Warren Titus, a pioneer of the luxury cruise industry, the first chairman of CLIA and an industry icon, died on July 19 in Marin County, Calif. He was 94.
Titus founded Royal Viking Line in 1973, which was acknowledged in many circles as the gold standard of luxury cruising. In 1987 he became the founding president of Seabourn.
Titus was also a key figure in establishing CLIA, maintaining early on that passenger shipping should have a single organization to promote cruising and educate travel agents to market and sell cruises effectively.
"This man was an icon of elegance," said Larry Pimentel, CEO of Azamara Cruises, who worked with Titus for almost a decade. "The upmarket passenger shipping experience today is rooted and birthed by this titan of elegance and style. [Royal Viking] was Royal because of Warren's demeanor. Seabourn was unique because he set the style."
A native of Anacortes, Wash., Titus had a decades-long career in passenger shipping. After a stint in the Marine Corps, Titus worked for a shipping agency that handled passenger vessels calling in Hawaii. He was president of North American operations for the Peninsular & Oriental Steamship Navigation Co. in San Francisco in the 1960s.
He later became the president of American President Line.
Lawrence Rapp, vice president of fleet operations for Seabourn, helped launch Seabourn with Titus after working with him at Royal Viking. He said Titus had an "unwavering commitment to the idea that profit followed quality."
"His vision was that if one truly offered a quality product and served guests as intelligent individuals, they would be willing to accept higher prices and remain loyal to the brand," Rapp said. "I learned more from him than from anyone else in my working career. I know many industry executives who would say the same."
Mark Conroy, president of Regent Seven Seas and one of Titus' former colleagues at Royal Viking, is one of those executives.
"I never heard him say a negative thing about anyone, and I never heard anyone have a bad thing to say about him," Conroy said. "He was always focused and dignified."