Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president Frank Del Rio retiring

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. president and CEO Frank Del Rio will retire this summer after a three-decade career in the cruise industry, the company announced Monday.

Del Rio, 68, will step down from the position and from the company's board of directors on June 30, according to a news release. Harry Sommer, president and CEO of the company's namesake brand, Norwegian Cruise Line, will take his place.

NCLH operates NCL, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises. Del Rio founded Oceania in 2002. He has led NCLH since 2015.

"Leading Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career," Del Rio said in the release. "My heartfelt gratitude goes out to our 39,000 team members around the globe whose innovation, tenacity and collaboration have strengthened this company and built the industry's most passionate and loyal base of cruisers. With the company solidly positioned for 2023 and beyond, I am confident that now is the right time to pass the baton to Harry."

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Del Rio will continue to serve as a senior advisor to the board through 2025, NCLH said.

"On behalf of the Board and the entire organization, I thank Frank for his invaluable contributions to this Company and the cruise industry throughout the last 30 years,” Russell W. Galbut, chairman of the company's board of directors, said in the release.

David Herrera, NCL's chief consumer sales and marketing officer, will succeed Sommer starting April 1 when Sommer takes on a transitional role reporting to Del Rio.

During his tenure, Del Rio guided the company through the COVID-19 pandemic and the cruise industry's subsequent recovery.

NCLH recently reported a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. Patrick Scholes, a lodging and leisure analyst with Truist Securities, told USA TODAY in February – prior to the earnings update – that the company has "definitely been under the most Wall Street pressure to cut back on costs" of the three major publicly traded cruise companies, which also include Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Group.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president Frank Del Rio will retire