The Holland America Line is the first cruise company to restart cruising in Canada. This will allow unescorted ships, which are also banned previously due to Canadian laws, for an additional 12 years. The company has a long history of innovative thinking and this decision seems like it was inevitable with their approach towards environmental protection and customer service.
Holland America Line is set to be the first cruise line to restart cruising in Canada. The company plans on doing this by 2022. Read more in detail here: holland america cruises 2022.
Holland America Line is expected to be the first cruise line to call on Canada and return to a Canadian homeport in more than two years this weekend, which is a long-awaited phase in the international cruising relaunch. On Saturday, April 9, the Koningsdam will arrive in Victoria, British Columbia, before heading to the Port of Vancouver on Sunday, where the ship will be homeported for the summer Alaska season.
Cruising Is Returning to Canada!
It has been 905 days since a cruise ship has docked in Victoria, and officials from Holland America Line and local Canadian government authorities, including tourism ministers and port authority officials, will be on hand to commemorate the milestone.
“We are happy to be the first cruise line back into Canada after such a lengthy absence,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “We look forward to celebrating a fantastic occasion for everyone who likes to travel and for people in Canada and Alaska whose lives rely on tourism.”
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Cruise ships were barred in Canada during the limited 2021 Alaska cruise season, which began in July due to the pandemic closure. Instead, the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act permitted cruises leaving from U.S. homeports to visit solely U.S. ports of call for a limited time, rather than being forced to visit a foreign port.
Canadian authorities issued health rules for cruise ships in early March 2022, which are broadly identical to the health and safety measures mandated by other governments. Cruise companies were able to plan calls and homeports in the nation as a result, bringing cruising back to the Great White North.
The First of Many Ships
The Koningsdam, a Pinnacle-class ship with a capacity of 2,650 people at double occupancy, is the first ship carrying passengers to stop on Canada since the industry-wide closure started in March 2020.
That accolade was supposed to go to Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess, which was supposed to arrive in Vancouver on April 7. The voyage of the ship was cut short, and passengers were debarked at San Francisco on April 3 to prepare the ship for dry docking.
The Koningsdam is the first of six Holland America Line ships set to sail to Alaska this year, with two more ships set to sail to New England and Canada.
“With Alaska, Hawaii, transatlantic, and Canada and New England itineraries, Holland America Line offers a comprehensive schedule of cruises that visit Canadian ports on both coasts,” Antorcha added.
Holland America Line provided this image.
The six ships will make a total of 45 stops in Victoria, bringing roughly 75,000 passengers with them. Approximately 140,000 visitors will return to the area for outstanding, bucket-list sailing on 76 Holland America Line excursions that will originate or terminate in Vancouver in 2022.
In May, two ships will return to the East Coast for Canada and New England cruising, sailing between Boston, Massachusetts, and Quebec City or Montreal, Quebec. Together, Nieuw Statendam and Zaandam provide itineraries to more than 12 Canadian ports that range from 7 to 24 days.
In all, Holland America Line will operate 141 cruises in Canada in 2022, with over 250,000 passengers visiting both coastlines.
Return of Other Cruise Lines
Other cruise companies will swiftly join Holland America Line ships when Canada and Alaska sailing resumes with enthusiasm in the coming weeks.
Allen.G / Shutterstock / Allen.G / Shutterstock / Allen.G / Shutterstock
Carnival Cruise Line will send three ships to the area in 2022, making it the cruise line’s biggest ever deployment to Canada. In the next months, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Cunard Line, and other major and small cruise lines will all be traveling to Alaska and Canada.
Furthermore, because to the high demand for Alaska, cruise lines are collaborating with local governments to provide new possibilities that will benefit not just passengers but also local communities. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced a joint venture with Huna Totem Corporation to build a new terminal in Whittier, Alaska, a major cruise port.
The “carnival cruise news” is a company that has announced plans to be the first to restart cruising in Canada. Holland America Line will be the first cruise line to resume operations in Canada since 2012, when Carnival Cruise Lines ended its Canadian service.
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