Heineken Global Duty Free is accelerating its draught beer training program for Cruise partners, with consumer-focused quality a key component in its growth strategy.
Participating cruise lines include Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Holland America, MSC, Princess, P&O, and Royal Caribbean.
The Heineken Passion & Quality Training program has been developed to address the dynamics of the on-board draught experience, where speed of service is a priority. Launched in the EU in 2023, the training program has doubled year on year, with more than 1,000 crew members trained to date.
The expanded 2025 program welcomes another 1,500 bar personnel across training programs in Europe and Mexico to complete the Heineken draught pouring quality ritual. The company says the ritual epitomizes the principles of former Heineken president, Freddy Heineken, who said “The only reason to order a second beer is the quality of the first.”
Led by the best draught masters from the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, the training takes place in the onboard bars so that crew are in their natural working environment with familiar set-up and equipment. The on-shore program includes Athens, Barcelona, Civitavecchia, Cozumel and Southampton and is part of the Heineken global quality commitment to ensure Heineken consumers enjoy the best possible experience in bars on land and at sea.
Christian Klimpke, Global Account Manager Cruises, Heineken Global Duty Free, commented: “Quality is at the heart of Heineken wherever we operate, and crew engagement is fundamental to the success of our Cruise business. Our focus on quality extends beyond the beer to the people entrusted to fill the glass. The Cruise training program has been highly successful, and is very popular with bar teams who become valued Heineken ambassadors. The training helps busy on-board bars to better meet the expec-tations of guests, driving results for our Cruise partners and Heineken, but also increasing guest satisfac-tion too.”
