Windstar AnnouncesVeteran Travel and Luxury Marketer
Mary Beth Wressell as Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations
for the Industry-leading Small Ship Cruise Line
Seattle, WA, August 6, 2018 – Windstar Cruises is pleased to announce the hiring of Mary Beth Wressell as the small ship cruise company’s new Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations, where she will oversee brand communications, digital marketing, customer relationship marketing, partnerships, and public relations.
Mary Beth has more than 25 years in the travel and luxury travel segments, most recently as Vice President of Marketing Communications for Holland America Line, where she was instrumental in launching many brand initiatives including a highly-visible partnership with O, The Oprah Magazine.
Mary Beth spent nearly 13 years with Holland America Line, starting as Manager of Advertising and advancing through the organization into roles with increasing scope and responsibility. Prior to joining Holland America Line, Mary Beth held several marketing roles at Virtuoso, the world’s largest consortium of luxury travel agencies, including Director of Creative Services. During her time at Virtuoso, she managed direct mail campaigns for more than 30 luxury travel suppliers, including many cruise lines such as Seabourn, Crystal, Regent, Silversea and Princess Cruises. She also spent nearly a decade in a variety of account management roles at Elgin DDB Advertising in Seattle, the company responsible for developing Windstar’s tag-line of 180 Degrees from Ordinary.
“Mary Beth brings tremendous depth and experience to our leadership team, and we’re thrilled to welcome her to the Windstar family,” said Windstar President John Delaney. “In addition to leading our marketing and public relations efforts, she will also focus on new strategic partnerships to enhance the brand. At Windstar, we are in the business of creating vacations that exceed expectations, so having someone as skilled as Mary Beth as the architect behind even more amazing partnerships and experiences is a plus not only for our leadership and operations teams, but also for our guests.”
She holds a degree in communications and advertising from the University of North Dakota. A native of northern Minnesota, Mary Beth has called Seattle home for years and enjoys being outdoors in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons.
To learn more about authentic small ship cruising with Windstar, contact a travel professional or Windstar Cruises by phone at 877-958-7718, or visit www.windstarcruises.com.
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About Windstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises operates a six-ship fleet of small sailing and all-suite ships sailing throughout Europe, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and the Panama Canal, Asia, Alaska and British Columbia, Canada and New England, and cruising year-round in Tahiti. Windstar’s fleet is the market leader in small ship cruising with a total of 1,242 passenger berths calling on off-the-beaten-path and popular ports in nearly 80 countries. The boutique cruise line carries 148 to 310 passengers on six small ships and takes travelers on cruises that are 180 degrees from ordinary. Windstar is known for immersive experiences and destination authenticity, port-intensive itineraries, exceptional award-winning service, and an innovative culinary program with culinary-themed cruise as the Official Cruise Line of the James Beard Foundation. Windstar Cruises is a part of Xanterra Travel Collection, an award-winning, globally diversified travel company offering once in a lifetime experiences in some of the most beautiful and iconic places on earth.
Editor’s Note: email contacts below for photo; photo credit Steve Schimmelman for Windstar Cruises.
Contacts:
Mary Schimmelman, Director of Public Relations
Mary.Schimmelman@windstarcruises.com, 206-733-2970
Sally Spaulding, Percepture
sspaulding@percepture.com, 970-986-9063