how to ruin a cruise line and

this guy with no travel/cruiseline experience before coming over to HAL gets an award for it... just something wrong here.. almost laughable

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/holland-america-line-president-orlando-213000656.html

Sorry you didn't win :rolleyes:

39,000 industry professionals think he deserved an award. Got no problem with that.

I think HAL was going downhill long before Mr. Ashford became President.

These types of awards are, by definition, industry-specific comparisons. Apparently what Ashford has done not only passes for innovation in the cruise line industry, it places him at the forefront. That alone speaks volumes about the state of the industry.

this guy with no travel/cruiseline experience before coming over to HAL gets an award for it... just something wrong here.. almost laughable

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/holland-america-line-president-orlando-213000656.html

Are you doing a follow-up post after the Oscars where you declare that the winner for Best Director ruins a movie?

Don't mess with the cheerleading squad. They get very antsy when their team is called out.

The people who most deserve the recognition and awards are the officers, staff, and crew of the Holland America fleet. Below is one of my all time favorite Youtube videos thanking the crew of the 2012 Amsterdam Grand Asia and Pacific Voyage for their contribution. Thank you to Lottyh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZWF07unGZM

Thanks for sharing the link with us.

I wonder why Mr. Ashford won an award (partly) because of the Canada/New England itineraries? Those have been in place for years. Nothing innovative by him in that regard.

It is not uncommon to hire a CEO that does not have specific experience in an industry segment. It's more critical to hire someone who is forward thinking, innovative and can manage people.

My daughter works for HAL corporate in Seattle and she has nothing but praise for Ashford.

I am not impressed by a Holland America press release about an award I never heard of from a media company I never heard of. Travvy awards? travAlliancemedia? Give me a break. Has anyone heard of any of travAlliancesmedia's brands? Vacation Agent Magazine? Agent @ Home Magazine? Travel Agent Academy?

I wonder who advertises on these magazines.

It is not uncommon to hire a CEO that does not have specific experience in an industry segment. It's more critical to hire someone who is forward thinking, innovative and can manage people.

 

My daughter works for HAL corporate in Seattle and she has nothing but praise for Ashford.

This is so good to read. Thank you for sharing this with us.

What are a few of what those who work with/for him feel are his strong suits?

I wonder who advertises on these magazines.

The cynic in me was wondering the same thing.

I've really enjoyed my 3 HAL cruises, but "innovation" is not a word that I associate with HAL.

Agreed.

Not even the most ardent cheerleader could use 'HAL' and "innovative" in the same sentence. It is laughable.

It may not be current, however, I believe it was HAL that introduced the buffet concept to cruise ship. :)

this guy with no travel/cruiseline experience before coming over to HAL gets an award for it... just something wrong here.. almost laughable

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/holland-america-line-president-orlando-213000656.html

How has he 'ruined' Holland?

I don't see how someone can "ruin" HAL in a year flat. Even when Carnival Corp took over HAL many years ago, it took them longer than a mere year according to those who thought that way.

Give Mr Ashford a bit of credit. HAL is coming up with a lot of new programs, whether or not successful, we'll see.

At least it is not the same old forever.

HAL is getting the balance right: some new, some old.

I don't see how someone can "ruin" HAL in a year flat. Even when Carnival Corp took over HAL many years ago, it took them longer than a mere year according to those who thought that way.

 

Give Mr Ashford a bit of credit. HAL is coming up with a lot of new programs, whether or not successful, we'll see.

 

At least it is not the same old forever.

HAL is getting the balance right: some new, some old.

I wish they would stop having the silly press conferences to announce they have new coffee or paper clips in the office :D. Before someone says they didn't do that the announcements they had were equally exciting.

for those who pump up Ashford you have NOT talked to any of the staff 'in the trenches' on what they think of him.. corporate people in Seattle might like him as they sit behind a nice cozy desk but those actually doing the work on a real live cruise ship think otherwise..

maybe he ought to consider taking more cruises having never been on one before getting the job( his words).. change made for the sake of change is never a good thing

for Stein Kruse to hire someone without any hands on cruiseline experience to run HAL seems to me a disservice to the HAL brand

http://www.hollandamerica.co/news/NewsRelease.action?newsReleaseId=1204

for those who pump up Ashford you have NOT talked to any of the staff 'in the trenches' on what they think of him.. corporate people in Seattle might like him as they sit behind a nice cozy desk but those actually doing the work on a real live cruise ship think otherwise..

