After more than two years since the industry-wide pause began due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holland America Line's Noordam returned to service on Sunday, April 24, 2022, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship embarked guests for a 21-day transit through the Panama Canal to Vancouver, Canada, which will take it to Alaska until September.
To commemorate the occasion, Holland America Line held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the terminal to open embarkation, attended by the ship's captain and senior officers. “We are very pleased to welcome guests aboard the Noordam once again, as we continue on pace to have all 11 of our ships back in service by June,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line.
Since Holland America Line restarted cruises in July 2021, the Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam, and Zuiderdam have returned to service with cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, the California coast, and the South Pacific. The Volendam is currently chartered by the Dutch government and positioned alongside Rotterdam, hosting Ukrainian refugees.
After transiting the Panama Canal, the Noordam will spend the summer in Alaska, offering seven-day cruises between Vancouver and Whittier, Alaska, along with a special 14-day round-trip Great Alaska Explorer voyage from Vancouver in September. With a strong cruise presence in Vancouver, Holland America Line plans to position four ships from the Canadian homeport in 2022. A fifth includes a visit to Vancouver in late April. The Noordam will also offer longer cruises that combine a three-, four-, or seven-day Alaska cruise with an overland exploration of Denali National Park. Holland America Line is the only cruise line to extend its overland itineraries into the pristine areas of Canada’s Yukon Territory.
After the Alaskan season, the Noordam embarks on a westward voyage with a 34-day Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego, California, to Sydney, Australia, followed by a 35-day round-trip Australian circumnavigation from Sydney, featuring 15 stops across the continent and scenic cruises along the Great Barrier Reef. In 2023, the ship will sail 12- to 15-day round-trip cruises from Sydney, exploring New Zealand until March 2023, before crossing back to North America for another Alaskan season.
Holland America Line will complete the restart of the remaining ships in the fleet before mid-June with the Oosterdam on May 8 in Trieste, Venice, Italy; the Zaandam on May 12 in Fort Lauderdale; and the Westerdam on June 12 in Seattle, Washington.
