The final word information to Holland America cruise ships and itineraries

From oldest to latest, the ships have step by step elevated in measurement. Nonetheless, the most important ones nonetheless accommodate fewer than half of the variety of passengers carried by the world’s largest ships — a nod to the truth that most of the line’s most loyal clients favor a extra intimate expertise.

There are solely two R Class ships on the roster — Volendam and Zaandam, that are the road’s two oldest and smallest vessels, every with room for about 1,400 passengers. As a result of R Class vessels are almost 40% smaller than the road’s largest ships, they provide fewer facilities, making them good for anybody whose focus is the locations the ships go to moderately than the onboard facilities. As such, these two vessels are likely to sail to extra far-flung locales, together with on world cruises.

Launched between 2002 and 2006, the 4 ships — Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam — in HAL’s Vista Class are massive sufficient for barely greater than 1,900 passengers at double occupancy. Like their smaller R Class fleetmates, they provide solely two different eating places (a steakhouse and an Italian eatery) along with complimentary buffet and principal eating room venues.

Holland America’s Signature Class, comprising Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam, represents the road’s midsize choices, with every vessel accommodating about 2,100 individuals. Like Pinnacle Class ships, these on this class are house to Pan-Asian restaurant Tamarind, along with the free choices and for-fee Italian restaurant and steakhouse discovered on the road’s smaller vessels.

But it surely was with Pinnacle Class ships that HAL really started to overtake its choices by way of each eating and leisure. Koningsdam, which debuted in 2016, introduced with it the Grand Dutch Cafe (the place you will discover the very best grilled cheese at sea, together with scrumptious cut up pea soup) and Rudi’s Sel de Mer, a seafood restaurant developed by chef and meals artist Rudi Sodamin. It additionally boasts the Music Stroll idea, a central thoroughfare that homes a number of efficiency areas specializing in completely different genres of music.

Whereas Rudi’s and the Grand Dutch Cafe are solely discovered on the road’s Pinnacle Class ships (which maintain 2,650 individuals and in addition embody Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam), Music Stroll has been rolled out on Signature Class and Vista Class ships additionally, with R Class vessels that includes one or two of the person Music Stroll venues.

Locations and itineraries

The sheer breadth of locations Holland America covers is spectacular for such a small fleet. At the moment, the road has ships scheduled to name on six continents (plus a sail previous the seventh, Antarctica) with stops in additional than 50 nations.

Itineraries run the gamut from commonplace Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, Canada/New England and Pacific Coastal voyages to extra bucket-list areas like Alaska, the Mediterranean and the Panama Canal. Extra far-flung locations embody locations like South Africa, Oman, Egypt, China, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Turkey, Morocco, Malaysia, Fiji and different areas of the world which can be usually cumbersome to succeed in when you’re not on a ship.

Most of the extra off-the-beaten-path places are reached by way of Holland America’s two most spectacular crusing varieties: world cruises, which final greater than 100 days, and Grand Voyages that may embody circumnavigations of locations like Africa, Australia and New Zealand or South America and Antarctica. Each of a majority of these cruises are likely to promote out a yr or two upfront.

Plus, with the road’s latest give attention to longer cruises that journey round-trip from U.S. ports, Holland America makes it simple for People to set sail with out having to fly.

HAL’s hottest and frequented locations are the Caribbean and Europe, with different locales in proximity to North America — resembling Canada/New England and the Mexican Riviera — proving to be the second-most widespread with Holland America vacationers.

Holland America has additionally had a commanding presence in Alaska for many years, providing a number of the most sturdy alternatives to go to the forty ninth State. In truth, the model is so established within the area that it owns and operates its personal lodges close to locations like Denali Nationwide Park, making for the right pre- or post-cruise add-on.

When you’re on the lookout for a specialty cabin, these additionally can be found. Holland America presents a choice of accessible rooms on each vessel. They span all cabin varieties, together with suites, with absolutely accessible, absolutely accessible single-side strategy (with each left- and right-side approaches as choices) and ambulatory accessible varieties accessible. (Particular room varieties range by ship.)

Spa cabins are available in all primary cabin classes, in addition to Neptune Suites. They embody the identical sq. footage as commonplace cabins in every of these classes and share the identical format. What units them aside is that they supply spa-centric extras, resembling flavored water and reduce fruit, a spa concierge to help with reserving therapies and in-room health gear like train DVDs and yoga mats.

