Karen Farndell,UK sales and
marketing director, reveals HAL’s exciting new itineraries and
destinations, and its plans to host 350 agents on ship visits
What should agents know about Holland America Line?
Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation, is a pioneer of cruising. We’ve been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Our fleet of mid-sized ships visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries worldwide, and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years – longer than any other cruise line.
What kind of customers should agents look to target?
Our guests are ‘modern explorers’ who enjoy discovering destinations and immersing themselves in new cultures. They love our great selection of longer cruises. Our new 25 to 59-day Legendary Voyages offer an enticing range of itineraries. Our Alaska voyages are perfect for new-to-cruise clients. We have more Glacier Bay permits than any other cruise line, and land programmes that give access to the Yukon.
Alaska is a big focus for the cruise line – what can agents book their customers on to in 2023-24?
Our ever-popular Alaska Inside Passage itinerary sails from Vancouver, visiting the Unesco World Heritage Site of Glacier Bay National Park. In 2024, we also have a brand-new, unique 28-day itinerary on board Westerdam, sailing to the Arctic Circle. And our Cruisetours are an opportunity for guests to explore Alaska further by road, rail or air. These itineraries typically include a land stay at McKinley Chalet Resort, our very own hub and retreat right on the doorstep of Denali National Park, where guests can dine, relax and soak up the Alaska experience.
How do you plan to engage with the trade this year?
We really wanted to start the year and the Wave period by saying a huge thank you to our travel agent partners. The competition we ran with Travel Weekly, in which we gave away 150 prizes in our ‘Have it All with HAL’ incentive, was extremely popular. We’re working in partnership with CLIA to ensure we’re supporting as many events and initiatives as possible. And we’re really excited that we will soon be hosting some incredible fam trips to Alaska.
Will there be any UK ship visits?
We’ve invested in one of our biggest UK ship visit programmes of recent years. We’ll be bringing 350 agents on board to provide training and immerse them in some of the experiences we offer to guests. There’ll be regional visits on three of our ships in ports around the UK, including Liverpool, Belfast, Edinburgh and more.
Who in your sales team should agents look out for?
Our UK and Ireland sales team is led by our business development managers, Lucy Davies and Gemma
What other destinations are you expecting to be popular?
Our Europe itineraries are always popular. Next April, we have a brand-new Canary Islands sailing on our flagship Rotterdam. In our 2024-25 season of Exotic sailings, South America and Antarctica sailings will feature a four-day Antarctic expedition. Plus, we’re visiting dozens of ports across Japan, with more overnight stays. To celebrate our 150th anniversary, we have also launched our Legendary Voyages programme, full of curated itineraries with a focus on storytelling to enhance the journey.
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