Natasha Lizardos has been appointed to the position on a 12-month contract.

She is temporarily taking over from Mark Lowman, who will be the UK senior sales manager during the period.

Karen Farndell, who is normally in the UK senior sales manager position, is covering Princess’s sales director for UK and Europe while Rachel Poultney is on maternity leave from January.

Lizardos worked at Thomas Cook for 20 years, including as a national sales and event manager, regional cruise expert and various store manager positions.

“I bring a wealth of cruise and retail knowledge and experience from my time with Thomas Cook and look forward to engaging with all our trade partners and agents in the coming months, providing them with all the tools they need to sell this fantastic premium cruise brand,” Lizardos said.

She is taking responsibility for Princess’s trade sales operations activities, including online training, online and offline campaign collateral, events and communications.

Tony Roberts, Princess’s vice-president for the UK and Europe, said: “We are delighted to welcome someone with Natasha’s skills and experience to the team with so much on the horizon for us.”

“At the same time I’m pleased we are giving such talented team members as Karen and Mark the opportunity to step up.

“This is the perfect time for them to take on high-profile roles as we look to further bolster our relationship with the trade.”