Holland America Line runs eleven mid-size ships that are, in the line’s own words, “refreshingly free of coasters and waterslides.” That is not an apology — it is the product. HAL sells destination depth, longer itineraries, the best live-music programme in its segment, and an Alaska land operation that includes the only cruise-line access to Dawson City in the Yukon.
This guide covers what HAL is actually like now, in 2026 — which matters, because several of the things published guides still say about the line are no longer true. If you are choosing between lines rather than researching one, start with cruise lines explained.
What Holland America is known for
- Alaska. Sailing there since 1947, with grandfathered Glacier Bay access, owned railcars and hotels, and the Yukon programme nobody else runs.
- Longer voyages. Legendary Voyages of 25 to 59 days and two Grand Voyages a year, including a 129-day world cruise.
- Live music. Rolling Stone Lounge, Billboard Onboard and B.B. King’s All-Star Band across the fleet — more dedicated music venues per ship than any competitor in the tier.
- Ship size. Between 1,432 and 2,668 guests, which is how HAL reaches Montréal, Jeju, Boracay and the Chilean fjords.
- Food. A named-chef programme with Morimoto, David Burke, Ethan Stowell and Jacques Torres, and specialty covers well below luxury-tier pricing.
Who Holland America suits — and who should look elsewhere
Book HAL if you came for the destination rather than the ship; if you want a 14-, 21- or 35-day itinerary from a mainstream line; if live music every night matters more than a big production show; if you want the Yukon and Klondike as part of an Alaska trip; or if you actively do not want a waterslide.
Look elsewhere if:
- You have children who want hardware. HAL carries kids but builds nothing for them beyond a club room. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian do.
- You want breadth of Alaska land options. Princess owns five lodges to HAL’s one.
- You want Antarctica landings. HAL does Antarctica as scenic cruising only — no Zodiacs, no going ashore. See our expedition cruises guide.
- You want one all-in price. HAL is a cruise-only fare plus an optional package, not a bundled product like Viking.
The fleet
| Class | Ships | Guests |
|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle | Koningsdam (2016), Nieuw Statendam (2018), Rotterdam (2021) | 2,650–2,668 |
| Signature | Eurodam (2008), Nieuw Amsterdam (2010) | 2,104–2,106 |
| Vista | Zuiderdam (2002), Oosterdam (2003), Westerdam (2004), Noordam (2006) | 1,964–1,972 |
| R Class | Volendam (1999), Zaandam (2000) | 1,432 |
Eleven ships, and the newest is Rotterdam from 2021. HAL has not announced a new build. What it has announced instead is a refit programme substantial enough to function as one.
Holland America Evolution — the real fleet story
Announced April 2026 and described by HAL as “the largest fleet update in the line’s 153-year history”: over $500 million across six ships — the four Vista Class and the two Signature Class.
Oosterdam is first, in Fall 2027, with Zuiderdam following in Spring 2028. The remaining four have not been dated. Oosterdam gains 76 new staterooms, including:
- 30 purpose-built Solo Verandahs — around 200 square feet with a private balcony. Purpose-built solo cabins with balconies are genuinely rare in the premium segment.
- Two Bridgeview Suites at 900 square feet with 180-degree forward views and a wraparound balcony
- 24 Vista Suites, new to the class, and a reimagined 1,550 square foot Pinnacle Suite
- The Grand Dutch Café, previously Pinnacle-Class only, rolling out to these ships
Ask which side of the refit your sailing falls on. Oosterdam’s post-Evolution Alaska debut is the 2028 season.
Have It All — and the arithmetic
HAL sells a cruise-only fare plus an optional premium package called Have It All, at $65 per person per day for cruises departing Summer 2027 and beyond, or $60 per person per day before that.
