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Holland America is making a giant splash with its newest cruise around the globe.
The Seattle-based line on Monday unveiled plans for a round-the-world voyage in 2026 lasting 132 days — 19 days longer than different around-the-world voyages launched lately.
The Grand World Voyage, as the road is looking it, launching in Fort Lauderdale on January 4, 2026, will embody voyages to all seven continents — a relative rarity for world cruises. This may additionally embody in depth time spent in South America and Northern Europe – which is tough to perform logistically throughout an around-the-world journey.
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“It's bold within the sense that we're actually drawing that line… from the east coast of South America to Antarctica and offering that have after which working diagonally to the Mediterranean and Northern Europe,'' Paul Grigsby, Holland America's vice chairman for deployment and itinerary planning, advised TPG in an unique interview forward of the announcement.
Grigsby famous that an around-the-world cruise the road launched in 2019 included stops in Northern Europe however not in depth exploration of South America. To get each segments into the 2026 itinerary, Grigsby's staff needed to make the sailings considerably longer than in 2019. The 2019 crusing was solely 113 days lengthy.
“I believe we're extra comfy with longer journeys now,” Grigsby mentioned.
Over the previous few years, Holland America has been doubling down on the long-haul sailings for which the road has lengthy been identified. The longer voyages have been expanded to incorporate a brand new collection of so-called legendary voyages that target a single space and vary from 25 to 59 nights in size.
The newly introduced world cruise will function stops at a complete of 47 ports in 39 nations – an enormous quantity for a world cruise provided by any line.
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Across the World from Fort Lauderdale
As is usually the case with Holland America's around-the-world voyages, the not too long ago introduced 2026 crusing will happen on the road's 1,432-passenger Volendam, one in all Holland America's smallest ships.
After launching from Fort Lauderdale, Volendam will head south in direction of Barbados within the Caribbean earlier than heading off the east coast of South America in direction of Antarctica. Stops in South America will embody Satan's Island in French Guiana; Belém, Recife and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil; Punta del Este and Montevideo in Uruguay; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Falkland Islands.
From the Falklands, Volendam will proceed south to Antarctica for a multi-day voyage earlier than crusing alongside the coast of Chile and into the Chilean Fjords. It can then cross the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia on a route that may take it previous hardly ever visited locations resembling Easter Island and Pitcairn Island.
In response to Grigsby, Easter Island and the islands of French Polynesia ranked extremely in surveys by Grigsby's itinerary planning staff, which requested previous vacationers the place they needed to go.
Particularly, Easter Island is a “bucket checklist vacation spot” for a lot of Holland America regulars, and the South Pacific “is without doubt one of the top-rated areas,” he mentioned.
Australia Holland can be common with vacationers to the US, prompting Grigsby's staff to work on stops within the Australian ports of Sydney, Townsville, Cairns and Darwin. Each the Townsville and Cairns stops enable excursions to Australia's Nice Barrier Reef.
“I don't assume I'll ever embody Australia and New Zealand in a world tour,” Grigsby mentioned. “It all the time has excessive scores amongst our visitors.”
From Australia, Volendam will head to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives after which to Europe by way of the Pink Sea and the Suez Canal.
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In contrast to many world cruises of the previous, stops within the Center East have been largely excluded from the schedule, apart from calls in Safaga and Alexandria in Egypt to permit visits to the traditional Egyptian websites of Luxor alongside the Nile River. Nice Pyramid close to Cairo. This is because of declining curiosity within the area amongst world vacationers as a result of latest outbreak of warfare in Gaza and assaults on transport within the Pink Sea.
“I don't assume you'll be stunned to be taught that the area round Dubai (within the Persian Gulf) and Oman is of much less curiosity to our visitors than it has been up to now,” Grigsby mentioned. “That's why you get a lot sooner transit by the Pink Sea and the Suez Canal.”
As soon as in Europe, Volendam will cease at a variety of locations, together with the Mediterranean ports of Piraeus, Greece (port to Athens); Civitavecchia (port for Rome) and Naples in Italy; and Alicante, Spain.
Extra northern ports would come with Oslo, Norway and Copenhagen, Denmark.
One of many extra uncommon stops in Europe can be Bordeaux, France, on the Garonne River in southwestern France. It’s a port that’s solely accessible to small cruise ships resembling Volendam.
The voyage will go to a complete of 39 nations with stopovers at 47 ports.
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9 of those calls will likely be in a single day, permitting for extra in-depth excursions. These in a single day calls embody stops in Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Safaga, Alexandria and Lisbon.
Longer-staycations are in locations the place Holland America's previous vacationers have mentioned they wish to keep longer, Grigsby mentioned, citing information from a complete survey of greater than 30,000 previous vacationers.
Early Reserving Bonus
Fares for the newly introduced Grand World Voyage won’t be introduced till Might, when the sailings go on sale to most of the people. However Holland America mentioned Monday it can supply an early reserving bonus of as much as $2,000 per individual in onboard credit score and a free Wi-Fi surf package deal to those that guide sailings early. The corporate didn’t specify any time restrict for receiving the bonus.
Moreover, passengers who make full cost for the crusing will obtain a 3% low cost on their fare.
Further perks for vacationers who guide early embody a $500 air credit score per individual when reserving by Holland America's FlightEase program and complimentary round-trip to and from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport (FLL). -Journey will embody airport transfers.
Passengers may even obtain complimentary baggage supply service to and from Fort Lauderdale Airport, pay as you go gratuity (referred to as a “crew appreciation price” in Holland America), and laundry and dry cleansing service when reserving sure cabin classes.
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