Holland America’s Noordam Resumes Service After Two Years

The Noordam is reentering service for Holland America Line today in Florida.

After a 25-month hiatus, the 2006-built cruise ship is resuming commercial service with two repositioning cruises ahead of a summer program in Alaska.

First, the vessel is offering first a Panama Canal cruise. The 17-night voyage sails from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego and features visits to eight ports in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico.

Once on the West Coast, the Noordam embarks on a four-night Pacific Coastal itinerary that links San Diego and Vancouver, with a stop in Victoria.

The vessel then starts its summer season in the Last Frontier, offering open-jaw cruises between Vancouver and Whittier.

Called “Glacier Discovery,” the vessel’s regular itinerary includes calls in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, in addition to cruising at the Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.

Concluding its Alaska program, the Noordam departs on a special 34-night repositioning voyage to the South Pacific in October.

The itinerary sails to Sydney and features calls in Hawaii, Kiribati, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Tonga and Australia – where the ship is poised to spend the next winter season.

The Noordam originally entered service in 2006 as the fourth ship in a series of four 82,000-ton cruise ships known as the Vista Class.

In 2019, the 1,900-guest vessel was subjected to a major refurbishment that included several upgrades to its cabins and public areas.

Additions comprise the Billboard Onboard to the Music Walk area, the Microsoft Studio in the Explorations Café and Fujifilm Wonder PhotoShop.

Suites were also refreshed with new soft goods, furniture and bathrooms and other areas such as the Pinnacle Grill, the Pinnacle Bar, the Greenhouse Spa and Salon, the Dining Room and Lido Market received extensive enhancements.

In addition to the Noordam, six cruise ships are currently sailing with guests for Holland America Line.

While the entire fleet is set to be in service by July, two additional vessels – the Oosterdam and the Zaandam – are returning in May.

Holland America Line’s Volendam will be used to accommodate around 1,500 Ukrainian refugees.

HAL will provide three hot meals per day, private stateroom accommodations, housekeeping services, use of public spaces, fitness facilities, internet access and other necessities

It comes as part of a larger commitment from the Netherlands to accommodate 50,000 people who have fled the country following the Russian invasion.

HAL will provide three hot meals per day, private stateroom accommodations, housekeeping services, use of public spaces, fitness facilities, internet access and other necessities while the vessel is docked in Rotterdam. It will be staffed with around 650 crew members.

HAL president Gus Antorcha said the line was in a “unique position” to accommodate the immediate need for food and housing.

“Our company was founded in Rotterdam around the mission of helping immigrants find a better life,” he added. “So today we’re proud to be a small part of a similar mission for Ukrainians who have tragically been displaced.”

Volendam was scheduled to return to service on 15 May, with voyages from Rotterdam to Norway, the British Isles and Iceland.

To accommodate the three-month commitment, Holland America Line will cancel three of those voyages and resume service on 3 July instead. Guests on cancelled cruises are being notified and will be accommodated on similar itineraries.

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience this will cause to guests booked on the three cancelled cruises,” Antorcha said.

Holland America Line Restart: Six Ships in Service by January

Continuing its restart plans, Holland America Line will see six ships sailing with guests by early 2022. The Carnival-owned premium brand first resumed service in July, offering a summer program in Alaska with the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Four Ships in Service in North America

Currently, five vessels are in service in North America, including the new Rotterdam.

The 2021-built ship debuted in October, sailing a transatlantic crossing before kicking off its inaugural season in the Caribbean.

The Eurodam, the Nieuw Amsterdam, the Nieuw Statendam and the Koningsdam are also presently operating, offering cruises to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and the West Coast from two different homeports.

Here are the details:

Eurodam
Capacity at 100%: 2,104
Date: In service since August 15, 2021
Region: Caribbean
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States)
Length: 7 to 10 nights
Itinerary: Panama Canal, Southern and Eastern Caribbean    

Koningsdam
Capacity at 100%: 2,650
Date: In service since October 10, 2021
Region: West Coast
Homeport: San Diego (United States)
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Mexican Riviera  

Nieuw Amsterdam
Capacity at 100%: 2,100
Date: In service since July 24, 2021
Region: Caribbean
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States)
Length: 5 to 9 nights
Itinerary: the Bahamas, Western and Eastern Caribbean

Nieuw Statendam
Capacity at 100%: 2,650

Date: In service since November 21, 2021
Region: Caribbean
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States)
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Bahamas, Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean

Rotterdam (VII)
Capacity at 100%: 2,650
Date: In service since October 20, 2021
Region: Caribbean
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States)
Length: 10 and 11 nights
Itinerary: Eastern and Southern Caribbean

Zuiderdam Returns in December; Balance of the Fleet in 2022

While the balance of the 11-ship fleet is set to return in the first half of 2022, the Zuiderdam is resuming service in December.

The 2002-built ship is set to offer additional itinerary choices in North America, with a series of West Coast, Panama Canal and the Caribbean.

Here are the currently planned service resumption dates for the remainder of the fleet:

Zuiderdam
Capacity at 100%: 1,916

Date: December 23, 2021
Region: West Coast
Homeport: San Diego (United States)
Length: 10 nights
Itinerary: Guaymas, Loreto, Topolobampo, La Paz, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas

Noordam
Capacity at 100%: 1,918
Date: April 24, 2022
Region: Panama Canal
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) to San Diego (United States)
Length: 17 nights
Itinerary: Cartagena, Panama Canal, Panama City, Puerto Caldera, Corinto, Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Chiapas, Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Luas

Oosterdam 
Capacity at 100%: 1,916
Date: May 1, 2022
Region: Mediterranean
Homeport: Civitavecchia (Italy) to Venice (Italy)
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Salerno, Messina, Corfu, Kotor and Zadar

Volendam
Capacity at 100%: 1,432
Date: May 1, 2022
Region: Northern Europe
Homeport: Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Length: 14 nights
Itinerary: Arhus, Warnemunde, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and St. Petersburg

Westerdam
Capacity at 100%: 1,916
Date: May 8, 2022
Region: Alaska
Homeport: Seattle (United States)
Length: 7 nights
Itinerary: Victoria, Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka

Zaandam
Capacity at 100%: 1,432
Date: May 12, 2022
Region: Canada and New England
Homeport: Fort Lauderdale (United States) to Montreal (Canada)
Length: 9 nights
Itinerary: Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney and Quebec City