It bundles four things, three of which scale with cruise length:
| Cruise length | Shore excursion credit | Specialty dining | Drinks & Wi-Fi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4–9 days | Up to $100 pp | 1 night | Signature Beverage Package + Surf Wi-Fi |
| 10–20 days | Up to $200 pp | 2 nights | Same |
| 21+ days (Grand Voyages excluded) | Up to $300 pp | 3 nights | Same |
Crew Appreciation is not included in standard Have It All. HAL says so explicitly. It is charged separately at $18 per person per day in staterooms and $20 in suites, plus 20% on beverages, bar, specialty dining and à-la-carte purchases, and 18% on spa and salon.
Is Have It All worth it?
For anyone who drinks, the answer is unusually clear. HAL sells the Signature Beverage Package alone at $55.95 per person per day. Have It All costs $60–$65 and includes that package plus a shore excursion credit, a specialty dinner and Wi-Fi. On a seven-day cruise the drinks package alone would run close to $392 per person bought separately, against $420 for the whole bundle.
Skip it if you do not drink. The non-alcoholic Quench package starts at $17.95 per day, and à-la-carte specialty dining runs $25 at Canaletto, $39 at Tamarind and $52 at Pinnacle Grill. That route is cheaper for a non-drinking couple.
Push for the Early Booking Bonus wherever it is offered. That version upgrades the Signature package to Elite (a $16 per-drink ceiling instead of $12), upgrades Surf Wi-Fi to Premium, and — the big one — prepays Crew Appreciation. On a seven-night cruise that alone is $126 per person. The delta between the two versions of Have It All is larger than most people realise.
Watch the tier boundaries. The steps fall at 4–9, 10–20 and 21-plus days. A 10-day cruise gets double the excursion credit and dining nights of a 9-day one. And Grand Voyages are excluded from the 21-plus tier. Our guide to how much a cruise really costs covers the wider picture.
Dining
The main Dining Room runs nightly changing destination-inspired menus. Complimentary alongside it: the nine-station Lido Market, the poolside Dive-In grill on all eleven ships, New York Pizza or New York Deli & Pizza on five ships, the Crow’s Nest Café, Grand Dutch Café, Library Café, and 24-hour room service.
| Specialty restaurant | Cover | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Grill (chophouse) | $52 pp | Every ship |
| Canaletto (Italian) | $25 pp | All 11 ships; kids 12 and under half price |
| Tamarind (pan-Asian) | $39 pp | 8 ships |
| Rudi’s Sel de Mer (Mediterranean bistro) | $55 pp | Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Koningsdam |
| Morimoto by Sea (sushi) | — | 12-seat bar on Rotterdam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Eurodam; standalone on Nieuw Amsterdam |
Note that Rudi’s Sel de Mer was reconcepted in January 2025 from a French seafood brasserie into a relaxed Mediterranean bistro drawing on Italy, France, Spain and Greece. The name stayed; the menu did not.
Club Orange is worth understanding: a private dining room on the three Pinnacle Class ships, or priority Dining Room seating elsewhere, bundled with a complimentary stateroom upgrade, premium room-service breakfast, priority check-in, tender and disembarkation, and a concierge. It must be bought pre-cruise — and it is free for Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests.
A correction: it is Culinary Ambassadors now
HAL’s chef programme is no longer called the Culinary Council. It is the Culinary Ambassadors programme, and the current roster is David Burke (Pinnacle Grill), Masaharu Morimoto (Global Fresh Fish Ambassador and Morimoto by Sea), Ethan Stowell (Pacific Northwest, New York Pizza and Lido Market) and Jacques Torres (chocolate and pastry), alongside a group of beverage and tea experts. HAL also runs dedicated Culinary Ambassador sailings.
Drinks and Wi-Fi
| Package | Per person per day | Per-drink cap | Daily limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite | $60.95 | $16 | 15 alcoholic, unlimited non-alcoholic |
| Signature | $55.95 | $12 | 15 total |
| Quench (non-alcoholic) | From $17.95 | — | 15 |
A 20% service charge applies to beverage purchases and packages. Standard Have It All includes Signature; the Early Booking Bonus upgrades it to Elite.
