For the first time in 2 and a half years, cruising is resuming in Japan after on November 15th, the government announced that it had again opened up to international cruise ships.
HAL-Holland America’s ship ms Westerdam is gearing up for a series of cruises in 2023 in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Westerdam is currently operating voyages in Australia & New Zealand and will commence her Asia season after a January drydock in Singapore. Starting on February 3rd, the ship will sail a series of Far East cruises showcasing the diversity of the countries visited.
Voyages will be from 11 to 14 days long, sailing roundtrip from Yokohama (Tokyo, Japan) or Singapore, or between Yokohama and Singapore. Journeys can be combined to form the so-called non-repeating Collectors’ Voyages. Countries on the schedule feature the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia.
5 itineraries will be offered: Japan Explorer; Japan Discovery; Southern Japan; Indonesian Discovery; Japan, Taiwan & The Philippines. The ship will overnight in Phuket, Singapore, Kobe and Osaka.
The season is expected to conclude when ms Westerdam sets sail on April 24th on her 14-day North Pacific Crossing (Yokohama-Seattle WA) where she will be homeported for a season in Alaska.
As protocols for cruising in Asia were finalized, each departure is added to HAL’s ‘Voyage Lookup‘ tool, which allows guests to see specific health protocols for their sailing.