 

maybe he ought to consider taking more cruises having never been on one before getting the job( his words).. change made for the sake of change is never a good thing

 

for Stein Kruse to hire someone without any hands on cruiseline experience to run HAL seems to me a disservice to the HAL brand

http://www.hollandamerica.co/news/NewsRelease.action?newsReleaseId=1204

So, you don't have any specific actions you can relate explaining how Ashford "ruined" Holland?

How about this? Can you list specific things that have changed during Ashford's tenure that contributed to "ruining" Holland? For example, when did Ashford take over? What has changed since then? How did these changes resulted in a "ruined" cruise line?

HAL was certainly not ruined by Ashford during the past year.

HAL has been on a steady decline for a number of years. I would suggest that the real damage started with previous management who apparently did not take steps to plan for the future. HAL got stuck with an old fleet which probably had higher maintenance and operating costs. The word change was not in their vocabulary.

From our perspective, HAL got stuck by a failure to change ever so slightly and a failure to invest in the future. Cruiser's demographics have and are changing. Has HAL changed? I believe that the bulk of the damage was caused by Mr. Kruse's direction.

Mr. Ashford is probably stuck with a tough P&L and a mandate to clean up the mess, transform the company, and meet the financial targets set out in the plan.

Lots of businesses bring in executive expertise and leadership who have no direct experience in the industry. It is not as uncommon as many would think. I have no idea if he is doing a good job or a mediocre one. But clearly HAL seemed desperate for new leadership. Especially thought leadership.

It is easy to blame Carnival Corp. But had Carnival Corp not picked up an essentially bankrupt HAL, HAL would have joined the long list of failed former cruise lines.

HAL was certainly not ruined by Ashford during the past year.

 

HAL has been on a steady decline for a number of years. I would suggest that the real damage started with previous management who apparently did not take steps to plan for the future. HAL got stuck with an old fleet which probably had higher maintenance and operating costs. The word change was not in their vocabulary.

 

From our perspective, HAL got stuck by a failure to change ever so slightly and a failure to invest in the future. Cruiser's demographics have and are changing. Has HAL changed? I believe that the bulk of the damage was caused by Mr. Kruse's direction.

 

Mr. Ashford is probably stuck with a tough P&L and a mandate to clean up the mess, transform the company, and meet the financial targets set out in the plan.

 

Lots of businesses bring in executive expertise and leadership who have no direct experience in the industry. It is not as uncommon as many would think. I have no idea if he is doing a good job or a mediocre one. But clearly HAL seemed desperate for new leadership. Especially thought leadership.

 

It is easy to blame Carnival Corp. But had Carnival Corp not picked up an essentially bankrupt HAL, HAL would have joined the long list of failed former cruise lines.

A great discussion! Have to say I've lived through the "let's bring in an outsider" approach with the notion being that this new leader would bring in a fresh view, a different management style, and break the institionalzed mindset an organization can get stuck in. The unfortunate truth is that while this approach can be successful it can also be an unmitigated failure. While it may not look so good right now I'd say it's too early to call it a fail on Carnival and HAL's part.

for those who pump up Ashford you have NOT talked to any of the staff 'in the trenches' on what they think of him.. corporate people in Seattle might like him as they sit behind a nice cozy desk but those actually doing the work on a real live cruise ship think otherwise..

 

maybe he ought to consider taking more cruises having never been on one before getting the job( his words).. change made for the sake of change is never a good thing

 

for Stein Kruse to hire someone without any hands on cruiseline experience to run HAL seems to me a disservice to the HAL brand

http://www.hollandamerica.co/news/NewsRelease.action?newsReleaseId=1204

We have many friends who are rank-and-file crew (from staff captains on down to a few assistant MDR waiters) and they haven't uttered anything negative about their new CEO. Ashford has actually increased the budgets onboard for chefs, has redeveloped the entertainment area as much as he is allowed, has created partnerships with amazing institutions and has been at the helm for less than 24 months.

Go ahead, tell us specifically why crew don't like him or what he specifcially has instituted that has ruined a company that was struggling massively for years prior. I'm all ears.

Ashford is a terrible public speaker and has other traits I'm not in love with, but to say this guy has ruined a company is laughable.

It may not be current, however, I believe it was HAL that introduced the buffet concept to cruise ship. :)

 

Deck Buffet.... that was done 'way, way back'.

Lido restaurant as we know today .... yes, I think that was back in the late 1960s.... ROTTERDAM and STATENDAM.