Oprah Sets Sail On Holland America In New Partnership

After adding partnerships with Lincoln Center Stage, Billboard Onboard and B.B. King’s Blues Club over the past two years, Holland America Line is bringing another major partner aboard. 

Holland America has partnered with O, The Oprah Magazine to sail five “Adventure of Your Life” sailings, bringing O Magazine-inspired activities aboard—and offering a chance to interact with the magazine’s figureheads and members of its SuperSoul 100 list of leaders, entrepreneurs and influencers “who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity.”

Onboard for the first sailing to Alaska will be Oprah Winfrey herself, plus O Magazine’s editor at large Gayle King, editor in chief Lucy Kaylin and creative director Adam Glassman. 

“I’m so excited to continue 2017 as my Year of Adventure with another bold, new place I’ve never been before: Alaska!” Winfrey said in a statement. 

Speaking at a blizzard-bound press conference in New York on Thursday, Kaylin called the partnership the “most ambitious and most fabulous thing we’ve ever attempted.” 

The five sailings are scheduled for Nov. 29, 2017, an 11-day Southern Caribbean Wayfarer on ms Koningsdam; March 3, 2018, a 7-day Eastern Caribbean roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale on ms Nieuw Amsterdam; Aug. 11, 2018, a 7-Day Alaska roundtrip from Seattle on ms Eurodam; and Oct. 28, 2018, a 7-Day Western Caribbean sailing on ms Nieuw Amsterdam.

“The readers of O Magazine and Holland America Line guests have a lot in common…They prefer to collect experiences…they have a strong desire to learn and engage and…they seek authenticity, something that’s real and tangible,” Holland America president Orlando Ashford said.

Besides those five, more than 300 North American sailings throughout 2018 will be integrated with features inspired by the magazine, including movement and tai chi classes, an onboard book club and “Let’s Eat” seminars on healthy eating. 

There will be a premium on the five featured sailings, as they will be “priced accordingly,” Ashford said. 

Readers and others will be able to earn a free “Adventure of Your Life” sailing by going to the magazine’s website and submitting a written statement of why travel is important to them and how it can help them connect with the world.