Get able to go lengthy with Holland America within the Mediterranean.
The Seattle-based cruise line on Wednesday introduced a major overhaul of its Mediterranean itineraries beginning in 2026 that can provide extra longer crusing choices.
Holland America has historically supplied a number of 10- and 11-night sailings within the Mediterranean through the summers. However beginning in 2026, it will change to providing extra seven-night sailings, with a twist that permits for the creation of a a lot wider vary of longer sailings.
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Not like as is usually the case with shorter sailings in Europe, the brand new seven-night itineraries will fluctuate of their routings from week to week in a means that can permit Holland America followers to string collectively three of them in a row on the identical ship with out repeating a single port.
The brand new lineup of sailings will permit clients to create longer “collector’s voyages,” as Holland America is looking them, that reach as much as 21 nights with out repeating ports. Even longer sailings of as much as 27 nights could be created which have virtually no repeats in ports.
“It permits extra flexibility in combining sailings,” Paul Grigsby, Holland America’s vp for income planning and deployment, instructed TPG in an unique interview prematurely of the announcement. “Friends can type of construct their very own crusing, their very own trip that means.”
All the sailings will happen on Holland America’s 1,964-passenger Oosterdam, which would be the line’s solely vessel within the Mediterranean for the summer season of 2026.
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Typical of the seven-night itineraries on the ship that may be mixed to create longer voyages can be a seven-night crusing from Barcelona to Piraeus, Greece (the port for Athens) starting July 12, 2026. It will be adopted by a seven-night crusing from Piraeus to Civitavecchia, Italy (the port for Rome) beginning July 19, 2026, and a seven-night crusing from Civitavecchia to Barcelona beginning July 26, 2026.
The primary crusing will deliver stops on the islands of Malta, Crete and Santorini, and Kusadasi, Turkey (for a go to to the famed ruins of Ephesus). The second crusing will deliver stops in Montenegro; the island of Corfu; Messina in Sicily; and Naples, Italy. The third crusing brings stops at Livorno, Italy (for a go to to Pisa or Florence); Portofino, Italy; Marseille, France; and Gibraltar.
Strung collectively, the three sailings permit for a 21-night voyage with stops spanning the total width of the Mediterranean and visits to eight international locations with out repeating a single port.
“What we have seen is that friends like that type of survey [of all of the Mediterranean] the place they begin within the west in Barcelona and go all the best way throughout to Trieste [in Italy] or Athens,” Grigsby stated. “This may permit them to do this.”
To make such longer itineraries doable, Oosterdam will sail out of a bigger variety of residence ports within the Mediterranean than is typical for a single ship — 5 in all. They’re Lisbon, Piraeus, Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Trieste.
The brand new shorter itineraries aren’t simply designed to be mixed to create longer itineraries. Additionally they ought to attraction to Europeans, significantly households, on the lookout for quick trip choices, in line with Grigsby.
Grigsby famous that Holland America recurrently attracts clients from the Netherlands, the place the corporate has its roots, in addition to Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK, amongst different European international locations.
He stated a European buyer “would possibly simply resolve to do a seven-day in Europe like, again residence [in North America] we do a seven-night Caribbean or a seven-day Alaska crusing.”
Associated: The sorts of Holland America ships, defined
Grigsby stated the model will provide seven-night sailings to the Norwegian fjords out of Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2026 partially to cater to the native market on the lookout for such shorter sailings in their very own yard.
Along with Oosterdam within the Mediterranean, Holland America may have two ships crusing recurrently in Northern Europe in 2026: the two,666-passenger Nieuw Statendam and the two,668-passenger Rotterdam.
Each of the vessels will residence port in Rotterdam, with Nieuw Statendam additionally crusing some voyages out of Dover, England.
Among the many sailings deliberate for the ships in 2026 are an elevated variety of seven-day cruises to Norway’s fjords, in addition to seven-day open-jaw sailings between Reykjavik and Rotterdam.
Uncommon new voyages embrace a 14-day Baltic and Scandinavian Capitals cruise that features back-to-back calls in Germany on the ports of Kiel and Warnemunde. The journey additionally brings an in a single day in Oslo, two calls in Denmark, and stops in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
As well as, there can be various seven-night sailings in Northern Europe, much like the shorter journeys Holland America will provide within the Mediterranean.
The Northern Europe routings will embrace 4 new ports for Holland America: Aberdeen, Scotland; Kalundborg, Denmark; and Odda, Norway, aboard Rotterdam; and Portsmouth, England, aboard Nieuw Statendam.
Extra data on Holland America’s Europe sailings for 2026 is offered at the road’s web site.
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