Famed Carnival cruise director Matt Mitcham to take reader questions
One of the most popular cruise directors in the history of Carnival Cruise Line will be taking reader questions here at The Points Guy this week.
London-based Matt Mitcham, who announced on Aug. 26 in a Facebook post he was retiring from the line, is taking part in TPG's Ask the Expert series on Instagram.
We'll be posting an initial Instagram story with Mitcham later today on Monday, Sept. 7 on our Instagram account, and cruise fans who have a question about cruising for him will be able to leave it there. Questions can be submitted through the question sticker on the Instagram story or by sending us a direct message.
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Mitcham will be back on our Instagram account later in the week with answers to questions. Just be warned that, given the high volume of questions we expect, it's unlikely he'll be able to answer all of them.
Mitcham has been one of Carnival's star cruise directors for years, and he has a huge following among cruise fans. His Facebook account, where he posts regularly, has more than 100,000 followers -- a significant number for a cruise industry personality. He's big on Instagram, too.
Up until the day he announced his retirement, Mitcham had been scheduled to become the cruise director of Carnival's new flagship, Mardi Gras, when it debuts in February.
Currently under construction at a shipyard in Turku, Finland, Mardi Gras will be one of the biggest cruise ships in the world when it arrives -- so big, it'll famously have room for a roller coaster on its top deck, a cruise industry first.
Mitcham has served as cruise director on several Carnival ships including Carnival Vista and Carnival Breeze. Known for his six-pack abs, shirtless selfies and effervescent personality, he was recently profiled in People magazine as the "hunky cruise director."
He was named the cruise world's best cruise director in 2019 by the cruise industry's leading magazine, Porthole.
"I am a whirlwind of emotions, from ecstatic to excited to sad to happy to nervous," Mitcham said when announcing his retirement on Facebook. He didn't say what he would do next.
"We've done a lot of talking over the past few months, and it's definitely time for me to move on to my next adventure," Mitcham said.
The Facebook video of Mitcham announcing his retirement has been watched by more than 164,000 people. Nearly 3,000 fans have left comments.
Planning a cruise for the coming year? These stories will help:
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