Case Study: Holland America Line increases shore excursion purchases 7–10% and personalizes guest experiences with Oracle Real‑Time Decisions (Oracle)

Holland America Line Increases Shore Excursion Purchases 7%-10%, Delivers a More Personalized Customer Experience with Decision Management Solution

Holland America Line, a 140‑year‑old cruise operator that carries over 1 million guests annually across 15 mid‑size ships and more than 500 voyages, needed to deliver highly personalized guest experiences and boost revenue from onshore excursions. With between 10 and 100 excursion options per port and rising competition, the company sought to optimize marketing spend and present individually relevant offers across web, email and onboard channels.

By deploying Oracle Real‑Time Decisions (alongside WebCenter Sites and Big Data), Holland America integrated reservation, CRM and onboard transaction data to deliver self‑learning, multichannel recommendations—41% of passengers converted on one of the top three recommendations—and achieved a roughly 7–10% increase in shore excursion purchases. The solution automated predictive decisioning without requiring a large data‑science team, lowered IT overhead, improved guest convenience, and created a platform for further personalized offers such as tailored cruise packages and stateroom suggestions.

Holland America Line

Therron Hofsetz

Director of IT Applications