Holland America Line
OVERVIEW
A cruise line with a rich history, Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and operated as a shipping, passenger, cargo and cruise line from 1873 to 1989. It was directly involved in the transport of hundreds of thousands of emigrants from the Netherlands to North America. The company has been a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation since 1989.
Holland America Line’s fleet of 11 midsize ships carry between 1,432 and 2,668 guests. The vibe is more traditional, but not stuffy, and HAL attracts mostly 50+ guests who enjoy fine dining, enrichment, live music and a relaxed but sophisticated vibe. There are no go-kart tracks or roller-coasters, but when the bands get cooking at BB King’s Blues Club or the Rolling Stone Rock Room, there’s plenty of adrenaline. Tasteful décor and extensive original artwork throughout its ships help set a comfortable, inquisitive ambience.
Holland America Line holds appeal to a broad audience with some of the most spacious and comfortable ships at sea, quality service, diverse fine dining, extensive activities and enrichment programs and compelling worldwide itineraries.
DESTINATIONS VISITED
Holland America Line’s fleet of 11 ships offers more than 500 cruises to more than 470 ports in 98 countries around the world. From shorter getaways to 128-day itineraries, the company’s cruises visit all seven continents, with highlights including Antarctica explorations, South America circumnavigations and exotic Australia & New Zealand and Asia voyages; three annual Grand Voyages; and popular sailings to the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada & New England, Europe and the Panama Canal. All Holland America Line Caribbean cruises feature a stop at Half Moon Cay, the Bahamian island cruise destination owned by Carnival Corporation.
GoHAL.com – The HOLLAND AMERICA LINE TRAVEL AGENT PORTAL
GoHAL.com is designed to give agents the tools to book, plan, promote and learn how to successfully sell Holland America Line cruises and Land+Sea Journeys. There are three primary areas on the site: POLAR Online booking engine, Promo Toolkit and Holland America Line Academy. Agents also can see upcoming events, read the latest e-Newsletter and meet their business development manager on the homepage.
Travel professionals will find additional access to the POLAR Online booking engine in the ‘Book’ tab at GoHAL.com. Important information about visas and passports, cancellation policies, groups, gift orders, the air program, check-in and Travel Professional Appreciation Fares are also located in this area. Additional features at GoHAL.com include a ‘Chat with Us’ button that enables travel professionals to communicate online in real time with Holland America Line’s reservations team.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE AGENT FACEBOOK COMMUNITY
Holland America Line says its Facebook page for travel professionals is the easiest, most direct way for travel partners to communicate with its sales team. Advisors can go there to learn about the latest promotions, get sales advice, meet business development managers, check out the events calendar and get the latest trade news.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE ACADEMY
The Holland America Line Academy features Core Courses and Specialist Training Courses and rewards agents at Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. Agency owners can register advisors within their agency, track their progress and earn agency rewards too.
Holland America Line Academy can be accessed in four steps:
- Click here to go to GoHAL.com or type "gohal.com" in your browser
- Sign in using your POLAR Online credentials or complete a one-time sign-up
- Click the Holland America Line Academy graphic on the home page
- Follow the prompts to register for Holland America Line Academy
The ‘Learn’ section on the top navigation toolbar at GoHAL.com also leads to POLAR Online booking tips, FAQs and upcoming events such as seminars, conferences and familiarization trips.
AGENT RATES & FAMS
Travel Professional Appreciation Fares can be found under the ‘Book’ tab at GoHAL.com.
A sample Travel Agent Only fare sheet can be found here.
A Travel Agent Appreciation Rate Application Form can be found here.
Interested agents can register here to receive the latest promotional offers and news from Holland America via email.
LOCAL AGENT SUPPORT
At GoHAL.com advisors can find contact information on local Holland America Line business development managers. There is also a list of department email addresses that agents can reach out to. Users will need a Polar Online sign-on to enter the site.
AGENT MARKETING TOOLS
In the ‘Plan’ tab at GoHAL.com, agents can find the collateral they need to plan cruises for their clients including eBrochures, product announcements, a deck plan reference guide, cruise finder, sailing schedule, AFAR Destination Guides and information about life on board, Land+Sea Journeys, Journeys Ashore, family cruising and cruising with children.
The ‘Promote’ tab features the latest promotions, as well as templates to create customized advertising and marketing materials such as flyers, banner ads and emails. Site visitors also have access to the company’s extensive image library which they can use to promote the products.