Holland America adds ‘travel guides’ to enhance guests’ shore experiences: Travel Weekly

Teri West

Holland America Line’s vice president of entertainment Joe Chantry knows customers care deeply about understanding the destinations they’re visiting.

That’s why, under his leadership, the cruise line is introducing travel guides onboard its ships who will provide specialized insight and tips about each port.

The guides will host talks and Q&A sessions and offer desk hours for passengers seeking one-on-one time, Chantry said.

“We know our guests really crave that trustworthy, story-rich context for every port of call,” he said. “We need to amplify this portion of our entertainment enrichment offerings.”

The introduction of the guides will simultaneously free up the line’s cruise directors to be, well, cruise directors. They’ll have more time and energy to spend socializing with and meeting guests around the ship in between their dedicated times hosting onboard events.

In 2019, HAL shifted their role so that they were also serving as port guides and were hosting presentations and programming about calls.

“What happened over time is that we were almost desaturating that role, because they were doing too much,” Chantry said. “We’re listening to what the guests really want from their onboard entertainment experience.”

But don’t expect the cruise director’s updated profile to replicate that of 2019. It will be more elevated, authentic and shed the cheesiness often associated with the role, Chantry said.

“Our guests are mature,” he said. “They appreciate adults talking to adults, and they appreciate people who are knowledgeable and authentic, and so I think that in that sense, the profile’s changed a bit.”

The travel guides will come from a variety of different professional backgrounds, such as research or history, but share extensive travel experience and come equipped with knowledge specific to the region. Some existing cruise directors will be transitioning fully into the travel guide role, Chantry said.

Alaska sailings this year also have wildlife guides on every cruise, which the line will continue next year, he said.
Holland America also announced it is expanding music to more spaces throughout the ship including the pool, a highly requested venue, he said.

Each ship will also have performers playing music specific to the region of the sailing. 

Together with the travel guide roles and revised cruise director profile, the company considers the project a fleetwide entertainment revamp.

“We are really looking for ways to thread the destination into each part of our experience,” Chantry said.