ABOARD THE FRIDTJOF NANSEN — Gebhard Rainer, the new CEO of HX (formerly known as Hurtigruten Expeditions) stood on the balcony of the main room upstairs on the Fridtjof Nansen and spoke on video camera about the change of the brand to. independence.
Instead, he thanked the HX crew for their hard work as the cruise works to complete its separation in November from the Hurtigruten brand, which operates Norwegian cruises. These brands will be independent cruises under the Hurtigruten Group. The transition begins in October.
Rest only after the separation, Rainer said to the artists, because 2025 will be a busy year.
HX is in the midst of a rebranding, rebranding and hiring of Rainer, who was most recently the CEO of Sandals Resorts International. Rainer expects such changes to translate into booking growth, particularly in the North American market, where HX currently receives 18% of bookings. Rainer thinks 50% is possible.
But these trips are hard to sell, he said, which is why HX hosted 300 travel advisors, journalists and tourists in September on the Fridtjof Nansen for its biggest trip of the year. The two-day voyage from Vancouver to Seattle provided a taste of what happened at HX, which included guided cruises, a small boat ride to collect water samples and a demonstration of the scientific research taking place on board.
This “requires you to tell a story,” Rainer told the counselors the night before. Travel sales also require consultants to learn about sales so that they have the confidence to sell.
“It’s not an easy thing to sell because you have to have the stories to make it interesting and attractive to people who don’t know much about travel,” said Rainer.
Several cruise consultants agreed, saying they had never been on a cruise before and had never sold one – if at all. But they wanted to do it.
HX is part of a growing segment in marine transportation. Lines with strong names in the US, such as Silversea and Seabourn, have each released cruise products, while new entrants such as Atlas Ocean Voyages also eat into the market.
In order to attract consultants, HX has been working to simplify its sales, such as switching to a premium price that includes food and drinks, alcohol, WiFi, freebies, daily trips such as hiking and community tours, professional photos, jackets trip. take home a reusable water bottle.
“We are now able to find a way to partner with HX,” said Alex Delamere-White, the brand’s chief marketing officer. “I strongly believe that in order to be successful in the US, we need travel advisors to love us. We are not a mass marketer. We need a passionate group of travel advisors that we have a strong bond and relationship with. , and that is very important to what we are doing here in the next few days.”
With the name change and other industry changes, Rainer sees 2024 as a turning point for HX. Although the company is a little ahead of the curve in terms of bookings, it is learning to plan its routes in advance to take advantage of the long booking window. HX opened its reservations through Q1 2027 just before the cruise, and management plans to put cruises through spring 2028 on sale in March.
“You have to start selling quickly, because people are looking for a booking window,” Rainer said.
Bookings across the board for 2025 are up 18%, he said. The Galapagos is leading the way in reserves of 245% over 2024. Reserves in the Northwest Passage have also been strong and will grow by more than 40% in 2025.
If all goes well in 2025 and his first year standing alone from Hurtigruten, Rainer hopes to order the next generation of hybrid power ships in 2026.
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