Wi-Fi runs on Starlink across the entire fleet, in three tiers: Surf for web, email and messaging, which is what Have It All includes; Premium at $26 per day on a seven-day basis, adding audio and video calling but not streaming services, which is what the Early Booking Bonus includes; and Stream at $38 per day, which adds Netflix, Disney+ and the rest. One device per guest by default, with more purchasable onboard. Packages can be bought up to 135 days pre-cruise.
Entertainment — where most published guides are now wrong
Live music is HAL’s strongest onboard differentiator. It is also the area where outdated information circulates most, so here is the current position.
- “Music Walk” is no longer used as a brand on HAL’s website. The venues largely remain; the umbrella name does not.
- Lincoln Center Stage is gone. The partnership moved to the World Stage as a travelling ensemble in 2023, and its role has effectively been taken by the Vivace String Ensemble, launched as part of HAL’s 2025 entertainment overhaul.
- “Rolling Stone Rock Room” is gone as a name. The venue is now Rolling Stone Lounge everywhere.
| Venue or act | Ships |
|---|---|
| Rolling Stone Lounge | 9 ships — everything except Volendam and Zaandam |
| Billboard Onboard | 9 ships — same list |
| B.B. King’s All-Star Band | 3 ships only — Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam |
| Vivace String Ensemble | Named fleetwide |
| World Stage | All 11 ships; two-storey LED screen on the three Pinnacle ships |
The practical warning: a client who books Volendam or Zaandam expecting Billboard Onboard or the Rolling Stone Lounge will be disappointed — those two R-Class ships have neither. And B.B. King’s is now on three ships, not five. Sell “live music venues across the ship,” then check the specific vessel.
The World Stage hosts EXC Talks destination lectures by day and production shows by night, with the Step One Dance Company, Cantaré and the Caribbean steelband Island Magic. Current productions include Fosse & Verdon, Rock Britannia, Song & Dance and A Swing Thing.
HAL’s 2025 “Entertainment Evolution” also brought back a four-piece house band accompanying production shows, a regional soloist programme — folk guitar in Alaska, steel pan in the Caribbean, mariachi in Mexico — more live music in the Crow’s Nest and around the pool, and a more visible Cruise Director role.
Cabins and suites
The ladder runs Interior, Ocean-view, Verandah, then Vista Suite → Signature Suite → Neptune Suite → Pinnacle Suite. Our cruise cabin guide covers the general decision; the HAL-specific one is simpler than most.
The Neptune Lounge is the dividing line. Vista and Signature Suites are bigger rooms with binoculars, a pillow menu and a mini-bar — but no lounge access. Neptune Suites add:
- Neptune Lounge access with a dedicated concierge
- Complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning — genuinely valuable on a 21-day voyage
- In-suite breakfast with a mimosa, an espresso machine, premium robes and Marie-Stella-Maris toiletries
- Club Orange benefits at no charge, or priority Dining Room seating
- Priority check-in and priority boarding at tendered ports
Pinnacle Suites add separate living and dining areas. And suite guests paying published suite fares earn double Mariner Society credits, which is worth modelling if a client is close to a tier.
Solo cabins are scarce until the Evolution Solo Verandahs arrive on Oosterdam in Fall 2027.
Adults, families and the demographic question
HAL is not adults-only and does not claim to be, but its product decisions consistently favour adults. There are no waterslides or ropes courses by explicit design. A new adults-only Signature Pool Experience — spa touches, cold towels, live ambient music on sea days — arrived with the 2026–27 Caribbean season.
The youth programme is now branded Kids Club, covering ages 3–17 in three groups: Kids Club for 3–6, Tweens for 7–11 and Teens for 12–17. Ages 3–11 require registration and sign-in.
Two limits worth stating. Kids’ programmes are not available on Legendary or Grand Voyages at all. And infants must be six months at embarkation, or twelve months on transoceanic, South America, Asia, South Pacific and Hawaii voyages.
