After two and a half years HAL-Holland America Line's ship ms Volendam returned to cruising on September 24 in Trieste/Venice (Italy). The vessel embarked passengers on a 14-day "Holy Land and Ancient Kingdoms" itinerary.
In order to commemorate the occasion, HAL held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Trieste's cruise terminal for the opening of boarding, which was attended by the ship's Captain/senior officers, with a fanfare of crew members lining up to greet passengers as they boarded.
MS Volendam spent the past 6 months docked in Port Rotterdam (Netherlands) under a charter by the city to house Ukrainian refugees. The vessel was a temporary home for up to 1500 migrants through the charter, part of the Netherlands' commitment to house ~50,000 people who fled the Russia-Ukraine war zone.
After sailing to the Holy Land, the liner will offer 14-day itineraries visiting ports in Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, and Italy. On October 22nd starts Volendam's Transatlantic crossing to Florida USA's Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale (RepositionCruises.com), from where on Nov 19th starts the 28-day "Amazon Explorer" roundtrip (visiting Brazil Amazon's ports Santarem, Boca da Valeria, Manaus, Parintins), followed by Caribbean voyages.
On January 3, 2023, the boat embarks on the 74-day "Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage" that visits Chilean Antarctica's Punta Arenas and Argentina's Ushuaia, as well as the UK's Falkland Islands (Port Stanley).