Holland America Line has announced that its ninth ship, Oosterdam, has resumed service for the first time since the industry-wide pause began in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ship departed Trieste (Venice), Italy on a 12-day “Holy Lands and Ancient Kingdoms” cruise that includes an overnight at Haifa, Israel, besides additional ports in Israel and Greece. The occasion was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Since Holland America Line restarted operations in July 2021, Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Noordam, Rotterdam and Zuiderdam have returned to service with cruises in Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, California Coast and South Pacific. Volendam is under charter by the government of the Netherlands, positioned in Rotterdam accommodating Ukrainian refugees.
Following its first cruise back in service, Oosterdam will spend the summer in the Mediterranean, offering seven- to 19-day itineraries roundtrip from Trieste, and between Trieste and Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; or Barcelona, Spain. The ship will explore the entire region with ports of call in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Malta.
After the Mediterranean season, Oosterdam will depart on a transatlantic crossing to Fort Lauderdale, FL, before heading through the Panama Canal and down the western coast of South America to position for a winter of cruises around the tip of the continent between San Antonio (Santiago), Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 14-day itinerary will sail to ports in Chile and Argentina, including the Falkland Islands, along with cruising in the Strait of Magellan, Glacier Alley and Cape Horn. Three 22-day itineraries will include four days of scenic cruising in Antarctica.
Holland America Line will complete the restart of the remaining ships in the fleet through June with Zaandam (May 12 in Fort Lauderdale) and Westerdam (June 12 in Seattle, Washington).
For more information, visit hollandamerica.com.
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