On the demographic: HAL’s guest base does skew older than the mass-market lines, and the line’s response has not been to chase families but to stop targeting by age at all — marketing on mindset rather than birth year. The evidence in the product supports that reading: purpose-built solo cabins, Starlink fleetwide, a pickleball partnership with courts on the private island, a rebuilt entertainment department and a named-chef programme.
The honest framing is not “HAL is for older people.” It is that HAL suits travellers who want a destination-forward, unhurried, port-intensive cruise with good music and good food, and who actively do not want a waterpark. That describes plenty of people in their forties. It does not describe a family with a nine-year-old who wants a slide.
Dress is casual by day and smart casual for evening table service — no shorts, beachwear or distressed jeans. Dressy Nights call for slacks, skirts, dresses, collared shirts and jackets; Grand Voyages may suggest more.
Alaska — HAL’s flagship franchise
Holland America has been visiting Alaska since 1947, before statehood, and markets the 2027 season as 80 years there.
Glacier Bay: HAL states it holds more Glacier Bay permits than any other cruise line. Ships spend around nine to ten hours inside the park, with a National Park Service ranger aboard and Huna Tlingit guides. HAL also offers an Alaska Glacier Guarantee: if you do not visit a glacier, you receive a Future Cruise Credit worth 15% of fare.
Season sizing: 2027 runs six ships — Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Westerdam and Zaandam — April through September, with over 100 sailings from 7 to 28 days. 2028 also runs six ships, adding San Diego as a homeport with an 11-day California-to-Alaska sailing, and first-ever scenic cruising through Nootka Sound. Our Alaska cruises guide covers the region across all lines.
The cruisetour programme
HAL and Princess are the two Alaska cruisetour specialists because they are the two lines that own the land infrastructure — motorcoaches, railcars and hotels — which is what guarantees scheduling for cruisetour guests.
A naming correction: the McKinley Chalet Resort has been renamed Holland America Denali Lodge. It is a private 60-acre riverside property in the foothills of Denali National Park, and every cruisetour includes one to three nights there.
The lodge is midway through a $70 million phased expansion: refurbished rooms, a new coffee shop and an upgraded public house through 2026, then a new 120-room building and a main-lodge renovation with a new restaurant concept before the 2027 season. For 2026 departures, expect construction in progress.
Every cruisetour also includes the McKinley Explorer — HAL’s privately owned two-level glass-domed railcars, with commentary and meal service aboard. Select itineraries use the historic White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad from Skagway.
The Yukon — HAL’s genuine exclusive
The Alaska, Denali & Yukon cruisetours include two to three nights in the Yukon, and HAL states it is the only cruise line bringing guests to Dawson City. The programme includes the Klondike Gold Tour run with the HISTORY Channel, a dedicated tour director throughout, and Tr’ondëk-Klondike, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.
This is the clearest either/or in Alaska cruising. If your client wants Kenai and Copper River lodges, that is Princess. If they want Dawson City, it is Holland America or nothing.
For 2027 there are 19 cruisetour itineraries in four tiers — Classic at 9–10 days, Signature at 10–12, Ultimate at 14, and Alaska/Denali/Yukon at 9–17 — all built on a seven-day Glacier Discovery cruise. New for 2027: a complimentary dining package worth up to $829 for guests booking with the Have It All Early Booking Bonus, covering breakfast and dinner at HAL properties in Denali, Skagway and Dawson City plus lunch aboard the McKinley Explorer and the Tundra Wilderness Tour.
Longer itineraries — Legendary and Grand Voyages
HAL splits long sailings into Legendary Voyages of 25 to 59 days and Grand Voyages and World Cruises of 60 days and up. This is the part of the portfolio where HAL has no real mainstream competition.
- 2027 Grand World Voyage — Volendam, 129 days, departing Fort Lauderdale 5 January 2027 round trip. 53 ports, 28 countries, six continents, seven overnights, and 19 exclusive Grand Voyage ports including Jamestown on St. Helena and Georgetown on Ascension Island.
