New NCL President & Chief Operating Officer

Drew Madsen left Darden about a year ago. Red Lobster was sold and left Darden a couple months ago.

 

Besides Olive Garden, which is Darden's largest brand, the company also owns and operates Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Season 52, The Yard House and Eddie V's.

 

Many of these brands are quite good, & a couple are high end.

I like Longhorns and The Capital Grille. As for Red Lobster, they are horrible in the NE, but actually quite good in Florida (for whatever reason). At least they were ... I haven't been in a good number of years.

NCL have appointed Drew Madsen as the new head to replace Kevin Sheehan who apparently announced that after acquiring Oceania and Regent Seven Seas,he would not be head of all 3 and each would have individual heads,so presumably he plans to head up one of the smaller lines.Interesting, as he was a major driver for change at NCL.

Restaurant veteran is tapped for Norwegian Cruise Line presidency

Sheehan is CEO. This guy will be a COO. Not the same job.

I like Longhorns and The Capital Grille. As for Red Lobster, they are horrible in the NE, but actually quite good in Florida (for whatever reason). At least they were ... I haven't been in a good number of years.

I have to agree. Maybe it's because of the type of seafood available in the NE. We spend summers there and it's not that easy to find really good seafood. Red Lobster was far superior on the west coast (where we lived for many years) too.

I'm glad to see that some understand the corporate structure. However, for those who don't:

Kevin Sheehan has been, is, and will continue to be the President and CEO of NCLH (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings) which is the company that owns Norwegian Cruise Line. Kevin will have the same job next month as he did last month.

Drew Madsen is going to take the vacant position of President and COO of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) which is the company that owns each ship's company (Every ship in the fleet is incorporated as its own stand-aone corporate entity).

Drew Madsen's appoinment is by no means a surprise. For the last couple of years NCL has been transitioning their shipboard senior management toward teams (HD-AHD-F&B) that rotate and cover for each other while on vacation. They have been placing en emphasis on people in these positions having a strong F&B background. So it is no surprise that they would want an F&B guy to head the operation.

I would speculate that ncl will not focus so much as trying to elevate their product to offer luxury but rather focus it on the entry and mid level product.

That wouldn't be a good speculation. Kevin Sheehan has publicly stated that he does not want NCL to be entry level...he wants NCL to be positioned in (and lead) the PREMIUM market.

Sheehan is CEO. This guy will be a COO. Not the same job.

And unfortunately, the article published today in Cruise Critic's news section incorrectly identifies Madsen as NCL's new president and CEO. This will only further confuse those who haven't read NCL's press release or reports in the trade and business press written by people who actually know that COO is not the same job title and function as CEO.

Cruise Critic has been reporting that The Jade was delayed docking in Bermuda on Sunday, which would be interesting because The Jade is in Europe. It was The Dawn that was delayed.

As I read the press release Kevin becomes President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (Norwegian, Regent and Oceania) while Mr. Madsen becomes President and Chief Operating Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line.

I like Longhorns and The Capital Grille. As for Red Lobster, they are horrible in the NE, but actually quite good in Florida (for whatever reason). At least they were ... I haven't been in a good number of years.

In my town there is an Olive Garden and Red Lobster right next to each other. There is usually an hour wait to get into either with people waiting inside and out. These two chains are doing pretty good for what some people call crappy food.

Heck, if the Olive Garden soups, salad and breadsticks were added to the buffet, I'd be happy.

And Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay biscuits would be welcome anywhere.

Well, if he brings over the cheese biscuits from Red Lobster, then its all good. [emoji12]

 

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Oh My God...I had these only once, over a decade ago...and still remember them.

Now reading this I can't stop thinking about them...

Living in Europe doesn't help me here :(

On to find a recipe online on how to make them...Need to try that the coming weekend :D

I'm glad to see that some understand the corporate structure. However, for those who don't:

 

 

 

 

 

That wouldn't be a good speculation. Kevin Sheehan has publicly stated that he does not want NCL to be entry level...he wants NCL to be positioned in (and lead) the PREMIUM market.

A noble quest, that is un-obtainable with the current business plan and current designs..of NCL ships.

One case against turning NCl into a Premimum line, is where and how will NCL attract and entice new cruisers into their product. RCCL, Carnival, all have an entry level niche to insure a stream of new customers. NCL cant compete if it does not. .

I am not bad mouthing NCL because their ships fill and important economic and demographic niche. They are an excellent mass market ships but that's their limit as I see it.

I give you Marriott hotels as an example.. They have $59 a nigh Fairfield inns progressing through Courtyard $150 a night to JW Marriott at $250 and finally Ritz Carlton at $400+ I don't see a rush to elevate Fairfield inns to JW Marriott quality.... Fairfield inns would have to charge 200+ a night and Marriott would loose its market niche.

I guess they had to go commercial, since they couldn't unload enough of this stuff in their restaurants to turn a decent profit. :D (Which is not to say that both aren't delicious.)

I checked and see the biscuits on Amazon. Sam's Club online sells a mix for under $6.00 for 30 biscuits as well as they are in Sam's and they sell a smaller version box in Walmart. Our DD always makes them - The only thing not included is the cheddar cheese so you are instructed to add in x amount of shredded cheddar into the biscuit mix.

Drew Madsen left Darden about a year ago. Red Lobster was sold and left Darden a couple months ago.

 

Besides Olive Garden, which is Darden's largest brand, the company also owns and operates Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Season 52, The Yard House and Eddie V's.

 

Many of these brands are quite good, & a couple are high end.

A noble quest, that is un-obtainable with the current business plan and current designs..of NCL ships.

 

One case against turning NCl into a Premimum line, is where and how will NCL attract and entice new cruisers into their product. RCCL, Carnival, all have an entry level niche to insure a stream of new customers. NCL cant compete if it does not. .

I am not bad mouthing NCL because their ships fill and important economic and demographic niche. They are an excellent mass market ships but that's their limit as I see it.

I give you Marriott hotels as an example.. They have $59 a nigh Fairfield inns progressing through Courtyard $150 a night to JW Marriott at $250 and finally Ritz Carlton at $400+ I don't see a rush to elevate Fairfield inns to JW Marriott quality.... Fairfield inns would have to charge 200+ a night and Marriott would loose its market niche.

Rubbish. There is no demonstrable connection between the two. Just because one company operates at different level, does not mean that another should as well. One has nothing to do with the other.

Avg room pricing for NCL has been on the rise and they are now #2 in the market. They continue the transition to larger, more efficient, and more profitable ships that demand higher pricing and with it, a more affluent client attractedto to the upper-end offerings.

New customers will come, some will stay, some will have to save and settle for cruising less often, others will go over to the real entry level cruise lines.