NEWS Holland America Line reveals plan to increase UK business. Josie Klein reports from Dover Holland


America Line’s Nico Bleichrodt (left), Karen Farndell (right) and Captain Bas van Dreumel host agents on a ship visit aboard Nieuw Statendam in Dover last week


HAL to base ship in Dover for a second year in 2026


H olland America Line has


revealed it will homeport Nieuw Statendam in Dover for a second year in


a row in summer 2026 on the back of strong demand for its maiden season from the UK port next year. The Pinnacle-class ship will


sail from Dover between April and September 2026, UK sales and marketing director Karen Farndell said. Exact plans for the itineraries


are still being finalised, but she confirmed the ship would return to Dover and operate an extended season in 2026 after sailing 10 round- trip European cruises in 2025. “It feels like such an achievement


to be homeporting a ship out of the UK for a second year in a row,” said Farndell. “It’s a real investment in our confidence in the UK market and, from a trade perspective, it shows how serious we are about growing our


10


Number of ex-Dover sailings offered in 2025 byNieuw Statendam


business in the UK and working with agents so we can all grow together.” Farndell said 2025 ex-Dover


sailings were selling “very well”, with UK travellers accounting for about 70% of passengers. The most popular itineraries are


the line’s 14-day Canary Islands and 28-day Arctic Circle cruises. Farndell stressed it was the strong


demand for Nieuw Statendam’s debut UK season that had prompted the decision to homeport the ship in Dover for a second consecutive year. Nico Bleichrodt, vice-president


of international sales, said the line currently “lacks” homeports in Europe, but hopes an extended season of Dover sailings in 2026 will further promote the brand in the UK. “We have a ship sailing out of the


Netherlands, but that doesn’t appeal to our UK customers, so this Dover homeport will help boost our British customer base,” he said. “We have a well-established


brand in the UK, but this will take it to the next level.” Asked whether HAL would


grow its UK trade sales team to provide more support to agents, Farndell said she was in “regular discussions” about doing this and would like to see the team expand. Bleichrodt added: “We know


we are a small cruise line in the UK market. It’s a market with huge potential so we need to give better support to the travel trade.”


Line aims to double UK sales


Holland America Line is aiming to double its UK passenger numbers “in the next few years”, according to the line’s vice- president of international sales. Currently, the UK makes


up 5% of the line’s passenger numbers, said Nico Bleichrodt, with 85% coming from North America and Canada. He wants the international market to grow to 25% of HAL’s client base, with the UK accounting for 10%. Basing a ship out of Dover


next year would give the line a “clearer vision” of how soon it would reach the UK passenger target, Bleichrodt added, saying he wanted to achieve the goal “within the next few years”. “The growth of our


international client base is a big focus for HAL and the biggest growth will come from the UK and Australia,” he said.


SHIP VISITS EXPANDED


HAL has increased its 2024 ship visit programme from 430 agents to 500 to meet demand from the trade. Karen Farndell commended


agents for the support they have given HAL and urged them to take advantage of the extra ship visit spaces to help them “understand which of your clients we are the perfect fit for”. Farndell hinted the line’s ship


visit and fam trip programmes could be expanded next year, saying she is keen to offer an ex-Dover fam and to bring back Alaska trips, after the line announced it would not run any this year having launched them in 2023. She also said HAL is working


Nieuw Statendam; left, a Verandah Stateroom 12 2 MAY 2024 travelweekly.co.uk


on increasing its educational tools to provide “more-rounded” information to support the trade.


PICTURE: Michel Verdure


PICTURE: Fiippo Vinardi


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