Sure HAL ships additionally supply solo cabins for one individual. Designed with lone vacationers in thoughts, they function full-size beds in lieu of queens, and so they’re accessible within the exterior class solely, starting from 127 to 172 sq. ft of area.

The road’s solely rooms designed particularly with households in thoughts are exterior household cabins, which supply from 222 to 231 sq. ft of dwelling area and accommodate as many as 5 individuals with a queen mattress, a two-person couch mattress and a single bunk that pulls down from the ceiling. These cabins are additionally outfitted with a cut up rest room setup — one room with a bath/bathe, sink and bathroom and one other with a bathe and sink.

Customary options in all Holland America ship cabins embody a queen mattress that may cut up into two twins, a few nightstands, a conceit/desk space with a chair or stool and a telephone. There’s additionally a closet with cabinets and room to hold garments. Rounding out the choices are a secure, a minifridge, quite a lot of retailers and USB ports and a non-public rest room. An in-room TV gives a handful of channels, ship-sponsored content material and complimentary films.

Choose cabins additionally embody sofas, a few of which have pull-out beds. Different rooms made to sleep greater than two individuals might need bunks that pull down from the ceiling.

Every day housekeeping service is included in all room varieties.

Customary facilities on Holland America vessels are a step up from these on most different strains. Some that you simply may get pleasure from embody Elemis toiletries, bathrobes, shoeshine service, contemporary fruit, signature pillow-top mattresses and complimentary 24/7 room service.

Eating places and eating

All the line’s ships supply no less than 4 eating choices: two complimentary (the buffet and principal eating room) and two for a payment (Italian eatery Canaletto and the Pinnacle Grill steakhouse). Because the ships improve in measurement, so too does the actual property devoted to eating places.

The road’s Signature and Pinnacle courses each have added-fee Asian-fusion delicacies at joint venue Tamarind and Nami Sushi, and Pinnacle Class vessels are also house to quirky seafood restaurant Rudi’s Sel de Mer and the Holland-themed Grand Dutch Cafe. The latter is a implausible place to hunt out complimentary between-meal snacks and extra-charge alcohol and specialty espresso drinks.

Given the model’s deep roots in Alaska and dedication to serving a number of the greatest meals afloat, it makes use of sustainable Alaskan seafood sourced by means of a partnership with the Alaska Seafood Advertising Institute and licensed by Accountable Fisheries Administration.

Foodies will get pleasure from movie star chef-led eating experiences and cooking demonstrations on choose sailings. Plus, Holland America’s Very important Alternative program gives passengers with at-home fish deliveries and recipes from HAL cooks to allow them to replicate the meals they’ve eaten on board once they return to dry land.

Passengers are likely to frequent the principle eating room on most nights. It gives an upscale sit-down expertise with waiter-served meals. When you select As You Want eating, you’ll be able to arrive on the eating room any time between set hours and eat at your individual desk (or a communal desk if you want). When you select set seating, you’ll dine at considered one of two set eating instances with assigned tablemates on the similar desk and with the identical waiters every night time.

Relying on every day’s schedule, the principle eating room may also be open for breakfast and lunch.

Moreover, every Holland America vessel has a buffet that serves numerous cuisines from a number of stations for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snacking. And, talking of snacking, afternoon tea is obtainable on choose afternoons on every voyage.

Different noteworthy choices embody free pool deck pizza, burgers and scorching canines, in addition to 24-hour room service. Though choose room service objects include a payment, most are free. (Holland America is the one mainstream cruise line that does not cost for traditional, around-the-clock room service.)

Leisure and actions

As a result of Holland America cruises give attention to the locations visited, moderately than onboard points of interest, the leisure roster is lighter than what you will discover with different mainstream strains. Nonetheless, simply because there are fewer choices doesn’t suggest those that exist aren’t glorious.

For starters, the most recent vessels function a complete music-themed promenade, and every ship’s principal theater, dubbed the World Stage, hosts a number of fabulous exhibits every cruise.

Theaters and exhibits

Probably the most notable of Holland America’s leisure areas is the Music Stroll, a stay music-themed promenade that is house to a number of venues for the whole lot from dueling pianos and blues performances to rock ‘n’ roll.

