Captain Albert "Appie" Schoonderbeek and the return to service of the HAL fleet

[Copper10-8]

HAL's traveling fleet master put this out yesterday:

 

 

2021 Sep. 09; HAL press release. More ships to return to service.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 / CAPTAIN ALBERT / 3 COMMENTS

Dear Readers,

I just found out that these releases – which are in  the public domain do not always reach the general public. so here a little help from my side. Good news. It might take awhile but more ships are coming back.

The following press release will go to North America consumer and trade media this morning.

 

Holland America Line Announces Spring 2022 Return-to-Service Dates for Final Three Ships in the Fleet

Noordam, Oosterdam and Westerdam to resume cruising with plans for Japan, the Mediterranean and Alaska, respectively

 

Seattle, Wash., Sept. 8, 2021 — By late spring 2022, Holland America Line will have a complete fleet back to cruising with the restart of operations for Noordam, Oosterdam and Westerdam. Noordam will restart with a March 14, 2022, cruise in Japan; Oosterdam will begin cruising May 1 in the Mediterranean, and Westerdam will return to service May 8 in Alaska.

The ships will join Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam and Zuiderdam, which have returned to service or are slated to restart cruising by December 2021. Volendam and Zaandam will return in May 2022.

“We’ve been working intensely to get all of our ships back into service, and to have final restart dates that will complete the fleet is rewarding for everyone who has put their all into making this happen,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “Our progressive rollout plan allows us to be back in full service over the next several months, and we look forward to welcoming guests on all 11 ships cruising in different regions around the world.”

 

Noordam Plans Return to Service in Japan

Holland America Line is working with Japanese authorities to begin cruising for Noordam next spring in Japan with four sailings scheduled.

When Noordam sets sail in March, the ship plans to offer three 14-day cruises that deeply explore Japan. Sailing roundtrip from Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan, the ship makes several calls around the exotic country and with a one- or two-day visit on each itinerary to South Korea, Taiwan or Russia. The 14-day journeys can be combined to form 28-day Collectors’ Voyages.

In April, Noordam will cross the Pacific Ocean and sail a season in Alaska with cruises between Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Whittier, Alaska.

 

Oosterdam Returns to the Mediterranean

Guests eager to visit the Med next year can embark Oosterdam beginning with the May 1 departure. The ship will sail the season in the region, cruising between Civitavecchia (Rome) and Venice, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain, and Venice; or roundtrip from Venice on seven- and 12-day itineraries. Oosterdam will explore ports in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania, France, Malta and Israel.

Following a transatlantic crossing in November 2022, the ship will transit the Panama Canal and take a southerly route to offer a series of South America and Antarctica expeditions ranging from 14 to 22 days between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and San Antonio (Santiago), Chile.

 

Westerdam Sets Sail for Alaska

When Westerdam returns on May 8, the ship will embark on a season of seven-day Alaska cruises roundtrip from Seattle, Washington. Come September, the ship will cross the Pacific Ocean and begin a season in the Far East offering a variety of 14-day itineraries from Singapore; Hong Kong, China; and Yokohama (Tokyo).

 

Guests on January to May 2022 Cruises Will Move to 2023

With these restart dates for Noordam, Oosterdam and Westerdam, cruises in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and South America and Antarctica from January 2022 through the return-to-service departures will be cancelled.

Guests on Westerdam’s cancelled transatlantic crossing departing April 18, 2022, will be moved to a comparable crossing on Nieuw Statendam departing April 17.

Guests on Noordam’s affected Asia departures in 2022 will be moved to the same itinerary in 2023 aboard Westerdam; guests on Oosterdam’s cancelled Australia and New Zealand voyages will be moved to the same itinerary in 2023 aboard Noordam; and guests on Westerdam’s cancelled South America and Antarctica Voyages will be moved to the same itinerary aboard Oosterdam in 2023. Guests also may choose to receive a 100% refund of monies paid to Holland America Line.

The above options are not applicable to guests booked on a charter sailing. Other booking and cancellation conditions and policies may apply if the cruise was not booked through Holland America Line.

— # # # —

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook and the Holland America Blog.  Access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com.

 

About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE:  CCL and CUK)]
Holland America Line has been exploring the world since 1873 and was the first cruise line to offer adventures to Alaska and the Yukon nearly 75 years ago. Its fleet of premium ships visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world, offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience. A third Pinnacle-class ship, Rotterdam, joined the fleet in July 2021.

The leader in premium cruising, Holland America Line’s ships feature innovative initiatives and a diverse range of enriching experiences focused on destination exploration and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from Holland America Line’s esteemed Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

In light of COVID-19, Holland America Line is currently enhancing health and safety protocols and how they may impact future cruises. Our actual offerings may vary from what is displayed or described in marketing materials. Review our current Cruise Updates, Health & Safety Protocols and CDC Travel Advisories.

 

 

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS

1-800-637-5029

————————

450 Third Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119

Hollandamerica.com

 

 

[Seasick Sailor]

Thank you John. Great news!

