ROYAL Olympic Cruise Lines president and chief executive Vasilios Kapetanakos, has stepped down from his position after less than a year in the post.
A company spokesman said Kapetanakos, formerly executive vice-president and chief operations officer at Celebrity Cruises, had left because he wanted to live in the US, where he has two homes.
He has been replaced by PanayiotisPapastavrou, who held the positions before Kapetanakos took over (Travel Weekly September 16 1998).
The spokesman insisted that the changes were not connected to the difficulties experienced by Royal Olympic following the outbreak of war in Kosovo.
The crisis forced the cruiseline to withdraw two ships due to a fall in demand, particularly in the US market.
He admitted the company had faced a 20% downturn in volumes earlier this year, but claimed that it had succeeded in clawing back bookings over the summer.
Royal Olympic is now forecasting a fall in volumes for 1999 of 10%-15%.