Mario Parodi headed to Crystal as VP itinerary planning/port operations

He'll start in September, succeeding Spyros Almpertis.

Expedition experience from Atlas

For the past year Parodi worked in itinerary planning at Atlas Ocean Voyages, which Crystal said will come in handy as the line looks to establish its own expedition fleet.

Long NCLH association

Before that, Parodi had a long run at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, where he was VP port and itinerary planning for Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. He'd been promoted to that role after working as a senior director in port operations and itinerary services for Prestige Cruise Holdings (Oceania and Regent), which he joined in 2008.

Port agent and seafarer

Previously, Parodi spent eight years as a port agent for Eller & Co. at Port Everglades and a year at Carnival Cruise Line managing ship repair and maintenance logistics.

The Genoa native graduated from the Nautical Institute in his home city, began his career in the Italian Navy and became a deck officer on cargo and cruise ships. Following his time at sea, Parodi managed port operations for Evergreen in Genova Voltri before moving to the United States.

'We are so pleased to welcome Mario to the Crystal family,' said Roberto Fazi, SVP marine operations. 'His impressive track record and deep understanding of both traditional and expedition cruising will be pivotal as we continue to innovate and expand our offerings.'