NEW YORK -- Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Carlson
Cos. chairman and CEO, made it official March 7: She waved a wand
(literally) and named the firms cruise business Regent Seven Seas
Cruises, leaving behind the previous name, Radisson Seven Seas
Cruises, which had served the operation from its founding in
1992.
Carlson, she said, was merging its two
upscale businesses -- the cruise operation and Regent International
Hotels -- under a common brand and choosing for both the name most
suggestive of luxury.
Mark Conroy, newly named president of the
Regent business on land as well as at sea, said that the cruise
line is in a position to help in the development and growth of the
hotel business (which has eight hotels and will open another nine
in the next two years), whereas in its early phases, the fledgling
cruise line benefited from its association with the Radisson hotel
business. Conroy, until the name change, was president and CEO of
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises.
In announcing the realignment, Carlson
executives announced a fleetwide upgrade to the Regent ships and
stepped up the firms commitment to the global luxury market.
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