Shifting focus: This cruise line is betting bigger on long cruises and unusual itineraries

Among the seven big cruise lines that account for the majority of cruises taken by Americans, Holland America has always been known as the one that offered the greatest number of long and unusual itineraries.

Just this week, two of Holland America's 11 ships set off from Florida on epic, months-long voyages — one a 74-night circumnavigation of South America, the other a 128-night circumnavigation of the entire world. This month, five more Holland America ships will sail voyages of 14 to 22 nights to the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Hawaii, South America, and Australia and New Zealand.

However, fans of longer cruises are about to get a lot more options from the 150-year-old brand.

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In a series of recent itinerary announcements, Holland America has signaled that it is doubling down on long and unusual voyages, focusing ever more on what has set it apart from such rivals as Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line.

It's part of a notable shift in focus taking place at the brand as it emerges from the cruising downturn of the past three years.

"We decided that it made sense for us to really lean into these longer, more differentiated itineraries and kind of try to move away from the mass-market [itineraries] that others do a beautiful job of delivering," Holland America's chief commercial officer, Beth Bodensteiner, told TPG in an exclusive interview to discuss the shift.

Referring to the relatively short, three- to seven-night sailings that dominate the schedules for most of the seven big cruise brands catering to North Americans, Bodensteiner said the idea is to "let them deliver those, and we'll deliver what we do best, which we think is crafting these really perfect unique itineraries that you can't find anywhere else."

Four-week cruises to Alaska

The new crop of longer sailings that Holland America has in the works includes an epic, 28-night voyage to Alaska planned for 2024. Unveiled on Tuesday, it will be four times the length of the typical Alaska sailing and take cruisers far beyond the Southeast Alaska ports such as Juneau and Skagway that most ships visit.

Among the calls for the new Alaska itinerary will be such off-the-beaten-path places as Nome, Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands and Kodiak Island — all rarely visited by cruise ships operated by the major lines.

Bodensteiner told TPG the itinerary was something she hoped the line could do every year in the future.

Related: The 4 types of Holland America ships, explained

Holland America on Tuesday also announced plans for two 14-night sailings to Alaska in 2024 that include visits to Anchorage — something that is relatively rare. Few ships take the time to sail up the Cook Inlet to reach the city.

In addition, the line in recent weeks also announced plans for more Europe cruises lasting 14 nights or longer in 2024, including more 21-night "Ultimate Viking Explorer" sailings to Iceland, Greenland and Scotland that can be combined with 14-night voyages to Norway, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark to create extra-long, 35-night sailings.

Interest in voyages to Iceland and Greenland is soaring, Bodensteiner noted.

The newly announced voyages are on top of a significant increase in longer sailings that the brand already has scheduled for 2023.

"It starts really in the fall of '23," Bodensteiner said of the line's new focus on longer voyages. "You'll see us with an increase in grand voyage deployment, and then we also expanded the average length of our Caribbean cruises."

Holland America will offer 28% more sailings of 25 nights or more in 2023 as compared to 2019, its last normal year of operation, according to numbers compiled for TPG. That's even as the line has shrunk in size since 2019 by retiring several vessels.

In addition, the number of sailings Holland America is offering in 2023 that are 50 nights or longer (which generally are known as "grand voyages" at the line) is up by 117%.

After that, 2024 will bring even more long voyages, including the itineraries mentioned above. It's what Holland America's customers want these days, according to Bodensteiner.

Growing demand for long voyages

"We do a lot of research when we go to plan our itineraries ... and what we [see now] in the research, and I think a lot of this is because of the pandemic and people pausing on travel for a while ... [is that] just overwhelmingly people [want a] longer, more unique deployment," shared Bodensteiner.

Bodensteiner noted that "longer" doesn't always mean months-long. In the case of Caribbean sailings, it could be "taking a traditional seven-day cruise and expanding it by just a couple days ... [to] get down to Aruba and Curacao." Or adding more 12-night and 14-night sailings.

