Holland America Line UK & Ireland director of sales Wendy Lahmich is celebrating 25 years with the brand. She speaks to Gary Peters about her most memorable moments in cruise and explains how colleagues have become her extended family.

“One memory that sticks out is when we launched Eurodam back in 2008. We’d never done a launch to that scale, and we had to use the ‘banana’ terminal at Southampton; we basically had to clear it of bananas and literally make it into a cruise terminal for the ship.

“We also had a smart car, which was Holland America Line branded, and our president at the time decided, on the spur of the moment, that he wanted it airlifted onto the ship. So then we had to arrange for that to be done.”

Wendy Lahmich is speaking exclusively to CTN about her time in the cruise sector, as this year marks a quarter of a century at Holland America Line – “I can’t believe I’m saying quarter of a century; some of the people reading this won’t even be that old, including my own team”.

The Eurodam anecdote is perhaps not the most memorable, however. Alaska holds a very special place in HAL’s story, and the same can be said for Wendy. “Alaska is just my absolute favourite,” she says. “Those who know me well, and know my son, will know that he was essentially made in Alaska… is that too much information?

“We had a few ideas on his name – Juneau, Ketchikan… he’ll probably kill me for saying this. We were going to go back to Alaska to celebrate his 18th birthday this year, which obviously was not possible.

“On a serious note, I just feel so lucky to be here. I’m so grateful to this industry, not just my own brand, but to everyone involved.” 

Treasured friendships in the cruise industry

Family plays a key role in Wendy’s drive to push cruise forward. During her time at HAL, colleagues have become friends, trusted confidantes who will always hold a special place in her heart. The same can be said for travel agent partners, who have worked side-by-side with Wendy and the wider HAL team to make cruise more accessible and appealing for millions of passengers.

“It is ,” she insists. “Someone said to me recently, ‘oh, you come across as a real motherly figure’. I thought, ‘goodness me, am I now seen as a mother in cruise?’ I can see who the future leaders in the sector will be. I hope that I have had – and can continue to have – some kind of influence.

So, is there anything agents don’t know? “I think I’ve shared this before, but I was a disco dancing champion in 1983. So, when anybody sees me at any of the events, shooting some moves, they now know that it’s genuine.

“I’ve also signed up to the Open University for a creative writing course. I’ve got a few ideas; quite a lot has happened in my life and around me in the industry. I just think there’s a story dying to get out.”

A cruise award winner

Tales of this ilk are a common theme during the interview – Wendy has packed plenty into her career to date. The humour with which she describes them masks a steely determination and work ethic that has seen her thrive.

Indeed, evidence of this success was shown when Wendy’s work was highlighted by CLIA with an outstanding contribution award – “very proud of that” she says ­– and a similar award from HAL.

However, again, it’s the work relationships and personal friendships that are the pinnacle. “I think, if I’m honest, what I’m most proud of is the people who I’ve worked with, who have worked for me and who I’ve worked for,” she says with a beaming smile.

“Everybody knows that I’ve stayed with Lynn Narraway (HAL MD) for all this time – she is a huge, huge part of why I’m still here, and the same goes for everyone else I’ve worked with. All of that has wrapped up into one lovely parcel – that’s why I’m still here.”

As for what the future holds, there’s no doubting Wendy’s continued commitment to the cause. “Going forward, what we’ve all done and all the investments we’ve made, and the way that the cruise lines have handled themselves and the industry has handled itself , and the way that we’ve come together, has been phenomenal.

“I’d love to see cruise get to three, four, five million UK passengers a year, because I think all of us in this industry believe even that’s still not enough. I think agent partners have become creative and consumers of course are now desperate to travel again.

“I could shed a tear right but I’m not going to, but I could because that’s how strongly I feel. I think we’ve all learned a lot of lessons. Cruising has a really bright future. As an industry, we are closer than ever before and I’m so proud to be part of it.”