Seabourn and HAL vow to support agents amid reshuffle

Seabourn’s UK boss has reassured travel agents of the line’s continued support following a management restructure within the Holland America Line Group.

Lynn Narraway is leaving her UK and Ireland managing director role at Holland America Line (HAL) and taking up an expanded UK and Europe role at Seabourn.

She previously held the position of UK and Ireland managing director at both Seabourn and HAL.

Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, Narraway tried to ease any potential concerns about the restructure among UK agents as the brands transition.

She said: “We will still be supporting our partners for both brands. We’ve got lots of projects coming up over the next few months and they will continue as they did before. There are no worries there.”

Asked about the future of HAL’s UK-based staff, Narraway said: “For the time being it’s business usual. It’s the three brands (Seabourn, HAL, and Princess Cruises) continuing as usual, nothing changes in the short term.”

But she added: “Long-term, we’ll be looking at new structures. There will be very focused brands, Seabourn, Holland America Line and Princess, as well.”

HAL’s international sales vice president Nico Bleichrodt replaces Narraway, overseeing the UK and Europe markets for Holland America Line. Narraway said the pair would work together during the transition.

In her new role, she will report into Princess Cruises’ vice president Tony Roberts, who will become global vice president of commercial operations at Seabourn on March 1.

Roberts, who joined Narraway on the webcast, said the reshuffled management team were combining their old roles and their new ones “until we get the new structures in place”.

“We’re continuing to make sure we support our trade partners across all three brands,” he added.

Asked about his successor at Princess Cruises, another brand within the Carnival Corporation’s Holland America Line Group, Roberts said a selection process had begun.

“We’re very keen to get that right and find the right person,” he said.

Roberts’ Princess role has not been advertised externally as the line’s management team believes there’s enough talent within the business to find a suitable replacement.

“Princess has come out of the pandemic in a position of relative strength,” he said. “The three brands will continue to be well-serviced.”

Roberts said Holland America Line Group president Jan Swartz “has been very clear with both Lynn and I, and the Holland America Group organisation, that we continue to make sure that everyone gets looked after from a trade perspective”.