Royal Caribbean International’s UK director of marketing Mario Bounas is to leave the company for a new role at Vodohod, Cruise Trade News has learnt.

Bounas joined Royal Caribbean in January 2016 as head of brand and planning and has been responsible for the delivery of strategic marketing plans for the UK and Ireland market.

Over the past three and a half years he has successfully executed four ship launches and the development of Royal Caribbean’s brand positioning, ‘This is How to Holiday’.

He previously held senior marketing positions at ebookers, the Langham, London, COMO hotels and resorts and The Grove.

He moves to Russian river cruise specialists Vodohod as marketing director. There he will be responsible for driving the international marketing strategy across multiple markets including the UK, US and Europe.

Vodohod operates cruises from Moscow to St Petersburg, Moscow to Astrakhan, and Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow. The line recently signed a contract for two expedition ships, to be delivered in August 2021 and January 2022.

Bounas will officially leave Royal Caribbean at the end of July.