Holland America Line Reveals Grand Voyage “Pole-to-Pole” Cruise

Yesterday, Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line, announced the first-ever Grand Voyage “Pole-to-Pole” roundtrip from the United States in 2025. Antorcha revealed the details of the new 133-day sailing that will launch simultaneously with a 124-day 2025 Grand World Voyage aboard Zuiderdam to guests currently experiencing a Grand World Voyage sailing in the North Sea.

These concurrent Grand Voyages sailings of more than 120 days are a first for Holland America Line. Both voyages depart in January 2025 and will sail roundtrip from a U.S. homeport. 

“This will be a truly historic pair of voyages,” Antorcha told guests. “Our Grand World Voyage travels east to west, and our other Grands focus on one region, so designing this first-of-its-kind route that explores south to north roundtrip from the U.S. is an incredible way to allow our guests two different choices to travel across the world.”

2025 Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole

The Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole will have guests aboard Volendam visiting five continents on a journey from south to north. Here are some highlights of the trip, according to Holland America Line. 

• 133 days. Departing Jan. 25, 2025, roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.
• Follows a south-north-south route through the Panama Canal, down along the west coast of South America to Antarctica, then up along Argentina and Brazil to the heart of the Amazon River. The ship then crosses the Atlantic Ocean to Africa, sails north to Europe, and up to the North Cape before heading west across the northern Atlantic Ocean via Iceland and Greenland and finally down the eastern shores of North America.
• Pole to Pole: Down south, Volendam spends four days of scenic cruising in Antarctica, and up north, the ship crosses the Arctic Circle to the North Cape.
• 68 total ports across five continents and 28 countries.
• 8 overnight calls: Fuerte Amador, Panama; Callao (Lima), Peru; Buenos, Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Barcelona, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; and Reykjavik, Iceland.
• Memorable Moments: Panama Canal transit, Cape Horn, Antarctica, Falkland Islands, exploring the Amazon River, Strait of Gibraltar, Norwegian fjords, North Cape, Iceland, and Greenland.

2025 Grand World Voyage

Guests on the Zuiderdam will sail an east-to-west route and see six continents. Here is what guests can expect, according to Holland America Line.

• 124 days. Departing Jan. 4, 2025, roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.
• Transits the Panama Canal and makes way to Easter Island before crossing the South Pacific to Australia. Explores the Great Barrier Reef en route to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, then sails south to Cape Town, South Africa, by way of the Seychelles, back up along the eastern coast of Africa, through the Suez Canal to Portugal before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
• 46 total ports in 32 countries across six continents.
• 9 overnight calls: Callao (two nights); Easter Island; Papeete, Tahiti; Sydney, Australia; Singapore; Cape Town; Mombasa, Kenya; Safaga, Egypt; and Barcelona.
• 7 late-night departures: Manta, Ecuador; Seychelles; Cape Town and Durban, South Africa; Aqaba, Jordan; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; and Gibraltar, U.K.
• Memorable Moments: Panama Canal transit, two nights at Callao allowing time to visit Machu Picchu, Easter Island, scenic cruising in the Great Barrier Reef, two full days in Cape Town, the opportunity to visit Petra from Jordan, and experience Luxor from Safaga.

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“Detailed planning went into this voyage to ensure we’re visiting destinations when the weather is favorable, and we included locations that are sought after like the Amazon River, Greenland, and Iceland, in addition to Antarctica and the Arctic,” said Paul Grigsby, vice president for deployment and itinerary planning for Holland America Line. “We’ve created two voyages that linger in ports for memorable moments and several overnight stays. We even timed it so the two voyages will meet up to share an overnight experience in Barcelona.”

Experience Barcelona

Volendam and Zuiderdam will rendezvous in Barcelona on April 24, 2025, for a joint overnight call. According to Holland America Line, there will be special festivities involving both ships to mark the occasion of the dual visit.

Book Early To Get Bonus Benefits

Guests can receive onboard spending credits and amenities valued at $8,800 per person if booking the full 133-day Grand Voyage: Pole-to-Pole by June 3, 2024. Meanwhile, guests who book the full 124-day Grand World Voyage by the same date can get onboard spending credits and amenities valued at $8500 per person. 

Guests who book early will receive the following new perks:

• Complimentary Surf Wi-Fi package
• $500 air credit per person if booked through Flight Ease
• Complimentary roundtrip airport transfers to and from the Fort Lauderdale airport.

According to Holland America Line, guests can also receive a complimentary luggage delivery service to and from the Fort Lauderdale airport, prepaid crew appreciation, and laundry and dry cleaning service when booking certain stateroom categories.

The Grand Voyage Onboard Experience

During sea days, guests will have numerous shipboard activities to relax. In the evening, local cultural performers and special guest headliners will entertain guests on the ship. There will also be festive gala balls and a Captain’s Grand Voyage Dinner. According to Holland America Line, guests can expect new dining experiences with menus featuring local cuisine that change daily, repeat seldomly, and with local ingredients. 

Will you be traveling pole to pole with Holland America Line? Let us know in the comments!

By Niko Balkaran