After 2+ years since the industrywide halt began due to the COVID crisis, HAL-Holland America's liner ms Noordam restarted service on Sunday, April 24, at Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA.
The vessel embarked passengers for a 21-day Panama Canal transit to Vancouver (BC Canada) that will position Noordam in Alaska through September 2022.
To commemorate the occasion, the line held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the cruise terminal to open embarkation, attended by the captain, senior officers, and flag-waving fanfare from team members lined up to greet passengers as they boarded.
Since Holland America restarted operation in July 2021, ms Eurodam, ms Koningsdam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Nieuw Statendam, ms Rotterdam, and ms Zuiderdam have restarted service with sailings in the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Mexico, South Pacific, and California Coast.
After the Panama Canal transit, ms Noordam will spend the summer in Alaska, offering 7-day cruises between Vancouver BC and Whittier AK, along with a special 14-day Great Alaska Explorer roundtrip from Vancouver BC in September. Holland America is set to position 4 ships out of the Canadian homeport Vancouver in 2022. MS Noordam will also offer longer Cruisetours that combine a 3-, 4- or 7-day Alaska voyage with an overland exploration of Denali National Park.
Following the Alaskan season, ms Noordam is scheduled to depart on a sojourn westward with a 34-day Pacific Ocean crossing out of San Diego (California USA), to Sydney (NSW Australia), and a 35-day Australian Circumnavigation roundtrip from Sydney with a total of 15 calls around the continent and scenic cruising in the Great Barrier Reef. In 2023, the ship will sail 12- to 15-day roundtrip cruises from Sydney that explore New Zealand through March 2023, prior to crossing back over to North America for the next season in Alaska.
HAL will complete the restart of the remaining cruise ships in the fleet through June 2022 with ms Oosterdam (on May 8 in Trieste/Venice Italy), ms Zaandam (on May 12 in Fort Lauderdale), and ms Westerdam (on June 12 in Seattle WA).