Holland America Line Cruises: Ships, Prices & Deals

Who Holland America suits

Holland America Line is one of the oldest names in cruising, founded in Rotterdam and today run from Seattle as part of Carnival Corporation, alongside Carnival, Princess and Cunard. It sits in the premium segment: more polished than the mass-market brands, but without the price of the luxury lines.

The ships are mid-size. Even the largest, Rotterdam, carries 2,668 passengers, less than half the load of the biggest resort ships, so boarding is quicker, lounges are calmer and the ships fit into smaller ports. Evenings revolve around live music rather than water slides: on many ships you can move between B.B. King's Blues Club and the Rolling Stone Rock Room after dinner.

The itineraries are longer than at most big lines. The average Holland America sailing we track lasts 14.4 nights, against 9.1 at Celebrity and 5.8 at Royal Caribbean, and only 4 of 523 sailings are four nights or shorter. That pace, plus the line's enrichment-heavy days at sea, draws a mature crowd: retirees, experienced cruisers and couples. Families are welcome, but if your children want thrill rides, look elsewhere.

Holland America ships by class

Almost every Holland America ship has a name ending in "dam", and several revive names from the line's earlier fleet (the current Nieuw Statendam follows a line of ships called Statendam). Ships in the same class share most venues and cabin types. The fleet table above shows each ship's size, age, live status and next fare.

• Pinnacle class: Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam and Koningsdam. The newest and largest ships, each just under 100,000 gross tons, with the widest choice of music venues and restaurants.
• Signature class: Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam. Around 86,000 gross tons and 2,100 passengers, a step up in size from the Vista ships.
• Vista class: Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam. Built between 2002 and 2006 for about 1,900–1,960 passengers, with a high share of balcony cabins.
• Rotterdam class: Volendam and Zaandam. The oldest and smallest ships, at about 61,000 gross tons and 1,837 passengers, and the ones the line uses for its longest voyages.

What is included and what costs extra

The base fare covers your cabin, the main dining room, the Lido Market buffet, entertainment, pools and basic drinks such as water, coffee and tea. Specialty restaurants, cocktails, beer and wine, Wi-Fi, shore excursions, spa treatments and the daily service charge are extra.

Holland America's answer to those extras is Have It All, a higher fare that bundles a drinks package, specialty dining, Wi-Fi and a shore excursion credit. It suits travelers who would buy most of those anyway. If you drink little or plan to explore ports on your own, the standard fare plus independent tours usually works out cheaper. Do the sums for your cabin before choosing.

Where Holland America sails and from which ports

Alaska is the core of the schedule: 179 of the 523 sailings we track go there, followed by the Caribbean (118) and Northern Europe (72). Smaller programs cover Asia, the Panama Canal, Mexico, the Mediterranean, South America and Antarctica, Canada and New England, and Australia and the South Pacific. The regional bars above show the full split.

Fort Lauderdale is the busiest departure port with 127 sailings, almost all Caribbean and Panama Canal trips, with Miami adding 28. Vancouver (102) is the main Alaska gateway, ahead of Anchorage, Fairbanks and Seattle. In Europe, the ships sail from Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Dover, plus Piraeus and Barcelona for the Mediterranean, and San Diego serves Mexico, Hawaii and the Pacific Coast.

Long voyages are a Holland America signature. 105 sailings in our data last 20 nights or more, including a 129-night Grand World Voyage on Volendam and a 70-night South America and Antarctica voyage on Zaandam, both round trips from Fort Lauderdale.

Alaska and Glacier Bay

Holland America has sailed to Alaska for decades and runs its own land operation there, which is why it offers so many cruisetours. Of the 179 Alaska departures we track, 123 combine the cruise with land days at Denali National Park, often continuing into the Yukon through Whitehorse and Dawson. The other 56 are cruise-only, mostly 7-night round trips from Seattle or one-way runs between Vancouver and Whittier.

Glacier Bay National Park is on 137 of those Alaska departures. Access is limited by permits, and a park ranger normally boards for the day to commentate from the bow. Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan are the other regular calls. The season in our data runs from late April to mid-September.

In the Caribbean, the equivalent highlight is the line's private island in the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay, now branded RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. It appears on 115 of the 118 Caribbean sailings we track.

Mariner Society loyalty

Mariner Society is Holland America's loyalty program. You join after your first cruise and climb five levels, from 1-Star to 5-Star Mariner, as you sail more with the line. Benefits grow with each level, from onboard discounts and member events to priority services at the top.

Because the itineraries are long, regular Holland America passengers move up faster than they would on a line built around short cruises.

Holland America prices and the cheapest months

Holland America is the priciest of the three premium lines we track. The median cheapest fare across 437 priced sailings is €257 per person per night, against €218 for Princess and €215 for Celebrity. By cabin, the median is €200 per night for an inside cabin, €230 oceanview, €277 balcony and €357 for a suite.

Much of that gap comes from the product mix rather than the ships. Alaska cruisetours, which include hotel nights ashore, have a median of €356 per night, while cruise-only Alaska sailings sit at €240. In the Caribbean the median is €182, close to Princess and Celebrity, and in Northern Europe Holland America is the cheapest of the three at €275.

Month matters as much as region. November has the lowest median at €145 per night, followed by October (€166) and December (€175). June to August is the most expensive stretch, at €330–335, as Alaska takes over the schedule. The cheapest week-long fare we hold right now is €367 per person for a 7-night Zuiderdam Caribbean sailing from Miami in an inside cabin. All prices are the cheapest cabin, per person, captured on the date shown on the page. For this line we currently capture fares from the US booking site, converted to euros.

Catching Holland America price drops

Holland America reprices sailings as cabins sell, and on a long voyage even a small drop per night adds up to a large saving on the total fare. The Holland America deals feed lists the latest drops, and find a cruise lets you filter by ship, port, month and price.

Once you have booked, the line's Navigator app handles check-in, daily schedules and onboard bookings, but it does not track where your ship is or how its fare moves. For that, use the Holland America fleet tracker and the price history on each ship page. If your fare can still be changed before final payment, ask the line or your travel agent to apply a lower rate when one appears. A price alert from the plans page does the watching for you and emails you when the fare falls.