Holland America Line guests and team members celebrated a major milestone this weekend, marking one full year of returning to sailing after the cruise industry was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nieuw Amsterdam was the first ship back on the line, resuming her cruise on July 24, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. The ship reached the one-year mark while in port in Wither, Alaska.

"The emotions and excitement from a year ago still resonate today as destinations around the world open and we persist in fully getting back to cruising," said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. "We are grateful to our guests who returned to sail with us, to our team members who came back to sea, to the ports that welcomed us, to our partners who stood by us and to all of our shoreside employees who got us back in the water. Over the past year, we have operated more than 240 cruises, and we look forward to continuing to offer more memorable vacations."

Over the past year, Holland America Line's 10 remaining ships have been relaunched in various destinations as ports reopen to visitors. In addition to Alaska, the brand has continued voyages to Canada/New England, the Caribbean, Hawaii, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Northern Europe, the Pacific Coast, the Panama Canal and the South Pacific. Before the end of the year, the ships will return to Australia/New Zealand and South America/Antarctica.

The highly anticipated 71-day Grand Africa voyage sails in October 2022, while the 128-day Grand World and 74-day Grand South America and Antarctica voyages depart in January 2023; Mountains across Asia will continue in February 2023.

Go back to the service dates for each boat

Holland America Line accelerated the return of its ships during the year, welcoming the last ship into service in June 2022.

Eurodam, August 15, 2021; Koningsdam, 10 October 2021; Rotterdam, 20 October 2021; Nieuw Statendam, 21 November 2021; Zuiderdam, 23 December 2021; Noordam, 24 April 2022; Oosterdam, 8 May 2022; Zaandam, 12 May 2022; and Westerdam, June 12, 2022.

Volendam began hosting Ukrainian refugees in Rotterdam, Netherlands on April 5, 2022, as part of an agreement announced with the Netherlands and the city of Rotterdam. The ship will set up again for a cruise from Italy on September 24.