Seatrade Interview with Gus Antorcha, Holland America Line President

The cruise industry came together in Miami Beach this week for the annual Seatrade Cruise Global convention and Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine Founder and Editor-in-Chief Bill Panoff was on hand to speak with the most important names in the industry. 

Bill caught up with Holland America Line President Gus Antorcha to talk about the restart of the cruise line’s full fleet, the start to Alaska season and how the cruise line is helping the people of Ukraine on board their ship Volendam. Earlier this month, Holland America Line chartered the ship in coordination with the city of Rotterdam provide a temporary home for approximately 1,500 Ukrainians, part of a larger commitment from the Netherlands to accommodate 50,000 people who fled the war in their homeland.

“We are in a unique position to accommodate the immediate need for food and housing, so we felt it was very important to work with the City of Rotterdam and charter this ship,” said Antorcha at the time of the announcement. “Our company was founded in Rotterdam around the mission of helping immigrants find a better life. So today we’re proud to be a small part of a similar mission for Ukrainians who have tragically been displaced.” 

Let us know if you’re sailing with HAL in 2022 in the comments!