Arnold Donald is ready to pass on the baton of leadership after leading cruise behemoth Carnival Corp as its chief executive for nearly a decade.

The New York-listed owner of 91 ships announced on Tuesday, just minutes before Seatrade Cruise Global 2022’s keynote panel in Miami Beach, that he will be stepping down.

Donald, 67, will hand over the role to chief operations officer Josh Weinstein on 1 August, but he will still be among the company’s top brass as vice chairman of its board of directors.