Explorations Central

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/news-sources/?date=+20161214&archive=prnews&slug=SF70051

 

SEATTLE, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Holland America Line is amplifying its destination immersion experiences with the launch of Explorations Central, or EXC, as it will be called. The multifaceted EXC experience combines a wide array of indispensable travel resources with enrichment opportunities for guests that make their travel experience more engaging, vivid and meaningful.

 

EXC will also feature the transformation of the Crow's Nest on some ships to create a newly named venue, Explorations Central, as a comprehensive resource and engagement center. Programming for EXC begins in early 2017 and will roll out across the entire fleet by the end of the year. The EXC shipboard center will debut aboard ms Westerdam in April 2017 following a scheduled dry dock and is scheduled to expand across the rest of the fleet through 2018.

 

"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," said Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line's president. "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."

 

As the centerpiece for interactive discovery, Explorations Central, in the space currently occupied by the Crow's Nest, will be a hub of information redefining the way Holland America Line guests experience each destination. Through EXC, guests will be able to relax and immerse themselves, whether collecting information about a port or indulging in a cup of espresso or Sudoku at the coffee bar.

 

In-depth content will showcase digital storytelling and interactive video experiences on subjects ranging from travel and food to the arts. In an industry first, EXC will feature a virtual ship's bridge where real-time data from the ship's actual bridge reveals the cruise experience to guests from a unique vantage point.

 

Also being introduced is a dedicated EXC Team that will bring local culture and history onboard with customized guidance for each destination. Guests can ask advice from the EXC Guides about the best tours, most popular sites and where to go to feel like a local so each destination can be explored to its fullest. These specially trained experts shape the story of each journey by providing informative talks, fielding questions and hosting local visitors in engaging encounters with guests.

 

EXC Talks by the EXC Guides bring each locale to life by digging deeper, beyond facts and figures. Guests will learn some of the local customs, hear interesting tales and gain extensive insight into each port of call.

 

Through EXC Encounters, local cultural representatives come on board before the ship reaches the next destination to build anticipation for the adventures that await. Guests might learn how to play the steel drums from a Trinidadian, make a flower lei with a native Hawaiian or create a sense of balance and serenity every morning in a class led by a master tai chi instructor. EXC Encounters also include informal small-group gatherings hosted by the EXC Guides. These feature language and cultural etiquette lessons, hands-on discovery of local items and products, participatory programs covering music and dance and storytelling sessions.

 

To ensure guests are prepared to go ashore, online EXC Port Guides using tips and information from AFAR Media provide exclusive handbooks for each destination. Guests can create a personalized journey based on their interests in a variety of subjects. For guests who enjoy exploring on their own, printed EXC Port Maps present a simple view of the best each port has to offer by highlighting the key points in each port that are easily reachable during the stay in port. Tips and suggestions will be included from shipboard crew who have visited the port several times before.

 

Completing the new on-board offerings, stateroom televisions also become a portal to the world through the EXC Channel featuring a selection of curated films, documentaries and TV shows exploring destinations on the ship's itinerary.

Thank you for this informative post. However, it does not answer the burning question: Will there still be a bar in the new Explore Central???

The new venue looks gorgeous!!!!!

Follow this link, click on the video at the top. It's 7 minutes long but if you want the renderings jump to about 2:10

http://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Resp.action?requestPage=EXC_Announcement

 

This is stunning and somewhat similar to the approach Azamara took with their top deck lounge. I'm seriously excited for this.

One of the concerns I had about cruising to Alaska on Holland America rather than Princess was the apparent lack of an on-board naturalist on-board, except while in GBNP. Princess appears to have one aboard the entire cruise. It seems to me that this offering, which apparently will be added to Nieuw Amsterdam before we cruise on her, will fill that gap.

Edited December 14, 2016 by bUU

Thanks Brad.......it is exciting!

This looks like an improvement. We had the onboard local experts on the Maasdam - Hawaiian group and then an Australian Aboriginal painter/musician/storyteller. They were very good. The online port guides look like what is there now. The paper map will hopefully be an improvement over the hopeless and often incorrect ones they put into the booklets now. However, there are some changes that people might not like. The

Grand voyages have always had Tai Chi classes from start to end. The people who have done that in the past have been told their services are no longer required and they will be replaced by local experts in each venue, so Tai Chi will only be offered if at all during an Asian part of the cruise. Let's see if they can deliver.

