9 June 2008

Cruise firm, Holland America Line, has partnered with Microsoft to provide its customers with onboard digital workshop facilities and training sessions.

The Holland America Line Digital Workshop is powered by Microsoft Windows and will be launched on the MS Amsterdam and the MS Oosterdam, followed by the MS Westerdam and the line’s new 2,104-passenger ship, the MS Eurodam, in July, expanding fleet-wide within 18 months.

Free workshops led by Microsoft-trained technology experts will show onboard guests how to take better vacation photos, make movies, edit pictures and create scrapbooks using a variety of Microsoft Windows and Windows Live services. Guests will learn how to share all their digital memories through e-mail, blogging and social networking.

“Holland America Line is constantly looking for ways to enhance our enrichment offerings to our guests,” said Richard Meadows, executive vice president of guest programmes. “It was a natural fit to team up with the world’s software leader to provide this interactive ‘edutainment’. Not only will guests have fun learning how to document and share their memories, they’ll take home new knowledge and confidence in technology.”

The complimentary programme has its own dedicated space on each ship and starts with a 50-minute session called Just Shoot Me, which covers the basic skills involved in taking good pictures, introduces passengers to onboard editing and movie-making resources available on the cruise, including Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker.

This is followed by other 50-minute sessions designed for smaller groups to try out the technologies themselves in a hands-on environment. Workshops cover: how to move images between a digital camera and a PC; how to crop and colour-correct digital photos and create panoramic pictures by stitching photos together; how to add music, special effects and titles to videos and publish to a DVD using Windows Movie Maker; and how to create and upload photos to a personal Web page, invite friends to view the Web page, e-mail photos and create a blog using Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Writer.

“We are excited to be working with the Holland America Line to provide this innovative and immersive programme,” said Debbie Anderson, director of Windows Consumer Marketing at Microsoft. “With the Holland America Digital Workshop, cruise guests will be able to use Microsoft Windows and Windows Live to share their experiences with friends and family in a relaxed setting as they sail to exotic destinations around the world.”