Seabourn President Deborah Natansohn Suffers Fatal Heart Attack

Deborah L. Natansohn, the president and chief operating officer of Seabourn Cruise Line, passed away on Oct. 24 at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Natansohn, 53, had been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack on Sunday, Oct. 22. Natansohn, interviewed in the current issue of Travel Agent magazine, was appointed president of Seabourn Cruise Line in July 2004, and guided Seabourn to the most successful period in its history. That success recently led to the signing of a letter of intent for the company to build two new ships. Natansohn came to Seabourn from Cunard Line, which she had joined in November 2000, as senior vice president of sales and marketing, where she launched the Queen Mary 2. A well-known travel industry veteran, Natansohn became the first female cruise line president in the United States when she was named president of Orient Lines in 1998.