Holland America Names Rotterdam Senior Staff Officers
We’ll have to wait a few more months before Holland America Line’s newest ship is delivered, but the cruise line announced the senior staff officers who will be on board when she does! The officer crew of Rotterdam brings a combined 80 years of experience to their positions, ma
Choose Your Cruise – February 5, 2021
Oh, Canada. By now you’ve probably heard that our neighbors to the North have taken extreme measures against the cruise industry, banning all cruise ships over 100 people (so, pretty much all of them) from calling on Canadian ports until February 28, 2022. Without even the courtesy
Orlando Ashford Named Executive Chairman of Azamara
It wasn’t a long hiatus from the cruise industry for Orlando Ashford. The former President of Holland America Line stepped down from the company in May of 2020 after six years at the helm, but the news today is he’s back operating a cruise line! Sycamore Partners, the private equit
Carnival Cruise Line Releases Plans for Additional Ship Deployments
Cruise lines have made it clear throughout the pandemic that when they restart operation, it will be a phased approach. Today, Carnival Cruise Line released new details about their plan to restart operation and it includes some interesting nuggets about where the cruise line will be sailing in 2021
Choose Your Cruise – January 15, 2021
It was a tough week for cruisers as more cruise lines pushed their start dates back until the Spring, but there’s plenty of positivity surrounding the industry as more and more people receive the COVID-19 vaccine. There’s hope that once the summer rolls around, those who have been vaccin
Gus Antorcha of Holland America Talks Rotterdam, New Excursions
When former Holland America Line President Orlando Ashford stepped down earlier this year, Carnival Corporation decided to promote from within, naming Carnival Cruise Line COO Gus Antorcha the new president. What made Antorcha the right man for the job was his nine years of experience at Carnival Co
Leadership Changes at Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation announced today that several prominent members of their leadership team would be moving to new roles within the company. Stein Kruse, the former CEO of Holland America Group and Carnival UK, will now serve as Senior Advisor to the Chairman and the CEO. Jan Swartz, the
A Tale of Two Transatlantic Cruises
Cruising has always fueled the imagination with dreams of far-flung destinations, and 2020’s unimaginable pause in cruising has amplified those dreams tenfold. It is very likely that we took this indulgent mode of travel for granted … but never again. Only when it was taken away from us could we
Disney Cruise Line Will Now Return in February
Cruise lines continue pushing back their restart date as they work their way through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new framework for conditional sailing. The latest brand to push their start date back a month is Disney Cruise Line. In a posting on the Disney Cruise Lin
CDC Upgrades Cruising Risk to Level 4, the Highest Possible
On Saturday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their travel advisory for cruise ships to level 4, meaning that there was a “very high” risk for COVID-19 infection on board. The CDC now recommends that all people avoid travel on cruise ships worldwide. “At this time, C
Top 10 Best Cruise Specialty Restaurants
One of the most important factors cruisers take into consideration before they book is the cuisine served on board. Cruise lines have long been known for their attention to detail not only in the kitchen, but also the ambiance of each dining venue. Porthole Cruise readers voted for their favorite sp
Holland America Sets Sights on Alaska Cruises in 2021
As cruise lines continue beefing up their offerings for 2021, Holland America Line announced a renewed focus on Alaska with a full lineup of cruises and land excursions for 2021. The cruise line will position six ships in the region from April to September of 2021 with some of the best shore ex
Holland America Renames Their Upcoming Ship
Holland America Line announced today that it is changing the name of its newbuild from Ryndam to Rotterdam and designating it the new flagship of the fleet. The ship will be the 7th in Holland America’s 150-year history to bear the name Rotterdam. The cruise line
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Buying Two HAL Ships
Like most businesses across the world, cruise lines are in an all out effort to reduce their operating costs as their usual income is no longer rolling in. As we reported earlier this month, Carnival Corporation had plans to sell 13 ships either to other cruise lines, or to the scrapyard. We already
Which Cruise Ship Would You Buy?
What a vacation it would be. No lines at the water slides, no waiting to tender and certainly no mad scramble to secure the last open deck chair. That’s what your cruise vacation would look like if you were to purchase one of the cruise ships currently for sale from Carnival Corporation. As
Cruise Executive Carousel
Amidst cancelled cruises and idle ships all over the world, there’s been another interesting development across the industry; new leadership. Several high-profile employees have stepped down over the past few months, paving the way for a fresh crop of executives who are well positioned to bring ou
Holland America Line Nieuw Statendam Cruise Ship Review
Holland America Line Nieuw Statendam by Evan Gove 12 Feet 1 Decks 1 Launched 1 Guests Overview From cuisine crafted in collaboration with well-known Chef Rudi Sodamin to a commitment to outstanding guest services, Nieuw Statendam is challenging the idea that a cruise vacation has to be one size
Orlando Ashford Stepping Down as President of Holland America Line
After six years as the President of Holland America Line, Orlando Ashford is saying goodbye to the cruise line. Ashford announced his decision in a press release today. The news comes just six days after Holland America Line decided to extend its pause of global cruise operations and cancel all Alas
CRUISE RECIPE: Holland America’s Bread & Butter Pudding
Hungry to Sail Again Culinarily speaking, there are a few cruise favorites that, over the years, have become classics: Norwegian’s baked potato soup, Carnival’s Melting Chocolate Cake, Princess Cruises’ fettuccine Alfredo, Crystal’s mushroom soup in a bread bowl among them. But, for me, noth
Happy Anniversary, HAL!
Social distancing is making celebrating a little different these days, but we wanted to give a big Happy Birthday shout out to Holland America Line, who turned 147 years old over the weekend! Way back in 1873, the Netherlands-American Steamship Company started sailing goods and people from the Nethe
