TPG honors Larry Pimentel, who 'raised the bar' for cruising over a long career
Once in a while, a leader comes along who is brilliant, creative and compassionate.
Larry Pimentel is such a person.
He has been a driving force in luxury travel for more than three decades, building four successful cruise brands and creating marketing programs that have become industry standards. An educator and mentor at heart, he is the go-to guy when a travel company wants to appeal to affluent travelers. This is why Pimentel is being recognized as the recipient of The Points Guy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, part of Cruise Week at the 2020 TPG Awards.
When you get on a small ship for a “yachting experience,” that’s thanks to a concept Pimentel promoted when he helmed small-ship luxury line SeaDream Yacht Club. When you hear about cruises offering “Destination Immersion” and promoting longer stays in port, that’s Pimentel too — and how he sold guests on Azamara, Royal Caribbean Group’s upscale brand.
He was similarly influential as top executive at Carnival Corporation’s ultra-luxury brand Seabourn and the venerable Cunard Line.
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“Larry is one of the true icons of the industry,” says Edie Rodriguez, who was head of sales at Azamara, and later served as president and CEO of luxury brand Crystal Cruises. “He is a charismatic leader and a visionary.”
Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Group’s chairman and CEO, calls Pimentel an “original thinker” who helped “raise the bar” for the whole cruise industry.
“I have known Larry as a competitor and as a colleague, and I can attest that it’s much better to have him as a colleague,” Fain says.
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Hoping to preserve jobs for his Azamara team, Pimentel resigned his position as president and CEO of the boutique cruise line last spring – just as Royal announced a reduction of 26% of its shoreside staff.
Shy at first about doing departure interviews, Pimentel emailed a few parting thoughts.
“[Every] crisis has a beginning and an end,” he wrote. “Focusing on how the cruise business pivots is essential.”
Of Portuguese descent and with deep roots in Hawaii, Pimentel headed to California for college, then launched a career as an educator, rising quickly to run the social studies department at one of the country’s largest private schools. Hoping to give the kids a wider world view, he started organizing student trips. Then, still in his 20s, he formed a successful venture in airplane charters.
Pimentel returned to Hawaii to work in travel, and was tapped to run startup Classic Hawaii, which he turned into a highly-regarded luxury tour company.
“He did it by doing what he would continue to do throughout his career, innovating and breaking down barriers,” says Matthew Upchurch, chairman and CEO of Virtuoso, the exclusive high-end travel advisor network.
“Larry’s hands-on and highly-personal approach meant that he used to personally inspect every ‘ocean-view room’ at partner hotels to make sure they accurately met that description, which led to the recharacterization of more than one room,” Upchurch says.
Related: 6 reasons you’ll want to book a balcony cabin on your next cruise
Recruited by Carnival in 1992, Pimentel served as president and CEO of Seabourn and later Cunard too. He left after a decade to helm SeaDream, a company he also co-owned, before joining Azamara in 2009.
At Azamara, he was tasked with reinventing a product that was based on two (and later three) 690-passenger R-class ships that had been built for defunct Renaissance Cruises. He came up with a destination-focused approach to cruising, believing that by staying late and even overnight in ports, guests would have the opportunity to delve deeper into local culture and have more meaningful people-to-people experiences.
The idea expanded to leaving the ship for overnight stays on land. Enthusiastic about the programs, Pimentel personally led some outings. On a port call in Oman during a Middle East Cruise, he and guests slept in a Bedouin community in the desert – albeit in Louis Vuitton tents.
Pimentel is recognized by many as a generous mentor. “Larry has probably hired, groomed and promoted more women to executive positions within our industry,” says Bruce Setloff, who worked with Pimentel at all four cruise lines and was also his partner in a separate, highly-successful private company focused on full-ship charters.
Setloff says another thing to know about Pimentel is that he is a great family man and devoted friend.
Pimentel is also someone who openly shared his own personal tragedy. In 2000, his first wife died from a rare lung disease, leaving him with two kids to raise. He shared his experience of returning to work with other CEOs in a column in The Wall Street Journal, saying he was glad he went back early and that finding empathy from coworkers was “positive energy.”
He became passionately involved with the Children’s Bereavement Center, an organization focused on life after loss of a loved one. Today he lives with his wife, Sandi, in Key Biscayne. They have five adult children.
Pimentel is a founding member of The Luxury Marketing Council in New York. Often tapped to speak and lecture on luxury travel topics, Pimentel’s numerous honors include Commander of the Order of Merit, the Republic of Portugal.
For his career-long contributions to the cruise industry, TPG is honored to present Larry Pimental with this year's Lifetime Achievement Award.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.