significant experience in creating newbuilds for both the Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity brands. During the past two years she served as Royal Caribbean International’s executive vice president of operations, responsible for both marine operations and hotel operations, which included the development and launch of Quantum of the Seas last fall.

During a previous Celebrity stint, she helped design the Solstice-class ships, which are praised for airy elegant spaces, upscale dining venues, and innovative suites and staterooms. “Solstice class was such a home run for Celebrity,” Lutoff-Perlo says, adding that the new, yet unnamed, Project Edge ships must help Celebrity replicate that success but in a fresh, relevant, and even more exciting way.

“She is extremely well-prepared for her leadership role at Celebrity,” says Adam Goldstein, president and chief operating officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Celebrity’s parent company. “Whoever told me in 1989 that I should go on sales calls with Lisa when she was the sales manager in Boston saw that potential….

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^{Photo: Celebrity Cruises}