Holland America to Sail Nieuw Statendam in Europe Year-Round
The season begins November 20, 2027, with a fifteen-day Western Mediterranean cruise from Rotterdam that overnights in Lisbon.
Holland America Line will keep Nieuw Statendam in Europe year-round for 2027-28, adding 12 winter and early spring cruises across Northern Europe and the Mediterranean and two additional Europe-linked voyages on Zuiderdam. The deployment adds more than 70 port days year over year and extends the line’s Europe season beyond the traditional summer travel period.
The program gives Holland America continuous European inventory through winter, with itineraries from Rotterdam, Dover, Barcelona, Athens, Rome, Lisbon and Fort Lauderdale. Sailings range from seven to 15 days and can be combined into Collectors’ Voyages of up to 24 days.
“Europe continues to be one of the most sought-after destinations for our guests,” said Paul Grigsby, vice president of deployment and itinerary planning for Holland America Line. “Expanding to year-round Europe allows us to showcase a completely different side of the destination — one that is quieter, more immersive and deeply seasonal.”
Nieuw Statendam anchors the winter deployment
The Pinnacle-class, 99,902-gross-ton Nieuw Statendam, with typical capacity for 2,666 passengers, will operate the core Europe schedule. The season begins Nov. 20, 2027, with a 15-day Western Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Rotterdam that overnights in Lisbon and calls at Cadiz, Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, Gibraltar and Dover.
In December, the ship shifts to Northern Europe for two holiday sailings from Rotterdam with a Dover option. The Dec. 5 Baltic and Scandinavian Christmas Markets cruise is a 13-day itinerary calling at Kiel for Hamburg, Tallinn, Copenhagen and Dover, with overnights in Helsinki and Stockholm and scenic cruising in the Stockholm Archipelago. The Helsinki call also gives passengers access to Lapland in the Arctic Circle.
The Dec. 18 15-day holiday sailing includes scenic cruising on the Elbe River, overnights in Hamburg and Copenhagen, calls at Aarhus, Oslo, Kristiansand, Bergen and Stavanger, and scenic cruising in Hardangerfjord.
Mediterranean cruises fill January through March
After the holiday program, Nieuw Statendam moves south. A Jan. 2, 2028, 14-day Rotterdam-to-Barcelona cruise covers Morocco, the Canary Islands and Spain, calling at Casablanca, Agadir, Puerto Rosario, Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Cadiz and Malaga.
The ship then operates a Jan. 16 10-day Barcelona-to-Athens itinerary visiting Valencia, Marseille, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples and Kotor, followed Jan. 26 by a 10-day Greek Isles roundtrip from Athens with Mykonos, an overnight in Istanbul, Kusadasi, Kos and Rhodes.
February’s seven-day Nieuw Statendam program includes a Feb. 5 Athens roundtrip with an overnight in Alexandria plus Souda and Thira; a Feb. 12 Athens-to-Rome cruise calling at Corfu, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Naples; a Feb. 19 Rome-to-Barcelona itinerary calling at Livorno, Genoa, Marseille and Gibraltar; and a Feb. 26 Barcelona-to-Athens cruise visiting Alicante, La Goulette, Valletta and Souda.
The March schedule includes a March 4 Athens roundtrip with an overnight in Piraeus plus Thira, Bodrum, Rhodes and Kusadasi. A March 11 10-day Athens-to-Lisbon cruise calls at Piraeus, Mykonos, Valletta, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Cartagena, Tangier and Cadiz.
Zuiderdam adds two February sailings
The 2002-built Zuiderdam, an about 82,300-gross-ton Vista-class ship, adds a transatlantic and a Western Mediterranean sailing. Its Feb. 3 14-day Cultural Crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona calls at Tangier, Malaga, Cartagena and Valencia; its Feb. 17 nine-day Barcelona-to-Rome cruise calls at Valencia, Tangier, Cadiz, Malaga, Cagliari and Naples.
Other brands also have winter Mediterranean sailings on the calendar. Viking, Windstar, Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises have tested winter Mediterranean programs; Regent Seven Seas Cruises is scheduled to begin them in 2026, Oceania Cruises in 2027, and Explora Journeys plans to keep Explora II in the Mediterranean through winter 2026-27.
Holland America is selling the voyages through travel advisors, its call center and hollandamerica.com. The announcement did not list starting fares for the winter 2027-28 Europe program.
