Tom Stieghorst
The Holland America Line has a restaurant on its new
Koningsdam ship that has been slow to catch on.
The restaurant
takes advantage of the kitchen in its Culinary Arts Center. During the day, the
area stages cooking classes. At night it offers two artisanal farm-to-table
menus, both priced at $39.
Part of the reason
the restaurant isn’t gaining traction, HAL officials believe, is that they
haven’t done enough to explain its value.
In addition to the
meal, patrons get a welcome cocktail and unlimited refills of two organically grown
fine wines. The kitchen grows its own microgreens, served as part of several
courses. The preparation techniques are explained to patrons via the center’s
audio system as each course is delivered.
The kitchen is a
small illustration of a larger problem for cruise lines and cruise sellers.
There’s a lot of
value in a cruise that can be hard to surface for clients.
At HAL, much of the
value comes in partnerships the line has struck. One, with the New York Times,
results in free browsing of the paper while at sea on HAL’s mobile app.
Another, with Microsoft, lets HAL offer free classes to guests in how to use
computer software.
These aren’t
bright, shiny selling points, like a new waterslide or a celebrity restaurant.
But their value accumulates, especially if agents know a client well enough to
recognize they might prize these benefits.
HAL is in the
process of installing programming from BBC Earth that will bring shows about
the natural world to its poolside TV screens. On my Koningsdam cruise I saw a
pack of wolves chasing bison through a snowscape while a producer explained how
the BBC got the footage.
It was good stuff.
It’s not going to be the first thing an agent would mention to sell a cruise,
but it adds incremental value.
What’s the
difference between classical music on a cruise ship and classical music curated
by New York’s Lincoln Center? That isn’t
easy to explain, but the classical shows on Koningsdam have been notably well-attended.
If agents and
suppliers can successfully convey the value of such items, the higher ticket
prices and commissions should follow.