Holland America Line’s Oosterdam is back in service as of Sunday, May 8.
The cruise line’s 9th ship to return to service welcomed guests in Venice, Italy before departing on a 12-day “Holy Lands and Ancient Kingdoms” cruise.
Holland America Line held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the occasion, which was attended by the ship’s captain and senior officers.
“Our teams work incredibly hard getting the ships ready for a return to service, and the smiles when they see our guests walking up the gangway that first time are so heartfelt and sincere,” said Gus Antorcha, President of Holland America Line.
“Each ship back to cruising means more team members back to sea, and we look forward to the restart being complete next month.”
Since July 2021, Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Noordam, Rotterdam and Zuiderdam have returned to service offering cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, California Coast and South Pacific.
Volendam is currently being chartered by the government of The Netherlands to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.
Following its first cruise back, Oosterdam will spend the summer in the Mediterranean, offering seven- to 19-day itineraries roundtrip from Venice, Athens, Rome or Barcelona, Spain.
The ship will explore the region with calls in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Malta.
After the Mediterranean season, Oosterdam will depart to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before heading through the Panama Canal and down the western coast of South America for a winter season in San Antonio (Santiago), Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The cruise line says that it aims to complete the restart of its entire fleet by June this year.
Travel Pursuit UK is a brand new travel trade news media. Click here for more exciting UK travel daily news, cruise news and travel news updates that you won’t want to miss!
