Crystal Cruises has a new president, after it was announced that Gregg Michel has resigned after 25 years of service for the cruise line. The former vice president of marketing and sales for Azamara Club Cruises, Edie Bornstein, will take over as president and chief operating officer as of 15th October.
It’ll be interesting to see what Bornstein does with the Crystal brand. Azamara Club Cruises are more of a premium line, somewhere between your more ultra-luxury options and non-luxury cruise lines. However she does have experience of the higher class ships before, having worked for Seabourn Cruises. Former roles at both Carnival Cruise Lines and Cunard Line also display a deep expertise for the industry as a whole.
Nobuyoshi Kuzuya, the chairman and chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, said “Edie Bornstein is joining Crystal at a very positive time when we are growing our revenue, increasing the global agencies with whom we are working, and introducing so many new guests to Crystal Cruises. As we look to the future, we are very pleased that Edie is bringing her vast branding experience, technology expertise and passion to Crystal Cruises.”
Any major change in a cruise line usually doesn’t show for at least a few months, as people find their feet in a new role, so don’t expect massive announcements about the future direction of the Crystal Cruises brand imminently, but it’ll be interesting to see whether there’ll be major overhauls, slight adjustments, possibly even new ships or whether the cruise line will look to consolidate an already-successful market strategy.
Bornstein herself spoke on her appointment, saying “Like so many in this industry, I’ve admired Crystal from afar. I always thought the line was ahead of the luxury curve with so many innovative programs and product features. I’m so proud to begin a new story with Crystal Cruises and join this team at sea and on land, who should feel so proud of this incredible brand. I look forward to building on this stellar reputation, growing our travel agent partnerships, and leading Crystal into the future.”
By Ian Lewis
Google