Celebrity's Dondra Ritzenthaler announces retirement

Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice-president of sales, trade support and service at Celebrity Cruises, has announced her plan to retire next month.

“The time is simply right for me to start the next phase of my life and recharge my batteries,” Ritzenthaler, who has been with Celebrity for 20 years, wrote in an email to partners.

She assured trade partners there's an “incredible Celebrity sales and services team in place throughout the Americas that will continue to support you in every way.”

This team will report to incoming Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge for an interim period when she begins her role on May 1.

The news comes as Celebrity undergoes structural changes as CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo moves up with the Royal Caribbean Group, which is the parent company of Celebrity Cruises.

"I want you to know that working with all of you has absolutely been my great honour and the ride of a lifetime," Ritzenthaler wrote. "We truly have done so much together and I couldn’t be prouder of all we have accomplished."

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