Scenic Group, which includes Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises, has announced the hires of two industry veterans and internal promotions.

Claudius Docekal has joined the global senior leadership team as Vice President of Product – Ocean.

Scenic said this key strategic hire is part of a larger restructure which enables the business to achieve its ambitious future growth plans as Docekal joins Scenic Group with more than 30 years of industry experience. His most recent role was vice president, deployment at Crystal Cruises where he oversaw the Crystal Yacht & Expedition Cruises brands. Prior to this he held senior positions at Azamara Club Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club.

To further support the ambitious growth plans and with the arrival next year of two new ocean yachts – Scenic Eclipse II and Emerald Sakara – Scenic Group has also hired Bert Goebel as Vice President of Hotel Operations – Ocean. Goebel joins the business from Crown & Champa Resort Hotel Group in the Maldives and has many years hotel operations experience working for various cruise lines such as Oceania, Regent and Aida to name a few and will report to Mark Robinson Senior Vice President of Operations.

Besides the hiring of Docekal and Goebel, Scenic Group announced the internal promotion of Elisabeth Sadler to Vice President of Product – Rivers. Having joined the group back in 2014 as part of the initial Emerald Cruises start up team, Sadler will move to oversee all river product on behalf of both Emerald Cruises and Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and report to Rob Voss, Scenic Group’s Chief Operating Officer.

Voss commented: “Claudius joins us at a very exciting time, as we continue to focus on growth in global markets and our unwavering delivery of first-class guest experiences across our cruising portfolio. Elisabeth has been instrumental in the development of the Emerald Cruises brand showcasing best in class product development. Her passion and knowledge for river cruising ensures we will continue to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. I look forward to working very closely with them both over the coming months.”

Two additional promotions names Director Marine Operations Captain James Griffiths as the new Vice President of Marine & Port Operations and Sepp Dendl, who was previously Director of Hotel Operations – Rivers, to Vice President of Hotel Operations – Rivers. Both Griffiths and Dendl will continue to report to Mark Robinson.

Robinson offered his own praise, “I’m delighted that Bert has joined the group just as we double our ocean capacity from two ocean vessels to four in 2023. Goebel brings a wealth of operational knowledge to the group having previously worked for the past four years in the luxury hotel sector and prior to that, holding various senior operational roles in luxury cruises lines for the past 25 years. Goebel will lead our onboard operational teams ensuring our award-winning service continues to develop and deliver the ‘wonder’ to our guests and enhance our service offerings on our ocean fleet.”