London, UK, 20th February, 2017 – Royal Caribbean has today announced that Amanda Darrington has been appointed Sales Director UK & Ireland, following Ben Bouldin’s promotion to Associate Vice President and Managing Director UK & Ireland.
Starting on 24th April, Amanda will lead and oversee the thirty-strong Royal Caribbean sales team in the UK & Ireland, bringing with her a wealth of experience earned across her career in the travel industry. During that time she has held the position of Sales Director for Funway Holidays and, prior to that, acted as Head of Trade Sales at Kuoni Travel UK for over three years.
Royal Caribbean has seen phenomenal engagement from trade partners in recent years – delivering strong promotional campaigns and rewarding agents through its industry leading loyalty programme, Club Royal. Amanda will build on these successes throughout 2017 as the company heads into a series of innovative ship launch years from 2018.
Ben Bouldin, Associate Vice President and Managing Director Royal Caribbean International, UK & Ireland said: “Amanda is the perfect person to lead our sales team into 2017 and beyond so it’s with great pleasure that we welcome her onboard. Her proven drive and ambition, as well as her unparalleled industry experience, clearly shows that she has what it takes to drive our business forward. She has also demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and a real passion for fostering and developing talent, which will no doubt help us achieve our vision of having the best sales team in the travel industry.
“We have another incredible year ahead of us and plan to take our sales team and agent training and initiatives, such as our award-winning Club Royal loyalty programme, to new heights. I have every confidence that Amanda will bring with her the knowledge, business acumen and tenacity to ensure 2017 is our most successful year to date and, on a personal level, I’m very much looking forward to working with her.”
Amanda Darrington said: “Joining the Royal Caribbean UK and Ireland sales team is a dream job for me and I’m excited to build on the ambitious plans Ben has set in motion. Cruise holidays are en vogue for our industry, as an increasingly favoured holiday experience and there is no one innovating quite like Royal Caribbean. It’s an exciting time to join the business and to steer the team to even more extraordinary successes.
Stephen Rhodes, Managing Director, Funway Holidays said: “We wish Amanda well as it is a fantastic opportunity for her and I am sure it’s a role she will thrive in. Amanda has built a strong sales and reservations team offering outstanding customer service that will continue to serve our trade partners.