A new Fleet Cruise Director is set to make his mark on future cruise directors for Carnival Cruise Line, as popular cruise director Leon Smith has announced his amazing new promotion just as the new year begins.
Smith has been with Carnival Cruise Line for almost a decade, having joined the fleet of cruise directors in October 2015. Now, he is moving up the ranks to Fleet Cruise Director and will bring his energy and fun to upcoming cruise directors in the new leadership position.
“#2025 is off to a fantastic start! New year, New position—I’m beyond thrilled to step into my new role as Fleet Cruise Director. Excited for this new chapter in my career,” Smith announced on his popular social media channels.
His announcement on January 2, 2025, was greeted with much enthusiasm from Carnival cruise guests as well as Smith’s colleagues at the cruise line, as hundreds of congratulatory messages flooded his accounts.
In just three hours of posting about his promotion, Smith’s Facebook message had received more than 750 comments and 1,600 positive reactions. On Instagram, he received more than 1,300 “likes” to the news.
Smith’s promotion follows the retirement of two fellow Fleet Cruise Directors in the past few months. Chris “The Flying Scotsman” Williams retired from the position in August 2024, just months after receiving the promotion.
The cruise line’s first Fleet Cruise Director, Mike Pack, then announced his own retirement from the job in November 2024. Pack had held the title since January 2022.
Smith has become well-known among Carnival cruise guests for his vibrant energy and enduring positivity as he’s served aboard various vessels. He has been the cruise director for Carnival Paradise, Carnival Celebration, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Dream, Carnival Miracle, Carnival Glory, Carnival Vista and more – a total of more than a dozen ships in the fleet.
During his tenure as cruise director, Smith has received a variety of awards, including “Top Overall CD Service,” “Top Overall Fun Squad,” and “Cruise Director of the Year.”
He was slated to join Mardi Gras as cruise director in March 2025, though that assignment will likely now be reassigned to a different cruise director. At this time, no replacement has been confirmed, but Rainier Scholtz is serving aboard the ship during that time period and may simply take over the duties as a solo cruise director.
Current Fleet Cruise Directors
With two retirements in recent months and now Smith’s promotion to the Fleet Cruise Director position, Carnival Cruise Line has three active leaders in this pivotal role.
Chris “Donkey” Salazar joined the ranks of Fleet Cruise Directors in March 2023, the second person (following Mike Pack) in the role. Erin Weigand was also promoted to the leadership spot in February 2024.
The most recent promotion was Lee Mason, who was raised to Fleet Cruise Director in September 2024.
This makes Smith the fourth active Fleet Cruise Director. As the position is relatively new – just having been introduced in early 2022 – it is possible that Carnival Cruise Line is still determining how many Fleet Cruise Directors is optimum and what their overall duties and responsibilities need to be.
Read Also: Carnival Cruise Director Schedule
At the moment, Fleet Cruise Directors help oversee the full crew of cruise directors on Carnival’s ships, offering training, encouragement, program development, and other support for the critical position. Cruise directors are the “face of fun” aboard each ship, leading the way for awesome entertainment and activities on every cruise.
While Fleet Cruise Directors do not serve lengthy contracts aboard individual vessels, they may travel between ships to support, train, or evaluate the onboard cruise directors or to cover contract gaps when necessary.
