Holland America Line 's 2023 world cruise has concluded at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 128 days after departing port on January 3, 2023. This is the first world cruise the company has operated since 2020 and the 59th since its first world cruise, which departed aboard the Statendam on January 7, 1958.
During the Zuiderdam's round-the-world voyage, the ship visited 57 ports in 30 countries across four continents and covered 35,651 nautical miles. Highlights included fundraising for the Bernhard Nordkamp Centre in Namibia (Africa), blankets knitted by guests for the Linus Project, and the celebration of the company's 150th anniversary in Amsterdam (Netherlands) with Holland America Line Chairman Gus Antorcha.
“Like our guests, we have been eagerly awaiting the return of our Grand World Voyage, and the 2023 world cruise was an exceptional journey not only for the places we visited, but for the memories made along the way,” said Antorcha. “A round-the-world cruise is more than just a travel experience: it’s about building a community of friends and family. And our guests generously donated their time and funds to some worthy causes during the voyage, for which I express my gratitude on behalf of everyone at Holland America Line.”
Guests on the Zuiderdam raised $10,000 for Namibia's Bernhard Nordkamp Centre, which was presented to the organization during the ship's stop in Walvis Bay. The BNC serves approximately 150 children in grades one through seven, providing them with after-school support, meals, additional education, and positive social interaction.
Continuing a tradition that began more than a decade ago on the round-the-world cruise, guests made 618 blankets for Project Linus throughout the voyage for sick or needy children in the United States.
Some highlights and curiosities of the Grand World Voyage 2023 are, for example, that the Zuiderdam visited the imaginary Null Island (0°N/S & 0°E/W) where the equator crosses the Prime Meridian; or that on April 18, Torch visited the ship in Amsterdam during an overnight stop to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary.
