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A rendering of Swan Hellenic s upcoming expedition ship, the Minerva.
The relaunched U.K.-based Swan Hellenic cruise line is taking aim at the U.S., the world s largest cruise market, and enlisting some familiar industry names to hit its target.
Tom Russell, former managing director of North America for Silversea and past COO of Global Voyages Group, is general manager for North America, while Mitchell Schlesinger, who held sales positions with Norwegian Cruise Line, Orient Line and Voyages to Antiquity, heads up its sales team.
Russell described Swan as a startup, although one with a storied name in the cruise industry. The brand launched service 70 years ago and ceased operations in 2017 with the collapse of parent company All Leisure Holidays. A team of cruise industry veterans led by Andrea Zito, Swan s new CEO and also formerly of Silversea, purchased the brand in 2020 and has already ordered three 152-passenger ships from Helsinki Shipyard in Finland. The first ship, the