Agents and customers can explore every destination Holland America Line ships visit with a new series of interactives guides, videos and experiences.
Explorations Central (EXC) includes a range of multi-media materials, available as videos, ebooks and maps which customers, and agents, can access before during and after their trip.
Customers can access EXC through the web and a new on board centre to learn about the destinations they will visit.
The EXC will also exist in more traditional media, such as books and paper maps for destinations and port calls with hand-picked locations, restaurants and experiences.
A new panoramic bar and lounge, formerly the Crow’s Nest, on some of the HAL fleet will transformed into a newly named venue, Explorations Central, described as a resource and engagement centre.
It will debut on Westerdam in April 2017 following a scheduled dry dock and is scheduled to expand across the rest of the fleet through 2018.
A new EXC channel will also be available in staterooms displaying documentaries about destinations, food, history and culture in the ports they will visit.
Programming for EXC begins in early 2017 and will roll out across the entire fleet by the end of the year.
A dedicated EXC team will be created to bring local culture and history onboard with customized guidance for each destination, including EXC Talks and EXC Encounters by local guides.
Announcing the EXC, HAL president Orlando Ashford said: “Explorations Central is revolutionizing the way we deliver destinations to our guests, and it’s going to profoundly change how our guests are immersed in the history, culture and cuisine of the places we visit.
“Those who see the world better understand the world; and when we better understand the world we can gain insights into ourselves and personally experience the transformative effects of travel.
“EXC is going to show our guests the world in a whole new way and enable them to engage in truly meaningful experiences.”