B.B. King’s Blues Membership is a well-liked venue on Signature Class and Pinnacle Class ships. Named for the famed blues artist, it homes stay performances of the identical style. On Vista Class, Signature Class and Pinnacle Class vessels, Billboard Onboard is the place you’ll be able to catch dueling pianos with musicians enjoying widespread tunes that prime the Billboard charts.

On Pinnacle Class vessels, a stay band jams out to rock tunes within the Rolling Stone Rock Room. On ships within the Vista Class, the equally themed Rolling Stone Lounge hosts a seven-piece band that covers a variety of music kinds, together with R&B, rock, pop and nation.

However the stay music would not cease there. A 3-piece band performs pop preparations from the ’60s by means of as we speak on the Ocean Bar on all Vista Class and Signature Class ships.

The primary theater, World Stage, incorporates a altering roster of exhibits, together with the a capella group Cantare; Step One Dance Firm performances that meld technologically superior units with lovely choreography; and Island Magic, a contemporary tackle metal drum music.

Lastly, “Origin Story” is a high-tech, live-hosted documentary-style present that chronicles HAL’s historical past — from the unique Rotterdam by means of the pandemic-related shutdown of 2020 — in a means that can depart you eager to see it greater than as soon as. (Deliver tissues.)

Different points of interest and actions

Different actions you’ll be able to count on to see on the every day schedule may embody trivia, recreation exhibits (assume Battle of the Sexes and the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed Recreation), scavenger hunts, pickleball, on line casino play, poolside films, basketball capturing competitions, afternoon tea, board video games, dance and mixology courses, spa seminars and wine tastings.

Prime-deck points of interest

Consistent with Holland America’s less-flashy type, you will not discover a lot in the best way of top-deck pastimes. There aren’t any waterslides, go-kart tracks, surf simulators or mountain climbing partitions. What you can see, nonetheless, are two swimming pools — a principal pool coated by a retractable glass roof and one other adults-only pool that overlooks the wake — in addition to scorching tubs for enjoyable on every ship.

All ships even have tracks for strolling and jogging. Areas and distances range by vessel.

Kids’s packages

Holland America presents the appropriately (albeit uninspiringly) named Children Membership on all of its ships. It accommodates kids from ages 3-17 beneath the supervision of professionally educated youth employees.

Kids are cut up into three teams — Children (ages 3-6), Tweens (7-12) and Teenagers (13-17) — for age-appropriate actions that may embody online game play, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, theme events and poker tournaments.

Observe that common Children Membership programming is not accessible on sailings of 25 nights or longer, together with world cruises and Grand Voyages. Kids’s actions will probably be accessible once in a while as wanted, relying on the quantity and ages of the youngsters on board.

Whether or not you are required to have a passport or not, TPG all the time recommends touring with one, simply in case there’s an emergency that requires you to disembark your crusing in another country.

Additionally, you will want your boarding paperwork, both printed or in your cell gadget by way of the Holland America Line Navigator app, to indicate on the pier throughout embarkation.

Moreover, relying in your crusing, you might need to use for visas to be able to enter sure nations. In lots of circumstances, the road will deal with the appliance and procurement for you, however take note of particular directions in circumstances the place you may be accountable for acquiring your individual documentation.

Gratuities

Until you prepay gratuities or buy a cruise fare that has them included within the worth, you’ll be charged $16 per individual throughout every day of your cruise ($17.50 when you’re booked in a collection). You may regulate the quantity up or down or take away it utterly (which we do not advocate doing) by visiting the visitor companies desk. You can’t regulate or take away gratuities after your crusing has ended.

An 18% service cost will probably be added to bar, drink package deal and spa purchases.

Wi-Fi

Holland America presents two Wi-Fi package deal tiers for a payment. The Surf package deal permits for checking e-mail, accessing webpages, utilizing choose apps and using message companies, resembling WhatsApp and iMessage. The Premium package deal presents entry to pick streaming apps (excluding streaming companies like Hulu, Prime Video and Netflix) and audio and video name capabilities on apps like FaceTime, WhatsApp and Fb Messenger.

If you are going to buy a cruise fare that features Wi-Fi, you’ll obtain the Surf package deal. To buy the Surf package deal individually, the value begins at $18 per gadget, per day; Premium begins at $23 per gadget, per day. Passengers can improve from Surf to Premium or add further gadgets at any time.

Carry-on drinks coverage

HAL’s alcohol coverage permits cruisers 21 years of age and older to deliver bottles (750 milliliters or much less) of wine or Champagne on board for a corkage payment of $20 per bottle, no matter the place the alcohol is consumed. No beer, liquor or boxed wine is allowed.

