Stan Kuppens grew up in the town if Nijmegen which is located on the eastern side of the Netherlands. Stan enjoyed watching and sailing on different vessels traveling up and down the rivers Waal and Rhine. A frequent world traveler with his parents, Stan developed a fascination for other cultures and meeting people throughout the world. However, his greatest passion was the sport of soccer. In his late teens, Stan was offered a professional soccer contract in the Netherlands. However, he made the decision to keep soccer as a hobby, turning the offer down. Stan recognized he needed to find a way to combine his love for travel, and his appreciation for hospitality.
After graduating from college, he applied to Holland America Line, and was hand selected to be a part of the Management Trainee program, a multi-year agenda which provides detailed training in all aspects of the Hotel Department, eventually leading to the Hotel Manager position. Since then, Stan has sailed with Holland America and Windstar for 15 years. In 2002, Stan was assigned to the Grand World Voyage as Food and Beverage Manager. Later, Stan was assigned to the flagship of Holland America Line at the time, the Amsterdam, as the Hotel Manager. Currently, Stan is serving as Eurodamās Hotel Manager and is cruising through the eastern Caribbean.
Along with holding theĀ positionĀ of Hotel Manager on the Eurodam, Stan is also preparing to take a major role in the construction of Holland America Line’s newest ship, the yet unnamed Pinnacle Class ship. Stan will have to leave hisĀ positionĀ of Hotel Manager to take over the role of “HeadĀ Purchaser” at the shipyard in Venice, Italy. Basically this position puts Stan in charge of ordering every single item that will be placed onto the new ship. For example, the interior designers will pick out a certain type of pillow they want used in the staterooms. It is then Stan’s job to find that pillow in an orderĀ catalog and order around 5,000 of those pillows. Stan must also thenĀ organizeĀ a crew to arrive at the shipyard for delivery to carry each pillow onboard and place them in each stateroom. This same procedure must be done for every single table, chair, light fixture, painting, potted plant, couch cushion, dinner plate, bar glass, you name it! Basically, anything you touch or see onboardĀ a Holland America Line ship, Stan ordered it.Ā Fortunately, Stan seems to really enjoy this aspect role he plays at Holland America Line and he’s obviously very good at it since Holland America Line continues to take this leadership role time and time again.
Stan is one of Holland’s finest Hotel Managers and I was truly lucky to have him as my Hotel Manager. It was a pleasure getting to know him and I truly hope to sail with him again very soon.
