After a successful pre-booking period, HAL-Holland America officially commenced public bookings on May 24th for its 2 newest Grand Voyages. These voyages, namely the Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole and the Grand World Voyage, are scheduled to depart in January 2025. Notably, this marks the first time that HAL is offering two Grand Voyages of over 120 days concurrently.
The Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole, taking place aboard ms Volendam, presents an opportunity for travelers to explore 5 continents on a journey that progresses from south to north. On the other hand, the Grand World Voyage aboard ms Zuiderdam covers 6 continents following an east-to-west route. Both voyages originate and conclude in Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades, Florida).
Highlights of the 2025 Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole aboard ms Volendam include:
- 133 days, departing January 25th, 2025, roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale FL.
- The itinerary of the voyage entails a route that begins in the south and travels north through the Panama Canal. From there, it proceeds along the western coast of South America, reaching Antarctica, and then continues northward, passing through Argentina and Brazil until it reaches the central region of the Amazon River. Following this, the ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean, heading towards Africa, where it sails north to Europe and reaches the North Cape (Nordkapp). Afterward, it navigates westward across the northern Atlantic Ocean, passing through Iceland and Greenland, and ultimately travels down the eastern coast of North America.
- Pole to Pole: Down south ms Volendam spends 4 days of scenic cruising in Antarctica and up north the vessel crosses the Arctic Circle to the North Cape (Nordkapp).
- 68 ports across 5 continents and 28 different countries.
- 8 overnights: Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Callao (Lima), Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Reykjavik.
- Memorable Moments include a Panama Canal transit, Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands, the Amazon River, the Strait of Gibraltar, North Cape, Norwegian fjords, Iceland, and Greenland.
Highlights of the 2025 Grand World Voyage Highlights aboard ms Zuiderdam include:
- 124 days, departing January 4th, 2025, roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale FL.
- The voyage commences by transiting through the Panama Canal and proceeding towards Easter Island. From there, it crosses the South Pacific, heading towards Australia. Along the way, it offers an opportunity to explore the Great Barrier Reef before continuing the journey toward Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Afterward, the ship sails southward, reaching Cape Town in South Africa via Seychelles. It then travels back up along the eastern coast of Africa, passing through the Suez Canal, and eventually arrives in Portugal before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
- 46 ports in 32 different countries across 6 continents.
- 9 overnights: Callao (2 nights), Easter Island, Papeete, Sydney, Singapore, Cape Town, Mombasa, Safaga (Luxor), and Barcelona.
- 7 late-night departures: Manta, Seychelles, Cape Town, Durban, Aqaba (Petra), Civitavecchia (Rome), and Gibraltar UK.
- Memorable Moments include a Panama Canal transit, 2 nights at Callao allowing enough time to visit Machu Picchu, Easter Island, scenic cruising in the Great Barrier Reef, 2 full days in Cape Town, the chance to visit Petra from Jordan as well as experience Luxor from Safaga (Egypt).
HAL's combined Grand Voyages feature 4000+ live performances, 1400+ shore excursions, 5800+ pickleball games, which is more than any 2 simultaneous voyages for HAL.
On April 24, 2025, ms Volendam and ms Zuiderdam will meet in Barcelona for a joint overnight call, bringing the 2 Grand Voyages together for a celebration. Festivities involving both vessels will mark the occasion of the planned dual visit.