He is tackling the task with a clear ambition to get even more people to choose to holiday aboard one of the group's total of 50 ships sailing on all seven continents.
Globally, cruising is the fastest-growing holiday form, but it's an undervalued holiday option for far too many in the Nordics. We have significant potential, while at the same time the industry as a whole perhaps hasn't entirely succeeded in conveying why cruising in particular is such an attractive holiday form. That, along with positioning cruising as a holiday alternative to package holidays for even more people, is probably what I'm really looking forward to contributing to, says Kronbæck.
The new Nordic head takes up his post at a time of high activity within the group. «Celebrity Edge» is launching this November, «Spectrum of the Seas» in April, and a further 10 ships have been ordered. This autumn, a new cruise terminal worth two billion kronor will be completed in Miami, and as the first cruise line, RCL Cruises Ltd is opening a purpose-built destination, CocoCay in the Bahamas, in May 2019. The shipping company is also celebrating an anniversary in 2019. It will then have been 50 years since the company, founded by the Norwegian shipping companies Anders Wilhelmsen & Co., I. M. Skaugen and Gotaas-Larsen, started its operations.
– We are taking the best from history as we lay a foundation that, through close dialogue with our partners, will secure future growth in Norway and the Nordic region. Going forward, we will not only meet, but aim to exceed the expectations and demands that customers and the wider world have of us. This includes everything from passengers' holiday experience to sustainable environmental management, says Kronbæck.
”I am very grateful that Geir accepted the position of General Manager Nordics at RCL Cruises Ltd. He has extensive experience from a number of strong brand players such as Nespresso, Findus, Carlsberg and, last but not least, Hurtigruten. Based at our Nordic regional office in Oslo, we look forward to him leading the work to further develop our three brands Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises in the Nordics, says Stuart Leven, Vice President EMEA and Managing Director at RCL Cruises Ltd.
