Holland America Ship Resumes Cruises From Florida

After over two years since the cruise industry shutdown, Holland America Line’s ship Noordam has finally returned to service.

The vessel set sail on Sunday, April 24 out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Guests embarked for a 21-night Panama Canal voyage which will conclude in Vancouver, Canada — positioning the ship to begin its spring and summer Alaska season.

To commemorate the occasion, Holland America held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the terminal to open embarkation, attended by the ship’s captain and senior officers, as well as crew members who waved flags to greet guests as they boarded the ship.

“We are excited to welcome guests aboard Noordam once again as we continue the pace of having all 11 of our ships back in service by June,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “With each relaunch we are able to bring more of our team members back on board and into the Holland America Line family. They have been waiting for this day to welcome our guests and get back to cruising.”

Since Holland America resumed sailings in July 2021, six ships have returned to service with cruises in Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, the California Coast, and the South Pacific.

A seventh ship, Volendam, is currently under charter by the government of the Netherlands, docked in Rotterdam to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

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Following its Panama Canal voyage, Noordam will spend the summer in Alaska, offering seven-night sailings between Vancouver and Whittier, along with one special 14-night Great Alaska Explorer itinerary roundtrip from Vancouver in September.

This year, Holland America will have four ships sailing from Vancouver. A fifth includes a visit to Vancouver at the end of April.

Noordam will also offer longer Cruisetours that combine a three, four, or seven-night Alaska cruise with an overland exploration of Denali National Park.

Following her Alaska season, Noordam will depart on a westward journey during a 34-night Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Sydney, Australia. Once in Sydney, the ship will offer a 35-day Australian Circumnavigation roundtrip from the city with 15 calls around the continent and scenic cruising to the Great Barrier Reef.

The ship will head into 2023 with 12 to 15-night cruises roundtrip from Sydney that explore New Zealand through March 2023, before crossing the Pacific back to North America for another season in Alaska.

Holland America is planning to complete the restart of its remaining ships through June, with Oosterdam sailing May 8 from Trieste (Venice), Italy; Zaandam sailing May 12 from Port Everglades, and Westerdam sailing June 12 from Seattle.

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