Norwegian Cruise Line and its parent reveal leadership changes
The top executive of Norwegian Cruise Line’s parent company in Miami is retiring June 30, the company announced Monday.
Frank Del Rio, 66, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., will continue as a senior adviser to the company’s board of directors after his retirement until 2025. Del Rio has been at the helm since
2015 but has worked in the cruise industry for 30 years.
The parent company is among the five biggest global cruising companies and operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
On July 1, Harry J. Sommer, 55, will be promoted from head of Norwegian Cruise Line, a job that he has held since 2020, to CEO of the parent company and take Del Rio’s seat on the board. David J. Herrera, 51, chief marketing officer since 2021, will succeed Sommer as NCL’s chief executive on April 1.
NCL has 2,000 employees in Miami following layoffs of 9% of its shoreside workforce in December 2022.
“I am honored and excited to lead and work alongside what is unquestionably the best team in the industry to deliver on our business and financial goals,” Sommer said in a prepared statement.
A spokesperson for Norwegian’s parent company said: “This leadership transition is the result of the board and Frank’s thoughtful approach to succession planning and talent development.”
Del Rio, who founded Oceania Cruises in 2002 and later ran Prestige Cruise International before coming to Norwegian, led the cruise company through the coronavirus pandemic, the most difficult stretch in the company’s nearly 60 years of sailing.
While Norwegian cut wages and laid off hundreds of workers during the throes of the pandemic, Del Rio and Norwegian faced criticism for the high annual compensation that he was paid during the cruising industry’s turmoil. He was paid
$36.4 million in 2020 and $22.4 million in 2021.
Norwegian and the rest of the cruising industry restarted last summer and rebounded strongly with new public-health measures in place. The Cruise Lines International Association, a key industry trade group, has predicted the number of cruise passengers in 2023 will exceed 30 million, surpassing pre-pandemic passenger volume in 2019.