Oceania Cruises appoints Frank Del Rio Jr. as chief sales/marketing officer

Reporting to him will be Isabel Galvan, SVP marketing; Nikki Upshaw, SVP sales; Bernard Carter, SVP and managing director UK, and Steve Odell, SVP and managing director, APAC.

Return to the company

This appointment marks Del Rio’s return to the company and a continuation of his 14-year tenure, which ran from 2003 — when he was a founding team member — through 2017.

During his time at Oceania, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and, ultimately, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Del Rio rose to SVP and led all aspects of port and destination services along with onboard revenue. During this time, he spearheaded leaps in innovation and product development, achieved significant financial efficiencies and organizational synergies, and drove record revenue results.

'I’m delighted to add Frank and his many talents to the already stellar team at Oceania Cruises,' President and CEO Howard Sherman said. 'His passion, enthusiasm and day-one familiarity with the brand, our guests and our travel partners will take us from strength to strength.'

Well-acquainted with the distribution network

Del Rio is well-acquainted with the line’s travel partners and the retail distribution network. Over his career, he has worked closely with many of the top travel companies such as Go Next, Food & Wine Trails and Virtuoso Travel Network to develop new and distinct destination programs for their clientele.

'I’m thrilled to be returning to a brand that I am so truly passionate about and is embedded in my DNA,' Del Rio Jr. said.

Most recently, he has been involved in the private equity, finance and tech areas with experience across a wide spectrum of products and industries, including AI, telecommunications and 5G network solutions, medical, and real estate development. A consistent thread was digital transformation and disruption.