Holland America’s Zuiderdam returned to service on December 23 from San Diego. The ship becomes the second to resume from the port and the sixth in the fleet overall. Despite concerns of Omicron across ports, the cruise line is moving forward with its phased-in return to service plan.
Zuiderdam Returns to Service
After remaining on hold for 21 months, Zuiderdam finally made a return to service just in time for Christmas on December 23 and welcomed guests back on board at the Port of San Diego in California. The Holland America vessel is the second in the fleet to resume from the port and the sixth overall in the fleet.
“San Diego is an important homeport for us, and we are excited to have two ships back in full-time operation here with the restart of Zuiderdam today,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line.
“We are proud to be part of the San Diego community, which has continued to show us tremendous support throughout our restart. There’s no better way to kick off Zuiderdam’s season than with a holiday cruise full of joyful guests and our grateful crew who are happy to have them back on board.”
Also Read: Fifth Holland America Cruise Ship Returns to Service
The first voyage for the Holland America cruise ship is a 10-day “Mexico and Sea of Cortez” itinerary with calls to Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Guaymas, Topolobamp, and Mazatlan before retiring home on January 2, 2021. The vessel will operate Panama Canal departures and a grand 35-day South Pacific sojourn and Pacific cruise.
It’s a significant step forward for the cruise lines, with two vessels now operating from San Diego. Zuiderdam joins Koningsdam, which resumed from the port on October 10, 2021.
Koningsdam will offer a series of seven-day cruises to the California Coast or Mexico and two longer Hawaii voyages that run through April 3, 2022. Even Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam will make one port a call at San Diego in Spring 2022.
Holland America from San Diego Since the 1990s
Even though the 1,964-passenger Zuiderdam is just restarting operations, the ship has already spent some time in San Diego. While remaining alongside at the B-Street Cruise Terminal on December 19, the vessel took place in the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights with an illuminated “Ho Ho Ho” on the ship’s side.
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Carnival-owned Holland America Line has been long connected with the city since first homeporting from the Port of San Diego in the 1990s. The partnership will continue now that cruises are back at sea once again, and during the 2021-22 season, the cruise line is set to bring more than 81,000 guests, resulting in more than $35 million in direct spending.
