easyCruise appoints a CEO and an SVP Itineraries and Shore Activities

posted: 02.05.06

Gwyn Hughes has been appointed CEO of easyCruise and will take up the position immediately. Gwyn, a well known figure during more than twenty five years in the cruise and travel industries, was managing director of P&O Cruises until its demerger from the P&O Group in 2000 and was Executive Vice President of P&O Princess Cruises 2000-2003. During his career Gwyn also worked for airlines and tour operators as well as, most recently, setting up his own strategy and communications consultancy Pinpoint Communications. He is also a non-executive director of Bales Worldwide.

easyCruise has also appointed Louise Reece as Senior Vice President for Itineraries and Shore Activities. She will be responsible for all negotiations with ports and port agents as well as maximising revenue from passenger shore activities. Louise, a UK national, has been based in Miami for many years and for the last 10 has been working for Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, a Miami based casual cruise line. After a most encouraging first year easyCruise is now established as a new arrival in the cruise industry. easyCruiseOne spent its inaugural summer 05 season in the French and Italian rivieras and its first winter 05/06 in the Caribbean. easyCruiseTwo will join the fleet in July 06 offering river cruises on the Rhine between Amsterdam and Brussels. The easyCruise business is now gearing up for further growth which will be managed by Gwyn on a day to day basis.

This growth will include contracting more existing operators to become easyCruise franchisees as well as commissioning new build vessels. easyCruiseTwo is operated by the first easyCruise franchisee and there were a dozen shipyards originally included in the tender for easyCruise new buildings. New itineraries will also be established by easyCruise to complement or replace the existing ones. Miami and The Bahamas are being considered for winter 06/07 if the suggested incentives prove strong enough, and easyCruise is also looking at other areas which include Greek and Spanish Mediterranean cruises as well as further river cruises. These will remain cruises with smaller vessels than the industry norm where the ship arrives in a new and exciting port every day and where, particularly, the ship stays in port every night. This will continue to attract young passengers to easyCruise whose average age in the first year of operation has been in their 30's. In addition, easyCruise will continue to offer an 'a la carte' service where passengers are free to choose whether to remain on board in port or to go ashore during the daytime and night in order to dine and enjoy the nightlife, and where passengers can join and leave the cruise where and when they wish subject to a two night minimum stay.

Gwyn Hughes and the easyCruise management team will manage all day to day aspects of the business from refurbishing the fleet with the new easyCruise livery (see www.easyCruise.com for images) to installing the new, more upscale food and beverage outlets in the fleet. The management team will also start preparing the business for a possible IPO or alternative partial sale in the years to come.

"I am really looking forward to bringing my experience in the cruise industry to easyCruise," said Gwyn Hughes. "As the other players in the industry continue to focus on older passengers, I will make sure that easyCruise continues to shake up the industry with their innovative business plan and unique product in order to grow the market by bringing in young cruisers."

"I am delighted to welcome Gwyn on board," said Stelios the serial entrepreneur and easyGroup chairman. "His vast industry experience will complement my own attempts at 'out of the box' thinking. Now that easyCruise is past its pilot phase and is established as a business it deserves a full time CEO, a position I was holding on a part-time basis. I will remain as chairman of easyCruise but Gwyn's arrival will help free up some of my time to work on all of the fifteen easyGroup businesses."