Some stills from the video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sounds very interesting. Hope that the Crows Nest will still be available to just sit & relax.

Allan

Looks great- anxious to see it in person. I'm pretty sure there will be a bar in the vicinity. On a personal note it's kind of sad as we got married in the Crows Nest on Oosterdam and will miss that part. I like the "living room" look though and the virtual bridge idea.

This sounds like a space I would enjoy. I cannot wait to experience it and the new test kitchen.

Thank you for this informative post. However, it does not answer the burning question: Will there still be a bar in the new Explore Central???

 

I didn't see it, however. And this certainly answers the questions of why they took out the dance floor. If they take out the bar, they have lost me.

 

I guess we will have to wait until we experience this new life-changing offering to determine if it is anything more than hype and a new sales pitch. While I agree that having local experts on board to personally introduce their culture, city and sights is a great idea, I find that HAL'S justification, i.e. to open our eyes, hearts and mind, is a little over the top. What does HAL think all these thousands of passengers are doing on the ships, to begin with. Corporate headquarters doesn't realize that most of us have already done considerable research into the various ports and that many of us have traveled several times to some of them? My suspicious mind tells me that this is primarily a different sales pitch, but I am open to being impressed and pleasantly surprised. We'll see.

 

Anyone else suspicious?

Thank you for the information and pictures.

I am not sure about this new venue.

What does HAL think all these thousands of passengers are doing on the ships, to begin with. Corporate headquarters doesn't realize that most of us have already done considerable research into the various ports and that many of us have traveled several times to some of them?

I started a thread a couple of weeks ago asking for input to support my interest in studying up for our upcoming cruise. There was one poster for whom the prospect was ludicrous, that it "seems more like a burden than something to enjoy". I was advised to "just basically sit back and enjoy whatever comes". (Another poster seemed to have quickly edited and removed their comment; I never saw what they posted, but it seemed to be something contrary to doing considerable research into the various ports you plan to visit.) So there are folks like that out there, and I suspect on Caribbean and Mexican cruises, they dominate.

 

And to be honest, while I did do considerable research for the Nile cruise and will do so for the upcoming Alaska cruise, my preparation for the Caribbean cruises were limited to hiking trails and such, and for the Bahamas cruises not even that much. Would I have availed myself of resources the cruise line offered to make me more aware of the culture of Barbados, the natural flora and fauna of Grand Bahama I., and the history of Old San Juan? Maybe. Probably not. I'm not sure what that says about this offering (if anything).

I didn't see it, however. And this certainly answers the questions of why they took out the dance floor. If they take out the bar, they have lost me.

 

I guess we will have to wait until we experience this new life-changing offering to determine if it is anything more than hype and a new sales pitch. While I agree that having local experts on board to personally introduce their culture, city and sights is a great idea, I find that HAL'S justification, i.e. to open our eyes, hearts and mind, is a little over the top. What does HAL think all these thousands of passengers are doing on the ships, to begin with. Corporate headquarters doesn't realize that most of us have already done considerable research into the various ports and that many of us have traveled several times to some of them? My suspicious mind tells me that this is primarily a different sales pitch, but I am open to being impressed and pleasantly surprised. We'll see.

 

Anyone else suspicious?

 

Shore Excursions generate revenue and bars generate revenue.

I'm betting there will be drinks available up there. Wouldn't be surprised to see terminals there to book shore excursions.

 

The Crows Nest area is "prime real estate" on the ship. If as a bar it wasn't producing enough revenue to justify it HAL needed to look at a way to better utilize the space. Retail stores set a dollar value to every square foot of space- I'm sure cruise lines are doing the same. With $299 for seven night cruises auxiliary revenue is critical.

Edited December 14, 2016 by frankc98376

Shore Excursions generate revenue and bars generate revenue.

I'm betting there will be drinks available up there. Wouldn't be surprised to see terminals there to book shore excursions.

 

The Crows Nest area is "prime real estate" on the ship. If as a bar it wasn't producing enough revenue to justify it HAL needed to look at a way to better utilize the space. Retail stores set a dollar value to every square foot of space- I'm sure cruise lines are doing the same.

 

I agree. Also a way to sell more cruises.

I didn't see it, however. And this certainly answers the questions of why they took out the dance floor. If they take out the bar, they have lost me.

