The mind-blowing CEO Goes Undercover at a Cruise Line - What exactly happened?

The mind-blowing CEO Goes Undercover at a Cruise Line - What exactly happened? === #cruisenow #cruiseship #cruisenews #cruise === The mind-blowing CEO Goes Undercover at a Cruise Line - What exactly happened? If you’ve sailed recently with Princess Cruises or Carnival Cruise Line, you might have unknowingly shared your shopping experience with a hidden retail executive. It sounds like a scene from a reality show, but for Chris Matthews, head of cruise retailer Harding+, it’s simply the most authentic way to understand how his stores really operate. Matthews adopted a “secret boss” approach—booking cruises as an ordinary guest to see first-hand how onboard shopping unfolds when no one knows the boss is watching. He didn’t wear a name tag, skip meetings, or request special treatment. Instead, he quietly observed everything: the warm greetings at the door, the way staff ran retail events, even the subtle details of customer interactions. He also struck up casual conversations with passengers to capture honest feedback. The mind-blowing CEO Goes Undercover at a Cruise Line - What exactly happened? What he discovered was revealing. New inventory-tracking technology has freed crew members from backroom tasks, allowing them to spend more time with guests. And across every ship, one theme stood out: passengers consistently highlighted the friendliness of the staff as a key part of their cruise experience. “You can’t steer a guest-led strategy from a spreadsheet,” Matthews explained. “Listening to guests and colleagues is critical.” This undercover experiment followed an 18-month company program that required office employees to spend a week working aboard shipboard retail spaces. The verdict? Matthews believes Harding+ is on the right track for its next stage of growth—and plans are already underway to send more executives on similar secret missions across the fleet. The mind-blowing CEO Goes Undercover at a Cruise Line - What exactly happened? Harding+ is no small player. The company operates over 300 stores on more than 80 ships across 12 cruise lines, including many within Carnival Corporation. In 2021, it took over all retail operations for Princess Cruises, one of the largest retail handovers in the industry. Today, Princess ships feature a mix of luxury jewelry counters, high-end watch boutiques, cosmetics and fragrance brands, as well as duty-free liquor, tobacco, and Princess-branded merchandise. Carnival Cruise Line has become Harding+’s largest partner, with the company now running duty-free shops and upscale fashion outlets on more than half of Carnival’s fleet as of 2023.