You may deliver wine again on board if bought in port, however liquor and different varieties of alcohol will probably be held for you till the tip of the voyage. Most nonalcoholic drinks usually are not allowed to be introduced on board. Nonetheless, every passenger is allowed to deliver cans or cartons of water, to not exceed six 1-liter cans or cartons or 12 500-milliliter cans or cartons. Plastic bottles usually are not allowed.

Smoking coverage

Smoking usually just isn’t allowed in indoor areas on Holland America ships, together with cabins and cabin balconies. Designated smoking areas can be found open air and in particular areas of the casinos on choose ships. E-cigarettes are allowed for use in passenger cabins however not on balconies.

Violations of those insurance policies will lead to a $250 fantastic; repeated offenses may trigger a passenger to be disembarked from the crusing.

Laundry

All of Holland America’s vessels supply send-out laundry, dry-cleaning and urgent companies for a payment. There aren’t any self-service laundry services on any of HAL’s ships.

Electrical retailers

Ships have a mixture of North American 110-volt and European 220-volt retailers of their cabins. All the line’s vessels even have USB ports of their rooms, together with some close to the beds for simple in a single day charging.

Foreign money

The forex on Holland America ships is the U.S. greenback. The road’s ships function on a cashless system whereby passengers hyperlink a bank card or sum of money to their room keycards, which may then be used to cost onboard purchases.

Consuming age

The ingesting age on Holland America ships is 21. Passengers youthful than 21 might not buy or devour alcohol, nor might they bring about it on board with them.

Gown code

Holland America has two varieties of night gown codes: sensible informal and dressy. The previous contains denims with out rips, holes or tears. Shorts, ripped denims, beachwear and males’s tank tops aren’t allowed in eating places at dinner.

On dressy nights, denims aren’t allowed in eating places that are not thought-about informal. For males, jackets and ties are most popular, however collared shirts with slacks are permitted. For girls, attire and skirts or slacks with blouses are acceptable.

Daywear is informal and influenced by the vacation spot and present climate.

Holland America Line loyalty program

This system is easy, with 5 tiers. You attain every tier after accumulating a sure variety of “cruise night time credit.” Merely, for every night time you spend on a Holland America ship, you will get credit score for one night time — or one level. Staying in a collection? You may snag double factors.

The 5 tiers are 1-Star Mariner (after your first cruise), 2-Star Mariner (30-74 cruise nights), 3-Star Mariner (75-199), 4-Star Mariner (200-499) and 5-Star Mariner (500 nights or extra).

Cruisers produce other methods to earn factors, too, resembling spending a sure sum of money on board whenever you sail.

However what is the incentive to affix this system? After only one crusing, you are entitled to drink vouchers, a particular welcome lunch, reductions on Holland America merchandise and half off third and fourth passengers in a cabin on choose cruises. Plus, you will be eligible for onboard credit score whenever you e-book sure voyages.

While you attain every subsequent tier, you will unlock additional reductions — and even freebies — on issues like specialty restaurant eating, specialty coffees, minibar purchases, spa therapies, laundry and urgent companies. You may additionally acquire perks like precedence check-in and tendering, in addition to Wi-Fi credit.

How a lot does a Holland America cruise price?

Holland America sailings aren’t the least costly you will discover, however they will not completely bust your price range, both, significantly when you go for a extra bare-bones cabin within the inside or ocean-view classes.

HAL additionally presents particular perks and precedence advantages to passengers who pay for Membership Orange entry. When cruisers e-book with Holland America, they’ve the choice to buy a Membership Orange add-on that gives precedence check-in and disembarkation, precedence tendering, dinner in a restaurant unique to Membership Orange and a complimentary cabin improve, amongst different extras. Costs range by crusing.

In terms of fares, on the time of publication, the least costly weeklong voyage I may discover was $371 per individual — $53 per individual, per night time — for a seven-night Alaska crusing by means of the Inside Passage, round-trip from Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sept. 22, 2024, aboard Nieuw Amsterdam in an inside cabin.

Costs vary all the best way as much as $91,199 per individual — $686 per individual, per night time — for a 133-night pole-to-pole Grand Voyage crusing round-trip from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades on Jan. 25, 2025, in a Neptune Suite aboard Zuiderdam.

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