Sam Otter joins Celebrity Cruises to lead marketing and PR

Celebrity Cruises has brought in Cheapflights’ former global marketing lead, Sam Otter, as director of marketing and PR for the UK and Ireland.

Otter has been global marketing director at Cheapflights since 2015. She has also held senior marketing roles with brands including, Virgin Holidays, O2 and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Her new role at Celebrity Cruises will include all trade and consumer marketing and e-commerce efforts, including overseeing a substantial spend and support in cooperative trade marketing.

The role works hand-in-hand with Celebrity Cruises’ director of guest and trade services, Kathy Barbrooke, and director of sales, Claire Stirrup, to ensure that trade partners have the tools, materials and insight to continue to grow their Celebrity Cruises sales.

Otter’s appointment as director of marketing and PR follows the departure of Toby Shaw in June 2017 after three-and-a-half years in the role.

She will report to Celebrity Cruises’ UK, Ireland and Asia vice president and MD, Jo Rzymowska.

Rzymowska said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Sam to the Celebrity Cruises UK and Ireland team. Her impressive track record in working with household names both within and outside the travel sector brings valuable experience to our business.

“Celebrity Cruises currently enjoys its highest levels of brand awareness and with the new Edge Class ships beginning to join our fleet in 2018, our future couldn’t be more exciting. I have crossed career paths with Sam in the past and her dynamic leadership and commercial acumen promises to continue the sterling work to date in terms of the growth of Celebrity Cruises.

“I wish Toby all the best in his future career at the British Horse Racing Association, and I extend a warm welcome to Sam.”