With 136 years of experience, Holland America Line is recognized
as the undisputed leader in the cruise industry’s premium
segment. Holland America Line’s fleet of 14 ships offers
nearly 500 cruises to 320 ports of call in more than 100
countries, territories or dependencies. Two- to 114-day
itineraries visit all seven continents, including Antarctica,
South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a
Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the
Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and
Panama Canal.
As part of its social responsibility initiative, the leading
premium cruise line contributes over a million dollars each
year in cash, in-kind shipboard events and useable goods
to a broad range of charitable organizations nationally
and internationally. Additionally, the line provides over
2,000 reduced-fare cruises annually to support charitable
fundraising events throughout the United States and Canada.
The innovative On Deck for the Cure program has raised more
than $1.5 million in donations to Susan G. Komen for the
Cure.
Over the course of the company’s long history Holland
America Line has carried more than 10 million passengers
from Europe to the New World and to vacation destinations
across the globe.
Providing Passage to the New World
Holland America Line was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America
Steamship Company (NASM), a shipping and passenger line.
Because it was headquartered in Rotterdam and provided service
to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line.
The company's first ocean liner was the Rotterdam, which
sailed its maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York
City on Oct. 15, 1872. The one-way voyage took 15 days.
Following that first voyage, Holland America Line has seen
a series of benchmark moments in its history.
- By
its 25th anniversary, Holland America Line owned a fleet
of six cargo and passenger ships, and also provided service
between Holland and the Dutch East Indies via the newly
constructed Suez Canal.
- The
line was a principal carrier of immigrants from Europe
to the United States until well after the turn of the
century, carrying 850,000 to new lives in the New World.
- In
1895, the company offered its first vacation cruise; its
second leisure cruise, from New York to the Holy Land,
was in 1910.
- In
1971, Holland America Line suspended its transatlantic
passenger trade and turned to offering cruise vacations
full time.
- In
1989, Holland America Line Inc. became a wholly owned
subsidiary of Carnival Corp, the largest cruise company
in the world.
Compelling Worldwide Itineraries
Holland America Line’s fleet of 14 ships offers nearly
500 cruises to more than 320 ports. Two to 108 day itineraries
visit all seven continents, including Antarctica, South
America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand
World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean,
Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal.
In the 2006 Portrait of Affluent Travelers survey by Yesawich,
Pepperdine, Brown and Russell, Holland America Line topped
the list of cruise lines sought after by affluent leisure
travelers. Fleetwide, the company features Signature of
Excellence enhancements, totaling more than $525 million,
that showcase the Culinary Arts Center presented by Food
& Wine magazine — a state-of-the-art onboard show
kitchen where more than 60 celebrated guest chefs and experts
provide cooking demonstrations and classes — Explorations
Café powered by The New York Times, teens-only activity
areas and all new stateroom amenities highlighted by flat-panel
TVs and plush Euro-top Mariner’s Dream Beds.
With an ongoing commitment, the premium line continues
to focus on product enhancements in accommodations, service,
dining, itinerary development and enrichment programs and
activities. Examples include As You Wish dining for open
seating, a new Culinary Arts Center program for kids, and
the expansion of shore activities to include private touring
options in port.
Holland America Tours
Holland America Line offers more than 30 CruiseTour itineraries
showcasing Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory. The
CruiseTour division was founded in 1948 in Fairbanks as
Arctic Alaska Tours to arrange tours and operate from Seward
and Valdez by rail and bus to the interior and by air to
the Arctic. Westours, as the company became known, became
a subsidiary of Holland America in 1979 and is now part
of Holland America Line. The company also owns Westmark
Hotels, the largest hotel group in Alaska and Yukon Territory
with 11 hotels in 10 communities. In May 2006, Holland America
Line completed a new 135-room lodge in Denali as well as
the renovation and expansion of the Westmark Fairbanks.
Holland America Line offers cruise and CruiseTour packages
ranging from adventure shore excursions to full itinerary
land tours of Alaska and the Yukon. All CruiseTour itineraries
combine a land tour and a Holland America Line cruise. Rail
tours have been offered since 1987 on board the McKinley
Explorer full-domed luxury rail cars, with service between
Anchorage, Denali National Park and Fairbanks. In 2007,
Holland America introduced the Explorer Coaches, luxury
Alaska themed motor coaches that provide space and comfort
unparalleled in the industry.
In 2003, Holland America Line introduced exclusive CruiseTours
to Canada's spectacular sub arctic Kluane National Park,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, encompassing pristine wilderness
and having five of the seven highest peaks in North America,
and in 2005 added Tombstone Territorial Park, outside of
Dawson City, Yukon as an additional wilderness experience.
Holland America Line is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