- 2027 Grand South America & Antarctica — Zaandam, 70 days from Fort Lauderdale, 31 ports in 13 countries, four days in Antarctica and a Panama Canal transit.
- 2028 Grand World Voyage — Volendam, 129 days from 4 January 2028: 45 ports, 26 countries, Antarctica, the Chilean fjords, Easter Island and a sail-past of Null Island where the Prime Meridian meets the Equator.
- 2028 Grand Australia & New Zealand — Zaandam, 90 days from San Diego, 41 ports in 12 countries.
- Legendary Voyages 2027–28 include a 47-day Ultimate Mediterranean & Atlantic Passage, a 28-day Solar Eclipse & Cosmic Port Explorer, a 28-day Legendary Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice, a 35-day Voyage of the Vikings and a 28-day Legendary Amazon Explorer.
The early booking benefits on these are very large — up to $10,700 on the 2028 World Voyage and $8,500 on the 2028 Australia and New Zealand sailing. They are the reason to book eighteen months out rather than six.
Elsewhere in the world
- Northern Europe and the fjords. Three ships in 2027 — Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam homeporting in Rotterdam, Zuiderdam new to Amsterdam — on 7- to 21-day cruises covering Scandinavia, the Norwegian fjords, Iceland, Greenland, the Baltic and the British Isles. Rotterdam adds Flåm and Hellesylt as new Norwegian calls in 2027. See our Europe travel guide.
- Mediterranean. April to November 2027 on Oosterdam and Nieuw Statendam, 7–15 days from Barcelona, Athens, Venice and Rome. See our Mediterranean guide and Greek Isles guide.
- Canada and New England. Zuiderdam and Volendam, round trip from Montréal. HAL notes it is one of the few lines whose ship size allows Montréal calls and St. Lawrence River cruising — this is the single best mid-size-ship argument in the portfolio, reaching up to five national parks by excursion.
- Panama Canal. 12 to 21 days, full and partial transits, from Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego and Fort Lauderdale.
- Caribbean. Six ships for 2026–27, 7 to 14 days from Fort Lauderdale or Miami, with HAL claiming more 9-day-plus Caribbean voyages than competing lines. See our Caribbean guide.
- Japan and Asia. Noordam runs September 2027 to April 2028 with 15 itineraries of 13–15 days, three new Japan ports and six overnight calls. Its size reaches Jeju and Boracay, which larger ships cannot.
- Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Three ships for 2027–28, including Milford Sound scenic cruising.
- South America and Antarctica. Four days cruising Antarctica with naturalist commentary, plus the Chilean fjords and Glacier Alley.
Be unambiguous about Antarctica: HAL does it as scenic cruising only. There are no Zodiacs and no landings. It is a genuinely good way to see the peninsula at a fraction of expedition pricing, from a real bed and a real restaurant — but a client who wants to set foot on the continent needs a different product entirely.
The private island — and what has changed
HAL has called at Little San Salvador in the Bahamas since 1997. The island was renamed RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay in December 2024, jointly by Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line, and the position on the ground is genuinely mid-transition.
The island is now split north and south. A new north-side pier opened in June 2026 allowing large Carnival ships to dock for the first time, with five themed areas reached by tram and 22 Carnival ships scheduled to call. Holland America keeps the south side, which HAL’s president has said “will remain the secluded paradise our guests are accustomed to.”
On the HAL side, the headline addition is a new Beach Club — priority tendering, waiter service, exclusive food and beverage, private beach access and upgraded seating — which HAL has positioned to debut with the 2026–27 Caribbean season. Pickleball courts opened in December 2025. Villa renovations and a new food pavilion are still to come, so the south side remains a work in progress. The existing offering — island BBQ, lobster shack, hammocks, snorkelling, mangrove kayaking, horseback riding with ocean swimming, bookable cabanas and a two-storey Deluxe Beach Villa — continues throughout.
