Travel agents in the cruise industry last week responded to the impending departure of Celebrity Cruises CEO Dan Hanrahan with praise and regret.
Hanrahan said last week he would leave Celebrity at the end of the month to helm Regis, a leader in the hair-care industry.
As a 13-year veteran of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Hanrahan was known by many agents as the chief of Celebrity and, before that, the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Royal Caribbean International. He also headed up Azamara for several years.
Bill Walsh, president of Cruise Travel Outlet, Salem, N.H., a Cruise Holidays franchise selling a lot of Celebrity, said Hanrahan transformed the product by introducing the Solstice-class ships, which were very well received when the Celebrity Solstice was introduced in 2008. The fourth, and final ship in the series, the Celebrity Reflection, will be launched this fall.
Walsh said that, under Hanrahan, Celebrity became one of the best products available.
"He was a very hands-on president and CEO and very supportive of agents," Walsh said. "He just did a great job running all aspects of the company."
Van Anderson, co-president of Avoya Travel/American Express, said that Hanrahan had shown extraordinary vision in developing Celebrity and said that he was confident that he is leaving behind a team that can continue to perform at the same level.
Tom Baumann, president of Travel Leaders Leisure Group, praised Hanrahan not only for the value he put on the travel agency channel but for his passion in finding ways to work with travel agents.
"He will be greatly missed as a leader and a friend," Baumann said.
Sharon Concepcion, operations manager for the Luxury Travel Network, said that Hanrahan took Celebrity to higher ground and also was a "magnificent role model" for young professionals in the industry.
Lindsay Pearlman, co-president of the Ensemble Travel Group, said that Hanrahan's innovations, including the Solstice- class ships, elevated the guest experience aboard Celebrity ships. He called Hanrahan a good friend to the agency community.
John Lovell, president of Vacation.com, said that the industry would miss Hanrahan's leadership and vision.
"Dan oversaw a tremendous growth period in Celebrity's history and understood the value that travel professionals played in that growth," Lovell said.
Brad Tolkin, co-chairman and CEO of World Travel Holdings, called Celebrity a company with a strong foundation and a bright future.
He praised Hanrahan for the way he emphasized the value of the travel agent distribution model.
"While the team at [World Travel Holdings] is sad to see Dan leave his post, and will truly miss working with him, we expect to continue a long-lasting partnership with Celebrity," he said.
For cruise news, follow Kate Rice on Twitter @krtravelweekly.