[rkacruiser]

His e-mail was in my inbox yesterday.  I am concerned about the Volendam and Zaandam.  No mention of them other than May, 2022.  What itinerary?  No mention of those plans.  

[kazu]

11 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

His e-mail was in my inbox yesterday.  I am concerned about the Volendam and Zaandam.  No mention of them other than May, 2022.  What itinerary?  No mention of those plans.  

 

Itineraries are on the HAL website but I can tell you that Volendam sails May 1st for the Baltics and then May 15th for Norway and next segment for the British Isles.  I have a vested interest in the May 15th collectors cruise 😉 

[rkacruiser]

Just now, kazu said:

 

Itineraries are on the HAL website but I can tell you that Volendam sails May 1st for the Baltics and then May 15th for Norway and next segment for the British Isles.  I have a vested interest in the May 15th collectors cruise 😉 

 

Thank you.  May that happen!  

[Himself]

I get hid blog in my inbox

[USN59-79]

This is somewhat confusing.  Yesterday I received an email stating my three two week cruises in Asia on the Noordam starting 14 February 2022 are cancelled and will be transferred to the Westerdam for the same period in 2023.  One of them is from March 14, 2022 from Tokyo to Tokyo.  I would much rather wait a month than another year to travel around Japan.  Do we have any choice in their decisions?

Ray

[ski ww]

Thanks for the up date. Looking forward to our July cruise in the Med.

[kazu]

7 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

This is somewhat confusing.  Yesterday I received an email stating my three two week cruises in Asia on the Noordam starting 14 February 2022 are cancelled and will be transferred to the Westerdam for the same period in 2023.  One of them is from March 14, 2022 from Tokyo to Tokyo.  I would much rather wait a month than another year to travel around Japan.  Do we have any choice in their decisions?

Ray

 

You can contact HAL and request that your replacement cruise be replaced with the one you have mentioned.  it’s at their discretion to do so but as long as they are similar it should be possible.

 

Several of us on our roll call in November requested to be moved to that sailing as our replacement cruise was a Spring TA when we had been booked on a Fall TA.  It was a bit of a fight for some of us (and not for others) but it was done 😉 

[USN59-79]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

You can contact HAL and request that your replacement cruise be replaced with the one you have mentioned.  it’s at their discretion to do so but as long as they are similar it should be possible.

 

Several of us on our roll call in November requested to be moved to that sailing as our replacement cruise was a Spring TA when we had been booked on a Fall TA.  It was a bit of a fight for some of us (and not for others) but it was done 😉 

 

 

Well, I looked into it and it seems the Noordam is doing three 14 day cruises around Japan and they are listed as available for booking at a price similar to what I have booked.  My TA works on Sunday, so I will contact him tomorrow to either just book the 3 cruises and cancel the original or move the existing ones over.  One advantage is that the third cruise will return to Vancouver, so we can skip the return air from Japan.

[HappyInVan]

This is weird. Cruises up to April have been cancelled en mass. Suddenly in May, HAL expects the entire fleet to be deployed. They must be clairvoyant? Good luck to HAL! 😲
 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

This is weird. Cruises up to April have been cancelled en mass. Suddenly in May, HAL expects the entire fleet to be deployed. They must be clairvoyant? Good luck to HAL! 😲
 

 

The cruises cancelled were going to places where it couldn’t be determined if they would be welcome (Hawaii and Asia) or it would be safe for passengers (South America).  Made total sense, sadly.  Caribbean cruises are still going. 

 

HAL can bring the crews back, retrain and be ready to go at the designated times.  I’m sure they have learned a lot bringing crew back on the Eurodam and N Amsterdam.  At least, I hope so.

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

This is weird. Cruises up to April have been cancelled en mass. Suddenly in May, HAL expects the entire fleet to be deployed. They must be clairvoyant? Good luck to HAL! 😲
 

 

Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and MSC have all resumed cruising from Florida.  HAL and Princess have not.  And, the return date seems to be getting pushed back.  Why is this?

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam---as I understand it---is to have a repositioning cruise to Fort Lauderdale once her Alaska season is over.  Will that take place?  Will Nieuw Amsterdam begin our "sailaway" season?  

[HappyInVan]

12 hours ago, kazu said:

 

The cruises cancelled were going to places where it couldn’t be determined if they would be welcome (Hawaii and Asia) or it would be safe for passengers (South America).  Made total sense, sadly.  Caribbean cruises are still going. 

 

 

Be patient. Be Brave. Be safe.

 

In 2022, the cruise companies are running on fumes. Hope is all they have.
 

[Stakeout]

we just got 'zapped'.. Nov 18 and Dec 5 cruises to Hawaii on the Zuiderdam canceled on Friday--got the email from HAL.. had been booked Nov 18 thru Jan 16 for 59 days.. so we'll cancel the last two back to backs in the next few days.. gotta go to Plan B--whatever that may be

Edited September 12, 2021 by Stakeout