Warren Titus dies

[Host Dan]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1033789

 

Host Dan

[Martita B.]

Dan

Mr Titus was a legend and a true pioneer in the cruise industry.

Both Warren and Nancy were much loved frequent guests aboard the Seabourn Sisters ~~a great loss.

Martita B.

[Seabourn-nail]

Thanks for the article Dan!

Interesting to read about Mr. Titus, who started Seabourn at the age of 72, amazing!

I'm glad he had a long life!

In the last book I read: "Gigi" in Dutch and "Lovers" in English (New York : Crown, 1994) Mr. Titus was given a word of thanks by the writer Judith Krantz for giving her a lot of his time and reporting about his long time experience. The book describes the history of the Triplets, known as the Pride, the Spirit and the Legend. The book had been in my possession for a long time, but I only read and finished it last week, quite a coincidence!

Marja

(who likes to quote a part of the article)

The cruises were a staple of the upscale market in the 1970s and '80s.

Royal Viking went out of business in 1987, and Mr. Titus, who was then 72, figured his career was over. But he got a call from Atle Brynestad, a Norwegian millionaire, who asked him to start another cruise ship company. It was the beginning of Seabourn Cruise Lines.

 

"The most challenging and exciting thing in this industry is starting a cruise line from scratch," Mr. Titus was quoted in a company magazine as saying. The new line commissioned construction of a brand new ship in a German shipyard, named it Seabourn Pride and sailed it to San Francisco, where the company had its headquarters for some years.

 

Within four years Seabourn had been named the top cruise line in the world by Condé Nast Traveler magazine. A secret of Mr. Titus' success was his personality, said Ernie Beyl, who worked with him for more than 30 years. "He was a very gentlemanly guy who treated everyone well. The crews and staff on the ships all loved him," Beyl said, adding that he also had a knack for innovation and selecting the right associates in the business. Mr. Titus retired from Seabourn in 2002. All of the Seabourn ships are flying their flags at half-mast in his honor.

[Host Dan]

Ah, a bit of trivia-

Seabourn wasn't always Seabourn... It had another name originally. Can anyone name it? I KNOW OF a few of you who CAN!

 

Host Dan

[joyous]

I believe the name was Signet and they had to change it to Seabourn because of a conflict of some sort. Joyous

[Martita B.]

Dan

It was "Signet" ~~ the San Antonio oil company "Signet" threatened to sue if the cruise line didn't change the name.

I think Seabourn is actually a more refined name!:p

Martita B.