In a move that will further strengthen its presence in Australia, Holland America Line officially opened its sales office in Sydney with a final transition date of September 1.  Focused on the Australian market, the independent sales, marketing and reservations team provides direct contact with agents and administrative support.

To assist the increasing sales demands in the region, the new office enables agents to make bookings directly with Holland America Line either electronically through POLAR Online or through the Sydney-based reservations office.  The line will now accept credit cards and office hours have been extended to:

Monday through Wednesday and Friday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm

Thursday 8:30 am – 8:00 pm

Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Note that bookings made prior to 1 September should be made through Travel the World. 

“The Australian cruise market continues to grow at a tremendous pace, and opening a dedicated office was a natural step that demonstrates our long-term commitment to this market,” said Richard Meadows, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs. “Holland America Line is receiving fantastic support from Australian traveler sellers, and this shows that we’re here to provide full service that reflects the high standards we are known for.”

Located in the offices of Carnival Australia in Sydney, the new team is led by Director of Sales Tony Archbold and includes business development managers, business development representatives plus inside support.  Agents also are able to utilize the company’s online Travel Agent Headquarters (http://www.travelagentheadquarters.com/) that contains the intuitive POLAR booking engine, image library, sales and training tools and more to assist in the booking process.

The opening of the office follows an earlier announcement that 2011-12 marks the first time the line will have two ships, ms Volendam and ms Zaandam, sailing a series of itineraries in the region simultaneously.  In 2012-13 the 1,926-passenger Oosterdam will join the 1,432-passengerVolendam as the first Vista-class ship to be home-ported out of Sydney, boosting Holland America Line’s capacity in the area by almost 25 percent.