Three things to say plainly to anyone booking: the name is now RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay; the island is no longer HAL-exclusive in character, and a guest who visited in 2019 will find it different; and the enhancement programme is not finished, so specific venues may or may not be open on a given call. Reconfirm close to sailing. Our private islands guide compares what each line offers.
Loyalty — Mariner Society
Five tiers by accumulated Cruise Day credits: One-Star after a first cruise, Two-Star at 30 credits, Three-Star at 75, Four-Star at 200 and Five-Star at 500.
Credits are earned three ways, and this is where an advisor adds value: one credit per night sailed, double credits on published suite fares, and one credit per $300 of eligible onboard spend.
Three-Star brings spa discounts and a welcome reception. Four-Star brings 50% off specialty dining surcharges and wine packages, complimentary laundry and priority check-in. Five-Star adds complimentary specialty dinners, thermal suite access and an internet credit.
Because of the suite double-credit and the onboard-spend rule, a repeat client’s route to Four-Star is meaningfully faster in a Neptune Suite than the night count alone suggests. If you hold status with another line, see our guide to cruise line status matches.
How Holland America compares
| Versus | The real difference |
|---|---|
| Princess | The direct Alaska rival and a corporate sibling. Princess has five owned lodges and greater land breadth; HAL has the Yukon and Dawson City exclusive, smaller ships and longer itineraries. Both hold Glacier Bay rights |
| Celebrity | Celebrity is more design-forward and younger in marketing posture. HAL’s differentiator is itinerary length and live music — 7–28 day Alaska, 12–21 day Panama Canal, 129-day world voyages |
| Viking Ocean | The nearest philosophical competitor — both destination-forward with no waterslides. But HAL carries children, has a casino, offers a tiered à-la-carte model rather than one inclusive fare, and owns Alaska land infrastructure Viking does not replicate |
| Oceania | Oceania is the food-connoisseur play on smaller ships. HAL is the value play, with named-chef dining at $25–$55 covers and a far larger destination footprint |
| Cunard | Cunard sells ocean-liner heritage and transatlantic crossings with class-tiered dining. HAL’s heritage is older — founded 1873 — and Dutch, expressed through service culture rather than a class system |
Booking considerations
- Final payment is 120 days out for cruises of 14 days or more and for Grand Voyages, Asia, Australia and South America; 90 days for cruises of 13 days or fewer — and for cruisetours, even though those typically run 9–17 days.
- Watch the gap between final payment and the refund window. On a standard cruise, final payment is due at 90 days but the 100%-refund window closes at 120 days. There is a 30-day zone where you are still pre-final-payment but already facing a 75% penalty. This is the single most important thing on this list.
- Name changes and date changes are treated as cancellations and incur the same fees.
- Crew Appreciation is separate from standard Have It All — $18 or $20 per person per day. Quote it at booking, not later.
- Push for the Have It All Early Booking Bonus. Elite drinks, Premium Wi-Fi and prepaid gratuities is a large delta over the standard version.
- Book Alaska cruisetours early and specifically. Land inventory is the constraint — 19 cruisetour itineraries against 100-plus Alaska sailings, one Denali lodge, and Yukon tours the most constrained of all. HAL opens Alaska roughly two years ahead.
- Book Grand Voyages 18 months out for the early booking benefits, and note that 50% penalties already apply at 76–112 days.
Get the right Holland America itinerary
Holland America rewards specificity. Which ship carries the music venues you want, whether your Alaska trip includes the Yukon or only Denali, whether your cruisetour’s final payment falls at 90 or 120 days, whether the Early Booking Bonus is available on your sailing, and whether Oosterdam has been through Evolution yet — these decide the trip, and none of them show up in a headline fare.
Cruise Planners – Neal Lewis & Associates can compare Holland America sailings on exactly those things: ship and venue specifics, cruisetour tier and what it includes, Glacier Bay timing, the real all-in cost with Crew Appreciation counted, and whether another line serves you better for the same money. There is no planning fee, and we can identify promotions, onboard credit and group opportunities where they apply.