 

I guess we will have to wait until we experience this new life-changing offering to determine if it is anything more than hype and a new sales pitch. While I agree that having local experts on board to personally introduce their culture, city and sights is a great idea, I find that HAL'S justification, i.e. to open our eyes, hearts and mind, is a little over the top. What does HAL think all these thousands of passengers are doing on the ships, to begin with. Corporate headquarters doesn't realize that most of us have already done considerable research into the various ports and that many of us have traveled several times to some of them? My suspicious mind tells me that this is primarily a different sales pitch, but I am open to being impressed and pleasantly surprised. We'll see.

 

Anyone else suspicious?

 

I agree with you. Some of the changes are new, like the interactive TV (to most ships) and the changes to the Crow's Nest. However, some of this is just a rebranding of On Location. I attempted to learn the steel drums in Feb/11 and learned how to make a lei in May/16 while onboard HAL ships which were two experiences mentioned in the video. So they've had these types of cultural events in the past few years, if not longer, just under a different name.

 

So, I'll reserve judgement until I can experience the new changes first hand. Hopefully, we will be pleasantly surprised.

I agree with you. Some of the changes are new, like the interactive TV (to most ships) and the changes to the Crow's Nest. However, some of this is just a rebranding of On Location. I attempted to learn the steel drums in Feb/11 and learned how to make a lei in May/16 while onboard HAL ships which were two experiences mentioned in the video. So they've had these types of cultural events in the past few years, if not longer, just under a different name.

 

So, I'll reserve judgement until I can experience the new changes first hand. Hopefully, we will be pleasantly surprised.

 

I would love to sip a glass of wine and listen to an interesting cultural presentation. In fact, I would probably find my ability to learn to play the steel drums enhanced by a drink or two. Once, I learned to solve quadratic equations accompanied by several White Russians. Sometimes I confuse the names of my grandchildren, but, by damn, I still remember how to use the Quadratic Formula!

I agree. Also a way to sell more cruises.

 

I wonder if they will move the FCC up there....

I wonder if they will move the FCC up there....

 

And Shorex (or Journeys Ashore)?!

I wonder if they will move the FCC up there....

 

I think that this was designed with the FCC in mind.

I started a thread a couple of weeks ago asking for input to support my interest in studying up for our upcoming cruise. There was one poster for whom the prospect was ludicrous, that it "seems more like a burden than something to enjoy". I was advised to "just basically sit back and enjoy whatever comes". (Another poster seemed to have quickly edited and removed their comment; I never saw what they posted, but it seemed to be something contrary to doing considerable research into the various ports you plan to visit.) So there are folks like that out there, and I suspect on Caribbean and Mexican cruises, they dominate.

 

And to be honest, while I did do considerable research for the Nile cruise and will do so for the upcoming Alaska cruise, my preparation for the Caribbean cruises were limited to hiking trails and such, and for the Bahamas cruises not even that much. Would I have availed myself of resources the cruise line offered to make me more aware of the culture of Barbados, the natural flora and fauna of Grand Bahama I., and the history of Old San Juan? Maybe. Probably not. I'm not sure what that says about this offering (if anything).

 

You make good points, particularly as it relates to the Caribbean and Mexican cruises. I, too, wonder if the inertia that allows passengers to board a ship with only a smattering of knowledge of the ports, will extend to ignoring this offering. Time will tell. Sometimes I think HAL's present policy is "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks.

Not sure I'm convinced that the Crows Nest is a perfect venue for my fellow cruisers to learn to play the steel drums.

Not sure I'm convinced that the Crows Nest is a perfect venue for my fellow cruisers to learn to play the steel drums.

 

It won't be... but they are thinking Explorations Central WILL be ;)

It won't be... but they are thinking Explorations Central WILL be ;)

 

I have several suggestions for where they can put the steel drums.

 

The Captain's Quarters.

The Main Dining Room on Gala Nights.

Edited December 14, 2016 by RocketMan275

well this seems like a much better explanation than the cruise critic article that was posted as a sticky. seems to me like they're trying to combine the crow's nest, library, explorations cafe, FCC, excursion desk, and maybe the local guides presentations into one arena. i'm sort of intrigued and not very. i'm in the does a lot of research beforehand crowd, and when HAL introduced their new location guides on their website within the last year, i wasn't terribly impressed. don't really want to use my cruise time looking things up. presentations, maybe. sales pitches, no thanks. but boy did i love sitting up in the crow's nest with a beverage staring out the windows and looking for whales or chatting with people. dunno. we'll see i guess when it rolls out.