Cruise industry mourns operations stalwart and mentor Larry Rapp

Rapp, 75, died at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina.

Seabourn pride

'He was proudest of Seabourn, his baby,' said Julie Rapp, Larry's wife. A member of Seabourn's start-up team, he went on to spend 24 years as VP fleet operations, building the brand into a luxury pinnacle.

'He enjoyed so many successes with Seabourn,' Julie said. 'It was such an innovative product that brought so much to the industry.'

Queen Mary 2

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 was 'another baby of his,' she added. When Carnival Corp. acquired San Francisco-based Seabourn and moved it to Miami where, for a time, it was grouped with Cunard, Rapp was part of the ocean liner's newbuild team and led Cunard hotel operations for six years.

He also led hotel and maritime operations for Pearl Cruises, a pioneering year-round line in Asia and China during the early 1980s.

SeaDream Innovation and Azamara Quest

For the past dozen years Rapp ran his own consultancy, Seawise, focused on newbuilding, refits, project management and operations. Major projects included helping design a next-generation vessel, SeaDream Innovation, for SeaDream Yacht Club that was ordered at Damen Yards in 2019 (but subsequently canceled) and overseeing the $50m conversion of Adonia into Azamara Pursuit at Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast.

'What set Larry apart from everyone else I have ever known in the industry was his even-tempered demeanor, his natural curiosity about all areas of the business, his willingness to listen to all points of view and his unbridled enthusiasm to venture into untried areas in order to achieve product differentiation and marketing success,' said David Gevanthor, a colleague at Royal Viking Line, Pearl Cruises and Cunard.

Deeply cared about people

'He deeply, deeply cared about people,' said Christopher Prelog, president of Windstar Cruises, who Rapp brought from the Seabourn ships to a shoreside position, manager of hotel operations, in 2003.

'I was really young and green behind the ears but he saw something in me. He shaped my career. He was instrumental in so many ways,' Prelog said. A key thing he learned from Rapp was that 'you better yourself by having strong teams ... It sticks with me. I apply it every day.'

Christopher Prelog, right, with his mentor, who taught him the importance of building strong teams

Prelog said Rapp was also 'incredibly good with numbers ... He would always find the one mistake we made.

'He knew his stuff. He was very, very knowledgeable. He understood the business. He was in it a long time.'

For all his commitment to work, Rapp was also fun, Prelog said, with a dry sense of humor.

Creating enriching experiences

Peter Cox, who worked with Rapp at Pearl Cruises, Seabourn and Cunard, said: 'We pretty much shared the same world view, and believed that a small-ship cruising experience should be enriching for the guests in every noble meaning of the word, with an optimal balance between the onboard and shoreside experience and with respect for officers, staff and crew.'

Rapp was born and raised in San Francisco, and earned a degree in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. In college, he spent summers working as a junior purser for Matson Line, which offered him a job after his graduation.

As a purser aboard Monterey in 1971, he met Julie, an Australian passenger. After she disembarked in Sydney, he rang her from every port and when Monterey returned to Sydney, he proposed. They were married in San Francisco.

Hired twice by Warren Titus

A former Matson colleague at Royal Viking Line recommended Rapp to its founder, Warren Titus. He became operations manager for what was the top luxury line at the time.

Larry Rapp, far right, at the retirement dinner for Warren Titus, center, who founded Royal Viking Line and Seabourn. From left, Christian Sauleau and Arne Baekkelund. Between Titus and Rapp is Dietmar Wertanzl

San Francisco shipping magnate and society figure John Traina (the husband of novelist Danielle Steel) hired Rapp as SVP operations for the launch of Pearl Cruises in 1981. Rapp was involved in the conversion of Finnstar, a ferry, into Pearl of Scandinavia in Åalborg, Denmark.

'As Pearl was a one ship start-up with a converted ferryboat, operating year-round in the Far East with China as the "main course" when hardly any ship had been there since Mao's death, Larry and I spent much time together to figure out how to create the best possible guest experience both on land at at sea,' Cox recounted.

When Warren Titus was planning his new Seabourn brand, he recruited Rapp to help develop newbuilds Seabourn Pride, Spirit and Legend and the product for what became a top luxury name. After Seabourn and Cunard were put together in Miami, Rapp worked on the development of Queen Mary 2 at Chantiers de l'Atlantique and the major refurbishments of QE2, Seabourn Sun and Caronia, all at Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven. He also participated in planning Seabourn's three Odyssey-class ships at T. Mariotti.

Visionary and rock

'Larry was a philosopher and an excellent pedagogue, who got the most out of his coworkers in a pleasant and positive way,' Cox said. He considers Rapp a 'visionary and a rock in often troubled waters our companies sailed through. Knowing Larry has enriched my life and I am forever grateful for the 23 years we worked together.'

When Seabourn was moved to Seattle under Holland America Line in 2011, Rapp left and started his consultancy.

Relocating to Vero Beach, Florida, he formed Seawise Consulting Group, working on the SeaDream and Azamara projects, among others. He continued the consultancy in more recent years from his new home in Asheville, North Carolina. Rapp was active in Seatrade conventions over many years and spoke on the Cruise Ship Interiors keynote panel in 2022.

Stayed engaged

'He stayed engaged,' Prelog said. 'He was always trying to contribute to the industry. Even the last few years when it was tough, he stayed engaged. He didn't leave it. Cruising was part of his DNA.'

Besides wife Julie, Rapp is survived by their daughter Heather of Asheville. A celebration of life is planned.

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