Disney veteran de Heer is helping Virgin Voyages usher in Scarlet Lady

Frank de Heer, who had a long career with Disney Cruise Line, is consulting for Virgin Voyages as it readies Scarlet Lady for a big debut in early 2020.

Newbuild and operations support

‘Frank was brought on as a consultant to ensure the success of a smooth transition into operations, and to support any aspect of the newbuild, marine and technical operations for Scarlet Lady,’ a Virgin Voyages spokeswoman told Seatrade Cruise News.

De Heer is based at the cruise line’s newbuilding site office in Genoa.

As earlier reported, Scarlet Lady left Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente yard on Friday for its first sea trials. On the same day, Virgin announced two ‘sneak-a-peek’ sailings ahead of the ship’s April 1 maiden voyage.

Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy

De Heer has vast operations, newbuilding and technical expertise. His last role with Disney Cruise Line was VP operations in the company’s London office for five years. Before that, he was with Walt Disney Imagineering, which drives the design of Disney’s ships. There, he was VP project delivery for the Disney Cruise Line portfolio and, previously, VP newbuilding, with a good chunk of his time based at Meyer Werft in Papenburg to lead the design and delivery of Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

Earlier, de Heer was VP marine and technical operations. He joined Disney in 1996 following a long stint in technical operations at Holland America Line.

After leaving Disney in July 2018, de Heer established his own consultancy, NDR Cruise Management, specialized in newbuilding, drydock/refit, purchasing and logistics.