To that end, Holland America will operate 41% more Caribbean sailings of 12 nights or longer in 2023, according to numbers compiled for TPG.

Related: The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Holland America ship

Among longer sailings, the line will double down in particular on epic, weeks-long round-trip sailings out of U.S. ports to Europe, Africa and South America — something for which it long has been known.

Examples of such voyages include a 73-night voyage to Africa out of Fort Lauderdale that Holland America will offer later this year; it will include a complete circumnavigation of the continent. It's a signature itinerary for the line that allows Americans to see a wide swath of Africa without ever getting on an international flight.

Bodensteiner said to expect more such itineraries in the next couple of years. The "sweet spot" for such trips are 25- to 50-day voyages that allow travel to far-off places from the U.S. without getting on a long flight, she said.

It's "something that nobody else has," she said, noting that her team has been working on more such itineraries lately.

"We've had a fantastic time trying to come up with these unique things," she said, noting the process has included "surveying our guests that we know sail on longer cruises, finding out what they're interested in, and then going out and crafting some of these cool new itineraries."

Delivering a better experience

The shift in focus at Holland America comes as Josh Weinstein — the new CEO at Holland America's parent company, Carnival Corporation — is taking a hard look at the focus of all of its cruise brands. Carnival Corporation owns nine cruise lines including Holland America, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn.

However, Bodensteiner said the move to a bigger focus on longer sailings at Holland America began before Weinstein took charge in August.

"He agrees with [the focus on longer sailings] and thinks it's a good spot for us, but we'd already kind of been down the path of trying to think about how we can differentiate ourselves, and, quite honestly, how to drive our prices higher to return shareholder value. And that means a differentiated product that's going to command higher pricing because it's more unique."

Bodensteiner also noted that adding more longer itineraries also ties to the company's desire to lower its carbon footprint.

"Offering longer itineraries allows us to slow down the ships [and] save on fuel," she noted.

Related: The 6 best cruise itineraries you need to book right now

Still, the biggest advantage of going longer with sailings is that it allows for a better cruise experience, she suggested. It allows for longer stays in ports in addition to visits to more ports, including overnight stays in some destinations.

For instance, new, longer Holland America itineraries out of Athens include an overnight stay at the start of the trips.

"You can deliver a destination better ... [by] being there a bit longer," she said. Even extending a 10-day itinerary to 12 days makes a difference, she added.

For example, a longer cruise out of Athens allows the ship to spend two days instead of one in the Greek city. "You can overnight in Athens before you leave, which is better commercially," Bodensteiner explained. "Guests like that flexibility of being able to fly in [and] use the ship as their hotel" while exploring Athens before it sails.

"They're going to do that anyway if they're coming from North America," she said of passengers who want to add in a day for exploring Athens before a cruise.

Not eliminating short cruises entirely

Holland America isn't completely doing away with short cruises. In fact, it will continue to offer a number of seven-night sailings in various destinations around the world, from Alaska to Northern Europe.

Bodensteiner said the shorter sailings were an important "entry product" for the brand. They let new-to-the-line customers give the brand a try. Shorter sailings also appeal to families who want to sail with Holland America, she said.

The brand, which has Dutch roots, still draws a lot of Dutch customers who often start with a seven-night sailing around Northern Europe out of Rotterdam. North Americans often get a first look at the brand with a seven-night cruise to Alaska.

Related: How to maximize Holland America's Mariner Society loyalty program

Both itineraries have been and will continue to be mainstays for Holland America.

"Those are an important part of what we offer to bring people into the brand and have them get to know us," Bodensteiner said.

Still, longer sailings are where the line is heading. Bodensteiner hinted that a large number of new, longer itineraries are on the way. The line is in the midst of trying a lot of things when it comes to longer voyages, she suggested. Some will stick. Some might just be one-offs. It'll depend on how they are received by the cruising public, she suggested.

"These are all tests, right? We're putting new things out there, and we'll learn," she noted. "There's no better feedback than the bookings. But the [itinerary planning] team's got some cool things up [its] sleeve."

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