By
Rebecca Gibson |
Holland America Line (HAL) has signed a number of new partnerships to help enhance both the cruise planning and onboard experience for its guests.
HAL’s partnership with experiential travel expert AFAR media will provide guests with Destination Guides for all of its ports of call and scenic cruising areas, which total around 400. AFAR will utilise its expansive network of local experts to provide travellers with recommendations for up to 20 top attractions, restaurants and shopping experiences in each destination. The Destination Guides will be available via HAL’s website.
“Our new partnership with AFAR Media will deliver the most extensive destination information to our guests in a way that’s never been done before in cruising, ensuring they will have the perfect shoreside experience tailored to their personal tastes and interests,” said Orlando Ashford, the line's president.
Through its partnership with software platform Utrip, HAL aims to make it easier for guests to personalise content in AFAR Media’s Destination Guides and plan their trips.
Cruise guests will be able to use the Utrip tool to select desired ports of call, destination highlights and onshore activities from thousands of itineraries and receive customised recommendations. These are based on information from either a pre-determined or a personalised profile created with interactive sliders covering history, art and culture, food and drink, nature and outdoors, and contemporary life.
For each destination, Utrip searches top-pick attractions, local dining and shopping options for the best match to personal preferences. Interactive maps allow users to see the location of each suggestion and click for additional information. The interface will also make recommendations for HAL group shore excursions.
“Utrip’s platform will generate itinerary and shoreside recommendations based on a guest’s preferences, so it’s much easier to find sailings and activities that are most interesting to them,” said
Gilad Berenstein, Utrip founder and CEO. “It simplifies the decision making process and makes planning their next holiday more engaging and enjoyable.”
To enhance the onboard experience, HAL has joined with BBC Earth to offer nature-themed concerts, films, shows, children’s activities and itineraries from April 2016. The enrichment programme will be on all ships by September 2016.
Guests will be able to participate in various immersive onboard activities including game shows and BBC Earth theatre screenings with introductions from programme makers. Younger passengers will be able to enjoy an onboard explorer trail, interactive workshops, and BBC Earth animal and dinosaur fact shows. A highlight of the partnership will be a live concert that will feature footage from the Frozen Planet programme accompanied by live musicians.
HAL will also offer BBC Earth-themed cruises, which will enable guests to hear behind-the-scenes stories and attend master classes held by the programme’s creators. Younger guests will also have the opportunity to have film workshops with the BBC Earth YouTube team.
“Holland America Line cruises are all about experiential travel and venturing to all corners of the globe, and this exclusive partnership with BBC Earth will make that a richer, more rewarding experience for our guests,” said Ashford. “No one else in the cruise industry is offering the depth of quality content that BBC Earth will bring to our ships, and we hope this programme will give our guests a deeper connection to the destinations we visit.”
HAL has also revealed plans to upgrade the suite accommodation onboard its Signature, Visat and R-class ships.