Holland America Line intends to maintain the size of ships in its fleet as it believes it helps differentiate its offering from other lines.
Speaking at the Clia Destination Showcase in Gibraltar, the line’s vice-president of international sales Nico Bleichrodt said it was “definitely not our objective to [move to ships] way larger than we currently have”, adding current sizing enabled the line to “offer an intimate experience on board” and “differentiate from our competitors as well”.
Bleichrodt was speaking to an audience of travel agents on board Nieuw Statendam (pictured), one of the line’s largest ships with a capacity of 2,665.
The company defines its ships as mid-sized, with its two smallest ships able to take 1,400 passengers each.
“We are not selling the ship as a destination. I think we can be considered one of the pioneers in cruising together with our sister brand Cunard,” Bleichrodt said, adding the HAL fleet tended to focus on longer and more off-the-beaten track itineraries rather than on mainstream sailings favoured by larger ships in the Caribbean, northern Europe and the Mediterranean.