Request rates and information with your dates and travel party. To browse first, start with Find the Right Cruise or the Advanced Cruise Search.
Frequently asked questions
How many ships does Holland America have?
Eleven, across four classes: Pinnacle (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam), Signature (Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam), Vista (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam) and R Class (Volendam, Zaandam). They carry between 1,432 and 2,668 guests.
What is Have It All and is it worth it?
HAL’s premium package — shore excursion credit, Signature Beverage Package, specialty dining nights and Surf Wi-Fi — at $65 per person per day for Summer 2027 departures and beyond, or $60 before that. The beverage package alone costs $55.95 per day bought separately, so it is strong value for anyone who drinks and poor value for anyone who does not.
Are gratuities included in Have It All?
No. Crew Appreciation is $18 per person per day in staterooms and $20 in suites, charged separately. It is included in the Have It All Early Booking Bonus.
Is Holland America good for kids?
It carries children — Kids Club runs ages 3–17 in three groups — but the ships are deliberately free of coasters and waterslides, and kids’ programmes are not offered at all on Legendary or Grand Voyages. Infants must be six months, or twelve months on transoceanic, South America, Asia, South Pacific and Hawaii sailings.
Does Holland America go to Glacier Bay?
Yes. HAL states it holds more Glacier Bay permits than any other cruise line, with ships spending about nine to ten hours inside the park, a National Park Service ranger aboard and Huna Tlingit guides. HAL also offers an Alaska Glacier Guarantee — no glacier, and you receive a Future Cruise Credit worth 15% of fare.
What happened to McKinley Chalet Resort?
It was renamed Holland America Denali Lodge and is midway through a $70 million phased expansion, including a new 120-room building and a main-lodge renovation completing before the 2027 season.
Which cruise line goes to Dawson City in the Yukon?
Holland America states it is the only one. Its Alaska, Denali & Yukon cruisetours include two to three Yukon nights, a Klondike Gold Tour run with the HISTORY Channel, and a dedicated tour director throughout.
Has Half Moon Cay changed its name?
Yes — it is now RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, renamed in December 2024 by Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Line jointly. A new north-side pier opened in June 2026 for Carnival ships, while Holland America guests continue to tender to the south side. The south side is still being enhanced, so reconfirm what is open close to sailing.
Is Music Walk still on Holland America ships?
The venues largely remain — Rolling Stone Lounge on nine ships, Billboard Onboard on nine, B.B. King’s All-Star Band on three — but HAL no longer uses “Music Walk” as a brand on its website, Lincoln Center Stage has been retired in favour of the Vivace String Ensemble, and the “Rolling Stone Rock Room” name no longer appears.
Does Holland America land in Antarctica?
No. HAL does Antarctica as scenic cruising only — four days along the peninsula with naturalist commentary, no Zodiacs and no landings. It is a comfortable and comparatively affordable way to see it, but it is not an expedition cruise.
What do you get in a Neptune Suite?
Neptune Lounge access with a concierge, complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning, in-suite breakfast with a mimosa, an espresso machine, premium robes, priority check-in and tender boarding, and Club Orange benefits at no charge. Suite guests on published suite fares also earn double Mariner Society credits.
How long is Holland America’s world cruise?
The 2027 Grand World Voyage on Volendam is 129 days, departing Fort Lauderdale on 5 January 2027 and visiting 53 ports in 28 countries. The 2028 Grand World Voyage is also 129 days, departing 4 January 2028 with 45 ports in 26 countries.
Ships, venues, packages, pricing, entertainment line-ups, itineraries, lodge availability and refit schedules change. Details here reflect published information at the time of writing and should be confirmed for your specific sailing before booking. Cruise Planners – Neal Lewis & Associates does not control supplier pricing, promotions, itineraries, onboard policies or National Park Service allocations.