"Robert Kritzman is returning to Florida with his family as a personal choice," NCL Corp. spokeswoman AnneMarie Mathews said.

Kritzman is being replaced by Alan Yamamoto, who previously was with Hawaiian Electric Industries where he served as director of community and government relations, Mathews said.

She said there are no other Hawai'i-related changes at this time.

Mathews said Yamamoto joined the company yesterday but would have no immediate comment today.

In mid-May, the Miami-based cruise ship company announced $60.8 million in losses and said profits are being dragged down by the Hawai'i operations.

Rumors had swirled that Kritzman would soon depart, but the company's local office had declined comment. Mathews did not have the exact timetable yet for Kritzman's departure.

"There will be a transition period but no dates have been announced," Mathews said. She said Kritzman was returning to the Miami area but not with NCL.

Earlier this year, the company announced it was relocating the largest of three Hawai'i-based ships — the Pride of Hawa'i — to Europe early next year.

The cruise ship industry has been seen as a bright spot in Hawai'i's tourism industry, which has experienced a decline in visitor arrivals after several years of boom.

But the company's success here has been dimmed by increasing competition from other cruise lines. The foreign-flagged ships can operate more cheaply than the U.S.-based NCL ships.

Kritzman earlier this year acknowledged that dropping ticket prices added to the challenges of operating here but said the company remains committed to Hawa'i operations.

He declined to comment yesterday on the changes.

Earlier this month, the cruise ship company reported revenues rose to $490.8 million for the quarter ending March 31, a 15 percent increase over the first quarter of last year. But NCL Corp. president and chief executive officer Colin Veitch said earlier this month that measures the company announced since the fourth quarter will help.

Veitch predicted those measures "will collectively result in a significant improvement by the same time next year."