![]() Out of Seattle that same month, the 53-day “Majestic Japan” will cover Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, a full circle of Japan, a pass-by of Midway Island and then an overnighter in Hawaii before returning to the Emerald City.Īmong the more unique and shorter roundtrips from San Diego, HAL’s only Southern California embarkation port, are 14- and 22-nighters that will be perfectly positioned near Mazatlán to view the April 2024 solar eclipse. Roundtrips from San Diego include the 51-day “Tales of the South Pacific” that goes to Fiji, French Polynesia and Hawaii in September 2024. Ranging from 25 to 56 days, these cruises will take passengers deeper into a particular region than on a traditional itinerary. Holland America ( ) is bringing some of its upper-premium-class ships to the Pacific for a new category of extended cruises called Legendary Voyages. The West Coast market is certainly not without its own anniversary specials. Rotterdam makes a call in Copenhagen, Denmark on a special cruise commemorating Holland America’s 150th anniversary. On this side of the pond, the 12-deck Rotterdam will sail out of Fort Lauderdale from October through March, returning to the South Florida port again in October 2024 for six more months of Caribbean cruising. Back on the ship, the seventh in the fleet christened “Rotterdam,” cruise line President Gus Antorcha toasted to the special occasion and the next day’s voyage that would sail to Oslo, Norway, and Copenhagen, Denmark, before docking in Amsterdam, the flagship’s home port for the rest of spring and the entire summer. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands participated in a commemorative bell presentation at the Hotel New York that, in a prior life, was HAL’s headquarters from 1901 to 1977. Holland America, or HAL for short, commemorated its sesquicentennial with reverence by having the fleet’s current flagship, the 2-year-old, 2,650-passenger MS Rotterdam, arrive in its namesake city 150 years to the day of the company’s founding. The third-oldest major cruise line (after P&O and Cunard) was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on April 18, 1873. (Photo by David Dickstein)Īs for this year’s anniversaries ending in 0 or 5, the grandest has to be Holland America Line’s 150th. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Holland America President Gus Antorcha dedicate a commemorative 150th anniversary bell at the line’s former HQ in Rotterdam. Poor Sir Samuel Cunard, who established the first regularly scheduled transatlantic mail and passenger service with the maiden voyage of Britannia that departed on July 4, 1840. Not as fortunate was one esteemed cruise line Cunard missed a boatload of pomp and circumstance having its 180th anniversary come about in the fourth month of what became a 15-month industry shutdown. Even sweeter, their dates are beyond the dark cloud of COVID-19. In what sounds like something straight out of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” Carnival, Disney, Celebrity, Holland America, MSC, Oceania, Paul Gauguin, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Viking and Windstar all have major milestones on the calendar. As cruise companies navigate around the revenue-hitting remnants of a pandemic, nearly a dozen with well-timed milestones have a natural tie-in for limited-time deals, merchandise and itineraries, and for their pleasure-seeking passengers and smiling crews, another reason to make merry. For an industry that fears catastrophic weather, this perfect storm is quite welcome. ![]() It’s high season for milestones on the high seas.Ī flood of coinciding historical dates has many cruise lines riding a two-year wave of round-numbered anniversaries.
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