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Press Release Panraven, Inc.
Holland America Line and Panraven Introduce Custom Cruise Stories Guests preserve their memories with individualized stories of their cruise in beautifully printed books
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – November 3, 2008 – Holland America Line and Panraven (www.panraven.com), the pioneer of online storytelling, have launched a new service that brings personalized, hardbound printed cruise books to guests interested in an easy way to preserve the memory of their Holland America Line adventure. Custom Cruise Stories are available for purchase online at www.panraven.com/hal and onboard through the Photo Gallery where Image Creators are prepared to assist guests in selecting their package and answering any questions. Guests begin with a ready-made, fully customizable story of their cruise that includes their itinerary, professional photography, and details on their ship and ports of call. From there they can choose to add photos taken by onboard staff, photos taken with their own camera, or both. Purchase options are available that cater both to those looking to do as little as possible as well as those more digital-savvy passengers who will take pleasure in adding their own personal touches to their ready-made story before sending it to print using Panraven’s easy online interface. Finished books are mailed to passengers following the cruise, and guests can share an online version of their story with friends and family via email or a range of other sharing options. “We strive to make every Holland America Line cruise a unique and memorable experience and we’re constantly looking for new and better ways to help our guests keep those memories alive,” said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs for Holland America Line. “Panraven’s ability to combine ready-made stories, rich customization, easy online sharing with beautifully printed books is truly unique and by teaming with Panraven and our on-board photography partner Ocean Images, we think we have found yet another way to enrich our customer’s experience.” Frode Eilertsen, Founder and CEO of Panraven reflected that “since our inception as a company, we have focused on creating a solution that provides users with a way to preserve and share the rich detail of their life experiences with little or no effort or expertise required on their part.” John Shumway, Panraven’s COO added, “we are proud to deliver on that vision and honored to have Holland America as our first cruise industry partner.” Panraven’s online interface is specifically engineered for anyone who can browse the web and handle web-based email, but advanced users will find a huge range of capabilities to edit and organize media; incorporate video and audio; control page layouts, fonts and page backgrounds; and share finished stories online via email, URLs, embedded code for blogs and web pages and directly to social communities like Facebook and MySpace. Advanced collaboration features make it easy for one member of a group to create or edit a story and then send copies to others so that they can make their own edits. The service launched at the end of August on ms Westerdam and ms Oosterdam and is currently being rolled-out fleet-wide. Editor’s Note: Photos and online viewable samples are available. Contact Panraven at media@panraven.com or 617-395-7996. About Panraven Panraven offers an exciting and powerful new way for people to capture, share and treasure their memories and passions. The multimedia service allows people to chronicle and communicate their life experiences through vibrant, expressive stories that can be viewed and shared online and printed in high-quality professionally bound books. In addition to its consumer service, Panraven offers unique capabilities for land and cruise-focused travel partners. Founded in 2005 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Panraven is privately held. For more information, visit http://www.panraven.com/aboutus. About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK)] Holland America Line’s fleet of 14 ships offers nearly 500 cruises to 314 ports in more than 100 countries, territories or dependencies. Two- to 108-day itineraries visit all seven continents, and highlights include Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal. A 15th ship, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, is scheduled to join the fleet in 2010. Fleetwide, the company features Signature of Excellence enhancements, a commitment totaling more than $525 million, that showcase the Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine — a state-of-the-art onboard show kitchen where more than 60 celebrated guest chefs and culinary experts provide cooking demonstrations and classes — Explorations Café powered by The New York Times, teens-only activity areas and all new stateroom amenities highlighted by flat-panel TVs and plush Euro-top Mariner’s Dream Beds. World's Leading Cruise Lines The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, Holland America Line is a member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and Costa Cruises. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, these lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. The World's Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.
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